Yuxing's body froze. The contact between her cheek and his rough fingertips made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
He cuped her face like this, forcing her to look up at him.
His slender fingers pinched and kneaded her skin repeatedly.
Soon.
Her delicate skin was flushed bright red.
The pet looked at him pitifully with wet eyes, resentment hidden deep within her gaze.
Ornado was in a pleasant mood. "What are you thinking about?"
Yuxing's tone was pious. "Can I return this?"
Ornado released the pet, casually resting his elbows on his bent knees. His posture was overly lazy and relaxed, but his tone was nonchalant.
"What do you think?"
Yuxing shook her head without even thinking. "No."
Ornado praised. "How smart."
Yuxing: "..."
Then why are you pulling this act!
Yuxing's silence was met with a deep laugh from Ornado. Once he had laughed enough, Ornado placed a paper book in her lap.
She looked down.
Yuxing was speechless.
Whose idea of a good bedtime reading was the *Code of Law*?
Ornado changed his posture, firmly circling the pet in his arms, and whispered gently in her ear.
"Read."
Yuxing was forced to press her back flat against a wall, his scorching breath dangerously occupying the back of her neck, and her body instantly went rigid.
Through her clothes, the lethal heat of this wall continued to seep in relentlessly, acting like a steamer that threatened to bake her through.
And that wasn't all.
The wall reached out a broad palm and covered her hand.
Ornado guided the pet's hand to flip open the first page. "Read it like this."
Yuxing's mouth twitched.
Oh, fine, trying to test her with physical beauty, aren't you?
Did he really take her for some kind of good girl who could withstand this test?
Yuxing tried very hard to ignore the heat source behind her, yet the more she read, the hotter it got.
The room only had one small window, and the humid vapor hadn't dissipated much, lingering in the room mixed with the heat.
Yuxing was burning up. While reading, she mentally gave the washroom's ventilation system a one-star review.
By the time Yuxing had read until her throat was parched: "Article twenty-seven..."
She turned her head.
Ornado was leaning against the square pillow at the head of the bed, having fallen fast asleep at some point. In sleep, his face lost some of its cold sharpness and took on a softer look.
After mentally rating his sleeping posture, Yuxing intended to leave.
She got out of bed on tiptoe.
Ornado suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the bed.
Yuxing lost her balance from Ornado's tug, tumbling headfirst into his arms, and they rolled over together.
Ornado's eyes remained tightly closed, but his arms tightened around her, his voice carrying the hoarseness of sleep.
"Don't move."
Yuxing: "..."
Have some confidence in your own weight.
Like a mountain.
She couldn't move even if she wanted to!
Amidst her silent complaints, sleepiness crept up on her. Too many things had happened today—so many that Yuxing found herself getting drowsy too.
*
Early the next morning.
Yuxing woke up feeling crushed.
In her dream, she had become the Great Sage pinned beneath the Five Finger Mountain, unable to flip out of the Buddha's palm no matter what.
She opened her eyes in agony.
A head of dark, glossy hair was pillowed horizontally across her chest.
Yuxing instinctively raised her hand to slap the scoundrel.
Her palm stopped halfway.
Yuxing remembered that she had time-traveled, and the owner of the head in front of her was her owner, who bore the infamous reputation of a tyrant.
You can't easily resist... To hell with can't!
Yuxing shoved the head away hard.
The moment she was touched by the pet, Ornado woke up sharply. Before he could figure out the situation, a foot came kicking toward him.
Realizing it was his pet, Ornado didn't dodge. He thoughtfully glanced at the small foot treading on his chest, and then at the pet.
Yuxing gasped. "Ah, ouch, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
She felt as though she had kicked a hard boulder, her eyes stinging with tears as she prepared to cradle her foot and rub it.
Ornado stopped her movement, gripping her foot tightly.
His large palm was intensely aggressive, as if locking fetters around her foot.
The rubbing force was not light.
It carried a rough texture and a scorching temperature.
Yuxing was ticklish, but didn't dare move. "Let me sophistry!"
Ornado's palm slowly moved upward, resting on her ankle.
His fingers splayed and then closed, watching the plump flesh bulge slightly between his fingers.
"Sophistry?"
His tone carried a hint of a smile amid its languidness.
Yuxing wore an innocent expression. "My sleeping posture has always been ungraceful; kicking people is the least of it."
She was simply too smart!
She could find such a perfect reason.
This time, she would surely be able to sleep alone!
Ornado spoke gently. "It doesn't matter."
Yuxing: "..."
Playing games with me, are you?
Having seen the tyrant's true side, this gentleness looked fake no matter how she viewed it.
Yet Yuxing couldn't say anything back.
Ornado released the suspicious-looking pet and turned to walk toward the washroom.
Left alone, the gentleness on Ornado's face faded like the tide, his gaze fixed on himself in the mirror.
He had fallen asleep.
He had actually fallen asleep.
A sound sleep all night.
In his dream.
The woody fragrance of roses rushed over him, gently sweeping past and slowly repairing his battered spiritual sea.
The parched earth welcomed long-overdue rain.
Especially last night's pillow, which was as soft as a snowdrift—so soft that he couldn't help but reminisce, yet he didn't remember owning such a pillow.
Thinking about it, Ornado lowered his eyes.
His pet had plenty of vitality.
Come to think of it.
No matter how much he tormented her in the future, it would be fine.
Meanwhile, Yuxing, who had jumped off the bed, sneezed.
Following the cold air, Yuxing looked out the window. "Is it raining?"
She hadn't personally experienced intergalactic rain, but she vividly remembered yesterday's sensation of drowning, knowing the water here was different from Blue Star's.
Ornado paced from one end of the room to the other. "The rainy season is coming."
Yuxing looked bewildered.
Ornado wiped his slightly damp forehead hair. "The beasts' mating season is also arriving."
Yuxing covered her face in shock. "Are we already familiar enough to discuss such intimate topics together?"
Ornado narrowed his slender eyes. "I'm warning you to stay away from the beasts. During the mating season, beasts cannot control their animalization and have no reason left to speak of."
Yuxing blinked, her eyes clearly spelling out, "Aren't you a beast too?"
Ornado raised an eyebrow. "Me? I'm different from them."
News of humans and pets being tormented to death by their owners still circulated on the internet.
How strange.
How could anyone feel "sexual" interest in a pet?
His gaze slid from the pet's face down to her hand.
What if.
He was just saying, what if.
What would it taste like to suck that section of her little finger between his teeth?
The moment this thought popped up, Ornado began to grow irritable.
He didn't know when it started, but his tentacles had developed a will of their own.
At this moment.
They crowded his brain, hijacked his thoughts, and squirmed wildly within his flesh and bones, wanting to burst out of his body, clamoring to wrap themselves around the pet.
Yuxing silently memorized the owner's warning.
At the same time, she couldn't help feeling curious.
Just how dangerous could beasts be during mating season?
While she was wondering, a heavy shadow fell over her from behind.
The unique, cold and oppressive aura let her know who it was without even turning around.
Yuxing sniffed out the danger, picked up her skirt hem, and bolted out of sight in a flash. "I'm going to wash up!"
Ornado's breathing turned exceptionally heavy.
Hasty yet restrained.
He didn't chase after the pet, using his last shred of sanity to dial an emergency contact number.