Chapter Four: Once I Leave, I Will Not Return

“Do you have a pair of glasses I can borrow?” Fang Yuan finally asked, half in jest, not expecting the girl to casually hand him a pair of sunglasses, which looked quite stylish.

Fang Yuan couldn’t bear to look at himself in the mirror; he turned away at once, eager to leave. The sight was simply too much to take.

Just thinking about it made Fang Yuan’s liver ache. Even though he was fully covered up, his height—almost six feet—was impossible to hide. How many girls that tall had he ever seen? Height alone wasn’t the issue; modern supermodels were all about that tall. But none of them had his build. If any did, they’d have been thrown off the runway long ago.

With the sunglasses on, Fang Yuan felt less self-conscious. He swaggered straight toward the door; at last, he could leave this cursed place. Once he was out, he’d figure out what to do next. He seemed to have forgotten one very pressing problem, though: he had arrived in this world with nothing—not even a stitch of clothing. Yes, that was no exaggeration.

He hurried out of the room, not looking back, not wanting to spend another moment there.

“I actually thought that girl’s suggestion was pretty good. Aren’t you going to reconsider?” Halfway down the hall, he heard that damned parasite speak up again. Every time Fang Yuan heard its voice now, his liver ached worse—it was a real, physical pain.

“Do you think I haven’t embarrassed myself enough? I barely managed to leave that place, and you want me to go back and ask that girl for help again?” Fang Yuan was furious, really enraged.

“Forget I said anything. I won’t starve, after all. If you die, I’ll just find another host. Honestly, if I’d known you’d be such a poor host, I’d have preferred to remain an insignificant little organism forever.” The parasite’s tone was full of complaint, as if it had gotten the short end of the deal.

At that moment, Fang Yuan remembered a very serious question he’d been wanting to ask, but hadn’t had the chance. He quickened his pace, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and finally worked up the courage.

Just as he was about to ask, the wretched parasite spoke first, “No need to ask. I can tell you this much: when we were at sea, doing the backstroke, I saw a fountain. Well, a small one.”

“You’re a pervert, you know that?” The words made a certain part of Fang Yuan twitch involuntarily, and his liver ached even more.

“You think I wanted to look? It couldn’t be helped. Must you be so petty?” The parasite tried to defend itself, refusing to admit any fault.

A wicked laugh echoed in Fang Yuan’s mind. He wanted nothing more than to bash his head against the wall and end it all. Had there been other ships around at the time? What if someone had recorded him? How could he ever show his face again?

Suddenly, Fang Yuan realized an even more serious problem—so serious that just thinking about it made his whole body tense up. But before he could voice it, the voice in his mind disappeared completely. No matter how he called, it refused to answer. The more silent it was, the colder Fang Yuan’s heart grew.

What had he done to deserve such punishment from the heavens?

As a biologist, Fang Yuan was sensitive to certain questions. Even if the parasite was microscopic, barely visible with a magnifying glass, every living thing in this world was bound by a certain law.

Only with that law could balance and stability be maintained among all species. Without it, the world would descend into chaos.

He was just an inexperienced young man. Why did fate have to treat him this way? Fang Yuan wanted to howl at the sky.

“I think…” After a long silence, the voice finally returned.

“Shut up!” Fang Yuan cut it off before it could finish, shouting so fiercely that the parasite immediately fell silent. This only made Fang Yuan’s liver ache more intensely.

“Actually, it’s not what you think. You don’t need to take it so much to heart.” After another long pause, the voice sounded again, this time much weaker.

“Not take what to heart? That someone else undressed me? Or that there’s a... yes, a female parasite living inside my body?” Fang Yuan’s anger was barely contained.

“I told you, I’m not just any parasite. I’m a Great Parasite, very different from the kind you imagine,” it protested.

“But you’re still a parasite, aren’t you? If you don’t like the name, I’ll just call you Buggy from now on. It suits you—and your... well, you know.” If he couldn’t get rid of this thing, Fang Yuan thought, he couldn’t keep calling it “hey, you” forever. Buggy was a decent enough name; he’d always wanted a pet called Buggy, after all.

Instead of getting a pet, though, it seemed he had acquired a parasite—one he had to carry everywhere.

“I told you, I’m not a bug. Couldn’t you come up with a cooler name? Something like Guardian would be much more impressive,” Buggy said.

“You don’t like it? Too bad. I do. From now on, Buggy it is. So, Buggy, tell me, how did you bring me here? This place seems a long way from where you lived before.” Fang Yuan asked with an innocent face; the more the parasite disliked it, the happier he felt.

“Of course it’s far. I brought you across half the ocean!” Buggy declared with pride.

“How, exactly?” Fang Yuan could almost picture how he’d looked at the time—backstroking, completely exposed.

“Don’t worry, we didn’t encounter too many people. Just four or five sightseeing cruise ships. The people on board were very enthusiastic—some even took photos of you! Besides them, there were a few cargo ships. The crews were all good people; they thought you’d fallen overboard by accident and wanted to rescue you. But I turned them down,” Buggy continued.

Fang Yuan felt himself falling apart. “Is there any way I can get rid of you?”

After hearing Buggy’s account, Fang Yuan was more determined than ever. No matter what it cost, he couldn’t let this creature stay in his brain any longer. Otherwise, he’d die of embarrassment sooner or later.

“There is a way—you could strangle yourself, or drown. If that doesn’t work, hanging is always an option. A bit old-fashioned, but effective. No need to worry about it not working,” Buggy replied with utter seriousness, discussing methods for Fang Yuan to kill himself. Fang Yuan covered his face, utterly defeated, unable to listen any longer. Clearly, this parasite had been sent by the heavens to torment him.