Chapter 50: You Want It? Then Fight for It! Part 1

When Ming Ruan brushed past him and ran over, the snow leopard’s hackles stood on end. He stretched his neck, wanting to clamp onto the back of Ming Ruan’s collar, but his teeth merely grazed by, unable to catch hold. He could only watch helplessly as Ming Ruan drew closer and closer to the wild beasts on the other side.

What was a supremely critical moment in Jin Qianyu’s eyes turned into Ming Ruan opening his arms wide and embracing the beasts opposite him in a huge group hug, even managing to wrap his arms around all three at once!

They watched as his left hand petted the gray wolf’s head. His right hand grabbed a handful of the lion’s mane. He also made sure to hold onto the fox that was scrambling up his body.

Jin Qianyu: “…?”

Jin Qianyu’s brain momentarily failed to respond.

It wasn’t until he met the gray wolf’s icy blue eyes, and locked gazes with that particularly rational, non-beast-like stare, that he suddenly realized: the three animals before him were not ordinary wild beasts. They were Beastmen!

Beastmen.

The snow leopard’s bristling back fur did not soften. Instead, his body arched up even higher, a threatening growl rumbling from his throat.

With a sudden leap, he found an opening and interposed himself between Ming Ruan and those Beastmen of unknown origin—stay away from his fiancé!

Tch.

Everyone was in the middle of a loving moment with Ming Ruan. Never feeling they could get enough cuddles as it was, and now suddenly interrupted by this insatiable snow leopard barging in, they weren’t in a great mood either.

The snow leopard on the other side was radiating pure aggression. Add to that the fact that everybody’s rationality tended to be more easily suppressed by emotion when in beast form.

And so, the gray wolf stared coldly at the snow leopard. The lion also gave a low growl. The fox, knowing full well he had little offensive power among this group of predators, simply took advantage of the standoff, seeking the right moment to bypass the snow leopard’s defenses and worm his way back into Ming Ruan’s arms.

The atmosphere was suddenly tense, swords drawn.

“Babies, don’t fight!” Ming Ruan was no longer surprised. He just thought this scene felt awfully familiar.

It seemed like every time he got to know a new Fluffball, he would face this exact situation.

The snow leopard had already begun shifting on the spot, searching for an attack angle. The lion’s claws were scraping against the ground, producing grating skrrrtch skrrrtch sounds.

Seeing that pale words could no longer stop the hot-blooded beasts, Ming Ruan gulped. He wanted to wedge himself between them and forcibly interrupt their standoff.

But before he could squeeze in, a streak of cold light suddenly split the air!

A sharp longsword stabbed into the ground between the lion and the snow leopard, half its blade buried in the earth. On its hilt, golden patterns flickered with flowing light.

The snow leopard and the lion, startled by this sudden blade strike, each retreated a step.

The tense atmosphere was broken. Everyone turned to look behind them. Su Yuyun was walking over unhurriedly, step by step. His black clothing formed a stark contrast against the vast, white snow.

Su Yuyun reached out a hand. The blade embedded in the snow quivered, instantly flying back into his grasp, then dissolved into motes of light and vanished.

“Boss!” Ming Ruan called out happily.

He had been wondering why White Tiger hadn’t come. Seeing Su Yuyun made him understand—although he didn’t know why, White Tiger and Boss generally never appeared at the same time.

“Mm.” Su Yuyun’s cold voice seemed to result from deliberately suppressing something. He responded, then said, “Come with me.”

Once Boss stepped in, the snow leopard, lion, wolf, and fox, who just moments ago looked ready for a fight to the death, all settled down.

Ming Ruan marveled inwardly: Boss really was Boss. He even had a knack for dealing with Fluffballs.

A functional flying vehicle had come to pick up Ming Ruan. After boarding the flying vehicle, Ming Ruan and the snow leopard were taken away separately for a medical examination. Ming Ruan was given two injections of something unknown before being released back.

The interior space of the flying vehicle was very large, more than enough for these Fluffballs to run around in. But as soon as Ming Ruan found a place to sit down, the Fluffballs, who had been keeping far apart from each other inside the flying vehicle, were all drawn over to him.

Shi Huai, relying on his small and agile body, habitually launched himself straight at Ming Ruan’s embrace. But midway through the air, someone caught him by the scruff of his neck and flung him aside.

The snow leopard had appeared in front of Ming Ruan at some point. Using his long tail and body, he formed a complete circle, corralling Ming Ruan inside, and casting a leopard-eyed glare of danger at all the other would-be pretenders.

“Leopard Cub.” Ming Ruan thought the snow leopard was too tense. He stroked his back, wanting to help him relax a little. But instead, the snow leopard’s thick tail lightly tapped the back of his hand.

While keeping up his guard outwardly, Jin Qianyu felt a sourness in his heart, unable to sort out what this situation was right now.

Why could Ming Ruan act so intimately with other Beastmen right in front of him without the slightest reserve? He didn’t even try to avoid him or pretend otherwise.

Or was this something he was deliberately putting on a show for him?

This was the first time Jin Qianyu couldn’t read a person.

He didn’t even want to pay attention to Ming Ruan anymore. He should go back to living on the snow mountain.

But somehow, Jin Qianyu felt as if his feet had taken root, planted by Ming Ruan’s side. He couldn’t take a single step away.

They eventually all returned to the Executor’s Residence.

Though the house had been vacant for a long time, it was just as clean and tidy as it had been before Ming Ruan had left. It was as if he had simply stepped out for a brief errand.

When bringing Ming Ruan back, Su Yuyun said to let Ming Ruan rest first. Someone would explain the full situation to him tomorrow. After speaking, Su Yuyun also left.

