Chapter 121

Xia You carefully inspected the marks on her body in front of a mirror, ensuring the medical device had removed the visible traces from her arms and neck.

She even meticulously chose a dark shirt with a conservative neckline.

Standing at the entrance to the dressing room, Lu Yinghuai, with a hint of amusement on his lips, reminded Xia You, "If you dress too conservatively, you'll be teased."

As Xia You was buttoning her shirt, she abruptly brought up the holographic display, thrusting the current date in Lu Yinghuai's face, "Would Your Highness like to check the month we're in now?"

Lu Yinghuai glanced at the displayed date, brushing the screen aside, "We have a temperature control system at home; it's not cold."

Ignoring him, Xia You not only wore the shirt but layered a creamy white knitted sweater over it.

Perfect, she looked bright and cheerful.

Xia You examined her reflection and nodded in satisfaction.

Lu Yinghuai was still in his pajamas, and at the collar and messy hem, one could see the love bites and teeth marks on his chest and abdominal muscles.

Xia You's eyes darted about, passing the medical device to Lu Yinghuai.

Lu Yinghuai took the medical device but merely set it aside. With a natural gait, he walked past Xia You, pulling a uniformed shirt from a nearby cabinet.

Both of them emanated a similar scent post-grooming, yet Xia You always felt an exclusive crisp aroma on Lu Yinghuai, blended with the fragrance of personal care products, intoxicatingly delightful.

It was the kind of allure that could effortlessly lead to certain... interactions within the confines of the wardrobe.

Logic urged Xia You to leave this perilous vicinity immediately, but the reality was... her feet felt glued to the floor of the dressing room.

Utterly stuck.

Lu Yinghuai's shirt-changing motions were leisurely. Xia You watched as the shirt fabric obscured the long reddish streaks and varying scratch marks on his back. Her throat bobbed continuously, fingers uneasily twisting the edge of her garment.

His Highness was doing this on purpose.

He could have dressed at an impressively swift pace if he wished.

Under Xia You's attentive gaze, Lu Yinghuai donned his regular outdoor military uniform. Opening a drawer beside him, it revealed suppressors that the research department had specifically crafted for him.

Lu Yinghuai turned to Xia You, smiling faintly.

Xia You hesitated only for two seconds before approaching to select a suppressor.

—The temptation was too overwhelming. Even Xia You felt she lacked resolve.

With that thought, her eyes skimmed past the other suppressors, picking a pair of black gloves. With pursed lips, she meticulously slipped them onto Lu Yinghuai's fingers.

Lu Yinghuai looked slightly surprised.

Xia You remained expressionless.

The gloves were excellent, capable of sealing the subtle sultriness oozing from His Highness.

It seemed Lu Yinghuai grasped Xia You's intentions, chuckling at her.

The young and spirited Xia You wasn't one to be outdone. She grazed her hand over Lu Yinghuai's abdomen, her fingers slipping through gaps between the shirt buttons.

Lu Yinghuai's breath hitched.

Xia You lifted her chin triumphantly, "Your Highness, you get aroused too easily. You need to exercise restraint."

Watching Xia You's teasing retreat, Lu Yinghuai stood still for a moment. Only after a while did the tension in his muscles ease, leading him to break into an amused, breathy chuckle.

*

The people downstairs had been subtly reprimanded by Uncle Zhou, so they made no jest or mockery towards Xia You, who tried her best to act as if nothing had happened.

Initially a tad uncomfortable, Xia You gradually eased up. She gently caressed the fluffy back of Tang Gao, her gaze shifting curiously to the newly arrived companion beast cat on the carpet.

Contrary to the previous claims of it being a 'large cat', which turned out to be either leopards or tigers from the feline family, the one in front of her, though considerably larger than typical domestic cats, undeniably appeared to be just a cat.

Fishing cats have acute hearing; they don't need to turn their heads, merely twitching their ears suffices to catch sounds from all directions.

—The moment Xia You began descending the stairs and even before the footstep noises arrived, the bedroom door barely ajar, she had already detected it.

