Chapter 220: Chapter 220: Slender Waist
"Captain Shan, you have such a slender waist."
Jiang Zheyu spoke with an innocent air, but her slender fingers slowly began to trace his abs through his clothes.
’Not as slender as yours.’
The words suddenly echoed in Shan Xun’s mind, but he didn’t say them out loud.
The female’s fingers felt like a flame searing his skin.
Shan Xun recalled holding her, his arm resting on Jiang Zheyu’s slender waist. It was so narrow, it felt as if he could snap it with a single hand.
’Her waist is definitely more slender.’
"A waist like this isn’t a waist; it’s a deadly scimitar," Jiang Zheyu murmured, poking at Shan Xun’s rock-hard abs. "So, Captain Shan, want to be my Beast Husband?"
Jiang Zheyu noticed that no matter how bold she was, Shan Xun didn’t push her away. This emboldened her to voice her true intentions.
’That big black wolf in the Spiritual Domain adored me. If his spiritual body likes me that much, its master must like me a lot too. After all, a spiritual body is the most direct expression of its master’s feelings.’
’A Beastman might hide his emotions, but a spiritual body never conceals anything. That’s why I’m certain that Shan Xun has to like me.’
Coupled with the fact that Shan Xun wasn’t rejecting her now, and his spiritual body adored her, Jiang Zheyu’s confidence soared.
But Jiang Zheyu waited for a long time, and the man before her said nothing.
She paused and slowly lifted her gaze to his, only to meet a pair of deep purple eyes. She pursed her lips. "Hey, I just confessed my feelings to you. You’re not actually going to reject me, are you?"
Jiang Zheyu added quietly, "You know, tons of people like me. The queue of applications to be my matched Beast Mate already stretches from the Imperial Capital Star to other planets."
This wasn’t an exaggeration; the line really did extend to another planet.
She had originally planned to confess her feelings after they eliminated the Zerg Mother. But with the timing and circumstances being so perfect, and with so many things boosting her confidence, it swelled to the point that she decided to just come out with it.
’His spiritual body likes me so much, and a spiritual body’s affections are never a lie.’
And so, Jiang Zheyu had confessed with utmost confidence.
"So you can’t possibly refuse me," Jiang Zheyu murmured.
Jiang Zheyu, who had been so confident just moments before, began to lose her nerve in Shan Xun’s prolonged silence. She managed a small smile, trying to dispel her own nervousness.
Shan Xun was silent for a long time before he finally spoke, his voice low. "I’m sorry, I can’t be your Beast Mate."
In truth, his heart was pounding, racing violently in his chest. He even felt a surge of exhilaration and excitement.
He had the reckless impulse to agree to everything, consequences be damned.
’His heart screamed at him that he was willing. He wanted to be her Beast Mate, to be her Beast Husband, to spend the rest of his life with her.’
’He’d liked her for a long time. He’d fallen for her at first sight.’
’But he knew he couldn’t agree. He would never be her Beast Husband.’
"After this mission is over, I’m going back to Zone -2," Shan Xun added quietly. "So there was never any possibility for us. You shouldn’t waste your time on me."
He liked her so much, but he knew he couldn’t stay by her side forever.
They were from two different worlds.
After the Zerg Mother was dealt with, Shan Xun would go back to where he came from, and the young female would return to her own life. She was meant to live on the glorious Imperial Capital Star, not survive on a barren, desolate Deserted Star like him.
"What does us becoming Beast Mates have to do with you going back to Zone -2?" Jiang Zheyu pressed her lips together. "Once you go back to Zone -2, are you never returning to the Imperial Capital Star? After the Zerg Mother is eliminated, there won’t be a never-ending stream of Zerg to kill. You won’t have to face them every day. We could see each other every day."
’Once the Zerg Mother is dead, the entire planet will have a century of respite.’
Jiang Zheyu pressed on, "Just tell me. Do you like me or not?"
Silence filled the air.
Another heavy silence fell. Feeling the weight of it, Jiang Zheyu already had a premonition of what Shan Xun was going to say.
"I do not." As expected, Shan Xun uttered those three words.
Even though Jiang Zheyu had anticipated it, she still felt a flash of anger.
’She knew he was lying. After all, his spiritual body adored her, which meant he must adore her too.’
’But Beastmen don’t retain memories from their spiritual bodies.’
’And Jiang Zheyu couldn’t just come out and say that his spiritual body liked her, could she?’
There was no proof. If she brought it up, it would just sound like she was making things up.
Perhaps it was because Shan Xun was lying—his words completely at odds with his heart, professing dislike when he clearly felt the opposite.
And just like that, the anger that had been welling up inside Jiang Zheyu miraculously vanished.
’Fine. Since he likes me but rejected me for some unknown reason, we’ll see who ends up suffering in the end.’
"Oh, so Captain Shan doesn’t like me." Jiang Zheyu quickly composed herself, her gaze turning languid as she looked at Shan Xun. "Well, alright then. It’s not as if you’re the only wolf in the forest, Captain Shan. There are thousands upon thousands of other Wolf Beastmen waiting for me."
As she spoke, Jiang Zheyu moved to push Shan Xun away.
But to her surprise, instead of letting her go, he clamped a hand on her waist and pulled her back against him.
Shan Xun’s deep purple eyes instantly turned icy. "So you only like my beast form? I’m not special to you? If any other Wolf Beastman came along, you’d like him just the same, is that it?"
Uncontrollable anger flared up in Shan Xun.
’Didn’t she just say she liked him? Didn’t she want him to be her Beast Husband?’
’How could she say that any other Wolf Beastman would do?’
’He, Shan Xun, was one of a kind!’
Shan Xun even found himself growing jealous of his own beast form. He wanted Jiang Zheyu to like *him*, the man, not just his form.
Jiang Zheyu’s eyes twinkled, and a smirk played on her lips internally. ’Still claiming you don’t like me? If you don’t like me, why do you care so much about what I just said?’
"Captain Shan, didn’t you say you don’t like me? In that case, you have no reason to care what I think," Jiang Zheyu said, arching an eyebrow languidly.
The fist at Shan Xun’s side clenched tightly.
"You only like my beast form? You feel nothing for me, the man?" Shan Xun ground out through clenched teeth. "Isn’t a ’like’ like that a bit... shallow?"
Jiang Zheyu paused. ’His beast form *is* him. What’s there to compare?’
"If I said I liked you, the man, would you be with me then?" Jiang Zheyu retorted.
