The place where Jiang Ying lived was the house left behind by her mother in this world.
The equipment inside was from the earliest batch, and looking at it now, it seemed somewhat old.
Especially the climate control system; not only did it consume a lot of electricity, but its heating effect was also very poor, taking a long time to pull the entire house out of an icy cavern.
Every day before leaving for work, she would turn off the climate control, then turn it on again when she was ready to come home, so the temperature would be just right when she arrived.
On the way back from the Beastman Occupation Reception Center, Jiang Ying turned on the climate control device at home in advance.
With the guide dog, the time it took to get home was directly cut by nearly half.
She even had time to take Su Heng out for dinner.
When she got home and opened the door, the indoor temperature had just risen.
“Come in.”
Jiang Ying casually let go of his hand, then turned to fumble around in the shoe cabinet at the entrance, trying to find a suitable pair of slippers for her doggy.
Although she had been saving money, her decision to finally buy a Beastman Guide Dog this time was an impulsive result of yesterday’s work meeting.
She hadn’t had time to buy all the necessary things for raising a doggy.
Fortunately, the beastman could eat the same food as her, so she didn’t need to prepare anything special.
As for the rest, she could take him out to buy them together on tomorrow’s rest day.
Su Heng followed her into the house.
He turned around on his own accord to close the door, then gazed at the hand she had let go of for a long while.
A soft, fluffy sensation still lingered in his palm.
Along the way, her hand had long been warmed by him.
Although he was well aware that even so, a human’s body temperature was still much lower than his, and the same warmth was only on the skin’s surface, this feeling of sharing the same temperature left him subtly stunned for a moment.
So much so that after she released his hand, his palm felt cool, and his heart seemed suddenly empty, as if a piece had gone missing.
Su Heng silently watched her back as she busied herself rummaging through cabinets.
After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately didn’t speak up to stop her or offer to help himself.
He understood what loss felt like.
He also knew that she had hired him to make her life more convenient, not to gain anyone’s sympathy or care.
And even if she were an enemy, he would still give her due respect.
“Ah. This pair should work?”
Jiang Ying finally dug out a pair of slippers.
Since she had gone blind, she hadn’t brought many people home.
The slippers in the shoe cabinet were ones she had prepared back when colleagues came over to visit, and she could no longer remember clearly which sizes she had bought.
“Su Heng, try this pair and see if they fit.”
She remained in a squatting position, looking up as she held the slippers aloft and shook them slightly. “These seem to be the biggest slippers I have here. If they still don’t fit, I’ll go buy a pair at a nearby convenience store.”
Su Heng lowered his eyes but didn’t look at the slippers.
She had curled into a ball in front of him, a tiny little thing, yet she completely filled his line of sight.
When squatting, her heels seemed unable to fully touch the ground; she teetered on her toes and swayed backward, her other hand braced against the shoe cabinet door for leverage to steady herself.
A little cute.
Su Heng had to tell himself this was only due to limited dorsiflexion, suppressing that strange, ticklish feeling in his heart.
“Su Heng?”
She called his name again.
“Mm.” Su Heng bent down and took the slippers from her hand. “They fit.”
He managed to squeeze into them, but his heels were still exposed.
Moreover, the slippers were pink.
She couldn’t see, so he didn’t mention it.
Jiang Ying, however, picked up on something from his words. Gripping the handle of the shoe cabinet, she stood up with effort. “Are they still too small? I’ll go out now—”
“No need.” Su Heng steadied her with a hand. “It’s very late.”
Jiang Ying had been squatting for quite a while, and her feet had gone numb.
With her wrist held by him, she didn’t fuss and accepted it with ease.
Of course, she didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable about her doggy doing this either.
She simply entrusted the weight of her body to him. “Then tomorrow I’ll take you to the mall. You can also make a list of any daily necessities you need, mm, and foods you like.”
He had already brought a change of clothes and toiletries, so there wasn’t really anything special he needed.
