“Wow! Is this for me?” Ye Yang immediately squeezed in front of Shen Ming and took a deep breath, the fragrance instantly filling his lungs and nasal passages.
Shen Ming was also stunned.
Was that bouquet in Ye Yang’s hand meant for him? He almost didn’t dare to believe it.
Hadn’t Elder Li said that bouquets were the best gift to express affection? Could it be that Ye Yang felt the same way about him?
As he thought this, his gaze unconsciously drifted to the ranunculus. The colors were simple and fresh, the arrangement harmonious, every stem in perfect condition—no bruises or wilting. Clearly, they had been carefully chosen.
Compared to that, his own gift—just a bundle of fragrant herb wrapped in decorative paper with a ribbon—looked painfully plain. Shen Ming almost didn’t want to admit it was a gift he had deliberately taken a detour to pick from the Wumeng Mountains.
Although duheng fragrant herb was rare, that was only for ordinary people. For the two of them, it wasn’t much different from weeds by the roadside.
By then, the elevator had arrived. They entered Shen Ming’s home. Ye Yang set down the little black egg and the ranunculus, finally freeing his hands. He reached for the bundle of fragrant herb that Shen Ming was still holding while standing there in a daze.
He pulled—but couldn’t take it.
Ye Yang: “?” He looked up at Shen Ming. Shen Ming had a conflicted expression, but his grip on the bouquet was tight—completely immovable.
Ye Yang’s head filled with question marks. It couldn’t be that it wasn’t for him, right??? No way???
In that moment, a strange, sour feeling welled up inside him. He had the closest relationship with Shen Ming—no one else came close… Wait, no!
Suddenly, Ye Yang remembered: Shen Ming had been visiting Elder Li a lot lately. Today too—he had used such a ridiculous excuse just to go see her. Could it be…? Speaking of which, although Elder Li usually appeared as an old man, she often roamed around YCG in a younger form playing pranks. Ye Yang had seen that form a few times—quite handsome, actually…
While Ye Yang’s thoughts spiraled, Shen Ming was also furiously brainstorming. How could he salvage this so that his gift wouldn’t seem so half-hearted?
The awkward atmosphere stretched in silence until Ye Yang suddenly spoke—
“I was overthinking it, haha. So this isn’t for me.” His dry laugh only made the atmosphere even more strained. Shen Ming jolted—his emotional intelligence suddenly returning—and quickly grabbed Ye Yang, who had turned to leave. “It is for you!”
No matter how clueless he might be, he wasn’t about to let Ye Yang walk out like that. In his urgency, his voice unconsciously rose a little.
Ye Yang was startled, but that sour feeling instantly vanished, as if it had never existed. A joyful smile returned to his face. “I knew it.”
Cheerfully, he went to take the fragrant herb. This time, he got it easily. He hugged it to his chest, sniffed it, and asked, “Should I make some little cakes with this later?”
What else could Shen Ming say? He could only nod.
“Oh, right—I met someone today. He said the little black egg is probably just developing exceptionally well. Teacher Shen, don’t worry too much. I’ll keep an eye on it too.”
With that, Ye Yang disappeared through the door, fragrant herb in his arms.
Shen Ming let out a long breath. His mind was a mess. He hadn’t felt this defeated in a long time. What exactly did the little sea hare feel about him? Was this gift a failure or a success? Had it advanced their relationship at all?
If Ye Yang didn’t like him—well, when Shen Ming hadn’t let go, the little bunny’s face had clearly fallen. But if he did like him, why did he immediately want to eat the gift??
All kinds of thoughts swirled and finally coalesced into one: Not a single piece of advice from that old tree spirit has been reliable!
·
That evening, Ye Yang brought over a tray of sponge cakes that emitted a mesmerizing fragrance. Shen Ming had already arranged the ranunculus Ye Yang had bought in a vase and placed it on the dining table, visible as soon as the door opened.
Moreover, having composed himself and still brimming with initiative, he decided to trust Elder Li one more time. “Are you free tomorrow? Let’s go see a movie together.”
Ye Yang paused mid-motion. “A movie?”
Shen Ming nodded and placed his phone in front of Ye Yang. The screen showed movie selections—several current releases lined up.
Ye Yang vaguely remembered that Shen Ming’s hobbies were doing research and immersing himself in learning new knowledge. Though he didn’t know why Shen Ming had stopped going to the institute lately… aside from that, his only pastime was late-night walks. That was it.
Seeing the words “watch a movie” coming from Shen Ming’s mouth felt oddly unfamiliar.
But that only made Ye Yang more interested. There was something novel about it.
Tomorrow happened to be the weekend. If no urgent mission came up, why not go?
He picked up the phone and began browsing seriously. Come to think of it, the last time he had been to a movie theater was back in university.
Shen Ming quietly pressed down his unconsciously rising smile. In his mind, he reviewed the plan he had prepared. Arrive a little early. Buy milk tea in the basement of the mall—Ye Yang likes sweet flavors, likes green grapes, likes floral scents… Then pick up the tickets at the cinema entrance, and buy a combo bucket of popcorn and fries…
After the movie, go to the Italian restaurant a few kilometers away. Remember to confirm the candlelight, flower petals, and violinist in advance. He had inspected the restaurant himself—the ingredients were decent, suitable for Ye Yang to eat his fill.
