Just as he was about to shout “three,” Cheng Xi threw off the fleece blanket and yelled, her eyes red, “You might as well just torture me to death!”
The moment she finished yelling, tears started to fall, drop after drop.
Feeling wronged yet stubborn, Cheng Xi stared back at him.
Before long, her vision was blurred by the tears.
She wiped at them fiercely with her sleeve, but it was no use.
Like a burst dam, the tears streamed down, drop after drop.
They fell onto the fleece blanket, quickly soaking a small patch.
The violent flood of her tears seemed to stun Hotte into silence.
He stared blankly at those eyes, which were already clean and clear, as tears now washed over them.
And yet, they continued to stare back at him, defiant.
Her lips, which had been somewhat pale, were now bitten to a cherry-red.
Tears streamed past the corners of her mouth, like morning dew on flower petals, making her look both exquisitely beautiful and pitifully fragile.
He felt an inexplicable tightening in his throat and the sudden urge to pin her down, to make her cry even harder…
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the inappropriate thought.
‘I guess I’ve been an adult for too long if I can’t handle the slightest disturbance.’
‘To have such an irrational thought about a member of another species…
Maybe I should try dating some females.’
But first, he had to deal with the matter at hand.
He averted his gaze from the crying little pet.
His voice tinged with resignation, he said, “I didn’t even say anything.
Crying so hard…
anyone would think I was actually bullying you.”
“Stop crying.
Since you’re so afraid of Mao Mao, I won’t let it out to scare you again.
Okay?”
Cheng Xi wiped her tears, inwardly surprised.
‘I can’t believe he gave in so easily.’
‘Is this what they mean by “the crying child gets the candy”?’
Little did she know, the truth was that as soon as she started crying, a certain beast wanted to eat her up like she was candy…
Cheng Xi knew she should quit while she was ahead, but you can’t just turn off tears like a faucet.
Ever since being abducted and brought to Outer Space, she had been suppressing her fear.
Even when she cried, it was only a few tears shed in secret under her blanket.
Now that her emotions had been suddenly unleashed, it was hard to close the floodgates again.
She lowered her head, and the tears continued to fall in silence.
Hotte was getting a headache.
‘My tone was just a little harsh, how can she be so delicate?
All I did was talk, I didn’t actually *do* anything.’
‘If I actually hit her, she’d probably hold a grudge for the rest of her life, wouldn’t she?’
‘Hunter really sent me a handful.
I’ve never even had to comfort a mate, and now I have to start by comforting a pet.’
Hotte fell silent for a few seconds before sighing as if in compromise.
“Alright, stop crying. In a couple of days, I’ll take you to the Pet Plaza to have some fun. It’s full of your own kind. You can make some friends to play with, how about it?”
He swore that in his nearly one hundred years of life, he had never used such a tone, one meant for coaxing a small cub.
Not even his own three-year-old brother had ever received this kind of treatment.
Of course, what truly drew her in was the content of his words.
‘Pet Plaza?
What kind of place is that?’
The crying finally stopped.
Hotte sat down on the edge of the bed, seemingly sighing in relief.
He curled his index finger to wipe the tear tracks from her face.
“Such a delicate temper,” he murmured.
The moment his finger touched her skin, he couldn’t help but pause.
‘Hm?
It’s so soft.’
His scorching, focused gaze, however, made Cheng Xi uneasy.
She instinctively pulled away from his touch and hastily wiped her face herself.
“I can do it myself,” she said in a small voice.
‘Even with a pet, you should have some boundaries!’
His finger met with empty air.
Hearing the female’s mumbling, Hotte pursed his lips.
Instead of pulling his hand back, he domineeringly dragged her out from under the blanket and into his lap.
His hand landed unceremoniously on the top of the little thing’s head, stroking it.
“I am your master.
You have no right to refuse my touch.
Understand?”
“Be good, and your master will give you candy.
If you’re not…”
Hotte glanced around the room, then casually picked up a water cup from the table.
Right in front of Cheng Xi, he applied a little pressure with his palm.
The cup shattered with a harsh, grating sound, turning to powder in his hand.
He then turned his palm over, letting the powder fall to the floor.
“This is the consequence of not being good.” The male let out a cold, warning smirk.
Cheng Xi, who had been struggling, instantly froze.
Her gaze, fixed on the man’s palm, slowly filled with terror.
‘This Alien is terrifying!’
She swallowed nervously.
‘How much strength does that hand have?
With that kind of power, wouldn’t crushing me be as easy as playing a game?’
‘So this is the carrot and the stick, huh?
He just promised me candy, and now he’s showing me the stick?’
Cheng Xi bit her lip and complied.
‘Fine, if he wants to stroke my hair, let him.
It’s not like it’s going to fall out or anything.
It should be fine.’
‘It’s just…
isn’t this position a bit too intimate?’
‘Even if we’re different species, there should still be some propriety between males and females.’
‘It’s so embarrassing, sitting on his lap.
I’ve never even held hands with a member of the opposite sex, and now I’m sitting right on his lap!’ Cheng Xi tried to suppress her awkwardness, but her face couldn’t help but flush red with embarrassment.
Seeing the little pet in his lap finally behave, Hotte was satisfied.
He gave her hair a good tousle.
But as the faint, feminine scent wafted up to his nose, he suddenly felt as though he’d shot himself in the foot.
Just as he was about to let her go, the person in his lap suddenly straightened her back, her expression turning strange for a split second.
Before he could ask what was wrong, Cheng Xi frantically jumped down.
“Oh no!”
“What’s wrong?” Hotte asked, surprised.
Cheng Xi could already feel something flowing out.
Without a second thought, she made a dash for the bathroom.
A look inside the bathroom confirmed it: she had gotten her period.
Her face paled.
‘I’m doomed.
What am I going to do if they don’t have sanitary napkins in Outer Space?!’
Hotte was completely baffled by her actions.
Then, a faint scent of blood wafted out from the bathroom.
He frowned, sniffed the air, and his expression cleared in understanding.
So, it was…
…
‘This is awful.
I haven’t had my period this whole time in Outer Space, so I’d almost forgotten about it.
What am I going to do now?’
‘If there are no sanitary napkins…
I can only imagine how miserable the next few days are going to be.’
Just as Cheng Xi was in the bathroom wondering what to do, she heard Mani’s voice from outside the door.
“Cheng Xi, are you feeling unwell?
I’ve brought you some sanitary pads specially for humans.
Should I bring them in to you, or just leave them by the door for you to get?”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xi exclaimed in surprised delight, “Just leave them at the door!”
Only after she spoke did she remember that Mani couldn’t understand her language, while she herself hadn’t yet learned the Alien tongue.
Her head began to ache as she wondered how they were supposed to communicate.
But after a few seconds of silence, Mani spoke again.
“Since it’s not convenient for you to come out, I’ll just leave them outside for you. You can get them yourself.”
Then, she heard the sound of departing footsteps.
Cheng Xi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat moved.
‘The two Lady Rabbits, Mary and Mani, are really so good to me.’
‘But how did Mani know so quickly that I’d gotten my period?
Could it be…’