Hoisting Tang Gao onto her shoulder, Xia You took a seat in front of Miss Fishing Cat, extending a hand in a friendly gesture.

The fishing cat bowed slightly to Xia You and then placed her paw gently in Xia You's palm.

Huh?

Observing the semi-webbed feet distinct from typical felines in her hand, a trace of astonishment flitted across Xia You's eyes.

While she had always been intrigued by various animals, her interest had been limited to those she had heard of and liked. After learning about the existence of companion beasts and her therapeutic requirements, Xia You had sought vast amounts of information, including some confidential data.

The fishing cat was among them.

Without revealing their webbed feet, it's challenging for those unfamiliar with them to correctly identify a fishing cat amidst a multitude of felines.

However, fishing cats possess aquatic skills far superior to regular cats.

Xia You activated her light computer, reviewing the case report sent from the dormancy center about this fishing cat companion beast.

Having recently opened her practice to treat companion beasts, those referred to her typically belonged to warriors with relatively severe conditions within the base.

Although their conditions might not be as dire as those of the companion beasts already relocated to conservation areas, it probably reached stages the dormancy center found hard to manage.

After all, Xia You was but a single human, susceptible to life's natural cycles, and the Empire remained hopeful of finding a technological solution to eradicate mental energy disorders entirely.

Gently holding the fishing cat's forepaw, Xia You inquired softly, "May I start a live broadcast?"

Miss Fishing Cat nodded, lowering her head and nuzzling Xia You's fingers affectionately.

The fur of the fishing cat is thick and dense. Since they often swim in water, they need their fur to be waterproof to protect them from the cold wind.

The parameters of the live-streaming ball were all preset. Xiayou activated the live-streaming ball and casually placed it into Tanggao's pouch on her shoulder.

Tanggao: "??"

Holding the live-streaming ball with two black paws, the expression of puzzlement on the red panda's face could almost be materialized as a huge question mark.

[The live stream is finally on! Let me rush in quickly!]

[Why is the screen black?]

[It doesn't seem entirely black... Brownish?]

The live-streaming ball struggled in Tanggao's grasp, trying to adjust its camera angle on its own.

Tanggao played with the round live-streaming ball, finding it intriguing. She contemplated dismantling it for fun.

As if sensing Tanggao's mischievous intent, the live-streaming ball quickly pulled itself from her paw. The camera finally shifted from the belly fur of the red panda to Xiayou's side.

[Ah, it's that fishing cat!]

[I remember, isn't she still in the medical pod?]

[Yes, she just returned from a mission a couple of days ago.]

Xiayou pulled up the live chat on the screen, read a few comments, and nodded with a smile, "Her injuries are not severe, and she will recover soon."

The mental disorder of this fishing cat isn't severe. However, she suffered a head injury during her mission. The hibernation center decided to take this opportunity to perform a mental treatment on Xiayou while healing the physical injuries, hoping to make additional discoveries.

[Thank you, Lord Xiayou! Both my sister and I adore you!]

A message quickly scrolled across the chat.

Both Xiayou and the fishing cat saw it. The cat, slightly embarrassed, twitched its whiskers.

After a certain desensitization incident, the once fluffy-obsessed individual had developed some PTSD of feline animals. Xiayou's gaze drifted for a moment, she closed her eyes, channeling her mental energy into the fishing cat.

That usually idle little tentacle was curled around a crimson piece of mental energy crystal, nestled in Xiayou's mind and munching vigorously. Its dedication was almost touching to Xiayou.

While treating the fishing cat, Xiayou discovered that although there's a lot of grey matter inside the cat, it didn't possess the intertwined parasitic filaments found in other symbiotic beasts, which surprised her.

After the treatment was concluded, Miss Fishing Cat was somewhat weakened. Remarkably, however, she remained fully lucid and did not faint.

The room, originally a small sitting area, had almost become Xiayou's treatment room. Uncle Zhou had placed many blankets of varying sizes and colors on the sofa nearby.

