Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 15

The more Ming Ying thought about it, the guiltier she felt. She even began to believe she couldn’t stay in the human realm any longer. Otherwise, she would inevitably turn into a shameless fox. If she returned home like that, she’d surely face scolding from her parents.

Especially from her mother, she might even use the hidden whip on her. It wouldn’t leave any marks, but the pain would torment a demon for a full week.

Just imagining the consequences awaiting her back home sent a shiver down Ming Ying’s spine.

No matter what, she had to leave, before she was completely assimilated by the humans. Her leg injury was almost healed now. As long as she could run normally and with the spiritual power stored in her twin tails, she had no worries about finding her way back to the demon realm.

Once she made up her mind, Ming Ying couldn’t help but glance at Fu Anyu.

Although the bad woman was fierce and cold, Ming Ying felt she had actually been quite caring. At least during her time by the bad woman’s side, she had a cozy nest to sleep in when tired, plentiful food and drink when hungry or thirsty, and every night, the bad woman personally cleaned her fox fur. Whenever she didn’t understand something, the bad woman would explain it or show her relevant books and TV shows.

Ming Ying’s thoughts began to drift, and when she snapped back to reality, she realized she was somewhat reluctant to leave the bad woman.

Wait, how could she be reluctant to leave a cold-faced, harsh human?

Despite thinking this, when she woke up the next day, Ming Ying still started planning her escape.

She remembered Fu Anyu once saying that demons who disrupted social order would be detained for seven to fifteen days. Today was her sixth day in the human realm. After one more day, she would meet the conditions for release.

Ming Ying believed she had been quite well-behaved during this time, she hadn’t tried to run away or destroy the house again. Every day, she stayed in Fu Anyu’s bedroom, eating, drinking, reading books, watching TV, and gathering spiritual energy. After tomorrow, even if she didn’t leave, the bad woman probably wouldn’t have a reason to detain her anymore.

After some thought, she decided to leave the day after tomorrow, choosing a time when Fu Anyu wasn’t home. Once outside, she would immediately set off to find her way back to the demon realm.

To avoid attracting attention while searching for the path, Ming Ying even planned to transform into a long-haired white dog called a “Samoyed” before going out, foxes couldn’t run freely on human streets, but dogs could.

Plus, Samoyeds looked friendly and clean. If someone found her cute and approached, she could condescendingly let them pet her fur without eliciting comments like, “How pitiful, let’s send it to the zoo!”

Moreover, to avoid being caught again by Fu Anyu, she patiently read through the Demon Life Guidelines, a book she usually despised. Whether she understood it or not, she memorized most of it. When Du Yunxin came in to deliver meals, she actively asked about the outside world.

Thinking Ming Ying intended to settle in the human realm, Du Yunxin pulled up a map, taught her to distinguish directions, and explained which roads were for vehicles and which were for pedestrians and demons.

“Even so, I suggest you stay with President Fu until you can take human form,” Du Yunxin reminded her after the lesson. “There’s still a lot you need to learn. In our human realm, those who know nothing have to go to school to study.”

“But I can’t go to school!” Ming Ying knew that “school” was equivalent to the academies within the royal city, except that human-world academies taught far more than those in the demon realm, and it seemed everyone of a certain age had to attend.

“No worries, just ask President Fu for advice more often,” Du Yunxin suggested. “Don’t be afraid of her! You’re cute, so make the most of that advantage when seeking her help. If President Fu ignores you, just act a little spoiled or play up your charm, she’s someone who responds better to softness than toughness.”

Ming Ying obediently nodded and took note but didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, she extended a paw and tapped on the pattern of a certain road, deliberately asking with curiosity, “This road is called ‘East-West Avenue.’ Does that mean it connects the east and the west?”

“Yes, and it’s a main thoroughfare,” Du Yunxin nodded. “Following it east or west, you can even reach other cities.”

Ming Ying understood and secretly decided that this road would be her target. Heading west along it might just lead her back to the demon realm.

However, there was still quite a distance from Fu Anyu’s residence to East-West Avenue. After memorizing the map, once Du Yunxin left, Ming Ying closed her eyes and began mentally mapping out her route back to the demon realm.

She now felt that navigating wasn’t actually difficult. As long as the map was clearly marked, even in an unfamiliar place, remembering a few landmarks would prevent her from getting lost.

The entire day, Ming Ying spent preparing theoretically for her escape. Even when Fu Anyu returned from work, she was still flipping through Demon Life Guidelines.

“Want to go out?” Fu Anyu suddenly asked while handing her some shredded roast duck.

Ming Ying, already harboring secret plans, was so startled that her ears flattened, and she nearly choked on the meat. Realizing Fu Anyu was only making casual conversation, she relaxed.

But to avoid raising suspicion, she still chose to lie: “No.”

“Tomorrow is the seventh day,” Fu Anyu said. “If you behave well, then starting the day after tomorrow, your range of movement will no longer be limited to the bedroom and bathroom.”

Ming Ying hadn’t expected her to bring this up herself. She froze, many words stuck in her throat, unable to utter a single one. In the end, she responded somewhat belatedly and lowered her head to continue eating.

