Chapter 57: Almost…

The clearing was silent again, save for the gentle clinking of the pearl tiles on the pavilion’s roof.

Bai Yue forced her eyes away from the raspberries. Stay strong, she told herself. Do not sell your husband for fruit. Do not sell your husband for fruit.

She looked back up at Zhāo Yàn.

The Fox Lord hadn’t even glanced at the golden pavilion. His crimson eyes were entirely, wholly focused on Bai Yue. His tails were still wrapped snugly around her, and his smirk had softened into a look of deep, burning affection that was frankly ten times more dangerous than his smugness.

“So,” Zhāo Yàn murmured. “You defended me against a dragon. You staked your claim. What’s next, my fierce little mate?”

He leaned in closer. His gaze dropped to her lips, the ones he had just thoroughly kissed, and his thumb gently brushed her cheek. The slow-burn they had been dancing around had suddenly been thrown onto a blazing bonfire, and Bai Yue was absolutely not prepared to handle the heat.

Retreat! Tactical retreat! her brain screamed.

“I—cubs!” Bai Yue blurted out, her voice an octave too high.

She slapped her hands against his chest and shoved, slipping out from the cage of his tails with the agility of a greased pig.

“The cubs! I need to check on Ruì Xuě! He’s probably… traumatized! By the golden glare! Yes! The glare is very bad for snow leopard eyes! Medical fact! Gotta go!”

Without waiting for a response, Bai Yue hiked up her muddy skirt, spun on her heel, and physically sprinted away. She dashed past Mo Xiao, past the hissing snake twins, and bolted straight into the safety of her humble, non-golden hut, letting the heavy hide curtain fall shut behind her.

“Mama is very fast,” Yòu Lín noted, blinking his big eyes as he peeked out from behind Mo Xiao’s leg.

“She runs like a frightened rabbit,” Mo Xiao agreed, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

Inside the hut, Bai Yue collapsed against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting on the dirt floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her burning face in her hands, taking deep, hyperventilating breaths.

“Ahhhhh,” she groaned into her palms. “What did I do? Why did I do that? I kissed him! I basically proposed to him in front of the beastman equivalent of a billionaire heiress! Now he’s looking at me like I’m a five-course meal!”

[DING! ☆]

The cheerful, holographic chime of the system of the Goddess Tiān-Mìng popped up in her field of vision, illuminating the dim hut with a soft blue light.

[Quest Updated: Survive the Fox’s Smugness]

[Status: You initiated the claiming protocol! Bold move, Feral Mama! The slow-burn is officially a raging forest fire!]

[Current Objective: Make Ruì Xuě smile (8 Days Left!) while avoiding the Dragon Squatter next door!]

“Shut up,” Bai Yue muttered, swatting her hand through the holographic box. “I don’t need your commentary on my pathetic love life.”

Outside the hut, Zhāo Yàn stood exactly where she had left him.

“Hey, Fox,” Mo Xiao grunted, walking up to him with a heavy sigh. “Are you going to stand there looking like an idiot, or are we going to figure out what to do with the giant, blindingly shiny problem that just built a palace in our front yard?”

Zhāo Yàn finally tore his gaze away from Bai Yue’s hut and looked at the golden pavilion.

Cāng Jì was currently attempting to sneak inside it, muttering something about finally getting a decent bath, only to be violently ejected by a blast of wind magic from his sister.

“NO FAILURES ALLOWED IN MY PAVILION!” Cāng Yáo’s voice echoed from within. “GO SLEEP IN A TREE UNTIL YOU REGAIN YOUR DIGNITY, BROTHER!”

Cāng Jì hit the dirt with a pathetic thud, groaning in absolute despair.

Zhāo Yàn chuckled, his tails swishing lazily behind him. “Let her stay, Mo Xiao. Let her flaunt her little trinkets.”

The Fox Lord turned his gaze back to Bai Yue’s humble hide curtain, his eyes darkening with a possessive promise. “It will only make it that much more satisfying when my mate completely ignores her.”

~

“Okay, prioritize,” Bai Yue whispered to herself, vigorously rubbing her face and slapping her own cheeks lightly to banish the blush. “Smug foxes and petty dragons go in the ’Tomorrow’ box. Today is about the fluff.”

She lifted her head and looked across the dim room.

Sitting perfectly still on a pile of soft, woven hides was Ruì Xuě. The tiny snow leopard cub had his fluffy, oversized tail wrapped securely around his little paws. His wideeyes were fixed on her, looking entirely perplexed by the sight of his mother melting into a puddle of panicked mush against the wall.

Bai Yue’s heart instantly melted. The crippling embarrassment from outside vanished, replaced by an overwhelming, undeniable urge to squish his little cheeks.

“Hi, baby,” she cooed softly. She abandoned her spot by the wall and crawled over to him on her hands and knees.

Ruì Xuě didn’t flinch away like he used to, a massive victory in its own right, but he still maintained his stoic little face.

“Were you scared by the awful golden glare outside? Mama is scared by the golden glare,” she babbled gently, stopping just a foot away. She plopped onto her stomach, resting her chin on her hands so she was exactly eye-level with the cub.

“And that giant orange fox outside? Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying,” she whispered conspiratorially. To emphasize her point, she crossed her eyes, scrunched up her nose, and stuck her tongue out in a ridiculously exaggerated expression of fear.

Ruì Xuě blinked.

“He has way too many tails, right? One tail is enough. Look at your tail. It’s the best tail,” Bai Yue reached out slowly, telegraphing her movement so she wouldn’t startle him, and gently tapped his tiny pink nose with her index finger. “Boop.”

The cub’s nose twitched.

“If we just hide in here, they can’t get us,” she continued, wiggling her eyebrows up and down like a pair of crazed caterpillars. “We will just build a fortress of blankets and never, ever look at a raspberry or a smug fox ever again.”

She puffed out her cheeks like a hoarding chipmunk, holding her breath until she looked completely ridiculous, and then tapped her cheeks with her fingers so the air escaped with a funny, squeaky pop.

Ruì Xuě’s bright purple eyes stayed glued to her goofy face. For a long, agonizing second, the heavy silence of the hut returned.

But then, a tiny sound broke the quiet, a soft, breathy little huff from his chest.

Bai Yue froze, terrified that even blinking would ruin the moment.

Slowly, miraculously, the tension in the cub’s furry face began to crack. The very corners of Ruì Xuě’s little mouth gave a tiny tremble, and then, ever so slightly, they began to lift…..

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