Chapter 143: She likes him

Beyond raw survival tactics, no one had ever taught them these fundamental truths; when the threshold of pain overflowed, tears simply fell as a natural consequence.

Orion stared blankly at Bunny, the tip of his nose flushed red.

He had no idea how to process this torrent of emotion surging through his chest like a breaking dam; he only knew that his heart was pounding at a frantic, terrifying speed.

He felt precisely like a stray puppy that had wandered through cold, rain-slicked alleys for far too long—dragging a drenched, filthy body, desperately wagging its tail at every passerby, only for her to be the single soul who stopped, opening an umbrella to shield him from the storm.

He suddenly buried his face directly into Bunny’s lap, letting out soft, muffled sobs.

Orion swore he would never raise another pet again.

He wept for a long, long time—because he had never once allowed himself the luxury of crying so freely and unreservedly in his entire life.

More than that, Bunny was right there, holding him through it all.

It wasn’t until his eyes grew swollen and his tiny, pearly tears had thoroughly soaked the fabric of Bunny’s trousers that Orion finally tilted his head back, fixing his gaze unwaveringly upon her.

Within those ruby-red, crystal-clear eyes, beyond the raw sincerity, deep attachment, and pure innocence, lay a subtle, sticky trace of desperate yearning.

Even without him signing a single word, Bunny effortlessly read the plea in his eyes.

He wanted a hug.

Orion was the very first Sentinel Bunny had ever performed a psychological soothing session for.

His personality was also the most docile and obedient of the entire squad. His inner world was remarkably pure, yet when he slaughtered Aberrations on the battlefield, that very purity took on a chilling, macabre edge.

It was as if a child had been brought into the world with nothing more than a few fundamental survival algorithms hardwired into their brain, leaving all other cognitive facets in an intensely primitive, innocent state save for the brutal instincts of blood and violence.

Such radically contrasting traits coexisting within a single individual was a tragedy forged entirely by the era.

Orion’s thoughts were unpretentious: he liked Bunny, and he liked her scent, so he naturally wanted to draw close to her and treat her well.

As the other Sentinels had already progressed to openly holding her hand, embracing her, kissing her, and even sharing a bed, the anxiety bred by this hierarchy gap was universal among them.

Whatever the others possessed, he wanted a share of, too.

Looking down at the fragile, nearly shattering young man, Bunny ultimately relented. Letting out a soft sigh, she pulled his head against her shoulder and began soothingly raking her fingers through his messy mop of white hair.

King cobras love being stroked along their occipital scales—would petting the top of Orion’s head yield the exact same effect?

The absurd, untimely thought popped unbidden into Bunny’s head.

Yet the man’s physique was simply massive; she had to strain just to wrap her arms around him, and the weight resting against her shoulder felt heavy enough to anchor a dump truck!

How is this any different from a fully grown grizzly bear insisting on squeezing into the lap of a mother a fraction of its size?!

It wasn’t that Bunny didn’t appreciate physical affection with these Sentinels; it was simply that they were entirely too heavy! Excessively heavy!

When those dense, genuine muscles completely relaxed, they weighed down like miniature mountain ranges.

It was no exaggeration to say that whether she was sharing a bed with Liam, Xander, or Cyrus, she constantly lived in quiet terror that one of them would accidentally roll over in their sleep and crush her to death.

Especially during her intimate sessions with Liam, Bunny had frequently felt as though she were standing at death’s very doorstep.

When she woke up the next morning, she couldn’t help marveling at the infinite, untapped resilience of the female anatomy.

Orion rested his face in the crook of her neck, remaining perfectly still.

He even took the initiative to press himself a bit deeper, greedily inhaling her natural scent.

Then, closing his eyes, he surrendered entirely to the fleeting, precious luxury of being alone with her.

A clean, crisp gardenia fragrance blended with the subtle, intimate warmth of a woman’s skin. As that aroma bloomed against his skin, it transformed into a comforting, lingering caress.

From her vantage point looking down, she could clearly trace Orion’s thick, dark eyelashes, the sharp, elegant bridge of his nose, and his full, parted lips.

The inherent appeal of snake-like features lay in an effortless, unconscious allure.

Wielding such a striking, cold-toned visage yet acting with such innocent, puppy-like clumsiness—

It made a woman want to reach out and relentlessly tease and torment him.

Reaching out, she gave the man’s cheek a playful pinch. Orion blinked open his eyes, locking gazes with her wicked, beagle-like grin.

"Orion, do you like me?"

He nodded without a second’s hesitation. Liked her—super, endlessly liked her.

Cupping his face firmly between her palms, Bunny launched into a masterclass of deadpan psychological conditioning:

"If you like me, and I like you back..."

"That means people who mutually like each other ought to engage in slightly more intimate activities. For instance..."

Framed in the warm wash of daylight, everything about her—her deep, luminous eyes, her soft cheeks, and her cherry-red, moist lips—was crystal-clearly mirrored in his gaze.

Within that innocent, uncorrupted universe of his, she stood dead-center in his world’s axis—absolute, pure, and completely irreplaceable.

The moment Bunny uttered the words "I like you back," Orion’s heart violently skipped a beat.

A jolt of pure shock, breathless disbelief, and soaring joy.

Naturally, he had zero clue that Bunny’s definition of "liking" carried an entirely different connotation from his own.

He was already soaring so high on adrenaline that whatever explanation Bunny rattled off next vanished completely into white noise. His mind went entirely blank.

She said it with her own lips—she likes him.