After separating from her, Su Heng took another cold shower.
This time it took even longer than the last.
He changed into a set of pajamas Jiang Ying had insisted on buying for him during their shopping trip—the same style as one of her own sets.
The design was somewhat childish, milky-soft and fuzzy, making him look like a little rabbit. The younger generation of Federation women seemed to call this style “cute.” It didn’t suit him, but it certainly matched how he saw her.
As if tripping some valve of memory, he recalled the rest of that conversation with his friend.
“I’m warning you, don’t overestimate your self-control. The moment you actually meet the person who makes you go into heat, you’ll want to devour her on the spot.”
“How do you know if you’ve met them? Why are you so stubborn? You’ll know when you meet them.”
“In short, the moment you find a girl cute, you’re done for.”
“…Nonsense.”
Those words were clearly something his friend had picked up from some cheesy old-era drama. Their veracity was questionable, and Su Heng had once dismissed them entirely.
But now—
When did he start finding her cute?
Su Heng didn’t know.
All he knew was that this fondness for a Federation human was no easier to bear than the chaos caused by his cognitive disorder.
As the Commander-in-Chief of the enemy nation, the one who would lead the Beastmen to reclaim their homeland, he should hate her, should stay far away from her.
This torment, bordering on ethical and moral agony, left him burning with shame. Yet when faced with her, the self-control and reason he prided himself on all ceased to function.
He only wanted to hold her, kiss her, lick her…
—Stop.
Don’t think about it anymore.
Even if he was staying by her side for the sake of his undercover mission, he had to find a way, and quickly, to suppress his instincts.
Su Heng wore that adorable outfit back to his room.
But even after lying down in bed, he couldn’t stop replaying the feeling of holding her on the sofa earlier.
It didn’t even count as an embrace.
It was his one-sided…
Though she had been initiating things all along, she had no idea what she was actually doing.
Su Heng warned himself: she has Beastman Cognitive Disorder. In her eyes, there’s no difference between him and a dog. She was just soothing a little puppy, nothing more, no other invitation intended.
He shouldn’t misinterpret.
The responses he gave just now were already overstepping.
His reason thought this way, but the moment he closed his eyes, the image of pinning her beneath him and pleasuring her surfaced in his mind once more.
He turned on the bed’s heat suppressant function again, pulled the blanket over his head, and imagined her beside him as he muffled the fragmented sounds spilling from his throat into the bedding.
No one would see his wretchedness at this moment.
Amid his chaotic thoughts, he noticed the scent of catnip growing stronger.
It wasn’t the simulated fragrance released by the bedside, nor was it her scent that he had carefully guarded while showering, deliberately letting linger at his lips. It was too real, too intense, jolting him briefly from his daze.
Closer.
As a knock came at the door, Su Heng jolted violently, his whole body freezing beneath the blanket. He held his breath, forcibly stopping the unanswered mating call.
Luckily, this time, she didn’t just push the door open and walk in.
But before he could finish feeling relieved, a wave of disappointment swept over him.
Why did she knock this time? It made him feel… a sense of distance.
Wasn’t she convinced he was her dog? Why knock before entering her little dog’s room? Was she having second thoughts? Or when they were on the sofa, had he bitten her too hard and made her angry?
He was already in a semi-lucid state, his thoughts utterly chaotic. It took him half a minute just to grasp the fact that she was currently outside his door.
Equal parts resistant and expectant.
Su Heng waited a moment.
Finally, the girl’s energetic voice sounded from outside: “Su Heng. Can I come in?”
She… wasn’t angry anymore?
Su Heng threw off the blanket and got out of bed. As he stood, he couldn’t help but pant lightly, trembling ever so slightly.
He took two steps toward the door, then retreated back to the bedside.
At the furniture store, the sales clerk hadn’t gone into detail about these functions. Anxious to buy the heat suppressant patch, he’d rushed to order this bed.
The so-called atmosphere bed had its function buttons on one side of the frame—something designed for adventurous couples, its main selling point being the ability to switch modes anytime, anywhere at will.
Jiang Ying still had no idea these things existed.
Nor could she possibly know that every night, he activated its function and fell asleep to the recorded scent of her pheromones.
Su Heng turned back to find the buttons on the side of the bed and switched off the heat suppressant function.
Only then did he lift his eyes toward the door again, clearing his throat hesitantly.
He’d just used the suppressant function to soothe his restless body. He thought it should be manageable—he could control himself.
Thinking this, Su Heng kept his voice low and restrained: “You can.”
Receiving permission, the girl pushed the door open.
The door creaked as it opened. Afraid of disturbing him, she immediately softened her movements.
This apartment really was a bit old.
Though it still looked far better than the places he’d hidden after escaping the lab as a child, both the decor and the facilities were from the first batch of post-apocalyptic reconstruction.
Although only twenty or thirty years had passed since then, the construction technology of that era was nowhere near capable of withstanding the current climate for long.
Perhaps this place could only last another ten years—no, maybe less than eight. It wouldn’t come close to the promised lifespan stated when the property was handed over.
Where would she move then?
She was so afraid of the cold. Perhaps Erga, with its slightly warmer climate, would suit her better.
Unfortunately, she was a citizen of the current Federation. Even if he wanted to take her to Erga, he was afraid he might—
Another unavoidable strange noise interrupted Su Heng’s wandering thoughts.
His vision dazed, he watched her close the door and suddenly realized he’d been thinking about so many meaningless things.
Ten years, eight years—what did it matter?
Between them, there wasn’t even a brief future.
It seemed this rut wasn’t just affecting his body and emotions; even his mind was growing muddled.
And in the time he’d stood there lost in thought, Jiang Ying had nearly felt her way over to him.
The desk in the room had been removed and replaced with the bed.
