The air was frozen to the extreme.
A sudden gust of wind swept through.
The stagnant air in the room began to stir, fluttering the lamp curtains back and forth, swaying with a dangerous aura.
The light casting down shifted and flickered across Ornado's face, making his emotions unreadable.
Yuxing did not hesitate to say, "Of course it's you!"
She still knew how to tell a good meal ticket from a bad one.
Ornodo's throat tightened, his dark eyes unfathomable. "Because I'm your owner, you favor me?"
Hearing this, Quinn's heart skipped a beat.
This sentence was also a trap.
No matter how the royal pet answered, it would be wrong!
Yuxing snuggled into Ornado's arms, making a heart shape with one hand. "My heart isn't right in the middle anyway, what's wrong with being partial to you?"
Quinn: "..."
*You're sucking up so hard, do you even want to live?*
The coldness on Ornado's face was instantly melted by the warm, soft body, and the gloom that had tortured him for hours suddenly dissipated.
So what if Ernad seized control of the body?
The pet had eyes only for him.
And, only for him.
Quinn, standing awkwardly to the side, fell even more silent, pulling out a small notebook and frantically taking notes.
*The king is this easy to coax?*
*He figured the royal pet only used a single sentence!*
*Another day he would try the power of this sentence too~*
Ornodo's gaze swept over the row of optical computers on the table. "Need help?"
Yuxing shook her head.
The high ponytail tied behind her swung from side to side with her movement, the ends brushing against the expanse of snow-white skin exposed at her neck.
Ornodo's gaze was captured by that patch of white, and a strange emotion gradually rose in the depths of his heart.
He hadn't touched his pet yet, nor tasted her flavor, and Ernad had beaten him to it just like that.
Quinn always felt completely redundant, so he cleared his throat, trying to increase his sense of presence.
Ornodo glanced sideways at Quinn's direction. "Why are you still here?"
Quinn: "?"
Yuxing followed up by asking, "You haven't left yet?"
Quinn: "??"
Yuxing clenched both hands into fists and made an encouraging gesture. "A dark night and a high wind—perfect for you to sneak into the enemy camp."
Quinn: "..."
What more could he say?
He would just fly away!
While waiting for Quinn to arrive on the battlefield, Yuxing channeled her inner workhorse, using the row of optical computers to register several virtual accounts on StarNet and began posting announcements to build hype.
*#SHOCK! Why on earth did the dignified Admiral launch a raid on the Marshal's Mansion?#*
Facts proved that clickbait titles could always attract the audience's attention.
Especially since interstellar life was dry and dull with no entertainment activities, the Marshal's Mansion had the honor of becoming the "lively" place.
The number of viewers in the livestream room went from 0 to 999 in just three minutes.
Yuxing transformed into an octopus, going to town on the keyboard.
[Owl: Come on, let's create a little panic!]
[Whether it's the Admiral or the Marshal, take either one alone—which of them isn't heavy-hitting?]
[What made these two kings who never meet clash head-on?!]
Yuxing freely switched accounts to leave comments; arguably, out of every ten barrage comments in the livestream, nine were written by her.
The interstellar natives did not let Yuxing down either, crowding into the livestream room one after another. A few bold ones followed suit with comments, while the majority stood by and watched.
Yuxing was not in a rush.
Her comments were meant to steer the narrative, but her main goal was simply to have people watching—the more people who watched, the more interesting the subsequent story would be.
Rescuing the humans in the Hunting Park could be resolved with a single word from her owner, but she was not satisfied.
She liked watching wicked people suffer karmic retribution.
Mr. Holt wore the honor of "the Marshal's son."
This honor in itself was a form of protection, so she would use public pressure to tear apart the umbrella sheltering the Holt Family.
Yuxing turned her head, wanting to share her next plan with Ornado, but found herself dazzled by the aura washing over her.
Ornodo's collar was slightly open, carrying a casual, lazy air, and the oceanic scent radiating from him aggressively invaded every breath she took.
Only belatedly did she realize how closely pressed together they were.
Ornodo asked softly, "What is it?"
His voice brushed past her earlobe, making her ear tingle.
Yuxing's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly sat up straight, pretending to be very busy. "Nothing."
Where others could not see, the tenderness in Ornado's eyes was forcefully replaced. His pet had changed into a silver-white ribboned dress.
The satin material of the dress resembled a flowing galaxy under the illumination of the lights, silent yet soul-stirring.
A bow was tied loosely at the pet's shoulders, and the long ribbons wound down from her shoulder tips, brushing against his arm like a feather.
Was something whispering?
The ties seemed to say: *Untie it.*
Fearing he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation, Ornado hastily looked down; as the pet breathed gently and rhythmically, the thin silk outlined the full curve of her buttocks.
His gaze lingered unconsciously.
The tentacles urged him to make a bold move.
In a trance, he seemed to see himself reaching out a sinful hand.
His fingers curled slightly, flesh spilling out between the gaps in his fingers like overripe fruit, rotting at his fingertips.
The fruit trembled instinctively.
What would he do next?
Pin her down so she couldn't escape.
Ornodo's breath hitched, and he lowered his gaze expressionlessly, looking at his empty hand, knowing that everything just now was merely his imagination.
She was completely unguarded against him.
He relished this trust.
Therefore, he needed a reasonable excuse to whitewash his filthy intentions.
What excuse?
Yuxing was still busy steering the narrative, completely unaware that the person beside her was eyeing her wantonly, like a beast sniffing the fresh flesh of its prey.
Suddenly, a strange, itchy sensation came from behind Yuxing.
Turning her head, she saw Ornado's calloused, slender hand catching the optical computer she had accidentally knocked down.
When had it fallen?
Why was she so careless?
Soon, the question was replaced by the tickling sensation.
She realized what had inadvertently brushed past...
Slender, fair, distinctly jointed fingers held the optical computer, appearing effortlessly smooth under the warm yellow light.
The mere thought that this very hand had grazed her sent a wave of tingles down her spine, an electric current drilling from the point of contact straight into her nerves, leaving behind bone-deep tremors.
Even after it slid away, she could not forget the bizarre sensation on her skin.
Yuxing swallowed the strange feeling, took the optical computer from Ornado's hand, and spoke with a shiver in her shoulders.
"Thank you, you're welcome."
The ripples creasing Ornado's brow were scattered by these words.
He gently massaged the bridge of his nose, wanting to shut her mouth, to bite lightly on those trembling shoulders as punishment.
Yuxing inched outward a little.
Ornodo's eyelids twitched wildly, and he grabbed his pet's wrist.
Yuxing offered a tactful reminder, "Sitting too close makes it easy to bump into each other."
That was precisely the effect Ornado wanted.
But obviously, the pet didn't want it.
He chuckled softly, loosening his grip on her, and swept his powerful arm around her waist, pulling her onto his lap.
Ornodo's warm, hard knuckles dug into her waist, his voice whispering right against her ear bone, "This way we won't bump into each other anymore."
Yuxing's nostrils were filled with the calm, alluring scent of the ocean that clung to him, numbing her brain and leaving her mind in a chaotic haze.
A fatal guess drifted up from the bottom of Yuxing's heart.
Is this the normal mode of interaction between an owner and their pet?