Chapter 10: Wrapped in an embrace, pulled against his chest

The scene was so intense that Lu Zhan’s heart nearly stopped. He swore that once this was over, he would spar fiercely with Xiang and beat that infuriating lion until he was bruised and battered.

He anxiously watched the video, his eyes fixed as the male lion lowered its head, sniffing around the delicate, helpless female’s cheek, as if contemplating where to start biting.

Then, in the next moment, to Lu Zhan’s alarm, the lion opened its bloodthirsty jaws—

“Bam!” Nian Tu struck the lion firmly on the head.

“Don’t be fierce!”

“Woof…” The lion actually closed its mouth and licked her fingers.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Lu Zhan thought he saw a hint of appeasement on the lion’s face.

He was certain it had to be a mistake.

An uncontrollable beast couldn’t possibly exhibit such human-like emotions.

Nian Tu gave the lion a gentle slap as a reward, then soothingly stroked its strong back and planted a kiss on its furry face.

The lion was clearly overjoyed.

In return, it nuzzled her chin lightly and tentatively licked her again, tickling Nian Tu until she laughed and shrank her neck.

“Go away, stop fooling around…”

The lion’s tongue was rough and covered with tiny barbs, designed to tear the flesh of prey. If it wanted, it could easily scratch the soft skin of the little female.

Yet it was extremely careful, causing no harm whatsoever.

No matter how much Lu Zhan struggled to believe it, the repeated evidence before his eyes forced him to admit the lion showed no aggression toward Nian Tu.

He finally recalled a detail overlooked in the soldiers’ report after rescuing Nian Tu from the primitive resource planet—

When the soldiers found her, she was asleep, surrounded and guarded by a group of wild beasts.

It was incredible.

“Have animals always liked you this much?” Lu Zhan asked.

Nian Tu paused, then nodded. “Yes.”

She smiled again. “And I like them too.”

What a remarkable female, able to win the affection of even untamed, savage beasts.

Lu Zhan felt himself drawn to her even more, yet couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

He wondered if he transformed into a beast form, would Nian Tu show him such kindness?

Unable to bear watching the silly lion’s intimate interaction with the little female any longer, he whispered, “Wait for me,” and cut off the video.

Nian Tu rode the lion’s back, marveling at how advanced interstellar medical technology was.

She had expected Lu Zhan to be busy until evening at least, but the mission ended so swiftly!

The majestic male lion carried his beloved little female steadily, pacing through the villa as if patrolling his territory.

When they reached Xiang’s bedroom, Nian Tu looked at the shattered window silently for several seconds, then grabbed the lion’s mane.

“Did you do this?”

No wonder there was such a loud crash—she had forgotten to investigate.

So that was how the beast had gotten in.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhan, hurrying back, was unaware that the window he had just repaired that morning had been broken again.

The lion looked completely innocent, tilting its head at Nian Tu as if it didn’t understand what it had done wrong.

It thought she was playing with it since the little female’s hands were so gentle that even hitting it didn’t hurt.

Nian Tu helplessly regarded the lion, still eager to play.

One had to admit, young male lions were incredibly energetic!

She feigned attention to the excited lion while continuing to deal with the black mist covering its body.

The bad news was there was so much black mist, and each time she cleared some, she felt drained.

The good news was that the black mist she destroyed showed no sign of returning for now.

As long as she repeatedly cleared it, she would eventually eliminate it all.

With the black mist diminishing, the lion’s condition visibly improved; Nian Tu felt it grew steadier, and even its eyes revealed a more human-like intelligence.

Encouraged, Nian Tu vowed to eradicate every last wisp of the black mist!

But just as she settled down to find a comfortable position to continue, the lion’s ears twitched.

It suddenly turned to look out the window.

“What is it?”

The lion’s gaze grew alert; it stood and observed outside, then looked back at Nian Tu with hesitant eyes.

Finally, it made up its mind, leapt from the window, and vanished instantly amidst Nian Tu’s worried cries.

“!!”

Nian Tu pressed to the window, searching everywhere but found no sign of the lion.

When Lu Zhan returned, he saw Nian Tu peering anxiously near the broken window from afar.

Panicked, he sprinted inside, scooped her up in his arms, holding her away from the window.

He executed the entire sequence smoothly.

Caught off guard as her feet left the ground, Nian Tu shouted in surprise.

Her cheeks flushed bright red—the first time ever a man had held her in his arms—and her whole body was filled with awkwardness.

“…”

She avoided his gaze, unable to look directly at Lu Zhan.

What was he doing... why all of a sudden hold her like this?

Lu Zhan swore that when he held Nian Tu, he had no improper intentions; his only thought was to keep the little female away from the dangerous broken window.

But with the danger passed, and still holding her like this, he belatedly became aware of how soft she was in his arms.

So close, he even caught her unique, sweet, warm scent.

It was like the first ray of morning sunlight shining over a dew-covered garden.

Lu Zhan took several deep breaths before reluctantly setting Nian Tu down and returning to his usual calm and restrained demeanor.

He lowered his head and apologized, “Excuse me.”

“But promise me, next time don’t stand in such a dangerous spot.”

Only then did Nian Tu realize her mistake.

Although she didn’t think the height of a two-story villa was dangerous, she nodded in agreement.

“I was just looking for the lion. It jumped out the window and disappeared.”

Seeing the seriousness in Lu Zhan’s expression, she sensed something was amiss and asked, “Do you know it?”

Lu Zhan hesitated, then nodded.

He really did know it.

Nian Tu was surprised. “Then... is it a beastman?”

“Yes,” Lu Zhan answered, trying to conceal Xiang’s loss of control to prevent her from worrying, but when questioned, he couldn’t keep deceiving her.

Besides, this lion had already barged into their home and, taking advantage of Nian Tu’s ignorance of his beastman nature, was constantly bothering the little female.

Lu Zhan had had enough.

If Nian Tu eventually uncovered the truth about Xiang, he would no longer hide it for the damned lion.

Nian Tu’s expression froze. “But... it doesn’t look like a beastman?”

Though the big lion was clever, it was clearly still in the realm of an animal.

She remembered reading in popular science books that male beastmen could freely switch between human and beast forms.

While in beast form, they might be influenced by animal instincts, but their thinking was no different from when in human form.

The most obvious difference was that beastmen could still speak even in beast form.

She had never heard the big lion speak. Could it be pretending?

“Because he’s an uncontrollable male,” Lu Zhan explained.

Popular science materials intended for females didn’t detail uncontrollable males, as that would make females dislike males even more, possibly leading them to reject closeness with their partners.

After all, females hated the rough, beastlike nature of males in beast form, which was why males usually stayed in human form and rarely transformed.

Lu Zhan looked steadily at Nian Tu and explained, “When a male’s loss-of-control value reaches 80, he gradually loses control. In beast form, he has no rationality. When it hits 100, he completely becomes a wild beast and cannot revert to human form.”

“Uncontrollable males are extremely aggressive, frenzied, mad, and irrational. Their lifespans also shrink rapidly—like a fire burning too hot and fast, they soon reduce to ashes.”

Lu Zhan continuously observed Nian Tu’s expression.

He was nervous, worried he might see disgust on her face.

But even if that happened, he wouldn’t blame her—he would just be extra careful never to transform in front of her.

Nian Tu remained silent for a long while.

There was no trace of aversion on her face, only pure compassion and pity.

If she had been somewhat upset learning the lion was a beastman, that anger was now completely extinguished, leaving only concern.

“If I had spiritual power, could I save him?” she asked.