Due to the shock, Ye Zhizhou's spiritual energy involuntarily dispersed slightly. Gu Yi furrowed his brows, raised his hand to pat down the raised fur on Ye Zhizhou's back, and lifted him up to examine him. Shaking his head, he remarked, "You're too skinny, you need to gain some weight."
"Woof woof! (Does gaining weight mean more meat to eat?)" Ye Zhizhou swatted Gu Yi's face with his paw again, deciding that he would eat the transformation pill and make a quick escape after feeding the little cat the Resurrection Pill. Gu Yi, the male lead, was just too dangerous; he needed to keep his distance!
Due to Gu Yi's action, the protagonist, who was wrapped in a coat, was also lifted up. It seemed like he sensed something as he opened his eyes and glanced at the interaction between the man and the dog. A hint of darkness flashed in his eyes.
[Warning! Warning! Abnormal energy fluctuations detected, please host, be alert! Please host, be alert!]
Ye Zhizhou's heartstrings tightened instantly. He made an effort to control his body and not show any abnormalities. Then he quickly gathered and sealed his spiritual energy that had scattered into the air, sticking his tongue out as if acting dumb.
"Feeling hot?" Gu Yi pinched his ear and then looked at the protagonist inside the coat, shaking his head. "Kittens can't eat, so don't drool over it. We'll reach the pet store soon, and I'll make you some milk formula."
The shadow in the protagonist's eyes quickly faded, and he shook his tail somewhat speechlessly. Gu Yi didn't seem as composed and astute as described in the plot information; in fact, he appeared a bit foolish. But being a little foolish might make it easier to gain the other's trust in the future.
[Abnormal energy fluctuations have disappeared, please host, control your spiritual energy.]
Ye Zhizhou dismissed the system prompt and glanced discreetly at the protagonist before snuggling into Gu Yi's arms. The protagonist in this world felt a bit strange; he was nothing like the description in the plot information. Based on the protagonist's recent behavior, his closeness to Gu Yi seemed intentional, not a mere coincidence. But what could be the purpose behind the protagonist getting close to Gu Yi? Was it for his wealth and power, or was it about someone? If the protagonist's approach to Gu Yi was planned, what about the other male leads...?
Fifteen minutes later, Ye Zhizhou had his first meal as a dog—a bottle of goat's milk that he had absolutely no appetite for. The protagonist, on the other hand, was tossed into the bath by Gu Yi. While filling out the paperwork, Gu Yi gave the protagonist a rather unsophisticated name—Ah Huang.
Suddenly, Ye Zhizhou thought that "Xiao Qiang" would have been a better name...
"Just bear with it for now; I'll buy you something delicious tonight." Gu Yi packed up the pile of pet supplies he had purchased and pinched Ye Zhizhou's ear. "Ah Huang, I'm hungry too."
Ye Zhizhou burped in response, wanting to express his frustration through actions. Surprisingly, Gu Yi laughed, even with a hint of childishness in his smile. "You won't be ugly once you're full. Keep eating and grow quickly."
A previously expressionless person suddenly revealed a foolish smile... that kind of charm was too powerful! Ye Zhizhou shamelessly went all gooey, then his animal instincts urged him to wag his tail happily. He even had the urge to lick Gu Yi's handsome face.
No, he couldn't! He withdrew his head, turned around, and faced Gu Yi with his butt, taking a deep breath. As someone already in a relationship, how could he fawn over other men so easily? He needed to regain his dignity. If his lover found out that he had been captivated by another man's looks... hotpot for dogs would become a reality! He'd stay in hardcore mode forever!
His back was pressed down again, and his neck was grabbed. His body was lifted off the ground. "Ah Huang, your butt doesn't look good this way. Turn around."
With his tail covering the important parts, all his thoughts of infatuation disappeared, and he angrily barked, "Woof woof woof! (You jerk, I'd rather die than be humiliated! Wait until I turn into a human, and I'll show you!)"
Gu Yi ignored his immature tantrum and reached out to grab his tail, saying, "No tail-tucking, only timid dogs do that."
Ye Zhizhou was so infuriated that he swiped his claws wildly, attempting to scratch him with his still-developing nails.
The freshly bathed protagonist was just carried out by the staff. He shook his tail in a very puzzled manner, his earlier doubts dispelled. Such a foolish pair of a man and a dog surely wouldn't affect his plan. All his previous caution had been in vain.
After eating and drinking their fill and getting cleaned up, Gu Yi took the cat and the dog back to his apartment in the city center. He put the protagonist in a cage on the balcony and carried Ye Zhizhou to a nearby pet supply supermarket.
An hour later, Gu Yi returned home with bags of pet supplies. Ye Zhizhou had fallen fast asleep in his arms. There was no difference in the apartment from before they left. The rescued cat stayed obediently in its cage, eyes closed as if it were sleeping. Gu Yi tidied up the things he had bought and frowned as he looked at the carpet in front of the sofa and the coat draped over it. He then carried Ye Zhizhou into the bedroom. Two minutes later, he came out alone, prepared a quick dinner for himself, gave the protagonist some cat food and water, turned off the lights in the living room, and went into the study.
