Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 6

Ming Ying was unwilling, but she was terrified of Fu Anyu, even more afraid that making too many demands would land her back in the cage.

After all, she was a prisoner now, even her sleeping arrangements and meals were entirely at Fu Anyu’s mercy.

Her stomach still rumbled with hunger, but Ming Ying glanced at the bowl filled with brown pellets, remained curled up on the floor, and had no intention of going back to eat.

Those pellets were unpalatable to begin with. Since that awful woman was willing to feed her meat and potatoes, she had even less desire to touch the food she disliked.

“Are you full?” Fu Anyu suddenly asked.

Noticing a slight softening in her tone, Ming Ying’s eyes lit up. She deliberately replied in a weak voice, “No.”

Fu Anyu glanced at the barely touched dog food, picked up the spare empty bowl from the tray, filled half of it with white rice, and topped the other half with braised beef brisket and potatoes. She then ladled a spoonful of meat broth over the steaming rice and set it in front of Ming Ying.

The rich aroma of meat wafted over, and Ming Ying froze, staring at Fu Anyu in astonishment. But the other woman simply went back to eating the remaining food on her own.

Ming Ying desperately wanted to ask Fu Anyu why she had suddenly had a change of heart and given her different food, but she felt certain the awful woman wouldn’t explain. So, she began eating voraciously, shoveling both the beef brisket and potato chunks into her mouth to fill her stomach.

However, she wasn’t used to eating in her beast form, and rice wasn’t as easy to eat as a fried egg. Before she had taken more than a few bites, she accidentally spilled some food on the floor. Immediately, the scruff of her neck was gripped tightly.

“I’ll feed you,” Fu Anyu’s voice sounded above her, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Ming Ying struggled free from the hand holding her scruff and watched as Fu Anyu picked up the bowl from the floor, scooped a spoonful of rice, and brought it to her mouth, just like feeding a young cub. She felt a little embarrassed but obediently opened her mouth.

A spoonful of beef brisket and potato rice entered her mouth. The portion wasn’t large, making it easy for her to chew a little before swallowing.

As soon as she finished one spoonful, another followed. Fu Anyu waited patiently beside her, refilling the spoon each time she finished.

The more Ming Ying ate, the more confused she became, unable to understand why the awful woman was feeding her. But her attention soon shifted entirely to the meal, and before long, the entire bowl of beef brisket and potato rice had vanished into her stomach.

By the time Fu Anyu stopped feeding her, Ming Ying’s belly was round and full, so stuffed she could hardly move.

After wiping Ming Ying’s mouth, Fu Anyu carried her back to the dog bed. Once the fox curled up, rubbing her full stomach, Fu Anyu rang for the housekeeper to come in and clean up. The housekeeper took away the tray, along with the leftover dog food Ming Ying hadn’t finished.

“What do you usually like to eat?” After the housekeeper closed the door, Fu Anyu sat back in front of her computer, typing as she asked Ming Ying.

Ming Ying looked up, somewhat bewildered, and after a moment’s thought, casually listed a few items: “Roe deer legs, deer tendon, mandarin duck eggs, bird’s nest.”

“…” Fu Anyu fell silent for a second before remarking, “The mountain spirits certainly eat well.”

Ming Ying keenly noticed the change in her expression and her heart sank. She hurriedly backtracked, “I was joking! What I usually love most is chicken, especially roasted chicken.”

“There’s roasted chicken tonight,” Fu Anyu cut in. “On one condition, you have to behave.”

Ming Ying understood exactly what she meant and nodded repeatedly, her mood instantly lifting. Unconsciously, she began to wag the tip of her tail.

Fu Anyu refilled her water bowl, finished handling her documents, glanced at the time, closed her laptop, packed it into her bag, and left the bedroom.

Ming Ying lay curled in her small nest, replaying the earlier conversation in her mind. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have accidentally revealed something. Though unfamiliar with human realm cuisine, she had indeed loved those specific delicacies back in the demon realm.

Yet the wicked woman hadn’t grabbed her by the scruff nor locked her back in the iron cage. Instead, she’d refilled her water bowl. Perhaps she hadn’t given herself away after all.

Having gathered some spiritual energy that morning to restore her powers, Ming Ying immediately cast a detection barrier on the door the moment Fu Anyu left.

Anyone approaching within five steps of the barrier would trigger her awareness. This single-use enchantment would dissipate upon contact – even someone as powerful as the wicked woman might not detect its presence.

Being obedient was out of the question, but she could at least avoid making a mess. Once the barrier was set, Ming Ying scrambled from her nest and limped toward the button-controlled device Fu Anyu had placed elsewhere. Carrying it back in her mouth, she began randomly stepping on the buttons while facing the black slab on the wall.

Unsure which button had activated the slab last time, she decided to try them all until she found the right one.

