Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 38

When Du Yunxin returned with the broom and dustpan, she could sense the atmosphere in the living room had shifted once again.

Though the human and the fox were each doing their own thing on the sofa, not interfering with one another and without any physical contact, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

Setting down the broom and dustpan in the strangely tense living room, she decided it was best not to linger and headed straight for the backyard.

Ming Ying lay in front of the tablet, occasionally tapping the screen to turn the page. She was still cramming the “Demon Race Living Guidelines.” Before she could fully transform and return home, she wanted to integrate into human society as quickly as possible, ideally, by contributing in some small way to this little household.

It was only recently that she learned all items in the shops on the street had to be paid for, and money had to be earned through work. Up until now, she had essentially been a pet for quite some time, not needing to earn money, just opening her mouth to be fed.

Even though Fu Anyu now considered her family and even allowed her to call her “sister,” Ming Ying wasn’t willing to accept her care without giving something in return.

Her parents often said, and novels frequently wrote, that when you receive kindness from others, you should find a way to repay it. Her current abilities were limited, so for now, she could only strive not to trouble Fu Anyu, Xiao Du, or the others with daily chores, and later find a way to properly repay the favor.

Fu Anyu was effectively on vacation these past two days. The computer, which usually had work pages open all day long, was now playing Inuyasha.

Leaning back on the sofa, relaxed both physically and mentally, she watched the anime calmly with headphones on. Only when Ming Ying asked her a question would she pause the video, remove her headphones, and answer.

Ming Ying could clearly sense that from the moment she started calling Fu Anyu “sister,” Fu Anyu’s attitude toward her had undergone a subtle change.

It seemed to have become more intimate than before; prior to this, there had always been a certain distance maintained between them.

Noticing this, Ming Ying made sure to softly call out “sister” before asking any questions. After trying it twice, she also noticed that Fu Anyu’s voice seemed much gentler, and she was considerably more patient when explaining things, rather than dismissing simpler questions and telling her to look them up herself as she had before.

Even though Fu Anyu rarely spoke to her coldly now, Ming Ying still wanted to hear her respond in an even softer tone.

Was she becoming addicted to the sound of Fu Anyu’s gentle voice?

They were setting off for the neighboring Y City tomorrow. After dinner, Fu Anyu ended her leisure time and began packing.

Ming Ying curled up in her little bed not far away, watching as Fu Anyu skillfully folded clothes and placed them into a large suitcase, then dried and sealed toiletries in plastic bags, moving busily back and forth in the bedroom. Unable to hold back, she asked, “Why don’t you have Xiao Du help you pack?”

“Force of habit,” Fu Anyu replied while continuing to pack. Turning around and seeing the confusion still in the fox’s eyes, she added, “I don’t have much to do tonight anyway. If it were a particularly busy time, I’d definitely ask her to come up and help.”

Ming Ying nodded in understanding and continued watching as Fu Anyu packed the items they would bring, chatting with her intermittently.

“How are we getting to Y City? Is Xiao Chen driving?”

“Driving.”

“Is it far? I’ve never been in a car for very long,”

“If everything goes smoothly, about two hours. If there’s traffic on the highway, three hours at most.”

“You said earlier that you’d come back after the meeting, which means we’ll be staying overnight in Y City during the conference?”

“You’ve asked this before.” Fu Anyu picked up her phone and pulled up actual photos of the hotel room’s interior. “The hotel there has beds specially designed for non-shapeshifted yao, as well as beds about the same size as mine. You can sleep wherever you prefer.”

Ming Ying looked through all the photos of the separate areas and felt her worries ease, but she still asked anxiously, “But if there’s no Shiba Inu pillow, I might unconsciously cling to you while sleeping on the bed. What should we do about that?”

She still hadn’t figured out why she always ended up near Fu Anyu in her sleep. It was summer, so it wasn’t for warmth, maybe it was Fu Anyu’s spiritual energy attracting her?

“If you want to sleep on the bed, I can hold you while you sleep,” Fu Anyu said. “On the condition that you trim your toenails as well.”

Ming Ying was instantly stunned by the directness of “hold you while you sleep” and completely missed the second half of the sentence, staring blankly at Fu Anyu.

She suddenly remembered Fu Anyu saying this morning that she hadn’t moved around at night, and now Fu Anyu was offering to hold her while she slept. Could it be, that Fu Anyu already understood her clinginess and the reason behind it?

This was so embarrassing for a fox! Even when she slept on the bed, she tried to keep her distance from Fu Anyu, after all… being held while sleeping seemed like such a shameless thing to her.

Fu Anyu happened to be almost done packing. Not hearing any objections from Ming Ying, she assumed agreement, closed the suitcase, and zipped it up. She then found the pet nail clippers, sterilized them, fetched a damp towel from the bathroom, sat down by the little nest, scooped Ming Ying into her arms, and prepared to trim her nails.

Caught off guard, Ming Ying let out a startled “yip” at the sight of the nail clippers.

But she quickly recalled that she indeed hadn’t trimmed her back claws last time and relaxed obediently, going limp in Fu Anyu’s embrace.

Fu Anyu first wiped both front paws clean with the damp towel. As she brought the clippers close, she tightened her hold on the fox to prevent any sudden movements.

