Chapter Twenty-Four: The Sorrow of Little Bug

At this point, Fang Yuan had lost all interest in running a seafood business. He was worried that if something were to go wrong with his body, he’d have no way of fixing it.

“Can you tell me everything you know about my body? At least let me be mentally prepared. You did give up half your worm-life for this, after all. If I accidentally break this body someday, you’d be at a loss yourself,” Fang Yuan said, his concern for the worm genuine—after all, he considered himself someone who had already died once.

“You know, I’m a rather remarkable parasite. Unfortunately, I was frozen for too long. My genes underwent some irreversible changes in your body. All I can say is, your body is now extremely special. But as for exactly what’s different, or what superpowers you might develop, I really don’t know,” the worm replied meekly.

The worm itself felt quite downhearted, because its genes were slowly awakening and mutating inside Fang Yuan’s body. It had no idea what it would eventually become. The uncertainty tormented the worm deeply.

If it were to transform into a butterfly and shed its skin, wouldn’t that mean leaving its host behind? The worm didn’t want that. It didn’t want to become a butterfly; it wanted to remain inside Fang Yuan’s body forever, never to be separated.

While Fang Yuan was racking his brains over his predicament, he was oblivious to the turmoil the worm was experiencing—a pain that belonged solely to the worm.

Fang Yuan had felt quite happy earlier today, but this sudden revelation sapped away all his cheer.

“You don’t need to worry too much. If your body does run into any trouble, with my current abilities, I can still handle it,” the worm said, seeing Fang Yuan’s dejection and feeling compelled to offer some comfort.

“Forget it. I’ve already died once. Every extra day I live now is a bonus,” Fang Yuan mused for a long time before finally coming to terms with it. If not for the worm giving him a second chance at life, he’d already be nothing but dust, returned to the earth. Every day he lived now was a windfall. There was no point in tormenting himself over the future.

Fang Yuan once had a dream. If ideals were something to strive for, then dreams were for imagining. His dream was to one day become a wealthy man, someone with power and influence. He knew it was a fantasy, but deep down, he still hoped to one day make it a reality.

“Your ambition may be a little vulgar, but it’s certainly more impressive than running a seafood business. Why don’t we pursue that together?” the worm said lazily, as if discussing something easily achieved.

Fang Yuan let it go. The worm was still young and naïve.

“By the way, I never asked you—how old are you, exactly?” Fang Yuan asked seriously. This question had been on his mind for a long time.

“Well, it’s hard to say, really. I don’t think the years I spent frozen should count. It’s like I was paused for a while. If you don’t count that time, I’m not that old—just a little over a hundred years, I suppose,” the worm answered.

In truth, the worm’s time sealed away was far longer. If you counted it all, it would be nearly a thousand years.

“My goodness, so you’re a thousand-year-old monster,” Fang Yuan joked.

He’d read plenty of strange tales, but never anything quite like this worm’s situation.

Ding-ding-ding.

Just as Fang Yuan and the worm were in high spirits, Fang Yuan’s phone rang. He didn’t need to look to know who it was. He’d been considering calling to check in, since she was in the hospital, but Pei Xi had beaten him to it.

“Hello?” Fang Yuan answered, quickly running through his mind for comforting words suitable for someone who was ill. He really was out of his depth in these situations.

“Fang Yuan, can you come to the hospital?” Pei Xi’s voice sounded on the verge of tears.

“Take your time, what happened?” Fang Yuan was about to agree, but reconsidered. He wasn’t even really friends with Pei Xi. It might not be appropriate for him to go. Surely, with her connections, she wouldn’t be left unattended. Zheng Hao was her friend, wasn’t he? The last time she called, Zheng Hao arrived right away.

“I’m being discharged today. My friend can’t come to pick me up. So, could you spare some time to get me from the hospital? I know you’re free,” Pei Xi said softly.

It was obvious to anyone that all Fang Yuan had now was free time—he really had nothing else to do.

Well, he thought, better to do a good deed than sit around idle.

But after hanging up, Fang Yuan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Worm, who do you think this Pei Xi really is?” Fang Yuan asked on his way to the hospital.

“How should I know what Pei Xi does? She doesn’t seem very old, so she’s probably not a bad person. But why are you calling her ‘Sister Pei Xi’ too? She’s supposed to be my big sister, not yours,” the worm replied possessively. From the moment it first saw Pei Xi, the worm had been deeply impressed by her. That sly smile she’d caught in the shallow sea was the worm’s own reaction to seeing her, even if it had borrowed Fang Yuan’s body for it.

“Your Sister Pei Xi doesn’t even know you exist, so don’t get hung up on it. She’s everyone’s big sister, not just yours,” Fang Yuan retorted, only to realize with a start how…ordinary he’d become.

But perhaps it wasn’t so mundane after all. After all, who doesn’t appreciate beauty? Fang Yuan had never even been in a relationship.

Besides, Pei Xi was the sort of breathtaking beauty who stood out in any crowd.

As he neared the hospital, Fang Yuan called Pei Xi to let her know where to meet him.