The Consequences Of Being A Tyrant Chapter 13
byChapter 13: A Nickname?! Fine, I Like Everything You Give Me…
“Jiaojiao.”
Lin Yu paused his movements, looking up at his clingy caretaker.
Several days had passed since the morning he was given his name, and Lin Yu was gradually getting used to his nickname.
Even though he felt the name was slightly lacking in masculinity, he still responded every time.
After spending these past few days practically inseparable, Lin Yu had successfully grown accustomed to the other party’s presence. He was currently near the woods outside the first door, preparing to bring back some flower branches for his room. Due to his lack of strength, he could only squat down and pick up fallen blossoms.
With a creaking sound, the orange-red soil was overturned, exposing the gnarled, intertwined roots beneath. The large tree in front of him, adorned with pure white flowers, crashed down. Fragrant clusters of blossoms rained down. If he were smaller, it might be considered a flower shower, but given his current size, it felt more like hail. Lin Yu reached out in alarm and, sure enough, grabbed onto an invisible yet tangible support.
He climbed onto it, staring blankly at the flood of flowers spreading out below.
In an instant, the area had transformed into a blooming flower field.
Lin Yu sighed softly at the sight. He only wanted a small branch, not an entire tree.
But his caretaker was already quite proactive, lifting the large tree and preparing to place it in the little pet’s room.
Lin Yu quickly stopped the action. “It’s too big, it won’t fit in my room.”
It could definitely fit, but overly natural environments inevitably attract insects. Although he didn’t know why there were almost no other small creatures in this Palace, Lin Yu chose to refuse such a floral arrangement to avoid future trouble.
Seeing the flower tree pause above him, Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief. This meant the other party had listened to him.
Then, the next moment, he realized he had sighed too soon.
Because his caretaker was preparing to change his room.
“…”
Lin Yu quickly dismissed that idea, repeatedly stating that it would be better for the large tree to be returned to its original place.
Yanyan coiled his tail around the large tree, listlessly pressing it back into the soil, and asked, “Are you sure you don’t need a different room?”
Lin Yu shook his head frantically. He hated moving, even if someone helped.
“Alright.”
Yanyan could only respect the little one’s wishes.
He regretfully abandoned the idea.
Actually, if he broke down the walls between those rooms, they could be connected into one huge space, and the little one could sleep on a bigger bed.
To Yanyan, the room the little one lived in was still too small.
His original form, maintaining its size, couldn’t even get onto the little one’s bed.
Lin Yu swung his legs. “I want to get down.”
He still didn’t know what he was sitting on. He could only see a blade of grass with a small yellow flower fluttering in the air not far above his head—something he had sweetly begged his caretaker to wear so he could easily distinguish the caretaker’s location.
The distance between them made it impossible for him to figure out what his caretaker actually looked like.
Why was the thing holding him up only slightly taller than him, yet the little flower was worn in a position that seemed like a high-mountain flower, unattainable and distant?
Was he sitting on the other party’s toe right now?
Lin Yu couldn’t figure it out, and he felt that if he did, his sanity might drop. His caretaker was probably not a normal human-shaped ghost as he imagined. Although after interacting with him, Lin Yu could confirm his caretaker was a good ghost, this trust and closeness wouldn’t change based on the other party’s appearance.
But no matter how much he prepared himself psychologically, he still had to admit that everything that appeared in this world continued to refresh his worldview.
If his caretaker really was a ghost with splayed limbs, a blue face, fangs, and a ferocious appearance, could he truly control his expression the first time he saw them?
Could he avoid showing any surprise or repulsion?
Rather than creating a rift later over such unimportant things, it was better to maintain a bit of mystery between them.
This was probably similar to an online relationship.
Lin Yu recalled his friend who had wailed while hugging him before—his online partner was wrong not only in age but also in gender.
In his friend’s words, the partner “pulled out something bigger than mine; who is topping whom?”
Thinking of this, Lin Yu silently mourned for his friend for two seconds.
As a straight man, although he had never held a girl’s hand, he would absolutely not hold a boy’s hand.
So he deeply understood his friend’s despair at the time.
Just then, he felt his body tilt slightly, and he slid down, met by a gentle breeze and a rich fragrance.
He tumbled down and landed in a sea of flowers.
It was like a thick, soft cloud brocade. Lin Yu curved the corners of his eyes, slowly standing up under Yanyan’s slightly worried gaze.
“I’m sorry.”
