Deviant: No Longer Human

He shot her a wary glance.

Wang Xueying nudged him with her elbow, her tone soft. "Why don\'t you lend me some money? I\'ll pay it back soon..." she said, tugging on his arm with affection.

Wang Mei\'s eyes twitched, watching her sister act so shamelessly.

\'What does she need so much money for anyway?\' she thought, baffled by the whole exchange.

Wang Xiao, however, didn\'t hesitate.

He pulled out the black card and handed it to her. "Just don\'t tell Mother," he advised lightly.

Money wasn\'t something Wang Xiao lacked.

In fact, he hardly knew how much he spent on things anymore—it all felt like meaningless numbers.

After handing over the card, he glanced at Wang Mei, noticing her blinking in confusion. "You need anything too?" he asked, offering casually.

Wang Mei blinked again, then shook her head softly. "Uh… No, I\'m fine."

Wang Xiao chuckled inwardly. Wang Mei had always been low-maintenance, not one for extravagant things.

\'Whoever marries her will be lucky,\' he thought.

She was the kind of girl who didn\'t demand much, content with what she had.

Meanwhile, Wang Xueying\'s lips pressed into a pout, her expression unconsciously souring as she watched her brother interact with Wang Mei.

\'Why does he always make her smile?\' she thought, feeling a wave of irritation she couldn\'t quite understand.

At that moment, Xinyue Zhilan, already outside, called back to them impatiently, "Where are you all? Hurry up and come outside already!"

_______

Outside, as they stepped into the cool air, Wang Xiao\'s eyes immediately caught sight of a truck parked in front of their villa.

Two workers were busy unloading what looked like a car, and both Wang Xueying and Wang Mei froze, gasping in shock.

The workers carefully pulled off the red cloth covering the vehicle, revealing the unmistakable sleek curves of a Porsche 911 Turbo S, hybrid edition.

Its gleaming body black sparkled under the fading light, the car\'s aggressive design exuding both elegance and raw power.

Wang Xueying\'s jaw dropped, and even Wang Mei, who was usually composed, couldn\'t hide her surprise.

The 911 was a car they had only seen in magazines or on racing circuits—not in their driveway.

Wang Xiao raised an eyebrow, intrigued, as he stepped closer to examine the car.

The Porsche wasn\'t just any car—it was a hybrid model, part of the newer generation of supercars that had shifted toward hybrid engines.

The car utilized electricity for its electronic systems, but the real marvel was the engine.

It ran on refined \'Aether fuel\', a cutting-edge resource that was both incredibly powerful and incredibly expensive.

Aether fuel had become the gold standard for high-performance vehicles, offering unparalleled speed and efficiency, though it was only accessible to the wealthy elite.

Of course, the car could still run on normal gasoline if Aether fuel wasn\'t available—handy for those venturing into remote locations.

But the real beauty of this machine lay in the Aether-enhanced engine that roared like a mythical beast, offering power beyond anything a conventional electric car could produce.

Wang Xueying could barely stammer, "M-Mom?" as she stared in disbelief at the gleaming Porsche 911 Turbo S.

She wasn\'t alone—Wang Mei\'s eyes widened too, but she quickly composed herself.

Meanwhile, Wang Xiao remained silent, speechless as their mother, Xinyue Zhilan, handed him the keys.

"It\'s your birthday present," Xinyue Zhilan said calmly, though there was a hint of excitement in her tone.

She handed the paperwork over to the delivery man with one hand and then turned back to her son. "The delivery got delayed, but if you don\'t like it, you can always exchange it for another car. I\'m not sure what you youngsters are into these days." Her voice was steady, but her words carried an almost forced casualness.

Wang Xiao blinked, taking the keys into his hand. \'A Porsche as gift?\'

He could tell the \'delayed delivery\' was just an excuse—Xinyue Zhilan had likely been waiting for the moment to confirm his identity before presenting him with the gift.

Now that she was certain, she seemed eager to celebrate his return.

Wang Xueying, meanwhile, couldn\'t help but feel conflicted.

