“Hey, Boss, what’s all this…” Ming Ruan still remembered his manners, but his eyes were already glued to the ears and tails, unable to tear themselves away.
His mind only vaguely felt that these ears and tails resembled the two fluffballs he was raising, but it was too dizzying to figure out the connection.
“Yes.” Su Yuyun walked up to Ming Ruan. His expression was calm and utterly composed as he explained, “Those people have a grudge against me and set their sights on you. My apologies.”
Ah, so it really wasn’t just about him.
Before, Ming Ruan would have definitely asked for more details about this matter. But right now, the two figures before him, with their incredibly real ears and tails swaying gently, had completely occupied his mind. He didn’t want to care about anything else.
“It’s fine. Thank you for saving us. Are those your…” Ming Ruan cautiously made a gesture over his own head, afraid that a single word might shatter some fragile illusion.
“Accessories.” Su Yuyun lied without blinking. He spread his right hand, and a black-and-gold military cap appeared in it. He placed the cap on his head while his left hand swept over his scalp.
The cap settled securely on his head, and in Su Yuyun’s hand appeared two white tiger ears.
“Huh?” Ming Ruan’s pupils shook with shock. He was so startled that all his guesses instantly vanished without a trace.
Even Shi Huai, off to the side, almost couldn’t hold back a curse.
God, that image was really terrifying for a Beastman!
Facing Su Yuyun’s openly extended palm, Ming Ruan tentatively reached out, like a super curious but timid little animal. He lifted his dark, bright eyes pitifully toward Su Yuyun and asked softly, “Can I pick them up and take a look?”
This gesture suddenly made Shi Huai, standing nearby, understand first.
What Su Yuyun was holding were mechanical simulation components. When attached to the body, they could move according to the wearer’s thoughts. Previously, though, such components were mainly used in the medical field to replace incurable body parts.
With the emergence of Beastmen, a batch of simulation components usable for beast forms had also been launched.
“Of course.” Su Yuyun’s hand remained extended steadily. Although he looked icy and unapproachable, he seemed incredibly agreeable, even indulgent.
Having figured it out, the quick-witted Shi Huai leaned in and took the ears. “Want to try them?”
Shi Huai measured the ears against Ming Ruan’s head.
Seeing no resistance or disgust from Ming Ruan, he gently attached the mechanical parts.
Ming Ruan only felt something warm settle on his head.
Curious, he reached up to fiddle with them, only to see the fox-eared youth before him freeze in a daze.
Ming Ruan had no idea how he looked…
The slender young man sat on the ground. His clothes and the backs of his hands were slightly scuffed with dirt. His face was full of nervous curiosity. One hand touched the two semicircular white tiger ears poking out from his creamy-gold hair that fell to medium length. The fluffy tiger ears pressed against his fingertips, twitching occasionally from the wearer’s nervousness.
Shi Huai… Shi Huai just felt inexplicably stiff.
He, he… So strange. Clearly, he didn’t like things related to beastmen at all. But why, when these ears were on Ming Ruan’s head, did it make people, make people so—
Shi Huai’s ears burned hot.
Uncontrollably, he thought: Does my current appearance look as good as Ming Ruan’s? What if Ming Ruan was wearing fox ears right now, instead of tiger ears?
But before Shi Huai’s imagination could run much further, a large hand suddenly snatched the two white tiger ears from Ming Ruan’s head.
At some unknown point, the massive Flying Sedan in the sky had vanished completely, and the four Light Mecha Soldiers were also nowhere to be seen. Su Yuyun took the ears, clenched them in his hand, and said flatly, “Let’s head back to the Base first.”
Aw.
Ming Ruan was having so much fun!
Fluffy things that moved with his will, simulation beast ears that looked completely flawless from the outside! Heavens, this was something Ming Ruan dreamed of playing with back on Earth!
But the Boss had spoken.
Ming Ruan could only suppress his excitement for now and obediently follow.
The Boss walked very fast. Ming Ruan fell behind and quietly struck up a conversation with the unfamiliar fox-eared youth. “Why do you all wear these?”
Shi Huai, still immersed in fantasy, stiffened and started sweating.
Why? Why indeed? It was because they had somehow undergone Reverse Therianthropy, and because the Adjudicator, for some unknown reason, was determined to hide it from you, even anticipating this day as if it were inevitable, and carrying mechanical components on him.
Su Yuyun, far ahead, heard Ming Ruan’s question. He paused and said only one sentence: “Because this is a Sanatorium Zone.”
A little lightbulb went off in Ming Ruan’s head!
Of course!
This kind of thing wasn’t rare on Earth either! Those trendy cat-and-dog-themed cafes not only had cute animals; the waitstaff also had to wear similar decorations fitting the theme! Ears and tails were low-level; sometimes they even wore paw-gloves and animal-foot slippers!
Even the pet shop where Ming Ruan used to work often used such little tricks during events!
Suddenly enlightened, Ming Ruan convinced himself.
Shi Huai watched in amazement as Ming Ruan went from confusion to sudden understanding, utterly speechless.
This was truly a case of one who could deceive and another who dared to fill in the blanks.
He’d bet a hundred times over that the Adjudicator himself had absolutely no idea how to smooth things over here!
“Sigh.” Shi Huai let out a long sigh, deciding he must stick close to Ming Ruan from now on, lest someone trick him away someday.
The two walking behind didn’t know that Su Yuyun’s palm, gripping the tiger ears, was scorching hot. Expressionless, he watched the Flying Sedan pass countless scenes, his mind filled with the image of Ming Ruan, tiger ears atop his head, curiously kneading them with his hands.
Tiger ears just like his own.
Su Yuyun pulled down his cap brim.
