Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 58

Ming Ying recalled that the first time she dreamed of being saved by Fu Anyu was during their initial encounter.

Back then, she had just been picked up by Fu Anyu and was dozing off in the car when she dreamed of being chased by a malevolent demon. Midway, she encountered Fu Anyu, who grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her up.

At the time, in a desperate bid for survival, she threw herself into Fu Anyu’s embrace, pleading for rescue. Fu Anyu then swiftly eliminated the pursuing demons. However, since her first impression of Fu Anyu hadn’t been favorable, as soon as the demons in her dream were slain, she immediately imagined Fu Anyu tightening her grip around her neck.

As for the second time, it was the dream she had not long ago.

After pondering for a while, Ming Ying concluded that it must be because Fu Anyu was so powerful, providing her with a sense of security. Thus, whenever she dreamed of being in danger, Fu Anyu would come to her rescue in the dream.

But then she thought of Chen Yanxue, who was equally formidable. Even though she had only been briefly intimidated by Chen Yanxue once, she could still make a simple comparison of their strengths and realized they were evenly matched.

Yet, when truly in peril, even outside her dreams where Xiao Chen could have intervened, she would only call out Fu Anyu’s name.

As if Fu Anyu were her only anchor.

At this thought, Ming Ying felt warmth gradually spreading across her cheeks, quickly creeping up to her ears and neck.

Although their time together had been brief, she was acutely aware of her inner changes. Moreover, lately, even the slightest contact with Fu Anyu would make her blush and her heart race. She was even willing to endure discomfort and tuck her tail into Fu Anyu’s embrace.

What kind of feelings she had developed for Fu Anyu, she understood it better than anyone.

Yet, she also knew clearly that she couldn’t voice them.

Fu Anyu strongly rejected topics of romance, and until Ming Ying understood the reason behind it, she couldn’t recklessly push their relationship further. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful and offensive to Fu Anyu.

Being able to glimpse the side of Fu Anyu that emerged after the ice melted was already enough for her; she didn’t dare ask for more.

Ming Ying suddenly felt grateful for her own innocence. Because of this innocence, no matter what she did, it wouldn’t lead Fu Anyu to overthink. Instead, Fu Anyu would attribute it to her naivety. Even if she kissed Fu Anyu on the cheek and said, blushing, “Sister, I like you.” Fu Anyu would probably just take it as her being affectionate.

However, she admitted to herself that she wasn’t thick-skinned enough to say such things yet.

Unable to continue her analysis, Ming Ying turned off her tablet, picked up the Shiba Inu plush still on the floor, cast a dust-removal spell on it, and hugged it while letting out a frustrated groan.

She needed to carefully consider how to interact with Fu Anyu in a way that would satisfy her own emotional needs without provoking Fu Anyu’s aversion.

After returning from the meeting in Y City, Fu Anyu plunged into another round of busyness.

In addition to company affairs, she also had to deal with exorcising evil spirits.

Hu Xiuliu was still recovering from his injuries. Even though the black cat knew methods to speed up his recovery, Hu Xiuliu had suffered damage to his bones and muscles, so it would take at least half a month for him to heal properly.

The local clients who had originally sought his help could only, under his guidance, post their requests on the demon hunter task website. Occasionally, some evil spirits proved particularly troublesome. Once such requests were uploaded and reviewed, they would be assigned to highly skilled and experienced demon hunters like Fu Anyu, and the already substantial rewards would be doubled.

Logically speaking, Fu Anyu, who presided over the thriving Shengwei Group, was already beyond financial need. There was no reason for her to return from work only to undertake tasks of uncertain danger. Yet, she simply didn’t trust her peers, so whenever a task was assigned to her, she never refused.

Ming Ying lay on the bed in the bedroom, thinking for a long time without arriving at the most suitable way to interact. Instead, she was informed by Du Yunxin that Fu Anyu would be working overtime today, which only worsened her already low spirits.

Upon hearing the news, she took out the phone Fu Anyu had given her, stroked the glass case that held her beloved painting, opened WeChat, tapped on Fu Anyu’s profile picture, and sent a sulky message.

[Little Fox: Sister, why didn’t you tell me directly? Didn’t you say that once I had a phone, I wouldn’t need to hear things relayed through Xiao Du?]

Actually, Fu Anyu’s exact words had been, “From now on, if there’s anything, you can message me directly. No need to have Xiao Du pass it along.” But clearly, she had forgotten this herself. Once she got busy, whenever she thought of something to tell the little fox, she instinctively contacted her assistant, Du Yunxin, first.

After sending the message, Ming Ying curled up against the Shiba Inu plush pillow, waiting for Fu Anyu’s reply.

With Xiao Du’s help, she had recorded her own vocalizations and set them as the notification sound for incoming messages. After waiting just a few seconds, she heard her phone emit a soft “ying” sound.

Ming Ying hurriedly unlocked the screen, eagerly checking the message.

[Sister: Sorry, I haven’t gotten used to the new habit yet.]

[Sister: Working overtime tonight, not sure when I’ll be back. If you need to freshen up, just let Xiao Du know. No need to wait for me.]

After reading the message, Ming Ying’s little fox face fell again. Her fox ears drooped as she was about to reply with an “Okay,” but before hitting send, she deleted the text and rewrote it.

[Little Fox: I don’t want to. I’m afraid of having nightmares. It doesn’t matter how late you come back, Sister. I’ll wait for you no matter what.]

After sending the message, Ming Ying noticed the “typing…” indicator appear in the chat box, but Fu Anyu’s reply was slow to come.

Ming Ying rubbed the phone case, worrying whether her words seemed too willful, when her phone let out another “ying.”

