“Coo… Coo… Coo…”
Xiao Xiu covered his head with his wings, feeling smooth but exposed.
The crown was gone…
Despair filled Xiao Xiu as he clutched his head, unable to say anything coherent, only producing mournful cries.
Jun Ye tossed the scissors and feathers aside and pulled down the wings Xiao Xiu had draped over his head. He sneered coldly, “Do you think it’s over? Don’t hide in your bird shell. Transform into your human form and face the consequences of your own actions.”
“Coo…” No… please.
Xiao Xiu felt the pain from the feathers he had lost, the bare skin on his head throbbing, and his heart aching. He recalled the torment Jun Ye had inflicted all night, and he trembled, afraid to shift back into his human form under Jun Ye’s icy gaze.
Jun Ye’s fingers moved deliberately, grabbing the feathers on Xiao Xiu’s neck and scrutinizing him.
“Coo!”
Xiao Xiu immediately transformed back into his human form, unable to bear the loss of so many feathers. If he lost any more, he wouldn’t be able to be a bird anymore.
“Ha. Look at you.”
Jun Ye dragged the pitiful, head-clutching figure to the head of the bed and bent Xiao Xiu’s muscular legs up.
…
It was a brutal ordeal for the bird. Xiao Xiu felt like he was being torn apart by the fish’s relentless pressure.
Jun Ye stared in disbelief at Xiao Xiu’s limp state, his surprise evident. “Can’t even get up? You’re worse off than yesterday…”
“Coo…” Xiao Xiu shrank his neck and said, “I only had a bowl of fish soup all day. I’m… hungry, I can’t hold on…”
“…” So being weak is justified, huh?
Jun Ye, not wanting to perform a one-man show while Xiao Xiu remained incapacitated, lifted him up and straightened his fish tail.
He intended to finish things quickly with more intense stimulation.
“Coo… Coo, Coo…” Xiao Xiu obediently lay on Jun Ye’s shoulder, making continuous sounds.
He knew Jun Ye was in a bad mood and dared not provoke him.
“Damn it…” Jun Ye bit down on Xiao Xiu’s neck in frustration.
Perhaps it was due to the lack of time or the thought of Xiao Xiu’s “just wanted it to end” comment, but he couldn’t finish.
Xiao Xiu wanted to comfort Jun Ye, opened his mouth, and then, driven by a strong survival instinct, closed it again.
He simply tilted his head, making it easier for Jun Ye to bite.
Xiao Xiu thought that he shouldn’t speak now and shouldn’t hurt Jun Ye’s pride.
Jun Ye, now a male, was unable to come throughout the night; it was truly pitiful. Unlike Xiao Xiu, who managed to perform twice a night after the previous night’s exertions.
Was Jun Ye jealous, continuing to torment him relentlessly?
Jun Ye seemed like an eccentric wizard who liked plucking feathers and had poor reproductive abilities. Only someone like Xiao Xiu could tolerate his post-transformation temper.
He loved Jun Ye’s flaws, finding him perfect in every other way, believing he could never win his affection.
Now… now that Jun Ye had transformed into a male, he didn’t even have the chance to pursue him.
Xiao Xiu lowered his gaze and wrapped his limbs tighter.
Jun Ye’s fish was so large. Even if he couldn’t finish after an entire night, many females would still be interested…
Jun Ye released his mouth.
He glanced at the deep bite marks on Xiao Xiu’s neck, applying more force, lifting the dazed figure high.
Xiao Xiu: “???”
Where did Jun Ye’s fish go? Why was his own space empty?
Then, Xiao Xiu felt Jun Ye’s grip change, and the next moment, the world spun.
Thud—
Jun Ye threw Xiao Xiu back onto the down comforter.
“Coo?”
Xiao Xiu looked up in confusion at Jun Ye, his legs still in the fixed position.
In an instant, he felt empty both physically and emotionally.
Even though Jun Ye’s fish hadn’t retreated back into its scales, why had he been cast aside?
Jun Ye glanced down at the panicked and helpless figure, turned, and prepared to take a cold shower. If cold water didn’t work, he’d add ice.
Suddenly, Jun Ye felt his tail being grabbed. He looked down.
Xiao Xiu was gazing up at him, trembling but holding onto Jun Ye’s tail with his hands still shaking, bracing himself against Jun Ye’s gaze.
