I might have… died a social death.
If I already knew this man wasn't the type I could "handle," why did I still throw myself at him like a moth to a flame?
"Are you okay, Swire?" Chen Mo asked.
Under the glow of the setting sun, the two of them walked side by side. Chen Mo glanced at the blonde Feline woman beside him, who looked utterly defeated, and after a moment's thought, added:
"Did I go too far earlier?"
Then he casually raised his gleaming, beautiful scaled tail, the dusk lighting it up like polished metal.
"If you want, you can come to my place tonight. I'll let you 'get even'—you can touch mine back."
Swire let out a long sigh, shoulders slumped, face full of lifeless despair.
"If you'd just kiss me once, I'll forgive you."
"You wish," Chen Mo shot back. "Quit dreaming. Stop being picky—just take the tail and be satisfied."
He practically shoved his tail into her hands.
Swire fell silent for a moment. Then, steeling herself, she pinched the very tip of his tail—hard.
"Hey! Not that hard!" Chen Mo hissed. "If you keep that up, I'm worried I'll lose control and send you flying!"
That sounded terrifying. She had no desire whatsoever to experience a Draco's full-strength strike.
With that thought, Swire turned her head, about to say something—
Only for her words to die in her throat when that handsome face, faintly flushed, reflected in her eyes.
Fine.
Maybe she really was still willing to be that moth.
Swire turned away quickly, flustered, releasing his tail as if it had burned her.
"Anyway, I—uh—I've got something to do, so I'm heading off! Bye!"
She said it in a rush, then bolted off into the distance so fast it was almost comical. Chen Mo stared after her, baffled.
"So you're just not going to let me walk you home?"
His tail remained suspended in the same position it had been in while she was touching it—stiff, unmoving—until Swire's figure fully disappeared. Only then did he flick it a couple of times and scratch his cheek.
"That's it? She got shy?" he muttered. "Yeah… I really can't tease her like that anymore. If I actually play with fire and it backfires, that won't be fun at all."
Then Chen Mo turned his head toward a street corner where a conspicuous glow was peeking out, and called out loudly:
"You coming out or not? If you don't, I'm going home."
"Don't, don't, don't! I'm coming out right now, Chen Mo!"
Exusiai emerged, scratching the back of her head with an awkward grin—halo blazing above her—dragging a cold-faced Texas along with her.
The combination made Chen Mo raise an eyebrow in surprise.
Exusiai didn't need explaining. He'd noticed her ages ago; he just hadn't called her out to spare her pride.
But Texas?
That was strange.
Was the "ice-cold" one still not over it—did she really want another taste, and now she was planning to do it right in front of Exusiai?
So the wolf had that kind of hobby. You really couldn't judge a person by appearances.
While Chen Mo was still thinking, Exusiai zipped right up in front of him, beaming.
"Chen Mo! How was your date with Officer Swire today?"
Even Texas's wolf ears lifted slightly, attentive.
Two people with questionable intentions. Both staring at him. Chen Mo blinked, then answered with deliberate ease.
"Great. Swire's polite, straightforward, and generous. I might actually consider her as a partner."
"Huh?!" Exusiai panicked instantly. "Chen Mo, don't you want to think about it a little more?!"
No!
She'd finally gotten Talulah's approval—was she really going to become the loser here?
Exusiai turned and shot Texas a frantic look.
Wasn't Swire supposed to be completely flustered and helpless under Chen Mo's "control"? Why did it sound like her idol was about to commit himself?
Texas, however, didn't respond to Exusiai at all. Under Chen Mo's gaze, she looked uncomfortably rigid.
The normally aloof wolf couldn't even bring herself to meet his eyes—because every time she looked at him, her gaze drifted straight to his lips.
Her sharp teeth ground together unconsciously, and in the midst of her heat, she felt an overwhelming urge to bite.
Chen Mo, not knowing what was going through Texas's head, only felt a creeping sense of unease from her stare. He took a subtle step away from her and spoke warily:
"Why are you staring at me like that, Texas? Are you planning to bully me again?"
"Bully?"
Exusiai froze, then whipped around to Texas, eyes wide.
"Texas, you bullied Chen Mo? When?!"
But how could Texas possibly bully Chen Mo? He was a Draco—who on this land could bully a Draco?
Exusiai's mind turned into a knot, completely unable to process how Texas could have pulled that off.
Seeing Exusiai's baffled face, Chen Mo instantly understood.
Oh.
So she still didn't know.
He turned his head back toward Texas, curiosity rising.
"Texas, you still haven't told—"
"Come with me."
Texas cut him off mid-sentence.
Without waiting, she grabbed Chen Mo and strode quickly into a dim alleyway. As she pulled him away, she tossed a short line over her shoulder to Exusiai:
"I have a grievance to settle with him. Exusiai, wait here for a moment."
And just like that, the tall wolf disappeared into the shadows with Chen Mo, leaving Exusiai standing there, full of question marks.
"A grievance?" she muttered. "Is this why Texas followed me today?"
But it didn't feel like that. Not at all…
For some reason, as she watched their backs vanish, Exusiai felt a heavy tightness in her chest—stuffier and more uncomfortable than she'd felt even when she first saw Chen Mo with Swire.
She shook her head hard, forcing away the negativity, and slapped her cheeks.
"Don't overthink it, Exusiai. Don't overthink it."
"Texas probably had a conflict with Chen Mo before, accidentally hurt him, and now she wants to sort it out."
"Yeah. That has to be it. That ice-cold wolf only knows one way to interact with the opposite sex—fighting."
She nodded firmly as if to convince herself, but her pounding heart betrayed how unsettled she really was.
Inside the dark, quiet alley—
Thud.
Texas slammed Chen Mo against the wall in a forceful pin, her body blocking his escape. Meeting his curious look, she kept her face cold and spoke slowly:
"Please don't tell anyone about what happened that night, Chen Mo. I'm begging you. It was a mistake—my mistake. Exusiai shouldn't have to suffer a pain she doesn't deserve."
Chen Mo inhaled the shampoo scent that drifted from her at close range, and instead of being alarmed, looked oddly entertained, imagination clearly running wild.
"Hm… This is starting to feel like one of those melodramatic romance plots," he said. "So Exusiai's the unsuspecting 'wronged party' who knows nothing?"
He mused for another beat, then—surprisingly—agreed with an easy nod.
"Fine. But you need to promise you won't pounce on me like before. The way you're looking at me right now, it's like you want to eat me alive."
Texas's tail had been swaying happily behind her—until it stopped dead.
Silence.
Then, at last, she answered.
"…Even if I tried to force you, you'd knock me flat in an instant."
"That's true," Chen Mo said with a grin.
He lightly pushed Texas off him, stretched lazily, and rolled his shoulders as if nothing had happened.
"Since you brought this up, don't forget what I said before—if I ever need your help, you show up. On call. Got it?"
Texas watched his Draco tail swing back and forth, and her hands clenched reflexively in midair. The heat in her body surged again, spreading like wildfire—
But she suppressed it, biting it down until her voice came out steady.
"I haven't forgotten."
Now she just needed to take Exusiai back to the dorm.
And she needed to… relieve herself as soon as possible.
....
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