Chapter 400 - 358: Did You Sleep Well Last Night?
Chapter 400: Chapter 358: Did You Sleep Well Last Night?
The next day.
Whether it was from exhaustion last night or the effects of the medication, Gu Ning didn’t wake up until nearly noon.
She subconsciously reached out to the side, but her hand met with empty air.
’Huh?’
Gu Ning opened her eyes, but there was no sign of the little fox.
Looking at the wrinkles on the sheet next to her pillow, the scene from last night flashed through her mind.
That little tail of guilt in Gu Ning’s heart wagged again. She raised a hand to her forehead with a bit of a headache.
SCRAPE—
A long, slender, and fair—almost pale—hand reached out from behind the curtain next to Gu Ning, pulling open the divider between the two hospital beds.
Hearing the sound, Gu Ning turned to look—
The Little Fairy Bird, who had been lying unconscious for four or five days, was now staring intently at her.
Gu Ning froze for two seconds before springing up in bed, overjoyed. "Philinos, you’re awake!"
Philinos watched her without a word. Gu Ning scrambled out of bed. "How are you feeling? I’ll go get a doctor for you."
"Ning..." Philinos called out to stop her, his voice incredibly hoarse.
Gu Ning paused, grabbed her own water bottle from the bedside table, twisted it open, and handed it to him.
Philinos continued to stare at her, dazed. A trace of bewilderment was in his eyes, as if he couldn’t quite believe that Gu Ning was really in front of him.
"Philinos?" Gu Ning moved the water bottle closer to his lips.
Hearing her worried voice and catching her familiar scent, Philinos seemed to snap out of a dream and seized her wrist.
Hot water sloshed out of the bottle, soaking the front of his clothes. Gu Ning quickly tried to pull her hand back, but Philinos’s grip was too tight; she couldn’t break free at all.
"Ning?" Philinos called her name again.
"It’s me." Gu Ning patted his hand. "We’re in the hospital. We’re safe now."
Hearing this, Philinos finally let his gaze wander to his surroundings. He sat up, frowning slightly. "What hospital is this?"
The words had barely left his lips when the door to the room was pushed open. Philinos instinctively pulled Gu Ning behind him and reached for the knife at his waist.
His hand found nothing.
"Well, everyone’s awake now."
Lanuo glanced at the two of them pressed close together, then shot a look at Alex, who was standing nearby, and raised an eyebrow.
"Move, you’re blocking the way."
Barto appeared behind them, carrying two large bags of food containers.
Lanuo stepped aside. "So, were you successful last night?"
Barto: "..."
"Please move." Barto’s tone was a bit cold, but he managed to sound polite.
*
After washing up, Gu Ning opened the bathroom door, walked over to the sofa area, and sat down.
Barto was setting out lunch on the coffee table.
The coffee table was two or three times larger than Gu Ning’s small dining table, and it was now almost completely covered with food. The portions were far larger than what she had been eating the past few days.
She looked at Barto, a little surprised. ’Is today some kind of special occasion?’
"What’s with that look?" Barto first placed a set of bowls and chopsticks in front of her and himself, then took out another set of cutlery and placed it to the side.
Gu Ning said, surprised and happy, "Barto, three bowls? You prepared them?"
Barto’s lips twitched into a slight smirk. He placed a large bowl of stir-fried peas and meat in front of her. "Hurry up and eat."
Gu Ning looked closer. The meat with the peas was minced, chopped very finely, unlike the large slices she had before.
"He prepared the ingredients." Barto jutted his chin in the direction behind her. "I woke up late today."
Gu Ning glanced back at the three tall Beastmen talking by the window. Realizing the little fox meant Alex, she happily ladled a large spoonful of peas for Barto first, then called out to the others:
"Alex, Philinos, come and eat."
All three Beastmen turned to look at her at the same time.
"Not going to call me?" Lanuo, having been ignored, crossed his arms and looked at the little female.
Gu Ning: "...Haven’t you eaten?"
She had assumed Lanuo was just making his routine rounds. For the past few days, she had only eaten with Alex and Barto.
With Philinos awake, that would make one more.
Lanuo said, "Take a guess."
Gu Ning: "..."
When Alex heard Lanuo’s comment, he knew the guy was taking a jab at him. He clapped him hard on the shoulder and shot him a "you-can-leave-now" look.
"You guys eat. I’m going out on patrol."
Philinos said this as he pulled the IV needle from his hand and strode quickly out of the room. Gu Ning didn’t even have time to call out to him.
"That guy..." Lanuo said, holding a medical device whose test results weren’t out yet. "Didn’t I just tell him there are Military Department squads on guard outside? What is there for him to patrol?"
’The males around this little female have personalities that are stranger than the last.’
"Forget him." Barto pulled Gu Ning, who had stood up, back down. He was about to make a sarcastic remark out of habit, but caught himself and said instead, "He’s been lying down for several days. He probably just wants to get some fresh air."
Gu Ning said worriedly, "Go get him in a little while."
After saying that, she remembered something very important and quickly opened her terminal.
Last night, she had fallen asleep before she finished editing her video. She woke up in the middle of the night and saw that Barto had finished editing it for her, but it hadn’t been uploaded yet. She was too tired at the time and figured she would review it carefully a few times in the morning before posting.
Just then, Alex sat down beside her. "Did you sleep well last night?"
That guilty little tail of hers, which had just drooped, started wagging again.
Memories of last night flickered in her mind. Suddenly, the aura of the gentle, intimate alpha wolf beside her felt a little oppressive.
"She slept like a log," Barto answered.
Alex gave a faint smile, then scooped up a spoonful of peas and held it to Gu Ning’s lips. "I went to the nearest market this morning to buy fresh ingredients. Have a taste and see if you like it."
Gu Ning subconsciously swallowed and opened her mouth to eat the spoonful of peas.
The peas were soft and tender, and the minced meat was fluffy and savory. It wasn’t greasy at all, just incredibly flavorful.
"It’s delicious! Alex, you have some too." Gu Ning averted Alex’s gaze, intending to scoop a spoonful of peas for him, but he had already taken the spoon she just used and started eating with it.
Gu Ning’s gaze darted secretly between him and Barto. She quickly finished her meal and moved aside to handle her work.
’Work is the most important thing. I should just finish what I’m doing first.’
She opened the video that Barto had helped her edit and watched it several times. She almost couldn’t resist praising him in front of Alex.
The one-minute video was exceptionally well done, both in its editing and post-production. She had been worried that Barto might have deleted the parts where her face was visible, but he hadn’t touched the content she had already edited. He had only made minor adjustments to the video’s pacing and filter.
’The little fox is even this good at video editing? I thought he didn’t like this sort of thing. When I tried to watch TV shows with him before, he always seemed completely uninterested. I never expected him to be so professional when he actually tried.’
Gu Ning snuck a couple of glances at the little fox. He and Alex were still finishing their meal. As if sensing her gaze, he looked over at her.
Gu Ning immediately retracted her gaze, came up with a title for the video, and posted what was now her longest and highest-quality video ever on PawPress.
*
「Second District.」
Deviant, who had been up all night handling affairs, closed the chat window with a certain someone from Zone 5. He drank the rest of his coffee, planning to take a break before wrangling with that troublesome wolf again.
Just as he stood up, his terminal chimed with a familiar, long-unheard notification sound—one he had set a special alert for.