Chapter 314 - 278: Isn’t It Uncomfortable, Enduring Your Heat Like This?
Chapter 314: Chapter 278: Isn’t It Uncomfortable, Enduring Your Heat Like This?
A choice.
Gu Ning listened to the mechanical translation in her earpiece, mulling over the meaning behind Barto’s words.
"Beast Alliance females... need to choose a male?" Gu Ning asked Barto, her words slow but clearly enunciated.
A flash of surprise crossed Barto’s eyes as he heard her question.
His mind raced, and in an instant, a lot of things clicked into place. ’The Heavenly Beast Clan must have protected her too well,’ he thought, ’or maybe she just recently went into her first heat.’
Beyond that, he had an even worse thought.
"You can choose." Barto’s hand, still holding hers, tightened in a reassuring gesture. He spoke patiently and earnestly, "But you don’t have to make this decision. Everything should be according to your will. No one can force you to do something you don’t want to. If anyone dares, I won’t let them get away with it."
"Not in any way," Barto added, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
Touched by the little fox’s words, Gu Ning smiled. "Barto, you’re so kind."
Barto smiled back, letting go of her hand to ruffle her hair. "Are you just now figuring that out?"
Gu Ning said seriously, "You’ve always been kind. I know."
Barto bent his index finger and lightly grazed it against her cheek. "So, isn’t it unbearable, just toughing out your heat like this?"
"Or..." He paused for a moment. "Or are you waiting for Alex?"
He didn’t know what kind of environment Gu Ning had grown up in or what her life had been like, but after spending so much time with her, and considering his probing words just now, he had a rough idea of her views on male courtship.
Gu Ning scratched her cheek, shaking her head and then nodding under Barto’s gaze.
Barto said, "So which is it, yes or no?"
Gu Ning: "Yes and no."
Her period wasn’t a real heat. It was certainly uncomfortable, but not in the way Barto meant, so she naturally didn’t need a male to help her through it.
But she had already accepted Alex’s feelings and genuinely hoped he would be by her side soon. So, in a way, it wasn’t wrong to say she was waiting for him.
Since Barto had asked, she wanted to explain herself clearly.
Just as Gu Ning was thinking about how to answer Barto, he said, "Forget it. It’s not important."
Gu Ning looked at him, clutching her pen.
"What I mean is, you can have whoever you want." Barto pushed her pen down. "As long as it’s who you want. If you don’t want them, just swap them out for a few better ones."
Hearing the plural in the translation from her earpiece, Gu Ning’s eyes widened for a second. "A few?"
Barto pursed his lips. "There’s no harm in being picky."
Gu Ning said, "Oh," thinking, ’He means if one doesn’t work out, I can move on to the next.’
Barto studied her skeptically. "You get what I mean, right?"
Gu Ning: "I get it."
But Barto didn’t believe her. Harboring a secret, selfish desire for her to completely understand a concept of partnership that was likely alien to her, he said, "Besides Alex, you can also try accepting other males."
’Never mind how many males would court her in the future once she settled down; even now, in this team alone, so many of them were already watching her.’
’She could never belong to him alone. She probably... wouldn’t even choose him.’
’Whether it was for his own selfish reasons or because he wanted her to understand the situation she would face sooner, he had to tell her clearly.’
’Even if the selfish desire truly buried in the depths of his heart was to live with her and Cook forever in that small, dusty house in Zone 19.’
’Just her, him, and a dog.’
’Such a selfish desire was a sin.’
’Even if he would do his utmost to build a nest for them and love her for the rest of his life, that was all what *he* wanted. She deserved a more brilliant and peaceful life.’
"Alex is great." Gu Ning thought for a moment, then wrote on the paper: *Alex and I have already confessed our feelings for each other. I won’t have a change of heart so quickly, not unless he has one first.*
"A change of heart?" Barto read what she wrote, looking a little confused.
The term was common in TV dramas, in scripts with bizarre plots. No Beastman would say it in daily life, yet Gu Ning had used it twice, and in reference to a male like Alex.
"Mhm." Gu Ning nodded and continued to write: *As soon as he stops liking me, or starts liking another female, I’ll break up with him immediately and choose another male.*
Gu Ning was adamant about this.
Barto’s confusion turned into a long silence. This was beyond his comprehension.
Even though he despised Alex, he had never imagined that he—or any male, for that matter—would have a "change of heart" toward a female.
After thinking for a long while, he decided to just go along with Gu Ning’s line of thought. "Does he have a death wish?"
Even in those niche scripts catering to peculiar Beastman tastes, the prerequisite for a "change of heart" was always being kicked to the curb by a female and holding a grudge, seeking revenge, or being so desperate for a certain female’s affection that one would put on a life-or-death act to get her attention.
’Alex getting kicked to the curb, holding a grudge, and seeking revenge on Gu Ning?’
’That would be a death wish.’
Gu Ning: "Hm?"
Then she smiled. "If Alex has a change of heart, we just separate." ’It’s just not liking me anymore,’ she thought, ’not a matter of life and death.’
Barto sighed. "Who cares if he has a change of heart or not? You shouldn’t care even if he drops dead. You can have as many males as you want."
"But maybe not... too many." Barto sized up her small frame, thinking one was probably more than enough for her to handle.
Now it was Gu Ning’s turn to be silent.
Barto continued, "You can’t handle too many males." ’Just look at what happened with Vine,’ he thought.
"Don’t pick the kind that’s all clingy and dramatic all day. They’re too noisy. They’ll annoy you to death."
Gu Ning’s mouth fell open. "Ah..."
Barto: "And don’t pick the kind who can’t squeeze out a single word all day. You can’t even get a sentence out of them. They’re just annoying to look at."
Gu Ning raised a hand to stop him. "Alex is enough."
She knew what Barto was trying to tell her. Deep down, she understood. With so few females in this world, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that having only one partner, like in the human world, was highly unlikely.
But Barto was right. She couldn’t handle that many Beastman males. And conceptually, she had to have an emotional foundation to accept a partner.
A sour feeling churned in Barto’s stomach. "Enough? What’s enough about it? He’s busy with this and that all day. He’s not even by your side during your heat. And once we get to Zone 5, he’ll be busy with Wolf Pack matters."
Gu Ning held up one finger. "One. One partner. I only want one."
Barto blurted out, "In your dreams."
Gu Ning: "?"
Barto’s expression tightened for a moment before he deflated like a punctured ball. "Fine. When are you going to have a change of heart?"
Gu Ning smiled and wrote: *Probably not anytime soon.*
Barto held back the words boiling inside him. He wanted to scream, to lift her up and demand why it *had* to be Alex! But then he remembered he was a Mixed Breed. He truly wasn’t worthy of being chosen by her as a partner.
"I get it." Barto stood up. "Get some rest. Call me if you need anything."
Gu Ning grabbed his hand.
A flicker of hope ignited in Barto’s eyes.
"The Wolf Team’s mating application." Seeing he had nothing more to say to her, Gu Ning changed what she was about to say. "I signed it. Does that affect him?"
The tail behind Barto wagged once, then drooped limply.
’Oh. She didn’t even pet my tail, just went straight to worrying about other Beastmen.’
"It’s just a written application. It hasn’t gone through the official process. What effect could it have?" he said.
Gu Ning felt relieved.
Barto watched her let go of his hand and said slowly,
"Xiao Ning, no male Beastman who likes a female will ever have a change of heart."