Non-Humans Want to Fall in Love Too [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 23

Shi Yan seemed to favor this face-to-face hugging posture, but Ji Shijin had no sensation in his legs. In this position, he had to rely entirely on the other person; the slightest slip would result in a fall. He did not like these moments of insecurity.

“Do not move,” Shi Yan whispered, patting his back and coaxing him like a child. “I will not let you fall. Trust me. Relax.”

Shi Yan did not stand straight; instead, he leaned forward slightly, his shadow enveloping Ji Shijin completely. Perhaps due to the nature of his cultivation, as most fox tribe spells were fire-based, he was often surrounded by a dry, warm scent, reminiscent of basking in the sun.

Ji Shijin controlled his body as best as he could to avoid tensing up. He slowly rested his head on Shi Yan’s shoulder, breathing in the scent. His fingers, which had been clutching the other’s clothes into wrinkles, unconsciously loosened.

Shi Yan slowed his breathing near the other’s ear, carefully observing his reactions. He wrapped his arms around Ji Shijin’s waist, pulling him firmly against himself. The two were held together without a gap, their breaths intertwining in an ambiguous atmosphere.

Ji Shijin lowered his eyes. Rather than nervousness or fear, he felt a rare sense of tranquility provided by the person holding him.

“I,” Ji Shijin began.

He wanted to say something, but the sudden ringing of the phone on the desk startled him. He nearly jumped like a frightened bird, but Shi Yan gently patted his back, coaxing him to stay still.

“Your phone,” Shi Yan said, glancing at the screen. He did not say who the caller was but simply lifted Ji Shijin from the desk and placed him back into the wheelchair. “I think you might need to answer this.”

Ji Shijin did not understand why he said that at first. However, the moment he saw the caller ID, a wave of heat rushed from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. The tips of his ears behind his hair turned completely red.

No one would be calmer than him upon receiving a call from their mother while in the middle of an intimate moment with a boyfriend.

Ji Shijin looked down, not daring to face Shi Yan’s current expression. He took the phone to answer it, held it to his ear, cleared his throat, and said, “Hello, Mom.”

“Ah Jin, remember to come back to the old residence next weekend. Do not forget the big annual gathering,” Mother Ji said cheerfully on the other end of the line.

Ji Shijin lowered his eyelids. “Alright. I will have my assistant clear the schedule in advance.”

Shi Yan listened from the side, rubbing his fingers together.

The Ji family was prosperous, and the relationships between relatives were good. Therefore, a family gathering was organized at this time every year. Almost everyone in the Ji family would attend, and Ji Shijin naturally had no reason to be absent.

Mother Ji certainly had more than this small matter to discuss. Sure enough, once Ji Shijin agreed to return, her next sentence was, “By the way, Ah Jin, that handsome young man who was holding you last time, how are you two getting along now?”

Ji Shijin took a moment to realize who “the one holding you last time” was. Noticing the teasing look Shi Yan threw his way, he realized the truth. He cleared his throat, feigning composure as he replied, “We are friends, Mom. Why are you asking this?”

Mother Ji let out a laugh. “He was holding you, and you are still just friends? Ah Jin, your mother is not a traditional, pedantic parent. It is fine if you really have a boyfriend. You do not have to hide it from me.”

Ji Shijin’s hand under the desk nearly pinched his own skin raw. “Mom, let us not talk about this anymore.”

“Alright.” Mother Ji knew when to stop and did not force an answer. “Remember to come home next week. Oh, right, how is that little fox you are raising? You promised to let me see him.”

Mother Ji’s tone became playfully reproachful at the end.

Left with no choice, Ji Shijin could only agree. “I will bring him home next time.”

“That is better. Now work hard; Mama will not disturb you anymore.” Mother Ji hung up the phone with satisfaction.

While she went off happily to gossip with Father Ji about their son’s love life, Ji Shijin looked up helplessly at Shi Yan with a look of appeal.

“You heard all of that, did you not?” Although it was a question, his tone was certain. Ji Shijin did not believe those fox ears could fail to hear a phone call at such a close distance.

Sure enough, Shi Yan nodded. “Mm.”

“Then, are you coming home with me?” A crimson flush stained Ji Shijin’s face. Even though it would be in the form of a little fox, it could still be considered meeting the parents.

Shi Yan knew what he was thinking with one look. He reached out to rub the other’s red earlobe and said, “Mm, I will go back with you.”

Human lifespans were only a few decades; there was no harm in indulging him.

“However, there is one more thing,” Shi Yan said, his expression becoming serious.