Lin Yu waved his hand, guessing the other party had seen it from somewhere else. Although his backside was a little sore from the bump, the moment he swooshed down was quite enjoyable.
“It’s okay, I’m very happy!”
He heaped on the praise.
So, he coaxed his delighted and very happy caretaker into pushing him down several more times.
Lin Yu laughed heartily as he fell into the clusters of white flowers. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a perfectly bloomed flower whose inner pistil still held glistening dew. Lin Yu picked it up and waved at the small piece of grass floating above his head.
“Let me change your flower.”
Yanyan looked at the little person with sparkling eyes and bent his head down. His scales opened and closed, “biting” the flower.
“Does it look good?”
Lin Yu looked at the air, which showed nothing but the flower, and praised sincerely, “It looks great!”
He had to give constant praise.
At certain moments, he even had the illusion that he was the one who owned the pet, but this illusion vanished instantly when he looked at everything in his room. For no other reason than that he was truly broke.
He didn’t have a single penny.
He couldn’t afford to keep his own caretaker.
It was enough to make listeners weep and observers grieve. So, Lin Yu decided to turn his sorrow into appetite. He collected the dried chili peppers, preparing to grind them into chili powder to make a dry dipping sauce for dinner.
Yanyan watched the excited little person scurrying around the room, skewering chunks of meat onto the wooden sticks they had prepared the day before, momentarily unsure of the little one’s purpose.
Until the little one blinked and approached him.
“Can you help me take those racks out to the woods?”
He felt it was a bit disrespectful to the divine statue to cook inside the Palace.
And it lacked a certain sense of freedom.
Yanyan looked at the little person and felt no one could bear to refuse him. Moreover, this was the first time the little one had asked for his help so directly. He agreed without a second thought.
All the ingredients, tools, and racks were lifted by a mysterious force, moving steadily and settling onto the grass.
Lin Yu sighed with emotion. No matter how many times he saw it, he still found it incredibly exaggerated.
What a powerful and mysterious force.
He walked up to his mighty caretaker, his eyes curved in a smile. He pulled out a chunk of meat from behind his back, about half his size.
Yanyan flicked his tongue, already smelling the strange spicy scent emanating from it. However…
[When your pet shares food with you, please do not discard it in front of them, lest you hurt the little pets’ fragile hearts.]
So, Yanyan frowned and took the piece of meat in his mouth.
In an instant, his cheeks flushed red, and his tail thrashed continuously, slapping against the ground.
It was a strange, stimulating sensation, like fire leaping and burning on his tongue. Yanyan’s vertical pupils widened from the spice. He froze, looking at the little person waiting for feedback.
After a long while, he hissed, “Delicious.”
Lin Yu had long since heard the sound of the other party’s overwhelmed breathing, but he didn’t expose him. He just decided it would be better not to add chili next time.
He picked up a cup of prepared flower tea and offered it to Yanyan.
“To wash away the spice.”
The white flower nodded up and down continuously. Lin Yu’s eyes filled with amusement; it felt like feeding a large pet.
He had expected the other party to simply gulp the water down, but instead, the caretaker drank in small, slow, refined sips. For some reason, Lin Yu’s mind conjured the image of someone who had fallen asleep in their teacup while drinking.
Their drinking styles were quite similar—very restrained and refined.
It wasn’t until the cup was empty that Yanyan’s mind slowly cleared. Lin Yu refilled the empty cup with chilled flower tea and sat down to enjoy his own feast. During his meal, the presence of the other gaze was too strong to ignore.
Lin Yu smiled and held up a piece of meat that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, seasoned only with salt. “Try this one.”
He had specifically skewered a piece of fat in the middle.
Now the oil fragrance was bursting forth, incredibly tempting.
Yanyan extended his tongue and slowly tested it before curling it up. He was so scalded that he spun around, his tongue thick as he asked, “It’s not on fire?”
Lin Yu was amused by his straightforward metaphor. “Didn’t you dislike that flavor?”
The white flower shook from side to side. “I don’t dislike it.”
“I like everything you give me.”
Lin Yu: “…”
He was being charmed again.
He raised an eyebrow, noncommittal, and shoved a piece of meat covered in chili powder into his mouth, squinting his eyes in satisfaction.
This was the taste!
He needed this feeling of spice that made his soul tremble! His brain went blank, leaving only that pure heat running from his tongue throughout his entire mouth.
