Chapter 121: Chapter 113: How Can You Sleep?
’It’s just to mask my scent.’
Gu Ning listened to the mechanical translation in her earpiece and used the same words to convince herself.
She couldn’t let Kloer and the others smell her. Exposing her identity would cause a lot of trouble for both her and Alex.
She could smell the scent of blood on herself from her period. She understood that simply wearing Alex’s clothes was nowhere near enough to hide her scent from a Beastman’s keen sense of smell.
Before, Cook had "washed" her face with his saliva every day. That was how she managed to blend in with the Beastmen without her identity being discovered.
After a moment of hesitation, Gu Ning convinced herself to accept it.
For her, personal safety was the number one priority. Everything else was secondary.
Gu Ning looked at the approaching Alex and decisively pulled off her hood. "C-come on..."
Seeing her action, Alex’s expression faltered for a second. He leaned down, scooped her up, and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Wait!" Gu Ning, now sitting on his lap, felt her mind go blank for a moment, her face instantly burning red.
She pressed a hand against his chest, not daring to even look at him, and started to stammer, "Th-that, um, I, you..."
Alex wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her fully into his embrace. He looked down at her gently. "Take your time."
After a long moment, Gu Ning managed to squeeze out a single word. "Saliva."
Alex: "What?"
Gu Ning held one hand out in front of him, palm open, and looked up at him. "Just saliva. That’s all. I’ll do it."
Alex paused. Seeing her flushed face and earnest expression, a smile played on his lips. "You’re saying you want me to spit on your hand?"
He held her slender wrist, his tone rising slightly.
Gu Ning nodded.
’It’s just using saliva to mask the scent, right? The process doesn’t have to be exactly the same.’
She still found it a bit hard to accept Alex licking her all over the way Cook did.
’So weird... and embarrassing.’
Alex looked at the little female staring at him eagerly, holding out her hand for his saliva. He sighed softly and set her down from his lap.
Before Gu Ning could react, Alex had already taken off his thin, close-fitting shirt.
"..."
In the glow of the portable lamp, Gu Ning could clearly see Alex’s strong, pale chest, the smooth lines of his muscles, the bulging veins on his arms...
Dim light and shadows clung to his body. When he raised his eyes to look at her, Gu Ning thought she could feel a hint of a beast’s aggression.
Her heart tightened. She wanted to back away, but Alex grabbed her arm, stopping her retreat.
"Don’t be afraid." Alex pinched the zipper of her jacket. "I won’t do anything."
By the time Gu Ning realized what was happening, Alex had already removed her jacket. His movements were so gentle that Gu Ning didn’t—or rather, didn’t have time to—form a thought of resistance.
Alex bent down slightly and picked Gu Ning up again.
He placed her on the bed, then took off her shoes.
Gu Ning’s heart began to pound. She lunged for the blanket, but Alex was a step faster. He grabbed a corner of it, lay down beside her, and pulled the blanket over both of them.
Gu Ning’s body went rigid. She turned her head to look at Alex.
"How about you do it yourself?" Alex’s handsome face was just inches away. He rested a hand gently on her waist, drawing her closer. "Take my scent from my body."
Gu Ning felt like she didn’t quite understand Alex’s words, but at the same time, she felt like she did.
But she also felt it couldn’t be what she was thinking.
Seeing the little female staring at him blankly, Alex moved closer to her. "This will also get my scent on you. The effect just won’t be as good."
As he spoke, he took her hand and placed it on his waist.
Gu Ning’s palm touched the searing heat of Alex’s body. She tried to pull her hand back, but Alex’s attitude was firmer than before, and he held her hand in place, not letting her move.
The next second, a furry sensation brushed against her hand.
Alex: "Go to sleep."
With that, he stretched out his long arm and turned off the lamp above them.
Instantly, the bedroom was plunged into darkness.
Gu Ning: "..."
’Who could possibly fall asleep like this? My god!’
Gu Ning screamed frantically in her mind, but she kept her breathing light and her body rigid, not daring to move for a long time.
Alex didn’t move either.
Gu Ning’s mind was a tangled mess. After a long while, she heard Alex’s even breathing, his warm breath fanning across her face, as if he had already fallen asleep.
’...’ ’How can you be asleep?!’
The hand Gu Ning had on Alex’s waist grew sweaty. Although their bodies weren’t in full contact, his enormous size made his presence intensely palpable.
Gu Ning took a deep breath, shifted her slightly numb body, and tried to inch toward the inside of the bed.
However, the bed that usually seemed quite large to her now felt cramped with a tall, sturdy Beastman in it. With a thick quilt on top of her, there really wasn’t much room to move.
After wriggling around under the covers for a bit and managing to put a little distance between herself and Alex, Gu Ning slowly exhaled.
She was very sleepy.
But she still couldn’t sleep.
And, it was so hot.
Although the indoor and outdoor temperatures in Zone 19 were about the same, she kept a heater next to her bed and the quilt was thick enough, so she was usually quite warm when she slept. For the past few days, she had basically been sleeping in just a light shirt and leggings, which was more comfortable.
Now, she was already sweating from the heat.
Alex was a human furnace. Plus, she was dressed too warmly. Besides Alex’s jacket, she was also wearing a padded jacket and padded pants, with two or three base layers underneath. The heat was becoming unbearable.
She shuffled toward the edge of the covers and stuck a hand out, wanting to pull the blanket down a little.
Just then, a strong arm wrapped around her and pulled her hand back under the covers.
"You’ll catch a cold if you leave your hand out." Her movements had woken Alex.
Hearing the weary rasp in Alex’s voice, Gu Ning remembered how he had been leaving early and returning late these past few days they’d been living together. He had even been sleeping on the sofa, which was a bit cramped for him. He definitely hadn’t been resting well.
The chaotic thoughts in her head dissipated, and her mood gradually calmed.
’Alex just wants to help me mask my scent, just like Cook. I was overthinking it.’
However... it was really hot.
"What’s wrong?"
Alex felt her wriggling under the covers as if she were uncomfortable, and reached out a hand to touch her.
"..."
Gu Ning froze in the middle of taking off her padded jacket, silently pulling down the undershirt that had ridden up to her chest. Alex silently retracted his hand as well.
Gu Ning stared at the dark ceiling for a moment, then tossed the padded jacket and pants she had removed out from under the covers.
Feeling something furry brush past her leg, Gu Ning paused, then reached out to touch it.
"...Is this... your... tail?"
Gu Ning asked softly.
"Mmm."
Alex responded.
Afterward, the two of them fell into a rather long silence.
Gu Ning lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling for a while before whispering, "Alex..."
"I’m here." Alex answered her quickly.
"What did you want to say to me?" In the darkness, Alex’s voice was very clear in her ear.
Gu Ning wanted to say that she couldn’t sleep like this either, and that maybe he should just lick her, and then they could sleep separately.
But since Alex seemed to be able to sleep, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
"It’s nothing. You sleep."
After she spoke, Alex pulled her a little closer into his arms. "If you can’t sleep, should we do it the way we planned before?"
