Deviant: No Longer Human

A blind date?

For Jiarong?

What, was Meifang trying to marry her off to some asshole in a suit so tight he couldn't breathe? Wang Xiao didn't even want to imagine it. He didn't say anything, though. Not worth the energy.

So instead of wasting time waiting for Jiarong to "not be busy," he'd taken Ruixin out for a bit of distraction.

The boutique they'd stopped at was directly across from a café.

Through the glass, Wang Xiao could see Jiarong sitting inside, her face set in a scowl that matched his mood. She stirred her coffee like it had personally offended her, and for a second, he almost laughed.

"She's pissed," he muttered under his breath.

Qian Ruixin didn't respond, too busy holding up another coat for his opinion. He didn't care about the coat. He didn't care about the café. But the sight of his sister glaring daggers into her drink felt weirdly comforting.

Misery loved company, after all.

_______

Above the bustling mortal city, Eveline stood at the edge of a skyscraper, her silhouette sharp against the night.

Beside her was Penelope— once known to mortals as the first woman to build a billion-dollar empire through funeral homes during the chaos of the Great Reset.

Her rise was darkly poetic: burying the dead while others struggled to stay alive. And just as quickly as she had risen, she disappeared, her name wiped clean from history.

Now she stood here, her hair a black cascade down her back, her emerald eyes glinting like cold fire. Mist coiled at her feet, obscuring the ledge as if the world itself hesitated to let her fall. Yet this wasn't the Penelope of legend anymore—this was Persephone, queen of the underworld, cloaked in mortal skin.

Penelope's gaze drifted to the figures below. "Do you think she's found him?" she asked softly. "Does Tyche's magic work on herself, or is she as blind as the rest of us?"

Eveline scoffed. "If Tyche's involved, it's misfortune disguised as luck. That girl's not lucky—she's cursed." Her tone was clipped, her eyes fixed on Qian Ruixin, who hovered around Wang Xiao like an innocent lamb.

Qian Ruixin had no idea what she carried.

Deep in her soul, a shard of Tyche lay dormant—too weak to guide her now, but strong enough to twist fate if awakened. And that wasn't the end of it. Her existence was bound to the Sansara Knot, a cursed union that tied together fragments of three gods: Tyche, goddess of fortune; Nemesis, goddess of retribution; and Kubera, god of wealth.

Once enemies, these deities now shared a fragile balance within the Knot. Without it, their fragments would have ceased to exist. Nemesis had already awakened, her shard thriving within Xin Meifang, while Kubera's presence had pushed Qian Yifan to unimaginable wealth.

Yet Qian Ruixin remained blissfully unaware, carrying Tyche's slumbering essence like an ember waiting for a spark.

"Leave it," Penelope said, her voice cold. "You said he could help me."

Eveline glanced at her, a faint sneer on her lips. "He can—but not at a price you'd want to pay." Her gaze sharp with meaning.

Penelope's confidence didn't waver. "Every man has a price. If he desires beauty, I can offer him a kingdom of it."

Eveline chuckled, low and mocking. "Oh, Persephone... He won't take your gifts. He'll take you. Do you think you can afford that?"

For a moment, Penelope's mask slipped.

The thought of being claimed—of becoming someone else's possession—left her silent.

But the moment passed, and her usual confidence returned. "I have ways. He can have women far more beautiful than me."

Eveline said nothing. Wang Xiao, playing by the rules? Laughable. Whatever Persephone thought she could offer, he would take it all—and her, if it suited him.

Eveline didn't need to warn her; Wang Xiao's actions would make it clear soon enough.

Luck seemed to follow Wang Xiao like a loyal dog, and Qian Ruixin was no exception. Whether Tyche's shard awakened or not, just having her near was enough to stack fortune in his favor.

The gods might call it coincidence, but Eveline knew better. Everything flowed toward him as if the heavens themselves conspired to make him invincible.

But luck alone wasn't what made Wang Xiao dangerous. He didn't just ride the waves of fate—he tore them apart and reshaped them to his will. If the gods held something he wanted, he would seize it, no matter the cost. He refused to bow, even to the heavens or the...Netherworld. That fire, that rebellion, made him unstoppable.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Eveline frowned.

She couldn't decide if the fate was aiding him or if he was forcing their hand. Either way, his ambition knew no bounds.

He wasn't used to living under someone's hand. The thought alone scratched at Wang Xiao's pride like a thorn stuck beneath his skin. For a man like him, dominance wasn't just a goal—it was his right. The heavens, the Netherworld, even fate itself, all existed to serve him.

