The next day, Li Miao woke up with a sore back and aching muscles.
She rubbed her temples, seriously suspecting that she had overused her psychic energy yesterday, which was causing today's lingering headache.
Luckily, the pain was still within tolerable limits.
She turned off her phone alarm and shook the sleeping husky awake at the foot of the bed.
The husky yawned groggily and rolled over, trying to get up.
"Careful!"
Li Miao's heart nearly stopped. She didn't even have time to grab the husky before it slid off the bed's railing.
With a loud, solid thud, the husky landed flat on its back, instantly wide awake.
"Ow ow ow!!"
It hurts!
The husky howled pathetically.
Li Miao was worried too and quickly climbed down to check on it. Thankfully, after a thorough inspection, the husky seemed perfectly normal—even its status in the "Book of Beasts" simply read "upset."
Li Miao breathed a sigh of relief, unsure whether to marvel at the husky's thick skin or lament its stupidity for falling off the bed.
"Grrrr!"
I swear, if I ever get back on this bed again, I'm a dog!
The husky growled defiantly.
Li Miao looked at the nonsensically barking husky and fell into deep thought.
Is there any possibility... that you are, in fact, already a dog?
Yet, the husky seemed completely oblivious to this truth. It even kicked the loft bed in frustration—only to immediately regret it as it limped out of the room after Li Miao.
Li Miao was genuinely worried: with intelligence like this, could this husky even evolve?
She sighed and decided to muster some confidence in herself.
Soon, the girl and her dog were ready. When they reached the dormitory entrance, Chen Bin was already waiting.
He glanced at the limping husky and shot a strange look at Li Miao.
"Did your beast get hurt?"
Li Miao hesitated for a few seconds.
She ultimately chose to spare the husky's dignity and didn't reveal that it had injured itself from kicking the bed.
"It... fell."
The husky pressed against Li Miao's leg, its fluffy tail wagging slightly.
"Let me check."
Chen Bin motioned for the husky to come over.
The husky instinctively looked at Li Miao, and only after receiving permission did it hobble toward Chen Bin.
Chen Bin gently examined the husky's lifted paw, then patiently patted its head.
"It's not a bone injury, just some swelling. I'll heal it for you. Stay still."
As soon as he finished speaking, a greenish glow emerged from his palm, transforming into vines that wrapped around the husky's paw. Within seconds, the pain was gone.
The husky set its paw down and tested it—
"Woof?"
"Woof!"
Excited, it wagged its tail wildly, suddenly acting more affectionate toward Chen Bin than its own master.
Li Miao's silence was deafening.
Though exasperated by the husky's shameless groveling, she couldn't help but recall the vines that had appeared from Chen Bin's hand.
"Sir, was that one of your beast's feedback skills?"
"Yep."
Chen Bin tilted his chin up. "Impressed?"
Li Miao was impressed.
"So... does that mean you have a healing-type beast?"
"Correct."
Chen Bin made no attempt to hide it. With a casual wave, he summoned another creature from his Beast Space.
An emerald-green summoning circle appeared beside him. A vine crept out, followed by more, until they coiled together into a green sphere.
"Meet my second beast—its name is Tengzai. Plant-type, land-based, species: Purple Immortal Vine, and it's a healing-type."
"Teng! Teng!"
The sphere waved its vine-tentacles like an octopus, its oversized head adorned with two black holes for eyes—composed entirely of coiled vines.
Its appearance was bizarre but not exactly hideous—at best, it was adorably ugly.
But what shocked Li Miao wasn't its looks—it was its attribute.
"Healing-type?"
That was an extremely rare class! Any beast with healing abilities could fetch a sky-high price.
"Yep. Tengzai is a healing-type—and also the future instructor for your beasts."
Chen Bin smirked and swiped the "green hat" off his head.
"Trust me, your beasts will love it."
"Teng! Teng!"
Tengzai excitedly waved its vines before immediately weaving another leafy hat—all in the span of a few seconds—and placing it back on Chen Bin's head.
Emerald leaves sprouted one after another until, in no time, Chen Bin was crowned with a fresh, vivid "green hat."
Li Miao couldn't help but stare.
"...Tsk."
Chen Bin: "..."
"Tengzai! How many times have I told you—no more hats!"
Furious, he yanked the leafy cap off his head.
Tengzai widened its vine-made black-hole eyes: "Teng?"
(Who, me? Innocent and defenseless.)
Chen Bin gritted his teeth in frustration, but more students had arrived. To maintain his instructor's dignity, he suppressed his temper.
After a stern warning to prevent further "green-hatting," he cleared his throat and motioned for Li Miao to return to the student group with a glare.
Li Miao shrugged and led her husky into formation.
Just as she settled in, Yao Chen—a girl standing beside her—poked her curiously.
"Mianmian, what were you talking about with the instructor just now? Why did he look so angry? Did you provoke him?"
"Nope, not at all," Li Miao denied.
"He was mad because his beast loves putting green hats on him. Had nothing to do with me."
The moment she said this, the surrounding chatter instantly hushed.
"Hiss—"
A nearby male student leaned in. "Roomie, what did you just say?! The instructor got given a green hat by his beast?!"
"Yep."
Li Miao nodded.
(Note: In Chinese slang, "wearing a green hat" means being cuckolded.)
However, the group clearly misinterpreted her meaning, as murmurs quickly spread:
"Holy crap, the instructor's into that?!"
"Monstrous!"
"Exactly!"
"No wonder he was chosen as our instructor... standards these days..."
"Man, I feel bad for his poor beast..."
"Though, thinking about it... that beast is really unattractive. How does he even... you know... with a plant-type beast?"
At that moment, another girl chimed in:
"Have you all considered..."
"That maybe the beast was the one doing it?"
The crowd's expressions all instantly soured.
Li Miao, too, grimaced as she realized the implication—
Are you telling me it wasn't the instructor?! The tentacle monster was the one taking charge?!
Once that horrifying mental image took root, Li Miao shuddered.
...Instructor Chen, I never pegged you for such a man!
Her gaze toward Chen Bin turned profoundly disturbed.
Chen Bin: "..."
You brats really think I can't hear you?!
Chen—whose reputation had just been obliterated—forced a slightly twisted smile.
"LITTLE SHITS!"
"Your easy days are over!"
"LINE UP—ATTENTION!" He roared.
"NOW, TAKE YOUR BEASTS AND RUN THREE LAPS AROUND THE BASE! FAIL TO FINISH—NO FOOD FOR ANYONE!"