Chapter 7 — My Little Vixen

The corners of my eyes instantly burned with heat. He continued softly, "The day I slaughtered the forbidden palace, it was because they wanted to sever my ninth tail."

If the nine tails are broken, the mind is completely destroyed.

"I didn't want to be locked away again."

"Nor did I want to become a sacrificial beast, forever bleeding in their hands."

"That is why I killed everyone who wanted me dead."

"From that day on, I became a tyrant."

"Later, surrounded and hunted by all the clans, I was heavily injured."

"When I fled deep into the mountains, I no longer had any desire to live."

"And after that..."

He looked at me, his gaze finally carrying a trace of warmth.

"You picked me up."

That year, the snow was exceptionally heavy. A five-year-old me, wearing a bright red down jacket, looked just like a walking ball of black jelly. Rong Wang said that back then, he was no longer a mere cub. It was just that his severe injuries had caused his spiritual power to scatter, shrinking his form back to its most fragile state. When I scooped him out from beneath the roots of the tree, he had originally intended to bite straight through my throat. Because he trusted no one. Nor did he trust any hand that dared to draw near him. But I was too small. So small that simply lifting him up was a struggle. As I cried, I tucked him tightly against my chest.

"Little puppy, you mustn't die."

"I'll blow on you to make it better."

"Once I blow on it, it won't hurt anymore."

At this point, Rong Wang's eyelashes fluttered slightly.

"For the very first time, I learned something."

"It turns out that when a wound is touched, it doesn't necessarily mean pain."

"It could also mean someone is trying to save you."

Hearing this, my heart ached as if it were being wrung out.

"Then why did you disappear later on?"

"The pursuers from the fox clan had arrived."

He spoke in a low voice, "I was afraid of implicating you."

"So while you were fast asleep, I left."

"However, I didn't go far."

I froze in astonishment. Rong Wang turned his gaze toward the ancient magnolia tree in the courtyard.

"In your family's garden, there is an old scholar tree."

"I lived up there for a very long time."

I stared at him in utter shock.

"You lived in a tree?"

He nodded gently.

"Mmm."

"I watched you go to school and come home, stumble and fall, and cry."

"I watched you secretly bury the carrots you hated eating into a flowerpot."

"I watched you when you were sixteen, cornered in an alley by troublemakers."

Suddenly, it all came back to me. When I was sixteen, having rejected the advances of a wealthy young heir, he had sent people to block my path. Afterward, those men had fled in terror as if they had seen a ghost. The very next day, that wealthy heir even transferred to another school. Back then, I had simply assumed my parents had stepped in to handle it. It turned out not to be the case at all. I looked up at Rong Wang.

"Was that you?"

He lowered his gaze.

"Mmm."

"What else did you do?"

"When you were eighteen, you were almost struck by a drunk driver."

"I was the one who made that car's tire blow out."

"When you were twenty, during your first business venture, you were cheated by a partner on a contract."

"I was the one who severed the cash flow of his company."

"When you were twenty-two, you went abroad and were caught in a riot."

"I stood guard outside your hotel for an entire night."

The more I listened, the quieter I became. Rong Wang's voice grew lower and lower.

"I knew it wasn't right to do those things."

"Like a creature living in the darkness, unable to face the light."

"Yet that was all I knew how to do."

"I had no idea how to approach you in an upright, open manner."

"Until the year you turned twenty-three, when the Gu family needed a contractual marriage to fend off forced matches."

"I forged a fake identity for myself."

"And became your bodyguard."

"Then, your husband."

When he finished speaking, he sat there quietly, resembling a criminal finally awaiting the judge's sentencing. His tail rested limply on the ground, completely motionless. I asked him, "So you never lost your memory at all?" Rong Wang was silent for a moment.

"I did lose my memory for a short while."

"But before I married you, I had already remembered everything."

I was speechless, drawing a deep breath.

"In other words."

"You knew long ago that you were the Nine-Tailed Fox King."

"And you knew long ago that your tail was your fatal weakness."

"Yet you still allowed me to stroke it."

The tips of his ears gradually turned crimson.

"Mmm."

"You even called me your little fox."

"Mmm."

"You hugged my tail while you slept."

