Chapter 66: Morning at Yu Sheng’s Home
Yu Sheng woke up to find Irene sprawled out at the foot of his bed, limbs splayed in every direction. Her picture frame was placed on the nightstand, leaning against the wall.
He let out a sigh. Last night, he ultimately failed to kick the Doll out of his room. Every time he tried to drag her to the Door, she would kick up such a noisy fuss that his head nearly split from the pain.
Sighing deeply once more, he glanced at Irene, who showed no signs of waking up. Yu Sheng stretched out his foot and gave her a couple of gentle kicks.
“Wake up. If you don’t get up soon, I’ll take your picture frame away and let you sleep inside it.”
Finally, the sprawled Doll moved, slowly pushing herself up. Her hair was a wild, tangled mess, and she stared at Yu Sheng with bleary, sleepy eyes.
“Morning… hey…”
“Morning, my foot! It’s almost noon!” Yu Sheng resisted the urge to kick the troublesome Doll off the bed. “Do you have any idea how many times you rolled around last night? You’re a Doll—you shouldn’t even need sleep! How can your sleeping posture be so chaotic?”
“I don’t know…” Irene yawned, rubbing her eyes as she stretched. “Don’t be so fussy. I’m gorgeous, and you’re lucky to have me sleep in the same room.”
Yu Sheng felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead as he looked at the tiny Doll, just 66.6 centimeters tall. “Your face is a lot bigger than your body, huh? Do you even know what you’re saying?”
Irene didn’t seem to care, dragging herself toward him with her disheveled hair. She lowered her head boldly and demanded, “Brush my hair.”
A vein throbbed on Yu Sheng’s forehead. He got out of bed, went to the bathroom, grabbed a comb, and tossed it onto the bed. “Do it yourself.”
Irene picked up the comb, which was practically the size of her head, and rolled her eyes. “Do you see me being able to comb my own hair? I can’t even hold this thing with one hand. You should make me a Doll-sized comb…”
What followed was a string of complaints about her messy hair, how she had to sleep on chairs when she first arrived, and how no one ever cared about a Doll’s feelings. Her non-stop chattering made Yu Sheng feel like his ears were about to catch fire.
“I must’ve owed you in a past life,” he grumbled, finally giving in. He took the comb from her hands and lifted her onto the nightstand. “Sit here. Don’t move.”
Irene flashed a triumphant smile, babbling on. “You made this body, so doing a little maintenance is only fair…”
“That’s not how ‘maintenance’ works,” Yu Sheng retorted while combing her hair, trying not to pull too hard.
“It’s close enough—ow! Be gentle! Doll hair is precious, you know.”
With a resigned sigh, Yu Sheng did his best to smooth out her tangled locks. When he was finally done, he hung the picture frame over her shoulder and went to wash up.
“Hey, Yu Sheng! What’s for breakfast?” Irene’s voice called from outside the bathroom.
Yu Sheng, his mouth full of toothpaste foam, mumbled back, “I’ll make some noodles later. Just eat that before we head out.”
A faint “Oh” came from outside, and the Doll finally quieted down. But Yu Sheng had a feeling that Irene’s silence was simply a prelude to some new mischief. He could feel his Spiritual Intuition practically thumping.
Though, to be fair, having his Spiritual Intuition thump at a time like this felt a bit odd.
After finishing his morning routine, he wiped his face and looked at his reflection in the Mirror. Surprisingly, he looked rather refreshed—eyes clear, complexion healthy, and even the hint of a smile lingering on his lips. It had been a long time since he had seen such a spirited version of himself. For a moment, he felt almost dazed.
Not too long ago, his life in this vast, daunting city had been filled with anxiety. Those two months were a blur of restless nights, plagued by nightmares, and days spent in exhausted vigilance. He would often go days without washing his face, and his reflection always showed a haggard, drained man.
But now, what he saw was a vigorous young man whose eyes held a trace of hope for the future—quite unlike someone who had been kicked around by a restless Doll all night.
“Guess my mindset’s changed…” Yu Sheng couldn’t help but laugh softly to himself.
Just then, a wailing voice came from beyond the Door. “Yu Sheng! Did you fall in? Should I get Foxy to fish you out?”
His smile froze instantly. He swung the Door open to see Irene standing just outside, grinning like an idiot.
“You’ve been in there for half an hour!” she said, tipping her head back to look at him.