She quickly lowered her head to read Fu Anyu’s reply, only to be utterly confused.

[Sister: At 6 p.m., Xiao Chen will come to pick you up.]

Ming Ying looked left and right, unable to figure out where Xiao Chen could possibly take her besides Fu Anyu’s company. Yet, she couldn’t help but recall a scene from The Ice-Queen CEO’s Fierce Love, where the overtime-working CEO sent the driver to pick up the little wife waiting at home. That very night, the two of them ended up in the spacious, quiet office…

Although she was certain Fu Anyu couldn’t possibly mean that, she tossed her phone aside and excitedly rolled back and forth on the bed a few times. Only when the heat in her face subsided a little did she pick up her phone again and send a message: “Okay~”

With something to look forward to, Ming Ying’s mood improved significantly. Humming a little tune, she went to find Du Yunxin, first changing the dressing on her right hand, then asking her to help change her clothes.

“Fox Immortal, are you off to some kind of rendezvous again?” Du Yunxin asked teasingly as she buttoned Ming Ying’s clothes.

Seeing that Du Yunxin still didn’t know Fu Anyu had changed the plan, Ming Ying, though delighted, truthfully explained the situation, fully expecting Du Yunxin to look at her with shock and astonishment.

Du Yunxin was indeed taken aback, but her expression quickly turned serious.

“You might not realize what kind of overtime work President Fu is actually doing,” Du Yunxin said. “Remember the last time President Fu went to rescue a cat on the overpass?”

Ming Ying froze for a moment, that incident was deeply etched in her memory. It was the first time she had caught the scent of another demon on Fu Anyu.

“You mean…” she thought of Fu Anyu’s side job as an exorcist and tentatively asked, “When sister said ‘overtime,’ she meant carrying out missions to maintain social order?”

In the human realm, all matters related to demon fell under the jurisdiction of exorcists. Although the profession was called “exorcism,” their duties weren’t limited to eliminating demon. After all, the human realm in this era was one of peace and prosperity, with very few evil demon.

“Exactly,” Du Yunxin nodded. “So, you might want to consider changing into clothes that are easier to move in. If you really run into an evil demon or malevolent spirit that needs capturing, the outfit you’re wearing now will probably get ruined.”

Ming Ying shivered and instinctively nodded. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. So, what should I wear?”

This was her favorite outfit, and it had once been worn by Fu Anyu. She couldn’t bear to get it dirty, let alone let it be destroyed by an evil demon!

So, Du Yunxin took her to her own wardrobe, opened the door, and pulled out three or four sets of sportswear.

“These are all my sportswear, they’re really durable, so you can move around freely in them!” Du Yunxin said generously.

Ming Ying picked up the clothes and examined each one carefully.

She noticed that the clothes had very little decoration and the styles were simple, basically just slip-on pieces, but the fabric quality was top-notch. Just as Xiao Du had said, they could withstand a lot of wear and tear.

Moreover, the clothes were all clean, and when she brought them close to her nose, she could smell a faint, unknown floral scent. While she didn’t particularly love it, she was still quite willing to wear them.

She picked out a red top with white trim and black pants, and Du Yunxin handed her a white short-sleeved undershirt. Tucking her tail away, she put everything on and checked herself in the mirror, feeling fairly satisfied.

“Your hairstyle needs a change too, how about a high ponytail?” Du Yunxin asked from behind her.

After quite a bit of grooming and preparation, when Chen Yanxue arrived by car to pick up Ming Ying, she was met with the sight of a fully equipped, high-ponytailed girl being pushed out the door, holding a baseball bat.

Chen Yanxue raised an eyebrow and glanced behind Ming Ying. Knowing this was Xiao Du’s handiwork, she couldn’t help but comment, “You really don’t need the baseball bat. If she concentrates energy into her claws, they’re sharper than any weapon.”

“But we can’t lose in terms of presence!” Du Yunxin said with a bright smile.

“You’re right,” Chen Yanxue didn’t want to discourage her. After saying that, she opened the passenger door for Ming Ying.

Ming Ying had never seen Fu Anyu sit in that seat before. Once settled, she looked around curiously.

“Fasten your seatbelt, they check for that on the road,” Chen Yanxue said as she got into the driver’s seat, pulling out the seatbelt and showing her how to buckle it. “And change your ears too.”

Ming Ying obediently complied. Only when the car had left the villa area did she curiously ask, “What kind of malevolent spirit are we capturing tonight?”

“A vengeful ghost,” Chen Yanxue replied while keeping her eyes on the road. “If you’re scared of ghosts, you can stay in the car. It’s already been marked with talismans, the vengeful ghost won’t come near to attack.”

“Exorcists also deal with catching ghosts?!” Ming Ying’s eyes widened in surprise.

“We do,” Chen Yanxue said.

She didn’t tell Ming Ying that this profession wasn’t originally called “Demon Exorcist.” As for what it used to be called, it no longer mattered.

Having just finished a greasy dinner with meat and vegetables, Ming Ying felt her stomach churning uncomfortably. She rolled down the car window to let in some fresh air.

But barely a moment after the car started moving, she was hit by an overwhelmingly pungent, fishy stench. Caught off guard, she immediately covered her mouth and retched.

“We’re here,” Chen Yanxue parked the car and, noticing Ming Ying covering her nose with a furrowed brow, couldn’t help but warn her, “The smell outside will only be stronger. If you want to wait here for President Fu.”

“I’m going to find her!” Ming Ying said firmly. “This is the smell of blood. The stronger the scent, the more powerful the vengeful spirit. I have to help my sister!”

“Suit yourself.” Chen Yanxue said no more and handed her a special odor-blocking mask designed for demons. “Put this on and follow me.”