“The items are prepared. Your physical condition cannot wait any longer; we need to return to the demon tribe for treatment. It will take as little as three or four months, or as long as half a year. You need to be prepared.”

Ji Shijin pressed his lower lip firmly.

“I need time to arrange company affairs, as well as things with my parents.” The thought of finding a reason to tell his parents he needed to disappear for six months for medical treatment gave Ji Shijin a headache. “I hope I can get away with it. I am truly not good at lying.”

Shi Yan rubbed the top of his head. “It does not matter. I will help you.”

Ji Shijin looked up at him, and Shi Yan raised an eyebrow. “It would not be surprising for President Shi, who comes from a tycoon family, to have internal information about a top medical research team.”

Ji Shijin thought about it, and his furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, revealing a relieved smile.

It was another weekend. Ji Shijin took Shi Yan, who had transformed back into a little fox, into the car heading toward the old residence. On the way, he whispered instructions to Shi Yan. “There will be many people today. If you do not like the noise, tell me, and I will take you somewhere quiet.”

The tiny red fox, a fluffy ball curled up on Ji Shijin’s lap, twitched its ears upon hearing this and transmitted a message to him. “Do not worry. I am not a real pet; do I look like someone who can be bullied?”

Ji Shijin smiled and reached out to smooth his fur, receiving an affectionate nuzzle from the little fox. After turning into a fox, Shi Yan seemed to have no baggage whatsoever; he acted just as he did when they first met, being spoiled and cute.

Regarding this, Shi Yan stated that fox demons were naturally like this, and he was somewhat influenced by his form. When not overly suppressed, this was the result.

61 raised a doubt. “Host, is it really not because you want to attract the task target’s attention that you are doing this on purpose?”

His host naturally would not answer him. 61 could only secretly record this scene and save it in his database under a folder named “Host’s Dark History” to savor later.

The car drove into a quiet suburban area. The place where Father and Mother Ji lived was far from the bustling city; it was peaceful and spacious.

Ji Shijin’s wheelchair made a slight sound on the stone path in front of the house. Before they even reached the door, it opened. Mother Ji walked out wearing a shawl, her face full of smiles. When she clearly saw the little red fox in his arms, a flash of amazement crossed her eyes.

“Oh, what a beautiful little fox! Son, you truly know how to raise them.” Mother Ji waved her hand to have the driver place the various bags in the foyer. “Why did you bring things again? Your father and I do not lack anything.”

Ji Shijin looked down at Shi Yan, who was acting cute, and found it amusing in his heart, but he did not let it show. He replied to his mother calmly, “There are some items from the last auction. I do not have enough space at my place, so you can pick the ones you like to display as ornaments.”

“Wonderful! But let us not talk here; come inside.” Mother Ji glanced at the little fox again; clearly, he was more interesting to her than those expensive auction items.

Shi Yan noticed Ji Shijin’s distraction and took the initiative to send him a transmission. “What are you worried about?”

Ji Shijin allowed the servant to push his wheelchair behind Mother Ji, pursed his lips, and said, “Nothing.”

Since it was not worry, it was nervousness.

Shi Yan was thoughtful. As they entered the living room, Shi Yan finally saw what Ji Shijin meant by “many people.”

The Ji family was prosperous. Those with distant blood relations had long stopped interacting with the main branch. Those present here today were the families of Old Master Ji’s biological children. Shi Yan scanned the room briefly. Using his demonic power to look through his eyes, he easily distinguished which people belonged to which family and the closeness of Ji Shijin’s blood relation to them.

Therefore, when Ji Shijin introduced these people to him in his heart, Shi Yan memorized who was who with just a glance.

As Ji Shijin had said, the members of the Ji family were very kind. Even though they were extremely curious about the little red fox, no one dared to pet him without permission. Some of the little ones simply stared at Ji Shijin with longing eyes.

Facing the pitiful expressions of his nephews and nieces, Ji Shijin’s expression softened, and he loosened his hold on Shi Yan.

“Take Little White to the backyard to play. Do not be noisy.”

The children’s eyes instantly lit up. “Okay!”

Shi Yan wagged his tail and jumped down. Looking at the group of eager little ones, he leaped gracefully and ran off, followed by a string of children who went jumping into the garden.

Ji Shijin’s Third Aunt saw this and teased him. “Your little fox can actually understand human speech. He led Xiao Yuan and the others away.”

Xiao Yuan was Third Aunt’s youngest daughter, the one with the highest seniority among the children of the same age who were playing with Ji Shijin’s nephews and nieces.

Ji Shijin smiled faintly. “Yes, he is indeed very clever.”

