Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 32

If possible, Ming Ying really didn’t want to go to the hospital.

Although the hospital carried many scents of human, Fu Anyu had told her this was a facility specifically for treating human and ordinary animals, making her feel a sense of familiarity and an inexplicable illusion of returning to the human realm, she still didn’t want to go.

Dr. He removed her bandages, held her fox paw, and carefully examined it under a flashlight before smiling. “You’re recovering quite quickly. Just another half month of bandaging should do the trick. But until I give the okay, your little paw absolutely must not get wet!”

“Half a month?!” Ming Ying exclaimed before Fu Anyu could even speak.

“No helping it. If you want the burn to heal without scarring, you just have to take it slow,” Dr. He said, spreading her hands helplessly. She swiveled her chair back to the computer, typing as she spoke. “This medication can only be prescribed in seven-day doses. Come back to me for a refill when you run out. Anyu, you haven’t gotten a health insurance card from our hospital yet, have you? Why not take this chance to?”

“No need,” Fu Anyu cut her off directly. “She won’t be staying here long, and I also,”

“Got it, you don’t keep pets either,” Dr. He finished for her, her tone light and cheerful, the smile never leaving her face.

Hearing her refer to Fu Anyu so familiarly as “Anyu” and seeing her smile so brightly at her, Ming Ying felt a surge of possessiveness that left her uncomfortable. She wanted to leave even more.

Since Du Yunxin had already picked up the medication earlier, Fu Anyu paid the consultation fee and left the hospital with Ming Ying.

Ming Ying held her questions in all the way until Fu Anyu got into the car and closed the door. Then she immediately asked, “That Dr. He…”

But when Fu Anyu’s gaze turned to her, she lost her nerve, lowering her head and trailing off without finishing.

“She was my university classmate. In the human realm, you might call that relationship ‘fellow students,'” Fu Anyu explained. “You asked about this before.”

Ming Ying didn’t respond. After a few seconds of silence, she asked quietly, “Just because you went to school together, does that make your relationship so close?”

This was the question she had wanted to ask last time but never found the chance to.

Chen Yanxue had already started the car. Fu Anyu cracked the window slightly, letting in the still-cool morning breeze before the summer heat set in.

“Her and I, our relationship isn’t good,” Fu Anyu said calmly. “You could say it’s one-sided closeness on her part.”

“One-sided closeness?” Ming Ying didn’t understand. After a moment’s thought, she asked even more softly, “She couldn’t be your ex-girlfriend, could she?”

She remembered Xiao Du emphasizing that she must never bring up romance topics with Fu Anyu. When that host on TV had asked Fu Anyu about relationships before, Xiao Du had cursed the host out too, calling them “deliberately picking a fight” and “opening their mouth just to step on landmines.”

Based on the novels she’d been reading these past couple days, the reason Fu Anyu was so sensitive about romance topics was probably because she had been hurt in a past relationship, meaning she had an “ex.”

But the moment the words left her mouth, Fu Anyu’s hand came down firmly to ruffle her head.

“Not learning good things,” Fu Anyu said coldly.

Ming Ying yelped and pleaded for mercy under the ruffling, but still asked, “Then tell me, is she or isn’t she?”

“No,” Fu Anyu’s voice grew even colder.

Ming Ying could even feel her using spiritual pressure to intimidate her. Terrified, she shrank into the corner of the seat, folding her ears back and apologizing carefully, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Fu Anyu reached a hand toward her. She stayed frozen in place, allowing the approaching hand to pinch the scruff of her neck.

After tucking the fox back beside her, Fu Anyu withdrew her intimidating aura, crossed her arms, and stared coldly ahead.

Ming Ying didn’t dare speak another word to her until they returned home.

Xiao Du’s words were indeed true, one really shouldn’t bring up anything related to romance around Fu Anyu.

The moment Du Yunxin opened the door, she could sense the tense atmosphere.

Exchanging a glance with Chen Yanxue, who had just followed them inside, she had a sudden idea. Grabbing Chen’s arm, she pulled her outside, saying, “You’re back just in time! Help me decide how to arrange these flowerpots for the best look!”

In reality, she was dragging the other away to ask what had happened.

The spacious living room was left with only one person and one fox.

Ming Ying remained curled in Fu Anyu’s arms, not daring to move. Every slight motion from Fu Anyu made her heart race, and she held her breath, terrified that she might be thrown to the ground at any moment.

She didn’t even know why she had such a fear.

Fortunately, Fu Anyu remained cold and silent. After changing her shoes, she carried Ming Ying upstairs and into the guest room.

Placed on the bed, Ming Ying was still tense when she suddenly heard Fu Anyu speak: “What were you planning to do these past couple of days?”

The ice-queen beauty had finally spoken. Ming Ying breathed an inward sigh of relief and answered honestly, “I originally wanted to attempt human transformation, but now I’ll have to focus on recovering first.”

“Recovery will take at least half a month,” Fu Anyu said. “Are you sure you can endure it?”

Ming Ying fell silent. When Fu Anyu had confined her to the bedroom before, she couldn’t last even a few days. Now, she was forcing herself not to dwell on it only because she knew there was no way to rush.

She desperately wanted to transform.

“Are you saying, I can try to transform now?” She looked at Fu Anyu, hardly believing her ears.

“I’ll allow you to attempt it,” Fu Anyu nodded. “But the moment I see you in pain, I will immediately stop assisting with the transformation.”

“Really?!” Ming Ying was overjoyed and eagerly waved her paws. “Then help me quickly! I’ll make a few preparations and give it a try!”

