Wagging My Tail in the Ice Queen CEO’s Embrace - Chapter 84

Fu Anyu was very afraid that the little fox would wake up and start crying again, but seeing the bright smile on the little fox’s face only made her heart ache even more.

“If you’re unhappy, you should say it out loud,” she said, instead of answering Ming Ying’s question. She leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You don’t have to force a smile in front of me.”

Ming Ying responded with a muffled sound, holding her even tighter. Then, in a low voice, she said, “I’m unhappy.”

If she had a choice, who would willingly entrust their life to someone else? And what’s more, it was a decision forced upon her by the rules.

“Is there any way I can stay without wearing the Spirit-Binding Ring for life or signing the Soul Contract?” She looked up at Fu Anyu, her tear-filled eyes full of pleading. “Don’t you dare say ‘no’.”

Fu Anyu met her gaze with difficulty, not daring to look away. But it was precisely because she understood the rules so well that she didn’t know how to respond.

She suddenly regretted not going out to consult Hu Xiuliu first. Perhaps Hu Xiuliu really had a way to comfort the little fox.

Unwilling to give the little fox any false hope, Fu Anyu remained silent for a while before finally shaking her head. “There’s no way.”

Even though she now had no shortage of wealth and connections, she still couldn’t change the established rules. Those rules targeting the demon race were like laws, they formed the foundation of the nation and were unshakable.

Perhaps there were countries outside where humans and demons were equal, but for a great demon to leave the country, they had to first choose between those two harsh conditions.

“What if I weren’t a great demon, if I didn’t have nine tails, and was just an ordinary little fox?” Ming Ying asked again. “Or you could… you could destroy my meridians. I…”

She paused, her voice growing softer. “I’d rather be useless than submit to the rules of humans.”

“I never knew how to do anything anyway. I can give up my spiritual power, my cultivation, everything.”

“All I want is to stay by your side, to be able to talk to you, to take human form and hold you. That’s enough.”

Fu Anyu held the little fox tightly in her arms, instinctively wanting to refuse. Yet she also knew how stubborn the little fox could be, and in the end, she respected her wishes. “If you insist, perhaps, we can give it a try.”

Shattered meridians could still be repaired.

But once the Soul Contract was sealed, it would last until death.

Ming Ying had expected her to at least try to talk her out of it. She had even prepared herself for Fu Anyu to list the benefits of the Soul Contract.

To her surprise, Fu Anyu only hesitated briefly before agreeing to her request.

“As long as I’m alive, you don’t have to worry about being an ordinary little fox forever,” Fu Anyu promised.

She possessed the “Demon Furnace” constitution. If there ever came a day when the rules could truly be changed, she could repair the little fox’s meridians and help her regain her nine tails.

Reminded by her hint, Ming Ying recalled her special constitution and finally relaxed, letting out a soft “Mm” as a genuine smile spread across her face.

“By the way, will the Management Bureau allow it?” she remembered to ask.

“I’ve never reported your true race. Aside from the people we often interact with, no outsiders know about this,” Fu Anyu said. “If our plan goes smoothly, we should be able to keep it hidden.”

The rule of choosing between the two options applied only to great demons with spiritual power and certain races with special bloodlines, such as nine-tailed foxes, dragons, and phoenixes.

Spirit energy-deficient yao tribes, who can only use their power to maintain human forms and speech functions, and are commonly seen everywhere, are not bound by this rule.

After deciding on the plan, Fu Anyu immediately contacted Hu Xiuliu, asking him to come over and confirm the feasibility of the plan.

From the moment she returned home, Fu Anyu had inspected her room to ensure there were no surveillance devices, then covered the entire space with a barrier to isolate it.

As soon as Hu Xiuliu stepped into the living room, he sensed her spirit energy permeating the surroundings and clicked his tongue. “What are you two discussing that’s so serious?”

But after hearing just a few sentences of Fu Anyu’s plan, he immediately made a “stop” gesture, condensed spirit energy at his fingertips, and added another soundproof barrier before daring to listen further.

“The plan is feasible, it’s a good plan,” Hu Xiuliu nodded in agreement after listening. “But you’ll have to sever the meridians first, then go to the Management Bureau to register. Otherwise, it won’t work.”

At this point, he suddenly paused, slapped his thigh, and exclaimed loudly, “Have you both already been to the Management Bureau? Did the person in charge there recognize that Little Fox is a great yao?”

Hearing this, both Ming Ying and Fu Anyu froze.

“I think you’ve both fallen into the same misunderstanding!” Hu Xiuliu understood immediately from their reactions. Pointing at the spirit-control device on Ming Ying’s wrist, he said, “This thing, President Fu wore it when she was a child. It’s a good item, my grandfather and your grandfather made it together back in the day. President Fu, you don’t go to the Management Bureau often, so you might not know. If Little Fox were a great yao, you two would’ve been detained for questioning that day!”

After saying this, he clapped his hands enthusiastically. “Brilliant! As long as Little Fox hides well, even if she takes human form and goes to the Management Bureau to register, she’ll just be an ordinary little fox yao!”

“Is that true?!” Ming Ying asked in astonishment.

“Of course. Look how many times you’ve gone out with President Fu, even to the hospital, and the Management Bureau hasn’t come knocking. That means you’ve managed to keep it hidden.” Hu Xiuliu nodded, unscrewed the soda in his hand, took a comfortable swig, and looked at Fu Anyu. “President Fu, you’re just overly concerned. Let Little Fox wear the spirit-control device, keep it hidden, and that’s it. If they come asking questions later, you can still sever her meridians then. After all, aside from clinging to you, Little Fox isn’t going to cause any trouble anyway.”