He lowered his eyes and squeezed his empty palm, suppressing the nervousness in his heart. He smoothly changed the subject. “Third Aunt, about that new drug development at your research institute,” he said.

Seeing him mention her career, Third Aunt was instantly distracted and began talking about work.

In the garden, after leading the noisy little ones there, Shi Yan suddenly jumped onto a high railing. He wagged his tail and refused to come down no matter how the children called him.

61 popped up again. “Host, are you bullying children?”

Shi Yan lazily raised his eyes. “No.”

As he spoke, he let his tail hang down, causing several children to jump up and try to grab it. However, because of their height, they could not touch him no matter what.

“Little fox, come down quickly!”

“No, Uncle said his name is Little White!”

“He is red! How could he be called Little White?”

“But Uncle called him Little White!”

The childish words of the human youngsters were amusing. The sun was shining brightly today. Shi Yan squinted his eyes and lay down to nap, keeping a sliver of attention on the children to prevent any accidents.

With a slight use of demonic power, the fox demon could see the scene inside the living room through the walls. Although he was not there, every movement of Ji Shijin was within his sight.

Watching his actions, 61 suddenly realized the truth: the case was solved. He was not bullying children; his mind was simply entirely on the task target.

In the living room, Third Aunt and Ji Shijin had finished discussing the future cooperation and promotion plan. She happily went to notify her subordinates to prepare the report documents. Just as Ji Shijin took a sip of water, a shadow fell beside him.

The man was Ji Shijin’s cousin, a Doctor of Medicine who wore a pair of non-prescription silver-rimmed glasses year-round. He looked like the type of refined, scumbag-like man.

However, in front of Ji Shijin at this moment, the man cleared his throat and leaned in with a blank expression, whispering, “Brother, are you really dating a man?”

Ji Shijin was stunned. His first reaction was to ask, “Who did you hear that from?”

The man looked toward the other side, meeting the excited face of their female cousin. He looked helpless but continued speaking to Ji Shijin. “The news spread everywhere on the day of the auction. Originally, none of us believed it, but then President Shi did not accept any cooperation invitations from any company except for the Ji Group, so,” he stated.

His meaning was that since it was so obvious, did anyone even need to guess? Everyone in Chenning knew their relationship was unusual.

Thinking of the project proposal Shi Yan had shown him a few days ago, Ji Shijin understood instantly. At the time, he had thought it was a coincidence that the project matched the Ji Group’s core business, but had Shi Yan never considered other companies from the start?

Ji Shijin’s fingers curled. Under the gossiping gazes of several younger siblings, he nodded helplessly. “Mm, he is my boyfriend.”

As he spoke, a different emotion suddenly crossed Ji Shijin’s heart. He had taken the liberty of admitting his relationship with Shi Yan to others without asking for Shi Yan’s opinion.

What if he wanted to keep their relationship hidden for the time being?

Shi Yan, who was watching from afar, naturally noticed the change in Ji Shijin’s mood. He did not need to think much to know that the other’s current unease was due to insecurity. However, he did not make a sound, simply watching the figure in the wheelchair with deep eyes.

Ji Shijin’s mindset could not be changed by just a few words. Only time would allow him to let go of his obsessions and believe that Shi Yan would always be by his side.

Shi Yan moved his gaze away. 61 suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “Host, is our mission completed just by helping Ji Shijin heal his legs?”

He was somewhat confused. The host seemed to have done nothing since arriving in this world; the only thing he did related to the mission was finding a way to treat the task target’s deathly aura.

Shi Yan answered his doubt. “Because according to the direction of this world, as long as there is no problem with Ji Shijin’s body, no one can destroy the Ji Group, let alone lead the entire Ji family into decline.”

The many years of tragic fate for Ji Shijin in the future all stemmed from his crippled legs, and the deathly aura Shi Yan saw in him was the source that led everything toward misfortune. If the aura was removed and Ji Shijin spent the rest of his life in health, the Ji Group would not suffer a major impact due to the illness of its leader, and the subsequent series of events would naturally not occur.

“Under normal circumstances, once Ji Shijin’s legs are healed, the mission system could determine that we have completed the mission and return us to the main world to report,” Shi Yan said, lowering his eyes, saying word by word. “However, as it stands now, perhaps not.”

“Eh? Why?” 61 often felt he was not smart enough to keep up with his host’s thought process. “The mission determination system is ultra-high technology invented by the main world; it cannot make a mistake.”

Shi Yan shook his head. “My intuition tells me this mission will not be so easily completed.”

Besides, they had not yet gathered enough energy, and the main system had not come looking for them. Even if the mission were completed, where could they go?