Little fox Xavier

From the moment Zayne entered until he went upstairs to shower.

Xiao Yan acted nonchalant, but she had been carefully watching the two men all along.

The moment Zayne and Xavier met, their attention locked onto each other.

They scrutinized each other, quietly observing and competing.

Even in a world of polyandry, where society had conditioned them to accept the wife-owner system, a sense of competition still existed.

Xiao Yan could not help thinking of Xiao Jue's five beastman husbands.

Even after living together for so many years and reaching middle age, weren't there still undercurrents surging as they endlessly fought over her affection?

She sat back on the couch, nestled beside Xavier again, and continued printing photos and pasting them into her journal.

Sure enough, Xavier seemed a little restless. He asked softly, "Are you and he already that close?"

"Mm." Xiao Yan kept pretending nothing had happened, grinning. "He went home with me for a meal at my mom's. My mom really likes him, and I think he's very mature and dependable, too. He's also very devoted to home. He'll be moving back in soon."

Xavier pressed his lips together, feeling that Xiao Yan was taking pointed jabs at him.

Rather sharp ones, too. She was practically plastering accusations like "You don't know how to win my mother over," "You don't care about home," and "You never come back to stay" across his face.

But then Xiao Yan gave another easy smile. "Everyone has a different personality. Some people get close to me quickly, and of course others need much more time together before they're willing to make the next change. That's all perfectly normal."

Xavier said, "But he doesn't look like the impatient type."

With Zayne's looks and bearing, surely he was the very picture of someone who took time to warm up to others, no matter how you looked at him.

His narrow eyes alone, with their amber irises mingled with yellow and green, as still as ancient waters, looked very stern and aloof.

Realizing Xavier was studying Zayne, Xiao Yan felt a little flutter of delight.

With Star's personality, if he did not care, he would not even bother taking a second look.

He was starting to care about... or rather, mind Zayne. Of course that meant he already cared about Xiao Yan.

Possibly a little more than she had imagined.

Xiao Yan shifted a decorative sticker around on her journal. "Ah, where should I put this? Why does it look wrong everywhere?"

Not answering? Changing the subject?

Feigning calm, Xavier glanced at Xiao Yan. "You could put it along the edge of the page to make a border."

Xiao Yan held the sticker up to try it. "You're right! It looks great as a border. I'll put it here!"

Their heads leaned together. Xavier helped Xiao Yan hold the sticker in place while she applied glue and carefully pressed it down.

The final bit of decoration was finished.

Xiao Yan suddenly turned and looked at Xavier with a bright smile.

Xavier paused. "Hm?"

"Go at your own pace." With meaning behind her words, Xiao Yan raised a hand and tapped the tip of his nose. "You don't need to compare yourself with anyone or accommodate me. What matters most is that you're happy."

"..." Xavier blinked a few times, then lowered his eyes. "But that sounds like the sort of polite line someone says when they're busy building a relationship with someone else and have no time to look after anyone else."

Ahhh! That soft tone with its hint of grievance!

Xiao Yan's heart clenched. She could never bear it when Xavier expressed his hurt in this subtle way!

"I'm not!" She explained hurriedly, so flustered she hardly knew what to do. "Star, I'm not neglecting you. I just... I..."

"You really are so busy. You have to study at school and maintain family ties with so many young ladies." Xavier pursed his lips slightly and turned his face away from Xiao Yan. "When you come home from school, there are still four husbands to get to know, and you have to take the one your mother likes most back to the family home for dinner."

"No, no, no, Star, I'm not, I didn't, I!" Xiao Yan grew anxious.

She brought up both hands, cupped Xavier's face, and turned him to face her. "I haven't been desperately trying to get close to them. Compared with the others, out of the five of you, you're the second closest to me now!"

Xavier was still pouting. Second closest?

So the closest really was this Dr. Zayne she'd run into today.

"Look, I'm not a particularly forward person either. I want so much to see you and get closer to you, but I..." Xiao Yan no longer knew how to put it. "I'm afraid you'll dislike me!"

"You want to see me." Xavier raised his eyes and gave Xiao Yan a faint glare. "Why haven't I noticed?"

"When we met on the street today, did you really think it was a coincidence?!" Xiao Yan asked. "It was because Jiang Miao saw you and told me that I hurried over to find you!"

Oh? So that was what happened?

At last, Xavier looked at Xiao Yan seriously again. "Really? You went there specifically to see me?"

"Yes!" Xiao Yan nodded emphatically. "Jiang Miao said you seemed to be on a mission. I was curious and worried about your safety, so... oh, anyway, I really do want to see you every day, but you..."

Xavier gently pulled Xiao Yan's hands down and held them, tilting his head as he leaned a little closer. "What about me?"

"You don't seem very interested in me." Xiao Yan sighed and lowered her head. "I'm afraid that if I'm too forward, you'll think I'm frivolous, using my position as your wife-owner to intrude into your life however I please."

Xavier watched every subtle expression and reaction on Xiao Yan's face.

Her palms were sweaty. She was very nervous.

She looked a little dejected and helpless, and her words were sincere and made perfect sense.

Before today, if Xiao Yan had suddenly appeared and deliberately approached him, Xavier would indeed have felt intruded upon.

He had always felt some disdain for the wife-owner system and had even less desire to go to such lengths to accommodate so-called social rules.

But after today, something had changed.

His wife-owner was actually very cautious, too.

Xiao Yan seemed to understand how to respect him, and she also seemed able to see through the resistance and rebellion against the system buried deep in his heart.

His partner really was completely different from those other wife-owners out there.

She was someone truly worth letting down his guard for and accepting wholeheartedly.

"What about now?" Xavier rubbed the thin sheen of sweat on each of Xiao Yan's palms with his thumbs. "Do you still think I'd resist your advances?"

"I don't know." Xiao Yan answered honestly, even giving up a little. "You little fox, you never tell me what you're thinking."

There really were so, so many strange nicknames.

An impulse stirred in Xavier's heart. He revealed a pair of white fox ears on top of his head and gave them a shake. "Then would you like to touch the little fox's ears? For beastmen, outward beast features are the things least capable of lying. Touch them, and perhaps you'll know everything in my heart."

Fox ears?!

Xiao Yan looked up in surprise, staring at those large, snow-white, fluffy ears!

Her hands were completely beyond her control. She raised them and reached straight for his ears!

"Mm..." Once his ears were squeezed, Xavier involuntarily leaned forward, pressing toward Xiao Yan. "Gently. This is the first time my ears have been stroked. They're still very sensitive and aren't quite used to it."

Xiao Yan hurriedly relaxed her fingers, easing the pressure.

Oh, those ears twitched and bounced at a touch. Although they seemed to be resisting her touch, Xavier obediently lowered his head toward her!

Xavier's breathing had even grown a little uneven from her stroking. "Did you... mm... hear what it truly feels?"

"They like me!" Xiao Yan said excitedly. "They keep dodging, but they want me to stroke them more, don't they!"

Xavier gave a soft laugh, his voice meltingly gentle. "Mm..."

Zayne dried his hair and came downstairs in a velvet robe, only to find Xiao Yan unable to keep her hands off the white fox ears.

Beast features were among a beastman's most sensitive parts.