Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
I asked the butler where she had gone.
It evaded.
“Where? Let me think.”
“First, we can rule out home.”
What?
Come on.
I hadn’t transformed before.
That didn’t mean I hadn’t developed a brain.
Ô Ca became a boy with brown curls and smiling eyes.
His family lived near Lai Ân.
One day, walking home together, he lowered his voice.
“I’m changing courses next year.”
“To the Mecha Academy.”
Excitement filled his voice.
“The new instructor is the fleet’s youngest commander.”
“A silver wolf!”
“Sounds amazing already!”
Mecha?
I knew nothing about that.
I could only agree.
“Good.”
“Work hard there.”
“I can be your healer.”
He insisted on a pinky promise.
“Agreed!”
“Healers are rare.”
“I finally have my own!”
Someone coughed violently.
We turned.
The driver stood nearby, coughing theatrically.
“Miss Tiểu Ngâm!”
He glared at Ô Ca.
“I’m here to collect you.”
On the way, he asked indirectly:
“Was that your friend?”
“My deskmate. He’s transferring to mecha next year.”
He scoffed.
“The requirements are high. When our master was…”
He stopped.
I pressed curiously.
“What about Lai Ân?”
“I don’t even know her job.”
He looked skyward.
A long silence.
“Well… in spare time, the master teaches people to fly aircraft. Technical guidance…”
I understood immediately.
That evening, filling in household information, I carefully entered my guardian’s occupation:
Aircraft driving instructor.
Satisfied, I went to bed.
At midnight, a stomachache woke me.
Lai Ân’s light was still on.
I tiptoed to the door.
She sat with her back to me, gripping paper hard enough to tear it.
I was about to call when she laughed coldly.
A cool male voice came from her mouth.
“Driving instructor?”
“Who told her that?”
I froze.
Lai Ân hadn’t noticed me.
He was still in uniform, head propped on one hand, watching the screen.
The driver was diligently reporting.
“Miss Tiểu Ngâm’s deskmate is a male canine beastkin.”
“They’ve been coming home together. Talking happily.”
He gave a cold laugh.
Lazy voice, innate chill.
“Whose son?”
“The youngest Stanton boy, next door.”
“He says he’s transferring to your academy next year.”
The driver muttered:
“If only you could speak, sir.”
“She wouldn’t be lured away by a dog.”
Lai Ân laughed in anger.
He struck the terminal.
“You have the nerve to say that?”
“How many months?”
“Is finding a voice changer so difficult?”
My mind went blank.
I don’t even know how I got back to bed.
I stared at the ceiling.
No wonder he never transformed before me.
Even when he did, he hid his face.
Never spoke, making me think he couldn’t.
It wasn’t inability.
He couldn’t risk it.
One word would reveal he was male.
No wonder those broad shoulders, narrow waist, and height surpassed my stepmother’s.
He wasn’t female at all.
Heavens.
I really had acquired a father and mother in one.
Then came a sound outside.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
He entered quietly, checked whether I had kicked off the blankets, and tucked in the corners.
I stayed motionless.
Only when I thought he had left did I poke my head out and connect to the terminal.
Search:
【How to escape a wolf’s den】
At school next day, after much thought, I secretly asked Ô Ca:
“Does your family have an empty house?”
He considered.
“Yes. At the farm outside the city.”
“You want to stay?”
I opened a map, calculating the journey.
“Running away?” he asked anxiously.
“Don’t.”
“Why?”
“I tried it.”
“Dad shut the door and spanked me.”
…
Uninvited, I imagined Lai Ân punishing me.
A silver wolf in uniform.
Whip in hand.
Unbuttoning his shirt.
Skin slightly flushed with anger…
Somehow, it looked less like punishment.
More like a reward?
I shook my head violently.
Enough strange thoughts.
He was male.
Male.
Terrifying.
I had read many rumor accounts.
They said male silver wolves loved high-tech mixed sparrow stew.
Very nourishing, apparently.
For what, I didn’t know.
The brain, perhaps.
Mid-lesson, an academy official called Ô Ca out.
The new mecha instructor wanted a word.
He jumped up excitedly and whispered:
“Maybe my transfer’s approved!”
I watched enviously, then set a route on my terminal.
After school, I would inspect his country house.
He said it stood empty, with only a sparrow auntie cleaning occasionally.
I had specifically told him not to reveal my secret.
He repeatedly promised.
But when classes ended, he still hadn’t returned.
I wouldn’t wait.
Bag in hand, I slipped through the back gate.
Lai Ân’s driver waited at the front.
I couldn’t be caught.
The fewer who knew, the better.
Unnoticed, I boarded a flying taxi and gave the address.
Ten whole Alliance credits.
City buildings receded.
Hills and yellow fields replaced them.
The driver dropped me at a small house.
Warm light shone through its window.
“Anyone home?”
“Sorry to intrude.”
I eased the door open and looked around.
No sparrow auntie.
As I wondered, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded behind me.
“Home, are you?”