Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 64

Listening to the frantic heartbeat, Ming Ying instinctively wondered if Fu Anyu was feeling moved.

But she hadn’t noticed any difference in how Fu Anyu treated her recently, there wasn’t even a hint of budding affection.

After some thought, she concluded it was more likely that Fu Anyu disliked such intimate physical contact. However, since Ming Ying was her nominal “little sister,” Fu Anyu couldn’t bring herself to stop it. Perhaps her accelerated heartbeat was due to discomfort or irritation.

After all, Fu Anyu had reacted this way before. Ming Ying still remembered when Fu Anyu had invited her to share the bed, but when Ming Ying eagerly hopped onto the bed, snuggled by the pillow, and said she wanted to watch over her, Fu Anyu had been visibly resistant.

Thinking of this, Ming Ying quickly released Fu Anyu and looked up at her with a smile, saying, “Thank you, sister, for catching me~”

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but as she looked up, she noticed Fu Anyu’s gaze darken slightly, though the shadow vanished almost instantly.

“You’re welcome, let’s go.” Fu Anyu took her hand and led her out of the office.

Ming Ying followed behind, hand in hand. Passing by a glass wall, she instinctively glanced at their reflection and couldn’t help but feel they resembled a mature older sister and an underage little sister.

She regretted not learning the art of disguise from her elder sisters back then. If she could make herself look a bit more mature, perhaps the distance between her and Fu Anyu would lessen.

Unlike now, where every moment reminded her of an older sister taking care of a younger one.

Perhaps because Fu Anyu’s presence was so commanding, as they walked hand in hand toward the cafeteria, everyone they encountered merely greeted them politely, no one gave them a second glance.

Ming Ying observed the employees’ reactions, feeling both relieved and a little disappointed.

Even though human society allowed same-sex relationships and marriage, it seemed no one misunderstood the nature of their relationship.

Both regular employees and executives ate in the same cafeteria. When Fu Anyu brought Ming Ying in to join the queue, the place was bustling with people.

Fu Anyu could easily have had Chen Yanxiao bring meals to the office, but she intentionally wanted Ming Ying to see more of the company she managed. The cafeteria was part of that, offering delicious, affordable dishes ranging from home-style stir-fries to seafood, with pleasant scenery nearby. After eating, they could even visit the small park below to see the koi fish.

Ming Ying was quickly swept up in the lively atmosphere. Watching the employees chat and laugh while lining up for food, occasionally praising the day’s dishes, she inexplicably felt her mood lift. She couldn’t resist peering through the glass display at the offerings.

“Sister, there’s grilled fish! Can I try it?”

“Sure.” Fu Anyu nodded.

“The spicy eggplant and tomato beef brisket look amazing too! Can I have both?”

“Order whatever you’d like.” Fu Anyu nodded again. Ming Ying was still experiencing the “aftereffects” of her transformation into human form, so Fu Anyu didn’t need to worry about the little fox ordering too much and not finishing.

With her assurance, Ming Ying happily picked up a tray and ordered all three dishes she had her eye on. Passing by the dessert section, she also added a slice of cheesecake with filling.

Fu Anyu, on the other hand, chose twice-cooked pork and a portion of sour and spicy cabbage, thinking that if the little fox grew tired of her own meal, she could always share the cabbage to refresh her palate.

Ming Ying wasn’t very good at eating whole fish, but she had tasted deboned fish before and found it incredibly delicious. After serving her rice and sitting down, she worried that eating fish too slowly would let the other dishes get cold and lose their flavor, so she started with the tomato beef brisket first.

Fu Anyu had intentionally saved half a plate of cabbage to go with her twice-cooked pork and had just finished half a bowl of rice when she looked up and noticed Ming Ying’s two dishes and rice bowl were already empty. She was now tearing into the grilled fish with her bare hands.

Grilled fish was usually made with grass carp, and the cafeteria occasionally grilled small yellow croakers. The grilled fish Ming Ying had ordered today was grass carp, which had many small bones. She was eating quite messily, having only managed to finish a small piece after a long while, and had wasted a lot of fish meat while spitting out the bones.

Fu Anyu fetched an empty bowl, put on the disposable gloves that came with the grilled fish from Ming Ying’s plate, and skillfully deboned and separated the remaining pieces of grilled fish into her own bowl.

Ming Ying was so focused on eating that she didn’t even stop Fu Anyu when she took the fish away, merely making a mental note that “Fu Anyu also likes grilled fish.”

But she never expected that a few minutes later, the grilled fish pieces Fu Anyu had taken would turn into snow-white, deboned fish meat, served in a bowl and placed right in front of her.

“Sister, aren’t you going to eat the fish?” Ming Ying asked in surprise, looking up.

Only then did she realize she might have misunderstood, Fu Anyu hadn’t taken the fish to eat it herself but to debone it for her.

“Not today, it’s all for you,” Fu Anyu said, taking off the gloves to show her. “In the future, before eating fish, put these on. They’ll keep your hands from getting too stained with sauce and fishy smell.”

When Ming Ying had received the grilled fish plate, she had seen the plastic gloves but didn’t know what they were for. After hearing Fu Anyu’s explanation, she nodded in sudden understanding.