“I… I’m so hungry…” Xiao Xiu shrank his neck and said softly, “Can I have a sip of your fish soup?”
He was terrified that Jun Ye had thrown him aside and was now walking away in silence.
The panic overwhelmed him, though he didn’t fully understand what he was afraid of. But… he couldn’t let Jun Ye leave. He absolutely couldn’t.
“Fish soup?” Jun Ye raised an eyebrow.
“The white… fish soup.” Xiao Xiu said, clutching Jun Ye’s tail and carefully moving to face him.
Their noses were almost touching.
Jun Ye paused for a moment, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Xiao Xiu observed Jun Ye’s expression, leaning in closer.
He remembered this spot—the scale he often pecked at. So, was Jun Ye’s fish usually hidden beneath this scale?
Jun Ye had to admit the sensation was quite pleasant.
In this world, Xiao Xiu’s true form was a bird, which had no teeth and a powerful digestive system that could simply swallow food. Even in human form, his teeth were essentially useless decorations. Like when he was a young bird, he would just open his mouth wide and swallow without concern.
The full moon climbed the mountain, casting its clear light through the window.
The large bird kneeling down swallowed all the fish, extracting the soup.
The sky was clear.
On the artificial island, Jun Ye sat by the sea, fishing.
He was irritated and didn’t care about what fish were willing to bite. Whenever a fish swam into his “fishing” area, he cast his line.
The highly resilient fishing line wrapped several times around the fish that got hooked, and with a tug, the bewildered fish was reeled in, flopping onto the ground.
Soon, the bucket beside him was filled with fish, and the water was overflowing.
“Coo——”
A crisp bird call sounded from nearby. Jun Ye, ignoring the approaching red-scaled fish in his fishing range, stood up and cast his line.
The transparent fishing line wrapped around the red-scaled fish, and Jun Ye lifted his rod, pulling the fish out of the water and dropping it at the feet of the large bird, which was flopping around.
Xiao Xiu, still holding a white pigeon in his mouth, saw the red-scaled fish flopping at his feet and froze, unable to make a sound.
Jun Ye put away his fishing rod, turned around, and glanced at Xiao Xiu’s smooth, bald head before noticing the dead pigeon in his mouth. He frowned slightly.
“Did you come out just to catch birds for fun?”
“Coo…” Xiao Xiu realized he still had the white bird in his mouth and quickly put it beside the red-scaled fish, preventing it from possibly jumping back into the sea.
Seeing the bucket full of fish beside Jun Ye, Xiao Xiu felt even more inadequate.
He had hoped to prove that even if he couldn’t catch fish, he could still contribute by catching birds to feed his partner. But in the face of that bucket of fish, his white bird seemed pitifully insufficient.
Jun Ye didn’t need him to provide food.
Feeling embarrassed, Xiao Xiu wanted to fly away, but Jun Ye’s stern gaze kept him in place. Xiao Xiu pushed the white bird toward Jun Ye and timidly asked, “Big fish… do you want to eat the bird?”
“Eat it? Steamed, braised, or stir-fried, which do you prefer?” Jun Ye replied, but his gaze remained fixed on Xiao Xiu.
Xiao Xiu didn’t know what those methods meant and instinctively shrank his neck, afraid to speak.
Jun Ye smiled and walked over, picking up the pigeon that seemed to have been suffocated by bird claws, and said to Xiao Xiu, “How about making soup instead? Add more water. I remember you like drinking soup.”
Xiao Xiu wanted to say that it was for Jun Ye to eat, not to worry about him. But seeing Jun Ye’s smile, he nodded eagerly.
The big fish was so considerate, thinking of him even in matters of food.
Jun Ye carried the pigeon toward their home, and as he passed Xiao Xiu, he said, “Come along. I’ll teach you how to make soup with the silly bird.”
Xiao Xiu followed, still confused.
In the kitchen, Xiao Xiu stopped outside the glass door, comparing his shoulder width to the door, first from the front, then from the side, and finally transformed into his human form to enter.
“To make bird soup, you first need to pluck all the feathers,” Jun Ye said, placing the pigeon on the cleaning counter. He glanced back and saw Xiao Xiu, now completely naked, standing right behind him.
Jun Ye: “…”
Xiao Xiu seemed to have learned the transformation from the eagle leader but evidently hadn’t grasped the essence of it, as he didn’t even have a feather skirt on him.
