The moment Ming Ruan finished speaking, silence fell over the room. The snow leopard jolted awake, the tail he’d been holding in his mouth dropping to the floor.
Everyone knew instantly that Ming Ruan was still hung up on his idea of bathing together with the fluffies.
Watching him sway unsteadily as he stood up, the white tiger grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, steadying Ming Ruan before he could slip down. The gray wolf, helpless, pressed close to his side to offer some support.
Faced with his impulsive whims, everyone remained relatively calm. After all, Ming Ruan definitely didn’t know where any hot springs were. He was just talking.
He’d probably call Su Yuyun to ask. Su Yuyun just had to not tell him.
Su Yuyun thought the same. He temporarily entrusted Ming Ruan to the gray wolf for support and stepped outside, preparing to answer Ming Ruan’s call.
But Ming Ruan, slightly tipsy, was more sensitive than usual. He hovered his finger over Su Yuyun’s contact, thought for a moment, then didn’t tap it. Instead, he called Zhuo Yunqi.
The call rang for a while before connecting.
“Happy Spring Festival!” Ming Ruan loudly shouted his blessings first.
“Huh?” Zhuo Yunqi had just fallen asleep when his Light Brain woke him. Though he didn’t understand what Ming Ruan was talking about, in his groggy state he remembered Ming Ruan’s Information Shackle, knowing he had to be careful not to say the wrong thing.
Zhuo Yunqi stammered: “Happy Spring Festival.”
Satisfied, Ming Ruan moved on to his next topic: “Do you know where there are any hot springs in the sanatorium zone generally?”
Hot springs? Zhuo Yunqi sobered up a little. Bound by adult social etiquette, he didn’t ask why Ming Ruan wanted a hot spring, but he happened to know there was a natural hot spring near the border of District 11 and District 12. He liked it very much himself and had even carefully renovated it.
Zhuo Yunqi readily gave Ming Ruan a location, granting partial access permissions.
The two quickly hung up.
Meanwhile, the white tiger, having shut the door and standing outside in the cold wind, never received the call. By the time he sensed something was wrong and pushed the door open, Ming Ruan was already completely ready.
He had even summoned a mid-sized Flying Fish, large enough to carry all the fluffies.
Su Yuyun: “…”
At this point, everyone could only stay close to Ming Ruan. Ming Ruan vaguely remembered that you shouldn’t soak in hot springs after drinking alcohol, but this was the interstellar age — surely the human body had evolved by now.
Confidently, he landed with his pack of fluffies at the location Zhuo Yunqi provided.
The natural hot spring had been artificially renovated. Set in the wilderness beneath a starry sky, it was safe yet retained its rustic charm.
The fluffies looked away for just one moment. Ming Ruan had already efficiently stripped off all his outer clothes.
He had changed into a bathrobe before departing, but now he felt even the robe was too restrictive. He placed his hand on the tie, about to undo it.
The little fox, following closest, saw this. A blur shot out from under his feet as the entire fox whoosh — latched onto Ming Ruan’s chest, its four canine teeth pinning Ming Ruan’s robe shut like a stapler, refusing to let him undo it.
Shi Huai didn’t know what was wrong with him. Of everyone present, no one was more accustomed to these things than him, someone who worked in the entertainment industry. Hand-holding, hugging, undressing, even kissing — to Shi Huai, none of it meant much. These things could be acted out and faked.
In the past, Shi Huai never thought anything of hugging Ming Ruan, kissing him, or showing a little skin. But at some point, he’d grown more and more awkward, more and more mindful. From the moment Ming Ruan suggested a hot spring, he’d had a bad feeling.
Ming Ruan squeezed the fox, tugged at him, but couldn’t pull him off. He had no choice but to enter the hot spring in his bathrobe, with his little fox brooch attached.
Everyone watched helplessly as the spring water soaked Ming Ruan’s white bathrobe. The wet fabric grew transparent, faintly revealing the color of the skin it covered. The parts soaked by water and exposed to air clung tightly to Ming Ruan’s body, outlining every curve. Steam rose from the hot spring, adding a hazy, suggestive beauty to this revealing scene.
It made one want to part the mist, walk closer, and take a proper look.
Everyone felt a bit discomposed for a moment — some wrapped tails around their bodies, others licked their noses, studied pebbles, or gazed at the stars. Utterly restless.
Shi Huai, who just moments ago had been pinned to Ming Ruan’s chest helping hold his clothes shut, was glancing around aimlessly when his gaze accidentally caught a hint of pale pink. The fox looked twice in confusion, then abruptly realized. As if burned, he launched himself off Ming Ruan.
The little fox paddled frantically in the water with all four paws, his fox-body boat escaping to another corner of the hot spring in moments. He scrambled ashore, shook out his fur, and curled his body and big tail into a circle, burying his nose, eyes, and mouth.
Before his eyes, darkness descended. But the images surfacing in his memory were so vivid, Shi Huai had nowhere to hide.
Shi Huai didn’t dare look at Ming Ruan’s body. Not even a glance.
Why? Whether it was stage or filming, wet-body and hot spring scenes were common tropes. Even more stimulating effects like tearing clothes weren’t rare. Why was he chickening out now?
