Su Heng was very fortunate.
After ordering the bed, Jiang Ying suddenly mentioned she needed to buy some personal items. She told him not to follow, and that she would contact him via phone later.
“Mm… anyway, I can’t bring you along.”
She stammered, instinctively avoiding eye contact even though she couldn’t see at all. “Browse around on your own for a bit, go find what you need. I’ll pay for everything together when we meet up.”
Su Heng’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down.
There was no way she could know what it was that he “needed.”
“Alright.” Su Heng didn’t refuse her suggestion; he couldn’t refuse, either.
He was already struggling to control his own actions. Before the last shred of his reason vanished, he had to get his first estrus state under control.
Otherwise, if he stayed with her any longer, he might not be able to bother with anything else.
He would go mad with the urge to flip her over and press her down right there on the sample bed they hadn’t seriously considered, bite the back of her neck, and cover the scent of her pheromones with every part of his body, swallowing her consciousness whole, claiming every breath she took.
Such thoughts coiled and lapped through his mind like an alluring undercurrent, almost conjuring imagined scenes before his eyes.
His gaze fixated unconsciously on the fair nape of her neck, utterly unable to look away.
Just the thought of that euphoric pleasure when his canine teeth would pierce that patch of skin sent the feral genes in his body into a thrill of excitement.
He could feel his blood vessels clearly boiling; even his teeth were trembling when he spoke to her.
“You, by yourself,” Su Heng opened his mouth hoarsely, “will you be okay?”
A human couldn’t discern the tone in his voice.
Only a fellow beastman could make out the barely concealed lust within his current vocal frequency.
Yet Jiang Ying knew none of this.
She couldn’t feel the powerful, naked mating intent in his downcast gaze. Still softening her voice, she tried to reassure her doggy.
“It’s fine, don’t be afraid. I won’t abandon you. I’ll come find you soon.”
Su Heng froze for a moment.
That wasn’t… what he meant.
She seemed to have no self-consciousness about her own blindness. Or perhaps, she had long since grown accustomed to being alone. When he asked, her first reaction was to worry about him misunderstanding her.
Not to mention, he had no such misunderstanding. Even if her suddenly leaving him was truly an attempt to abandon him, what of it?
He wasn’t a dog.
Much less a dog loyal to her, unable to leave her side for even a moment.
Her “abandonment” could absolutely, eternally, not hold the slightest possibility of making him upset. It would never be a cause of fear for him.
Absolutely no way.
And yet, while reason reasoned thus, every physical reaction expressed the exact opposite: he didn’t want to leave her.
At least right at this very moment, he wanted to be a little closer…
Stop!
Su Heng abruptly halted the step he was taking toward her. Turning himself stiffly away, he faced the opposite direction.
“Then… be careful. I’m going now.”
His body began to flush hot again. Even without seeing his own reflection, he could feel the skin of his neck and the tips of his ears rapidly turning red.
Those weren’t the only parts congested with blood… there were other places, too, places that yearned for her soothing touch.
He barely caught her “Okay!” from behind him before fleeing as if escaping.
As expected, she didn’t follow.
After putting some distance between them, Su Heng finally recovered slightly from that ordeal of losing control.
He let out a long breath and started searching for where the estrus suppressants were sold.
Years ago, the output of this kind of product was low, and the price exorbitant. Many beastmen simply couldn’t afford it and had to resort to cheap black-market alternatives. As a result, many beastmen were left with lasting side effects, and if their genes weren’t pure, it would raise the probability of falling into a violent berserk state.
In recent years, with the rise in beastman status and some entering politics, estrus suppressants had finally begun to become commonplace among ordinary beastmen, even spawning various forms of products.
This was Su Heng’s first heat. He had never used such a thing.
He had only heard that the original injectable had been turned into a spray, and then, riding the wave of the rapidly developing beastman economy, evolved into a more portable, longer-lasting patch. Simply placing it onto the gland at the back of the neck could effectively suppress the urges of the heat cycle.
To protect beastman privacy, these suppressant patches even had transparent models that wouldn’t easily be exposed to outsiders’ gazes.
Before coming to the Federation, he had never imagined he’d see this day.
Out of some kind of virgin pride, he hadn’t brought any suppressant medication with him either.
The day before his departure, his adjutant had painstakingly tried to explain all kinds of heat-related things to him… too much incomprehensible, complicated terminology. He hadn’t listened carefully.
Now, as he struggled to suppress the urge to devour her, he somehow managed to recall the words his friend had spat at him, rolling his eyes and pointing a finger:
“What do you mean ‘heat only happens to people with wicked thoughts’?! It’s a physiological phenomenon! A physiological phenomenon, get it?!”
“So what if you haven’t had your first heat yet? Think you’re hot shit?”
“Ah, yes, yes, virgins are certainly impressive, alright. As if anyone else in your lonely damn military camp isn’t one!”
“I advise you not to overestimate your own self-control. When you finally meet the person who triggers your heat, you’ll want nothing more than to devour her on the spot. What, don’t believe me? We’ll see how well-behaved you are then.”
“Friendly tip: in an emergency, just go to a Beastman-Friendly Store. The things that can save your pride are placed in the most conspicuous spot.”
Su Heng truly didn’t want to admit it—that the behaviors he had once scoffed at had all been accurately predicted, and that every single thing had proven true for him.
And as he passed by various strangers in the mall, he confirmed a fact with stark clarity:
It seemed he…
was only in heat for her.
No time to ponder why. He had to immediately find that so-called “most conspicuous spot.”
If they said that, it must be at the entrance or exit.
Enduring the impulse to dash right back to her side, Su Heng headed toward the area he suspected.