The protagonist opened his eyes and glanced disinterestedly at the cat food in the dish. His blue eyes quickly filled with shadow, turning completely black. Gu Yi, who had just turned on his computer, seemed to sense something and looked around the study, furrowing his brow. He brought up the home surveillance feed.
Although his x-ray vision could see through walls and observe what others were doing, it didn't grant him the ability to hear from afar. Furthermore, Gu Yi's computer was facing away from the wall, so the protagonist couldn't see what Gu Yi was looking at on his computer. He reluctantly withdrew his power and lay down again. He needed to gain Gu Yi's affection and trust as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he continued to be locked in a cage, he would have to be cautious about everything.
In the surveillance footage, the cream-colored kitten skillfully opened the cage door, gracefully wandered into the living room, and attempted to enter the closed bedroom and study, but to no avail. After circling around twice, it returned to the cage on the balcony and adeptly closed the door.
Gu Yi watched the footage of the kitten closing the cage door several times, his brow furrowing even deeper. After some thought, he got up, turned off the computer, and without even glancing at the balcony, he went straight back to his room.
The fluffy little white dog was sleeping soundly on the bed. His tense expression unconsciously relaxed as Gu Yi approached. He pinched the tip of the dog's tail and then patted its head. Suddenly, he felt a surge of happiness and satisfaction.
"Mine." He pinched the tip of the little white dog's tail again and then entered the bathroom.
In the middle of the night, Ye Zhizhou was awakened by his own system alarm. He groggily jumped off the bed and entered the living room through the half-opened bedroom door. The system indicated that the protagonist had already entered a deep sleep. Just to be safe, he sprinkled some sleep-inducing powder for the protagonist.
He tentatively stretched out his claws and scratched at the protagonist, but he didn't wake up. Ye Zhizhou hurriedly retrieved the Teleportation Bead from his spatial storage and used it to send a pill wrapped in a light column to the protagonist's mouth. Then, he used his claws to open the protagonist's mouth and made him swallow the pill. The pill dissolved upon contact with saliva, so there was no need to worry about swallowing issues. After completing all this, he took a few steps back and hid in the shadowy area at the boundary between the balcony and the living room, carefully observing the protagonist's condition.
The little cat seemed to have been disturbed by Ye Zhizhou's rough feeding, and it turned over restlessly for a few seconds, its breathing irregular.
[Detected fluctuations in the protagonist's soul... Fluctuations completed, no abnormalities.]
Ye Zhizhou breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously activated the scanning function of the Teleportation Bead.
[Scanning the soul status of the little cat... Scanning completed, body and soul match 100%, no abnormalities.]
It seemed that the little cat's soul had returned. However, he had forgotten to check the compatibility between the protagonist's soul and the cat's body in advance. That was a mistake.
One minute later, the cat, who had been peacefully sleeping, suddenly had a dramatic change in demeanor. It stretched out all four limbs, stuck out its tongue, and even started purring. Ye Zhizhou found this amusing, so he reached out to play with the cat for a moment before returning to his room.
"Have you had enough fun?"
The room's light suddenly came on, and Gu Yi sat halfway up in bed, squinting at Ye Zhizhou, who was frozen in the doorway. He shook his phone and said, "It's late at night, and you're not sleeping. Did you want to use the toilet?"
Ye Zhizhou looked at the monitoring footage on Gu Yi's phone, and his fur stood on end. This pervert actually had surveillance cameras in the house! He hadn't done anything suspicious just now, right? Others couldn't see the light column from the Teleportation Bead, and the pill was wrapped in it, so it shouldn't have been visible either. Plus, the lighting was dim... thankfully, he should still be safe.
"Scared?" Gu Yi lifted the covers and got out of bed, squatting in front of him and patting his head. "If you're scared, don't cause trouble in the middle of the night. You're still young; you need plenty of sleep."
Ye Zhizhou let out a startled cry and closed his eyes, feeling frustrated. Gu Yi was actually naked! With the way he was squatting so casually, he must have seen everything he shouldn't have seen!
"I'm not going to hit you." Gu Yi pinched his ear and picked him up, placing him on the bed. He pointed at his nose. "Don't pee on the bed. Be a good boy." After saying that, he turned and left the room for some unknown reason.
Ye Zhizhou cautiously opened his eyes, ensuring that he couldn't see Gu Yi's private parts. He sprawled out on the bed, letting out a sigh of relief. While a beautiful man's body was certainly pleasing to the eye, he was already old and couldn't handle such excitement.
The sound of shattered porcelain suddenly came from under the blanket. Perplexed, he lifted the blanket and was met with Gu Yi's phone lying on the bed. He saw the surveillance footage on the phone screen and watched as Gu Yi walked away with a water bottle held against his back.
!!!
He abruptly sat up, pressing his face close to the phone screen, his eyes filled with disbelief. There was a birthmark on Gu Yi's buttocks! Although it was just a brief glimpse, he had seen that birthmark for over a thousand years, and there was no way he could be mistaken! It was in the shape of a bird, identical to the unique birthmark his lover had!
