"CP 1765, September 20. 69 days have passed since landing. Local time: AD 2016, October 25."

  "After rigorous time unit measurements, I can finally correct the date discrepancy. This place called 'Earth' has day lengths approximately 1.143 times those of Lierus. A bit more than I anticipated, but not a major issue — I've even grown accustomed to it."

  "Collected data confirms that no lifeforms on this planet have evolved air sacs for flight. Birds clearly exist and thrive here, suggesting other organisms have replaced air-sac-dependent species as their primary food source."

  "The absence of air-sac creatures stems from a simple reason: the lack of high-altitude plankton. Perhaps this branch simply never emerged during evolution. Beyond trace amounts of pollen and bacteria, the upper atmosphere here is nearly void of all manner of beings. I suspect it relates to the climate. Air-sac creatures, hindered by difficulty in vertical movement and lacking the stealth to ambush ground targets, naturally lost their necessity for existence. While birds lost air-sac creatures as a food source, their ability to fly alone was enough to secure their place in the ecosystem."

  "Non-flying birds are the exception. Though they do exist here in small numbers. We can all just blame the niche gaps."

  "Frankly, the sky without high-altitude phytoplankton actually looks more beautiful. It's almost pure blue and white, far superior to the muddled greenish hues. Their high-altitude fighters implicitly gain significant advantages from this, though they likely remain blissfully unaware."

  "On the other hand, progress on the paper has been painfully slow. Eight full days, yet barely any real advancement. Language barriers are always such a struggle... Regardless, the translation is finally complete. Thoroughly checked for absolute lexical accuracy. As for the citations, it seems we'll just have to take it one step at a time and await the journal's revision requests. Min's knowledge of this discipline is frankly inadequate, but luckily he has a friend who knows a bit about astronomy."

  "Worth mentioning: the natural meat here has excellent texture. The muscle fibres offer a much more satisfying bite than factory-farmed alternatives, and it's relatively affordable. The taste, however, remains the same. Until someone figures out how to eliminate that odd flavour, I wouldn't recommend any tuefue to try it…"

  ***

  Min is researching potential journals. Which immediately plunges him into decision paralysis.

  By their standards, the journal has to possess a certain level of reputation without being overly prominent. It needs to align with the paper's subject matter and fit the criteria of being relatively unknown locally but highly regarded overseas. While these conditions might sound demanding, the reality is that the sheer number of scientific journals available — dozens to choose from — left Min dizzy with indecision.

  Xi P is keeping his cool as he considers the many possible publishing options. In truth, he has encountered such situations countless times before. The situation with the scientific journals on Lierus is even more overwhelming, with similar criteria potentially yielding over a hundred options. The competition within this industry and the sheer number of opportunists operating within it is a classic counterintuitive phenomenon. After all, most people are only familiar with one or two well-known publications...

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  With no better option available, Min closes his eyes and starts scrolling up and down the scroll wheel, attempting to select a journal at random.

  Luck is on his side — the first random pick yields a viable option. After briefly reviewing the details, he wastes no time. He quickly reformats his draft email, selects the journal's address as the recipient, and after double-checking the content, clicks “Send”.

  This doesn't calm him. In fact, quite the opposite happens: Min begins to tremble with a mix of nervousness and eager anticipation. He has submitted papers before, but today marks his first submission of genuinely groundbreaking work. What's more, he has written it with the help of an alien! The very thought is thrilling!

  "You look very nervous." Xi P remarks.

  "Of course I am! Don't you feel excited and nervous too? I bet you're even more excited than I am — you are an alien, after all!"

  Seeing Min trembling all over, Xi P beside him can't help but sigh. Then —

  He reaches out and places a hand on Min's head, patting it gently. A signal for him to calm down.

  In terms of making Min stop trembling, this action achieves its goal perfectly. Min jumps back as if he has been electrocuted and quickly brushes off Xi P's hand. He turns to stare at Xi P, looking shocked and disbelieving. He wants to say something, but he's not sure what.

  Maintaining an emotionless expression, Xi P meets Min's gaze and asks: "Do you know what the scientific explanation is for the act of petting someone's head?"

  "Um, no, I'd like to hear it?"

  "...Based on difference in reactions between the experiment and control groups, it proves that stroking another creature's head carries a meaning of show. It's a act of, unawaredly showing superiority, a way of looking down on their intelligence and brain capacity. That's where the satisfaction comes from."

  "I know I look a lot like a fox, and I get why you'd want to pet a fox's head. But please don't do it again. I genuinely dislike having my head petted. In many ways, it's an insult to my dignity, both as to my brain capacity!"

  After staring at Min for an extended period — long enough to make him feel slightly uneasy — Xi P suddenly unleashes this torrent of words, bitterly denouncing Min's past head-petting habits.

  The grammar is a bit off, and there are a few parts he can't quite make out. But he gets the gist. Min is speechless. Could petting someone's head really carry such connotations there? Well, aliens are aliens...

  Min sighs softly and decides that an explanation is in order: "Xi P, it's not as complicated as you think."

  "We're both aliens to each other. Some of our thoughts are completely different to what you imagine."

  "The reason I touched your head — the examples you gave are probably part of it. But the main reason is simply that it feels incredibly good."

  "You might not notice it yourself, but your fur, especially the soft down on your head, is the most comfortable I've ever touched. I find it genuinely hard to resist the urge to stroke your head. I'll try to cut back on it in future."

  To Min's slight surprise, after hearing his explanation, Xi P seems... shy? Despite not having a human face and having sunglasses lenses over his eyes, Min can still sense it.

  After a few more seconds of staring at each other, Xi P moves. Completely unexpectedly, he suddenly thrusts his hand down hard onto Min's head and begins kneading it vigorously. The force is so strong it nearly knocks Min to the ground. Before Min can react, Xi P turns and starts furiously cursing at the air in his alien language, which Min cannot understand at all.

  Min instantly realises that he should have phrased his earlier words more delicately. Putting himself in Xi P's shoes, he is overwhelmed by revulsion. It's no wonder Xi P reacted so violently. From a human perspective, at least, saying that someone feels pleasant to the touch — especially when that someone is male — is utterly disgusting...