Free Web NovelChapter 84: Chapter 84: Showcasing His Workout Results
Jiang Xia realized that ever since Mu Tangfeng had saved Lanlan, his own presence had been fading.
Even though Lanlan wasn’t considering them for Beast Husbands yet, she had always favored him the most before.
She would even prioritize him when it came to gifts.
But now, that privilege had been snatched away by Mu Tangfeng.
His mouth drooped unhappily, forming a thin, dark line beneath his pink nose. On his round head, however, his ears twitched alertly, as if he were cooking up some mischievous scheme.
A moment later, as if he’d thought of something, he slapped the door and said, "Lanlan, I have something to show you."
Hearing his voice, Shi Lan’s curiosity was immediately piqued. She walked over. "What is it?"
Jiang Xia puffed out his chest, held his head high, and turned sideways to Shi Lan. "I’ve been working out recently. Why don’t you check on my progress?" freeweɓnøvel.com
"Sure!"
Shi Lan grew a little curious. ’When had she ever seen Jiang Xia work out?’
Every morning when she delivered their meals, the others would be moving around to some degree, but Jiang Xia was always like a pampered young noble, sprawled out on his Snowfall Chair. The moment he saw her, he would jump to the door and eagerly wait to be fed.
If anything could be called exercise, it was probably the ball of yarn she had given him.
She had once accidentally seen him having a robot throw it so he could chase after it. He’d quickly hidden it when he saw her coming, but he was still panting, pink tongue hanging out, completely exhausted from his own game.
Shi Lan couldn’t help but smile at the memory.
Jiang Xia watched her from the corner of his eye. ’Lanlan really does treat me differently,’ he thought. ’She smiles the moment she sees me.’
He held his head even higher with pride and then said, "Alright, Lanlan, watch this."
With that, he started doing parkour and jumping around the prison.
In his beast form, Jiang Xia might have looked chubby, but he was remarkably agile and smooth when he ran. His four legs were short but powerful, and he would give a slight push with his hind legs when jumping or turning in a great display of power.
When he sprinted, his long, thick fur was whipped into sharp lines by the wind. His body stretched into a long, slender ’cat stick’ in mid-air, and upon landing, his fur would fluff up and ripple like a feather duster, making his movements seem incredibly light.
After watching him, Shi Lan had only one thought: she wanted to immediately snatch him up and pet him like there was no tomorrow.
His fur looked so clean, soft, and smooth; she could only imagine how wonderful it would feel to touch.
Shi Lan could barely tear her eyes away, but Jiang Xia had been lazy for too long, and his stamina was poor.
After showing off for just over ten minutes, he couldn’t jump anymore. His throat trembled involuntarily, on the verge of letting out a gasp for air.
But with Shi Lan there, he forced himself to hold it in, pretending like nothing was wrong. He slowly calmed his breathing and walked toward her. He didn’t say a word, just tilted his chin up slightly, his golden eyes fixed on her, expectantly waiting for praise.
Shi Lan readily cooperated, clapping her hands. "Wow, that was amazing! And so beautiful to watch."
Jiang Xia thought "beautiful" was a little strange. ’Shouldn’t it be ’impressive’?’
Still, it was praise, and he wasn’t as picky as Mu Tangfeng. The corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably, revealing a few white teeth.
Shi Lan’s heart melted. Her face was practically pressed against the protective door.
’So cute, so cute!’
She repeated the words dozens of times in her head, then looked at Jiang Xia expectantly. "Is there more?"
Jiang Xia had only just managed to catch his breath, and his heart sank when he heard her question.
’Do I have to keep going?’
His paws shifted hesitantly in the snow, but not wanting to disappoint Shi Lan, he nodded and decided to push himself. "Of course, it’s not that simple."
So, he upgraded his performance by climbing his Snowfall Chair and then jumping off.
After another dozen rounds, Jiang Xia’s legs nearly gave out.
He slowly walked toward Shi Lan, putting on the air of a lofty expert, but his ragged breathing and racing heart betrayed him.
However, he controlled himself well enough that Shi Lan didn’t notice. She just kept nodding. "So beautiful to watch. It’s amazing, just amazing."
Jiang Xia was both happy and worried. ’Lanlan isn’t going to make me continue, is she?’
’If I’d known this would happen, I would have exercised more often.’
Fortunately, Shi Lan seemed to have had her fill and didn’t ask him to continue.
She just knew it. ’Besides Jiang Xia, who else in this prison would voluntarily perform acrobatics for me?’
’I just love him so much.’
But if she stayed any longer, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to control herself and would rush in to have her way with the Pallas’s cat. She decided she had to leave.
After Shi Lan left, Mu Tangfeng couldn’t resist taunting, "Jiang Xia, have you really stooped to using such shameless tactics to seduce Lanlan?"
"’Checking your workout progress?’"
"Have you ever even worked out?"
Ever since their last argument had made Shi Lan angry, the two of them had developed a tacit understanding to only bicker behind her back.
Mu Tangfeng had been holding those words in for a while, finally letting them out now that Shi Lan was gone.
With Shi Lan gone, Jiang Xia no longer bothered to hide his ragged breathing.
He collapsed into a pile of snow, lazily stretching his limbs. His tail swayed gently as he stuck out half his tongue to cool down, and he let out a muffled chuckle. "So what?"
"All that matters is that Lanlan liked it."
"Besides, when it comes to being shameless, who can compete with you? That fur conditioner you had Chen Xiong buy—did a dog eat it or something?"
It was a good thing there were no Dog Beastmen in the prison, or they would have jumped out to voice their disgust at the insinuation.
A look of sudden realization crossed Mu Tangfeng’s face. "Oh, I get it. You’re just jealous that Lanlan gave me something and not you, right?"
"Heh, what can I do? After all, Lanlan herself said she felt bad about the fur I lost saving her."
Jiang Xia curled his lip, baring his teeth in anger.
’Damn that Bird of Paradise! If I could have gone out, would Mu Tangfeng have even had the chance to play the hero when the Insect Clan attacked?’
The other three listening felt like they had also taken a direct hit.
Undeniably, they were all silently jealous.
’Why was Mu Tangfeng so lucky? His Talent Skill just had to be Invisibility, his collapse value just happened to be low, and he just happened to be the one who could go out and save Lanlan?’
The more they thought about it, the more jealous they became.
And yet, alongside their jealousy, they were also grateful—grateful that he had successfully saved Lanlan.
As the Beastmen were all absently lost in their own thoughts, the envious look in Ye Ming’s eyes faded. He stopped rolling around on the ground and had just stood up, intending to clean himself off, when he received a communication from Dr. Ai.
He paused in his movements, had Jiang Xia use Ice Seal on the prison robot, and only then accepted the call.
It was Leo, not Dr. Ai, who appeared on the screen first. He asked impatiently, "Your Highness, I heard people from the Imperial Central Hospital came to provide treatment. How did it go? Did it have any effect?"
Ye Ming frowned slightly. "No. We made them leave."
Leo was about to ask more, but a hand from Dr. Ai reached out and shoved him aside. "Shoo, shoo, let me talk first."
Leo was pushed aside just like that. He shrugged helplessly, understanding Dr. Ai’s passionate dedication to research.
Dr. Ai looked at the communication screen and said, "Your Highness, after several months of repeated testing, I’ve found no abnormalities in either of your blood samples. There are no elements present that could lower the collapse value. I have no idea why your collapse values are decreasing. Could it be that the very environment of Black Star is different? Maybe we should have Leo go over and collect some samples to test?"
"So, you’ve spent the past few months just researching this?"
Ye Ming’s voice was cold and grim.