She couldn’t tell Fu Anyu that she had decided to leave, and that she planned to slip away quietly while Fu Anyu was out. In Fu Anyu’s eyes, she was probably still obediently waiting for her “sentence” to end, right?

But she wasn’t being obedient; she was about to return to the demon realm. Yet, she couldn’t tell Fu Anyu. Fu Anyu would surely refuse and keep a close watch on her.

Somehow, Ming Ying suddenly imagined the scene the day after tomorrow when Fu Anyu returned home, entered the bedroom as usual, intending to have dinner with her, only to find the room empty.

What would that bad woman feel then? After taking good care of the fox for seven days, only for it to leave without a word, would she be angry, or would she be sad?

Or perhaps… lonely?

While planning her escape during the day, Ming Ying had firmly believed that, to Fu Anyu, she was probably like a cat rescued on a whim or a bird caught by chance, not someone important. If she left, she left; as long as she didn’t cause trouble outside that implicated Fu Anyu, it would be fine.

But now, for some reason, she felt that Fu Anyu actually seemed to care about her.

Ming Ying’s mind was a bit dazed. After dinner, when Fu Anyu carried her to the bathroom, she couldn’t help but recall how Fu Anyu had bathed her, changed her dressings, and even drawn the curtains to accommodate her hometown habits…

Even though they were all trivial matters, once she started thinking about them, they flooded her mind like a tide, impossible to shake off.

While soaking in the bathtub, Ming Ying kept drifting into thoughts about these things.

After finishing her bath and returning to her little nest, she hesitated for a long time before softly calling out to Fu Anyu. She slightly folded her ears and said in a soft, pitiful voice, “I miss home.”

After learning from Du Yunxin that Fu Anyu responded better to softness than force, Ming Ying had reflected on her recent experiences and realized it was true. As long as she showed a bit of vulnerability or made some ingratiating gestures, Fu Anyu would fulfill her requests.

For example, if she wanted to eat a few more pieces of meat, she could either ask tearfully in a small voice or casually wag her tail at Fu Anyu while whimpering for a while. But she absolutely couldn’t demand it in a commanding tone like she did at home.

Of course, her current act of being coquettish was merely to test Fu Anyu’s attitude.

Upon hearing her words, Fu Anyu frowned instantly, but her brow quickly smoothed out.

“Tell me the specific address,” Fu Anyu said, squatting down and rubbing the fox’s head. Her voice was unusually gentle. “Your offense isn’t serious. Once your detention period is over, I’ll have Xiao Chen take you back.”

Ming Ying looked at her in disbelief, feeling somewhat tempted, but immediately reminded herself that it was impossible.

She had delayed telling Fu Anyu her exact address, partly to avoid exposing her identity and inviting new troubles, and partly, because she had no idea where her home was located.

If she wanted to return home, she could only rely on herself.

Ming Ying firmly believed that as long as she could enter the demon realm, she would be able to find her way home.

So, she shook her head and said against her will, “I was just thinking about it.” After a pause, she added dryly, “The human realm is nice, and you all are nice too.”

“So nice that you don’t want to go home?” Fu Anyu joked, which was rare for her.

“…” Ming Ying couldn’t come up with a response, so she just wagged her two tails to show she wasn’t in a bad mood.

“Once you take human form and try to integrate into the human realm, you’ll truly understand what makes it good,” Fu Anyu said leisurely, stroking her fur. “At the same time, you’ll also see the dark side of the human realm.”

After hearing this, Ming Ying inexplicably felt that Fu Anyu was looking forward to her taking human form.

In fact, based on her thoughts from a few days ago, she had planned to leave this place only after her spiritual power was restored and she could take human form, since humans were likely to pay less attention to their own kind than to outsiders. But now, fearing she might be assimilated by humans, she had moved her plans forward.

Although this change made the timing and conditions rushed, it wasn’t a major problem.

Ming Ying still remembered that many great demon kings in the demon realm preferred their demon forms. Even when they reached a level of cultivation where they could take human form, they were unwilling to do so and still roamed the demon realm in their demon or beast-human forms.

“I can’t take human form yet!” she reminded Fu Anyu. “Don’t tell me you have pills that can provide a large amount of spiritual energy?”

“No,” Fu Anyu shook her head. “The spiritual energy in the human realm is sparse now, unlike the dense energy of your time. The spiritual energy contained in plants and trees is also minimal. Minerals are controlled by the state, so even if there were materials you needed, you wouldn’t be able to access them.”

Ming Ying let out a disappointed “Oh,” then looked up and met Fu Anyu’s gaze. Suddenly, it occurred to her that Fu Anyu herself was essentially a massive spiritual energy replenishing pill, her spiritual power reserves were likely on par with Ming Ying’s own at her peak. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to intimidate her back then.

But the thought only flickered through her mind for a moment before she dismissed it.

To draw spiritual energy from another person for one’s own use, there were only two methods: either forcibly seize it or engage in intimate relations with them.

The former was something Ming Ying couldn’t bring herself to do right now, nor did she wish to treat Fu Anyu, who had taken such good care of her, in such a manner.

As for the latter,

It was nothing short of a nightmare. Just the thought of it made her break out in a cold sweat.