153 Parental Pressure (20)

"Are you okay," the closest woman asked, looking up at Kyro with a worried expression, and he nodded lightly. Putting down his cup, he cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled at her.

"It went down the wrong way," he said as his gaze returned to the fox, who was starting to shake. Her fur began to stand up, and he instantly knew that she was readying herself to jump at the blue-dress girl.

This would probably be a very entertaining sight, but he put his hand over the fox's back, restraining her. "Hold still," he told her in a whisper. As fun as it would be to see her cause chaos, he didn't want to destroy mom's hard work. Her idea to invite five random women was ludicrous, but he wasn't going to embarrass her before others.

She was going to receive her comeuppance after the guests were out.

"So what do you think? Would you be interested to mate them?"

Kyro winced, barely holding back the fox whose claws dug into his leg when she couldn't move. The pain from that distracted him from thoughts that the words had birthed in his mind.

"Not yet. Thanks, but she's too young still. I've no plans to m— look for someone for her."

The blue-dress girl tried to convince him again, but he was getting tired of this conversation. There was something inexorably wrong with discussing the mating of someone he knew quite well. Even though Iris was a fox at the moment, her human form was no less real.

He quickly changed the topic, asking the woman next to him about what she did for a living. His question was a bit abrupt, but no one remarked on that and the woman seemed quite happy that he was showing interest in her. She explained that she was preparing to take over her father's company. It wasn't going to be easy, not everyone happy with a woman leading them, but she was ready for the task.

Her words flowed easily, and he made sure they never stopped. At times, he threw in some compliments, at others asked to clarify, while sometimes just agreeing in a mindless manner.

Soon, he noticed that the others were looking quite unsatisfied with the current situation, and he did his best to pay some attention to them as well. It was harder, but he really didn't want the conversation to return to the fox. Last time he really pissed her off, she put insects in his food, and he really didn't want to see what she would come up with this time.

After two hours, his patience started to run thin, but he couldn't just kick them out. They weren't his subordinates and couldn't be treated as cogs in a machine. If he acted discourteous, it wouldn't be him but his mom who would suffer a backlash from her social circles. Life was simply that unfair.

And so he sat and talked. His words were becoming fewer and his half-smiles non-existent, but no one seemed to notice. The women were already relaxed and having a good time trying to outcompete one another as if his interest in them would depend on which one of them had finished a better university or was chased by more men. One even decided to flaunt her father's connections like it was her own achievement for being born in a good family.

The hours passed like the winds in doldrums, and he was ready to off himself by the time the group decided that it was time for them to leave. He couldn't believe it for a moment, thinking they were just kidding, like they'd done twice already, and they chuckled at him, thinking he wished for them to stay longer.

"Sadly, it's already midnight, I need to get going," the one that had sat next to him said in a voice that expressed real sorrow. She seemed to be genuinely disappointed to have to leave.

The blue-dress girl also smiled at him with disappointment. "It's really late, and it's not appropriate for all of us to stay longer." Her expression soon lifted up, though. "But I'll contact you later, okay? My cousin would really love to meet you, and I would totally pick up one of the children! Your fox is so cute!"

She leaned in to look closer at Iris, and he quickly moved the fox away. "Careful!" he said to avoid looking like an idiot. "She's quite calm, but not fond of strangers. Don't try to suddenly get close to her." 'Or after you just said you'd adopt one of her children,' he silently added in his mind.

"Oh!" The blue-dress girl leaned back and beamed at him. "Thanks! I forgot they're quite reclusive. My cousin's Leo would have never even entered the room with so many unfamiliar people in it."

"Yeah…" Kyro just nodded, wishing they would leave sooner. He really needed to let go of the fox before it scratched all his hands, but he didn't dare to do so while the blue-dress girl was around. If a bloodbath occurred, he'd have even more trouble on his hands.

It took a bit of time, and he was forced to add all of the women on Messenger, but they finally left. He quickly let go of the fox, as if it was burning him.

Mom chose that moment to speak. "So what do you think, it was a lovely evening, wasn't it?"

He turned to her, with incredulity in his eyes. There were many adjectives he might choose for what had happened, but lovely wasn't one of them. Something like disastrous, never-ending, or total bore would fit better.

"Tomorrow, I'm bringing you and father back home. You've done enough."

"What? But…" Mom seemed to be stumped for words, unable to form a sentence.

Good, then she might stop her scheming for at least five minutes. He loved her, but he wasn't going to be a doll she could dress up and create a story for. He hadn't spent this much time carving his own path just to allow her to push him into the one she wanted for him.

"Good night. And if you ever bring strangers into my house again, I won't come visit for a whole half a year."

This had to be enough. He didn't want to do that, but hopefully she would finally realize what he was trying to say and stop. It wasn't rocket science he wanted her to grasp, just the fact that he wanted his own space to live out his life as he wished.

After he closed the door behind himself, he saw the fennec standing on his bed, her fur raised and her body tense before a jump. Just as he noticed that, she screeched at him and launched herself at his body.

Somehow, he barely managed to catch her, but that didn't stop her from screaming at him like the world was over. He didn't think it was that bad, but she seemed to be beyond furious. Half the words uttered by her were nothing more than growls and threats. He didn't even need her to be in human form to understand that she wasn't legible at the moment.

Some five minutes later, when she exhausted herself, he went to the computer and put her down. "What is it?"

[if] She turned back and snapped at him. [if u dare to think to find someone for me…] The periods at the end were placed slowly and deliberately as her eyes were focused on his. In them, he could see his own untimely death.

"You do know I know you're a human, right?" he asked, puzzled somewhat. Why was she threatening him over this? What kind of monster did she see him as to ever consider such a thing?

She sat down then. Without saying anything, she looked at him, her tail flicking right and left.

It instantly turned awkward, and he pushed her toward the keyboard. "Just say it."

With a glance back at him, she moved to do just that, and her words left him speechless.

[u seemed enamored by them, blued dress and office lady especially]