Gu Ning didn’t know how she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, Alex was no longer by her side.

She opened her terminal with half-lidded eyes and checked the time. It was just past seven.

Gu Ning sat up, ran a hand through her messy hair, and glanced around the room. She didn’t see Alex.

’When did he get up?’

It was still early, so Gu Ning lay back down, wanting to sleep a little longer.

After a few minutes of failing to fall back asleep, she picked up the head covering from beside her pillow, put it on, and got out of bed, draping a thick blanket over herself.

Coming out of the bedroom, Gu Ning’s gaze swept across the living room.

Kloer was still on the floor, sleeping soundly. Seth sat beside him, head bowed, carefully carving something with a small knife.

There was no sign of Alex, and Jite wasn’t there either.

"Little Boss, you’re awake."

Seth heard the noise and looked up at Gu Ning.

Seeing that Alex wasn’t in the living room, Gu Ning wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and walked to the bathroom door, knocking on it.

"There’s no one inside," Seth said.

Gu Ning pressed the handle, poked her head inside, and saw that the bathroom was empty.

’That’s strange. Didn’t Alex say he was taking a half-day off today?’

Seth brushed the wood shavings off his clothes, stood up, and walked over to her. "Are you hungry, Little Boss? If you are, I’ll go get you some breakfast. Or do you want to sleep a bit more?"

Gu Ning found a pen and paper and wrote, "Where’s Alex?"

Seth took her note, read it, and said, "The Boss had to leave for an emergency."

Gu Ning wrote, "When will he be back?"

Seth replied, "I’m not sure about that. He didn’t tell me when exactly he’d be back."

Gu Ning didn’t think much of it. Alex was so busy with work, it was normal for him to be called away suddenly.

’It just means I probably won’t be able to go back today.’

Gu Ning closed the bathroom door to wash up.

Seeing that she wasn’t planning on going back to sleep, Seth said something to her through the door, then went and kicked the soundly sleeping Kloer on the floor a couple of times. "I’m going to the mess hall to get breakfast. You watch over the Little Boss."

Kloer responded with a mumble.

He had only gotten back at five in the morning and had slept for less than two hours. He was exhausted, but he still scrambled up. He looked sleepily at Gu Ning as she came out of the bathroom and glanced at his wrist. "You’re up this early?"

He was used to seeing Gu Ning sleep until at least noon. She used to be late for her shifts all the time, which reinforced his impression that she loved to sleep in.

Gu Ning walked over to him and handed him a note: "Go back to sleep."

Kloer yawned and said, "Alright then. Seth will be back soon anyway. You guys don’t have to wake me for breakfast, just save some for me."

With that, he flopped back down and fell asleep.

Within seconds, Gu Ning could hear him snoring loudly.

’He must be really exhausted.’

She didn’t disturb him. Instead, she poured a cup of hot water to warm her stomach and sat at the dining table to wait for Seth.

After waiting for almost an hour, Seth finally returned with breakfast, bringing a chill in with him.

"You must be starving, Little Boss." Seth placed the food on the table.

Gu Ning, who had been on the verge of falling asleep with her head on the table, lazily sat up straight when she saw him return.

Seth opened the insulated container and took the breakfast items out one by one.

As Gu Ning reached for the food, she inadvertently glimpsed a fresh red bloodstain on the back of Seth’s right hand. Her mind snapped to full alert.

She grabbed his wrist. Upon closer inspection, she saw there was no wound on the back of his hand; the blood was running down from his arm.

Seth pulled his hand back. "Got bit by a dog. It’s nothing."

She looked up and saw a bruise on his face and a cut on the corner of his mouth.

It was obvious he’d been in a fight.

She grabbed his injured arm and pushed up his sleeve, immediately revealing the bite mark on his forearm.

Besides a row of teeth marks, there were two deep puncture wounds. The injury looked rather serious.

But Seth must have given the wound some simple treatment, as it wasn’t bleeding much.

Gu Ning frowned, looking at Seth with a questioning gaze.

Seth pulled his sleeve back down. "Just a small scuffle with a few members of the Dog Clan. It’s no big deal."

