It is a rare occurrence for Min to stay home all day instead of going out, as he did this Sunday. This is not only because he needs to prepare the materials and methods for building the shed, but also because he has to keep an eye on Xi P to stop it from falling asleep.

  Yes, Xi P has already fallen asleep or dozed off multiple times just this morning alone. On several occasions, Xi P has even drifted off mid-listening, forcing Min to shake it awake. For an Earthling, this is practically torture — though Min isn't sure how this feels for the alien creature since he can't understand its complaints.

  The silver lining is that Xi P at least understands the purpose of this routine. It hasn't lashed out in anger or bitten Min yet, despite being constantly roused.

  For Min, this task severely disrupts his schedule as well. He now has to remain at home to ensure Xi P stays awake at all times. While he continues with the language the training and introduces Earth, Xi P's drowsy state makes it hard to imagine how much of it is actually sinking in.

  'I wonder if night shift workers suffer the same way when adjusting their schedules — probably. Maybe I should look into it. At least it'd be useful for reference.'

  Fortunately, this situation won't last long. According to the reference materials he finds, at least for humans, they usually only need help getting through the first day of schedule adjustment. Though he needs to work tomorrow and can't stay home with Xi P, by then it should be able to manage on its own.

  ***

  Time slips away swiftly. Before they know it, evening has fallen.

  Min and Xi P stare at the clock together. After enduring the entire day's ordeal, it too is counting the seconds. Based on its newly acquired understanding of timekeeping, it knows there is only about half a minute left.

  30s

  10s

  As the second hand slowly sweeps past the hour mark, Xi P — who is utterly exhausted — can finally sleep. It doesn't even move, simply collapsing onto the floor. It seems too exhausted to even find a spot. Since the entire room is carpeted, it doesn't matter where it lies down — Min wouldn't let it sleep on the bed anyway.

  'Leaving it sprawled on the living room floor all night would be too inhumane, I suppose. Even if it isn't human.'

  In the end, Min can't bring himself to be so cruel and resolves to move it onto the sofa instead. He doesn't want to wake it up again and, since it fell asleep in such an exhausted state, it should enter a deep sleep quickly... if this species even has a deep sleep phase.

  'I should move it once it's in a deep sleep. It'll be hard to wake up then. After all, it didn't even react when I blew into its ears yesterday.'

  And it seems like Min is indeed correct.

  ***

  The ringing sound wakes Min up. After washing up, he heads straight to the living room. Xi P is still lying on the sofa in much the same position. Min gives it a gentle shake and it stirs awake, opening its eyes slightly and letting out a few muffled sounds before flopping back down to sleep.

  This looks exactly like sleeping in. Unexpected... but unexpectedly adorable.

  'It sleeps lying on its stomach. That's interesting. Actually, for mammals that walk upright, sleeping on one's stomach is very strange. Reason to do with the angle between the cervical spine and the brain. But maybe Xi P has a different type of structure?... Whatever.'

  Steeling himself, Min shakes Xi P awake forcefully, points at the clock and designates a time frame, then gestures towards the door to signal his departure. Xi P is instantly startled wide awake. Even unfamiliar with Earth's timekeeping, it grasps the sheer length of the proposed period — from 9:30 AM all the way to 5 PM. It takes Min quite some time to explain that he is just going to work before Xi P reluctantly let him leave.

  'Why does this feel like I have a dog... even though it looks more like a furry.'

  ***

  "Ah, Ye Min, you're here. Bro, what happened today? You were practically late. They said if you didn't show up, they'd kick your ass." The team leader greets Min with a laugh upon his arrival at the workplace.

  "First, drop the bloody American speak. Second, I couldn't find my bike pump when I left, so it took me a while." Min replies, though his mind is filled with images of a little fox wriggling awake.

  His excuse is enough to fool the team leader — or perhaps the leader simply doesn't care. Without further questions, he gives Min a couple of instructions before returning to work, leaving him to breathe a sigh of relief.

  Just moments ago, he feared that the team leader might suspect his unusual tardiness and start asking questions. Clearly, no one in reality is that bored — it's probably just a side effect of the overly dramatic events he's recently experienced.

  The lab where Min works isn't exactly engaged in traditional scientific research. More accurately, it is a commercialised laboratory. What that means is, primarily, it provides electron microscope images and pre-processed samples to other laboratories. Min had once dreamed of making significant contributions to the global scientific community, but by now, he no longer has any aversion to commercial work.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Besides, the team leader permits everyone to use the lab for personal projects outside working hours (if anyone actually wants to spend their free time there), though naturally they have to cover the cost of any materials they use.

  Today's task, as usual, involves preparing images for several clients. Min is well versed in this routine: embedding, sectioning, staining and capturing numerous electron micrographs according to specifications. However, his focus wavers slightly today, nearly ruining a sample midway through. Leaving Xi P home alone makes Min uneasy. Although he knows the creature is unlikely to cause any trouble, images kept flashing through his mind: Xi P getting burned by the oven or shredding the sofa to pieces...

  Actually, that's his subconscious visualizing Xi P as a pet dog or fox. Clearly, Xi P is a 'person' capable of logical thought, just like humans. So he should stay rational. Instead of worrying about such silly things —

  Perhaps he should be more concerned about coming home to find police cars and helicopters surrounding his house.