However, she misjudged her strength, and Ming Ying, squeezed breathless, nearly rolled her eyes. A thought flashed through her mind, the dream she’d had earlier, and she quickly suggested, “Don’t squeeze me like this! Just use the spirit restraint device to lock me in place! Otherwise, I might scratch you.”

Fu Anyu loosened her grip and, after a two-second pause, reminded her, “That’s not what the spirit restraint device is for.”

“I think it can be used that way,” Ming Ying insisted. “If you don’t use it, I’ll squirm when it tickles, and then you’ll have to use your spiritual energy to restrain me. But didn’t you say to avoid using spiritual energy whenever possible?”

“No matter how adjustable it is, the spirit restraint device is still made of metal,” Fu Anyu said seriously. “If you struggle, it will definitely hurt you.”

Before Ming Ying could say more, Fu Anyu released her spiritual energy, shaping it into rope-like strands that gently wrapped around Ming Ying’s limbs.

The chill of the water-attuned spiritual energy made Ming Ying shiver. More than once, she’d felt that Fu Anyu’s energy wasn’t water-aligned but ice-aligned.

Once the water energy was securely in place, Ming Ying tested her movement and asked skeptically, “Tied this loosely, will it really work?”

Fu Anyu gave her a complicated look, grasped her back paw, and began trimming her nails.

When Fu Anyu’s fingers touched her paws, Ming Ying consciously tried to hold back, but her body was far more sensitive than she had imagined. Fortunately, the spiritual rope restraints were highly effective, limiting her range of movement. Even when her instincts made her kick out, she couldn’t reach Fu Anyu.

Sensing her intense squirming, Fu Anyu quickly found a method and worked with swift efficiency.

After ten minutes, once she was certain all the nails on both hind paws had been trimmed, she carried the fox back to her little nest and retracted the spiritual rope.

Exhausted from the struggle, Ming Ying collapsed onto the cool mat, panting heavily.

Fu Anyu, meanwhile, cleaned up the trimmed nails and washed the nail clippers. When she returned after putting the clippers away, she saw that Ming Ying’s breathing had steadied. She sat down beside her and asked, “Where did you hear that the Spirit-Control Device could restrain limbs?”

Ming Ying fell silent. She couldn’t very well say she’d dreamed it, that would only invite further questions about what exactly she had dreamed.

She knew full well that while Fu Anyu couldn’t solve her nightmares and insomnia, she was more than willing to help the little fox sister she had just taken in.

Besides, it really wasn’t a pleasant dream, and she absolutely did not want to talk about it.

So, she began to fabricate a story, pinning the blame on a novel: “There was a novel that mentioned a similar magical artifact. The female lead used the Spirit-Control Device to successfully restrain her demon-possessed wife.”

Noticing Fu Anyu’s skeptical look, she quickly adopted a natural tone and added, “So I figured I could use it too.”

Fu Anyu thought for a moment, then asked, “Since you think it works, would you like to test the restraining effect of the Spirit-Control Device?”

Ming Ying thought trying it out couldn’t hurt too much, so she nodded and stood up in her nest to make it easier for Fu Anyu to adjust the device.

Instead of touching it directly, Fu Anyu brought her fingers together, gathered spiritual energy, held them to her lips, and softly recited an incantation.

Ming Ying felt the bell rings on her limbs suddenly tighten. Before she could react, the two Spirit-Control Devices on her hind paws merged into one, emitting a sharp metallic clinking sound.

To her utter shock, Ming Ying couldn’t endure it for even a few seconds. The device squeezed tears from her eyes, and she cried out in pain with loud whimpers.

“I don’t want to try anymore! No more! Sister, save me!!” The moment she screamed, the constricting force loosened. Looking up, she saw Fu Anyu end the incantation.

“The Spirit-Control Device can indeed restrain the wearer,” Fu Anyu said, reaching out to massage the sore spots where it had tightened. “But its purpose is punishment.”

She paused, seemingly to reassure Ming Ying, and added, “Of course, even if you cause trouble again, I would never use it to punish you.”

Ming Ying nuzzled her hand, letting out soft, pitiful whimpers.

She truly hadn’t expected the Spirit-Control Device to be so powerful. If she had to choose between it and an iron cage, she would rather take the cage.

As Fu Anyu massaged the fox, her fingers accidentally brushed against the bells on the device. The light, tinkling sounds snapped Ming Ying out of her daze, and she began playing with the nearby bells herself.

As she played, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

That day, when Fu Anyu had brought out the Spirit-Control Device, she had smelled Fu Anyu’s scent all over the entire set, proof that Fu Anyu had once worn the device from head to toe.

How did Fu Anyu live back then? When she wore so many strange bell rings to school, did she face bullying and gossip from others? If she made a mistake, would she be punished by kneeling or disciplined by the spirit-control device?

Thinking of this, Ming Ying couldn’t help but look at Fu Anyu with sympathy.

“You’ve suffered,” she said.

Just imagining it, she felt that it must have been a very difficult time, and she didn’t know how long it lasted.

Fu Anyu raised an eyebrow slightly and asked in confusion, “Suffered how?”

“I was just thinking about the days you wore the spirit-control device and felt a bit sorry for the you back then,” Ming Ying explained while touching the bell.

Fu Anyu chuckled softly, rubbed her ear, and said nothing.