Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 47

Although Ming Ying clearly remembered that her tail could only be touched by her future husband, she now wanted to follow her heart and entrust her tail to the human she trusted most at this moment.

Fu Anyu looked down at the tail in her arms but did not reach out to stroke it.

“Why?” she asked. “I remember you said a demon’s tail shouldn’t be casually touched.”

It was precisely because the little fox had once scolded her with this reason that, despite her curiosity about the fox’s tail, she had refrained from touching it again.

“That’s because,” Ming Ying initially intended to tell the truth, but as the words reached her lips, she changed her mind. “For demons, the tail is a very sensitive area, just like, how humans wouldn’t easily let others touch, um, you probably understand what I mean.”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t touching your tail be taking liberties with you?” Fu Anyu countered.

Ming Ying hadn’t expected her to be so direct. Stunned for a moment, she finally understood why only a husband was qualified to touch her tail.

But right now, she desperately wanted Fu Anyu to stroke her tail. Steeling herself, she insisted, “If I agree, then it doesn’t count!”

Then she added, “I’m only allowing you to touch it. Don’t tell Xiao Du!”

Her four tails wriggled in Fu Anyu’s arms as if in agreement.

Fu Anyu glanced at her and tentatively stroked the tail closest to her hand.

Ming Ying’s body immediately stiffened. A strange, tingling sensation traveled up from her tail, making it hard for her to sit still. Even her ears, which had dropped from shyness, instantly perked up.

She could clearly feel Fu Anyu’s fingers gliding over her fur, moving gently along its direction. She faintly recalled that every time Fu Anyu stroked her tail, her movements were always soft and never rough.

She even began to lose herself in this “uncomfortable” sensation, her cheeks gradually warming.

It was like eating Xiao Du’s chili sauce, painful yet pleasurable.

Even so, Ming Ying gripped her own wrist, slightly parted her lips, and took deep breaths to calm the physiological reactions stirred by the tail-stroking.

Fu Anyu immediately noticed her unusual state and withdrew her hand, looking at Ming Ying’s flushed face.

As an adult, she understood at a glance what the little fox’s condition meant.

“I should start gathering spiritual energy,” she said.

Ming Ying responded with a delayed “Mm,” shifting back to the center of the small spirit-gathering array. She sat cross-legged, obediently waiting.

Only after watching Ming Ying spread all four tails behind her did Fu Anyu settle in the center of the large spirit-gathering array, close her eyes, and begin gathering energy.

This time, while guarding her, Ming Ying no longer felt flustered or distracted.

Another afternoon passed in meditation. Knowing the little fox was prone to hunger, Fu Anyu ended her trance just before dinner.

Ming Ying opened her eyes along with her and saw the evening glow spilling into the room. Through the window, the clouds in the sky burned as red as fire, reminding her of Du Yunxin’s suggestion.

“In the evening, you can come here to watch the sunset.”

“Sister, can you accompany me to the rooftop to watch the sunset?” she hurriedly asked Fu Anyu. After all, Fu Anyu hadn’t been out in the sun all day!

Fu Anyu glanced out the window.

At this hour, the summer heat hadn’t fully subsided. The rooftop of the villa was still scorching hot. They would have to wait a little longer, until Du Yunxin went up to splash water on the floor, for the temperature to gradually cool down.

But when she turned her face, she saw the little fox looking at her with hopeful eyes, her four tails occasionally stretching and curling, clearly in a good mood. Not wanting to spoil her excitement, she nodded and said, “Let’s go.”

Ming Ying was overjoyed. She got up, stepped into her slippers, and rushed to the door first, opening it and heading upstairs.

However, as soon as she opened the door to the outside, she was met with a wave of scorching heat that forced her to step back repeatedly.

Fu Anyu quickly caught up and, seeing the little fox hesitating in front of the closed door, casually released water-based spiritual energy to form a thin water barrier around her. “You can go out now,” she reminded her.

Ming Ying felt embarrassed hearing her footsteps. She had been the one to suggest going out, yet she was the one too afraid to step outside. She hadn’t expected Fu Anyu to solve her dilemma so quickly.

She thanked her and pushed the door open with renewed enthusiasm.

The scene outside was just as Xiao Du had described, it was breathtakingly beautiful at sunset. Clusters of clouds were dyed red or purple by the sunlight, and the azure sky had transformed into a comforting warm hue.

With the water barrier cooling her, Ming Ying stood by the railing and looked around.

There weren’t many houses in this area, and each was spaced far apart. The tallest building was only three stories high, a stark contrast to the towering skyscrapers outside.

She saw the front yard of Fu Anyu’s house. Beyond the gate, there were many green trees and plants not far away, and a little further ahead, a small pond surrounded by beautiful wheat-colored stones was spraying water.

Ming Ying stared blankly for a while, reminded of the times she had sat alone on the palace roof, watching the sunset over the imperial city.

