Chapter 291 - 261: Smell Me, Am I Fragrant?
Chapter 291: Chapter 261: Smell Me, Am I Fragrant?
Gu Ning finished her brunch amidst the constant bickering.
With Leo around, it felt like a cicada had taken up residence in her ear, chirping nonstop until her head was buzzing.
Barto and Leo didn’t get along and were constantly taking little potshots at each other.
Her stomach still hurt, and she hadn’t slept well last night, so she had little energy to deal with them. After filling her belly and warning them not to fight, she returned to her bedroom. The moment she shut the door, the entire world felt peaceful again.
The sound of the door closing silenced the living room for a second. Then, Barto slammed Leo onto the table, grabbing his head and smashing it against the tabletop. BANG! BANG! "Annoy her again! I’ll snap your damn neck."
Leo quickly countered, grabbing Barto’s arm and slamming him onto the table even harder. "Bring it on! I’ve been sick of you, you damn redhead, for a long time now. If it wasn’t for her, you think I’d go easy on you?"
"Besides, you’re a Mixed Breed who doesn’t even go into heat. What’s the big idea, getting in her way all day? Can’t you see she’s suffering and needs a male’s comfort?"
Before they could flip the table, Philinos snatched the painkillers Gu Ning hadn’t touched. He was about to take the medicine to her when he heard Leo’s words. He paused, also sensing that something was off about Barto.
They all knew that Barto’s current human form was the result of a secondary mutation, making him one of the rare lucky ones among Mixed Breeds.
But that didn’t change the fact that he was a Mixed Breed.
It wasn’t that Mixed Breeds never went into heat, just that the probability was very low. Going into heat wasn’t a good thing for them, either. Even normal Beastmen needed Inhibitors to control it, let alone Mixed Breeds.
Over the course of their journey, they had gotten a good read on the two Mixed Breeds accompanying Gu Ning. Both had undergone secondary mutations, their mutated genes were highly unstable, and their Mutant Values were already very high. As a result, their bodies’ self-preservation instincts would suppress any signs of heat.
Although both Mixed Breeds were quite clingy with the little female, their status meant the others mostly saw them as her relatives, not as potential mates.
However, ever since the little female went into heat, Barto’s behavior suggested he wanted to be more than just a relative.
’He’s just a Mixed Breed. What could he possibly do?’
Barto bared his teeth at Leo’s words, a flash of resentment in his eyes. He spun around and kicked out. "You mutt, all you think about is courting and mating! Does she look like she needs a male to you?"
Leo dodged the attack. "How do you know she doesn’t—"
Before he could finish, he saw the little female walk out of her bedroom.
"Little Ningning, can’t you sleep?" Leo grinned at Gu Ning. "Want me to keep you company?"
’Females in heat could also be more irritable. How could she possibly sleep in broad daylight?’
Hearing Leo’s nickname for her, Gu Ning’s scalp prickled with irritation. She walked up to them, poked the puppy’s chest with a finger, and said sternly, "You. Be quiet. Don’t disturb my rest. I don’t feel well."
The rejected puppy said, "Oh." He flopped onto the sofa and closed his eyes. "Then I’ll rest too."
Gu Ning then looked at Barto, who was silently tidying the table. "Barto, take Cook out to play."
Even just a walk downstairs would be fine. Otherwise, with them in the same room, she wouldn’t get a moment’s peace.
Barto stopped tidying. Seeing the pale color of her lips, he relented, then frowned at the dog lying on the sofa.
Gu Ning followed his gaze and was about to speak when Philinos spoke up. "I’ll keep watch here."
He then looked at Gu Ning and asked, "Is that okay?"
Gu Ning hesitated for a moment, then nodded and held out her hand to him. "Give me..."
Philinos took her hand.
Gu Ning: "...The, uh, medicine."
Philinos silently withdrew his hand and passed her the medicine from his other hand. "The dosage is based on body weight. Take half a tablet for now. If it still hurts after six hours, you can take another half."
"Thanks." Gu Ning took the medicine, her eyes sweeping over him as she asked again, "Your injury? Is it okay?"
"Not great," Leo whined, chiming in. "They beat me up every day. His little injury is nothing. My ribs still hurt."
’If you’d just behave yourself, you wouldn’t get beaten up so much,’ Gu Ning thought.
Philinos didn’t even glance at the dog. He lowered his gaze to the little female looking up at him, his voice unconsciously softening. "I’m fine. Go get some rest. I’ll stand guard for you. No one will get into your room."
Gu Ning smiled at Philinos. "Okay, thanks, Bird Team."
She had a lot of faith in Bird Team’s abilities.
Seeing her smile, Philinos’s expression involuntarily softened. A hot current surged through him, making him want to let something pour out.
"If you need me, call me anytime," Philinos said.
Gu Ning nodded and said okay again.
Philinos couldn’t resist taking a step closer to her. "Smell me. Do I smell good?"
’Gu Ning’s brain slowly processed... Huh?’
Behind her, Barto rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into his head.
Leo cursed under his breath and made a pinky gesture at Philinos’s back.
’That damned smoldering bastard.’
Realizing what he had just said, Philinos’s face stiffened. He walked past Gu Ning with a cool, aloof air, turned his back to everyone, and stood by the window, leaving only a fragrant breeze behind.
Gu Ning sniffed the scent Bird Team had left in the air. It was... actually quite nice. She had smelled it earlier when he stood next to her during the meal. It was even stronger than what she’d smelled in the car last time. ’So, did he really put on perfume?’
.
After placating the Beastmen, Gu Ning returned to her bedroom, flopped onto the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling. Before long, waves of dull, throbbing pain in her lower abdomen pulled her back to her senses.
She clutched her stomach and sighed, bringing the medicine bottle she was holding up to her eyes to carefully read the instructions on the label.
There was no translation, and she could only make out a few of the words.
Gu Ning opened the translator on her terminal and read it again. She understood the words this time, but she didn’t know anything about pharmacology, and some of the translated terms were different from what she was familiar with.
’Should I take it?’
She remembered the time she’d gotten sick and taken medicine that had left her half-dead, which made her hesitant.
However, during the time she lived with Alex, she had also taken medicine he’d given her without any major issues.
’Maybe it was just the wrong dosage?’
Gu Ning rolled over and sat up. She shook out one tablet and broke it in half, placing one of the halves in her palm.
She grabbed the thermos by her bed, thought for a moment, and cautiously broke the half-tablet in two again. She then took the small piece with some hot water.
After taking the medicine, Gu Ning took a nap. She slept until a little after four in the afternoon, when the continuous vibrations of her terminal woke her up.
Gu Ning’s head felt fuzzy from sleep. She stuck a hand out from under the covers and cracked open one eye to look at her terminal.
The virtual screen was constantly displaying pop-up messages marked with a paw print icon.
Gu Ning rubbed her eyes, shoved the messy hair plastered to her face back, and squinted as she tapped on a message. She ended up tapping right into the PawPress dashboard.
Staring at the dashboard full of unread messages, it took Gu Ning a few seconds to remember that she had planned to deal with her PawPress work before bed. She must have been too tired and just drifted off.
By now, her stomach didn’t hurt anymore. She wasn’t sure if it was the medicine working or if the bout of pain had just passed.
Gu Ning sat up, took a few sips of hot water, and scrolled through the pinned unread messages.
Besides messages from Deviant and the official PawPress account, there was also one from Idelos.
Gu Ning opened the chat with Idelos:
"Are you free?"