After agonizing for a long while over whether to take the form of a bald beast or that of a human wearing tattered clothes, Nuo Xiao ultimately chose the latter.
He did his best to piece himself together, barely covering the important parts.
The beastfolk were quite open-minded, so this degree of exposure was nothing to them. Nuo Xiao did not think there was anything inappropriate about it.
He simply couldn’t stand the sight of himself dressed in rags.
But compared to his bald beast form, this was still more acceptable.
Of course, that “person” did not include Pei Wenye.
When Pei Wenye saw Nuo Xiao appear in front of Yunyang wearing only two scraps of cloth, his face darkened.
Yunyang, however, raised a brow and sized up the breathtaking male standing before her, whose beauty was almost impossible to classify as either masculine or feminine.
After the ash had been washed away, his skin revealed an almost translucent, cool-white tone. His short, silky hair was also silver-white, making his thick, ink-black brows and lashes stand out all the more.
He somewhat resembled the mixed-race people Yunyang had seen in her previous life. His nose was high and straight, and although his lips were a little pale, their shape was exceptionally attractive.
His eyes, in particular, were so distinctive that it was difficult to look away after seeing them just once.
Though he was dressed in clothes that looked like little more than rags, his exposed arms, waist, and legs all displayed incredibly well-defined muscles.
Yunyang suddenly understood why the first thing Nuo Xiao had done after being freed from his restraints yesterday was to ask Pei Wenye to borrow a folding mirror.
He must care a great deal about his appearance—and he certainly had the looks to justify it.
Noticing that Yunyang’s gaze remained fixed on him, Nuo Xiao began to feel a little self-conscious.
He wondered whether the beautiful female would think he looked awful dressed like this.
After all, Nuo Xiao had known Yunyang for less than a day and did not understand her yet.
But Pei Wenye knew his Mistress all too well.
“Mistress~” He tugged at Yunyang’s hand, his brows drooping. “Why have you been staring at him? Am I not handsome?”
As he spoke, he directly lifted the hem of his shirt with his other hand.
Yunyang’s attention was successfully diverted.
Without the slightest hesitation, she reached out and gave Pei Wenye’s abs a squeeze, then earnestly placated him. “You’re handsome. You’re the handsomest.”
She said that to all nine of her beastfolk husbands, anyway.
Pei Wenye knew Yunyang was only humoring him.
But if his Mistress was willing to humor him, that meant she still cared about him.
Pei Wenye was satisfied. Then, taking advantage of the situation, he pulled Yunyang into his arms so she could touch him to her heart’s content.
After that, he turned his back to Nuo Xiao, blocking Yunyang’s view, and casually rummaged through his space buckle for a piece of clothing he had never worn before. He tossed it to Nuo Xiao.
“Here, it’s yours. Hurry up and put it on. You’ll catch a chill!”
Pei Wenye practically ground the words out through clenched teeth.
If Nuo Xiao kept wrapping himself in those two scraps of cloth, there was no telling whether his Mistress’s gaze would become permanently glued to him.
He absolutely would not allow that to happen!
Holding the clothes Pei Wenye had given him, Nuo Xiao wanted to say that there was no way he would catch a chill.
The Snow Owl Tribe lived on Snowstar, after all. They could move about freely in freezing temperatures—how could he possibly get sick just because he wasn’t wearing clothes?
But after looking over the clothes in his hands, he swallowed his words and nodded decisively.
“Thanks, Brother Wenye.”
With that, Nuo Xiao returned to the travel pod to change.
Although his build differed from Pei Wenye’s, they were about the same height. Pei Wenye’s clothes were a little tight on him, but he could just barely wear them.
The outfit was truly attractive and suited Nuo Xiao’s taste, so he decided he could put up with the slight discomfort.
Ten minutes later, Nuo Xiao emerged from the travel pod in his new clothes.
Pei Wenye regretted it the moment he saw him.
He usually liked clothes that were slightly form-fitting, since they made it easier to attract his Mistress’s attention. The outfit he had just given Nuo Xiao was the same kind.
Once Nuo Xiao put it on, the white shirt underneath clung tightly to his skin, with several buttons stretched taut.
The black jacket looked fairly well-fitted, but since it was worn open, it still drew attention to his figure at a glance.
He might as well have let the man keep wearing those two scraps of cloth!
Pei Wenye ground his teeth inwardly.
Nuo Xiao, however, was extremely pleased with the outfit. He had already spent quite some time admiring himself in the travel pod.
“Brother Wenye, these clothes really suit me.”
Pei Wenye indicated that he did not wish to speak.
He lowered his eyes toward Yunyang in his arms and, sure enough, found her sneaking glances at Nuo Xiao.
Pei Wenye simply gave up resisting.
Go ahead and look. Being admired by his Mistress was that damned owl’s good fortune.
He wasn’t jealous in the slightest.
Really.
Nuo Xiao also noticed that Yunyang liked his physique. His eyes shifted, and he deliberately took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.
“Brother Wenye, I’ll go repair the starship first, then. Once it’s fixed, I’ll take you to our tribe.”
He casually draped the jacket over one arm and strode toward the place where the starship had crashed.
Without the jacket to conceal him, Nuo Xiao’s excellent physique was even more fully on display.
Yunyang was already exercising considerable restraint, but she still found it difficult to look away.
What was that saying again?
The “food” outside was always more tempting than the “food” at home.
The physiques of her nine beastfolk husbands were in no way inferior, and they came in all sorts of types. But perhaps because she saw them too often, Yunyang had grown somewhat immune to them.
She had no such immunity toward Nuo Xiao, whom she had only just met.
Pei Wenye realized that winning his Mistress’s attention back through his physique was impossible.
So he rummaged through his space buckle and took out the faux cat ears and tail that had been gathering dust for ages.
When faced with something fluffy, Yunyang truly had no resistance at all.
Only then did Pei Wenye smile in triumph. “Mistress, shall we go see whether Nuo Xiao needs any help?”
“Okay.” Yunyang nodded vigorously.
The sooner they helped Nuo Xiao repair the starship, the sooner they could leave this abandoned planet.
Whether they went to Nuo Xiao’s tribe afterward or somewhere else, it would be better than remaining on this forsaken planet, where heaven refused to answer their cries and earth refused to respond to their pleas.
After receiving her affirmative answer, Pei Wenye immediately swept Yunyang into his arms and hurried after Nuo Xiao.
Near the wreckage of the starship, Nuo Xiao was holding his jacket and sighing for the fifth time.
Although the tribe’s starship had been patched up countless times, it had never been damaged this thoroughly before.
It could still be repaired, but he had neither materials nor tools at hand, leaving him completely helpless.
As soon as Pei Wenye entered with Yunyang in his arms, he heard Nuo Xiao’s sigh.
Whether they could repair the starship determined whether they could leave the abandoned planet, so after putting Yunyang down, Pei Wenye took the initiative to ask, “Have you run into trouble?”
Nuo Xiao nodded. “My tools and materials were all destroyed in the fire.”
Pei Wenye understood.
Without tools or materials, even Fu Shiyi, who was skilled in this area, would have no way to repair this starship.
He wondered whether he had anything useful in his space buckle.
With that thought, Pei Wenye asked, “What materials do you need? And what tools?”
When Mistress had traveled to S28, she had brought back quite a few rare metals. They might come in handy.
Nuo Xiao rattled off a long list of names.
Yunyang had most of them, but there were a few she truly could not find.
However, while searching through her space buckle, she discovered several space buckles that she had permission to use but that did not belong to her.
