Chapter 93: Hu Yan, How Did Your Ears Get Like This?
Their destination this time was a remote star system not far from the Main Star. It was the same ownerless system Xiang Ling had mentioned before, one that supposedly had a new type of Crystal Stone. Since they were leaving anyway, Bai Zhi figured they might as well go take a look.
The Starship journeyed for a long time. Fortunately, even though they had left in a hurry, they had remembered to bring plenty of food and drinks.
The distance was quite far this time, so even with a fast Starship, the flight would still take a while.
The others were outside watching shows, but Bai Zhi wasn’t in the mood. Bored and idle, she noticed Hu Yan sitting to the side, elegantly eating fruit. It occurred to her that Hu Yan might be leaving sometime soon, and she had never even touched his beast form. ’What a waste,’ she thought.
At that thought, Bai Zhi suddenly leaned in and called out softly, "Hu Yan."
Hu Yan turned his head. He was usually very good at controlling his emotions, making it impossible for most people to tell if he was in a good or bad mood. At this moment, however, he didn’t seem to care to. Hearing Bai Zhi call his name, he just gave a faint "Mm."
Bai Zhi looked at his perfect profile, then glanced at the top of his head. An itch of curiosity tickled her heart, and on a sudden whim, she reached out and patted his head. "Can you make your ears pop out for me to see?" she asked.
Hearing this request, Hu Yan froze, his light blue eyes wide with astonishment. He clearly hadn’t expected Bai Zhi to pat his head, let alone make such a request.
Seeing him frozen in place, Bai Zhi quickly withdrew her hand and blinked in disappointment. "Was that too much to ask?"
Hu Yan saw her crestfallen expression and pursed his lips. A moment later, two short, round, white ears appeared on his head, twitching a little as if they were uncomfortable.
At the sight, Bai Zhi’s eyes instantly lit up. "Can I touch them?"
Though her words were a question, her hands moved in sync, landing directly on those two fluffy ears.
His ears, which had never been touched by anyone before, were suddenly in her grasp. Hu Yan froze completely. If one looked closely, you could faintly see a pink blush tinging the white fur.
Hu Yan wanted to pull away, but Bai Zhi had both his ears in her hands. What started as a simple touch had turned into a full-on session of rubbing and kneading.
His sensitive, soft ears had never been treated this way before. The sensation shot through his body like an electric current, causing him to freeze in place, not daring to move a muscle.
For a moment, a flash of mortified embarrassment crossed Hu Yan’s handsome face.
Bai Zhi, completely immersed in the fluffy sensation in her hands, wore a smile that grew ever softer and more brilliant. She didn’t notice Hu Yan’s strange reaction at all.
Seeing Bai Zhi get even more into it, Hu Yan tried to pull away several times, only to be held fast. Finally, he gave up resisting and just sat there, letting her have her way with them.
After a while, as if this still wasn’t enough for her, Bai Zhi started to coax Hu Yan in a sweet voice, "Can you change into your beast form? Just for a little bit..."
As she spoke, she pinched her thumb and index finger together to show just how little a bit she meant.
Since they were so close, Bai Zhi’s warm breath tickled his ear as she spoke, making Hu Yan flinch uncomfortably. He turned to look at her. The fur on his ears, once smooth, was now a complete mess thanks to her excessive manhandling. This, combined with the suspicious look on his handsome face and the hint of accusation in his light-blue eyes, created quite a picture.
Being stared at like that, Bai Zhi suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Realizing she might have gone a bit too far, she gave two awkward coughs and said with a straight face, "I promise. It’ll be really quick."
Hu Yan stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "You like animals?"
Determined to get to pet Hu Yan’s beast form, Bai Zhi decided not to hide her obsession any longer and confessed, "Er... I just have a thing for fluffy things."
Then, afraid Hu Yan might think she was indiscriminate, she quickly added, "Especially the good-looking fluffy ones."
Hu Yan nodded in understanding. "Then you can just keep dreaming about it," he said lightly.
Bai Zhi: "..."
She thought that when Hu Yan asked that, he was going to change into his beast form for her to pet! But instead, he told her to just dream about it!!
Bai Zhi glared at him, her cheeks puffed up in anger. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she got. So, she reached out and started tormenting his ears all over again. ’If I can’t pet the whole package, you can’t stop me from messing with the ears!!’
Hu Yan, once again subjected to her vicious assault: "..."
Only when she had petted them to her heart’s content and her mood had improved did Bai Zhi finally let go, completely satisfied.
By this point, Hu Yan’s ears were a pitiful, rumpled mess.
Just then, Yue Junxiao came running over with a glass of freshly squeezed juice. "My lady, I made you some juice."
Both Bai Zhi and Hu Yan looked over at him.
The sight of the two of them made Yue Junxiao’s enthusiastic approach grind to a halt. His pupils contracted when he saw Hu Yan’s disheveled ears. Pointing a trembling finger at them, he stammered, "Hu, Hu Yan... y-your ears..."
His voice wasn’t quiet, so Yan Yichen and the others heard him. Thinking something was wrong, they all turned to look.
For a moment, being stared at like an animal in a zoo, Bai Zhi cringed so hard her toes curled.
The awkward feeling of having her peculiar obsession exposed hung heavy in the air.
The moment he heard Yue Junxiao’s voice, Hu Yan immediately retracted his ears, his expression returning to normal.
By the time Yan Yichen and the others came over, they only managed to catch a glimpse of Hu Yan retracting his ears. Even so, with a Beastman’s superior dynamic vision, they had clearly seen the state they were in. Their jaws dropped in shock. "Hu Yan, what happened to your ears?"
Lang Qiu was also surprised, but when he saw Bai Zhi’s guilty expression, he instantly understood.
Hu Yan obviously wouldn’t manifest his ears into such a state on his own initiative. It could only have been Bai Zhi’s doing. ’So Bai Zhi has this kind of... hobby,’ he thought.
Lang Qiu stared at the two of them thoughtfully for a moment. A small idea suddenly occurred to him. ’I should try that out next time.’
Bai Zhi felt awkward being stared at. To keep the situation from dragging on, she changed the subject. "Yue Junxiao, is that juice you’re holding for me?"
"Oh, right! It’s the juice I made for you."
Hearing Bai Zhi’s words, Yue Junxiao snapped back to reality. Remembering he was there to deliver the juice, he quickly handed it over.
Bai Zhi accepted the juice and mumbled, "You guys can go back to what you were doing. Don’t mind us."
Yue Junxiao thought about Hu Yan’s ears just now. Something flashed through his mind—a feeling that something was off—but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. So he asked, "My lady, what were you and Hu Yan doing just now?"
Bai Zhi’s eyes flickered. "Nothing," she said vaguely.
Seeing her discomfort, Hu Yan sighed to himself. He then said to Yue Junxiao, "Curiosity killed the cat. If you’re that idle, go prep the ingredients we’ll be needing soon."