Chapter 283 - 253: I Can Also Take Good Care of You
Chapter 283: Chapter 253: I Can Also Take Good Care of You
Gu Ning put on her sanitary underwear in the bathroom. She hesitated behind the door for a moment before pulling it open and stepping out.
Aside from Cook, who was standing guard outside the bathroom door as usual, the other Beastmen were all standing silently around the living room.
Even Leo had his head buried in his terminal, brow furrowed in concentration as if he were poring over some complex document.
The moment she emerged, they all looked up at her, their expressions hesitant, as if they wanted to speak but didn’t know how.
Gu Ning felt awkward as well. She wanted to retreat to her bedroom, but Vine stepped forward, took her by the wrist, and led her to the sofa.
Leo was sprawled on the sofa, but Vine unceremoniously shoved his legs aside and sat down next to Gu Ning.
"Hey, you wolf..." Leo started to curse, but now wasn’t the time to pick a fight. He held his tongue for the moment and got up, intending to sit on Gu Ning’s other side.
Barto beat him to the spot. Cook immediately followed, squatting in front of Gu Ning and resting his chin on her knees. Philinos silently moved to stand behind her.
The four Beastmen had surrounded the little female from all sides, and in the blink of an eye, there was no spot left for him.
Leo clutched his broken ribs, so furious he wanted to bark.
"Talk to us. Why are you bleeding so much during your heat? Are you in any pain?" Vine looked down at the little female’s pale face, his eyes filled with worry. He could tell Gu Ning was weaker than usual.
He knew she wasn’t a female from the Beast Alliance, but he knew very little about the females from "the other side."
Gu Ning’s unusual heat left them all deeply puzzled.
This was especially true for Barto.
In all his knowledge of females, only those from a very small number of clans bled during their heat, and even then, the amount was minimal.
Not like Gu Ning, whose blood loss was so great it looked like she had suffered a severe injury.
The metallic scent of blood mingled with the sweet fragrance of her "heat," creating a smell so potent it could be detected from several meters away. A moment ago, while she was in the bathroom, they’d had no choice but to mark their scents all over the room to temporarily mask hers.
Gu Ning’s condition was beyond anything Barto had ever learned.
The other Beastmen in the room had read fewer books and spent less time in academic classes than Barto, so they were just as baffled.
Gu Ning’s gaze swept over the confused yet inquisitive expressions on Vine and the others. She cleared her throat, took a pen and paper, and wrote:
[It’s a little uncomfortable, and sometimes it hurts. It usually gets better in about five days.]
’My period doesn’t always hurt,’ she thought. ’Only when I don’t get enough rest, am sick, or feel too stressed.’
’For instance, whenever my period came during major school exams, the pain would keep me from sleeping. It didn’t get better until I went to college.’
’During my last period, Alex took great care of me. I just stayed in his room and didn’t go anywhere, so it didn’t hurt much. The reason it’s so uncomfortable this time is probably because of the stress of traveling.’
The Beastmen all leaned in close. The moment she finished writing, Leo exclaimed, "You’re going to be in pain for five days?!"
The other Beastmen all frowned.
Gu Ning wrote: [I can’t say for sure. It might get better soon. The bleeding will stop in five days.]
"Five days?!" Leo looked dazed and incredulous. "Your heat only lasts for five days a year?!"
Vine and the others looked just as astonished.
That was an incredibly short heat.
Gu Ning’s ears burned at the word, but she had no better explanation to offer. She scratched her hair, sighed to herself, and managed a soft "Mm-hmm," her lips pressed into a thin line.
’I’d been thinking about how I’m a genuine human, not the same as a Female Beastman,’ she mused, ’but they’ve clearly accepted my "heat" explanation.’
’But I’m a female from another world, and only Barto knows that. I can’t exactly say I have a five-day "heat" every single month.’
’Leo’s shock must mean that Female Beastmen have very long heats, probably at fixed times each year. If I tell them I have one every month, I might as well just announce who I really am.’
’This group will go their separate ways once we reach Zone 5. I shouldn’t stir up any unnecessary trouble.’
’When it comes to my identity, my strategy is simple: if they don’t ask, I don’t tell. And if they do ask, I’ll just act surprised, play dumb, and bluff my way through it.’
Seeing her nod, Leo let out a long, sharp hiss. Vine and the others pulled back and straightened up, each lost in their own turbulent thoughts.
"Something’s not right."
Vine said suddenly.
Gu Ning’s heart skipped a beat. She tightened her grip on the fur on Cook’s head and looked at Vine. "Wh-what’s not right?"
Vine’s gaze seemed to pierce right through her. "When was your last heat?"
Barto seemed to realize something as well, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied Gu Ning’s guilty expression.
Gu Ning was terrified of this interrogator-like tone from Vine. She swallowed, forced herself to stay calm, and said vaguely, "I don’t remember."
Vine didn’t miss the subtle shift in her tone and expression. He continued slowly, "If I recall correctly, by the time we were stationed in Zone 19, you had already been living with Alex for quite some time. You were in a state of passive heat back then, too."
As soon as he finished speaking, the other Beastmen immediately understood what he was implying and inwardly cursed the wolf.
Leo burst out, "Damn, that wolf is so damn scheming. A beast in fine clothing! All he does is run his mouth and sweet-talk you."
Philinos, who had been silent the entire time, spoke in a cold voice from above her head. "Alex didn’t use an Inhibitor during his heat? He just clung to you instead?"
Vine’s tone was grave. "In the future, no matter how he tries to sweet-talk you, you must not indulge in mating in an unsafe place." No wonder her scent had seemed off to him the entire journey. It was because Alex had induced a passive heat in her.
The scent of a passive heat wasn’t as strong as that of a normal one, but it was still distinct.
In the Lower District, which was full of males, that was extremely dangerous. Alex had shown a complete disregard for the little female’s safety.
"It seems I overestimated him," Vine said. "I’ll report him as soon as I get back to Zone 5."
Hearing this, Gu Ning knew they must have misunderstood something. "Alex and I lived together," she said hurriedly. "He was... taking care of me."
When she said "taking care of," all the Beastmen got a strange, indescribable look on their faces.
"I can take good care of you, too." Vine stared intently at Gu Ning’s face, his tone as solemn as if he were making an oath.
"I can too!" Leo leaned over the back of the sofa, craning his head toward Gu Ning, looking as if he wanted to press right up against her as he spoke.
As he spoke, he shot up from the sofa and stood ramrod straight, no longer clutching his chest in pain. He looked energetic enough to run for miles.
"Look at me, look at me." Leo flexed his arms and legs, showing off his powerful physique to the little female.
Cook turned and rolled his eyes at him before resting his head back on Gu Ning’s lap.
Gu Ning patted the puppy’s head, her feelings a complicated mess as she watched Leo’s blatant courtship display.
Philinos used his scabbard to shove the annoying dog aside. He stared down at the top of the little female’s head and said, "That’s not ’taking care of.’ That’s..."
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he swallowed them.