Originally, Shen Ming had wanted to cook himself. No matter what, ordinary ingredients couldn’t compare to various spiritual plants. But Elder Li had said that what they ate didn’t matter—what mattered was the atmosphere. Otherwise, how would this be any different from their usual time together? How would Ye Yang ever feel that he was being pursued?
Soon, Ye Yang picked a comedy. Shen Ming bought the tickets. Both had different thoughts, but both were full of anticipation.
·
At four o’clock the next morning, Ye Yang suddenly woke with a start.
He sat up immediately and grabbed the paper that kept slapping him in the face. Unfolding it, he read: “Urgent Investigation Mission — Highest Priority!”
Ye Yang ran his hands through his hair and wiped his face before he could fully wake up. Skimming the mission details quickly, he couldn’t help but sigh. Seriously? Of all times, did it have to be now?
He got up at once, sent Shen Ming a quick message on his phone, and rushed to the company.
Sister Wu and Chi Lian had already arrived. One was preparing to head out for field checks, while the other was staring at a computer, its query system automatically searching through Eastern Continent’s household registrations, identity records, property records, driver’s licenses, and other data.
Ye Yang asked, “What’s the situation?”
Sister Wu replied, “We’re already on the second round of verification, cross-checking for falsified information. Chi Lian needs to go survey the fissures.”
This mission posed virtually no physical danger, but it was extremely urgent—second only to someone about to blow up Eastern Continent at any moment.
If a demon or spirit pretended to be human, participated in competitive sports or events in human society, and profited from it, it would severely disrupt the normal order of human society and affect the results of scientific research. To put it gravely, it could even interfere with the progression of human civilization.
The progress of human civilization is closely tied to the great cataclysms of heaven and earth, which is why YCG strictly prohibits such incidents. Even in the demon realm, beyond YCG’s jurisdiction, this remains an unwritten rule. Anyone discovered violating it faces terrifying consequences.
Thus, when someone reported that a demon might have disguised themselves as a human and won first place in a human eating competition, the report was met with the highest level of attention. Within half an hour of receiving the tip, the reported identity had been thoroughly investigated.
But the investigation uncovered an even more serious problem.
The earlier slip of paper had only contained a summary. Ye Yang sat down and read through the detailed intelligence available so far.
The tipster was actually someone Ye Yang knew—his old classmate, Lan Bao.
Lan Bao had been following various eating competitions across different regions when he noticed a familiar face: Yuan Qian’er.
Ye Yang then looked at Yuan Qian’er’s file in human society. As a rising “Eating Queen” this year, Yuan Qian’er had crushed a host of veteran competitors a day earlier with the highest score in the history of Eastern Continent’s eating competition, winning the title of “Strongest Eater.” She was set to compete in the national tournament as the dark horse no one saw coming.
Her fans called her Taotie, the Abyssal Maw, the Bottomless Stomach.
Upon receiving the report, YCG treated it with the utmost seriousness and launched an immediate investigation.
Yuan Qian’er’s birthplace, her schooling records, her exam scores from childhood to present, her addresses, her neighbors, her social media accounts, her parents and family, even ancestors several generations back—all were clearly listed. The information was complete and credible. Cross-referenced with data about her friends and relatives, everything pointed to one conclusion: Yuan Qian’er was genuinely human, with no irregularities whatsoever.
When this result was relayed to Lan Bao, he was dumbfounded. “Impossible! Something must be wrong.”
The investigator was a bit displeased. “Are you questioning our capabilities? No demon could possibly slip past our checks.” Their department head was Bai Ze himself!
Lan Bao insisted, “No, I’ve seen her. She is a demon.”
According to Lan Bao, this university student named Yuan Qian’er had once overwhelmingly beaten him in a mooncake-eating contest held years ago in Luoyang City, in the demon realm.
At that time, Yuan Qian’er’s identity was listed as a demon.
Ye Yang thought back for a moment. He seemed to recall something about this. That had been his first Mid-Autumn Festival, and a group of classmates had gone to Luoyang City together.
Though he no longer remembered who the champion was, records existed—and indeed, Yuan Qian’er’s information had been registered back then.
No wonder Lan Bao was so certain. This was a huge problem.
Though the investigator was unhappy, out of professional duty he pulled up the competition records from that time. That was when they discovered the real problem.
The truth was astonishing. It wasn’t, as the investigator had guessed, that a demon at that year’s competition had borrowed Yuan Qian’er’s appearance. Rather, the person who had participated back then was Yuan Qian’er herself—the same individual.
No one found this harder to accept than Lan Bao. He absolutely refused to believe that he, a proud black bear spirit from a family renowned for their eating prowess for thousands of years, could be out-eaten by an ordinary human.
Now, watching Yuan Qian’er’s eating competition videos, there was an indescribable sense of dread. So much food…
The amount she consumed in human competitions had already exceeded human limits. And in that Luoyang City competition, she had eaten so much that even Lan Bao was stunned. Where did all that food even go???
“This is bad. This is really bad.” The investigator’s head was spinning. They had actually allowed a human to slip into the demon realm! A human had quietly entered the demon realm and then left without anyone noticing.
And this human wasn’t even a cultivator—she was a truly ordinary human!
There might very well be an undiscovered fissure between the human and demon realms!
The more the investigator thought about it, the more frightened he became. Yuan Qian’er was fine for now, but that potential fissure might have already silently claimed many lives!!!
This was no small matter. Various branches of the Eastern Continent Operations Department were immediately called in to work overtime.
“Truly a headache.” After finishing the documents, Ye Yang frowned.
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