With that, he swept another glance at the human male beside her.
‘There’s no need to be friends,’ he thought.
‘The one I have at home is female!’
…
The male’s indifferent glance made Wen Hao’s face turn pale.
A fleeting sense of oppression made him subconsciously take two steps back, and he bowed his head in terror, trying his best to minimize his presence.
Heluo didn’t notice her pet’s strange behavior.
Misunderstanding the meaning behind Hotte’s gaze, she couldn’t help but explain awkwardly, “My lord, it’s like this… This human pet was brought back and raised before the Beast King issued the ban. I just never got around to replacing him…”
She was explaining why she was raising a human pet of the opposite sex.
Hotte, however, just smiled faintly.
“Don’t be so nervous. You’re not the only one in the Royal City. You two go have fun. If you’ll excuse me.”
This was his way of ending the conversation.
Heluo said hurriedly, “Alright, we won’t disturb you any longer, my lord.
We’ll head over there now.”
“Mm.”
With that, Heluo hastily pulled her human pet away.
Dragged along by his female owner, who was a head taller than him, Wen Hao’s steps were a little unsteady.
He asked in his still-unpracticed Alien tongue, “M-Master, who was that lord?
He seemed really powerful?”
Heluo patted her chest as if in relief and explained, “He doesn’t just seem powerful, he *is* powerful!
The real deal!
Hao Hao, do you know who he is?!
He’s the most powerful male beast on our Rabbit Star, the War God!”
“He’s the Beast King’s own younger brother, Duke Hote!”
Wen Hao was completely clueless on the inside, but he put on a shocked expression to match hers.
“So he’s that powerful.”
“Yeah, not only is Lord Hotte our War God, he’s also the one every unmarried female on Rabbit Star wants to mate with.
It’s just that Lord Hotte is too picky.
He’s already a hundred years old this year and still hasn’t found a female he likes to be his mate.”
Wen Hao asked subconsciously, “Master, do you like him, too?”
Hearing this, Heluo quickly waved her hands.
“No, I don’t like him. I like another noble male…”
Having accidentally revealed her crush, Heluo gave a rare, shy smile.
Wen Hao took this in and gave a faint smile.
His gentle, placid appearance was something Heluo really liked.
She reached out to straighten his collar and said with a smile, “You want to find a partner too, don’t you?”
“Don’t be in a hurry.
I’ll ask around for you.
How about I find a human female to mate with you?”
Looking utterly exasperated, he hastily refused, “N-No, thank you, Master. I don’t have any thoughts like that for now.”
Heluo gave him a ‘you-can’t-fool-me’ look.
“Hao Hao, don’t be shy.
Your nest has smelled like you’re in heat these past few days.
You humans are only young for a few years.
If you miss your chance, it’s gone!”
“Don’t you worry, I can definitely find a human female for you.
Then you two can mate, and when she gives birth to your little cub, I’ll take it to raise.
Ooh, a tiny little human pet will definitely be so cute!”
The moment Heluo thought about a human infant, she became extremely impatient, wishing she could have her Hao Hao make a baby right away.
‘How cute would a tiny little one be~’
Lost in her own fantasy, Heluo didn’t notice the awkward expression on her pet’s face behind her at all.
Wen Hao’s face flushed red then pale.
He was twenty-two years old.
Before being captured, he had been a student.
He had been in Outer Space for over a year now.
He had gone from initial terror and unease to his current resignation.
It was just that, in the dead of night, he had thought of the junior girl he’d always had a crush on, and he hadn’t been able to hold back…
‘He had clearly cleaned it up, so how could she still smell it?!’
Wen Hao was in complete awe of the Aliens’ sense of smell.
To avoid continuing this awkward conversation, he quickly changed the subject.
‘As for mating and producing cubs, being bred like livestock?’
‘Heh, not a chance in this lifetime!’
…
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the shopping center, Cheng Xi walked through the crowd.
Hearing a few sentences of Chinese from time to time, she was so moved she nearly burst into tears.
‘Finally, the feeling of finding her own kind.’
But as she watched the humans come and go, walking together and chatting happily, Cheng Xi hesitated.
The place gave her a sense of disconnect.
‘Weren’t they all captured?
Weren’t they classified as human pets by the Aliens?’
‘Living like this, without any dignity or self-respect…
why couldn’t she see a single trace of sadness or unease on their faces?
Instead, they looked as if they had been living here for a long time.’
She walked past shop after shop in a daze.
She had assumed the shopkeepers would all be Aliens, but as she walked, she discovered that the majority of them were actually human!
The owner was a young human woman, currently organizing the various bottles and jars used for manicures.
Cheng Xi took a step back in disbelief and looked up at the sign.
‘This is Outer Space, right?’
‘What the hell!
Are we even from the same world?’
She fell into a deep state of self-doubt, feeling as if she didn’t recognize this world anymore.
The shop owner noticed her first.
Seeing her lingering at the entrance, she asked with a smile, “Hello, are you looking to get your nails done?”
‘That’s definitely Chinese.’
Cheng Xi walked in with a complicated expression.
“I wanted to ask…”
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t know where to begin.
The owner, however, smoothly continued, “You want to ask about prices, right?
You look unfamiliar.
You haven’t been to my shop before, have you?”
“Take a look at the styles first and see if there’s anything you like.”
A nail color swatch was placed in front of her.
Cheng Xi stared at it and fell silent.
After a long silence, she pushed the swatch away and said expressionlessly, “I’m not getting my nails done.”
“I just want to ask, why are you all running a shop here? Are you free?” After thinking it over, Cheng Xi felt this was the only explanation that made sense.
Her words, however, made the owner look astonished.
“How could that be possible? What are you thinking!”
Huh?
Cheng Xi was getting confused.
“Then you guys…”
“No, I mean, we’ve all become pets for the Aliens. How can you have the spare time to do manicures and all this other nonsense?”
Perhaps because her confusion didn’t seem fake, the owner gave her a slightly strange look.
“Is this your first time at the Pet Plaza?”
Cheng Xi nodded.
“I see.” The owner extended her hand in understanding.
“Hello, my name is Tan Wei.”
Cheng Xi hesitantly shook it.
“I’m Cheng Xi.”
Tan Wei smiled and invited her to sit.
“There’s no one in the shop right now, so sit wherever you like.”
“No wonder, since this is your first time at the Pet Plaza. Can you speak the Alien language yet?”
Cheng Xi shook her head.
“I can’t.”
Hearing this, Tan Wei looked surprised.
“You can’t?
How long have you been here?”
“About two months…”
“Only two months?!” Tan Wei looked as if it all made sense.
Cheng Xi asked subconsciously, “What is it? You’re not?”