Translated by Eve

　　Edited by Kara

　　Thank you San Xiaojie for the kofi ? Thanks for reading!!

　　"Hi, I'm Bai," Sensing that Lei wasn't very good with language, Bai purposely slowed down his speech, raising a finger to point at himself, "I'm very happy to meet you, Lei."

　　The protagonist gong nodded at Bai slightly. He then waded to the sh.o.r.e. What was fortunate was that he had indeed learned each and every one of the protagonist shou's actions well. There was a wet hide wrapped around his pelvic area, effectively covering the place that should not be seen.

　　As the protagonist gong approached, Bai became more and more excited. Bai naturally would have goodwill and curiosity towards a rare-to-see "fellow human." In addition, there was a natural pull between the protagonist gong and shou. This caused Bai's attention to fall on Lei, completely ignoring Sui Yuan, who was by his side.

　　Language was indeed an efficient tool, even if one side was like that of a child who just started babbling and could not understand too complicated words and phrases. However, for Bai, who hadn't spoken to anyone in so long, this was undoubtedly like the rain after a long drought.

　　Sui Yuan watched as Bai and Lei chatted in high spirits while sitting by the river. He felt incomparably gratified. Although the plot had undergone a huge change, so long as the protagonist gong and shou successfully fell for each other and freed him of his bitter circ.u.mstances of always "having an affair with either the protagonist gong or shou," then everything was fine!

　　So that he wouldn't become a lightbulb and disrupt the protagonist gong and shou's couple world, Sui Yuan very tactfully wagged his tail and noiselessly turned to leave. At this time, Bai was asking Lei about "humans," startled to find out about the differences between "natural types" and "variant types." His three views were on the verge of toppling all over again, so he hadn't noticed Sui Yuan's actions. On the contrary, Lei shot a glance at the desolate silhouette Sui Yuan's back cast as he left. The corner of his mouth slowly curved into a profound smile.

　　Sui Yuan obviously didn't know about how the protagonist gong was scheming again. He only returned to the pack, relaxed. He then found a comfy corner and laid down happily on his side.

　　Xiao Hei naturally knew that Sui Yuan had originally gone to the river to bathe with Bai. Now, he suddenly saw Sui Yuan come back by himself, fur clean and dry. He couldn't help but feel curious and come over, making low "wuwu" sounds in questioning.

　　Sui Yuan couldn't say that the protagonist shou had received Heaven's commands, so he could only chase Xiao Hei away in a fit of impatience. He then yawned. Lately, he'd been troubled over how to succeed in "self-harming". Furthermore, he also had to be alert in order to cope with the protagonist shou's "pursuit" and fawning. He felt very lethargic. Right now, he had a rare moment of free time. He had to take this chance to catch up on sleep!

　　Sui Yuan placed his chin on his front paws. After closing his eyes, he entered dreamland very quickly. Meanwhile, Xiao Hei, who had been ignored, looked at the dispirited and downcast (?) Sui Yuan, not taking the other's actions to heart. He circled around the other a few times, jittery, and then ran over to the river. He felt that he would find the answer there.

　　Actually (?), this was indeed the case. When Xiao Hei reached the river, he was met with the scene of Bai and Lei sitting shoulder to shoulder, holding an intimate discussion. Bai treated him differently than Sui Yuan and the other beasts. He subconsciously considered Lei, who also took human form, as kin—someone who he could communicate with on equal terms. Towards the beasts, however, there was always a feeling that he was above them. This was the att.i.tude humans were used to having towards animals. Although this didn't mean he looked down on the beasts, in his eyes, there was quite a difference between them.

　　Originally, Bai's action this past winter had caused the pack to tacitly acknowledge that Sui Yuan and Bai were partners. Now, when he saw how Bai had thrown his "mate" to the side and was instead acting friendly with some weird creature, Xiao Hei, who had always considered Sui Yuan his idol who he believed in firmly, flew into a rage instantly.

　　While he was inquiring about what a "variant type" actually was and also occasionally answering some of Lei's questions, Bai heard a familiar angry growl. Soon after, there was the sound of rustling from behind him.

　　After going through so many challenging experiences in this world, the nimble and perceptive Bai naturally would not be an easy target to launch a sneak attack on. He pushed an arm onto the ground and suddenly rolled to one side. At the same time, he used his other hand to draw the weapon at his waist, entering a ready-to-attack stance.

　　Next, Bai froze in place, mind blank. For some reason, Xiao Hei was glaring at him fiercely as if he wanted to tear out his throat.

　　"…What's wrong? Xiao Hei?" Bai asked, befuddled, regardless of whether the other actually understood his question or not.

　　Although he was not as close to Xiao Hei as he was to Sui Yuan, the relations.h.i.+p between them was still quite friendly. He totally didn't understand why the other had suddenly become so hostile and was showing him such enmity.

　　Bai automatically checked his surroundings, wanting to find Sui Yuan. Only then did he realize that the gray pup was nowhere to be found. In an instant, his heart went "thump" and sunk.

　　Bai knew that the one Xiao Hei cared the most about was Sui Yuan. Could it be that something had happened to Sui Yuan, which made Xiao Hei angry at him? When he thought of this, Bai broke out in a cold sweat. He regretted how he had thrown Sui Yuan to one side, not in the least concerned about him in his moment of excitement. Even if he was extremely happy to meet someone "like him," this unfamiliar "variant type" was naturally far less important to him than Sui Yuan.