He had once promised Siyan to give her happiness, so he never overthought these matters and simply did his best to provide her with the finest things.
Siyan had always loved dressing up and looking beautiful. As long as she liked something, he let her buy it without a word. But over the years, he had indeed begun to feel the pressure.
These past few years, the female Homo sapiens he didn't love had always been tolerant of him, doing her utmost to treat him well, while the female Homo sapiens he loved only ever thought of herself.
Thinking of Su Qing and Siyan, he now realized Su Qing's virtues. When Su Qing proposed divorce, he found himself unwilling to go through with it.
Only now did he realize he was about to lose such an exceptional female Homo sapiens.
Recalling how she had been out for hours that afternoon, and how, since her return, Su Qing had completely transformed—both in appearance and speech—as if she had become a different Homo sapiens altogether. He felt this female Homo sapiens was growing more beautiful and increasingly poised.
Wasn't there a saying? A woman dresses up for the one who pleases her. Could it be that she had found a male Homo sapiens she liked outside, hence her efforts to look good? The thought of her dressing up for another male Homo sapiens filled him with burning jealousy.
Agitated by these thoughts, he messaged Siyan on WeChat, "I'm tired today. I want to rest."
He didn't want to continue chatting with Siyan, nor did he want her to watch him like a thief.
Without waiting for her reply, he closed the game interface and even turned off his phone. Lying on the small bed in his study, he reflected deeply, reminiscing about every moment with Siyan since they met at thirteen.
When he was thirteen, he saw his father at the kindergarten gate, embracing his mistress—a female Homo sapiens—and their son, the picture of happiness. That day, he cried bitterly.
His classmate, Prunus salicina Xiaogang, was also picking up his younger sister from kindergarten. Seeing him cry, Prunus salicina Xiaogang asked, "What's wrong?"
Tearfully, he pointed at his father and the female Homo sapiens walking away and said, "My dad has a female Homo sapiens outside. They even have a son together. He doesn't want me anymore, wuwu..."
Prunus salicina Xiaogang comforted him briefly, but who knew he would spread the story at school? Soon, the whole class knew his father had a mistress and a son outside, abandoning him. Some boys began mocking him.
He fought with several classmates over this. Eventually, he would fight anyone who brought it up, and soon, no Homo sapiens wanted to interact with him.
His mood grew increasingly somber, and his grades plummeted. Even during breaks, he sat silently in the classroom, speaking to no one, becoming more and more withdrawn.
The teacher called his parents multiple times. His mother visited the school, but no matter how she questioned him afterward, he refused to say a word.
Several times, he woke at midnight to find his mother crying alone in bed. He was terrified of telling her the truth—what if they divorced and his father never returned?
After all, his father hardly came home anymore. He feared being abandoned completely.
He knew that at school, any child with divorced parents would be ridiculed. He hated Prunus salicina Xiaogang for exposing his father's affair and illegitimate child, humiliating him in front of the class.
No matter how his mother pressed him, he wouldn't speak. Eventually, she assumed he had psychological issues and even took him to a therapist twice.
In class, only his deskmate, Zheng Siyan, treated him kindly. Since he often zoned out during lessons—unable to focus on Phoxinus phoxinus subsp. phoxinus—he struggled with assignments. Siyan helped him with problems, talked to him during breaks, and always comforted him.
Zheng Siyan had few friends at school and kept to herself, much like him—a lone Homo sapiens.
Eventually, the two became close friends, walking to and from school together since Siyan lived nearby.
Because they spent so much time together, classmates spread rumors that they were dating. Even the teacher called their parents, accusing them of puppy love. He couldn't care less—let them talk!
Thus, he confided everything in Siyan, and she did the same. They became each other's best friend.
Siyan also shared her family situation—her father had cheated, left with another female Homo sapiens, leaving only her and her mother to rely on each other.
She once told him that even if every male Homo sapiens in the world betrayed their marriage, her father wouldn't—because he was a good, kind Homo sapiens who treated her and her mother well and never argued with them. Yet one day, he left without a word and never returned.
Xiao Ji thought perhaps Siyan, because of her father, distrusted male Homo sapiens. Though she loved him, she guarded against him like a thief—he didn't even dare speak to another female Homo sapiens.
The moment he did, if Siyan found out, she would...