Deviant: No Longer Human

"..."

Wang Xiao remained silent, puzzled by the sudden passion in her voice, yet somewhat amused by the situation.

"It doesn\'t," he countered, his lips curling into a slight smirk as he savored her visibly angered state.

"It does! What if you wanted her as well? What would you do then?" Eveline pressed, her words flowing without hesitation, clearly catching Wang Xiao off guard.

"!"

His eyes narrowed, studying her intently as if questioning her sanity.

He had always maintained that he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, but he had never entertained the thought of extending such ruthlessness to his own blood.

In fact, he hadn\'t even considered that his life would be significantly different with or without children.

Suddenly, Eveline\'s brows rose in realization that the norms of this era were not what she had expected, she recognized that her viewpoint might not resonate as normal here.

Nevertheless, she was not the type to retract her words or show weakness, even in the face of such fundamental differences.

Wang Xiao was momentarily forced to reflect as Eveline continued, "...You can\'t control everything in people\'s lives. What if you cage her like you did me, and yet one day she meets her so-called Prince Charming? What would you do then?"

Her lips curved into a rare smile, one that seemed to mock him directly.

His hand rose in the air as if he were about to strike her, but he never followed through.

Instead, he regained his composure and, with a smile, grabbed her chin, peering deeply into her eyes.

"Then, I kill that Prince Charming," Wang Xiao replied, his own smile broadening as if it was such an easy question.

He didn\'t fully understand why they were discussing this hypothetical situation, but he couldn\'t bear the thought of such a scenario playing out.

When he briefly closed his eyes, he instinctively thought of a beautiful girl with long black hair and eyes as red and luminous as his own, shimmering like stars in the night.

Yet, the image of her getting close to someone else snapped him back to reality.

Wang Xiao was not one to meddle in other people\'s lives, but the thought of a woman, especially the one he likes, with another man was intolerable.

He would cage them, much like he had done with Eveline.

"Then become a villain in her eyes," Eveline suggested, her lips curving up as she observed a myriad of emotions crossing his face.

"!"

Wang Xiao frowned, wanting to argue the mentality that he would never see his own flesh and blood in such a way, but the words never left his lips.

"What are the ways you can even have a woman...?" Eveline pressed on, her tone laced with challenge.

Wang Xiao\'s frown deepened, a realization dawning upon him.

"Is it so hard to show affection for once, or are you simply incapable?" Eveline continued, her words striking at him, but only serving to annoy him further.

"Who is incapable?" He snapped back, his pride stung.

As long as his objectives were achieved, and if making a woman fall for him was necessary, he believed himself fully capable of such feats.

This woman, he thought bitterly, was asking for a beating!

Eveline observed him and smiled, albeit subtlety.

The thought of being treated \'lovingly\' by this man was infuriating to her, but it seemed preferable to the treatment she had endured over the last seven days.

Thus, she was more than willing to teach him a thing or two if it meant easing her own circumstances and reducing the time he spent with her.

"How do you even greet a woman when you enter a room?" she asked him pointedly.

Wang Xiao was left speechless, unaccustomed to such queries in his typical interactions.

"Try now," she urged him.

"Why would I follow what you say?" Wang Xiao retorted, his pride flaring.

"You need to grow more if you even want to use people effectively. Using a stick to force obedience isn\'t always the way," Eveline continued.

"I don\'t know what happened in your life, but you— are far from powerful if you can\'t capture people\'s minds without resorting to force."

"..."

After a few minutes, Wang Xiao reentered the room, walking directly over to sit on the edge of the bed where Eveline was resting.

"..."

"..."

"That\'s it...?" Eveline asked, her eyes narrowing in confusion.

"What else?" Wang Xiao responded, genuinely puzzled.

"Is that how you enter every time? Is this a throne hall or what?" Eveline couldn\'t help but speak, her tone laced with surprise.

Wang Xiao frowned, thrown off by her question. "Then what...?" He asked, his bewilderment clear.

To him, this was simply his women\'s room—his domain, as it were.

What was the problem with entering as if he owned it?

Eveline felt the urge to slap her own forehead in resignation.

Even she, who wasn\'t particularly versed in such matters of men and women, knew this wasn\'t how it was supposed to be done!

Was this man truly aiming to antagonize the world?

She had thought him arrogant until she realized he genuinely saw nothing wrong with his behavior.

It dawned on her then: the environment in which people are raised has a profound effect on how they express affection.

Families that are less open often breed children who are accustomed to keeping things to themselves, for whom an open display of affection might feel awkward and embarrassing.

They might want to express affection, but it\'s simply not their norm.

Eveline considered that Wang Xiao\'s mannerisms might stem from his upbringing in a conservative family from Eastern China, much like she suspected based on his behavior.

In contrast, individuals like Josephine, who seemed much closer to their mothers, might hail from more open families typical of the West.

This disparity in familial environments deeply influences how individuals perceive and express affection, often without them even realizing the underlying issues.

With this understanding, Eveline—a woman who harbored no particular affection for men or women—began to teach Wang Xiao, a man known for his lack of mercy, how to act affectionately.

Her goal was to help him build a dependency among those around him, enabling him to use this dependency against them, just as he had described in his own tactics.

Wang Xiao was aware that Eveline was merely using his own strategies against him, but he recognized the value in cooperation when their objectives aligned.

Afterall.... cooperation flourish, when goals are the same....