Tomb raiding: Today is another day I don't want to go home.

Chapter 45: Half Enlightenment, Half Understanding

Yan Huai's gaze shifted upwards, and in his inverted vision, his eyes blatantly landed on Zhang Qiling's lips: "Keep it, I don't need it."

"You'll be alone tomorrow, just in case." Originally, she only kept him around to test his feelings again, or to have another reason to contact Yan Huai, but now it's no longer needed. Zhang Qiling already knows what she needs to know.

"I really don't need it. You keep it; I can breathe underwater."

"???" Zhang Qiling was skeptical. Why did they need his goggles and breathing tube before?

Yan Huai's lips curled up slightly. He turned over, wanting to see Zhang Qiling's expression from the front, and indeed, it was very beautiful.

“I’ll be following you around tomorrow. Besides catching up with Fatty Wang, I also need to talk about a humanoid monster from the deep sea we encountered before,” Yan Huai said, his expression turning serious. “I’m not sure if they were hunting in groups or living in gregarious communities, but they eat human flesh and are very sensitive to the smell of blood. If anything goes wrong, the water-repelling bead should be useful to you.”

"Sea monkeys." After hearing Yan Huai's description, Zhang Qiling immediately thought of this kind of creature.

This was the first time Yan Huai had heard this name. Recalling the monster's appearance, he nodded: "It does look quite like a monkey."

Zhang Qiling's expression softened unconsciously, and he withdrew his hand, clutching the water-repelling pearl back into his palm: "Then I'll return it to you after this trip."

Yan Huai rested his chin on his hand, his gaze filled with simple confusion: "Why do you insist on paying me back?"

Zhang Qiling, confused, said, "These are your things."

What if I give it to you?

"..." Zhang Qiling's eyes widened slightly, his heart racing uncontrollably because of Yan Huai's words.

But it turned out that Yan Huai was the first to feel uncomfortable under their gazes... He pursed his lips and moved back to his half of the bed: "You keep it..."

After Yan Huai finished speaking, he lifted the blanket off the bed and covered it with his own.

When Zhang Qiling came to her senses, all she could see was a silkworm that wasn't fully wrapped up, and a bright red ear sticking out from under the silkworm.

A clear smile appeared in Zhang Qiling's eyes. He turned off the light in the room, pulled back the corner of the blanket on his side, and lay down as well.

But not long after lying down, Zhang Qiling suddenly remembered that Yan Huai seemed to be about to say something, so she turned her head slightly to look at the other side: "Yan Huai?"

Yan Huai stiffened, then carefully turned over. In the dim light, his eyes remained as clear as ever, and upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a faint golden hue in his pupils: "Ah?"

Zhang Qiling was momentarily lost in thought, and her mind only subconsciously led her to ask, "What were you trying to say?"

"Just now?" Yan Huai was a little dazed. After he came to his senses, he slapped his forehead, realizing he had almost forgotten about it. He looked at Zhang Qiling and earnestly instructed, "The Wang family members all have a phoenix tattoo on their backs that appears when heated. This is just a symbol. Do not try to look at it unless absolutely necessary or if you cannot be sure of its safety."

Zhang Qiling neither nodded nor shook his head; he simply frowned slightly as he looked at Yan Huai.

Yan Huai understood, and he smiled: "Don't worry, I'll figure out a way to get the tattoo done. It won't be exposed."

Everything is just waiting for dawn...

That night, whether Yan Huai slept too soundly or not, anyway... when Zhang Qiling woke up and saw Yan Huai's tail sticking out from under the covers, his expression was complicated. He gently removed Yan Huai's arm from his body, then quietly got up and took out the silicone beer belly and silicone glue from his backpack.

When Yan Huai felt the space beside him was empty, he groggily opened his eyes. The next moment, he caught sight of a figure sitting at a wooden table not far from the bed. The person had their back to him, their shirt half-open, revealing a fair and smooth lower back that seemed to beckon to anyone...

In Yan Huai's memory, Zhang Qiling's waist should feel boneless, but now he stared at Zhang Qiling's prominent lumbar lordosis without blinking.

"woke up?"

Yan Huai was startled by the sound. He swallowed hard, looked up, and met Zhang Qiling's meaningful gaze.

"woke up......"

Yan Huai chuckled dryly and looked away. He was about to throw off the covers and get out of bed to wash up when he saw his own long, dark green tail...

"Holy crap!" System, what's wrong with my tail?!

Yan Huai hurriedly covered his tail with a blanket while screaming in his mind—"I can't see it! I can't see it! I can't see it!!!"

"Host, your dragon-shaped tail feature appeared at 2:00 AM, when you were in deep sleep and the system was unable to effectively wake you up."

"Why hasn't it appeared before!?"

"Because Zhang Qiling had no influence in the past."

Yan Huai was taken aback. He glanced at Zhang Qiling and, seeing that she was still looking at him, gave a wry smile: "You go about your business!"

After he had retracted his tail, as expected, his big shorts were also ruined. While Zhang Qiling was busy with his own things, he wrapped himself in a blanket and ran into the bathroom.

Zhang Qiling heard the noise, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not turn around to look.

Meanwhile, Yan Huai took out a pair of pants from his system space, numbly put them on, and asked weakly, "Why does Zhang Qiling affect me?"

"Because Zhang Qiling is a special person to you, you like him."

Yan Huai blinked, puzzled, and asked, "Does liking someone affect my ability to transform?"

"No, ordinary liking wouldn't cause this. Your liking for Zhang Qiling is called infatuation."

"Admiration..." Yan Huai murmured the word. He admired Zhang Qiling. "Then what should I do?"

"The host can try to establish a romantic relationship with Zhang Qiling."

"So that I won't suddenly develop human-like features anymore?"

"They will still occur, and the frequency of their occurrence will increase."

Yan Huai twitched his palate: "System, are you asking for it?! Since the frequency is going to increase, why are you making me establish a romantic relationship with him?!"

"...Because the system has detected that your emotional inclination is more inclined to establish a romantic relationship with Zhang Qiling."

Yan Huai rolled up the blanket, bewildered. Why could he recognize all these words but not understand them? "What is a lover?"

knock --

A sudden knock on the bathroom door interrupted Yan Huai's thoughts. He heard a man in black glasses ask from the doorway, "Yan Huai?"

"Coming," Yan Huai replied listlessly, then opened the door while carrying the blanket.

Seeing this, the man with black glasses at the door feigned surprise and teased, "Holy crap! Dumb, you actually made Xiao Huai sleep in the bathroom last night? You went too far! If it were me, I would never have done that!"