Chapter 380 - 342: Then Can I Sleep on the Bed Tonight?
Chapter 380: Chapter 342: Then Can I Sleep on the Bed Tonight?
The mirror reflected the three of them standing together, washing up. For some reason, Gu Ning suddenly blushed and immediately lowered her eyes.
Alex and Barto both stared at the young female’s reflection. Seeing her suddenly lower her head, her toothbrushing becoming hurried and anxious, they paused in unison and turned to look at her.
Barto said, "What are you doing, scrubbing a toilet? Why are you brushing so fast?"
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!" Gu Ning choked on the little fox’s words.
Alex patted her on the back. "Did you choke on the foam?"
Gu Ning quickly rinsed her mouth and spat, then waved a hand at Alex. She grabbed a towel, gave her face a quick wipe, then wet her hands and ran them through her messy hair. Hopping off the step stool, she pushed the IV pole ahead of her and went back to her room.
The two male Beastmen stared after the young female’s retreating figure, both utterly confused.
Gu Ning flopped onto the hospital bed and patted her warm cheeks. ’The scene just now... it made this little human feel a tiny bit guilty.’
"What’s wrong?"
Barto quickly finished up and came out. "What’s wrong?" he asked, standing in front of her.
Gu Ning cleared her throat. "It’s... it’s nothing."
Barto gave her a suspicious look.
Alex came over as well. Noticing her face was a little red, he worriedly placed the back of his hand on her forehead. "Your temperature seems a little high."
Gu Ning: "..."
She pulled Alex’s hand away. "I’m fine. I just remembered... that this is gone."
Gu Ning held up her right wrist, showing it was bare. "I’m just a little excited."
"So you’re just really happy," Alex said, gazing at her face for a moment before smoothing her hair. "I’ll go get breakfast for you all."
Gu Ning nodded enthusiastically.
The moment Alex left the room, Barto sat down next to her.
Seeing Barto staring at her, Gu Ning asked, "What is it?"
Barto: "What are you so nervous about?"
Gu Ning: "I’m not."
Barto kept staring at her.
Gu Ning: "I’m really not."
Seeing the little fox was still staring at her, she kicked off her slippers and tried to scramble back into bed.
Barto stopped her. "You can lie down after breakfast."
With that, he got up, grabbed a dark gray bag from the sofa, and placed it in front of Gu Ning.
Gu Ning’s eyes lit up. "Is this my bag?"
’I’ve been sick the past few days, unable to think about anything but getting better. I hadn’t even thought to ask Barto and the others for my bag and belongings.’
Gu Ning unzipped the backpack and started rummaging through its contents.
The food and water she’d packed were gone—Barto must have cleared them out. All that remained was a pack of underwear, some period panties, a lighter, and a few other small essentials.
Gu Ning dug around until she found the one thing she wanted most right now: the black camera Cyril had given her.
’The white camera Alex had given me sank to the bottom of the lake along with my terminal. I’ll have to tell Alex later,’ she thought. ’As for the terminal, I’ll just get a new one. I can’t possibly ask Barto and the others to dive in and retrieve it for me.’
Just as she was fiddling with the black camera, Barto produced the white one as if by magic, holding it out to her.
Gu Ning froze, then snatched the camera in a fit of joy. "My camera! Barto, how... how did you find it?!"
Barto then took out a terminal and fastened it onto her right wrist.
Gu Ning stared. "Is this... my terminal?"
Barto nodded. "Yeah. That day, we tracked you to the lake you’d fallen into. We couldn’t find you, only your jacket."
He remembered that day, thinking Gu Ning had sunk to the bottom of the lake. He’d dived like a madman, searching the depths. Even now, he still hadn’t shaken the fear of losing her.
"Barto, you’re amazing!" Gu Ning exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in an excited hug.
A smile touched Barto’s lips. He carefully wrapped an arm around her waist, mindful of the IV line in her hand. "I wanted to give them to you right away," he said, supporting her. "But you were so sick, I figured I’d wait until you were feeling better. Didn’t want you getting distracted from your recovery."
Gu Ning clung to the little fox’s neck, wanting nothing more than to kiss him. She ruffled his hair affectionately. "You’re the best, you’re the best."
Barto: "I am?"
Gu Ning: "Yes, yes! You’re the best."
Barto: "Then can I sleep in the bed tonight?"
Gu Ning: "Mhm, mhm... Huh?"
Gu Ning released Barto and stared at him.
Her clear, round eyes made him avert his gaze. He looked down. "I... I just noticed your hospital bed is pretty wide. The sofa’s too small, so it’s hard to sleep at night."
Gu Ning scratched her cheek. "Oh... right. Okay. The sofa is... is small."
After that, neither of them said another word.
Gu Ning’s excitement evaporated, and the atmosphere suddenly turned a little awkward.
"This camera got water-damaged; it won’t turn on," Barto said, meeting Gu Ning’s gaze as he took the white camera from her hands. "I’ll find someone to get it fixed."
Gu Ning: "Okay, okay. Go on."
"Do you need help getting it fixed?"
Alex had returned at some point and was standing in the doorway, watching them.
’For some reason, at the sight of Alex, that little tail of guilt in my heart started wagging again.’
"I’m going to feed Cook."
Barto tossed the camera to Alex and strode quickly out of the room.
"..."
Gu Ning finished her breakfast, but Barto still hadn’t come back. She glanced at Philinos, who was still fast asleep, then pushed her IV pole over to the window.
The weather was decent today. The sun wasn’t out, but at least it wasn’t windy or snowing. She immediately spotted Barto’s conspicuous red figure below, playing fetch with Cook.
As if sensing her gaze, he looked up toward her.
"WOOF!" Cook whined, wagging his tail anxiously. Barto hadn’t thrown the ball for a long moment.
Barto snapped out of it and hurled the ball. Cook was just about to tear after it when he realized Barto had thrown it so high and far that it quickly vanished from sight.
Barto stood there. "..." ’Didn’t hold back enough.’
"AWOO..." Cook whined, looking at Barto unhappily.
Barto: "Stupid dog, go get the ball."
Cook flopped onto the ground.
’He knew where the ball was, but it had flown outside of Ningning’s immediate vicinity, so he wasn’t about to go get it.’
Seeing him lazing about and refusing to move, Barto bent down, packed a big snowball, and threw it at him. "Go on!"
Cook, thinking Barto wanted a snow fight, twitched his ears and excitedly started pawing snow all over him.
Barto just stood there, covered head to toe in snow. "..."
"PFFT." Gu Ning, leaning on the windowsill, couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.
"What are you looking at that’s making you so happy?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Gu Ning turned around. Meira had walked into the room. She took off her coat, sat down on the sofa, and looked at Gu Ning. "Come here. I have something to discuss with you."
Alex, who was in the washroom washing some of Gu Ning’s clothes, heard the voice and came out immediately to see what was going on.
"Senior Menela."
Seeing it was Menela, Alex’s gaze shifted between her and Gu Ning. He poured them both a cup of hot water and said, "I’ll let you two talk. I’ll be outside."
Menela gave a slight nod. Her impression of this tactful and considerate alpha wolf was quite good.
Once Alex had left, Gu Ning sat down beside Menela.
Menela said, "Give me your terminal."