It wasn’t Xiao Xiu’s fault entirely; not every bird in the eagle tribe had a feather skirt. Only mature birds that had molted their feathers at least once had them.
As a young eagle who had just come of age and had his long head feathers cut, Xiao Xiu might not be able to make a feather skirt for another year. The few long feathers that males had would fall out naturally and be used to symbolize male attributes.
Females chose mates based on the length of these central feathers.
Even if Xiao Xiu could make a skirt from other feathers next year, it would be too short to attract female eagles.
Jun Ye didn’t concern himself with the intricacies of feather fashion. With only the two of them in the kitchen, he ignored Xiao Xiu’s nudity.
He turned his attention back to the recipe he had purchased with points and said, “Feathers are hard to pluck when they’re still on the bird. You need to soak them in warm salted water first, then you can easily pluck them.”
He filled the sink with water, added salt, and placed the pigeon inside.
Jun Ye glanced back to see Xiao Xiu intently watching the pigeon soak. He felt a bit disinterested.
He handed the recipe to Xiao Xiu and said, “You do it yourself,” then glided out of the kitchen.
Jun Ye closed the glass door behind him and slid onto the lounge chair in the living room. Through the glass, he saw Xiao Xiu in the kitchen, studying the recipe. He knew he was feeling frustrated.
Jun Ye tried to calm himself, reflecting on the past few days.
He had no doubt about Xiao Xiu’s feelings for him. The only point of contention between them was Xiao Xiu’s belief that only male and female partners could be together for life, supporting each other. To Xiao Xiu, same-sex relationships were a fleeting desire, an absurdity that should be abandoned once fulfilled, with the expectation of pursuing a female partner afterward.
Xiao Xiu’s attachment to him over the years wasn’t something that could be easily diminished in a few days after the gender transformation.
Despite Xiao Xiu’s claims that males shouldn’t be together, after their two encounters, he still lived in the same room and shared the same bed with Jun Ye at night.
Jun Ye was concerned about this: if Xiao Xiu was thinking about finding a female partner while sleeping with him, Jun Ye felt… it might be time to end things.
He didn’t want to suddenly find out that the bird he had considered his partner had taken a female mate. In a world without legal constraints, he might end up killing the bird.
Ending things wouldn’t be a problem for him. He wasn’t the type who would cling to someone for a lifetime once he liked them.
In any world, his principle was to be together if possible; if not, then part ways.
If it didn’t work out in this world, he could find someone suitable in the next, or go solo. It wouldn’t concern him if Xiao Xiu was still upset, and he might even give Xiao Xiu a beating if needed. Until they had no more connection or the “system” intervened.
Jun Ye leaned back on the lounge chair, listening to the occasional noises from the kitchen, and closed his eyes.
After the breakup, whether Xiao Xiu’s feathers grew back or if any female was foolish enough to choose him was irrelevant. As for him, he might find a compatible beastman or live alone, with no connection to Xiao Xiu.
That seemed quite fine.
Jun Ye was jolted awake by the aroma of food.
Opening his eyes, he saw Xiao Xiu standing beside him, holding a bowl of soup.
Seeing Jun Ye awake, Xiao Xiu carefully moved around his tail and squatted next to the lounge chair, excitedly saying, “Big fish, I made the white bird soup you taught me.”
Xiao Xiu scooped up a spoonful of soup, blew on it, and attempted to feed Jun Ye like how Jun Ye used to feed him.
“Taught you?” Jun Ye looked at the bowl of soup, which was both visually appealing and smelled wonderful, feeling that his culinary skills had been ruthlessly overshadowed.
Xiao Xiu blew on the soup, and Jun Ye’s gaze fell on the two bright red goji berries on the pigeon meat.
In the previous world, Fei Xiu would make him pigeon soup a few times a year, usually a few days after his annual estrus period. Even though Fei Xiu himself was the one who struggled, he insisted that Jun Ye needed the nourishment, claiming that caring for an Omega after estrus was an Alpha’s noble responsibility.
Jun Ye remembered that Fei Xiu’s pigeon soup also had goji berries, just two, placed on top as a garnish.
He couldn’t recall if the recipe book had mentioned this, but seeing the soup now, it felt… quite poignant.
Xiao Xiu said, “Big fish, be good and open your mouth.”
What the actual f*ck is Jun thinking/doing ;-; like I’m not really vibing with this nonsense lmao I just need fluff and silliness😢
Thanks for reading!
