Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 18

When Ming Ying woke, the room was still pitch black, the curtains drawn tightly shut.

The entire bedroom was silent, with only the rumbling of her stomach sounding especially loud.

Ming Ying patted her empty belly, recalling the contents of her dream, and felt even hungrier. Unable to resist, she crawled out of her little nest, quietly lifted her head to observe for a moment, and sensing no movement from the bed, she mustered the courage to stand up, placing her front paws on the edge of the bed, wanting to ask Fu Anyu where the beef brisket noodles were.

Fu Anyu was fast asleep, facing her, breathing evenly.

It was the first time Ming Ying had seen her sound asleep. Even though the dim light made it hard to see clearly, she still lost focus for a moment before gently hopping onto the bed, crouching in front of Fu Anyu, and swishing her tail across her face.

Fu Anyu was naturally a light sleeper. Even before the fox swished her tail, she had already been awakened by the slight movement of someone climbing onto the bed. Before her eyes opened, her hand blocked the incoming fox tail.

“Hungry? Wait a moment.” Fu Anyu turned over and got out of bed, switching on the light as she spoke.

“How did you know I was hungry?” Ming Ying asked in surprise.

“If you weren’t hungry, you wouldn’t disturb my sleep,” Fu Anyu replied, smoothing her slightly messy long hair as she walked to the table, picked up a can of luncheon meat, and deftly opened it. “Xiao Du is asleep. For a late-night snack, there’s only luncheon meat.”

Ming Ying watched as she scooped the minced meat into her food bowl, quickly jumped off the bed, and crouched down obediently to wait.

“Feeling better?” Fu Anyu asked.

Ming Ying nodded sheepishly. Once Fu Anyu stepped back, she approached and began eating her late-night snack.

She felt rather embarrassed as a fox, crying until she fell asleep in the bathtub was truly careless.

But come to think of it, Fu Anyu was also strange. This time, she had clearly discovered her escape attempt, so why hadn’t she locked her in the iron cage? Instead, she had washed her paws and prepared a late-night snack.

The calmer Fu Anyu’s reaction was, the more Ming Ying feared it. After filling her stomach, she reached out a paw to tug at Fu Anyu’s slipper and tentatively asked, “That promise you made before, does it still stand?”

“What promise?” Fu Anyu asked.

“It’s letting me move around outside the bedroom and bathroom.” Meeting her gaze, Ming Ying couldn’t help but fold her ears back, timidly reminding her.

She remembered clearly, the prerequisite for being allowed to move freely was good behavior.

But on the seventh night, she had attempted to escape and nearly succeeded. When she was caught and brought back, she had thrown a tantrum with Fu Anyu. She had no idea what Fu Anyu was thinking now.

“It stands,” Fu Anyu unexpectedly agreed without hesitation.

Ming Ying was taken aback. “Huh? But last night…”

“I understand why you wanted to escape,” Fu Anyu cut her off. “What happened last night is already in the past.”

Although Ming Ying was curious about why Fu Anyu had forgiven her so easily, she wasn’t a fox who sought out trouble. After hearing this, she quickly nodded.

Putting it behind them was for the best. The only thing she feared was that Fu Anyu, in a fit of anger, would imprison her for another seven days, and in the iron cage, no less.

“So tomorrow morning, can I go out to eat?” Ming Ying asked tentatively.

When she had escaped earlier that night, she had passed by a large room with a crystal chandelier, which seemed to be the “dining room” mentioned on TV. The walls and floor were pure white and smooth, as if paved with white jade. She really liked it there.

Fu Anyu nodded. “Yes, but don’t speak to anyone other than Xiao Du or Xiao Chen.”

“I understand!” Ming Ying quickly nodded along.

Fu Anyu finished tidying up the empty cans, crouched down to wipe Ming Ying’s mouth, and refilled her water bowl. As she did so, she glanced at the little fox’s second tail.

The originally fluffy and full fox tail now seemed to have shrunk slightly. Perhaps it was because the little fox had used too much spiritual energy.

Ming Ying didn’t notice her gaze. As she drank, her thoughts drifted to what she should do in the future.

Fu Anyu had said last night that the entrance to the demon realm was difficult to find. The implication was likely that she was searching but hadn’t found it yet. Once Ming Ying understood this, she no longer felt so eager to escape and search for her home. If even Fu Anyu, who was so familiar with the human realm, couldn’t find the way, then she, as an outsider, had indeed been overconfident.

In truth, Ming Ying was beginning to feel a little grateful to Fu Anyu. Setting aside their initial unpleasant encounters, this person had indeed rescued her during her most desperate moment, taken her home, and cared for her until her injuries healed. If Fu Anyu were a man and her parents found out, they might even try to recruit her as a son-in-law.

Realizing her thoughts had strayed, Ming Ying couldn’t help but recall the dream she had just had.

Thinking about it carefully, her recent dreams all seemed to involve Fu Anyu, and in those dreams, Fu Anyu was always gentle and considerate, unlike the icy demeanor she displayed in reality.

Her mother had once said that dreams reflect what lies in one’s heart. If that were true, then deep down, she must have already begun to see Fu Anyu in a different light. Yet, whenever she met Fu Anyu’s cold gaze or heard her curt remarks, for some reason, she felt an urge to act out.

