The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 419: Taller

Little Qing Ling put down her chopsticks, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes fixed on the steaming hot pot before her. “After my parents passed away, my aunt took me in. She wasn’t married and went through boyfriends quickly. None of the relationships lasted long.”

“The summer after my first year in middle school, she took a man home. He was lecherous and often made dirty jokes. He looked at me in a disgusting way, too. Late one night, I woke up to someone picking the lock of my bedroom. I quickly hid under the bed, and the door opened. It was him...”

“He was after you and you managed to escape.” Gao Yang made an educated guess. “You came to hate men since then.”

“No.” Little Qing Ling’s story made a sudden turn. “He wasn’t a sexual predator, but a devourer. He suspected me of having awakened and wanted to eat me. To this day, I’m not sure how I got exposed.”

Gao Yang felt a little awkward. You’re not following the trope, sis.

“That night, my sister killed it.”

Gao Yang started. Indeed a fierce girl Qing Ling was. She managed to kill a devourer on her own when she was so young.

“After the devourer died, and the body turned back, Sister disguised him as having fallen off the building. The second day, the police came...” Little Qing Ling paused. “Anyway, no one suspected me. Auntie was so heartbroken that she stopped seeking the company of men for many years.”

Gao Yang listened quietly. He swallowed the grumble that none of what she said had anything to do with why she hated men.

Realizing that she had digressed, Little Qing Ling continued, “Over the years, Auntie has had many boyfriends. They started out treating her nicely, speaking sweet nothings and coaxing her into a relationship. But soon, they grew tired of her. Despite them living at her place and spending her money, they beat her when they got drunk, and some even turned their eyes to me. With my sister, though, I don’t fear them.”

Little Qing Ling sighed softly, her tone colored by sympathy. “In her life, my aunt has never met any good men.”

Gao Yang stayed silent.

“So, men are all pigs,” Little Qing Ling concluded. “Even without a relationship and a marriage, Sister and I will be fine.”

Gao Yang hesitated, deciding to correct her extreme belief in the end. “Your aunt is unlucky and all the men she met turned out to be terrible, but there are good men in the world. There’s no need to dismiss all of them.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a good man.” Little Qing Ling narrowed his eyes with a slight curve to her lips.

“I don’t count.” Gao Yang was a little embarrassed. “But my dad is a good man. He loves my mother and treats his children very well.”

“Old Wang was a good man too. So is Officer Huang. You must have seen how well he treats Ms. Su.”

Little Qing Ling thought about it.

Then she came to a sudden halt, her eyes glinting.

Qing Ling was back. Swapping in the sour and spicy dipping sauce, she continued eating, adding with a mouth full of food, “Eat already. Or the meat is gonna be overdone.”

...

They spent an hour having hot pot. Both...no, all three of them had eaten to their hearts’ content.

After paying, Qing Ling left first.

Gao Yang went to the restroom before leaving the restaurant.

It was completely dark outside. For the young people, the night was only starting. Walking out of the crowded Degenerate Street, Gao Yang decided to go back to his dorm room.

Passing by the artificial lake on campus, the pleasant autumn wind and the beautiful moon prompted Gao Yang to stop and take a stroll to digest the food filling his stomach. Walking along the pebbled road around the lake, he allowed his thoughts to wander.

Then he stopped, tensing up when he noticed someone quickly approaching him.

There was no malice to it, though, and judging from the familiar, hurried footsteps, it had to be...

“Gao Yang!”

Fresh Snow tackled him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck and jumping onto his back.

Gao Yang smiled wryly. “Fresh Snow, please come from my front the next time you’re greeting me.”

“Tee-hee, I knew you would wake up!” Still holding onto Gao Yang, Fresh Snow rested her small chin on his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me when you woke up, Gao Yang?”

“I would like to, but you don’t have a phone. How was I supposed to contact you?”

“Oh, right!” Fresh Snow came to the realization. “I used to sneak into the hospital to check on you, but I wasn’t able to recently because of some stuff. I didn’t expect you to wake up.”

“Alright, alright. Get off my back first.” Gao Yang patted Fresh Snow on her arms, which were still wrapped around his neck.

“Yeah!”

Fresh Snow jumped off his back. Gao Yang turned around, his eyes lighting up when he saw her.

She wasn’t wearing the oversized cloak she used to wear, but a large brown sweater that came down to her thighs. Her silver hair was tied into two loose braids with a ribbon at the end of each, the braids hung gently down on her chest.

Under the sweater were her slim, jade-like legs. She was wearing black medium-length socks and a pair of canvas shoes. She looked like an energetic, pretty girl next door.

It was rare for Gao Yang to describe anyone as a bishoujo[1] since they had to be young, pretty, and youthful in the sense of being innocent, cute, and endearing. Fresh Snow, however, embodied the term perfectly.

“Gao Yang!” Fresh Snow stared at Gao Yang’s face for a few seconds, feeling a pang in her heart. “You’ve lost weight!”

Gao Yang stroked her hair. “Have you gotten taller, Fresh Snow?”

“Tee-hee!” Fresh Snow raised her right hand proudly and made a gesture with her index finger and thumb. “I’ve gotten one millimeter taller.”

Gao Yang smiled. Wait, I was just saying whatever to have something to say, but you actually got taller?

“Sister told me that if I eat you another two times, I’ll become just like her.” Fresh Snow looked innocently expectant.

Gao Yang felt his bladder clench, and his sweat drenched his back. Let’s not do that anytime soon. My stats growth can’t keep up with your appetite!

And you look good like this. There’s no need to turn into an elegantly beautiful woman like White Dew.

Fresh Snow stared at Gao Yang with clear crimson eyes. Her smile suddenly dropped.

She went up and leaned toward Gao Yang’s chest to sniff his clothes, raising her voice in agitation. “There’s someone else’s smell on you! Who were you with?”

“A friend,” said Gao Yang. “We had hot pot together.”

“Who was it?”

“Qing Ling. You must have seen her before.” Gao Yang racked through his brain. “The first time you saw me, when Old Man Zhang[2] mutated.”

Fresh Snow’s large ruby-like eyes shifted. Finally, she remembered, and she opened her mouth wide. “Ah, it’s her! The black-haired girl!”

“Yeah, it’s her.”

“Is she...is she your good friend too?”

“Yeah.” Gao Yang added silently, Not only a friend, but a comrade in arms.

“Gao Yang! Why do you have so many good friends?” Fresh Snow puffed out her cheeks, vexed. “I don’t like it!”

“Fresh Snow.” Gao Yang was a little troubled. He tried to explain things to her. “We can have more than one good friend. Wang Zikai’s my good friend too, but you don’t mind him, do you?”

Fresh Snow thought about it. It made sense to her.

Still, something wasn’t right, yet her brain couldn’t come to an answer.

“But, but I only have you as my one good friend!” Fresh Snow felt a little wronged.

1. A Japanese term that refers to youthful pretty girls, commonly seen in manga/anime context. ☜

2. The wanderer who turned into something like a mutated flower. Gao Yang, Qing Ling, and Officer Huang ran into it after leaving the old arcade where Wu Dahai tested them. ☜

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