Soon she hit the power button. The black slab lit up, revealing a beaming woman who enthusiastically announced, “Today I’ll teach you how to make a Chinese dessert – lotus flower pastry.”

Ming Ying immediately retracted her paw, afraid she might accidentally change the viewing surface. But she soon placed her paw back, turning down the woman’s voice.

Lotus flower pastry existed in the demon realm too, and Ming Ying loved it, though she’d never seen how it was made. After adjusting the volume, she watched with growing interest.

She quickly observed human kitchen tools and cookware. As the woman explained, text occasionally appeared on the screen.

Ming Ying studied the characters carefully, noticing some resembled familiar writing and sounded similar when read aloud, though with simplified strokes. She guessed humans had adapted these characters to create their own language.

This method of character creation was quite common among demons too. Once she discerned the patterns, Ming Ying began learning the characters systematically.

The human realm contained countless things she’d never seen or experienced. She needed to master their writing quickly so she could properly inquire about unfamiliar matters when asking human residents.

Eventually, she would have to leave the wicked woman’s territory and return to the demon realm.

Fu Anyu seemed to have vanished somewhere. Ming Ying watched the black slab all afternoon without sensing anyone trigger the door barrier. The elderly woman who came earlier to clean hadn’t returned, and no one approached the bedroom.

After learning some characters from various humans on the black slab, Ming Ying turned it off, returned the button device to its original spot, and began exploring the bedroom.

The wicked woman’s bedroom was quite spacious. Near the desk stood a sliding door that wouldn’t open, leading to who-knows-where. Another closed door stood beside the bed. Following methods, she’d seen humans use on the black slab, Ming Ying channeled spiritual energy to twist the handle downward, easily opening it.

Curious, she entered and found numerous bottles and containers on a white counter. However, the characters on these containers differed greatly from those she’d just learned. They looked more like talismanic symbols than proper writing – mysterious patterns she’d never encountered and couldn’t decipher at all.

Is this room… a “restroom” or a “bathroom”?

Ming Ying tried to match the newly learned words with the objects before her, eventually settling on “bathroom” as what she deemed the appropriate term.

Since it’s a bathroom, there should be a bathtub, a curtain, and some scented items, right?

With this thought in mind, Ming Ying began searching around.

She discovered two mirrors in the bathroom, one above the white counter and another right in front of her, tall and crystal clear. Curious, she moved closer to the mirror to examine her current appearance.

Her kind was born with nine tails, naturally endowed with immense spiritual power. But now, she only had one tail left. The other eight weren’t gone, they had simply retreated temporarily due to her depleted spiritual energy. Once she gathered enough spiritual energy to recover, she would regain her nine tails.

Ming Ying turned her head left and right, feeling that her fox form was too plump. Though her fur was fluffy, it lacked strength, and she now resembled a snow fox from the frigid lands. Fortunately, fox spirits didn’t shed their fur frequently with the seasons. She would rather be round and cute than thin and scrawny like a stray dog on the streets.

After checking her reflection, she found the “bathtub.”

The porcelain-like “bathtub” was much larger than she had imagined, horizontal and almost half the size of a bed. Ming Ying reached out a paw to tap the side of the tub, finding it incredibly smooth. With her leg still injured, she wouldn’t be able to climb inside, so she gave up and turned her attention to the partitioned-off area.

Just then, the detection barrier she had set up at the door was suddenly triggered. Ming Ying hurriedly dashed out of the bathroom, limping on her injured leg as she scurried back to her little bed, using a bit of spiritual energy to gently close the bathroom door behind her.

She had just settled onto the dog bed when Fu Anyu pushed the door open and entered. Her previously immaculate suit had been replaced by loose, light-blue loungewear.

After setting her laptop bag on the table, she walked straight toward the fox obediently curled up on the dog bed, her eyes scanning the bedroom.

Ming Ying tucked herself into a tighter ball, her heart pounding nervously as she heard the footsteps drawing closer.

She reassured herself, there was no water on the bathroom floor, she hadn’t stepped on anything dirty, and she hadn’t left any traces. Everything in the room was either untouched or returned to its original place after she had moved it. There was no way the mean woman would notice.

Fu Anyu soon sat down beside her and reached out a hand.

Ming Ying grew even more tense. She lifted her head to look at the hand hovering in the air and let out a soft whimper, unsure what Fu Anyu planned to do to her this time.

Fu Anyu lowered her hand and gently patted Ming Ying’s head. Ming Ying lowered her head but remained in the same position.

Then, she felt Fu Anyu’s hand rest on top of her head, fingers combing through her fur and giving a few light scratches.

Ming Ying vaguely recalled that when she was young and hadn’t yet learned to take human form, her parents would pat her head and stroke her fur whenever she did something that pleased them. They had told her it was a reward.

She looked at Fu Anyu in surprise, a flicker of joy beginning to rise within her, only to be cut short by the woman’s cool voice: “You haven’t been good.”