“Time to sleep.”

Just as she was thinking about Fu Anyu, the woman’s voice drifted lazily from above, tinged with weariness. It was unclear whether she was urging Ming Ying to sleep or simply stating her own intention to rest.

After taking one last sip of water, Ming Ying curled up in her little nest but found herself wide awake.

Before Fu Anyu could turn off the light, she suddenly asked, “Can I sleep on the bed now?”

Without waiting for a reply, she quickly added, “Or do I have to take human form before I’m allowed to sleep on the bed?”

These were questions she had wanted to ask ever since she was given the little nest. She had never seen much difference between her human and fox forms. In her memories, her father often curled up on the bed in his fox form, letting her mother use him as a pillow while his nine tails served as a blanket.

Fu Anyu, who had already settled on the bed, remained silent for a few seconds before answering, “You may.”

Ming Ying was taken aback for a moment, then happily leaped onto the bed. She rubbed her fox face against the soft pillow before burrowing under the covers, leaving only her head exposed.

Perseverance pays off, she had finally made it to the bed!

“Don’t fuss, go to sleep,” Fu Anyu said, frowning slightly as she felt a warm, furry ball brush against her hand. After urging the little fox in a low voice, she turned off the light, plunging the bedroom into darkness once more.

Ming Ying knew Fu Anyu had projects to work on during the day, so she obediently curled up in a corner of the blanket, careful not to disturb her. Still, sleep eluded her. Once her eyes adjusted to the dark, she turned to look at Fu Anyu.

Beautiful people always lifted her spirits, and even though Fu Anyu was a moody ice queen, her features were pleasing to the eye when she wasn’t speaking.

Bored and not wanting to gather spiritual energy for fear of disturbing Fu Anyu’s rest, Ming Ying decided to observe her carefully, starting from her brow and studying every detail.

She had a slight understanding of face reading, but only knew the basics. This time, upon closer inspection, she noticed that Fu Anyu’s fate was peculiar, she had a weak bond with her parents yet bore the mark of innate wealth and nobility. She often encountered petty people, yet whenever she faced dire straits, she would always receive help from noble individuals.

Beyond that, she couldn’t discern anything more. No matter how hard she stared, all she could see was that Fu Anyu had heavy dark circles under her eyes, a result of lack of sleep.

Ming Ying currently knew very little about the human world and had no idea what Fu Anyu was busy with every day. She only knew that Xiao Du and Xiao Chen both referred to Fu Anyu as “President Fu,” and “President” seemed to mean “chief executive.” As for what exactly a “chief executive” was, even though Xiao Du had explained it to her, she still couldn’t quite grasp it.

To her, the human social hierarchy was far too complicated. She was merely a passerby who had accidentally wandered into the human world and didn’t need to understand it all that well.

However, Fu Anyu’s dark circles still needed to be dealt with. Ming Ying already felt somewhat guilty tonight, and since she had noticed the issue, she naturally couldn’t let it slide.

Foxes placed great importance on appearance, so Ming Ying had been skilled in youth-preserving and beauty-enhancing techniques since childhood. Even though she couldn’t form hand seals now, she directly released her spiritual energy, softly chanting an incantation as she “applied” it to Fu Anyu’s dark circles. In no time, the dark circles were gone.

With only two tails now, every time she released spiritual energy, it consumed her physical strength. She hadn’t gotten enough sleep tonight to begin with, and though she was mentally alert, she couldn’t fall asleep. Once she finished the spell, exhaustion washed over her, and she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

At 4:30 in the morning, Fu Anyu was awakened by a heavy weight. Reaching out, she found a large, warm ball lying on top of her, its sharp claws resting on either side of her abdomen. If she had moved too abruptly or rolled over, her pajamas would have been torn by the claws.

She had no idea how the little fox had climbed up or managed to lie so steadily.

Fu Anyu hadn’t slept enough yet. She stroked the fox’s fur for a moment, then pinched the scruff of its neck and lifted the fox away. Unexpectedly, the fox murmured, “I don’t want to,” and its claws, which had only been lightly touching her, instantly wrapped around her.

Even through her clothes, Fu Anyu stiffened at the touch.

She wanted to sit up and remove the fox but was afraid that startling it awake would lead to an awkward explanation. The fox likely wouldn’t believe her and wouldn’t believe it had actively hugged someone in its sleep. In that case, it might throw another tantrum.

Helpless, Fu Anyu could only gently turn over to adjust her sleeping position.

The fox’s claws, pressed under her, retracted slightly. Seizing the opportunity, Fu Anyu quickly grabbed them and used a bit of spiritual energy to bind them in place, preventing the fox from moving around again.

After doing this, Fu Anyu closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

She slept soundly after that, but when Ming Ying woke up in the morning and found her limbs bound by spiritual energy, surrounded by darkness, she was so frightened that she cried out repeatedly, “Help! Help!”

Fu Anyu was jolted awake. As soon as she opened her eyes, she heard Ming Ying shouting from below, “Fu Anyu, save me! Hurry up and save me!!”