Chapter 141: Chapter 131: It’s Still Better in One’s Own Kennel
Gu Ning woke to the familiar scent of a puppy.
The moment she opened her eyes, Cook started licking her all over, just like he always did.
The wet sensation on her face cleared her head a little. She reached up to touch her face—the head covering was gone.
Just as she was about to look for it, Cook dangled the head covering in front of her, hooked on his finger.
Seeing this, Gu Ning knew he must have been the one to take it off. Otherwise, there was no way it would have fallen off so easily.
She gave the puppy’s head a light swat and quickly put the head covering back on. Then, she turned to look beside her.
The bedding next to her was empty. Barto was already up.
"Woof," Cook grumbled, sounding like a puppy, and pulled her into a hug. "Ning... Bar, good... Bar... see..."
Cook mumbled one word after another, speaking nonstop as if he was trying to tell Gu Ning something.
Gu Ning was still sleepy. She just hummed in response a couple of times and buried herself back in the puppy’s embrace, wanting to laze in bed a little longer.
Although she didn’t know when Cook had taken her head covering off, she didn’t feel as panicked as she would have before.
She wasn’t particularly worried about whether Barto had seen her or not.
In fact, ever since deciding to sleep in the living room with Barto yesterday, she had been thinking that maybe she could find a chance to slowly reveal her identity to him. That way, she wouldn’t have to be so secretive around him anymore.
Her recent days with Alex and Seth had changed her impression of Beastmen somewhat. At least they didn’t treat her like a Mimic Mixed Species, nor did they make a big fuss about her being female.
’Look how calm Seth was.’
This also made her reconsider her relationship with Barto.
Barto might be a hot-tempered and petty fox, but judging from how he had treated her and Cook these past few days, he wasn’t bad at heart. He was a trustworthy fox.
Still, she couldn’t confess to Barto the same way she had to Alex.
She wasn’t as worried about Barto discovering her identity as before, but when it came to actually doing it, she was still a little nervous.
First, she had to be sure that Barto wanted to leave Zone 19 with her before she could be completely honest with him.
She had included Barto in her plans to leave Zone 19.
But that was just her plan; the little fox had to be willing himself.
As long as he wanted to leave, she felt that with his abilities, he could probably find a way out of Zone 19 even without Alex’s help.
It was just that the little fox had a difficult personality. Combined with other complicated factors, she wasn’t sure of his true intentions.
Maybe he had lived in Zone 19 for a long time and had grown attached to it. Or maybe, as he’d said, he had business here that made it hard to leave.
He was different from her, and even more different from Cook. He was a fox with a mature mind. Other than his appearance, he wasn’t much different from a normal Beastman—and possibly even smarter.
He was capable of surviving in Zone 19, and was even living quite well.
’How could she know what brought the fish joy if she wasn’t a fish herself?’ If Barto really didn’t want to leave Zone 19, then there was no need for her to completely reveal her identity to him.
But she didn’t need to be as guarded around him as before, either.
If Barto wanted to know her identity, he would find out sooner or later, no matter how she tried to hide it, since they lived together. Given his personality, he would probably ask her directly. If he didn’t care about her identity, then even if he saw what she looked like, they had been living together for so long that he at least wouldn’t mistake her for a Mimic Mixed Species anymore.
As Gu Ning thought things through, the psychological burden of exposing her identity to the little fox lessened considerably.
So, she would just let things happen naturally.
Gu Ning snuggled comfortably in the bedding. Sleeping in winter while hugging a big, fluffy creature like Cook was so warm.
’It’s still best in my own dog den,’ she thought. ’I can sleep peacefully here.’
Gu Ning sighed to herself.
Just as she finished her thought, Barto heard her stirring and leaned in from the balcony. "You’re awake?"
Gu Ning poked her head out of Cook’s embrace and looked toward the balcony.
The little fox was wearing an apron and plastic gloves, kneading a ball of dough in his hands. It looked like he was making breakfast.
Barto said, "Go wash up. Food will be ready in a bit."
With that, he slid the balcony door shut.
Gu Ning glanced at the time on her terminal. It was only seven, and the sky outside was still dark.
’What time did the little fox get up? He’s so diligent.’
After lazing in the warm bedding for a few more minutes, Gu Ning reached for the clothes she’d placed by her head and got dressed under the covers.
Although they had a heater, this "pot" wasn’t like central heating or an air conditioner. It could only warm a small area, and it was unbearably cold once she left its range.
The indoor temperature being ten-plus degrees below zero was no joke; it wasn’t much warmer than it was outside.
Yet the little fox and Cook barely needed to wear clothes. Their thick fur was more than enough to withstand the harsh winter.
This was especially true after their aberration values increased, making their fur even thicker.
Cook had grown to dislike wearing clothes more and more since his regression, probably because his fur was too thick, making clothes uncomfortable.
But Gu Ning still insisted that Cook wear at least a pair of pants to get him into the habit of wearing clothes.
Cook’s body had gotten too big for his old Dwarf hybrid clothes. Luckily, she had a whole trunk of Beastman clothes. Last night, she had dug out a few looser pairs of pants for him and just had to cut a hole for his tail.
After putting on her last layer, an outer jacket, Gu Ning noticed an extra piece of clothing by her pillow. She picked it up and saw they were Cook’s pants...
"Cook, put on your pants!"
Gu Ning shoved the pants into Cook’s arms.
"Woof..." Cook didn’t really want to wear them, but hearing the serious tone in Gu Ning’s voice, he put them on anyway.
Gu Ning supervised him until his pants were on, then sternly emphasized that he was not to take them off whenever he felt like it. Only then did she go to the bathroom to wash up.
She was about to close the door out of habit when Barto came into the bathroom carrying a thermos.
"Use hot water."
He said, pouring the hot water into a metal basin and bringing her a new set of toiletries.
Only then did Gu Ning remember that she had taken all her toiletries to Alex’s place.
After pouring the hot water for her, the little fox saw her squatting on the floor and brought over a small stool for her to sit on while she washed.
This bathroom wasn’t as convenient as the one at Alex’s place; it didn’t even have a sink. Gu Ning usually just turned on the tap to wash her face. Below the faucet was a basin for catching water, which seemed to be for washing mops and other cleaning tools.
After doing all this, Barto swiftly exited the bathroom, hopping up to pull the door shut behind him.
"..." Watching Barto run back and forth, busy as a bee, Gu Ning felt a strange sensation well up inside her.
By the time she came out from washing up and had made sure Cook also washed his face and brushed his teeth properly, Barto had already finished making breakfast and was tidying up the bedding in the living room.
"Go on and eat first." Barto glanced back at her, shook the deodorizer in his hand, and sprayed it vigorously on the spot where Gu Ning had slept and on the blanket. After spraying, he sniffed it. Smelling the lingering wolf scent, he sprayed it again.
Once the smell had mostly faded, he rolled back and forth in the nest and on the blanket.
Gu Ning: "..." ’Maybe I should just take a proper bath.’
