Deviant: No Longer Human

She attempted to muster a smile, but it faltered as Wang Xiao, who had been brooding in silence, suddenly broke it with an unsettling question. "Hey, seven years ago... why did you suddenly claim, in front of mom, that I touched and cleaned your ***** while bathing you?"

"Eh?"

Mei froze, her heart skipping a beat, as his words struck her like a thunderbolt.

Her cheeks flushed with heat, embarrassment flooding her senses.

What on earth was he talking about?

Wang Xiao\'s eyes bore into hers as he recounted the incident in excruciating detail.

As the memories resurfaced, Mei\'s face turned crimson, the color of blooming peonies.

"I... I don\'t know..." she murmured, her voice barely audible, like the rustling of leaves in a gentle breeze.

Her gaze dropped to the ground, her mind swirling in confusion.

She herself didn\'t even understand why she had uttered those words back then.

But why?

Why would she do such a thing?

It was a moment born of impulsive youth, a mistake as inexplicable as it was sudden—a beautiful yet bewildering error of the heart.

She was just a eleven years old child, naïve and unknowing.

Wang Xiao\'s gaze softened as he nodded, realizing he might have been tormenting himself over nothing. "And when you suddenly stopped sneaking into my room at night... what about that?"

"!"

Mei\'s eyes widened in shock, a mixture of anger and embarrassment flashing through them.

Why was he dredging up these buried memories now?

She glanced over at Susie and Kari, who stood by, their expressions frozen in disbelief, unable to comprehend the weight of this conversation.

But Wang Xiao merely noted the flicker of displeasure in Mei\'s eyes when she looked at Susie and Kari. He resolved silently that they deserved a lesson, and that was the only conclusion he reached.

\'Is he interrogating me...\' Mei thought as she glanced at Wang Xiao.

His expression left little doubt.

Finally, she shifted nervously, leaning closer to him, her cheeks flushing a deep red as she whispered into his ear.

She desperately didn\'t want Susie and Kari to overhear.

"It was your period?" Wang Xiao, unconstrained by her embarrassment, blurted out loud enough to make her want to sink into the ground from shame.

"Don\'t speak!" she gasped, quickly covering her face with her hands.

Wang Xiao nodded, still staring at her as she grabbed his hand and leaned against it, hiding her face from view.

She couldn\'t bear to look at him.

The humiliation was too much—who would even ask about something so personal?

\'So it was her first period...\' Wang Xiao\'s lips curled into a small, amused smile.

He had finally solved the years-long mystery.

So she wasn\'t the cunning, secretive beauty he had imagined, plotting behind that innocent face.

Now, he wanted to smack himself—why hadn\'t he thought of this sooner?

Naturally, Mei hadn\'t told him that it was only her period for the first few days.

Afterward, she had noticed Xueying sneaking into his room and, consumed by jealousy, had stopped visiting altogether, never mentioning the reason.

That same jealousy had taken root deep within her, and even after Wang Xiao had disappeared, she struggled to suppress her feelings, trying to convince herself that what she felt was simply sibling affection.

Yet she failed miserably. Xueying\'s constant talk about her relationship with him only fueled Mei\'s resolve to keep their bond strictly within the boundaries of siblings.

As for the time she had told their mother about their shared bathing moments, it was out of a misguided sense of pride—she wanted to brag but hadn\'t anticipated the consequences.

Some secrets, she thought, were better left unspoken.

It was amusing to watch him piece it together, his expression shifting as he finally understood.

"Are you two done staring...?" Wang Xiao\'s voice, calm yet chilling, broke the silence.

He turned to face Susie and Kari, who had been fixated on him and Mei for far too long, their attention dangerously diverted from the road ahead.

Both women flinched at his sudden address, their faces paling.

Susie stammered, trying to regain her composure. "We were just—"

"Just what?" Wang Xiao\'s smile was cold, his eyes narrowing. "Enjoying the view? Or perhaps you\'ve forgotten the purpose of those eyes of yours?"

Kari swallowed hard, her heart pounding. "We didn\'t mean to... We just..."

"Didn\'t mean to?" Wang Xiao interrupted, his tone growing darker. "If you\'re not going to use your eyes for their proper purpose, why don\'t you give them to someone who will?" His smile widened, but there was no warmth in it, only a sinister warning.

"W-What are you—" Kari began, but her words caught in her throat as Wang Xiao extended his hand, palm open and waiting.

In that horrifying moment—

"Ah!?"

Squish!

Squish!

Their screams filled the car as their eyes wrenched themselves free from their sockets, a sickening sound accompanying the bloody sight.

The eyeballs floated through the air, almost as if they had a will of their own, before landing in Wang Xiao\'s waiting hand.

The flesh squirmed for a moment before they were absorbed into his palm, disappearing without a trace.

Susie\'s mind went blank, her body reacting on instinct as she slammed on the brakes, the car screeching to a halt.

"NO! NO! THIS CAN\'T BE REAL!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with terror.

Kari was no better, her hands trembling uncontrollably as she clawed at her empty eye sockets, trying to comprehend the nightmare.

"Give them back! GIVE THEM BACK!" she wailed, tears streaming down her face even though she could no longer see.

Wang Xiao merely watched them, his expression unreadable. \'So pitiful,\' he laughed silently, \'and yet they brought this upon themselves. Such is the price of curiosity.\'

Mei, still leaning against him, trembled looking at Wang Xiao with expression of shock.

Susie, her voice barely a whisper now, pleaded, "Lord... please... I\'m sorry... just give them back..."

But Wang Xiao\'s gaze was already elsewhere, indifferent to their suffering. "You should have been more careful with what you stared at," he said, his voice devoid of sympathy. "Now, you\'ll have to learn to live without them."

As Susie and Kari sobbed uncontrollably, Wang Xiao glanced at Mei, who was still huddled against him. "Shall we continue?" he asked, as if nothing had happened.

Mei\'s expression was complicated. If she hadn\'t experienced the bloodshed during the beast horde attack, she might have looked as pale as Susie and Kari.

"Are you the... person who saved us from the beast horde a few days ago?" she asked, her voice trembling with uncertainty.

Wang Xiao smiled, ruffling her hair as if she were a child. "Such a small brain, taking so long to figure it out. You need to drink more milk and eat almonds."

"..." Mei was stunned, left speechless by his teasing.

"You\'re the... Prince?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, still reconciling with the possibility.

He might be powerful, but could he really be the prince?

Yet, something deep within her insisted that it was true.