"Hey, handsome—don't be so cold."
"Yeah, yeah. Our boss is in the mood for once. Come have a little fun with us. We won't do anything to you."
So annoying—these lowlifes.
Chen Mo had no interest in entertaining two trashy women who walked up and started openly appraising his body like they owned him.
He was just about to turn around and put a fist into each of them when he caught sight of a familiar gray figure not far away.
Texas?
His eyes brightened immediately.
Well—this just got interesting.
He spun back with a cheerful grin and said to the two hooligans, perfectly innocent:
"Sorry. I'm here with my girlfriend today."
"Girlfriend?"
A Feline woman instantly bristled. "Then where is she? What kind of woman leaves her man standing alone like this?"
Chen Mo tipped his chin toward the bar.
"There."
And before either of them could react, he trotted over to Texas, slipped in close, and clung to her stiffened arm like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"See? That's my girlfriend. So give up on whatever filthy ideas you had."
Only then did Chen Mo notice how rigid Texas had become.
Instead of letting go, he tightened his hold and leaned in to her ear, voice lowered.
"Help me out, Texas. I'll buy you a drink after."
The sudden warmth pressed against her side made Texas's body jolt. Even the fur on her tail practically exploded on end.
This man had absolutely no sense of restraint.
Texas knew perfectly well Chen Mo could have dealt with those two by himself without breaking a sweat. Still, she didn't ask questions. She simply lifted her eyes, cold and flat, and looked at the two women who had followed over.
"Get lost."
"The hell did you just say—"
The Feline woman, already irritated by the cool, superior-looking Lupo, surged forward with a raised fist.
Her companion grabbed her arm in panic.
"Don't! Look at what she's wearing!"
What she's wearing…?
The Feline's gaze finally landed on the uniform.
Penguin Logistics.
Her fist lowered at once, but she still shot Chen Mo a resentful glance.
A rare, top-tier catch—and he was already "taken."
Tch. What a waste.
The two women stomped off in a foul mood.
Chen Mo finally released Texas's arm and sat down beside her, bright and pleased.
"Thanks, Texas."
"Why?" Texas asked, tone flat.
Chen Mo blinked, then sat with exaggerated confusion.
"Why what? Why I'm here? Or why I used you for fun?"
Texas turned away and took another drink, clearly uninterested in continuing.
But Chen Mo had never been the type to let a conversation die peacefully.
He reached out, ignoring any notion of boundaries, and gave her shoulder a heavy pat—then scooted closer, grinning.
"Don't overthink it. I'm not some shady guy. A coworker asked me to check around here for contraband."
"I'm the only one on vacation lately anyway. Figured I'd take a look. Nothing better to do."
Texas's expression didn't change. She didn't flinch away, either—just stared ahead as if Chen Mo didn't exist.
"You don't need to explain anything to me. I'm not Exusiai. I'm not… anyone to you."
Chen Mo laughed, light and teasing.
"Funny. You're the one who asked 'why' first. That sounded like jealousy."
Before Texas could respond, Chen Mo calmly took the bottle from her hand—completely unbothered by the faint glimmer of moisture she'd left on the glass—and drank like it was his.
He swallowed hard, then exhaled.
"Ah—been a while since I had Emperor's stash. Next time, take me to your bar again, yeah?"
Texas glanced at his lips—wet from wine, catching the light in a way that was annoyingly… vivid—then immediately turned her head away.
"Another time."
"What a shame."
Chen Mo smacked his lips, then noticed the crate of wine by Texas's feet.
"You selling these? Sell me a few bottles."
"…Fine."
Texas leaned down to take a few out for him.
And in that moment, she saw it clearly—Chen Mo's tail, behind him, swinging idly. Smooth, glossy, almost ostentatiously well-kept.
So it really was from that tail…
Almost unconsciously, Texas touched the scale hidden in her pocket, then her eyes drifted back to Chen Mo's tail again.
What would it feel like… to touch it?
"What are you staring at, Texas?"
Chen Mo had been waiting for her to stand back up. When she didn't, he turned—and caught her gaze fixed on his tail.
So she's curious about it.
Fair. Who wouldn't be, with a tail this impressive?
Chen Mo scratched one of his horns, then gathered his tail into his arms and—without hesitation—set it down across Texas's lap.
"Here. If you want to touch it, just touch it. But don't go too long—my tail's pretty sensitive."
The sudden cold weight across her thighs made Texas lock up again.
But only for a second.
If he was acting this casual, then she didn't need to be stiff about it.
She placed a hand on the tail carefully.
Her palm met something cool, sleek, and strangely pleasant—smooth in a way that didn't match the power implied by a Draco's body. She even felt a faint tremor from Chen Mo beside her.
But he still wore that infuriating "I don't care at all" expression, so Texas tested the boundary.
She pinched the very tip.
Chen Mo's tail snapped like a whip.
"Enough—enough! If you keep doing that, I'm going to start feeling things."
He yanked his tail back instantly, hugging it to himself as if it had been injured. His handsome face flushed, just slightly, with a rare and undeniable loss.
After all his shamelessness, this was the first time he'd been the one put on the back foot.
Lesson learned.
Still a little rattled, Chen Mo stopped acting so bold—but his pride couldn't handle leaving it there. He jabbed a finger toward Texas's own fluffy tail.
"If you touched mine, I get to touch yours. That's fair!"
This man… did he not know that asking to touch a woman's tail was basically a subtle form of courtship?
But Texas took one look at Chen Mo's eager expression and understood something immediately.
The same man who could casually lay his tail across her lap truly didn't understand the implications.
Either Draco customs were different from other tailed races… or Chen Mo was simply clueless in an entirely new way.
While Texas was still thinking, Chen Mo moved with Draco speed. In the blink of an eye, he had her tail gathered in both hands like a treasured prize.
"What the—Lupo tails feel this good? Or is it just that you groom yours as well as I groom mine?"
"…It's just routine care."
Texas tried to flick her tail free, but Chen Mo's grip was firm. After a second attempt failed, she stopped fighting and let him do it.
Her soft, well-kept tail was being handled like a toy, brushed and smoothed with obvious fascination.
And despite herself, an absurd thought surfaced in Texas's mind—
So that ridiculous stunt Exusiai did—strapping a fake Vouivre tail on herself—might actually have had a point after all…?
....
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