Xiayou took a light green blanket and covered the fishing cat with it. She gently patted the cat's head, comforting her post-treatment emotions.

Lu Yinghuai must have stepped out when Xiayou was treating the cat. Yuanyuan, following Xiayou's scent, arrived and sat by the door, displaying the demeanor of a well-behaved leopard.

With a soft hum of amusement, Xiayou remained seated beside the fishing cat, avoiding eye contact with the leopard. Eventually, she pulled up the live chat on the screen and began interacting with her viewers.

It was a rare moment when the audience could communicate directly with Xiayou, and the chat became lively.

[Lord Xiayou, has that cheetah we saw earlier fully recovered?]

Xiayou smiled, "Yes, he recovered from his mental disorder a few days ago. If his health permits, he should be home by now."

While mentioning "a few days ago," Xiayou couldn't help but shoot a distant glare at the big leopard blocking the doorway.

[Oh, my childhood idol! Is he making a comeback?]

[Probably not anytime soon. Even without rehabilitation training like us, after coming out of the hibernation pod, he surely needs some time to rest.]

[That's true.]

[By the way, Lord Xiayou, have you seen the latest interview by the Capital Media on the royal family?]

Xiayou blinked in surprise, "What?"

[It's said that most of the royal duties are currently being handled by the Crown Prince. But he's never appeared in public, so many media outlets are vying for an exclusive interview.]

[Capital Media released a teaser two days ago, and the full version just this morning.]

[My sister works in the media. Apparently... um, the priority for this interview doesn't depend on any connections or whatsoever. It's purely a bidding process.]

[I heard about that too, haha. The Crown Prince's transparency caught many media outlets off guard; they weren't prepared at all.]

[Hey, I was saying, the Capital Media was just acquired. How could they, without any background connections but just money, secure that exclusive interview right?]

Two days ago, this morning.

After a brief silence, Xiayou cleared her throat subtly and casually activated a new projection screen.

Logging onto the StarNet, she clicked on the latest trending news. As expected, the top headline was about the Crown Prince's first public interview.

As Xiayou clicked on the link, the screen displayed a young man in formal attire, sitting poised and gracefully across from an interviewer.

The youth's amber eyes shone with clarity. Despite the regal formality of the royal attire, he exuded a unique blend of youthful vigor and defiance.

A black and orange tiger lay beside the young man's chair. Sensing the camera, it lifted its head, its cold feline eyes briefly glancing into the lens.

[Whoa!]

[Hmm?]

This was actually the first time Xiayou truly saw the appearance of "Spicy Strip"... No, rather, the visage of Qin Anhong.

In previous videos, Qin Anhong had always let his companion beast playfully roll and charm in front of the camera, identical to how it behaved at the Marshal's mansion.

But how could it be identical?

Xiayou watched the spirited young man in the interview, his face lighting up with a touch of pride and delight.

See, he always said, Spicy Strip was the best little tiger.

Xiayou's gaze on the screen was so intense that the live-streaming orb hovered and whirled around her, occasionally zooming in to capture the state of the fishing cat.

As the orb panned upward from the fishing cat, the camera briefly passed behind Xiayou's ear.

[Wait a sec!]

[What was that quick flash? What was that?!]

[I'm heartbroken, oh no.]

[I have to say, given the circumstances, you've got guts to fall for someone like that...]

[Why not?! Who could resist

Secretly admiring

A unique, handsome, gentle, and unparalleled therapist god? Mind your own business!]

Seeing the barrage of comments, Xiayou touched her ear in confusion, asking, "What?"

Yuan Yuan at the doorway sensed something was amiss and quickly stepped in, positioning himself behind Xiayou, his eyes sternly fixed on the livestream camera.

The tone of the comments in the live chat took a sudden shift.

[Speaking of which, it's winter in our base, isn't it? Those plum blossoms look beautiful.]

[Absolutely, especially in the snow.]

Xiayou: "...?"

He turned to gaze out of the window, seeing no traces of snowflakes whatsoever.

Had it started snowing outside the base?