Gu Yi's figure had already disappeared into the kitchen in the surveillance footage. His mind was in turmoil, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he jumped off the bed, his short legs pumping as he rushed toward the kitchen. His spiritual energy burst uncontrollably, but he quickly reined it in. No, he couldn't be too rash. The soul flags in this world were quite tricky; he needed to confirm something first.
...But how could he confirm anything with just a birthmark? What if the birthmark was also a false image created by the soul flags?
With his mind filled with various possibilities, he rushed into the kitchen, circling around to stand behind Gu Yi, who was bent over and holding something from the fridge. He stared wide-eyed at the familiar bird-shaped birthmark. Yes, this was the birthmark, exactly the same. So, was Gu Yi really...
"Why did you come out again?" Gu Yi closed the refrigerator door, turned to look at the clueless Ye Zhizhou, and shook the bottle of goat's milk in his hand. "Are you hungry? I've prepared your formula milk. Come here, eat up, and then you can go back to sleep."
Could it really be... His spiritual energy began to stir again, and he anxiously paced in place for a few circles. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he urgently communicated with the Teleportation Bead in his mind. "Quick, help me scan Gu Yi's brain. You were able to detect the protagonist's psychic fluctuations before, so you should be able to detect Gu Yi's too! Check if his psychic fluctuations are related to spiritual energy!" In this world, people didn't have spiritual energy; superpowers were the result of bodily mutations that generated magnetic field energy, completely unrelated to spiritual energy. The storyline information mentioned that Gu Yi had the power of hypnosis, and some aspects of spiritual energy could also induce a hypnotic effect. Perhaps, just perhaps, Gu Yi was indeed his lover...
The screen of light appeared, transforming into points of light that enveloped Gu Yi. After a few seconds, it reformed into a screen of light. "[Scanning completed, healthy body, no hidden illnesses. No abnormal energy fluctuations in the brain, signs of awakening in spiritual energy. Suitable pill: Calming Pill.]"
No abnormal energy fluctuations! Signs of spiritual energy awakening! It must be his lover! He felt overjoyed and rushed towards Gu Yi, who was reaching out to him. Then, he carefully extended a strand of spiritual energy, gently entering Gu Yi's mind, searching carefully...
Gu Yi held him and stood up, but suddenly leaned against the refrigerator, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "What's going on, low blood sugar...?"
A faint but familiar attacking spiritual energy suddenly appeared and grazed his own spiritual energy. He was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, and quickly withdrew his spiritual energy. Excitedly, he barked a few times at Gu Yi.
It was really his lover! Even though he had turned into a dog, even though the soul flags were causing trouble, and even though this world was full of pitfalls, his lover had still found him immediately and taken care of him!
"Woof woof (Dongfang, you're amazing)!"
"Don't be in a hurry; I'll feed you now." The dull pain in his head quickly disappeared, and Gu Yi stood up, cradling him in his arms and shaking the bottle towards his mouth. "Drink up, and then go to sleep."
He turned his head and avoided the bottle nipple, trying to move forward. Who had the mood to drink milk and sleep now? He had so many questions in his mind and needed more explanations. Wasn't it agreed that he couldn't be reincarnated again, yet how had the protagonist become his original self again? His spiritual energy had also weakened to almost nothing, and the protagonist had set his sights on him, attempting to bring him into his harem!
"[Detected changes in the storyline. Host, please accept the new plot.]"
His movement forward halted, and he furrowed his brow. How had the storyline changed? Could it be that the protagonist had returned to his own body? But he hadn't even given the protagonist's body the Revival Pill yet.
"Xiao Qiang," Gu Yi reached out with the bottle again, then rubbed his belly. "Your stomach is flat, why aren't you eating?"
"Woof..." He realized that he could only bark instead of speaking, so he looked at his own dog paws in annoyance. Regardless of whether it would reveal his identity, he directly took out the Teleportation Bead from his spatial storage and asked for a Transformation Pill, then opened his mouth and swallowed it.
Gu Yi stared at the glass ball that had appeared out of thin air, his expression frozen like a stone slab. Ye Zhizhou sat on his arm and reflexively hugged his neck, leaning over to kiss him. "Dongfang, I missed you!"
"The likelihood of mutual affection between Gu Yi and the protagonist has dropped to 0%. The first soul flag has been removed. Congratulations, Host. Please continue your efforts."
Indeed, it was his lover! The moment he appeared in his human form, the soul flag had been pulled out!
He was hugged from behind and then pulled away. Ye Zhizhou looked at Gu Yi in confusion, raised his hand to pinch his face, and asked, "What's wrong with you? Your face is so... dark?" It was unreasonable for Gu Yi not to respond to his kiss. Even if his memory was gone, when he saw him, he should have been ecstatic.
Gu Yi also raised his hand to pinch his face, his tone eerie, "Xiao Qiang, even if you're a dog demon, you can only be my Gu Yi's dog demon."
Ye Zhizhou became even more puzzled. "I've always been yours, and you've always been mine."