The direction of the sunset was the west. She couldn’t help but look toward the sun sinking behind the mountains, but the glare made her instinctively close her eyes.

“Can you find the method for making messenger talisman birds on that app?” she suddenly asked Fu Anyu. “I thought,  if I release one toward the sunset, maybe, it could fly home.”

“I advise against it,” Fu Anyu said. “Talisman birds are an unmonitored form of communication. If they’re discovered flying within the city, they’ll be destroyed on the spot.”

Ming Ying felt a pang of disappointment, but she understood it was for the safety of the city and nodded in acceptance.

“I still really want to go home.” she murmured softly. “Mostly, I want to reassure my parents and my clan.”

After all, she was the little princess of the Nine-Tailed Fox clan, raised with care and affection since childhood. Her sudden disappearance would surely lead to punishment for the guards who had accompanied her, and her parents would undoubtedly send their clansmen far and wide to search for her.

She couldn’t let her worried family suffer.

“Why are there so many demons living in the city, yet the entrance to the demon realm is so hard to find?” Ming Ying looked up at the sky. “Does it constantly change its location?”

Fu Anyu fell silent for a few seconds before telling her the truth. “Actually, the entrance to the demon realm suddenly vanished a hundred years ago. Many demons who had come to trade with humans were stranded in the human world, homeless. Many humans took them in voluntarily, and the rulers at the time worked to provide them with shelter, which led to the initial draft of the ‘Demon Race Life Guidelines.'”

Ming Ying stared in disbelief and instinctively asked, “Then… when you said you were helping me find my way home, were you lying to me?”

“I didn’t deceive you,” Fu Anyu shook her head. “There are actually some clues about the location of the entrance to the demon realm, so I still want to try to find it.”

“But you also said that after the detention period, you would have Xiao Chen send me back.”

“That was indeed a lie,” Fu Anyu admitted. “Demons who refuse to provide a detailed address and whose identity is unclear are considered invaders. I wanted to use that to keep you calm and get you to tell me voluntarily.”

When Ming Ying heard that the entrance to the demon realm had been missing for a hundred years, she had already felt a bit uneasy. But Fu Anyu’s honesty made her waver.

She bit her lip, looked down at the nightgown she was wearing and the slippers on her feet, and murmured, “So, is it because you knew I couldn’t go back that you were willing to take care of me?”

If it were her, and one day she picked up a human on the street, someone naive and in a sorry state, and she knew that person couldn’t go home, she would probably do her best to take care of them too.

She had no worries about food or clothing, and having one more person around, especially someone who was willing to listen to her, not run around, and not cause trouble, wasn’t a big deal for her.

For Fu Anyu, it was probably the same, just taking care of a stray fox in passing.

Even though she felt that Fu Anyu might not think that way, for some reason, she just felt very sad.

She was both sad and angry, but she couldn’t quite understand why she was feeling this way or what exactly she was upset about.

Ming Ying heard a faint “crack” the water barrier protecting her was about to run out of spiritual power and had developed a crack.

Fu Anyu raised her hand to replenish the spiritual power but was stopped by Ming Ying grabbing her wrist.

“Answer me!” Ming Ying raised her voice.

“I wasn’t sure if you could go home,” Fu Anyu said, lowering her gaze to look at her. “So, when I bought things for you, I considered both possibilities.”

“First, if you could go home, then everything you needed in the human world would be temporary, including your ID and residence permit.”

“Second, if you couldn’t go back, then until you grew up enough to live independently, you would need to stay by my side.”

Seeing the little fox remain silent, biting her lip and looking at her with tears welling up in her eyes, Fu Anyu patted her head and answered seriously, “Besides, I didn’t do these things just out of pity.”

She supported Ming Ying’s back and gently guided her into the house.

Ming Ying, overwhelmed by her emotions, followed her into the house without a word, went downstairs, and was led to the guest room.

She recalled how Fu Anyu had treated her when she first arrived, it had seemed harsh, and she had secretly called Fu Anyu a “bad woman.” But that wasn’t really the case.

It was only later that she found out the food she ate that day was expensive pet-specific dog food, and she had slept in a pet bed. Clearly, Fu Anyu had initially treated her as a pet. But when she protested about the food and accommodations, Fu Anyu quickly adjusted her meals. And as they got to know each other better, she was even allowed to sleep in the bed.

But Fu Anyu could have just ignored her. When she was reading e-books, she came across cases where stray demons were provided with housing. With Fu Anyu’s financial resources, it wouldn’t have been difficult to find a place for her to live on her own.

But still,

Ming Ying couldn’t help but look around the room she was in.

Although the detention period had already passed, Fu Anyu still kept her and even had her stay in her old room. After learning about her identity, he took her measurements and planned to have his tailor make new clothes for her.

Indeed, as Fu Anyu himself had said, this was no longer something one would do out of mere sympathy.

“If it’s not out of sympathy, then why…” Ming Ying blurted out the question but stopped herself halfway.

Some things lose their meaning when questioned too deeply.