"Ah!"
Yu Lan shrieked in terror.
Panicked, she stumbled backward and fell to her knees.
Her small face crumpled, her pretty, light brows furrowed slightly. Her long, curled lashes trembled ceaselessly, like the wings of a butterfly soaked in the rain.
She was utterly terrified.
Pitiable, yet adorable.
Witnessing this, the Silver Wolf felt the predatory urge in its heart burn with an ever-fiercer desire, so much so that even the tips of its fangs began to itch.
'I want to bite her so badly!'
In front of everyone, the Silver Wolf once again stuck out its tongue and licked Yu Lan's face.
Its massive wolf head, like a dog seeking affection, lowered and nuzzled around Yu Lan's cheeks and neck. After scenting her completely, it buried its head into the crook of her neck.
Yu Lan was scared to death.
She trembled uncontrollably.
Before her were the Silver Giant Wolf's powerful, sturdy thighs, and she could hear its hot, heavy breathing in her ear.
Worst of all, the giant wolf's head was now resting on her shoulder.
Yu Lan felt her delicate little shoulders could not possibly bear such weight. She kept trying to shrink back, but after the Silver Wolf swatted her with a paw in displeasure, she instantly froze, not daring to move a muscle.
Even though she was frightened beyond belief, Yu Lan still shakily reached out her hands.
She kept the guard's recent instructions firmly in mind: soothe Su Xingye's emotions, then inject the soothing agent into the Silver Wolf's neck.
Extending her slender hands, she initiated an embrace, wrapping her arms around the Silver Wolf's neck.
All the while, the Silver Wolf's eerie green, emotionless beast eyes stared intently at Yu Lan.
It scared her so much her heart pounded and her face paled, yet she had to coax herself to get close to the Silver Wolf:
"Please don't bite me, okay?"
"Once you get the soothing agent, you'll be all better."
"Be a good boy, alright?"
She sounded just like she was coaxing a small child.
A flash of disdain crossed the Silver Wolf's eerie green eyes, but its tail wagged joyfully behind it.
It deliberately opened its mouth at Yu Lan, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth.
Then, just as Yu Lan grew fearful, it stuck out its tongue again and gave the pretty girl's face a placating lick.
Its behavior was no different from that of a childish little boy in kindergarten.
The guards standing outside the iron cage could hardly bear to watch.
'Is this still our handsome, valiant, aloof, and stern Genius Lieutenant General?'
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Yu Lan mustered her courage, aimed the tip of the soothing agent at the Silver Wolf's neck, and injected it. The dark blue fluid was slowly pushed into the Silver Wolf's body.
In less than half a minute, the entire dose of the soothing agent had been administered.
Yu Lan withdrew her hand, looking expectantly at the Silver Wolf before her.
She waited for it to change back into its familiar human form.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, the Silver Wolf seemed to have treated the whole ordeal as a game with Yu Lan. Now that Yu Lan was done playing, it was its turn.
The Silver Wolf shook its body, its silver-white fur rippling in the air, and took two steps back.
Then, like a feline, it bounded forward on its powerful front limbs and pounced straight at Yu Lan.
Its hot red tongue licked her face, its big head nudging and bumping against her. When Yu Lan reached out to stroke its head, the wolf's delight was visible to the naked eye.
Because she had successfully injected the soothing agent, Yu Lan mistakenly believed the Silver Wolf had regained its senses. She no longer worried about having her head bitten off by a frenzied beast.
Faced with the fluffy Silver Wolf now throwing itself into her arms, she naturally accepted it with a joyful smile, her eyes curving into crescents.
Goodness knows how much she loved fluffy things.
She reached out her small hands to rub the Silver Wolf's head and pinch its ears.
"Wow! Your fur is so soft!"
"You're so well-behaved! You just let me pinch your ears."
"Ahahaha, no more licking! Don't lick my face, and don't lick my hands..."
Yu Lan hugged the Silver Wolf, periodically dodging its affectionate advances.
