Gu Ning couldn’t really explain anything to them, so she just nodded.

Jite was chewing on a piece of hard jerky. He leaned forward slightly and sniffed at her. "You’re pretty clean, washing your face and brushing your teeth every day. Are you not bathing because you’re afraid of getting your fur wet?"

"We can help you blow-dry your fur," Seth said.

Gu Ning: "..." ’I’m not a real wolf, you guys!’

Jite looked Gu Ning up and down, then said to Seth, "The little boss’s mutation value is very low. If she doesn’t actively transform, her human form probably doesn’t have much fur. She’d be dry after a quick rubdown."

Seth said, "That would make bathing so much easier. Our wolf pack used to have a Mixed Breed, and in the winter, it would take half a day to blow-dry his fur after a bath."

Listening to them discuss whether or not she had fur made Gu Ning’s skin crawl. She had no desire to discuss bathing with them, so she pushed Seth out and closed the door to wash her face.

Seth and Jite looked at each other.

"How about we just carry the little boss over and wash her?" Seth suggested.

"We probably shouldn’t," Jite said, looking at the closed bathroom door. "If she’s not willing, it wouldn’t be good if she gets stressed out."

"True." Seth rubbed his nose. "But the boss’s scent on the little boss is so strong. I feel like the boss just gave me a beating."

Seth asked, confused, "The little boss doesn’t even spend that much time with the boss. Could it have rubbed off when the boss and the little boss slept together?"

When Jite heard "slept together," his eyes lifted. He remembered the sight of Alex bursting out of the bedroom the night before last.

He’d never seen that kind of look on Alex before.

’What in the world were Alex and the little Mixed Breed... doing in the bedroom?’

*

With no internet, Gu Ning could only stay in her bedroom, reading books, memorizing vocabulary, and studying the Beastman language.

Not long after lunch, Jite came knocking on her bedroom door and called her out.

"Want to play a game with us?" Jite asked.

Gu Ning: "?"

Jite pulled a deck of cards from his pocket. "Do you know how to play cards?"

Gu Ning lowered her eyes to look at the cards in his hand. She knew a little about card games, but cards from the Beastman World...

"If you don’t know, we can teach you," Seth said, poking his head out from behind Jite.

Guarding Gu Ning like this was getting a bit boring for them. Since they couldn’t take her out, they had to find some other form of entertainment.

Gu Ning had been cooped up in the bedroom for several days and was getting bored herself, so she nodded at them.

"Should we play in here or out there?" Jite asked, glancing at her bedroom.

Gu Ning pointed to the living room.

"Alright."

...

"Your turn, little boss."

"Come on, draw a card, draw a card!"

Alex heard the voices coming from inside the room and paused at the door.

He stood at the entrance listening for a moment before using his key to open the door.

Hearing the door open, the three people inside all turned in unison to look.

Alex’s gaze went straight to the little female sitting between the two Beastmen. She was wrapped in a thick blanket, wearing a headband, and her head was covered in paper slips.

Gu Ning’s eyes met Alex’s for an instant before she silently looked away.

"Boss, you’re back." Seeing Alex, Seth quickly hid the cards behind his back.

Alex’s gaze swept over the two of them. Their faces also had paper slips on them, but far fewer than Gu Ning’s.

Jite’s back stiffened when he met Alex’s gaze.

For some reason, he felt the boss’s entire aura had gotten much more serious lately.

Gu Ning saw how nervous the two of them looked, unsure whether she should put down her cards or not. ’I finally got a good hand, and I really want to finish this round...’

She, too, felt that whenever Alex was with Seth and the others, he became serious, exuding the authority of a leader or a parent.

Alex closed the door, unhurriedly took off his jacket, changed his shoes, and walked over to Gu Ning’s side.

Seth and Jite stood up.

Alex sat down next to Gu Ning, took hold of the hand she was holding cards with, and studied them. "Do you know how to play?"

Gu Ning nodded.

When Seth and Jite taught her, she had quickly figured out the rules. It was just that her luck was terrible; she had been drawing garbage hands all afternoon.

Alex’s gaze swept over the paper slips covering her head and face. He smelled Seth’s and Jite’s scent on her and asked the two young wolves in a quiet voice, "How did you stick the paper slips on her head?"

"Like this." Seth picked up a paper slip and licked it to demonstrate.

"..."

Seth: "Using glue is too much trouble..."

Jite jabbed Seth hard with his elbow.

Seth shut up and put the paper slip down.

Alex lowered his gaze to Gu Ning.

Gu Ning immediately understood the look in his eyes and picked up the nearby bottle of glue to show him.

"You all keep playing," Alex said, patting Gu Ning’s shoulder. "It’s still early."

Seth and Jite stood frozen. When Alex’s gaze swept over them, they immediately dropped back into their seats and continued playing with Gu Ning.

"This one."

Alex watched the three of them play, helping Gu Ning draw cards and occasionally helping her play a crucial one or two.

They played more than ten hands in a row, and Seth and Jite didn’t win a single one. The number of paper slips on their faces grew and grew.

Every time Gu Ning won a hand, Alex would peel two paper slips off her face.

The more Gu Ning won, the more into it she got, enthusiastically smacking paper slips onto Seth’s and Jite’s faces.

Alex peeled the last paper slip from her face, pushed aside the cards in front of her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and lifted the little female up from the floor. "Time to eat. Go wash your hands."

Gu Ning was carried into the bathroom with Alex’s arm around her waist. By the time she processed what was happening, she had been placed in front of the sink.

Alex brought over a thermos, poured hot water into her washbasin, tested the temperature, and then added a little cold water.

Gu Ning knew Alex was a neat freak, so she squeezed out some hand soap and washed her hands thoroughly. When she was done, Alex took off her headband and put a new one on her.

Gu Ning touched the new headband. Its material was much softer and felt quite comfortable.

Alex took the headband she’d worn, washed it clean, wrung it out, and placed it in his homemade dryer.

Gu Ning glanced at the time. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet. ’Did Alex finish work so early today?’

During dinner, Alex said, "I can take a half-day off tomorrow."

Seth said happily, "Boss, you can finally get some rest!"

Jite remained silent, sensing Alex wasn’t finished.

Sure enough, Alex looked at Gu Ning and said, "Are you getting bored cooped up in here?"

Gu Ning wanted to say it was fine, but hearing that Alex was taking time off made her think of that night again.

Since Alex was taking a break, he would probably be resting here in this apartment, not going anywhere else.

At the thought of having to spend the day with him, her gaze flickered away, but she nodded.

’My period is almost over. Maybe I should just go back. Without the internet, I have no way to contact Barto, and I’m worried about Cook.’

With that decided, she was about to bring up the topic of leaving with Alex.

"I’ll take you out for some fresh air," Alex said.