"Enough, let me go!" Kevin roared angrily: "There are so many people in the tribe, why do you single me out to beat up every time!"

Galvin frowned: "Among the beastmen of our age, you are the only one who hasn’t condensed a beast core. If you don’t want to die early, you have to train more."

"To hell with training. I don’t need it. So what if my lifespan is short, it doesn’t affect you at all. Listen here, I am very busy, extremely busy. If you are so kind-hearted, go find someone else to bestow it upon; don’t come looking for me."

After saying that, Kevin resentfully turned around, transformed into a wolf, and ran away. Galvin stood there, frustratedly scratching his ear. Had he pushed Kevin too hard? It was just that seeing Kevin’s abilities failing to progress, he wanted to push him a little.

At the center of the square, under the shade of a canopy.

Max was massaging Eric’s legs; having run around too much lately, Eric’s legs were cramping. A whooshing sound of wind rushed in, and quick as lightning, Max threw a kick out. The large snow wolf that had just lunged forward was instantly kicked flying away, crushing a decorative flower bed.

Eric gave Max a smack, scolding: "You ruined the flower garden again, you will have to spend your own money to fix it."

Kevin scrambled to his feet, shaking his head to ward off the dizziness. A few flowers were still stuck on his head, swaying back and forth in a ridiculous manner. Max said in disgust: "Let Kevin pay for it, who told him to just barge in uninvited."

Kevin resentfully ran straight over to Eric, grumbled and complained about Max for a while, then flopped down to vent, expressing his stress, and added: "Tell me, with so many people in the tribe, why does he have to keep pressuring me?"

Max resumed massaging Eric’s legs, saying coldly: "That’s perfectly normal. If Eric never condensed a beast core, I would be just as worried."

Kevin’s wolf face went slightly blank, tilting his head in confusion: "How is that the same? You and Eric are mates, so it’s normal for you to worry."

Eric smiled knowingly: "Well, that’s exactly it."

Eric’s words made Kevin even more confused, and he used his claws to scratch his head. This posture looked exactly like a Husky. Unable to figure it out, Kevin said: "Exactly what? Why don’t I understand anything?"

Max rolled his eyes. Galvin’s feelings for Kevin were practically spilling over; only an idiot like Kevin wouldn’t see it. Of course, Max didn’t want to spell it out either. Their relationship should be left for them to progress on their own; Max wasn’t going to meddle in their business.

Eric didn’t think so; he just felt tired for these two. Dragging it out for decades and still not achieving any results. His expertise was "shipping CPs", so he couldn’t just sit still: "It means it’s like me and Max."

Having said that much, even the biggest fool should understand, right?

Max looked at the still-clueless Kevin and, feeling annoyed, stretched out his leg: "If you haven’t figured it out yet, go home and think about it. It’s noon, aren’t you hungry? Don’t just lie here and bother us."

Kicked twice, Kevin grumbled as he got up, not forgetting to curse inwardly: *Damn lovers!*

For the rest of that day, Kevin kept thinking about Max and Eric’s words, but truly couldn’t figure it out. Until midnight, he suddenly sat bolt upright in bed, a look of horror on his face: "No way, do they mean... Galvin... he... he has feelings for me?"

---

Ever since that argument, Kevin had been avoiding Galvin; wherever there was a sign of Galvin, Kevin would quickly slip away. Galvin hid the disappointment in his eyes, secretly thinking that perhaps he had pushed Kevin too much, making Kevin scared, so he decided to just let it be for a while.

Who would have thought that this time, Kevin would hide for a whole month. To avoid Galvin, Kevin even took the initiative to ask for outside missions. At this point, Galvin truly couldn’t hold back anymore; he wanted to grab that wolf by the neck and demand a clear answer.

That day, as Kevin was leisurely walking along the small woods back home, a tall dark figure jumped down from a tree with a thud, blocking the way.

"Yikes!" Kevin jumped in fright, and upon seeing who it was, he almost turned into a wolf to run away again.

Galvin crossed his arms over his chest, his face dark, his sharp eyes staring fixedly at the person opposite him: "How long do you plan to hide from me? Am I so scary that you’d rather take a ten-mile detour than see my face?"

