Chapter 29: He’s Already Like This, and She’s Still Like That

Her eyes went wide with disbelief. ’Wait, when did he learn my password?’

But Wen Qian quickly figured it out. She had never tried to hide her phone from Yin Zhi, always entering her password right in front of him.

He probably didn’t just know her screen lock password; he likely knew her bank balance down to the last digit.

"What are you doing with my phone?" She leaned in, curious to see what sort of mischief he was up to.

But the next second, Wen Qian’s face flushed red as she scrambled to snatch the phone from his hands. She had to admit, the moment the background music started playing, she was dying of embarrassment.

Yin Zhi held the phone up high, deliberately showing her the screen.

On the screen, a blindfolded man in an outfit that was better left unworn swayed his hips, beckoned with a finger, and danced passionately.

Sweat trickled down the man’s sharp jawline, followed by a husky "sister" that escaped his lips.

"Th-that’s enough..." Wen Qian gulped, this time out of guilt.

"Don’t be hasty..." The man—Yin Zhi—smirked. But the words he spoke were utterly chilling: "Sister."

He kept swiping through the screen, not forgetting to glance at Wen Qian.

Good grief. Eight out of ten videos were of men, none of them decently dressed. And when he scrolled to the comments, almost every single one had some kind of thirsty remark from Wen Qian.

"Hey, don’t go through my saved videos!" Wen Qian was on the verge of tears. No wonder they all looked so familiar, they were... ’Also, how did this kid figure out this app so thoroughly?’

"Isn’t it to prove what my ’sister’ likes?" he said in a flirty tone, if you ignored the deliberately emphasized word "sister."

"I like them, I like them, okay?! I’m begging you, just turn it off..." Wen Qian said through gritted teeth.

"But Qianqian’s face is so red. I also li—" Yin Zhi leaned closer to her.

"Shut up!! Turn it the hell off!!!"

"Oh..."

After being yelled at, Yin Zhi immediately behaved. He held the phone out to Wen Qian, and as she reached for it, he sweetly nuzzled the side of his face against her forearm.

If this had happened before, Wen Qian’s face would have already turned red. But after that whole ordeal, she just wanted to put this Chapter behind her as quickly as possible.

Slamming the phone face-down on the sofa, Wen Qian leaned back and let out a sigh of relief.

It took her a moment to remember Yin Zhi. She turned her head and gave him a sidelong glance. "So, you’re not a cat, right?"

She remembered Gu Mian had mentioned the Tiger Clan, not... the Cat Clan.

Hearing this, Yin Zhi nodded obediently. "I’m a tiger. From the Silver Tiger Clan."

"Such a small... tiger?" Wen Qian frowned, looking him up and down. ’How can a tiger from the Beast World be the same size as a cat from Blue Star?’

"No, it’s not like that!" Yin Zhi’s face flushed under Wen Qian’s gaze. He then gave her a rough summary of what Gu Mian hadn’t had time to explain.

’At the very least, she has to know why Beastmen come to Blue Star, and why we become small!’

’And that marriage contract... he never wanted it in the first place!’

"What exactly is this Critical Stone?" Wen Qian immediately grasped the key point. If the Beastmen came to Blue Star because of the Critical Stone, did that mean if they found it, they could go back?

"It’s a bit like... the doors and windows of a house." Yin Zhi thought for a moment, choosing a relatively easy way to explain. His voice was cool and clear. "The Beast World is like the house, and the Critical Stone is like the doors and windows. If the doors and windows are damaged or broken, then the people living inside lose their protection."

Seeing Wen Qian’s look of partial understanding, Yin Zhi explained, "About twenty years ago, the Critical Stone suddenly shattered, causing upheaval in the Beast World. Beastmen fell to Blue Star one by one, becoming what Blue Star calls ’animals’."

"Fell to Blue Star?" Wen Qian looked puzzled.

Yin Zhi nodded. "After the Critical Stone shattered, a breach appeared in the Beast World. Aside from what happened twenty years ago, many Beastmen have been accidentally falling into Blue Star every year... That’s why we have to find the Critical Stone."

Otherwise, in a few short years, both Blue Star and the Beast World would face a devastating catastrophe. As more and more Beastmen fell to Blue Star, endless conflict would be inevitable in the fight for survival.

The Beastmen... might even disappear completely.

"How do you know so much about something that happened twenty years ago? You’re not secretly an old man, are you?" Wen Qian asked curiously, propping her cheek on her hand. ’I wonder how they calculate age in the Beast World. It’s not like with kittens and puppies, is it...’

"Of course not! I’m about the same age as Qianqian!" Yin Zhi protested. He paused, then continued to explain, "Beastmen have roughly the same lifespan as humans. We just mature physically earlier and have a longer adolescence. We look very young until we’re about forty."

Wen Qian repeated, "Mature earlier?"

Yin Zhi: "Mhm. Beastmen grow fastest between the ages of zero and three. A three-year-old Beastman has the appearance and intelligence of an eight-year-old human. At twelve, a Beastman’s body reaches full maturity... which is adulthood. Our height and intelligence basically stop changing after that."

Wen Qian nodded in understanding. A moment later, she leaned in close to Yin Zhi like a curious child. "So how old are you, exactly?"

"I was fifteen when I came here. Now... I’m twenty," Yin Zhi replied after a moment of thought.

Wen Qian froze. ’So he really is just a kid,’ she thought.

"And the marriage contract..." Seeing that Wen Qian was about to end the topic, Yin Zhi immediately grabbed her hand. He looked anxious, but his voice sounded a little hurt. "Anyway, I don’t like her, and I never touched her."

"Huh?" The sudden change in topic seemed to catch Wen Qian off guard. She blinked at him. Every time she saw Yin Zhi with this kind of expression, she had the subconscious urge to tease him.

"In any case, I’m not going to marry her," the man—Yin Zhi—said with a frown. After a long pause, he buried his head in Wen Qian’s lap like a spoiled child and nuzzled against her. "So, Qianqian, don’t be mean to me... although you look really good when you’re being mean, too..."

"Okay, okay... that’s enough," Wen Qian tried to cut him off. ’Does he ever look in a mirror? How can he call other people good-looking when he looks like *that*?’

’What kind of misunderstanding does he have about the words "good-looking"?! With his exquisite features, *he’s* the one who’s good-looking. Compared to him, she was just pretty, the kind of person who grows on you.’

"No..." The man looked up, nuzzling her earlobe with the tip of his nose. He was still using that whining, spoiled tone. "I like Qianqian no matter what. I even like it when you’re mean to me."

Closing her eyes, Wen Qian tried her best to remain calm. "Then you can start by sweeping the floor."

"Oh..."

His ears drooped instantly. ’Is her heart made of stone?’ Yin Zhi grumbled to himself.

’A guy who looks like him is acting like this... and she’s still completely unfazed?’

Wen Qian had assumed Yin Zhi’s "liking" for her stemmed from the affection a kitten or puppy has for its owner. So when he said those things, she felt ashamed of her own wild imagination.

’How could she use her own dirty thoughts to interpret the words of an innocent Beastman!’

’It’s all because she hadn’t dated much over the years; she had zero experience... She couldn’t control herself around any handsome guy she met.’

"I’m going to bed first. You can come in when you’re done cleaning up." Wen Qian cleared her throat, watching the man’s busy figure.