Jiang Mian was quick to act.
She soon arrived at Lin Yu’s room and knocked on the door.
“Lin Yu, Lin Yu, I need to talk to you!”
But she knocked for a long time, and no one opened the door.
Jiang Mian was about to push the door open and go straight in, but her hand paused on the doorknob.
She remembered the last time she had barged into the Butterfly Beastman’s room just like this.
He had powerfully pinned her to the ground, leaving her unable to get up.
He had assaulted her, and she had nearly lost her innocence.
However, the thought was fleeting, and Jiang Mian quickly dismissed it.
‘The Butterfly Beastman is the Butterfly Beastman, but Lin Yu is Lin Yu.’
From what she knew of Lin Yu, he was the epitome of self-control, no matter what he did.
He never revealed his true feelings.
Besides, she was here to have a heart-to-heart with him; it wouldn’t be right to bring someone else along.
Still, Jiang Mian thought for a moment, then turned and went back to her room.
Thanks to the idea from Rong Fei, she had now prepared some small sedative syringes.
She went back to grab a few, and her heart instantly calmed.
‘That’s right.
Lin Yu might be Lin Yu, but the Lin Yu of now isn’t the Lin Yu of the future.’
「On the other side of the door.」
The room was pitch-black.
Lin Yu sat on the floor, his back against the door.
He was naked, and below his waist, a huge black snake tail straightened one moment and writhed the next, a picture of unbearable agony.
A white medicine bottle lay on the floor.
It was empty.
The medicine for his manic period was all gone.
Now, he could only endure it on his own.
The immense, searing pain from his snake tail made the veins on his forehead throb, making him want to chop the damn thing off.
Snake scales spread from his lean waist up to his chest, then crept up his neck, and finally covered half his face, bringing a wave of searing agony with them.
Like fire consuming him.
Tearing his skin apart, inch by inch.
His red eyes had narrowed into vertical slits.
A sliver of consciousness remained in Lin Yu.
He knew Jiang Mian was knocking, but he refused to open the door, his lips pressed into a tight line.
These past few days, Lin Yu had noticed that Jiang Mian’s attention towards him seemed different from how she treated the other Beastmen.
Although she acted normal, as if she were just giving him a normal glance.
But Lin Yu was especially sensitive to the gazes of others.
She had looked at him so many times.
When he was looking, and when he wasn’t—he knew about all the unintentional glances Jiang Mian had sent his way.
Lin Yu noticed she would worry about whether he drank his nutrient soup, that her footsteps would slow when passing his door, that her pace would slacken when she was near him, that she would check to see if he had any injuries…
‘Why was she paying so much attention to him?’
‘Didn’t she say Snake Beastmen were the most disgusting?’
‘The thought even crossed his mind: did she like him?’
Sometimes, Lin Yu couldn’t even tell if she was the one watching him, or if he was the one fixated on the sound of her every move.
Otherwise, how could he remember it all so clearly?
His gaze never fell upon her, yet he always felt the gust of wind as she passed, the sensation of it brushing past his fingertips, her light fragrance wafting by his nose, a sweetness that seeped into his very soul.
He hid in his dark room, letting his ears focus on her footsteps, discovering that her pace always slowed when she passed his door, that her joyful steps were light…
Lin Yu had thought that perhaps Jiang Mian had developed some feelings for him, until he heard her go to the Scorpion Beastman’s room to treat his wounds.
The name she called most often was Rong Fei.
And for the first time, Lin Yu committed the Lizard Beastman’s name to memory: Rong Fei.
But then, that day, he heard her enter the Butterfly Beastman’s room and get trapped.
He’d heard it all, standing behind his own door for a long time, until he heard that she truly seemed to despise that Butterfly Beastman.
He opened his door, intending to go over, but then he saw him.
Next to the Butterfly Beastman’s door, the Lizard Beastman was leaning against the wall, toying with a syringe in his hand, seeming to be waiting for something.
Perhaps, just like him, he wanted to see if she still liked that Butterfly Beastman…
Seeing him emerge, the Lizard Beastman just gave him a cool glance, then straightened up and walked into the Butterfly Beastman’s room to save her.
‘He’s just as vile as I am, yet Jiang Mian always calls out for that Lizard Beastman.’
For a moment, Lin Yu felt his heart fill with a confusing mix of bitter anger and an unstoppable, sour jealousy.
‘She might not like the Butterfly Beastman anymore, but the one she pays the most attention to still isn’t me.’
Lin Yu could no longer pinpoint when he had started paying attention to Jiang Mian.
Was it when she, with blood trickling down her own forehead, still had the Lizard Beastman treat him first?
Or was it when she, afraid he would go hungry, came specially to tell him to drink his nutrient solution?
Or was it the vibrant life force radiating from her, or the soft brush of her hair against his arm as she passed by…
Lin Yu told himself to stop, to stop paying attention to her.
Things had already deviated from his original intentions…
But now, she had come looking for him again.
‘But…
they’d never even exchanged more than a few words.’
The old wound on his head flared up with a sharp pain, triggered by his manic period.
His two long, slender hands, veins bulging and red, clamped down hard on his own head.
Just then, the footsteps seared into his mind retreated, only to return.
His hearing was faster than his conscious thoughts.
His ears blocked out all other sounds, leaving only her footsteps, which grew closer and closer, as if stepping lightly upon his heart.
Jiang Mian arrived outside Lin Yu’s door and knocked again.
“Lin Yu, Lin Yu…”
Still no response.
“Ahem, if you don’t answer, I’ll take that as a yes.” Jiang Mian said as she tried to push the door open.
“I’m coming in.”
But when she pushed, the door wouldn’t budge!
Jiang Mian: ?
‘Didn’t the original owner of this body kick all these doors in?
Weren’t the locks all smashed long ago?’
‘Why won’t it open?’
Jiang Mian thought she just wasn’t pushing hard enough.
As she was gathering her strength to try again, a strained, hoarse voice came from inside the room: “Get out.”
Her strength faltered slightly.
But as soon as she heard that voice, she knew something was wrong.
Jiang Mian quickly said, “Lin Yu, is your manic period here?
I came today specifically to tell you that if it started, you should come find me.
Don’t just endure it.
I can help treat you!”
‘Who else but Lin Yu would make her rush over to show this much concern?
No other Beastman got this kind of special treatment.’
‘It was mainly because of the debt of him saving her life in the future, and their ten years of friendship.’
‘Lin Yu could thank his future self for this.’
On the other side of the door, Lin Yu’s five reddened fingers were pressed tightly against the door behind him.
He spoke through the pain, his voice cold and restrained, “I don’t need it.”
Jiang Mian thought for a moment and changed her approach.
“Alright then, I’ve developed a new reagent.
I’m ordering you to help me test it.”
“I won’t,” Lin Yu refused coldly.
Jiang Mian leaned a hand against the door.
“…”
‘He won’t respond to either kindness or force?’
‘Suddenly, Jiang Mian felt that the future Snake Beast Master was much more obedient.’
‘The young Lin Yu was just so rebellious.’
Jiang Mian sighed in resignation.
“Lin Yu, be good…”