After dinner.

  Min finds a concise English dictionary and uses it to teach Xi some language skills. It is intended for young children, and Min can't even recall how or why it ended up on his bookshelf. However, it serves its purpose perfectly now, as the colourful illustrations make teaching common words much easier.

  Xi P shows great enthusiasm for learning and has plenty of talent. It's at just the right level: smart, but not so smart as to be scary; quick to grasp concepts, yet still within the realm of human comprehension. Within minutes, Xi P has mastered everything on the 'living room' page.

  Just as Min is about to turn to the next page, Xi P suddenly stands up and walks towards the door. Min tries to follow, but Xi P turns and gently pushes him back, shaking its head, signalling him not to come along.

  'Has it left something behind on the ship that it doesn't want me to see? There's hardly anyone around, especially at the weekend. It's unlikely anyone will pass by. Never mind, I'll leave it be.'

  Min sits quietly on the sofa for the first thirty seconds. But soon, curiosity begins to gnaw at him like a little fox. He quietly moves to the window facing the backyard, pulls the curtains aside, and peers out.

  He sees nothing. The crashed spacecraft remains unchanged. Just as he is about to check another window, Xi P emerges from behind the spacecraft, empty-handed.

  He quickly closes the curtains and sits back down on the sofa. Xi P returns shortly after, still empty-handed. However, the angle of its ears has lowered considerably, indicating it is in a good mood. Min scratches his head, trying to guess what Xi P has done: plugged the leaking battery/reactor? Grabbed a snack? Or...

  Facepalm. Min thinks of an awkward possibility: maybe it has gone to relieve itself. It doesn't look like it has a black hole reactor inside. The need to expel waste is only "human" nature.

  While this guess might not be right, it is probably best to show Xi P where the bathroom is. Min leads Xi P into the restroom and presses the flush button. It nods, seemingly understanding, showing no embarrassment or questioning. Which makes Min feel a bit awkward instead. Maybe his guess is completely wrong.

  'Speaking of which, is Xi P male or female? 'Man' or 'woman'? Do they even have genders? ...What am I thinking? I can ask it about that later. Time to get back to teaching!'

  After teaching Xi P another page, Min has an idea. He quickly flips to the appendix section. If he remembers correctly, there's an amusing section in there somewhere...

  He soon finds the page titled "Common Wildlife in Great Britain". Laughing inwardly, Min points to one of the illustrations showing a wild animal.

  It is a fox.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Xi P's eyes widen instantly. It leans in close, mouth nearly touching the page, and studies it intently. Its expression is clearly one of utter disbelief.

  But it isn't over yet. Min suppresses a mischievous grin and flips to the next page: there, boldly displayed, is a sketch of a person holding a fox in their arms and stroking it.

  Xi P's gaze darts from Min to the page, then back to Min again. This cycle repeats endlessly. For an alien with a fox-like head, the impact of this image must be profound. Who could have imagined encountering such a "fellow" on an alien planet?

  Carried away by his own joke, Min then makes a gesture he immediately regrets: he attempts to copy the pose of the person in the drawing and reaches out towards Xi P.

  On rational reflection, this isn't a good idea. Although Min thinks he's just playing a prank, he doesn't understand how an alien's sense of honour and shame works. Clearly, in its eyes, this constitutes utter humiliation.

  Before Min can fully extend his hands, Xi P reacts instantly. Shouting "Raaaaaaaaaa!", it raises its hands to push him away!

  Thankfully, its fingers aren't claws like a fox's. At least, they don't draw blood immediately. Instead, a powerful force sends him tumbling off the sofa. His head slams hard against the floor with a heavy thud.

  After a long moment, Min staggers back to his feet and glares at Xi P with palpable displeasure. Under that intense gaze, Xi P is visibly flustered. It is only after a moment that Xi P devises a suitable appeasement strategy: it sprawls down towards Min after a brief struggle in its eyes.

  This action instantly reverses the situation. Min, flushing bright red, immediately withdraws his hand and sits farther away. He absolutely doesn't intend to actually hug Xi P like a fox — that would be like, no, it would be exactly what a furry fetishist would do!

  Trying to forget the earlier incident, Min silently picks up the dictionary, flips back to the page with the colourful stickers, and motions for Xi P to go back to studying...

  ***

  Just as Min is teaching with enthusiasm, Xi P suddenly stands up. It points first at the television, then at the book, before looking at Min with a questioning gaze.

  Min doesn't immediately grasp what it is trying to convey. Could it want to watch TV for entertainment? At a time like this?

  Seeing that Min is staring blankly at him, Xi P realises that he hasn't understood. After a moment, it walks closer to the TV, points at the cables and plugs, and then gestures back to the book.

  'E-book? No, it must mean an electronic device that connects to books, oh I get it, the 'information superhighway'.'

  Now this makes much more sense. Min nods in understanding, pulling Xi P over to the computer. He grabs a chair for Xi P to sit on and presses the power button.

  Xi P watches keenly as Min's computer boots up Windows 10. When the desktop appears, it extends a finger to tap the screen, but quickly realises that it isn't a touchscreen. Slightly disappointed, it withdraws its hand.

  'At least it didn't try to control the computer with its mind... though I probably wouldn't have noticed even if it did.'

  Min looks at Xi P, and Xi P looks back at him. They stare at each other for a long moment, neither speaking. After what feels like an eternity, Xi P finally makes a move: it places its hand over its protruding muzzle, covering its eyes, in a gesture reminiscent of sighing while holding one's forehead. Then it returns to the sofa.

  As for the reason, Min guesses it wanted him to do something on the computer, but realised it couldn't express itself. Seeing Min couldn't read its mind, it ended up sighing in frustration over the language barrier — utterly awkward.

  Putting himself in its shoes, Min figures that he'd be just as clueless about an alien computer's operating system. They probably don't even use a mouse and keyboard combo.

  'Maybe I should buy an Alienware laptop just for it.' Min thinks to himself, unable to suppress a chuckle.