Little Crow was also acting strangely. Suddenly, he stopped going out to play altogether, keeping a close watch every day. He never once let Ye Yang accept the little parrot’s feather gifts, and any feathers that appeared on the bed were promptly tossed into the trash by him.
Ye Yang finally began to find this odd. He asked Shen Ming about it, but Shen Ming couldn’t offer any explanation either. “If there’s nothing physically wrong with them, is it really a problem?” He was a water creature—how was he supposed to understand what those birds were thinking? Even gods weren’t omniscient.
This strange phenomenon continued until the end of September.
Then, the annual launch event of a certain brand was held in the East Continent, and Ye Yang’s old classmate Kong Jiamu arrived.
Kong Jiamu had always been androgynously beautiful, with striking features and a slender figure. Over the years, guided by his mother and father, he had gained some fame in the modeling world, and this event had invited him.
Remembering that Ye Yang was in the East Continent, he reached out to say hello, thinking they could meet up.
Ever since Bai Jun had taken him to that chance encounter at the banquet, the two had stayed in touch and had a decent relationship. Since Kong Jiamu invited him, Ye Yang happily agreed to meet.
After work, Ye Yang and Kong Jiamu had dinner together in a private room at a private-kitchen restaurant.
Kong Jiamu’s family had lived disguised as humans in ordinary society for generations, following human customs and etiquette completely. He was just like a normal model or celebrity—even having dinner required carefully avoiding crowds to ensure privacy.
After so long apart, they talked a lot. When the topic turned to recent events, Ye Yang had to mention the little parrot that had unexpectedly ended up living at his place.
Kong Jiamu’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t know you had that kind of hobby.”
Ye Yang then realized—right, Kong Jiamu was a peacock in his original form. Back in school, he’d always loved bringing various small animals to class, many of them birds, including all sorts of parrots. Kong Jiamu would definitely know what was behind the little parrot’s strange behavior.
He immediately told Kong Jiamu about the parrot’s recent odd actions. “Help me figure this out—what’s going on? If all else fails, come over to my place. You can definitely understand what the little parrot is saying, right?”
But Kong Jiamu didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he gave Ye Yang a very strange look, scanning him from head to toe. Just as Ye Yang was about to ask what was wrong, Kong Jiamu suddenly wore an expression that said, “So that’s it.” “You’re actually quite good-looking. Not as good as me, but still—it’s not surprising.”
Ye Yang: “???”
Kong Jiamu took a sip of his drink. When he set the cup down, the smile at the corner of his mouth was already impossible to hide. “No need to go to your place. There’s only one meaning for that kind of behavior in parrots—courtship.”
Ye Yang: “?????”
So that was it.
So the little parrot was courting him. No wonder Little Crow kept stopping it. The little parrot didn’t understand, but Little Crow was clever. He was a sea hare—how could that ever work with a parrot?!
Kong Jiamu found it absolutely hilarious and, enjoying the drama, gave Ye Yang a detailed explanation—from avian courtship requirements to mating behaviors. He went on and on. Ye Yang insisted he didn’t need to know any of that and didn’t want to hear it…
But Kong Jiamu also answered another question on Ye Yang’s mind: why Little Crow was so fiercely guarding against the little parrot. It turned out he wasn’t just protecting Ye Yang—he was also looking out for the little parrot.
If Ye Yang accepted the little parrot’s feather, that would be equivalent to accepting its courtship. If Ye Yang didn’t later lay eggs for the little parrot, the parrot would become depressed—severely so, possibly to the point of death.
Ye Yang listened, utterly exasperated, and felt a lingering sense of fear. Thank goodness for Little Crow—otherwise, both he and the little parrot would have been in trouble. He might have been fine, but the little parrot would have truly suffered.
Kong Jiamu added, “But it’s pretty strange. Parrots usually only court others who are also in heat. Their body temperature changes during that time.”
Ye Yang: “!” He got it. It all clicked—everything made sense now!
He pulled out his phone and checked. Sure enough, he’d had a fever recently, and his body temperature was about the same as a bird in heat. The little parrot must have mistaken him for being in estrus!
“Now I finally understand. It was just a misunderstanding.” Ye Yang relaxed and took a big gulp of his drink.
But then Kong Jiamu said casually, “Oh, I almost forgot. If a bird accepts a courtship but doesn’t lay eggs, it gets depressed. But if it’s rejected, it also gets depressed. After all, it’s been turned down by its desired mate—and during mating season, no less. That’s quite a blow.”
Ye Yang: “… How could you forget something this important?”
Kong Jiamu shrugged, completely unapologetic. “I’m a member of the feathered race, sure, but I’m not like those ordinary birds controlled by mating seasons. It just slipped my mind.”
…
The meal left Ye Yang feeling deeply worried. When he got home and saw the little parrot hopping around, persistently carrying a feather up to him again, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Even though he had only found this ordinary animal by accident, the little parrot could sing and seemed to understand human nature. It was a living creature, and Ye Yang found it hard to accept that it might waste away and die over something like this.
A few days later, the little parrot did indeed become depressed.
Ye Yang bombarded Kong Jiamu with messages, but Kong Jiamu had no solution. “Either we erase its memory—but budgies have such tiny brains. Most spells like that would probably turn it straight into a vegetable.” Memory erasure was a delicate operation, not simple at all. There might not even be any memory-erasing spells designed for ordinary animals—at least, Kong Jiamu had never heard of any.