Shi Huai squeezed his eyes shut in the darkness. He thought, Ming Ruan was different. Ming Ruan wasn’t a false, gaudy bubble. He was real, sincere, and worthy of being treated with gravity.
And Ming Ruan remained utterly unaware of the human soul’s turmoil within the fox’s shell. After finding a comfortable spot to settle, he clapped his hands, hoping to summon some fluffies for him to pet.
But he never expected that the usually most enthusiastic little fox would keep so far away this time. The first to come to his side was actually the snow leopard.
When the little fox left and Ming Ruan clapped for them, Jin Qianyu was the first to enter the water without hesitation.
Though not quite used to the temperature, the snow leopard swam resolutely toward Ming Ruan, crossing the entire spring until he was right before him.
As Ming Ruan’s wet hand stroked the top of his head, the snow leopard tasted water droplets sliding down Ming Ruan’s arm in the gap of his slightly open mouth. He gazed at Ming Ruan.
This was Jin Qianyu’s choice. No matter how many people there were, no matter when, he would always walk unwaveringly toward Ming Ruan’s side.
If he couldn’t immediately become the one and only, then he would become the one closest to him.
Ming Ruan welcomed everyone equally. They were all fluffies; he liked them all. Since the snow leopard had come close, then he’d pet the snow leopard first!
“So good, so good!” Ming Ruan devoted himself to scratching the snow leopard’s chin and neck until the leopard purred like an engine, then finally withdrew his hand, satisfied.
Off to the side, watching the intimate interaction between the youth and the snow leopard in the hot spring, Xie Gewen took a restrained step forward, his paws pressing hard into the ground.
Xie Gewen didn’t think Ming Ruan truly liked the beastmen themselves. He also didn’t want to deprive Ming Ruan of his joy or make him distance himself from these beastmen. Of course, he couldn’t — he didn’t have the right. He was just one of the beastmen too.
But unlike the others, Xie Gewen thought, before Ming Ruan knew the full truth, he should be restrained, should not overstep, should respect, should not offend… But somewhere in his heart, a spark had flared up at some point, setting the rules he’d so strictly adhered to ablaze and teetering.
As if a legendary Devil whispered in his ear, urging him to abandon those useless doctrines, to follow his desires.
If you want it, go get it.
The gray wolf still sat upright, like a glacier, clear and majestic.
But inside, he had long since fallen into chaos.
Ming Ruan soaked comfortably. He opened his eyes, misted with a layer of fog, wanting to call the other fluffies over to play. But two or three drops of water suddenly splashed onto his head.
Was it raining?
Ming Ruan lifted his head and looked around blankly, just in time to catch a golden-brown tail brushing past his face.
The lion had dipped his tail in water to splash Ming Ruan, letting out a soft roar.
In his mouth, he held the food container Ming Ruan had stored in his Space Button, and strode straight toward the resting area beside the hot spring. There stood an exquisite little table, the large expanse of ground beneath it covered in cobblestones that were warm and toasty, heated by something underneath. Stepping on them felt wonderful.
The lion lay down beside the table, a flick of his claw opening the food container. Inside were Ming Ruan’s neatly arranged, delicious homemade pastries and snacks.
The lion appeared to be studying the food container, not looking at Ming Ruan, yet his entire body radiated a subtle invitation.
Ming Ruan was somewhat tempted. He wanted to go lie on the cobblestones with the lion and eat something. But the snow leopard still had his head resting on his shoulder, and on the other side, the gray wolf and little fox hadn’t come over, making Ming Ruan worry and want to check on them.
So difficult. Why was it difficult again?
The several beastmen present had long known things would turn out this way. But when it came down to it, they certainly weren’t willing to yield easily.
They were all prominent, famous figures, yet now they competed like kindergarteners: If Ming Ruan had to choose one person, then why couldn’t it be them?
Just as Ming Ruan was agonizing, something soft nudged the back of his neck.
Ming Ruan turned and was delighted to find it was the white tiger.
Right! The white tiger too!
The white tiger had brought back a new robe in his mouth. He placed it beside Ming Ruan and tugged at his soaked clothes, signaling he shouldn’t soak too long.
Ming Ruan also felt he’d soaked quite enough, so he obediently climbed out of the hot spring and stuck close to the white tiger’s side, following him to change clothes.
The white tiger stayed very close to Ming Ruan. His body was warm, and the parts of Ming Ruan pressed against him didn’t feel cold even right after leaving the spring.
Seeing Ming Ruan get whisked away by Su Yuyun just like that, the remaining few could no longer sit still. First, the snow leopard moved quickly, climbing ashore and shaking his fur like a washing machine on spin cycle, then hurriedly followed. Next came Shi Huai, Xie Gewen, and finally, even Fuxi started walking.
They wanted to be with him all the time.
They would fight for themselves with their actions.
Ming Ruan had been dizzy for a while, but after changing clothes and standing in the night breeze for a bit, he sobered up considerably. He didn’t even know when the alcohol wore off.
He felt that except for the snow leopard and himself, none of the other fluffies had really enjoyed themselves.
From their behavior, it seemed they didn’t much like sharing a pool with him.
He’d better not invite them to water activities in the future.
