Jiang Zheyu gave a dry laugh. "I'm a little tired. I'm going to head up first."
Then she turned, her steps weak and unsteady as she walked upstairs.
Once bitten, twice shy.
When she was young, her own mother had thrown her into a snake pit, and it was as if she'd developed a trauma response from it.
A childhood shadow that, now as an adult, she had to try and heal with an endless supply of candy.
Jiang Zheyu returned to her room and threw herself onto the bed again.
'A failure! This is a complete failure!'
This problem with being afraid of snakes... She wasn't asking herself to start liking them, just to stop having such an extreme reaction.
Just like how she told herself not to dwell on the shadows of her childhood.
"Master Yu Yu, your hot bath is ready. You can go soak now," Xiaoyi's voice called out.
Dazed, Jiang Zheyu slowly got up from the bed and went to take her bath.
'A hot bath makes all the unhappiness go away.'
At the dining table in the hall.
Su Yan gently lifted his wrist to look at his watch. On the silver watch face, he could easily see that the monitored Beastification Value had dropped to 83. This time, a full 6 points of his Beastification Value had been purified.
Astonishing.
As long as his Beastification Value dropped below 70, he would have a chance to apply to rejoin the army.
Su Yan's red eyes stared at the number for a long time, his expression inscrutable.
Yesterday, his Beastification Value had exceeded 90. Normally, when a Beastification Value surpasses 90, the Empire's guard corps would be dispatched immediately to subdue the subject.
However, because he was Su Yan, the Commander of the Third Legion—the man who had led the Third Legion through life and death, repelled the Zerg Race, and brought great glory to the Empire.
He still held a certain amount of influence within the Imperial Army.
And since his Beastification Value had quickly dropped back to 89, he was only required to spend a full 24 hours in a monitoring room.
The reason he had returned so late tonight was because he'd just completed his twenty-four hours in the monitoring room and was released after being confirmed as stable.
Su Yan lowered his hand and looked at the table full of nutrient solutions. In the end, he only picked up a pink bottle, not knowing what flavor it was.
He had taken it, as if guided by some strange impulse, simply because it was pink.
But after taking it, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
In the end, the pink nutrient solution still found its way into his pocket.
He had Xiaoyi put the rest of the nutrient solutions away.
Su Yan looked up at one of the rooms in the middle of the second floor. That was his Female Master's room.
He once again recalled the young woman's pale face and terrified expression.
'My Female Master... she was disgusted by my identity as a Snake Beastman from the very beginning.'
'Didn't I know that already?'
Su Yan's thin eyelids were half-lowered, his pair of red eyes dark and unreadable.
Jiang Zheyu had a nightmare.
She dreamed that a large black python was coiled around her calves and waist. From behind, it licked her neck with its cold, forked tongue, then opened its mouth, its sharp fangs piercing her skin.
"Ah!"
Jiang Zheyu startled awake, her hands flying to her neck.
'Thank goodness, thank goodness. There's nothing there.'
When she woke up, she found her back was sticky and damp. A touch confirmed she was covered in a cold sweat, and the bangs on her forehead were plastered crookedly to her smooth, full brow.
She ended up taking a shower first thing in the morning.
She told Xiaoyi to prepare the nutritious meal it had recommended last time. The other day, Xiaoyi had noticed her looking unwell after eating the beauty-enhancing meal favored by the body's original owner, so it had suggested a nutritious meal popular among many females. Today, Jiang Zheyu wanted to give it a try.
However, she didn't have high hopes, so she only asked Xiaoyi to prepare a very small portion.
After all, if it didn't taste good, it would probably be a waste, just like yesterday.
She assumed Su Yan would be heading out early today as well, so she went downstairs wearing only a pink silk slip dress that barely reached the tops of her thighs. She wasn't wearing anything underneath and had just slipped on a pair of bunny slippers.
Jiang Zheyu ambled downstairs slowly, a matcha bread she had redeemed yesterday dangling from her mouth. In her hand, she held a half-empty small bottle of milk with a straw in it.
She completely failed to notice Su Yan sitting at the dining table.
She leisurely walked down the last few steps.
Jiang Zheyu's gaze slowly swept across the hall, and she was caught completely off guard when her eyes met a pair of red ones.
She was still nibbling on the bread, her cheeks puffing in and out like a little hamster lost in its delicious treat.
Jiang Zheyu's chewing slowed from its normal pace until it stopped completely.
"Oh, good morning." Jiang Zheyu hadn't expected to run into Su Yan in the hall.
She offered an awkward greeting.
Although the original owner had known him for a few months, Jiang Zheyu had only known him for less than two days. So, to her, Su Yan was still practically a stranger.
Su Yan glanced at her for just a moment before quickly looking away. "Morning."
Jiang Zheyu suddenly felt a cool breeze pass between her legs and under her clothes, and she also found Su Yan's reaction a bit strange.
Suddenly, she realized what was wrong. Her cheeks flushed crimson in an instant. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest and scurried back up the stairs to her room.
'Oh god! Social suicide!'
'This body is similar to my own when I was a teenager—beautifully and gracefully curved, not too voluptuous, but not flat either.'
'So there's still something to see.'
'So, with nothing on top, and the slip dress being so clingy...'
'The outline of my nipples, and their rosy color... '
Jiang Zheyu buried her head in her pillow, feeling like she wanted to die of shame and indignation.
'I'm always this casual when I'm relaxing at home.'
'I really thought Su Yan wouldn't be here, but who knew!'
She felt like she could never face Su Yan again.
Down in the hall, Su Yan sat with perfect posture, his back ramrod straight. With elegant and meticulous movements, he ate a breakfast he had no appetite for.
Beneath his messy red hair, his red eyes were calm on the surface, but a strange impulse flickered within them.
'Fair, slender calves... breasts that were just a handful...'
'I had only wanted to observe my Female Master, who had started acting unusually since yesterday, but I never expected...'
'And... my Female Master can actually get shy?'
Su Yan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were completely placid.
Jiang Zheyu didn't know how long she'd been holed up in her room, wallowing.
Half an hour ago, Su Yan had sent her a message:
Female Master, I've finished breakfast and have gone out.
Su Yan didn't mention anything about the incident and was even kind enough to let Jiang Zheyu know he had left.
Jiang Zheyu had only replied with a single word: "Okay."
The two of them had a tacit understanding not to mention the incident.
She dawdled in her room for another half hour, and only after being certain that Su Yan was really gone did she finally get up, dress properly, and go downstairs again.
At the dining table, Jiang Zheyu tasted the nutritious meal said to be a favorite among interstellar females.
"Host, today's purification task is 5 points again," the system's voice rang in her ear. "Yesterday's task was completed. In addition to the 6 Beastification Value points you purified being converted into 6 points, you've received a 5-point bonus for completing the task. You now have a total of 11 points."
Jiang Zheyu didn't hear the rest of what the system said. The moment she heard its first sentence, the nutritious meal, which hadn't been very tasty to begin with, seemed to become even more unappetizing.