He pressed down the excited, twitching fluffy ears on his head and hid his deepening golden eyes.
…
Upon returning to the Base, Shi Huai didn’t stay long before leaving.
Now that he had undergone Reverse Therianthropy but retained beast-form traits, such a monumental event meant the people from the Capital Planet Beastman Research Institute HQ were already on their way to pick him up.
Other matters could wait for now. Shi Huai had to immediately cooperate for the most complete set of examinations.
Su Yuyun saw Shi Huai out.
Shi Huai knew he didn’t have such great influence; the Adjudicator definitely had something to say to him.
But with audacious boldness, he didn’t give the Adjudicator a chance to speak, preempting him: “I won’t ask why the Adjudicator must hide things from Ming Ruan.” He had his own guesses about that.
“Nor will I ask whether today’s events were intentionally you using Ming Ruan as bait to deal with those restless individuals.” A joke—those little schemes of the nobility couldn’t escape this man’s eyes.
“What I want to say is…” Shi Huai suddenly smiled maliciously. “Ming Ruan might not know today, might not know tomorrow, but one day he will learn the truth. Yet here you are, fooling him now.”
When that day comes, he’d like to see how the Adjudicator clears this up.
Facing this almost petulant remark, Su Yuyun remained silent, merely glancing at Shi Huai.
But it was that single glance that suddenly made Shi Huai realize: Wait, wasn’t he also one of the people hiding things from Ming Ruan?!
Damn it!
Su Yuyun didn’t bother with the suddenly anxious Shi Huai behind him. He turned and went back inside.
Inside, Ming Ruan stood obediently in the Living Room. Seeing the Boss return, he said sheepishly, “I forgot to ask that gentleman’s name. Is he… a guest at the Sanatorium Zone?”
“Yes.” Su Yuyun said. “Just call him Mr. Shi.”
“Ah!” Ming Ruan exclaimed. “So could he be… the owner of that little fox?!”
Now everything made sense again. Because they learned the little fox and the White Tiger were threatened, the owners of both fluffballs had come to the scene.
Hearing the term ‘owner,’ Su Yuyun paused heavily, then nodded as casually as he could manage.
He really wanted to know where the young man had lived in the past to develop such strange notions.
“Then what about the little fox and the White Tiger?” Ming Ruan asked.
“Before you woke up, they were already taken away. After such an incident, specialists will counsel them.” Su Yuyun spoke nonsense with a straight face, then fixed his gaze steadily on Ming Ruan. “District 12 Executor, do you need to apply for psychological counseling?”
He had indeed known about the nobles’ schemes beforehand, but the reasons differed from what Shi Huai imagined. He had no intention of explaining to Shi Huai, but he didn’t want Ming Ruan to be traumatized by today’s events.
Suddenly being watched so solemnly by the Boss and asked so seriously made Ming Ruan feel a bit at a loss. He scratched his head, looked away. “I don’t need it!”
Aside from fainting inexplicably in the middle, Ming Ruan didn’t really feel impacted. In fact, his mind was now full of wanting to play with more simulation beast ears! Or that Mecha looked fun too!
Ming Ruan’s inner chuunibyou soul was blazing fiercely.
“Boss can just call me Ming Ruan from now on!” Ming Ruan didn’t want to tell the Boss what to do, but whenever the Boss called him ‘District 12 Executor’ in that seemingly official tone, it made him feel tingly all over, heating up for no reason.
Such a request conflicted with Su Yuyun’s habit of strictly separating public and private matters, but he still agreed. “Alright, Ming Ruan.”
Ming Ruan: “…”
Ugh! Ah! Sorry, the problem doesn’t seem to be the form of address, it’s him!
The Living Room wasn’t large. Now, with only Ming Ruan and Su Yuyun there, Ming Ruan felt the strange atmosphere growing thicker.
To escape it, he had to try inserting a new topic.
Like.
“Boss! I wanted to ask.” Ming Ruan tested the waters. “Those simulation beast ears… and tails, where can I buy them?”
The scene that had just dispersed from his mind gathered back. Su Yuyun’s golden eyes darkened again, his voice inexplicably carrying a hint of hoarseness. “You want them?”
Ming Ruan shy but direct: “Want to play.”
Play.
Su Yuyun didn’t pursue the question further. He opened his Light Brain and sent Ming Ruan an interface.
Obtaining this shopping interface, Ming Ruan was like a fish in water. He tapped away furiously and soon ran to the Teleporter to bring back a pile of things.
Well, although showing off such things to the Boss was a bit strange, he really liked them! He wanted to share with someone!
Ming Ruan unpacked an orange cat ear and pressed it onto his head!
Hands on hips!
“So cute!” Ming Ruan admired himself in the mirror, then looked at the Boss, waiting for his compliment.
“…Mm, cute.” Su Yuyun felt the urge to squeeze something again, but his hands were empty. He could only clench them imperceptibly.
Of course, it was cute!
He had chosen all those ear-clips for the pet shops before. No pet shop owner ever said they weren’t cute.
Ming Ruan busily tried on several different sets, marveling at interstellar technology!
However, enjoying this beautiful sight wasn’t just Su Yuyun, but also thousands upon thousands of people in the Live Broadcast Room.
【Wifey, why did you go out to live on your own? I won’t scold you for liking these things next time. Come back quickly and wear them for me, don’t let outsiders benefit】
【Please, commenter upstairs, wake up before watching the stream. Don’t offend my wifey!】
【I’m done for. I feel my aesthetics have warped. I actually think these beast-form-related things look great when worn!】
【The person before me, you’re not alone. Suddenly, my sensory impression of beast forms has improved quite a bit…】
【Before clicking in: Let me see just who this Ming Ruan is. After clicking in: Ming Ruan is mine】