  Amidst this tension, the day's work finally ends. After informing the team leader he wants to stay in the lab after hours, he is soon the only one left. Having ensured the lab is as sealed off as possible and free of surveillance, Min reaches into his pocket and pulls out two small plastic bags.

  One contains Xi P's fur collected yesterday, the other holds tissue samples scraped from its mouth while it slept that morning. The latter had been notoriously difficult to collect — for obvious reasons.

  ***

  The results are underwhelming.

  The fur itself is unremarkable. Had Min not collected it from Xi P, he would have assumed it belonged to some common, unfamiliar mammal. Broadly categorised as guard hairs and underfur, both are keratinised epidermis. Microscopically, there is nothing particularly noteworthy either. With more time, he might uncover some interesting chemical discoveries — but today that is definitely out of the question.

  As for the tissue samples, the dyes that are suitable for staining cells from creatures on Earth simply don't work. In any case, he hasn't gained any meaningful insights. If he had to say something, he would confirm that Xi P's body is composed of cells, but that would just be stating the obvious. Perhaps a sample with intact hair follicles would yield more results, although the thought of it is painful. It would probably be better to just have Xi P explain his own physiology directly.

  He glances at the clock — it is already 5 pm. He realises that he has become too absorbed in his research. Factoring in clean-up time, getting home is going to be a hassle.

  'For a dog... Nah, I should resist associating him with pets.'

  He washes the lab equipment hurriedly and stows it away as quickly as possible. Min locks the door, dashes out of the lab, hops on his bicycle and pedals homeward.

  'Hope this doesn't give Xi P the wrong idea. Being half an hour late shouldn't be too bad, right?'

  Just as Min has anticipated, he doesn't arrive home until past 5:30. As he catches sight of his house from the side of the road, he spots Xi P's head peeking out from behind the curtains, staring at him through the window.

  "Do you realise how dangerous that was... What if someone saw you?" Min scolds Xi P the moment he enters the door. Unexpectedly, Xi P shakes its head, turns and retrieves a map from nearby. It points to the house on the map, then to the city centre, making a gesture to compare the distances.

  Min is quite surprised. It's truly remarkable how quickly it learns — he didn't teach anything about maps, yet it can understand them and know where home is. Honestly, Min believes that if he was in Xi P's position, he probably wouldn't have been able to do it.

  ***

  Figuring out the emotions of the aliens on this planet is really no easy task. When speaking, the task is manageable — a calm tone means a calm mood and an intense tone means an intense mood. That part is no different from tuefue. But the moment they fall silent, it reverts to the standard scenario in much sci-fi — you have absolutely no clue what they are thinking.

  These aliens' ears — if those two lumps can even be called ears — are short and small, seemingly lacking any muscle control. Their expressions seem to rely entirely on body language and facial muscles. While this is certainly better than relying on pheromones or psychic abilities, the overly developed facial muscles still feel somewhat unsettling to him. Xi P can only guess that Min is in a mix of surprise and anger — perhaps startled by how quickly he'd deciphered the map.

  Truthfully, it isn't nearly as difficult as Min imagines. After pulling the map out from the bookshelf, Xi P quickly realises the living room window offers a clear view of the street sign. Thankfully, he can still read paper maps. After poring over the street name index on the back for a while, Xi P easily locates Min's residence. The sparse street layout then made it simple to deduce this is an undeveloped area outside the city. The lack of traffic and suburban location are excellent news for him.

  ***

  Anyway, when Min parks his bike in the tool shed and re-enters the house, he finds Xi P half-slumped on the sofa. Upon seeing him, it mumbles his name before burying its head again.

  'Is it sleeping?! Wait, no — it's reading?'

  More accurately, it is studying the illustrations in the book. After all, with only rudimentary English skills, it can't comprehend the text yet. The book it is currently examining is... well, the illustrated edition of Robinson Crusoe.

  Its full title sums up the book's plot: "The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates. Written by Himself." In some ways, the book resembles its own situation. Yet the differences are significant: Robinson spent over twenty years on that island without a single soul to communicate with, whereas here, at least Min can help it. Whether or not it understands the book Min cannot say, but its current expression seems quite absorbed.

  Some people like to dangle their legs in the air while reading, but Xi P clearly has no interest in doing so — nor, frankly, the strength. With two joints in each leg that bend in opposite directions and trousers designed for humans with only one joint in the middle, bending its legs proves quite difficult. In fact, it once nearly pulled its trousers down by accident because of this.

  'Come to think of it, why do they even have clothes? Their fur is thick and long. If it's about shame, then how did the concept of shame form in their culture?'

  Min is relieved to find that the room hasn't been too badly messed up. The sofa hasn't turned to crumbs on the floor, and most areas show no signs of disturbance at all. Even the few books that were moved from the shelf have been returned to their original spots, though a couple are upside down.

  He will need to head out again shortly, mainly to gather the items needed to build the shed. In his opinion, it isn't wise to stay home waiting for deliveries right now. The possibility of the delivery person noticing the "spaceship" aside, what if Xi P mistook the delivery person for himself and opened the door? People will not be so easily convinced that it's just a furry costume...

  'Even if they do, I wouldn't want them thinking I'm secretly harbouring a furry at home.'