Fish meat was best when dipped in the sauce. Ming Ying picked up a piece of fish, swiped it through the sauce on the plate, but then placed it into Fu Anyu’s bowl.

“Sister, you’ve worked hard,” she said softly, blinking, and without waiting for a response, lowered her head to eat the fish in her own bowl.

When she looked up again, she noticed the piece of fish she had given was gone and couldn’t help but smile.

Fu Anyu had said she “wasn’t going to eat,” but she actually wanted to! She just wanted to save all the fish for Ming Ying, much like how her own mother used to coax her into eating the best meat by claiming, “I don’t like it.”

The moment she thought of her mother, her long-suppressed homesickness was suddenly stirred. She lowered her eyes, feeling a bit downcast, and immediately bent her head to continue eating the fish in silence, afraid that Fu Anyu would notice the change in her expression.

She had thought that as long as she didn’t actively dwell on it, she wouldn’t miss her family so much. But she hadn’t expected that even giving Fu Anyu a piece of fish could unconsciously remind her of the times she was cared for by her family.

However, Fu Anyu still noticed her unusual demeanor. After Ming Ying swallowed a bite of fish, she said to her, “I’ll be very busy this afternoon. After lunch, let Xiao Chen take you back so you can take a nap.”

Ming Ying didn’t refuse, forcing a smile and nodding. Seeing Fu Anyu wipe her hands clean and pick up her phone to type, probably sending a message to Xiao Chen, she quickened her pace eating the remaining fish in her bowl.

After finishing lunch, she went home with Xiao Chen, and Fu Anyu began her lunch break.

Neither of them had any idea that the employees’ slacking-off chat group had exploded during the break.

“Did you all see it at noon?!!”

“What did you see? But judging by how excited you are, you must be talking about President Fu and her little sister~”

“I was in the cafeteria, and I saw it clearly! President Fu was picking out fish bones for that little sister! I’m screaming!!”

“Really?! Isn’t President Fu famously known as the ‘Ice-Queen, Three-No Tycoon’? What’s with picking out fish bones??”

“Maybe this is what they mean by ‘a fierce tiger can still stop to smell the roses.'”

“Hey, you up there, I guess you don’t want your year-end bonus anymore. [dog head.jpg]”

“So, is no one shipping this pair? I think it’s cute whether it’s an older-younger dynamic or not.”

“You dare ship the younger one?! I don’t care, President Fu will always be the ultimate top in my heart!”

“Let’s not go that far. I still firmly believe it’s just a familial bond, otherwise President Fu’s character would totally collapse.”

“Yeah, don’t just ship anything just because the boss is single.”

…

As the president’s personal assistant, Du Yunxin was naturally also an employee of Shengwei Group. However, her work location had recently shifted to Fu Anyu’s home, and she hadn’t been to the office since Fu Anyu dismissed the housekeeping auntie.

But that didn’t mean she was out of the loop when it came to office gossip. She had a burner account in the employees’ slacking-off group chat.

When she saw the group blowing up with messages about Fu Anyu and a “little sister,” Du Yunxin stared at her phone in shock for a long moment before suddenly remembering that Chen Yanxue had messaged her earlier that morning, saying Fu Anyu had brought Ming Ying to the company.

By the time she snapped out of it, she was already wearing a knowing, matchmaking grin.

Based on her understanding of Fu Anyu, she was certain that Fu Anyu had developed feelings for the little fox.

But she also knew Fu Anyu well, reserved, tsundere, and having maintained a “no romance” persona for years. Even if she did want to pursue a relationship, Fu Anyu would never be the one to make the first move.

If this relationship were to progress, the breakthrough would have to come from the little fox.

So, the moment Ming Ying returned home, Du Yunxin pulled her into a room with a serious expression.

Ming Ying, confused, watched as Du Yunxin closed the door and asked in surprise, “Is there something you need to tell me?”

“Yes, it’s something very important,” Du Yunxin nodded, then got straight to the point. “What do you think of President Fu?”

Ming Ying immediately understood the underlying meaning of the question. Stunned by the directness and wanting to keep her own feelings hidden, she instinctively replied, “She’s really nice, a gentle and considerate older sister.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Du Yunxin waved her hand dismissively. “I mean, do you want to date President Fu?”

“I don’t,” Ming Ying denied without hesitation, offering the most fitting excuse she could think of. “I’ll have to go home sooner or later, and once I’m back, I probably won’t return to the human world.”

“Would you really never come back?” Du Yunxin frowned slightly.

Ming Ying hesitated for a moment before steeling herself and telling a clumsy lie: “Actually, I ran away from an arranged marriage. I… I have a fiancé. But it was arranged by my parents and a matchmaker. I don’t have the power to break off the engagement.”

After saying this, her face flushed red, partly from the nervousness of lying, and partly from the guilt and frustration of saying something that went against her true feelings.

Du Yunxin: ???

Although she wasn’t sure whether it was true or not, she was still quite shocked. Yet she knew she couldn’t bring up the topic of romance again, so she could only say, “Little fox, you must think this through. If you give up this opportunity, you might regret it later!”

Ming Ying was taken aback.

Would she regret it, if she kept her feelings for Fu Anyu hidden in her heart forever?

Ming Ying had never faced such a choice before and found herself momentarily lost in confusion.