Chapter 396 - 354: Don’t tell me you’ve never even seen his body?
Chapter 396: Chapter 354: Don’t tell me you’ve never even seen his body?
Gu Ning sat on a stool, watching Barto move in and out as he gathered things.
The showerhead was still gushing hot water. Barto had gotten a large bathtub from somewhere, and it would take some time to fill.
She hadn’t bathed in days. Just a moment ago she had said she didn’t want to, but seeing the steamy tub, she felt she absolutely had to take a bath.
Thinking back, she hadn’t had a proper bath since leaving Zone 15. Although she had wiped herself down with a towel these past two days, it was nothing compared to the comfort of a full soak.
"Which set do you want to wear?"
Barto asked Gu Ning, holding up two sets of pajamas.
One was orange-red, the other black.
Gu Ning was about to just pick one, but when she saw the colors...
They even had fox and wolf patterns on them.
’I should probably put our issues aside for tonight,’ she thought. ’I still have a lot of work to do. Knowing this little fox’s temper, he’ll probably pick another fight with Alex over this.’
"The white set," she said. ’I just changed into those new pajamas before dinner. I can wear them for another day.’
Barto jutted his chin towards the sink. "They’re being washed."
Seeing her pajamas already soaking in water, Gu Ning had no choice but to raise her hand to pick one. Just as she did, Barto put both sets down and went to add cold water to the tub. "Wear whichever one you want after your bath."
Hmm? Gu Ning looked at the little fox, slightly surprised.
After testing the water temperature several times, Barto said to Gu Ning, "Come on, get in. It’s not too hot anymore."
Gu Ning glanced at the tub and blurted out, "Are you getting in with me?"
’Even though this was a small hospital, the facilities were much better than any of the places they had stayed before. There was plenty of hot water.’
Barto just looked at her without saying a word.
"...I’ll wash by myself." ’Why did I have to say that?’
She felt around in her jacket pocket, pulled out a Blue Gold Inhibitor, and handed it to Barto. "Here. This is the last one. You use it."
’Cook was relatively stable for now, and the Advanced Inhibitors were still somewhat effective for him. But Barto’s condition had been obviously off these past two days; you could tell from his mood and his appearance. He usually shaved the fur markings on his face whenever he was in human form. They wouldn’t grow in as long as he didn’t switch back and forth from his fox form. But in the last two days, the markings had grown darker, and there were signs of bestial transformation on his hands, too.’
Now that Cook had plenty of people helping to look after him, she was more worried about Barto.
Barto glanced down at the Inhibitor in her hand. An unreadable emotion flickered in his eyes, and as if he’d thought of something, he took it.
Seeing that he took it, Gu Ning looked down and began to take off her jacket. The ZZZIP of the zipper sounded jarringly loud in the quiet room.
Just then, Barto reached out and helped her take off the jacket.
Gu Ning’s heart hammered erratically for a beat, and she looked up at him.
Barto shook out her jacket, placed it on a shelf, and then took off his own.
"Wait." Gu Ning saw he was about to take off his shirt and raised a hand to stop him. "I’ll wash first, then you."
Barto’s hands were gripping the hem of his shirt, which was already halfway off. Hearing her words, he froze and lowered his hands.
Gu Ning’s eyes swept over the little fox’s tight, well-defined abs. She pursed her lips slightly and pulled his shirt back down for him. "I’ll be quick. You won’t have to wait long for your turn."
"Have you seen Alex’s body?" Barto asked suddenly.
"Huh?"
Barto looked down at her. "His naked human form. You’ve already mated, haven’t you? Don’t tell me you haven’t even seen his body?"
Gu Ning’s face instantly turned red. She pushed at him, saying, "I’m going to take my bath now."
Barto didn’t move, grabbing her hand. "So, have you seen it or not?"
"I’ve seen it, alright?! Now get out."
Seeing her face grow even redder, Barto said, "You’ve seen Alex’s body. So now, look at mine."
’Gu Ning had considered that tonight would go one of two ways: either she’d manage to muddle through by keeping busy, or she’d have to face whatever further demands Barto might make.’
But she had never imagined he would say something like this.
DRIP—
A drop of water from the showerhead fell into the tub, breaking the silence between them.
"Just... look at your body?" Gu Ning asked.
Barto didn’t answer, simply pulling off his shirt.
Gu Ning’s eyes darted away for a moment before she steadied herself and fixed her gaze on the little fox’s bare chest.
’She thought she roughly understood what he was thinking now.’
’Barto was most insecure about his Mixed Breed identity. He wanted to be seen as a normal Beastman.’
’It wasn’t as if she’d never seen his bare torso before, and Barto knew that. But things were different now.’
"Your human form is very strong." Gu Ning reached out and touched the little fox’s abs, her tone encouraging.
’In truth, ignoring Barto’s Mixed Breed status, his human form was perfectly proportioned. He was lean and strong, but not like some other Beastmen whose muscles were so bulky they looked like cobbled-together stones, which was frankly terrifying.’
The moment Gu Ning finished speaking, there was a soft *click*, and Barto’s pants dropped to the floor.
And just like that, with no mental preparation whatsoever, she was faced with the little fox’s completely naked body.
Silence.
DRIP—
The water dripped, and Gu Ning’s heart pounded.
After staring at Barto’s waist and abdomen for a few seconds, she came to her senses. She instinctively tried to look away, but Barto reached out, cupping her face. "Look at me properly."
"I-I looked. I’m done looking," Gu Ning said, her cheeks scalding.
’He’s no different from a normal Beastman.’
Barto showed no major emotional reaction to her response, appearing very calm.
What he wanted to show her was more than just this, but he still asked, "What do you think?"
Gu Ning looked up at him and blinked. ’Does he want me to critique this too?’
"It’s good. Very... healthy."
’Her current Beastman-standard vocabulary was sorely lacking. But even if she were to speak her native language, she wouldn’t be able to comment on it very well...’
’It was simply a healthy and... beautiful Beastman body.’
Barto gave a small smile, but it vanished a moment later. With a flick of his wrist, he took the Blue Gold Inhibitor Gu Ning had given him and injected the entire dose right in front of her.
Then, he walked towards the door.
Just as Gu Ning thought he was about to leave, everything suddenly went dark.
Barto had turned off the lights.
"Barto?" Unable to see, Gu Ning instantly grew nervous.
The next second, a faint, ghostly blue light appeared in her vision.
Barto was standing about two meters away from her. Blue points of light were gradually appearing on his body. Soon, these points connected into lines, tracing the network of his veins and mapping out his physique, as if an invisible pair of hands were painting him with fluorescent patterns.
Gu Ning stared, dumbfounded.
Barto said, "Do you see it now? This is what I really look like."
Gu Ning snapped back to her senses. "The glow... is it because of the Blue Gold Inhibitor?"
Barto said, "Yes. But it only happens to me."
Gu Ning understood. "So a Mixed Breed using a Blue Gold Inhibitor will glow."
After saying that, she added in confusion, "But I don’t think Cook glows."
’Cook had taken the Blue Gold Inhibitor several times, but he never glowed blue like Barto.’
Barto looked at her and said, word by word, "Only I do this. Do you understand?"
Gu Ning, only half-understanding, glanced down, pointed between his legs, and exclaimed in shock, "That glows too?!"
Barto froze. He followed her gesture and glanced down, and then a rush of heat shot to his head. His face instantly exploded in a blush.