"Mmm."

"You even bit the tip of my tail."

Rong Wang's breathing visibly skipped a beat.

"Mmm..."

I stared at him in profound shock.

"Rong Wang, your scheming runs deep indeed."

He pressed his lips together.

"Are you unhappy?"

He amused me to the point of laughter.

"What do you think?"

His gaze dimmed.

"I am sorry."

"I only..."

He paused, his voice so delicate it felt as though it might be blown away by the wind.

"Simply wanted too badly for you to like me."

With that, Rong Wang lowered his head. A single tear fell onto his tail, leaving a small, damp patch on the pristine white fur. Seeming to feel utterly wretched, he hurriedly raised a hand to wipe it away, murmuring in a low voice, "Please don't be angry."

"I won't do it again."

"If you find me disgusting, I can leave."

A sudden, sharp pain pierced my heart. I stepped forward and squatted down in front of him.

"Rong Wang."

He looked up at me. Reaching out, I gently brushed his tail.

"No more deceiving me from now on."

His tail quivered slightly.

"Mmm."

"No more imagining things like I don't need you."

"Mmm."

"No more getting jealous over nothing and freezing other people's potted plants to death."

"...Mmm."

"No more burying that snake."

He fell silent. I narrowed my eyes.

"Hm?"

Unwillingly, he mumbled, "I won't bury it." Only then was I satisfied.

"And one last thing."

He looked at me earnestly. Cupping his tail in my hands, I said softly, "If you're sad in the future, you must tell me." Rong Wang was stunned. I continued, "Don't hide it away."

"Don't lock yourself up in the study alone."

"Don't conceal your ears and tail."

"You are not a monster."

"You are my little fox."

At that exact moment, the corners of Rong Wang's eyes turned thoroughly red. Abruptly, he lowered his head, pressing his forehead against my shoulder. Tears dripped down into the collar of my clothes, so scalding that my entire body stiffened. His voice choked and trembled, "Gu Mian."

"If you say things like that..."

"I really will want to hand my entire life over to you."

I stroked his ears soothingly.

"There's no need for that."

"Just keep letting me stroke your tail, and that will be enough."

He remained silent for a few seconds before letting out a very soft laugh. It sounded just like accumulated snow melting away, with the first drops of spring water pattering down. When Shen Jin turned to leave, he cast one final glance back at me. In his eyes remained a lingering reluctance, mingled with bewilderment.

"Gu Mian."

This was the first time he had refrained from calling me "older sister."

"If the person you had seen first back then was me..."

"Would you have chosen me?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"I would have saved you."

A faint spark of light flickered in his eyes. I went on, "But I wouldn't have fallen in love with you because of it." That tiny spark extinguished once more. He offered a bitter, helpless smile.

"You really are cruel."

"That is simply the truth."

He lowered his head, sinking into a prolonged silence.

"Then... will I still be able to see you in the future?"

The tail behind Rong Wang instantly stiffened upright. Before I could even open my mouth, he spoke with supreme gentleness, "That hardly seems convenient." Shen Jin stared at him. Rong Wang smiled faintly.

"My wife is afraid of snakes."

I thought to myself, *? Since when have I been afraid of snakes?* Shen Jin let out a cold laugh.

"Is that so? From where I'm standing, it looks like she's only afraid of you crying."

The corners of Rong Wang's eyes were still slightly pink, yet he replied with utmost composure, "She is quite willing to coax me, though." Shen Jin was left speechless. I was equally speechless. Well played, I thought. He had certainly learned how to leverage affection into arrogance. Frustrated, Shen Jin turned and stalked off. I spun around to glare at Rong Wang.

"Did you do that on purpose just now?"

He lowered his gaze.

"Not at all."

"Your ears are literally twitching upward."

He raised a hand to flatten his fox ears.

"It was just the wind."

"Where on earth would a breeze come from indoors?"

"...Mmm."

Half-amused and half-exasperated, I reached out and pinched the tip of his ear.

"You're getting better and better at pretending, aren't you?"

Rong Wang's body went rigid, and his tail instantly tangled itself into a chaotic mess.

"Gu Mian."

"Hmm?"

"Not right here."