Eveline, watching from her perch above, couldn't help but smirk faintly. With the Netherworld now in play, she wondered just how far his arrogance could carry him. Would he conquer that too? And if he did, what would be left for a man who couldn't tolerate limits?

Her thoughts shattered as a sound rose from the streets below.

Vroom.

Her eyes snapped downward, catching the yellow Lamborghini tearing through the street like a streak of lightning.

Its roar was deafening, its speed reckless.

The car wobbled slightly, the driver clearly out of control. Eveline's sharp gaze followed its erratic path, and her expression darkened.

The car was heading straight for the boutique.

____

Inside, Wang Xiao stood near the glass wall, handing his card to Qian Ruixin.

"Go settle it," he said, his tone as casual as if the world beyond the glass didn't exist.

Qian Ruixin took the card, nodding as she turned toward the register. But something caught her attention.

Her eyes shifted to the street outside, where the yellow Lamborghini roared toward them, its hood gleaming under the streetlights. She froze for a second, her heart pounding as the car screeched—

Screech!

The sound rattled her nerves. In that moment, instinct overpowered thought.

The card slipped from her fingers, fluttering to the floor. Without hesitation, she turned, shoving Wang Xiao hard in the chest.

"Move!"

Her push caught him off guard, forcing him back just enough.

Eveline's lips parted slightly, her focus narrowing on the girl.

This idiot…

Before she could act, the glass wall exploded.

____

"Fuck! This thing is out of control!"

Inside the lamborghini, Lian Shen, an overconfident entrepreneur with a taste for speed, gripped the steering wheel of his car in a panic. What was supposed to be a quick drive to an important meeting had turned into a nightmare. His brakes had failed.

Hooooonnk!

He hammered the horn, weaving through traffic, sweat dripping down his temples. His heart pounded as he saw the curve ahead.

"No, no, no!" he shouted.

The boutique loomed ahead, its glass walls shimmering under the streetlights. Figures moved inside, oblivious to the danger racing toward them. Lian Shen stomped on the brakes, but they didn't respond. His heart dropped into his stomach.

"Shit! Move! Somebody move!"

The Lamborghini hurtled forward, and his vision blurred as he braced himself for the inevitable.

_____

CRASH!

The car smashed through the boutique with a thunderous impact. Glass shattered in every direction, a jagged rain in the air.

The screech of steel grinding against stone reverberated through the street. Smoke blasted from the hood as the vehicle came to a violent stop, its front end crumpled like a crushed can.

_____

Across the street, Wang Jiarong sat peacefully in the café, absentmindedly stirring her coffee as she waited.

CRASH!

The sound ripped through the air, shattering her moment of calm. Her head snapped toward the noise, her breath catching as destruction before her eyes.

For a moment, she froze, her mind struggling to process what she was seeing. Through the haze of dust and debris, she spotted the source—a yellow Lamborghini, crumpled against the boutique's shattered glass wall.

Her voice trembled, panic creeping into her tone. "Xiao Wang... Rui!?"

Her eyes widened as she squinted at the scene. In the aftermath, she thought she saw two figures—silhouettes inbetween the wreckage that looked eerily like her younger brother, Wang Xiao, and her cousin, Qian Ruixin.

The coffee cup slipped from her hand, clattering onto the table as she pushed her chair back

BAM!

The café chair scraped loudly against the floor as she shoved it aside, rushing to the door. Her heart pounded as she pushed through the gathering crowd.

"Did you see that?"

"Who the hell drives like that?"

"Someone call ambulance!"

The voices of onlookers buzzed around her, a mix of panic and morbid curiosity. Dust and debris swirled around the crumpled Lamborghini, catching the flickering light from a nearby streetlamp.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"I think it hit someone!"

"Where's the driver?"

The shattered glass glittered on the ground like jagged stars. Smoke curled from the car's hood, drifting lazily upward as if mocking the chaos below.

People craned their necks, some snapping pictures with their phones while others frantically dialed emergency services.

Jiarong shoved her way through the throng, her voice cracking as she called out again. "Rui!"

The crowd parted slightly, revealing the wreckage inside the boutique.

Her stomach twisted at the sight of a figure on the floor amidst the rubble. For a split second, she thought she saw them.

Her steps faltered, panic flooding her veins.

"Move aside! Let me through!" someone yelled, their voice rising over the murmurs of the crowd.