Beyond that, she’d also prepared a wardrobe and storage shelves for him, even though he probably didn’t need them.
With the layout changed, she could no longer walk around freely.
Perhaps because Su Heng was around, she’d gotten somewhat used to not carrying her blind cane, and hadn’t even thought to grab it before coming to this unfamiliar room.
She didn’t think this reliance was a bad thing, because he was her dog.
“Su Heng?”
She stretched out both hands, testing the air.
Su Heng made no sound; she truly couldn’t tell where he was standing.
How strange. Shouldn’t a dog immediately come greet its owner?
Was it that he really didn’t like being touched and kissed by her?
Or did he actually just not like her at all?
Lost in doubt, her wrist was grasped.
Warm and toasty, and even the sleeve beneath his palm felt like it had been baked in a dryer—it made one think of a little cake just taken from the oven, soft and sweet.
She always associated her dog with such sweet things.
But Jiang Ying had no idea that the Beastman before her was wearing pajamas identical to her own, nor could she see that where their sleeves met, they just happened to form a complete picture.
Su Heng stared at the little rabbit and little dog kissing, and said stiffly: “Careful.”
There were actually no obstacles in front of her. It was just that, out of nervousness and a hidden, vague anticipation—and that strange sense of his safe space being invaded—he had instinctively stepped in her way.
“Were you already asleep?”
Following his support, Jiang Ying climbed up his arm. Her searching fingers turned his sleeve up slightly, brushing against the burning pulse beating at his wrist.
It was pounding so fast, so urgent—
She hurriedly moved her fingers away and lightly grasped the fabric of his sleeve, her tone apologetic. “Did I wake you?”
“Just lay down.” Su Heng lied.
The restless heat in his body hadn’t fully subsided, nor could the dryness in his throat be concealed.
Fortunately, her attention wasn’t on him; she didn’t notice his abnormal state.
But that wasn’t a good thing either. Su Heng silently watched the girl “looking” around.
She seemed… not to care about him that much.
All her concern and attention stopped just at the right point, perfectly appropriate for the level of caring for a domestic pet.
But she had already done well enough. The problem was with him.
He was the one who wasn’t satisfied.
“Did you smell something strange?” Jiang Ying was still turning her head this way and that, sniffing hard. “When I first came in, I think I smelled it, but now it’s gone.”
A strange smell? Su Heng froze for a second before realizing she might be referring to the artificial pheromones emitted from the head of the bed.
He’d just turned it off; the scent hadn’t dissipated that quickly.
A human’s nose wasn’t as sensitive as a Beastman’s. She was naturally insensitive to pheromones, and the catnip scent on her was so faint that she could barely perceive it herself.
But artificial pheromones were different. To create a similar scent, they inevitably contained impurities. The portion that couldn’t be filtered out was actually amplified by the sense of smell and would seem strangely odd to a human.
He couldn’t let her know what that was.
“It might be the smell from the new furniture, not yet aired out.” Su Heng calmly found a logical explanation.
“Ah.” She frowned. “That’s not very healthy. How about you come sleep in my room for the next few days?”
Su Heng had no idea how that conclusion had been reached.
Without hesitation, he declined: “I’ll turn on the air circulation. That should help.”
He reached out to press the switch on the wall. With a beep, a humming noise filled the room. The artificial pheromones did indeed disperse, leaving only her increasingly concentrated scent before him.
The scent lured him into involuntarily lowering his gaze toward her, only to see her head drooping, looking preoccupied and troubled.
Sure enough, he still didn’t want to sleep with her.
Jiang Ying felt a little sad, but then thought it had only been a week since she brought him home. It was normal for him to still be guarded and to feel some distance.
She couldn’t force him either. Still, being rejected by her dog did make her sad.
“Mm… then I’ll…” She started to retreat, her voice growing softer. “Go?”
The grip on her wrist suddenly tightened.
When she actually moved to leave, his instinctive reaction was to keep her there.
Su Heng pretended not to have heard her retreating words. Even though he knew she couldn’t see, he still instinctively averted his eyes, changing the subject: “Did you come looking for me for a reason?”
Her dog was holding her back.
Wanting her to stay.
So he did like her after all! It was just that her dog was mature, steady, and polite—different from other enthusiastic little dogs.
Jiang Ying felt she had cleverly deciphered her dog’s behavior and brightened up again.
She grabbed his arm and shook it: “Su Heng, do you want to sleep together?”
His ash-gray pupils constricted sharply.
“What?”
“Do you want to sleep with me?” Jiang Ying pitched her voice sweetly, coaxing him with a coquettish tone. “I heard it’s a way Beastmen express trust and affection. I want to confirm whether you like me or not, Su Heng. We’ll know after sleeping together once.”
“…”
Who had told her such a thing?
Her cognitive disorder made her expressions ambiguous and vague; a normal mind simply couldn’t grasp the logic of this.
Perhaps what she was thinking right now was just like a pet owner purposely carrying a little cat or dog onto the bed and placing them beside her, to see if they would peacefully lie down or immediately scamper away in alarm.
To her, it was no different from holding a kitten or puppy before putting them down, rubbing foreheads with them, and asking in an exaggerated, self-amused voice, “Do you want to sleep together?”
People really did talk nonsensically to cats and dogs.
And they really did use that sugary, coquettish voice.
But Su Heng was not actually a little cat or dog. He didn’t yet know what perspective to interpret this from, but his subconscious had already formed an entirely different concept. The ambiguous notion hit him hard, and a flush rapidly spread from his neck to the tips of his ears.
He rasped out: “No…”
Jiang Ying’s face fell immediately: “Ah. You don’t like me?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“Then are you willing to sleep with me?”
People with Beastman Cognitive Disorder had their own logic that outsiders couldn’t understand.