But looking at the hopeful expression in her eyes, Su Heng still responded, “Mm.”
A lively look of excitement spread across Jiang Ying’s cheeks. “Good, good. I’ll take you tomorrow.”
She had long wanted to take a doggy shopping at the mall.
It was just that before she transmigrated, pet-friendly public places hadn’t been many, and now the Federation wasn’t all that friendly toward beastmen either.
Even though public attitudes toward beastmen had improved somewhat, giving rise to a subset of fervent beastman enthusiasts, many people still resisted them, and many places still hung signs barring beastmen from entry.
As Jiang Ying searched her memory for nearby beastman-friendly malls, she recalled something more important.
She only had one master bedroom and a study; she hardly spent time in the living room. Wanting to expand the space for easier movement, she had kept the dining table but moved away the sofa and coffee table she didn’t use.
There was no extra bed in the house for him to sleep on.
The beastman was too big, and he couldn’t sleep on a little dog’s camp bed either. She figured she should stop by a furniture store tomorrow to look at beds and buy one to convert the study into a second bedroom.
But where would Su Heng sleep tonight?
She didn’t mind cats and dogs getting on the bed after all.
After much pondering, Jiang Ying suddenly spoke up: “Su Heng, will you sleep with me tonight?”
The hand Su Heng was using to support her paused; he nearly let his surprise show on his face.
But he immediately came to his senses, remembering that she had a cognitive disorder concerning his identity, and it wasn’t that kind of implication.
To her, that sentence just now was no different from letting cats and dogs get on the bed.
Other than “she is a master who doesn’t mind her pets getting on the bed,” it held no other meaning whatsoever.
Su Heng felt a tightness in his chest. He averted his gaze. “I’ll just keep watch outside the door of the room.”
“Ah?”
Jiang Ying was puzzled. “But my home is very safe, and you’re not a guard dog either.”
A sense of defeat, like a small animal she raised not being close to her, washed over her.
She was a little hurt, agonizingly searching for reasons behind Su Heng’s unhesitating refusal.
Maybe he didn’t like sleeping on beds. Maybe his boundaries were relatively strong. Maybe he hadn’t developed affection for her yet and didn’t trust her.
Or perhaps—
Jiang Ying withdrew her arm, pulling back her reliance on him. Without mincing words, she straightforwardly asked to confirm: “Do you… not like me?”
He couldn’t say he liked her.
And it wouldn’t do to say he disliked her either.
Su Heng himself was somewhat unsure about what kind of attitude to adopt toward someone who was, in an objective sense, his “enemy.”
In the end, he avoided this question and chose to concede on the previous one. “I’ll rest in the living room.”
“But I don’t have a sofa.”
Jiang Ying, like almost every first-time pet owner, fretted that her doggy wouldn’t be used to the new environment, wouldn’t sleep well, and might suffer from separation anxiety. She wanted to buy a soft nest for a little dog, toss in some cute toys, and have her little dog rest right under her watch.
She thought for a moment. “Then I’ll spread a quilt by my bed.”
Su Heng knew that quibbling with a human who had beastman cognitive disorder was pointless. Coupled with her eager expression that faintly betrayed her worry, he truly couldn’t force out a “no.”
“…Alright.” He finally agreed, accepting her suggestion of making a bed on the floor.
Jiang Ying was satisfied.
Receiving her doggy’s approval brought genuine joy.
She led him to her room and opened the cabinet.
She did this every day; even though she couldn’t see, her movements were already fluid and effortless.
She pulled a thick quilt from the bottom layer and spread it on the floor as a mattress. Then she took out another quilt to cover him with.
There was a pillow on the bed that she used as a backrest, and she directly handed it to Su Heng.
As she did these things, she said, “Then tomorrow, we’ll first go to a furniture store and buy you a… bed. From now on, the study will be your room.”
Su Heng guessed she had wanted to say “nest.”