Part of her was jealous—this was a car that anyone would envy.

But another part of her was happy, knowing it had landed in Wang Xiao\'s hands.

She had been planning to get him a car as well for a gift, but compared to this… it felt unnecessary now.

Wang Mei, who had been quietly observing, suddenly smiled, but Wang Xiao noticed the subtle shift in her mother\'s behavior.

\'She\'s sharp, always calculating. But this excitement... she\'s really happy,\' he thought, sensing the emotions his mother was holding back.

For a moment, Wang Xiao found himself seeing Xinyue Zhilan in a new light.

\'She\'s not so bad after all.\'

The thought lingered as he glanced at her, noticing the small flicker of joy in her eyes.

"I\'ll get you your license and other documents within a week," Xinyue Zhilan continued, her voice slipping back into a more formal tone. "Until then, just keep your driving within limits. If you run into any trouble, call the number I sent you—he\'s the director at the bureau." She sounded like she was casually suggesting he get away with anything, just as long as he had the right connections.

That was when Wang Xiao, without a word, stepped forward and hugged her.

His arms wrapped around her soft body, and for the first time, he felt like rewarding her a little for her efforts.

"!?"

Xinyue Zhilan froze.

It had been a long time since he\'d embraced her like that.

She didn\'t realize until now how much he had grown—he was taller than her, his presence commanding in a way that felt both unfamiliar and comforting.

For a moment, she felt awkward, her hand gently pushing him away, though not too forcefully.

She didn\'t know how to handle this newfound closeness between them.

She quickly urged him, "Go on, try driving it."

But Wang Xueying, her protective instincts kicking in, interrupted.

"Mom, wait! Does he even know how to drive...?" Her eyes widened in concern, realizing that Xinyue Zhilan had been so swept up in the moment that she hadn\'t even asked if Wang Xiao knew how to operate the car.

Wang Xiao chuckled inwardly, letting them explain the basics.

He knew how to drive, but he couldn\'t break the character he was playing.

If he admitted his skills now, it would open a floodgate of questions—questions he wasn\'t prepared to answer.

Besides, Wang Xiao had his own reasons for sticking closer to the mortal world.

He needed to figure out a solution for the instability in his soul.

Recently, his soul had developed a tendency to eject itself from his body without warning—a dangerous condition that, if left unchecked, could spell disaster.

He didn\'t know the cause, but the symptoms were serious enough to demand his attention.

Strangely enough, immersing himself in mortal vices—smoking, drinking, debauchery—seemed to slow down the frequency of these episodes.

It was as if living a normal life was keeping the dangerous condition in check.

Over the past month, he had only experienced one soul ejection.

\'For now, it\'s better to play along,\' Wang Xiao thought as he took the driver\'s seat.

The car\'s interior felt luxurious, the leather seats hugging him in comfort, while the dashboard gleamed with cutting-edge technology.

The car hummed softly as he started it up, and the Aether-powered engine purred like a beast waiting to be unleashed.

Meanwhile, the two siblings were still bickering over who would claim the coveted co-pilot seat when, out of nowhere, two small creatures slipped in through the open car windows.

"Squeee~!"

"Squeee~!"

Their joyful cries filled the air, instantly drawing everyone\'s attention.

The creatures flapped their tiny wings frantically, darting about with surprising agility.

They were each about the size of a small football, zipping around as if the air itself was their playground.

Wang Xiao, Xinyue Zhilan, and his sisters froze, their eyes widening as they took in the sight.

"Lizards?" Xinyue Zhilan muttered, squinting slightly as one of the creatures flew in circles above her head.

She looked genuinely confused, trying to figure out when lizards had become airborne—and this large.

"Squee..." One of the creatures, a dark-scaled dragon cub, zipped down and gently nudged her, as if offended by the comparison.

The little dragon seemed almost insulted, its glossy black scales shimmering like a gemstone in the fading sunlight.

Wang Xiao chuckled softly, recognizing the mischievous dragon instantly.