Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 80

Before Ming Ying could get an answer, Fu Anyu had already caught up with Hu Xiuliu and retrieved the walking stick.

Hu Xiuliu smiled and asked Ming Ying, “Feeling better now?”, acting as if it were genuine. Ming Ying blinked at him and was about to play the part of the obedient little sister by saying, “Much better!” But before the words could leave her mouth, faint whispers drifted into her ears from somewhere, so soft yet still audible:

“President Fu and the others look just like a family of three.”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect President Fu’s fiancé to come too.”

“The little sister is so adorable. I wonder if President Fu will have such a cute daughter in the future.”

The little fox couldn’t stand hearing such remarks. She bristled instantly, grinding her teeth in anger.

Even though she knew Hu Xiuliu was no longer Fu Anyu’s fiancé and had even been helping to bring her and Fu Anyu closer, she still felt provoked. Maintaining a smile on her face, she lowered her voice and gritted out, “I feel perfectly fine.”

Hu Xiuliu: ???

His hearing wasn’t as sharp as Ming Ying’s, so he hadn’t caught the female employees’ whispers behind them. He was utterly baffled.

This little fox was all smiles and winks just a moment ago, why is she suddenly glaring at me? That doesn’t make sense.

Regardless, his survival instincts and intuition prompted him to quickly retreat, putting distance between himself and the bristling little fox and Fu Anyu.

The black cat in his arms let out a surprised “Meow,” not understanding why he was so jumpy.

By now, the group had already covered half the distance with the main crowd. In about ten more minutes, they would reach the hot spring area of the mountain resort.

Ming Ying walked slowly beside Fu Anyu, occasionally overhearing the excited chatter of the employees. However, none of the conversations were about them, they were either casual daily talk or gossip about recent “melons.”

Ming Ying still didn’t quite understand what “eating melons” meant, but it occurred to her that melons grown in the mountains must be very sweet. She decided to ask about it once they entered the resort, hoping to get one or two to chill in the spring water and share with Fu Anyu.

Though they were walking in the mountains, the trees here were far younger than those around Zhuqing Taoist Temple. Occasionally, they passed through patches of intense sunlight.

Ming Ying heard a few men shouting, “Run from the poison!” as they exaggeratedly skirted the sunny areas, their strange and comical movements drawing bursts of laughter.

Unconsciously, Ming Ying was swept up in the lively atmosphere, feeling a kind of joy, she had never experienced before.

Though she couldn’t quite put it into words, she knew it was a happiness she had never felt in over three hundred years in the royal city.

She instinctively glanced at Fu Anyu and saw that she was smiling too, though still faintly and reservedly, as if she would immediately revert to her usual expressionless demeanor if anyone looked her way.

Noticing the little fox’s gaze, Fu Anyu lowered her head, and the subtle smile on her face deepened. Though still restrained, Ming Ying could tell it was genuine.

She found that smile captivating and couldn’t resist reaching out to touch Fu Anyu’s cheek, all the while keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. The moment she sensed someone looking their way, she quickly withdrew her hand.

But her movement was too abrupt. Her foot slipped, and she stumbled backward.

Unfortunately, there happened to be a step behind her, just as slippery.

Ming Ying felt herself losing balance, certain she was about to fall backward. But in the next moment, the faint scent of pinewood enveloped her as Fu Anyu pulled her firmly back into her embrace, quickly stepping away from the stairs.

Still shaken, she saw Fu Anyu extend a hand toward her. “Hold my hand,” she said.

Ming Ying obediently took that hand, gripping it tightly, afraid she might stumble again.

Even though it had just rained and the mountain path was slippery, as a nine-tailed great demon, she shouldn’t have been so unsteady on her feet.

With lingering fear, Ming Ying glanced back and noticed Du Yunxin and Chen Yanxue following behind. Their hands were no longer linked, and Chen Yanxue was retracting her foot, as if she had been about to rush over to help but gave up after witnessing Fu Anyu’s successful rescue.

Ming Ying nodded gratefully toward Chen Yanxue, who returned the gesture, before turning back to continue climbing the mountain.

When they finally reached the mountain villa, Ming Ying breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t let go of Fu Anyu’s hand.

The luggage transport vehicle was already waiting in the parking lot. Ming Ying followed Fu Anyu to retrieve their suitcases.

A large black suitcase and a small, pale cyan one rolled side by side behind them, moving slowly along.

The drive had taken two hours, and the climb up the mountain about twenty to thirty minutes. By the time they settled their luggage in their rooms and took a short rest, it was already lunchtime.

Ming Ying was hungry. She hadn’t eaten much for breakfast, and the aftereffects of her transformation into human form hadn’t fully subsided. Catching the aroma of barbecue wafting through the window, she leaned against the windowsill, gazing out longingly.

“What would you like for lunch?” Fu Anyu asked, walking over to her.

“I remember you said there’s hot pot, spicy soup, and barbecue here?” Ming Ying asked in return.

“Yes, it’s up to you,” Fu Anyu nodded. “They’re all buffet-style, so you can take as much as you want. We can also eat somewhere more private.”

“Will that affect you?” Ming Ying asked. She recalled reading online that team-building events were also opportunities for “face time.” If she chose to eat in a secluded spot for peace and quiet, wouldn’t that deprive many people of the chance to interact with Fu Anyu?

“It won’t affect me,” Fu Anyu said, not understanding why she suddenly asked this. “Even if you weren’t here, I’d still choose a quiet place to eat.”

