Shang Guan MingYi spat out a gallon of water, shaking his head with the frantic, instinctive shudder of a housefly drenched in dew. He was completely unaware that his sixty-day life had just been traded for a human form.
Ggrrrrr. Zzzzz.
The noise was guttural, raw, and unmistakably human. Shang Guan MingYi lifted his hand, his eyes widening in bewildered shock as he saw a slender, fair hand—and realized he could control it. He then noticed his reflection on the dark water: a lean, tall man with long, wet, dark hair cascading to his slim waist.
"Who's that?" he whispered.
He saw the reflection's full, perfectly sculpted lips move as he heard the deep, unfamiliar voice utter the words. He touched the water, the surface shimmering as his almond-shaped eyes, with their elegant upward tilt, widened further.
"This couldn't be. I can control this body? Did I transform into a human?"
He frantically touched his arm, his chest, and his hair, verifying that this new existence was real, not just a sweet illusion before total death.
"Haha, I transformed into a human! I transformed into a human!" He leaped high, splashing the water like a delighted child who had found a hidden treasure.
The massive gush of water only served to annoy Dongfang Cang Yan further.
Without even noticing the Demon King, the newly transformed man tried to climb out of the basin—which was less a tub and more a shallow, black-stone lake.
Dongfang Cang Yan was still in the water, his cold, piercing red eyes fixed on the man's reckless, naked celebration.
"How dare you ignore my question?" he hissed, his husky voice finally catching Shang Guan MingYi's attention.
The new adult stopped mid-splash and examined Cang Yan from head to toe, scrutinizing every corner of the Demon King's submerged form.
"What's with that body of yours? Do you think I will fall for that?" Shang Guan MingYi shot back, his voice ringing with defensive suspicion.
Dongfang Cang Yan went utterly speechless for a beat, a phenomenon rarely witnessed in the Demon Realm. He stood up slowly, emerging from the water. Water sheeted off his body, highlighting his sculpted, wet abs as it dripped from his long white hair to the tip of his nose.
"Who said I was trying to impress you?" Cang Yan snarled.
He closed the distance instantly, his furious momentum carrying him until their faces were inches apart. He grabbed Shang Guan MingYi's reddened cheek, his grip tight and possessive. Cang Yan's warm breath, smelling faintly of agarwood and lotus honey, fell onto the fly-man's ear.
"Let me go," Shang Guan MingYi demanded, his straight nose turning crimson from the sheer audacity of the contact.
"Say, who sent you to invade my privacy?" Cang Yan's voice was low, husky, and menacing.
"No one! I came on my own!"
"How so?"
"Didn't you just try to kill me by throwing me in the water?"
Cang Yan's eyebrows furrowed, confusion briefly replacing his rage. Kill a man? When did I try to kill a man? As his fingers loosened slightly, Shang Guan MingYi took advantage. He jerked his head away and shoved Cang Yan with both palms.
The push was born of panic, but the contact felt jarringly soft against Cang Yan's chest, like pushing against cotton clouds.
Thush—
Cang Yan fell backward into the water. However, the newly transformed man lost his footing in the sudden splash and tumbled down, landing directly on top of Cang Yan's naked body. Their skin met, fully and spectacularly, in the cool water.
"What the fu***" Shang Guan MingYi mentally finished, horrified. His simple plan to push and retreat had ended in him being fully entangled with the Demon King.
"Get the hell out of here!" Cang Yan roared.
"You tried to kill me, and now you're seducing me to death?" Shang Guan MingYi hissed, pushing off the powerful chest beneath him. "Do you think I'm some professional prostitute?"
Dongfang Cang Yan's eyes narrowed into slits. When he opened them again, a dark, primal flame erupted within their depths. The newly-human fly didn't even register the shift in danger. Cang Yan shot him away with a burst of energy; Shang Guan MingYi slammed hard against the stone wall.
Cang Yan stood, rising from the water like a wrathful deity. He circled his fist, gathering energy, and then glared at the fly-man with raw anger.
"How dare a mere human talk back at me?"
He flattened his open palm, and the dark flame reappeared, ready to strike. "Tell me who sent you!"
"I said, no one! Can't you understand?" Shang Guan MingYi shouted, rubbing his aching back. "You were trying to kill me when I was a fly, and now you're still trying to kill me when I'm a handsome man? Don't you have any heart?"
"Fly? Human?" Cang Yan demanded, genuinely puzzled.
"That's right! I'm the innocent fly—the victim of your bad doings! I thought I was dead. Hmph, but see, I'm alive, but I think you're going to finish me off... aaaaahajahahaaaa! I'm gonna die again!" The man collapsed against the wall, weeping dramatically for his past, present, and imminent future.
"Shut up!" Cang Yan bellowed, the sound shaking the water.
"Aaaaahaha! You are creepy! I don't want to dieeee!"
"You are so noisy."