Deviant: No Longer Human

As Zhenxi proudly displayed the panda cub, its soft, round face nuzzling against her arms, she turned her sparkling eyes toward Chen Meili with pure delight. "Look, Meili! Isn't he cute?"

Chen Meili, still in shock from realizing the panda was very much alive, barely managed to nod, her hands nervously gripping the edge of her dress.

"Y-Yes… very cute, Zhenxi," she stammered, trying to keep her composure.

But her eyes kept darting to Wang Xiao, and the growing unease in her chest was impossible to ignore.

Suddenly, without warning, Zhenxi placed the panda down and darted forward, grabbing Chen Meili's hand with both of her tiny ones.

Her grip was surprisingly firm for a child. "Meili, look!" she exclaimed, pointing enthusiastically toward Wang Xiao. "I didn't lie! He's here!"

Chen Meili's heart skipped a beat. "W-Who?" she managed to ask, her voice shaky as she tried to make sense of what Zhenxi was saying.

The girl's sudden excitement only fueled her own rising panic.

Zhenxi beamed, her face lighting up with a mixture of joy and pride. "Zhenxi's daddy, of course!" she declared with absolute certainty. "He healed my eyes! Now I can see everything!"

"!"

The world seemed to stop for Chen Meili.

Her face paled, her heart pounding in her chest as the weight of Zhenxi's words sank in.

Her knees almost gave way, and she stood there, frozen, staring at Wang Xiao with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Wang Xiao leaned back into the couch, his arms crossed, observing the scene with an unreadable expression.

He didn't say anything, but his gaze stayed fixed on Chen Meili, his eyes gleaming with a hint of surprise.

"Zhenxi, you can't just call anyone your dad, okay?" Chen Meili crouched down, her voice gentle yet strained, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Your mom would be sad."

Zhenxi blinked, her innocent face showing a flicker of confusion. She clearly didn't want to understand Chen Meili's words, but she pouted, displeased with being told otherwise.

On the side, Wang Xueying and Wang Mei had already settled on the couch in the side, watching the scene unfold with thinly veiled amusement.

Wang Xueying glanced at Wang Xiao, a small relieved smile playing on her lips.

'He's different now,' she thought, slightly melancholic.

The change in him since his return was evident, but it made her happy to see him acting normal again, as if the burden he once carried had lightened.

Meanwhile, Xinyue Zhilan moved closer to Wang Xiao, her expression curious.

In a low voice, she asked, "You know her?"

Wang Xiao gave a slight nod. "She worked at Chen Li's shop for a while."

He couldn't exactly tell his mother that Chen Meili was once a receptionist at Velvet Shadows, a rather unconventional establishment, so he opted for the safer answer.

"Oh." Xinyue Zhilan nodded thoughtfully. She had met Chen Li before, and knowing that Chen Meili had some connection to him seemed to ease her concerns.

Glancing over at the young woman who still looked panicked, she smiled a little. "She's beautiful," she said meaningfully, her voice carrying a slight edge of mischief.

Wang Xiao's face darkened almost immediately. 'Is my mother seriously trying to set me up with every beautiful woman she sees?' The thought made him inwardly groan.

"She is," he replied curtly, clearly giving a perfunctory response, trying to dismiss his mother's matchmaking instincts.

Xinyue Zhilan, however, was quietly pleased, her cheeks flushing slightly.

She realized she was enjoying herself by annoying him for no reason.

She glanced away, a bit embarrassed by her own behavior, but the smile remained on her lips.

At that very moment, Zhenxi's broke free from Chen Meili's grasp.

"Humph! I don't want to meet my mom! I want to stay with him only!" she declared, her small voice filled with determination.

She huffed and grabbed the panda cub from Chen Meili's hands before trotting back toward Wang Xiao, her eyes fierce with rebellion.

Chen Meili's face paled further as Zhenxi clung to the panda and Wang Xiao.

This girl wasn't making things easy.

If Fu Yuxin comes, things will become chaotic.

As far as she remembers, Fu Yuxin hated Wang Xiao to the core, and for very good reasons.

Xinyue Zhilan's sharp eyes caught the oddity immediately.

'Are pandas really so light?* She thought, watching Zhenxi lift it effortlessly as if it weighed nothing.

The realization slowly causing a slight headache to form. 'Did my son… steal a panda from zoo?'

Her lips twitched as she thought about the legal consequences of harboring a protected species.

Wang Xiao didn't seem the least bit concerned, but she knew better.

'If nothing else, we're going to receive a very unpleasant legal notice soon,' she sighed inwardly.

Trying to mask her growing headache, Xinyue Zhilan leaned closer to Wang Xiao, whispering, "Did you really take a panda? You do remember they're a protected species, right?"

Wang Xiao, completely unbothered, gave her a sideways glance and shrugged. "She liked it."

Xinyue Zhilan massaged her temples, her mind playing out all kinds of absurd headlines: "Young Man Steals Endangered Panda Cub—Authorities Shocked!" She could already picture biologists fainting on live television while reporters hounded the villa.

The potential scandal was enough to give her a headache.

Little did she know, no one could even post his face online.

Thanks to layers of censors, anything that involved him would mysteriously vanish from the internet unless it was posted directly from his personal accounts—which, of course, he hadn't used in ages.

Even if they succeeded in catching him in the act, what could they do?

Just because the government was powerful didn't mean it had control over everything.

And if they tried claiming sovereignty over him... He could just claim sovereignty over the entire nation.

Governments were only seen as untouchable because people accepted them as superior to them.

"..."

Xinyue Zhilan stared at her son, her lips pursed in exasperation, but before she could voice her concerns, Wang Xiao casually interrupted. "She even named it," he said, his tone low-key proud.

"Hm! Little Fattie!" Zhenxi declared with pride, her tiny hands patting the back of the poor panda cub, which was currently being strangled in her overenthusiastic grip.

The panda squirmed helplessly, trying to wriggle free as Zhenxi's arms tightened around it.

Xinyue Zhilan blinked. "..." She didn't even know how to respond to that.

Chen Meili, standing nearby, was equally speechless.

She had seen and heard a lot of things today, but watching Zhenxi casually manhandle a protected species while her mother fretted about the consequences—well, this was beyond what she had prepared herself for.

After a long bout of negotiation, Chen Meili finally managed to convince Zhenxi to leave with her for the day, promising that she could return tomorrow to play with Wang Xiao again.

The little girl pouted but reluctantly agreed after extracting a solemn promise from Wang Xiao.

Before leaving, however, Zhenxi had the audacity to wag her finger at him and warn, "If you leave again, I won't talk to you anymore!"

Wang Xiao, leaning against the doorframe, could only shake his head, feeling a mix of amusement and resignation.

'Out of all the misfortunes of my eighteen generations,' he mused, 'I had to find and bless this rebellious creature..'

As Zhenxi marched away, dragging the reluctant "Little Fattie" along with her, Chen Meili hurriedly followed, her face flushed from the entire situation.

No one paid much attention to where the panda came from or how Zhenxi had gotten it—no one wanted to open that can of worms just yet.

Chen Meili was far too focused on getting Zhenxi out of the house before another disaster struck.

Before she left, Wang Xiao asked for her contact information.

He wasn't particularly interested in Chen Meili herself, but he had a few questions about Velvet Shadows.

Suspiciously, she gave him the address of her shop, rather than her home, but he didn't push.

They exchanged contacts before she hurried out the door, her steps quickened by a mixture of nerves and relief.