Free Web NovelChapter 113: Chapter 113: He Hanshi Is Avoiding Her
Shi Lan stepped into Cell Four. Jiang Xia had probably been warming up the room for the past couple of days, as she actually felt a little hot even while wearing her padded winter coat.
However, the heat was still bearable—more comfortable than Cell Five, even—so she didn’t take it off.
Jiang Xia expertly ran to the cabinet, grabbed a blanket cushion with his mouth, and spread it over the Snowfall Chair. "Lanlan, come sit here."
"Okay."
Shi Lan didn’t refuse. She looked at Jiang Xia’s fluffy body and asked, "Lord Jiang, is your collapse value at 57% right now?"
Jiang Xia nodded, his whiskers and long fur swaying with the movement, making him look particularly silly and cute.
Shi Lan’s hands started to itch again. She beckoned to him. "Come on, time for your treatment."
"I’ll try to get you down to 50% in one go today. That way, we can perform the Spiritual Connection tomorrow."
"Okay, Lanlan~"
Jiang Xia hopped over joyfully. But his body was heavy, so he absolutely didn’t dare pounce on Shi Lan. He could only squat by her legs as she sat, just like last time, and extend a long, fluffy paw.
Shi Lan raised her hand and took it. Jiang Xia’s ears twitched, his golden eyes brightened, and a faint warmth seemed to steam from his fluffy cheeks.
’This is great. I get to hold hands with Lanlan again. So happy~’
Jiang Xia’s big, soft, fluffy tail began sweeping back and forth across the floor in excitement again.
Shi Lan realized that out of all the people she interacted with, her time with Jiang Xia was always the most relaxing. Perhaps it was his slightly childish nature, or the pure, passionate joy in his eyes that was so easy to read.
She could feel his affection.
’If he became my Beast Husband in the future,’ she thought, ’that would actually be pretty nice.’
As Shi Lan’s expression wavered for a moment, Jiang Xia took the opportunity to sneakily push his paw a little further into her hand.
He stretched out his paw, his fluffy toe tips brushing against Shi Lan’s wrist. The tickling sensation on her hand brought her back to her senses, and she glanced down.
She instinctively squeezed his soft, plump, outstretched paw pads. "Don’t fidget."
"Oh, okay~"
Jiang Xia was a bit ticklish. His words came out in a trembling voice mixed with laughter, and even the whiskers on his round cheeks perked up.
Shi Lan thought that with his raised paw and the smile on his face, he looked just like a lucky cat—incredibly endearing.
She couldn’t resist reaching out to ruffle his head. Beneath her hand, his two ears twitched alertly; they were unbelievably soft.
Jiang Xia’s round eyes just stared at her blankly. It seemed the beast was present, but his mind had already drifted far, far away.
’Lanlan’s hands are so soft and nice, and she smells so good... even better than snow, which is my favorite thing to play in.’
The thought of her scent made Jiang Xia’s eyes suddenly focus. He stared at her intently. "Lanlan, what about the shampoo you said you’d bring me last time?"
His voice was clear and melodious, and when he asked for things, he’d wear a small, expectant expression.
Seeing this, Shi Lan smiled. "I brought it for you."
With that, she took a bottle of rose-scented shampoo from her Space Bag. Seeing that one of Jiang Xia’s paws was still in her hand, she temporarily placed the bottle by the side of the chair.
"Wow, thank you, Lanlan."
Jiang Xia nuzzled his head against Shi Lan’s leg, both joyful and affectionate. Shi Lan’s eyes crinkled with laughter, but then she remembered the task at hand and lightly patted his head. "Alright, let’s start the treatment."
"Okay!"
Jiang Xia nodded and quieted down, though his tail continued to wag happily back and forth.
Shi Lan focused her mind on the treatment. After yesterday’s Spiritual Connection, the speed and efficiency of the healing process were even faster.
In just over ten minutes, she smoothly brought him to the 50% mark.
Jiang Xia could finally return to his human form without worry. He still wanted to nuzzle Shi Lan like he did in his beast form, but as soon as he reached out and hugged her as she sat in the chair, the ears beneath his long, silver hair immediately turned red. He shyly pulled his hands back, his eyes glancing at her cautiously.
’Thank goodness, Lanlan isn’t mad.’
In reality, he had been so fast that Shi Lan hadn’t even had time to react.
Besides, perhaps she subconsciously trusted him completely. When Jiang Xia had loosely held her, she hadn’t felt any discomfort, just a bit of surprise.
She looked at his long hair, wondering how he kept it so smooth and beautiful. Thinking that he probably didn’t have a comb, she took a wooden one from her Space Bag.
"Here. Your hair is so long, you can’t go without a comb."
After speaking, she also took out his clothes.
Jiang Xia took the comb and clothes, his smile growing even brighter and revealing two pristine white canines.
"Lanlan, you’re the best~"
He couldn’t help but praise Shi Lan in a wheedling tone. A resigned smile touched Shi Lan’s eyes. Jiang Xia really was easy to please.
Since the treatment was finished, Shi Lan didn’t stay in Jiang Xia’s cell any longer. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
As she walked out, the thought of Jiang Xia’s smooth, silver hair inexplicably made her think of He Hanshi, whose hair was also silver. His, however, curled slightly inward at the ends, easily softening the coldness in his eyes.
As Shi Lan passed Cell One, she subconsciously glanced inside. He Hanshi was nowhere in sight, though there was some noise of activity from the second floor.
She felt a pang of disappointment and confusion. Ever since her fever that day, she’d noticed He Hanshi seemed to be avoiding her. She only got to see him during meals; most of the time, he was on the second floor. She even rarely saw him doing his favorite rock climbing anymore.
Confusion filled Shi Lan’s eyes, along with a subtle, indescribable sense of grievance.
She thought of her thin pajamas under the covers that day. She didn’t know how much He Hanshi had seen, but she was inclined to trust his character. Besides, she hadn’t been naked, so she hadn’t dwelled on it too much.
But seeing his attitude these past two days, a sense of loss now lingered in her heart.
Shi Lan pressed her lips together, pulled her gaze away, and walked off, deliberately trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling.
Meanwhile, around the corner on the second floor, He Hanshi’s gaze was fixed on her departing figure. He lay on the wide floor, looking somewhat wretched.
A Beastman’s sensitive period usually lasted seven days. He hadn’t expected it to be so torturous this time. Every extra glance at Shi Lan during the day caused the sight he’d glimpsed and the memory of her soft skin, which he’d accidentally brushed while wiping her down, to transform into a ferocious tide within him.
Even now, he couldn’t hold it back.
He hunched his body slightly, clutching the cushion Shi Lan had leaned against last time. He pressed it tightly to his nose, burying his face in it as a hoarse voice, thick with muffled murmurs, mixed with his ragged breaths.
"Lanlan, Lanlan..."
—
The next day, when Shi Lan delivered breakfast, she saw He Hanshi washing clothes in his room.
He seemed to have just bathed. Droplets of water clung to his messy, slightly curled silver hair, dripping onto the floor. Some fell onto his neck, leaving dark, wet marks at his collar that faintly outlined his tempting pectoral muscles, an unspoken invitation for one’s eyes to wander lower.
Perhaps sensing her presence, his clear, cool blue eyes landed on her.
For some reason, Shi Lan suddenly felt awkward, as if she’d been caught sneaking a look. Embarrassed, she put down the breakfast and left.
He Hanshi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. A flash of crimson crossed his eyes. He expressionlessly wrung the water from his pants, had Number 1 take them to be dried and ironed, and then carried the breakfast up to the second floor.
