Chapter 58
A long, pale hand gripped the pestle, crushing the green grapes in the mortar, their juice a vibrant orange-red.
Clear green juice, also freshly extracted, was added to a glass filled with ice, then the orange-red juice, creating a layered, colorful drink.
The summer sun beat down mercilessly, the sky a cloudless blue. It was just past noon, and the grass, still wilted from the morning heat, hadn’t yet recovered.
Shi Nuo yawned, sat up, and leaned back against the sofa cushions, his mind wandering.
The door was half-open, a warm breeze blowing in. It wasn’t unbearably hot yet.
Neither he nor the cub could tolerate air conditioning, and the little wolf needed to acclimate to the natural temperature, so the climate control system had been turned off.
Shi Nuo rubbed his eyes, pushed back the slightly longer strands of hair on his forehead, then gave up, the soft strands falling back into place. He glanced at the sleeping cub in its crib, then picked up his glass of water and took a few sips.
A little over two weeks had passed since Wu Wu’s birth, and the cub was growing quickly, its white fur thicker now, though still soft to the touch, its tail and ears slightly longer, incredibly cute.
The temperature inside the house was pleasant, the lack of machinery and tall buildings a natural form of climate control.
“Awake? I made some iced juice. Yours only has a small piece of ice,” Hugh Elvis emerged from the kitchen, carrying two glasses.
Shi Nuo took one eagerly, then, smelling the faint aroma of alcohol, asked, “Did you add alcohol to yours?”
Hugh nodded. “Just a little. I wanted to try it.”
He had brought back a few bottles of alcohol from his last supply run, both hard liquor and fruit wine, but Shi Nuo couldn’t drink yet.
They sat down, and Shi Nuo took a sip of his juice. It was cool and refreshing, the sweetness of the mixed fruit juices a pleasant contrast to the slight tartness of the grapes.
He hadn’t had a cold drink since becoming pregnant and felt a surge of contentment.
Hugh hadn’t brought out a pitcher, so this was probably all he had. He didn’t comment, knowing he shouldn’t have too much ice, and sipped his juice slowly, savoring the cool sweetness.
The alcohol, mixed with the fruit juice, added a unique flavor, and Hugh Elvis raised an eyebrow, thinking he should try the hard liquor on its own next time.
Seeing Shi Nuo push back his hair, he quickly finished his juice. “Your hair is getting long. Want to cut it?”
“Yes,” Shi Nuo agreed. It had been bothering him.
Hugh retrieved a pair of scissors, a handheld vacuum cleaner, and a chair from the dining room.
He placed the chair outside the door, and Shi Nuo sat down, draping a smooth dust cover over himself.
Hugh had cut his hair during his pregnancy, their skills equally…unremarkable, but they weren’t competing in a hairdressing competition, and it didn’t matter if it wasn’t perfect. As long as it was shorter and didn’t bother him.
The man’s expression was relaxed as he wielded the scissors, his movements swift and decisive, and Shi Nuo closed his eyes as the strands of hair fell.
Five minutes later, Hugh Elvis, after examining his handiwork, made a few more adjustments, his expression serious, his focus unwavering, as always, whether it was his first time cutting Shi Nuo’s hair or now.
Objectively, the haircut wasn’t good. He had forgotten to buy a hairdressing robot again. He always forgot.
But Shi Nuo was so beautiful, his skin fair and flawless, his features delicate, that even a bad haircut couldn’t diminish his attractiveness.
“Anywhere else?” he asked considerately, not the least bit self-conscious about his lack of skill.
Shi Nuo opened his eyes and touched the hair on his forehead and the back of his neck. The shorter bangs no longer obstructed his vision, and his neck felt cooler. He was satisfied. “That’s enough,” he said.
The vacuum cleaner hummed as it removed the stray hairs from Shi Nuo’s neck and the dust cover. Hugh Elvis then incinerated the hair on the ground with a burst of white flames.
Shi Nuo removed the dust cover, and a virtual screen appeared before him. Hugh had activated the terminal’s mirror function.
Seeing his reflection, Shi Nuo was momentarily silent.
Hugh Elvis, oblivious, his gaze still on Shi Nuo’s hair, said after a moment, “Better than last time.”
“Mm,” Shi Nuo agreed.
There had been some improvement. At least this time, there weren’t any noticeably uneven patches, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it was “good,” not wanting to lie to Hugh, who would undoubtedly see through it. He simply mumbled his agreement.
As for Hugh’s own hair, he glanced at the Alpha’s neatly styled white hair and wanted to say something, then hesitated and changed his mind.
He had asked Hugh before if he needed a haircut, and the Alpha’s reply had been unexpected.
Unlike most Alphas, who were more human in their physiology, Hugh, having regressed at a young age and lived as a beast for so long, had retained some animalistic traits.
One of these was his hair, which, like a wolf’s fur, didn’t grow indefinitely but stopped at a certain length.
Both his fur in beast form and his hair in human form grew slowly, and he didn’t shed seasonally like some animals. However, although his hair grew slowly, it did grow, and Shi Nuo had only seen him cut it once.