Ignoring her, Yu Sheng opened the bedroom Door to check if Foxy had woken up—only to be startled as soon as he stepped out.
Foxy was standing right at the Door, looking like a thief caught in the act. Her massive tail bristled and puffed up like a screen behind her, and her tall fox ears were perked straight up in shock.
After a few seconds, the flustered Demon Fox finally relaxed, eyes still darting nervously as she greeted him. “Benefactor…”
Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here?”
“I woke up but didn’t know what to do… so I came to wait. But I didn’t want to knock and disturb you…” Foxy explained nervously, glancing at him anxiously. “Benefactor, are you okay? Did you fall somewhere?”
“I didn’t fall anywhere! Don’t listen to Irene’s nonsense,” Yu Sheng snapped, giving Foxy a stern look. “Have you been standing here this whole time?”
Foxy nodded meekly. “Mm-hmm.”
Yu Sheng glanced around the room, his tone casual as he spoke, “From now on, this is your home. No need to be so tense all the time. If you’re bored, you can watch some TV or something… Oh, when I have time, I’ll teach you how to use the appliances.” With that, he turned and headed toward the staircase. “Let’s go downstairs for a meal first. I’ll cook some noodles to get by for now. Later, we’ll go out to buy some things.”
At the mere mention of food, Foxy’s eyes lit up like bright stars, and she almost bounced as she eagerly followed Yu Sheng’s steps.
However, Yu Sheng only took two steps before abruptly stopping, turning his head to look at the Demon Fox Maiden, a hesitant expression on his face.
Foxy tilted her head in confusion. “Benefactor?”
Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment before his gaze fell on Foxy’s head. “I just remembered something… Your tail can be hidden, right? What about your ears? Walking outside like that… might draw some attention.”
Foxy looked genuinely perplexed. She had never left the house since arriving here and had no idea what the outside world was like, let alone why her appearance would be problematic. But since her Benefactor said so, she trusted him.
With a thoughtful look, Foxy rubbed her hands together, reached up, and casually removed her furry ears from her head, stuffing them into her tail before concealing the tail as well.
Silence fell over the room.
Yu Sheng remained frozen mid-step, as if petrified, his posture unchanged since he was last speaking.
The sudden scream from Irene shattered the stillness. “Aaaaah—! Foxy! What did you just pull off your head?!”
Foxy brought out the tail she usually used for storage and produced the pair of furry ears, showing them to Irene. “Ears.”
Yu Sheng’s eyes widened to the point they seemed ready to pop out. “Those… can be taken off?! They’re fake?!”
Foxy nodded earnestly, casually tucking her ears away again. “They’re real. Demon Foxes are adept at transformation.”
Yu Sheng was dumbfounded. “I’ve never heard of Demon Foxes transforming like that…”
Foxy looked at him in genuine surprise. “Benefactor, have you met other Demon Foxes?”
Yu Sheng blinked, quickly calming down. “…No, I haven’t.”
Foxy nodded thoughtfully. “Demon Foxes learn transformation techniques by first refining their own bodies. Mastering the basics of transformation is the first step. My Father and Mother didn’t get the chance to teach me much, so I only know the basics… I once heard from Immortals that truly powerful Demon Foxes can transform into legends and stories, transcending time and space, traveling through starfields by sheer memory and word of mouth… but I can’t do that!”
Yu Sheng listened, his imagination running wild just to keep up, but despite understanding the words, his mind refused to fully accept it. It all sounded like an elaborate fabrication, yet Foxy’s innocent face made it hard to doubt her sincerity.
“Something about this feels off,” Irene muttered to herself, rubbing her chin. “My memory’s not the best right now, but you better not be pulling one over on me… Are you sure some Immortal didn’t trick you? I’m telling you, those tour guide types will say anything.”
Foxy vigorously shook her head. “I don’t know. But this transformation method was really taught by my Father and Mother. It truly works like this.” As she spoke, she glanced at Yu Sheng, and in an instant, her hair and eye color shifted, becoming as dark as his.
Now, she looked just like an ordinary, beautiful young lady—an unmistakable native of Boundary City.
“Is this okay?” Foxy asked, eyes bright with anticipation.
Yu Sheng was momentarily dazed but eventually nodded with a slightly stupefied expression. At the very least, this transformation looked far more normal than the last one…