"Boss, we’re a little short-staffed," one of Leighton’s team members said.

Most of the escapees are serious convicts. Even just tracking and locating them is several times more dangerous than our usual missions. Our team is so small, yet we have to track this many prisoners. This is practically a suicide mission.

Leighton flipped through the prisoners’ files, lost in thought for a moment before standing up. "Let’s go. We’ll find the young lions. They’ll definitely be happy to take this job."

Little Black asked, "Can they handle it?"

Leighton replied, "Why not? These young lions have just been weaned. They’re itching to do something big and get some impressive results to go back and curry favor with their old man."

...

After Gu Ning washed up and was about to get into bed, she saw Alex push the door open, carrying a bucket of hot water.

"You can’t take a full bath for now, but you can soak your feet," Alex said.

He had noticed that she washed her face and feet every day before bed. Just now, she had used the water from washing her face to rinse her feet, reluctant to use more hot water from the kettle.

"There’s plenty of hot water," Alex said. "If it’s not enough, just have Seth and the others get more from the boiler room. Don’t feel like you’re being a bother."

"Thank you." Seeing that he had already placed the hot water by her feet, Gu Ning didn’t stand on ceremony. She kicked off her fluffy slippers, took off her socks, and tested the water temperature before stepping into the bucket once she was sure it wasn’t too hot.

Alex looked at her silent profile and asked, "Did what happened today scare you?"

Gu Ning shook her head. She had been a little scared, but with Alex there, she wasn’t actually that afraid.

She trusted Alex a lot now and was more worried about whether she had caused trouble for him. From the tone of that other Beastman, he had sounded like an adversary of Alex’s.

She took a pen and paper from beside her pillow and wrote:

Will that person cause you trouble?

Her writing had improved a lot. It was more fluent than her speech, and sometimes she could write relatively complete sentences without needing them translated.

Alex brought the lantern closer to help her see. After reading what she wrote, he said, "You’re worried about me?"

Gu Ning nodded.

Alex’s gaze softened. "It’s no trouble at all. Don’t worry," he said.

"He’s a soldier. A bit hot-tempered, but not a bad person."

Gu Ning felt a bit more at ease after hearing that. The Beastman had seemed like someone you could reason with; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been sent away with just a few words.

Still, she preferred to keep a respectful distance from such volatile Beastmen.

"You keep soaking. I’m going to take a shower and I’ll be right back." Alex dipped his hand into the bucket to check the temperature, then added a little more hot water for Gu Ning.

Gu Ning lifted her feet.

Alex glanced at her feet, which were red from the soak. "If you want to take a bath, I can go get some hot water for you."

Gu Ning hesitated before speaking. "I can?"

Alex replied, "You can, but I’ll have to reapply my scent when you’re done."

Hearing the words "reapply my scent," Gu Ning’s face instantly grew hot.

Alex continued, "And if you take a bath, I’ll have to apply more than last time."

Gu Ning: ...In that case, "I won’t."

It was the answer he expected. Alex didn’t say anything, just grabbed a change of clothes and went to the public bathhouse to shower.

Fifteen minutes later, he returned, freshly showered.

Gu Ning had just finished soaking her feet and was drying them with a towel. Seeing she was done, Alex walked over, picked up the bucket of water, and took it out to empty it for her.

A moment later, Gu Ning saw him return to the bedroom and couldn’t help but ask, "Are you... sleeping in the bedroom?"

Alex paused in the middle of drying his hair and asked in return, "You don’t want me to sleep in the bedroom?"

His question caught her off guard. To be honest, she didn’t really want him to. After all, with him right next to her, she really couldn’t sleep.

But this was his bedroom. Thinking about how tired he was from work and how he still had to look after her, only to come back and sleep on that small sofa, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

"You sleep here."

After saying that, Gu Ning asked, "Is there... another blanket?"

She could sleep on the floor. With the heater on, it wouldn’t be cold.

"There are no extra blankets," Alex said.

Gu Ning had no choice but to scoot further into the bed, making room for him.

Alex dried his hair until it was half-damp and sat down beside her.

Gu Ning sat propped up against the headboard, flipping through a Beastman textbook.

"It’s still early. Can’t sleep?" Alex glanced at the time. It wasn’t even nine o’clock yet.

"Next time, I’ll let you stay out and have fun a little longer," he said.

Gu Ning scooted further in again, almost pressing herself against the wall. She held up her book. "I’ll read. You can sleep. I won’t bother you."

Alex lifted the covers, sat down propped up beside her, and took the book from her hands. "If you can’t sleep, let’s have a lesson. We haven’t had one in a few days."

Gu Ning: "..." ’I guess that works.’

「An hour later...」

Listening to Alex’s voice, Gu Ning’s eyelids started to feel heavy. Her body unconsciously slumped toward him, and she could no longer hold the notebook and pen she was using to jot down vocabulary.

The hand Alex was using to turn the pages paused for a moment, then he continued reading the short story from the book to her.

After a while, feeling the small head on his shoulder rest completely against his arm, Alex closed the book and set it aside. He took her notebook and pen, gently laid her down flat on the bed, and then lay down beside her.

Alex lay on his side, gazing at Gu Ning’s face. After a long moment, he pulled her into his arms, his lips drawing near her face.

The moment he moved, Gu Ning woke up.

Gu Ning’s eyes fluttered open. The lantern was already out, but she could feel Alex’s warm breath on her face.

She shifted, and upon realizing she was completely in Alex’s arms, she became a little more awake.

Alex gently patted her back. "Go to sleep. I’m just reapplying my scent."

Gu Ning’s sleepiness was instantly driven away.

Alex said, "I’ll be gentle. I won’t disturb you."

His voice was deep, but his tone was exceedingly gentle. Gu Ning’s tense body relaxed, and she closed her eyes, sighing to herself:

’Fine, just do it.’

Alex caressed her face, brushing the hair away from it. His lips first landed on her forehead.

Gu Ning’s breathing slowed as she felt the same warm, wet sensation from the day before yesterday brush across her face, her neck, her hands...

Just when she thought it was over, Alex hooked his arm under the crook of her knees and took her foot in his hand.

Gu Ning’s foot jerked back, but Alex held her ankle firmly. He gave her a reassuring kiss on the cheek. "Everywhere you washed needs the scent reapplied."

Gu Ning: "..."

’Why didn’t you say so earlier?!’

’Everywhere she washed needed to be reapplied, everywhere...!’

The impact of that sentence was just too much. Gu Ning could accept Alex licking her face and neck, but she couldn’t accept... her feet. And other places were even more out of the question!

She would have rather he just spit into his hand and let her apply it herself.

She really couldn’t imagine Alex doing something like this.

With all sorts of chaotic thoughts running through her head, Gu Ning’s face turned as red as a boiled lobster.

Sensing Gu Ning’s resistance, Alex didn’t continue. He covered her feet with his tail and gently stroked her back. "I won’t do it. Go to sleep."