Before Wu Wu was born, after cutting Shi Nuo’s hair, he had also given himself a quick, haphazard trim, not even bothering to look in a mirror, and yet, his short hair had still looked perfectly styled.
Shi Nuo had simply sighed inwardly, thinking some people were just naturally…good at hair.
He knew Hugh always took his haircutting duties seriously, but the results weren’t always…ideal, though he wasn’t particularly concerned about his hairstyle.
Hugh folded the dust cover.
Shi Nuo touched his neck, then said, “I’m going to shower and change. I don’t want any stray hairs on my clothes to poke Wu Wu when I hold him.”
“Okay,” Hugh replied, putting away the scissors, vacuum cleaner, and other tools.
The wolf cub was growing quickly, its plump body covered in soft, fluffy white fur.
Its paws were becoming thicker, a clear indication of its future size and strength.
Although it was a wolf cub, its development, like a human infant’s, was slow. At three months old, it couldn’t walk yet, resembling a cute, white plush toy.
Shi Nuo had seen three-month-old puppies before, and Wu Wu was noticeably smaller than a puppy of the same age. He could easily hold the cub with both hands. Beastmen, even those born in beast form, developed differently from true animals.
“Awoo!”
The small white wolf, lying on its back in the crib, kicked its chubby legs in the air, its paws batting playfully as Shi Nuo tickled its belly.
“Oh no, how scary,” Shi Nuo pretended to be frightened.
“Mmm—” the cub, delighted, let out happy little sounds, its mouth open in a wide, gummy smile, its eyes bright, its tail wagging excitedly.
Its large, dark eyes, always bright and expressive, were endearing.
After playing with the cub for a while, Hugh, watching them, his own hands itching to touch the cub, reached out and poked Wu Wu’s warm, round belly.
No reaction?
Thinking the cub hadn’t noticed, he poked it again, and Wu Wu stopped kicking its legs, seemingly losing interest.
“Tired?” Shi Nuo asked.
Hugh poked one of the cub’s paws, but Wu Wu remained motionless, turning over onto its side.
The white-haired man, amused by the cub’s lack of response, poked its cheek.
Suddenly, Wu Wu opened its mouth and bit his finger.
Hugh raised an eyebrow, gently tugging his finger, and Wu Wu released its grip, its mouth open in a wide, gummy grin, then rolled back onto its stomach, kicking its legs playfully.
“So fierce,” Shi Nuo chuckled.
This was Wu Wu’s new game, pretending to be indifferent, then suddenly biting, though its bite was gentle, its gums still toothless, more of a playful nip than a real bite.
Sometimes, Shi Nuo even thought the cub was teasing them.
The sun began to set, the sky darkening, the evening air still warm.
Shi Nuo dressed Wu Wu in a thin onesie, leaving its paws and tail exposed, the snaps fastened securely around its round belly, then carried it outside.
The sky was a deep, beautiful blue, the last vestiges of the sunset painting the distant mountains in soft hues, the wind rustling through the grass on the plain.
Wu Wu was three months old now, and after the heat of the day subsided, they would often take the cub outside for a while, letting it experience the natural world.
The small white wolf, nestled in Shi Nuo’s arms, was quiet and content, its wet nose twitching as it sniffed the air.
The two-meter-tall man walked beside them, a reassuring presence, a silent protector, the cub seemingly unafraid, secure in the Alpha’s shadow.
As darkness gradually enveloped the world, the stars emerged, their light twinkling in the clear sky.
Shi Nuo looked up at the unpolluted, star-filled sky, the stars seemingly close enough to touch.
The cub, following his gaze, let out a few soft, happy sounds.
“When are you returning to the Elvis family?” Shi Nuo asked suddenly.
Hugh, his gaze fixed on a swarm of fireflies dancing in the distance, turned to look at Shi Nuo, who was holding the cub.
Shi Nuo met his gaze, his soft eyes filled with a hint of anxiety.
Hugh had said he would return after the baby was born, and now, with Wu Wu three months old, the unspoken question had been weighing on his mind.
Their child couldn’t stay on this isolated planet forever, and the potential threat from the Elvis family had to be addressed, as Hugh had said.
Hugh took the cub from Shi Nuo, holding it gently. “He’s too young now. You can’t manage alone. When Wu Wu is older, at least a year or a year and a half, when he’s no longer feeding at night, it will be easier for you.”
“When I return, I’ll deal with Yarlin quickly. I won’t leave you here for long.”
“Okay,” Shi Nuo nodded, relieved to finally have a timeframe, the uncertainty no longer weighing on him.
The cub whimpered, yawned, and rubbed its eyes with its paws, clearly tired.
Hugh shifted the cub’s position, gently patting its back, lulling it to sleep.
As they walked back to the house, Shi Nuo smiled, watching them.
The cub, secure in its father’s arms, let out a soft, contented sound, twitched its ears, and closed its eyes.
Shi Nuo watched its small, white ears twitch, so soft and fluffy, like a plush toy’s, and his fingers itched to touch them, but he resisted.
He often kissed the cub’s paws and head, and sometimes, unable to resist, he would also gently kiss its ears, their soft, velvety texture incredibly endearing.
He would kiss those adorable ears again tomorrow, when Wu Wu woke up.