She didn't forget to turn her head and ask Huo Zhanting, who was outside the cage, with an eager gaze.
"When will Su Xingye turn back into a human?"
"Do we have to wait a little longer?"
'The human version of Su Xingye probably won't let me cuddle him like this.'
Huo Zhanting didn't answer.
His face was expressionless, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.
In reality, a storm was raging in Huo Zhanting's heart.
Normally, as soon as a soothing agent is injected into a male beast, it takes effect instantly, causing them to revert to their human form.
But Su Xingye was still in his beast form.
The only possibility was that the soothing agent had failed.
'Then why did the Silver Wolf's frenzy stop?'
Huo Zhanting's gaze shifted to Yu Lan, who was now inside the cage, playing head-to-head with the Silver Wolf. A strange light flickered in his golden eyes.
The next second, the Silver Wolf, which had been rolling around in front of Yu Lan and making the pretty girl's eyes curve with laughter, suddenly trembled. Its body slowly shrank, transforming into a handsome, sharp-featured young man.
It was, of course, Su Xingye.
The man now lay on the ground with his eyes closed. He had a smooth forehead, sword-like brows, a high-bridged nose, and pale red, thin lips pressed tightly together.
Compared to Huo Zhanting's imposing, severe, and sharp aura, his was much gentler.
Yu Lan breathed a sigh of relief. After a quick glance at Su Xingye's face, she scrambled to her feet and darted out of the iron cage.
She ran up to Huo Zhanting, fiddling with her fingers as she looked up at the man.
"He's like this now... does that mean he's okay?"
"When will he wake up?"
Huo Zhanting's gaze swept past Yu Lan. His golden eyes, with their excellent vision, noticed the fingertips of the man in the cage twitching slightly.
He snorted coldly in his mind.
'As an SSS-level male beast, he actually acted cute, wagged his tail, and begged for affection from a female. Now that he's awake, he's naturally too embarrassed to face her.'
'Not to mention, this was an arranged marriage they had been resisting all along.'
"He's fine. He'll wake up soon."
Huo Zhanting didn't expose Su Xingye, allowing his subordinate to save a little face.
"That's good, that's good."
Yu Lan patted her chest in relief.
'As long as Su Xingye is okay.'
'From now on, as long as I don't court death and rely on my current status as a princess, I should be able to live a good life in this world. I definitely won't end up like the original owner of this body.'
Just then, the villa's butler came running over in a hurry.
"This is bad, this is bad!"
"Princess Louisa is here with a large group of people and reporters from the Interstellar Daily!"
"They're blocking the entrance right now! Princess, you must go and see!"
"What? What is Louisa doing here?"
Yu Lan was completely bewildered.
'And she brought the media? What big news could I possibly be involved in?'
Sigh.
The original owner of this body had a tragic life. She was supposed to be the Queen's only daughter and the next heir to the throne.
But she got lost at the age of five due to a Royal Family conspiracy. Queen Belina then lost her ability to have children, so she adopted Louisa, the daughter of her twin sister, Marquis Yisha, and named her a princess.
When the original owner was found, however, she had lost her Healing Power. Deemed a useless female, she only retained the title of Princess and was completely cut off from the line of succession.
In the end of the original story, Louisa lived up to expectations and became the new Queen.
Yu Lan had just reached the entrance when the villa's main doors were smashed open from the outside.
Louisa's voice came from outside. "Lanlan, I simply can't bear to watch Su Xingye, a hero of the Empire who has shed blood in battle, be reduced to a beast because of your selfishness."
"Although a female cannot soothe another's male beast, you have no Healing Power, so you can't bond with Major General Su."
"I promise, I will only soothe him periodically in the future. Nominally, he will still be your male beast."
"I won't snatch your male beast from you!"
A female who couldn't soothe her own male beast.
Having another female step in to help was nothing short of blatant humiliation.
Yu Lan clenched her fists.