Ming Ying’s preparations involved not only adjusting the spirit-gathering array but also fine-tuning the spirit-control devices.

After all, these spirit-control devices weren’t her blood-bound artifacts, they were only temporarily lent to her by Fu Anyu. Before using them to regulate the spiritual energy needed for transformation, Ming Ying naturally had to inspect them carefully.

Fu Anyu sat on the edge of the bed, watching the little fox busy herself with her front paws raised. Finally, Ming Ying settled in the center of the spirit-gathering array, looked up, and said, “Alright, I’m going to enter meditation and begin the transformation!”

Fu Anyu nodded, her fingertips releasing water spiritual energy that slowly formed a water barrier, enveloping both the spirit-gathering array and the fox inside for real-time observation.

Ming Ying was both nervous and excited. Only after the water barrier fully rose did she closed her eyes, silently recite the transformation incantation, and channel the spiritual energy throughout her body, circulating it through her meridians.

Within minutes, the familiar pain began to surge from all directions.

Ming Ying thought to herself that Fu Anyu was usually too busy to guard her during cultivation, she couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.

So, the moment she felt the pain, she immediately used a secret technique to block the sensation, focusing solely on breaking through the barrier that hindered her transformation.

With her pain numbed, Ming Ying relied on memory, chanting the incantation while guiding spiritual energy to fill every meridian required for the transformation.

Gradually, she began to taste a metallic, bloody tang in her mouth, but she fought back the nausea and forced herself to swallow the rising blood.

She absolutely could not let Fu Anyu see that she was in pain.

But before she could fill a few meridians, she suddenly felt all the spiritual energy in her body being forcibly drained, surging into the spirit-control devices fastened around her limbs.

Ming Ying was startled at first, then realized that Fu Anyu was forcibly halting her transformation. Though disheartened, she did not resist, allowing the meridians that had just been filled with spiritual energy to return to emptiness. Unwillingly, she opened her eyes.

Fu Anyu’s hand was suspended before her, fingertips still swirling with spiritual energy. Seeing Ming Ying looking at her, she suddenly uttered a syllable, then pressed her fingers against Ming Ying’s forehead.

Ming Ying felt a surge of icy water-attribute spiritual energy enter her body, dispelling the spell she had used to block pain. Immediately after, she let out a sharp cry of agony, collapsing to the ground and writhing uncontrollably.

Why was it so much more painful this time?!

“Enjoy lying?” Fu Anyu questioned sternly while simultaneously easing her pain.

“N-no, I don’t… ahh…” Ming Ying gasped from the pain, unable to even form a proper explanation.

“Do you have any idea what would have happened if I hadn’t been watching over you?” Fu Anyu pressed, her tone severe.

Realizing Fu Anyu was angry, Ming Ying stammered out “I’m sorry” repeatedly while inching closer to the soothing spiritual energy radiating from Fu Anyu’s palm.

Before Fu Anyu could say anything more, she felt a weight settle in her hand, the fox had rested her head there, nuzzling against her spiritual energy with half-closed eyes, her breathing still ragged.

“…” Fu Anyu couldn’t help but frown. She gently flicked the little fox’s ears a few times but did not push her head away.

“I just read a saying recently…” Ming Ying managed weakly once the pain had subsided somewhat. “It goes, ‘Try it and die’, I think, I might have just put that into practice.”

“Easing the pain isn’t difficult,” Fu Anyu said, prying open the fox’s mouth and noticing traces of blood on her teeth. Her frown deepened. “Did you swallow the blood?”

“If I didn’t, it would dirty your clothes again.” Ming Ying lied softly.

In truth, she was afraid Fu Anyu would discover she had coughed up blood. If she found out, Fu Anyu would immediately stop her transformation attempts.

“And swallowing it doesn’t make you uncomfortable?” Fu Anyu picked her up and went downstairs to the kitchen, where she filled a bowl with water for Ming Ying to rinse her mouth.

Du Yunxin happened to be preparing lunch and turned just in time to see Ming Ying spitting blood-tinged water into the sink. She nearly cut her finger in shock and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong with the little fox? Does she need to go to the hospital?”

“You could think of it as a backlash of spiritual energy,” Fu Anyu replied calmly.

“That sounds so mystical…” Du Yunxin muttered under her breath. Seeing Ming Ying still spitting into the sink and dry heaving, clearly in great discomfort, she thought for a moment before pouring her a cup of brown sugar water. “Drink something sweet to cover the taste of blood.”

“Make something light for her lunch,” Fu Anyu instructed. “Her internal organs are injured.”

This time, she did not transfer any spiritual energy to Ming Ying, only helping to alleviate the pain. The damaged meridians and internal organs needed to heal on their own so the little fox could learn how to avoid such injuries in the future.

This was Ming Ying’s own request. Without protective artifacts or spiritual medicine, under the worst possible circumstances, she could only rely on this clumsy method, trying again and again through trial and error.

“Can we get in touch with other fox spirits?” Du Yunxin couldn’t help but ask. “The method of transforming into human form should be universal, right? If the transformation were truly that painful, there wouldn’t be so many spirits living in our city, would there?”

“Even if there are others, they wouldn’t agree to come,” Fu Anyu replied.

“That’s true, ah.” Du Yunxin thought of her boss’s second profession and hesitated to say more. She reached out to pet the little fox lapping up the brown sugar water. “Keep working hard, Great Fox Immortal. I’ll make more nourishing treats for you.”

But before her hand could touch the fox, Fu Anyu caught her by the wrist.

“Don’t touch,” Fu Anyu warned. “She’s still in pain.”