Yanyan looked at the little person’s still fair and unchanged complexion, then at the bright red skewer in his hand, and tilted his head.
Lin Yu held up his hand. “Want to try?”
Yanyan predictably lowered his head. Just before the other party could touch it, Lin Yu quickly shoved the skewer into his own mouth.
Weak in skill but bold in heart; try it and you’ll die.
Who gave him the courage?
Yanyan’s gaze followed the piece of meat to the little person’s rosy lips. The lip tubercle was full, faintly revealing clean white teeth, with another hint of red flickering within.
He moved his gaze away in a slight panic, using his Mental Power to hand the flower tea the little person had prepared back to him.
Lin Yu: “…”
This was too proactive. He felt a little underestimated.
The flower tea was truly unnecessary for him; it was originally prepared for his caretaker.
However, his caretaker was clearly very insistent, and Lin Yu couldn’t refuse his kindness.
After eating his fill, Lin Yu lay contentedly on the grass, not wanting to move at all. The grass was fragrant and soft. It was another twilight, the beautiful sunset burning like fire across the horizon. It was no different from the sunsets in his previous world—equally magnificent—but Lin Yu knew clearly that this was another world.
And he was all alone.
His eyes revealed a deep sense of loneliness as he stared blankly at the sky.
Suddenly, he felt a light touch on his cheek. Lin Yu closed his eyes and smiled. “Didn’t we agree you’d ask me before kissing me?”
“Mr. Caretaker, you forgot again.”
Yanyan quickly apologized. “I’m sorry.”
But the little person looked unhappy.
[When your pet is in an emotional low, don’t forget to offer comfort. This is what a qualified owner should do.]
And according to what he had learned on the Opticomp, many people chose to use kisses for comfort.
So, after seeing the sorrowful emotion in the little person’s eyes—an emotion he couldn’t fully read but vaguely sensed—Yanyan’s first thought was a kiss.
It proved he was right. The little person’s attention immediately shifted from the sky. He looked at Yanyan.
“What is it?”
His very clingy Mr. Caretaker.
Yanyan used his Mental Power to fetch a fruit, a new variety that Lin Yu particularly liked and had been enjoying these past few days.
“Jiaojiao, don’t be unhappy.”
Lin Yu smiled and nodded.
“I’m not unhappy.”
He was already very content. He had a second chance at life, he didn’t have to wander the streets, and he had a soft mattress and delicious food.
And someone beside him was telling him not to be unhappy.
His emotions and physical needs were being well attended to.
What was there to be unhappy about?
It was just that sometimes he couldn’t help but think of the past. His relationship with his relatives wasn’t good. His parents divorced when he was very young due to differing views on education. At ten years old, he wasn’t too young to take care of himself. They didn’t need to hire someone; he could stay home alone, and with some money, he wouldn’t starve. As for any extra energy, they were too lazy to spend it on him.
It wasn’t until university that he made a few friends he could barely confide in, but they didn’t need Lin Yu to worry about them either. Lin Yu wasn’t their only friend.
Due to his personality, Lin Yu admitted he wasn’t even their best friend.
They would inevitably be sad about his departure, but time would erase everything.
The pet he left behind was the one he should have worried about the most. Everything it had was given by Lin Yu. They had spent countless twilights like this together.
Fortunately, it was just a small snake with little intelligence, only barely familiar with his scent. It was naturally impossible for a touching Hachiko-like story to occur.
Thinking about it this way, there seemed to be no one or nothing left to worry about.
That was fine, too.
Yanyan looked at him, wanting to speak but holding back, only feeling that the little person’s beautiful eyes looked like they were about to cry.
But he was helpless to fix it.
Soon, however, Lin Yu adjusted his mood. He took a bite of the fruit and looked at the flower above his line of sight, which seemed to be wilting along with him. He changed the subject. “Does this bite mark look like a smiley face?”
He traced two curved lines on it, holding the bitten opening toward Yanyan.
“Smile.”
“As long as I eat it, I’ll be happy. This is ‘using form to supplement form’.”
With that, he finished the fruit in a few bites, smiling at Yanyan.
Yanyan looked at the little person’s curved eyes.
He suddenly remembered a creature in the black abyss of the Palace that laughed very happily.
Every time he went to the abyss to find food, the creature would laugh loudly, “Hahahaha.”
However, its body was too slippery and didn’t stick out much, unlike the other food sources that were full of vitality and rushed toward him one after another.
If Jiaojiao ate it, would he be a little happier?