Fu Anyu held Ming Ying’s hand, gently rubbing the spirit-control device left by her grandfather, and nodded silently.

Ming Ying’s long-term stay in the human realm was resolved just like that, with unexpected ease.

After Hu Xiuliu left, Fu Anyu suddenly remembered the message He Che had sent her earlier and quickly took out her phone to ask, “If I lend you the spirit-control device for Su Jinhua to wear, would you still need to sign a soul-body contract?”

Ming Ying, seeing her typing rapidly, grew curious about who she was talking to and leaned in to ask, “Can I take a look?”

Fu Anyu nodded and had just moved the phone screen into Ming Ying’s line of sight when He Che’s reply suddenly popped up.

[He Che – Doctor: That’s not enough. You’ll also have to get married.]

Ming Ying: ???

She was so startled by the message that, with Fu Anyu’s permission, she scrolled up to read the rest of the conversation. As she read, she began grinding her teeth, itching to rush to the hospital right then and take a big bite out of Doctor He.

“She has ulterior motives! She wants to flirt with my third sister!” The little fox was so furious she nearly grabbed Fu Anyu’s phone to curse He Che, but managed to restrain herself. Instead, she pulled up He Che’s QR code name card, scanned it with her own phone, and sent a friend request with a darkened expression.

Seeing the little fox regain her usual energy, Fu Anyu smiled faintly. While the little fox hugged her phone, waiting for He Che to accept the friend request, Fu Anyu retrieved her own phone and asked Hu Xiuliu about the matter.

Hu Xiuliu replied instantly: “Seems like that’s the case. But back then, my foolish son and I directly signed a soul contract. If you’re using a spirit-control device, it’s best for the guardian and the transmigrator to be in a marital relationship. After all, there are many binding aspects to human-demon marriages nowadays, which essentially act as a forced contract.”

Fu Anyu thanked her and then heard the little fox muttering beside her, “Fine, it’s still better than a soul contract. Consider yourself lucky.”

With that thought in mind, once Ming Ying added He Che as a friend on WeChat, she found herself at a loss for words.

If Third Sister was even willing to sign a soul contract, perhaps she could also accept a marriage that was merely for appearances?

Unsure of her third sister’s thoughts, Ming Ying couldn’t bring herself to give He Che any instructions. Feeling a bit down, she let out a soft humph and leaned against Fu Anyu’s chest.

Fu Anyu gently ruffled her hair and asked softly, “What do you want to do later? The former owner of the villa will be visiting tonight, so we might not have time to play.”

“Former owner?” Ming Ying made a surprised sound. “Does that person know there’s a jiao at the bottom of the water?”

“Yes, they probably do,” Fu Anyu nodded. “There’s also some good news, that jiao isn’t an evil demon, nor was it suppressed for doing something bad.”

“Then why is it chained at the bottom of the water, injured and bleeding?” Ming Ying couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard she thought.

“We’ll probably find out tonight,” Fu Anyu said.

Though extremely curious, Ming Ying managed to contain her impatience after hearing this. She put on her shoes and pulled Fu Anyu along to find Du Yunxin and the others.

“We haven’t picked the watermelons yet! Since we won’t have time tonight, let’s go now!”

Du Yunxin, the only ordinary human among them, was still happily picking fruits and vegetables with Chen Yanxue in the farmstay area.

Hearing Ming Ying’s call, Du Yunxin immediately straightened up and waved a bunch of long cowpeas at her. “Over here! What do you want for dinner? I’ll pick it and cook it for you!”

Ming Ying immediately shouted and dove into the greenhouse with her, leaving Fu Anyu and Chen Yanxue standing where they were.

“I also received Hu Xiuliu’s message,” Chen Yanxue said. “Actually, I recalled something, I once heard my grandfather tell a story about this villa.”

“What story?” Fu Anyu asked. “When did it happen?”

“During the rampant evil demon outbreak seventy years ago,” Chen Yanxue said. “Apparently, there was a flash flood here that drowned many demons. After that, the villa erected a barrier to keep demons out. The evil demons couldn’t break through and all retreated within a day.”

“A jiao can cause flash floods,” Fu Anyu frowned slightly. “Could it be that it chose to make a mistake to stop the evil demons?”

“Possibly,” Chen Yanxue nodded and was about to continue when Du Yunxin emerged from the greenhouse and pulled her inside.

Witnessing Chen Yanxue’s expression of mixed helplessness and joy, Fu Anyu couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head before following them into the greenhouse.

There, she immediately spotted the little fox with bits of leaves stuck in her hair.

This was the tomato greenhouse. In order to pick the biggest and brightest tomatoes, Ming Ying dove straight into the thicket of leaves, her clothes soon dotted with bits of foliage.

Fu Anyu walked over and casually summoned a gust of spiritual energy to brush the debris off her. But as soon as she extended her hand to cast the spell, the little fox shoved a tomato into it.

“There are a few even prettier ones over there, hold this for me first!” Ming Ying called out without looking back before dashing off.

“Little fox! There are cherry tomatoes over here too, you can eat them like fruit!” Du Yunxin shouted from the other side. “There’s also a place to wash up. Do you want to come try some?”

“Ah, I’m coming right away!” Ming Ying immediately changed course, and as she passed Fu Anyu, she added, “Wait till I pick some, wash them, and let you taste!”

Fu Anyu smiled and nodded, watching her run off into the distance.