He pushed the breakfast toward Gu Ning. "Hurry and eat, it’s going to get cold."

Gu Ning’s gaze fell on the breakfast. She noticed there was less food than usual today—only enough for her, at most.

She grabbed her pen and paper and wrote, "Have you eaten?"

Seth said, "I’ve already eaten."

Looking at his condition, Gu Ning guessed that he hadn’t.

Usually, Seth and the others would bring breakfast back to eat with her. For him to come back so late today, it must have been more than just a "small scuffle."

She knew the Dog Clan and the Wolf Clan never got along. Seth had been by himself, so he must have gotten the worst of it.

Seeing him grin at her, Gu Ning was suddenly reminded of Cook.

Cook used to be just like this, always getting hurt to protect her, yet still smiling to reassure her.

Gu Ning hopped off her chair and hurried back to the bedroom.

Ever since she got sick that one day, Alex had kept a first-aid kit in the room.

Seth watched curiously as the little Mixed Breed scurried back and forth. When he saw her bring the first-aid kit from the bedroom and place it in front of him, a warmth spread through his heart.

Gu Ning opened the first-aid kit, took out gauze, alcohol, and other supplies, then patted the chair next to her, motioning for the dumbfounded Seth to sit down.

Seth said, "It’s fine, Little Boss. It’s just a small scratch."

Gu Ning tugged hard on the hem of his shirt and gave him a push on the chest.

Even though she was wearing her head covering, Seth could tell her expression was serious.

And so, for some reason, he obediently followed her lead and sat down.

"You should eat your breakfast first, you don’t have to..."

Gu Ning picked up a steamed bun and stuffed it in his mouth.

Seth chewed on the bun, blinking as he watched Gu Ning.

Gu Ning held his wrist, rolled up his sleeve properly, and carefully disinfected the wound, applied an ointment, and then wrapped it with gauze.

Seth lowered his gaze, quietly watching Gu Ning treat his wound.

Gu Ning tied the gauze on his arm into a bow, took the bun from his mouth, and dabbed a little ointment on her finger to apply to the cut on his lip.

Seth’s expression froze, and he subconsciously slowed his breathing.

"You’re really good at bandaging wounds, Little Boss," Seth said, glancing at his securely wrapped arm.

’Cook was always getting hurt, so of course I’m good at this,’ Gu Ning thought.

Seeing how meticulous and focused she was, Seth smiled. "Little Boss, you’re really different from other Mixed Breeds. Sometimes I almost forget that’s what you are."

Gu Ning’s fingers paused.

As Seth felt Gu Ning’s finger slide across the corner of his mouth, a thought suddenly popped into his head: ’The Little Boss’s finger is pretty soft...’

The cool ointment made the corner of his mouth sting and itch, and he couldn’t resist sticking out his tongue to lick the wound.

But instead, he licked the little Mixed Breed’s slender finger.

Seth immediately retracted his tongue.

The next second, a sweet flavor bloomed on the tip of his tongue.

It was a taste that no food could ever provide.

Seth experienced an unprecedented sweetness, as if his very nerves were being steeped in the flavor.

He froze for a moment, then subconsciously stuck out his tongue to lick the corner of his mouth again, but his tongue chased after Gu Ning’s finger.

Gu Ning thought he was trying to lick off the ointment and reproachfully patted the young wolf’s cheek.

After being patted on the cheek by Gu Ning, Seth obediently pressed his lips together.

’So sweet.’

’Why is this ointment sweet?’ Seth savored the sweetness in his mouth, his eyes fixed dazedly on Gu Ning.

The sweet taste made his mouth start to water profusely.

Seth swallowed, focusing his mind on the flavor. Gradually, he pinpointed its source.

Just as Gu Ning finished applying the ointment and was about to pull her hand back, Seth grabbed her wrist.

*GULP*...

It was the sound of Seth swallowing.

Seth stared at her hand, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Gu Ning noticed that Seth’s reaction was off. Realizing she had gotten too close to him, she immediately snatched her hand back.

"Little Boss, you..."