A clingy wolf

In the end, they still slept together.

Ye Ruan wasn't as shameless as Gu Cheng and couldn't win against his pestering, so he could only turn back into a lop-eared rabbit and let himself be petted.

"Baby bunny, come let me get a good sniff of you."

Gu Cheng opened his wolf mouth wide, intending to put the rabbit's head in it.

Ye Ruan smacked him with a little paw. "Get lost..."

"So heartless." Gu Cheng cupped Ye Ruan in his hands and settled him in the crook of his shoulder.

Two little rabbit paws clung to his shoulder, and soft ears brushed his cheek, teasing him until his heart tingled.

"Go to sleep." Gu Cheng buried his fingers in the rabbit's fur and pulled the blanket over Little Bunny's body.

It was like wearing a scarf, warm and cozy.

There was only half a month left until Start of Winter. The temperature in City H had plummeted, and the wind grew especially strong at midnight.

An empty can someone had left in the corridor blew over, rattling along until it hit their door and stopped.

Ye Ruan startled awake in the middle of the night, his red eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Thump.

The sound was rather distant. Having only just woken up, Ye Ruan thought he might have misheard it.

It wasn't until another faint, muffled thump sounded that Ye Ruan jumped down from Gu Cheng's shoulder and went to the window to check.

He waited a long time, but the sound didn't come again.

Ye Ruan drew the curtain aside with his fingers and looked outside for a while.

It seemed to have come from the building opposite.

There was no moonlight, so he couldn't tell exactly where.

Maybe something fell over there.

If it were a monster, it couldn't stay inactive somewhere with so many people.

Just as Ye Ruan was about to turn around and go back to sleep, he suddenly heard the door next to theirs open.

Ye Ruan hesitated for two seconds, then turned the handle and went outside.

Someone was already standing by the corridor railing.

Hearing him, Lou Yu turned around. "Sure enough, the First Team isn't as vigilant as we are."

Ye Ruan couldn't be bothered with him. Since he was already outside, he simply took out his night-vision binoculars to see what was going on.

A full two minutes passed before Lou Yu muttered a curse.

He hadn't noticed earlier, but now that a whole pack of beasts was staring at his back, he belatedly realized the First Team had been awake for ages.

And their eyes kept flicking toward him with distinctly unfriendly intent.

Lou Yu was speechless. "Are you all fucking sneaking around? Why are you watching me from your windows? It's not like I'm going to flirt with him at this hour!"

Another window was shoved open, and a bleary-eyed Yu Jingjing cursed under her breath. "What are you yelling about? Quit being annoying!"

Ye Ruan found nothing. His brows knitted slightly as he lowered the binoculars, and a thick coat wrapped around his entire body.

"If there's nothing going on, let's sleep. We'll go check over there tomorrow." Gu Cheng's voice was low and husky after waking up, making him sound even more languid.

Ye Ruan turned his head to ask something, just as Gu Cheng leaned down and kissed the little rabbit's lips as naturally as could be.

Yu Jingjing yawned. "You should call Fang out to watch you flaunt your love. I'm a cat."

Inside, Fang Ci rolled over by the window and wrapped his blanket tightly around himself.

"Leave me out of it."

Someone nursing a broken heart was allowed to be a little aloof.

Everyone dispersed, and the corridor fell quiet again.

Lying on Gu Cheng's bed, Ye Ruan rubbed his eyes. "The building opposite looks like another dormitory?"

"Yeah. Not many people seem to live there. I heard it used to be offices before they converted it into a dormitory."

Ye Ruan nodded. Drowsiness washed over him, and he lay sprawled on the bed, unwilling to move.

"You sleep here. I'll take the other bed."

Gu Cheng was just about to tuck him in when the heartless little rabbit opened his eyes and asked softly:

"Don't you want to hold me anymore?"

"...How could you say that?"

Gu Cheng's Adam's apple bobbed twice. "Even going outside for some air wouldn't cool me down. If we sleep together, something's bound to happen."

Ye Ruan glanced downward, then hurriedly closed his eyes as though he'd been scalded.

"Good night."

"You really are a heartless little thing." Gu Cheng leaned down and kissed him hard before finally climbing into the other, cold bed.

The wolf's baser instincts showed themselves. Burning with desire and unable to sleep, Gu Cheng deliberately teased Ye Ruan.

Ye Ruan's ears turned so red they looked ready to bleed.

That shameless wolf. It was bad enough that he wouldn't behave, but he even called out my name.