When he spotted the cashier counter from afar, sure enough, right beside it he saw a glaring advertisement for estrus suppressant patches and a fully stocked shelf filled with suppressant patches of various brands and colorful packaging.
And on the adjacent shelf was something else, with packaging almost identical to the suppressant patches next to it.
Su Heng stopped dead in his tracks, his gaze trembling. As he involuntarily swallowed, his face flushed bright red.
That very last psychological defense line finally crumbled completely with that single glance.
And he also finally remembered the full version of his friend’s words:
“Easy to remember, right? After all, when a heat hits, you either need suppression measures or birth control measures. Cough cough, no matter which you buy… make sure to get the model specialized for ferocious-type beastmen. Normal models can’t withstand your ravages!”
The adjutant, who’d always held him in respect, spoke like an older brother facing a younger family member just coming of age, with weighty sincerity. “Don’t buy the wrong thing, alright? If the young lady gets the wrong idea then, you’ll be the one suffering.”
“Excuse me, is the doggy I came with still here?” Jiang Ying asked the sales clerk who handed her the receipt.
“Doggy?”
Startled, the clerk privately thought this was probably some kind of roleplay between a couple. “You mean that beastman gentleman just now? He’s not here anymore. Are you looking for him?”
“Ah, no, no.” Jiang Ying hurriedly explained. “Thank you. I’ll be going now then. Sorry for interrupting your work.”
Confirming Su Heng was indeed gone, she immediately sighed in relief.
Even if he was just a little dog, she didn’t want him to see what she was about to buy.
She asked the sales clerk for directions and then groped her way toward the cashier counter.
Before her transmigration, whether it was a large shopping mall or a small convenience store, those… condoms were almost always sold near the cash register. This place was no exception.
Because she had to secretly buy that kind of thing, she had even brought her portable foldable blind cane along.
Stepping onto the uneven tactile paving, listening to the tapping sound of her cane against the floor, Jiang Ying recalled her colleagues’ words from work the week before:
“For this Valentine’s Day card, the art side suggests adding condoms to the image.”
“The Head Artist proposed it—don’t give me that look. Since when have we ever won a debate against them? Besides, this time it’s actually a reasonable suggestion.”
“Obviously, it’s not going to be displayed right out in the open. It needs to be an Easter egg that players only notice after careful inspection. It’s already the third Valentine’s Day event. It’s about time we spiced things up, right? It all comes down to sex appeal. If we don’t do it, plenty of rival companies will.”
“No way, Yingying, you’ve never used them, but surely you’ve seen them?”
“These things come in all sorts of sizes, materials, styles, and flavors. Each male lead would definitely choose different ones.”
“Yingying, I suggest you do some serious research. After all, the settings I create, the stuff the other copywriters produce, and even the final scene art—it all ultimately goes through you for review and supervision.”
“How could just looking online be enough? Can’t you buy some and go do some actual hands-on inspection? Bring out that spirit you had when the project launched!”
“Order online? Dream on! Did you forget about the beastman male leads you yourself set before? That stuff for beastmen doesn’t support online purchases. You—go—to—the—mall—and—pick—them—out—properly!!!”
Jiang Ying felt like she never should have agreed to this.
Coming to the mall to buy that stuff was just way too embarrassing for her.
But when the meeting time came, everyone would be talking over each other, and she’d be the only one unable to chime in. That would be humiliating too.
Personally going to buy condoms was embarrassing, but at least she couldn’t see.
Wait.
Even if she couldn’t see others, others could see her…
Jiang Ying wrestled with herself the entire way, fully building up her psychological defenses. She was ready to just cover her face with her hands while buying them. But just as she approached the checkout, she actually heard a familiar voice.
“What are… flavors?”
A low, deep voice, carrying a throaty magnetism that made one’s heart tremble, with a restrained hint of confusion veiled at the tail end of his words.
It was Su Heng.
Jiang Ying confirmed it instantly.
She had known from the start that her doggy had a very pleasant voice.
Though he was usually silent and not one to bark, surely even his barks would sound nice.
But what was he just saying about flavors?
She hesitated, caught between curiosity and the desire not to be discovered, ultimately choosing the latter.
Once he finished buying his stuff, she could go over and take a look.
The moment she’d finished hesitating, she heard the cashier say:
“Ah, Sir, you’ve never bought these before? The one you’re holding is strawberry-flavored. This brand has other different flavors as well. We have a promotion today—buy three different flavors, and you get a thirty percent discount.”
“You could also pick out some different styles to try, Sir. Different materials and styles offer different experiences. For example, ribbed and dotted types can enhance stamina.”
“…Please wait a moment.”
Su Heng double-checked. What he was holding were indeed suppressant patches.
Why was their packaging so similar to that other stuff next to them, and even the descriptions…
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, he steeled himself and put back the strawberry-flavored suppressant patch he’d randomly grabbed. “Please get me… the ribbed ones.”
A two-second pause. “The model specialized for ferocious-type beastmen.”
Another two-second pause. “Several boxes. Thank you.”
“…”
Ah…
Ah?!
Jiang Ying was shaken by their exchange.
What was going on? Could her doggy be…
Forgetting she was supposed to be hiding from him, she stepped forward in shock. “A Heng? Are you—”
Before she could finish.
The blind cane in her hand was suddenly grasped by someone else.
“So this is the guide dog you hired? Barely just hired, and already he’s brought you to buy this kind of thing…”
A man with white hair and wolf ears stood blocking her path. He cast a sideways glance at the canine beastman at the counter and sneered.
“Jiang Ying. Ditch him. I’ll be your dog.”