Ming Ying wasn’t sure if Fu Anyu was just saying that to reassure her, but she responded with a half-believing hum, feeling somewhat relieved. “Then let’s have hot pot.”

The hot pot broth at the villa was far less spicy than what Du Yunxin made. There were also clear broth and tomato broth options for those who preferred milder flavors.

Since Ming Ying’s burn had only recently healed, Fu Anyu didn’t want her eating anything too spicy. Remembering her fondness for sweet flavors, she ordered a tomato broth and then took her to select ingredients.

The variety of ingredients was overwhelming, there were even freshly caught fish and shrimp, along with some items Ming Ying had never seen before. She had to ask Fu Anyu about them as she picked.

They chose a secluded table where no one would disturb them, heated the pot, and began their lunch.

Hot pot was perfect for interactive feeding, but ever since arriving at the villa and seeing its antique-style buildings, Ming Ying couldn’t help thinking about her third sister.

As Fu Anyu placed several slices of lamb into the pot, considering which dipping sauce to prepare for the little fox, Ming Ying suddenly asked, “I’ve been wondering, why did Third Sister appear here?”

“In this era, knowledge defines dimension-crossing as a random event,” Fu Anyu said. “There have reportedly been crossers before, but no one understands the principles behind dimension-crossing, nor do they know how to find the ‘gate’ that sends people from other worlds.”

“The gate’s location probably isn’t fixed, right?” Ming Ying said. “If Third Sister entered the forbidden area I went to, then she should have appeared on the downtown streets, not here far from the city center.”

Suddenly, a terrifying thought occurred to her. She froze for a moment before urgently asking, “Then… then if other demons enter the forbidden area, or if condemned prisoners and such are sent in to explore, could they also be transported here?!”

Fu Anyu remained composed. In fact, she had already considered this question after guessing that Ming Ying was a crosser.

But when she infused spiritual power into Ming Ying’s third sister at the hospital, she discovered that the other’s strength had also greatly diminished. As a snow fox demon with only slightly more spiritual power than ordinary demons, she could barely heal herself and had no offensive capabilities at all. Thus, Fu Anyu hadn’t paid much attention to this concern.

“Even if they are transported here, they should be in a weakened state during the initial period,” Fu Anyu said. “When you were physically weak and had lost all your spiritual power, it might not have been entirely due to the Gui Wu Seal’s effects, you just happened to be affected by it.”

Ming Ying’s eyes widened in surprise.

Fu Anyu dipped a slice of meat in sauce and placed it in the bowl before Ming Ying.

“So, you don’t need to worry about the city being suddenly attacked by powerful crosser demons,” she said. “Every inhabited area has many demon hunters guarding it. Even if a powerful demon absorbs spiritual energy from heaven and earth and recovers their strength through years of seclusion, they would be detected immediately.”

Ming Ying nodded somewhat understandingly, absentmindedly picking up the meat slice from her bowl and putting it in her mouth.

“With a powerful demon hunter like you here, I’m not worried,” Ming Ying said with a smile after eating.

Fu Anyu continued putting meat and quail eggs into the hot pot while asking her, “How did you feel about the team building activity?”

Ming Ying thought for a moment before saying, “Well, everyone was quite lively, different from the atmosphere I saw at your company. I quite liked this kind of activity. But I felt like an outsider, even when you weren’t by my side, I didn’t know how to join them.”

She took a bite of egg dumpling and frowned in thought.

“That’s normal,” Fu Anyu explained. “You’ve never interacted with these people before and aren’t familiar with them. Moreover, it’s cross-era unfamiliarity. They’re all natives of the human world who have lived here for twenty or thirty years, while you’ve been here for less than a month. There are still many things for you to learn. Don’t overthink about how to communicate with them. I’ll be by your side these two days, just remember to have fun.”

Ming Ying was momentarily stunned before coming back to her senses. She scooped up the freshly cooked crystal shrimp dumpling and placed it in Fu Anyu’s bowl.

“I’ve been meaning to say this, every time you talk a lot, it feels like you’re flirting with me,” she said.

Fu Anyu was also taken aback, instinctively asking, “Does it?”

“Yeees~” Ming Ying drew out the word, propping her chin on one hand as she looked at her. “You’re always flirting without realizing it, you iceberg. And you pretend nothing’s happening on the surface, so dishonest.”

After successfully confessing last night, she dared to speak more boldly.

Fu Anyu raised an eyebrow slightly. “Is that not good?”

After saying that, she remembered how the little fox enjoyed reading stories like The Ice-Queen CEO’s Fierce Love, and immediately furrowed her brows again.

Ming Ying was too busy pondering whether “this was good or not” to notice her subtle expression.

She couldn’t quite decide if it was good or not. The way Fu Anyu was now, maintaining a certain sense of distance, actually held an extraordinary allure, at least enough to captivate her.

If Fu Anyu were an ascetic Taoist priest, then she would be the enchanting sorceress who tempted mortals. Stories with such protagonists were exactly the kind Ming Ying loved to read.

Of course, she liked Fu Anyu like this, but she was also greedily hoping for more.

Just as Ming Ying hesitated over how to respond, she suddenly sensed Fu Anyu’s presence drawing near. Before she could turn around, a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.

“Then, how about this, my little fox?”

Fu Anyu’s voice sounded beside her ear, deliberately breathing softly into it, her dark hair cascading down Ming Ying’s neck.

It startled her so much that her fox ears instantly materialized and perked up, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.

The Taoist priest has broken her vows!!