After half an hour of listening, things beside him finally quieted down.

Embarrassed, Ye Ruan pulled the blanket over his head and drifted off before he knew it.

He didn't sleep well for the rest of the night.

Ye Ruan had a dream.

In the dream, his younger self hid outside a window covered in morning glories.

A cheerful concerto rang out from a piano, along with a young, familiar voice.

"You've been secretly listening for days. Aren't you coming in? I have melon to eat today."

Little Bunny's especially young ears twitched. He didn't understand how he'd been discovered.

Only through the dream did Ye Ruan realize that his disobedient ears had stood up.

Little Bunny was an excellent listener, lost in music blooming with spring flowers, surrounded by dancing notes.

They slid playfully off leaves, tumbled down his fluffy ears, and fell into the flowers.

When he woke again, daylight filled the room, and Gu Cheng walked in carrying breakfast.

"Awake? Go wash up first. I got you potatoes."

Ye Ruan murmured a soft assent, took out his toothbrush and cup, and headed to the communal washroom at the end of the corridor.

When he arrived, Yu Jingjing and the others were brushing their teeth mechanically, their eyes still heavy with sleep.

Li Rang's bird's-nest hair was impressively disheveled.

Fang Ci was the only one who looked presentable.

No matter how Ye Ruan looked at him, he didn't seem like a husky.

The reason was simple: Fang Ci was too gentle.

Holding his little rabbit toothbrush, Ye Ruan said good morning, then stood in a corner brushing his teeth while mentally assessing the members of the First Team.

Lou Yu had just gotten up too. The only empty spot was beside Ye Ruan, so he walked over.

"Morning."

Out of politeness, Ye Ruan replied, "Morning."

Lou Yu managed a smile, his head slightly lowered as he brushed his teeth with one hand and stared blankly at the sink.

Ye Ruan was about to look away when a black stud visible on Lou Yu's ear suddenly caught his attention.

He stared for two seconds. Before he could look away, Lou Yu noticed and said indistinctly:

"He put it on me. It's like a mark. He won't let me take it off."

Ye Ruan rinsed his mouth and began washing his face, not wanting to pry into someone else's private affairs.

Lou Yu, however, wanted an outlet. "You're getting close to your heat too, aren't you?"

Although Special People were powerful, they had, after all, been fused with animal genes, and some of them experienced this particular cycle.

Wolves, dogs, snakes, foxes, and rabbits, for instance.

Rabbits were naturally the most at risk, going through it several times a year.

But Ye Ruan had never worried about it.

His mother, Ye Qingman, had developed a candy that could suppress it. All he needed to do was eat a couple when the time came.

Lou Yu smiled self-mockingly. "Ye Ruan, the people in the First Team aren't simple. Be careful they don't fool you."

Ye Ruan blinked, water dripping from the hair over his forehead. He pressed his slightly flushed lips together and blurted out:

"What the fuck does it have to do with you?"

Lou Yu: "..."

The others who hadn't left burst into laughter.

Using Lou Yu to shield him from view, Ye Ruan curled his lips into a cold, mocking smile, a shadow clouding his clear red eyes.

With his red lips and white teeth, his smile sent a chill down Lou Yu's spine.

Lou Yu froze and rubbed his eyes. Ye Ruan had already returned to his usual soft, innocent expression.

He still looked harmless.

"What took you so long?"

The moment he entered the room, Gu Cheng wrapped his arms around him. "Come here. Let me taste how sweet your mouth is."

"It isn't sweet. It tastes like mint." Ye Ruan laughed and leaned away.

"Liar. I smell strawberries!"

Without another word, Gu Cheng pinned Little Bunny against the door and kissed him.

The Big Gray Wolf was truly clingier than any dog. Every day, he wanted hugs and kisses, and if Ye Ruan refused, he looked as though he'd been abandoned.

Pestered beyond all resistance, Ye Ruan slid his hands over the man's chest and looped them around his neck, rising onto his toes to kiss him back.

Bang!

Yu Jingjing banged on the door outside. "Time for breakfast!"

Gu Cheng paused, deciding that once they got back, he would bundle up that tactless black cat and sell her at ninety percent off.

"Ah..." Still unsatisfied, Gu Cheng kissed Ye Ruan's fair, soft cheek.

Ye Ruan kept smiling. Seeing the Big Gray Wolf's displeasure, he leaned close to his ear and whispered:

"When we get back, I'll give you what you want."