Of course, after Su Yuyun left, he still sent White Tiger over to Ming Ruan’s side according to the old routine.

Ming Ruan pressed White Tiger down and petted him. He also called the Fluffballs to his side, planning to touch and check each one over.

Although he knew the sanatorium was there and wouldn’t let them wander around outside while injured, Ming Ruan still needed to see for himself to feel at ease.

But this time, the Fluffballs didn’t jostle and fight to snuggle up to him.

The gray wolf went into the bathroom and turned on the water. The lion pushed over an exquisite basket from somewhere nearby, inside which were some beautiful glass bottles that looked like they were for bathing. The lion arranged the bottles and jars neatly by the bathside. The fox nudged and guided Ming Ruan toward the bathroom from both sides. Everyone hoped that, at least for today, Ming Ruan wouldn’t worry about anything else, just take a bath, relax, and get some good rest.

Ming Ruan had actually been planning to do just that. But the animals’ actions suddenly made the scene feel unreal, like something out of a fairytale.

Since things were already like this, then why not go all the way?

The greedy human began to fantasize about the feeling of bathing accompanied by Fluffballs.

Ming Ruan had bathed many Fluffballs, but he had never been bathed by Fluffballs himself.

Just thinking about the sensation of soft, thick paws pressing on his body was enough to make Ming Ruan’s heart race.

But the meaningful glances he threw their way repeatedly were all dodged by the Fluffballs, looking left and right.

Fine. Interstellar beasts had high IQs, which also made them prone to strange stubbornness.

Ming Ruan regretfully closed the bathroom door.

Everyone watched as the bathroom door clicked shut. The very next moment, the atmosphere inside the house abruptly changed.

White Tiger walked toward the main door, passing the snow leopard standing near the entrance. He tossed a light brain down to him, then strode straight out the door. Following that, Lion, Gray Wolf, and Fox all walked past the snow leopard one by one, going outside, each casting him a look that said, follow.

It had a distinct vibe of schoolyard bullies meeting up for a fight after the teacher left.

But the snow leopard was no pushover. He picked up the light brain in his mouth and followed closely behind.

Only when the main door completely closed, shutting out all sound from outside, did Jin Qianyu put on the light brain and strike first. “I don’t know what situation this is, but please keep your distance from someone else’s fiancé.” Jin Qianyu was, at this moment, immensely grateful that the Ming family had arranged this engagement back in the day.

The fox gave a very annoying, smiling shake of his head. Without Ming Ruan around, he didn’t bother pretending. “He’s not your fiancé.”

What did that mean? Mismatched information.

Jin Qianyu remained calm, looking toward the gray wolf, the one present most likely to give an explanation.

Of all the people here, he only recognized the gray wolf as Xie Gewen. He didn’t know the fox, lion, or White Tiger.

Under the witness of Shi Huai and the others, Su Yuyun got straight to the point. “The current Ming Ruan is an Outworlder.”

Jin Qianyu hadn’t expected White Tiger to be the one speaking, much less that White Tiger’s light brain would emit Su Yuyun’s voice! The psychological fortitude he had built up over years in the business world kept him from showing excessive shock at this revelation.

But the content of Su Yuyun’s words made him frown. An Outworlder?

The snow leopard’s tail rose to his mouth again.

Next, Su Yuyun informed Jin Qianyu of all the situations regarding Ming Ruan that he wouldn’t have known after his therianthropy and discarding his light brain.

He had to admit, even if Xie Gewen had said all this, Jin Qianyu might not have fully believed it. Only coming from Su Yuyun’s mouth could it be convincing.

Jin Qianyu originally had little interaction and no good feelings toward the previous Ming Ruan. Learning now that the current Ming Ruan was an Outworlder was not difficult for him to accept.

Only, if this Ming Ruan was not that Ming Ruan…

The snow leopard stiffened. That meant all these days, Ming Ruan hadn’t been seeking him out to fulfill an engagement. Worse yet, the current Ming Ruan could no longer be considered his fiancé.

Then didn’t that make him no different from the people in front of him? Ming Ruan could intimately pet him, and just as intimately pet the gray wolf, White Tiger, lion, and fox. He could call him baby, and he could also call anyone else in this group the same. And he himself had no standing to stop it.

The snow leopard nodded with forced composure, indicating he understood.

The main reason for informing Jin Qianyu of all this was that he needed to cooperate with the Information Shackle. Since he understood, there was no need to say anything else.

Su Yuyun had informed Jin Qianyu of this in the execution of his duties. And the rest of them had followed out to act as witnesses for the inspectorate, as per regulations. Otherwise, who would want to stand outside catching the wind with a snow leopard? They still wanted to wait for Ming Ruan to finish his bath and come cuddle! Everyone turned and went back inside without delay. The fox darted inside super fast, and even the lion quickened his pace.

Inside, Ming Ruan had indeed finished bathing.

When he came out and didn’t see the Fluffballs in the living room, Ming Ruan figured they had gone outside for a ‘little meeting.’

The first time he saw interstellar Fluffballs gathering for a meeting, Ming Ruan had found it novel. After enough times, he was used to it.

He wore his fluffy Siamese cat onesie pajamas and sat on the sofa, petting each of the Fluffballs one by one. Though everyone was equally dissatisfied with Ming Ruan ‘sharing the rain and dew equally,’ at least each of them could get some. Ming Ruan had worked hard for over a week; no one wanted to cause him trouble at a time like this. They all obediently refrained from fighting and scrambling.

Only the snow leopard sat far away on the sidelines. He turned his head toward the window. He neither walked closer to Ming Ruan’s side, nor forcibly made himself stop looking.