Males are all very greedy; there’s no denying it. Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile, demanding more and more from the kind-hearted.

Right now, Graces was doing just that—pushing his luck, using her kind heart to ask for more.

It wouldn’t matter even if he were refused. He had already gained so much today, yet he still wanted more... and more.

Lu Xia sighed softly. ’Was Graces really that frightened by his transformed appearance?’ she wondered.

’A little reassurance would be good for his mental and physical health. Besides, Graces is just so valuable for research.’

’So, she didn’t refuse. It was just a kiss. They’d done things far more intimate countless times. Why would a single kiss matter?’

So, as the man watched with an expectant gaze, Lu Xia leaned in and placed a kiss on his forehead.

It was gentle, devoid of any passion, meant only to soothe.

The moment the kiss landed, Graces seemed to quiet down completely. The scales covering his body receded like the tide, and in moments, he returned to his original appearance.

It was as if the scales had never been there at all.

Lu Xia watched this unfold in astonishment and couldn’t help but ask, "What happened?"

Surprise filled Graces’s eyes as well, as if he still hadn’t processed it. After a long moment, he said, "I don’t know."

All he knew was that the moment Lu Xia’s kiss landed, his taut nerves had completely relaxed. Then, this incredible scene had unfolded before he could even react.

"How do you feel right now?" Lu Xia asked, eager to know.

Graces didn’t hold back, describing his current sensations in detail.

"Then try to summon the scales. Can you do it?" Lu Xia wanted to know if he could make them appear and retract at will.

Graces shook his head. "I can’t feel them anymore."

Lu Xia wasn’t too surprised to hear that. ’The scales are most likely still governed by his emotional state.’

’He probably won’t be able to control them at will anytime soon.’

"Will you come with me to the institute tomorrow for a physical examination?"

"Of course. We can go right now." He was back to normal now. He could go out with Lu Xia without drawing strange looks because of his appearance.

Even though Lu Xiao had said his scales were beautiful, Graces instinctively felt that form of his was hideous.

"There’s no rush. Get a good rest today, and we’ll go first thing in the morning." Lu Xia paused, then added, "You can move back into the master bedroom."

’If she left Graces to stay here, she worried he’d let his imagination run wild again, and then she’d be the one who had to console him.’

’It was more reassuring to keep him where she could see him.’

At these words, it was as if a light sparked in Graces’s eyes.

Before she left, however, Lu Xia added, "Clean up the bathroom before you come over."

The man’s body stiffened at her words, and he stopped in his tracks. "Okay."

When Lu Xia came out of Graces’s room, the old butler had already returned and was waiting downstairs to report to her.

The reconstruction of the No. 2 Institute was going smoothly, as they could draw upon the experience from building the No. 1 Institute.

In a single day, he had already arranged for all the necessary personnel and had begun publicly recruiting researchers.

After listening to his report, Lu Xia nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you for your hard work. Go and get some rest."

"It was nothing, it’s what I’m supposed to do. Is everything alright with Graces?"

"His condition is relatively stable. I plan to take him to the institute for a check-up tomorrow." As Lu Xia spoke to the old butler, she jotted down Graces’s various reactions from the day in her case log.

As she noted that Graces had become sensitive, timid, and insecure, she couldn’t help but look up at the old butler. "Do males who undergo gene fusion

become more sensitive?"

She had very little experience in this area.

The old butler paused. His own gene fusion had been decades ago. Caught off guard by the question, he couldn’t answer right away. "Some males... do have certain reactions, I believe. But I’m not sure about the specifics. Would you like me to find out for you?"

"Not for now. You have enough on your plate already. Go get some rest." Lu Xia wasn’t in a rush for the answer. Besides, she still had Graces’s current condition under control.

Seeing this, the old butler said no more. As he left the study, he didn’t forget to remind Lu Xia to take care of her health.

Lu Xia nodded, thanking him for his concern.

It was thanks to her recent physical intimacy with Graces that the fetus in her womb had remained stable so far.

It hadn’t acted up at a time like this.

After leaving, the old butler ran into Graces coming out of his room. The moment their eyes met, the sheep ears on the butler’s head twitched upright, a clear sign of alertness.

As they brushed past each other, the oppressive aura radiating from Graces made the old butler instinctively press himself against the wall.

The feeling of being targeted by a predator was deeply unnerving.

It wasn’t a sensation he had never experienced before, but he had only ever felt it from Fusion Experts with a higher gene level than his own.

’How could Graces, a "defective" male, have it?’

’Unless... unless the gene he fused with was of a very high grade.’

Graces showed no reaction to the old butler’s fear, acting as if he hadn’t even seen the man, despite them brushing right past each other.

All he wanted now was to get back to Lu Xia’s side as quickly as possible.

Although he appeared to be back to normal, his thoughts and actions were already exhibiting the traits of the Beastification Gene. He was showing extreme possessiveness and greed toward the people and things he cared about.

Furthermore, the high-grade gene instilled a sense of contempt in him, making him disdainful of weaker Gene Fusion Experts.

This was easy enough to understand. When does an elephant ever care about an ant?

That was precisely how Graces saw the old butler. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

When Lu Xia returned to her room, she found Graces already waiting outside her door. She had no idea how long he had been standing there. When he saw her approa

ch, his gaze was pitiful, as if he had been terribly wronged.

"I was busy in the study for a bit. Why didn’t you go inside?"

"You weren’t inside." The implication was clear: since she wasn’t in there, it made no difference whether he waited inside or out.

’This man was getting more and more needy,’ Lu Xia thought.

"I’m back now. You can come in, right?" Lu Xia pushed the door open and walked inside. She glanced back at him, but in the next second, the man embraced her from behind. "Lu Xia, I’m in pain. I want you."

Suddenly wrapped in a searing embrace, Lu Xia’s breath hitched. Before she could respond, the man’s lips were on her ear, sending a tingling sensation through her.