"Who... who’s hiding from you!" Kevin, feeling guilty, stammered back, his eyes darting around continuously, not daring to look straight at Galvin: "It’s just... I’ve been busy lately... yeah, very busy! The tribe has a lot of work..."

"Busy? Only busy when you see me? How come I don’t see you this busy at other times?" Galvin took a step forward.

Kevin took a step back, his back slamming into the trunk of an ancient tree behind him, leaving him with nowhere to retreat. He swallowed hard, his heart naturally pounding in his chest like a beating drum.

Seeing Kevin shrinking back, the look in Galvin’s eyes softened a bit. Galvin sighed, raising a hand to pat this silly wolf’s head, but paused in mid-air, ultimately letting his arm drop down to his side.

"The other day... I was out of line. I’m sorry for pushing you. If you truly hate training that much, I won’t force you anymore."

After saying that, a flash of poorly concealed loss crossed Galvin’s eyes, and he turned his back, intending to leave.

Looking at Galvin’s lonely back, a strange wave of emotion surged in Kevin’s heart. Seeing the other retreat, the impulsive nature of the snow wolf flared up again. Kevin squeezed his eyes shut and yelled:

"Stop right there! You... you have feelings for me, don’t you?!"

Galvin’s footsteps halted. The space in the forest suddenly became strangely quiet, leaving only the sound of a babbling brook.

Galvin slowly turned around. On his angular face, which was usually stern, there now appeared a look of utter astonishment, followed by a mixture of tears and laughter.

"All these years, have I not made it clear enough?" Galvin stepped forward quickly, planting both hands on the tree trunk, trapping Kevin between his arms. Galvin’s hot breath puffed against Kevin’s forehead: "In your eyes, am I some idle guy who likes to go around fighting with others every day? If it wasn’t because I like you, why would I bother looking after you?"

Pressed close, Kevin’s face flushed bright red, his mind going blank. For the first time, Kevin looked so closely into Galvin’s eyes. Those eyes held no mockery or strictness like during training, but were filled with a profound tenderness and worry.

"But... but if you like me, why do you keep pinning me down to beat me up..." Kevin grumbled aggrievedly.

"You idiot!" Galvin reached out and lightly flicked Kevin’s forehead, his voice turning hoarse: "Beastmen who don’t condense a beast core only have a lifespan of a few hundred years, while those who do can live up to a thousand years. You tell me to leave you alone, so in a few decades when you grow old and die, how are you expecting me to live alone through the long, endless years after that? Hmm?"

These words struck Kevin’s brain like a bolt of lightning.

Kevin was stunned. So... this was the real reason Galvin always went crazy whenever he saw Kevin being lazy. Galvin wasn’t disparaging Kevin for being weak; he was afraid of losing him. A warm, yet bittersweet feeling welled up in Kevin’s chest. Kevin suddenly realized that he had never hated Galvin; the only thing he hated was the pain of training. And not seeing Galvin these past few days had made Kevin incredibly restless and uncomfortable.

"I..." The corners of Kevin’s eyes turned slightly red. He lowered his head and reached out to lightly tug at the corner of the other man’s shirt: "Then you could have just said it straight, there was no need to be so violent. If you want to be someone’s mate, you have to be gentle..."

Galvin’s eyes widened, as if he couldn’t believe his ears: "What did you just say?"

"If you didn’t hear it, then forget it!" Embarrassed, Kevin tried to push Galvin away and run, but Galvin was faster. Strong arms wrapped tightly around the snow wolf’s waist, pulling Kevin close into his embrace.

"I heard it, I heard it very clearly!" Galvin burst into a loud laugh, his brightest smile in decades. Galvin buried his head into the crook of Kevin’s neck, breathing in the faint scent of grass and trees on Kevin’s body: "Alright, from now on I will be gentle with you. But you still have to train for two hours every day, no bargaining."

"Galvin! You bastard!"

The sound of scolding rang out in the forest, but was immediately muffled by a passionate kiss. In a bush not far away, two silhouettes were peeking out.

"I told you so. That layer of window paper had to be pierced for that idiot Kevin to realize it," Eric whispered smugly.

Max gently wrapped a coat around his mate, placing a light kiss on Eric’s hair: "Alright, alright, you’re the best. Their business is done, let’s go home now, we’re very busy too."