Day after day, the little parrot ate less and less. Eventually, it stopped eating and drinking entirely, and it never sang again. Ye Yang grew anxious. He even thought of asking Shen Ming for help—others might be helpless, but perhaps a god could find a way?
Shen Ming knew Ye Yang had taken in a little parrot, but he had been busy with research by the seaside lately, leaving early and returning late. He hadn’t been to Ye Yang’s place much. After hearing about Ye Yang’s troubles, he finally set aside some time one afternoon to go over.
Ye Yang was still at work when he suddenly received a phone call from Shen Ming.
“I think your parrot is fine now.”
Ye Yang’s face lit up with surprise. “That was so fast? Teacher Shen, you’re amazing!”
Shen Ming: “… I didn’t really do anything. Hmm… I can’t really explain it. Come back and see for yourself.”
Ye Yang tilted his head. Huh? What did that mean?
After work, he hurried home, only to find a scene that left him utterly baffled.
It wasn’t something that could be explained in just a few words. How to put it… The little parrot was learning to talk.
It took Ye Yang a moment to confirm that it was enthusiastically and vigorously trying to learn speech, because its vocalizations hadn’t actually improved much… And behind it, Little Crow was watching over it like a supervisor.
Little Crow would cry out every now and then, as if cheering the little parrot on. The little parrot would respond with chirps that sounded full of energy. Sometimes Little Crow would use his claw to push a piece of snack from beside his feet over to the little parrot, and after eating it, the little parrot would become even more motivated.
Was this a reward for the little parrot’s progress in learning? Ye Yang wasn’t sure—he couldn’t hear any difference at all.
Both birds were so engrossed that they didn’t even notice Ye Yang had returned.
And the object of the little parrot’s speech-learning efforts—
Ye Yang pointed at the small, spherical robot on the table, thoroughly confused. “What is this? Where did it come from?”
Little Crow spread his wings and went “Caw caw.” From the way he puffed out his chest, it was clear he had brought it. Most likely, he had stolen it.
But this little robot, small as it was, was still two-thirds of Little Crow’s size, and completely round. Ye Yang hefted it—it wasn’t light either. How had Little Crow managed to carry it?
Times like this made Ye Yang really wish he could learn another language. Bird language counted as a foreign language, right?
Turning his head, Ye Yang spotted a corner of something sticking out from under the dining table. He pulled it out—case solved.
It was the robot’s packaging box. The opening had clearly been pecked open by a bird beak. There were two pieces of string tied around the outside of the box. Little Crow had probably carried it back by the string. He really was strong—no wonder, being a relative and descendant of Sister Wu.
Wow, on the back of the box was a shipping label. It had been bought by someone in the next building over.
Ye Yang held up the battered box and looked at Little Crow, who was still supervising the little parrot’s speech lessons. He couldn’t help asking, “Are you sure you only have a little bit of intelligence? Have you been secretly cultivating behind my back?”
Little Crow didn’t understand. He just wanted to help the little guy under his protection.
What could Ye Yang do? He ordered the same robot online, picked up Little Crow, and went next door to apologize.
Fortunately, the family thought Ye Yang looked well-behaved and cute, and that he had come to apologize on his own initiative. They weren’t very angry and instead kept praising how smart Little Crow was.
That only made Ye Yang feel more embarrassed. He kept apologizing, arranged to bring the new robot in a couple of days, and quickly fled.
Back home, he started feeling the sting of the expense.
A moment ago, he had been marveling at how Little Crow could carry such a large, heavy robot and fly back with it. Now, his mind was full of only one thought: This tiny robot—why does it cost five thousand?!
But what could he do about it now? At least the little parrot had found something to occupy itself—it wasn’t depressed anymore, and seemed to have forgotten all about the courtship business. That was a good thing, at least.
In the end, all Ye Yang could do was sternly warn Little Crow: “No more stealing ever!”
As for whether Little Crow took it to heart—well, Ye Yang couldn’t tell from looking at his tail feathers.
·
To be on the safe side, Ye Yang also contacted Kong Jiamu to confirm.
Kong Jiamu was stunned. “You’re still worrying about this?”
“Is there any need to be so concerned? Once your temperature returns to normal, it’ll be fine—wait a second…” Kong Jiamu suddenly realized a problem. “I don’t know much about aquatic creatures, but you’re a demon too—why do you have a fever in the first place? And how long has this been going on? How many days have you had a fever?”
Ye Yang paused. That was a good point. Even though it didn’t seem to affect his daily life, the fact that his temperature had been consistently high was strange in itself. Why had he overlooked that?
After a full half-month, Ye Yang finally realized that something was off with his condition.
That day after work, instead of rushing home, he went to the field hospital first.
Li Chanyi saw that Ye Yang looked perfectly fine and didn’t think much of it. But when the test results came back, even she was dumbfounded. “There’s nothing wrong with you?”
After racking her brain, she thought maybe her medical skills weren’t sufficient, so she consulted her superior. Her superior was a fox demon from the fox clan, surnamed Su. Li Chanyi called him Director Su.
No one expected that upon seeing Ye Yang, Director Su would get so nervous that his fur stood on end—even a little angry. “How long have you had this fever? Why haven’t you gone into seclusion yet? Where are your elders?!”
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