He watched her smooth out the quilt bit by bit, then crouched down as well to help make the bed.
She groped forward on her own, nearly burrowing into his arms.
When she was about to brush against his arm, he shifted aside to make room. She seemed to notice and naturally turned the other way.
The two of them quickly finished making the floor bed. Su Heng was about to stand up when he saw Jiang Ying sit straight down.
Her raised brows carried a trace of expectation. Her eyes were vacant but couldn’t hide her smile. Under his puzzled gaze, she patted the quilt beside her and cooed in a sugary voice, “Come.”
“…”
Without a doubt, it was the tone used to call a dog.
What’s more, since little dogs loved cutesy voices, she deliberately pitched her voice higher to call him.
Instinct drove Su Heng to go over, but reason tugged at him, reminding him he wasn’t a dog.
However, that catnip-scented pheromone on her, combined with her deliberate show of goodwill, was nearly swallowing his reason whole.
Su Heng convinced himself that he needed to build a good rapport with her, to let her lower her guard.
After a struggle, he hesitantly sat down beside her.
His back rested against the edge of her bed. The mattress made of the thick quilt beneath him was softer than he had imagined, and he sank into it without any preparation.
Having never slept on such a soft place since birth, he unconsciously curled his palm to feel the plush, fluffy fabric and was dazed for a moment by the unexpected warmth and comfort.
Beside him, the young girl was also wrapping his ears in a soft, gentle voice: “Come a little closer.”
This time she didn’t pat the bed, but instead patted her own outstretched, relaxed legs.
A twitch ran through the corner of Su Heng’s eye. “What?”
Jiang Ying’s eyes sparkled so much that it almost made him think she could see.
She lifted her chin slightly; her unfocused gaze brushed past his Adam’s apple and landed on the corner of his lips. “Good doggy, come here to big sister.”
“…”
Su Heng choked up for a second, finally widening his smoky grey eyes.
Receiving no response, Jiang Ying reached out and tugged at his sleeve.
Anxious to confirm her doggy’s affection for her, she was just a little impatient now.
Her hand slid down along his cuff, fingertips trailing past his wrist, coming to rest on the back of his hand that was braced against the sheet.
Though the temperature was clearly much lower than his own skin, Su Heng recoiled as if burned, subconsciously pulling his hand away.
The next second, Jiang Ying froze, and a look of sadness and hurt slowly crept onto her face.
Su Heng feared she would ask him again if he didn’t like her.
He sighed inwardly, then leaned slightly toward her in compromise. “What do you want?”
The disappointment on her face instantly disappeared.
Su Heng froze, only then realizing she had just been pretending.
Exactly like teasing a little dog.
She stretched her arms out, tentatively feeling the air, and just barely managed to wrap them around his lowered neck.
Then she exerted gentle pressure downward, wanting him to rest on her lap so she could hug him.
Su Heng was nearly bewitched, or perhaps instinct under the stimulation of pheromones had finally overcome reason, because by the time he realized it, the side of his face was already resting on her knee.
The fabric of her skirt wasn’t delicate; it had a slightly scratchy texture that seemed to faintly tickle his thoughts with her every breath.
Her hand came to rest on his head at this moment, softly stroking one of his beast ears.
Su Heng’s back tensed, his entire body stiffening against her.
As her other hand stroked his cheek and she murmured “good doggy” with satisfaction, that restless pheromone of hers continuously stimulated his nerves, tormenting his willpower.
All sorts of physical reactions followed one after another.
His throat suddenly went dry; he felt unbearably hot and uneasy.
His heart pounded like a drum, and at the same time, there was something else difficult to control…
No matter how he held his breath, he couldn’t resist the impulse hardcoded in his genes.
Su Heng exerted all his strength to suppress his body’s trembling, but with little success.
He took rapid, incredulous, and unsettled breaths, and had to accept this fact—
He, because of a human girl, had uncontrollably entered a rut.