Chapter 51: Why Are Your Eyes Red?
Bai Xuci pursed his lips. He felt that continuing to play charades like this wasn’t going to solve anything, so he decided to just let it all out.
Screw it.
“I am not your kin, not your friend, and definitely not…” His tone started off with some momentum, but it gradually weakened as he spoke.
Bai Xuci felt his face burn, but reminding himself that the person across from him was just a demon with no concept of human ethics, he forced himself to calm down.
He stated, word by word:
“…and definitely not your partner.”
Perhaps the other party just found him, a rabbit, amusing to play with?
A silence fell over the air.
Mist rose from the spiritual pool, condensing into many water droplets on the pool walls. They slowly slid down, leaving winding trails, before merging together.
They formed a single large drop.
Plip.
It fell onto the water’s surface, making the surrounding silence feel terrifying.
Bai Xuci felt more embarrassed than he ever had in his life. He wanted to look up at Fan Yue, but his eyelashes only trembled.
He didn’t dare glance up at all.
A wave of inferiority washed over his heart. As expected, he had overthought things.
Bai Xuci’s face turned pale, even though the surrounding steam was very warm.
Receiving no response for a long time, he felt as if something was blocking his chest.
It felt stifling.
“Zunshang, um, anyway, thank you for your spiritual power. I will do my duty diligently at Lin Mountain…” His voice was a bit unsteady. Bai Xuci felt he couldn’t stay here any longer.
He had already said his thanks; now he just wanted to go back to his rabbit hole.
It was better not to show his face in front of this person in the future.
It was too humiliating.
Thinking this, Bai Xuci reached out to hold the edge of the pool, intending to stand up. But before he could make a move, the wrist that was being held was pulled straight back.
Because of the inertia, Bai Xuci fell back down, accidentally bumping into the man’s shoulder. He quickly shrank back in a panic.
Keeping a suitable distance.
“Lying to me again?” Fan Yue’s tone was full of confusion as a pair of golden eyes looked over.
Bai Xuci was stunned for a moment. Then, seeing the other party’s gaze shift to his wrist, he quickly understood.
“N-no, you can pinch it, you can.” His speech was stuttered, having been led into the other party’s train of thought.
For a moment, he didn’t feel anything was wrong.
However, when Bai Xuci lowered his eyes and saw his “unfree” hand, he furrowed his brows, sensing something was off.
“But I need to leave now… so could Zunshang let go?” He tried to use a very tactful tone, controlling his emotions.
It was already shameful enough; surely he wouldn’t be forced to stay here.
Since things had come to this, the other party definitely didn’t have any other intentions and was simply interested in him as a rabbit.
He pursed his lips, hanging his head very low.
“You feel that you…” Fan Yue couldn’t figure it out and frowned. “…are not my partner?”
Hearing this, Bai Xuci was instantly confused, his previous depressive mood tossed aside.
Why ask that?
“Of course not,” he replied candidly, without a shred of hesitation.
Fan Yue: “…”
His golden pupils constricted slightly. He shifted his gaze to the little demon’s arm opposite him, focusing on one spot, his expression becoming somewhat unnatural.
He actually wasn’t.
He felt an inexplicable irritability.
“Zunshang?” Although Bai Xuci didn’t understand why he suddenly asked that, he really had no desire to stay here anymore.
He looked down at his sleeves, which were dripping wet.
He wanted to shake his fur dry. He puffed out his cheeks unhappily.
“Can I not go?” Bai Xuci sniffled, wanting to go back.
He was covered in water, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“You can.”
Fan Yue directly raised his hand, wrapped it around Bai Xuci’s waist again, and walked straight out.
His expression was as usual, but his eyes were very deep.
He seemed to be thinking about something.
Bai Xuci’s chin rested on the other man’s shoulder, a dazed look in his eyes.
H-how was he being “carried” off again?
He looked down at his wrist and frowned immediately. Why was he still holding on?
He tugged gently, only to be gripped tighter.
Bai Xuci suddenly couldn’t make sense of it. He simply sighed and let the full weight of his head rest on the other’s shoulder.
What was the meaning of those words?
His mood felt like a rollercoaster, and he was a bit tired.
So he closed his eyes, intending to rest for a while.
Finally arriving at the bed they were at before, Fan Yue stopped.
He scooped the… rabbit out of his arms.
Perhaps out of sleeping habit, he had turned back into his true form halfway there.
The tips of his ears were a bit wet.
Bai Xuci stood groggily on the bed, barely steadying his four rabbit legs.
Then, he began to automatically shake his fur.
He shook his body hard, and because he used too much force, he suddenly flipped over.
Fan Yue was just about to bend down to help when the ball of fluff on the bed slowly stood up on its own.
And resumed shaking.
Bai Xuci was a bit dispirited and didn’t think to use magic to dry the water, simply using the most basic method.
He tilted his rabbit head and nuzzled his fur, feeling it was dry enough.
He wobbled toward the pillow, his rabbit legs finding their footing.
He burrowed into the corner of the quilt, diving in headfirst.
Soon, the rabbit body “disappeared.”
Only a short little tail was left exposed.
Fan Yue stood by the bed, staring at that small lump, his thoughts unknown.
Composing his expression, he felt he needed to ask again.
“No rush.” He seemed to be speaking to himself.
The Next Day—
Bai Xuci woke up in a haze. Just as he wanted to stretch, he was horrified to find he was still being held.
And when did he take human form?
Seeing his “human hands,” he was rather at a loss.
H-he… wasn’t he in his true form when he went to sleep?
“Awake?” A slightly hoarse voice.
Bai Xuci stiffened all over, then tentatively pressed his hands against the other’s shoulders, wanting to get down.
But just then.
“Didn’t you say I could hold you whenever I wanted?”
“…”
Bai Xuci was rendered speechless, but felt that wasn’t quite right.
“Then why don’t you go hold the little turtles? They let you hold them too.” He even forgot to say Zunshang, feeling inexplicably bold.
“I don’t like them.”
“Then why do you like rabbits?” Bai Xuci’s tone was indignant. He felt the other party’s words were simply too irresponsible.
It was just that Lin Mountain didn’t have rabbits.
If he went to the mortal realm—gray ones, brown ones, spotted ones, lop-eared, perky-eared, ones that knew how to please people—weren’t they in endless supply?
Bai Xuci frowned. For some reason, an image of a pile of “multicolored” rabbits wearing bellybands and dancing appeared in his mind, with Fan Yue sitting opposite them.
Seemingly choosing which one would feel best to pet.
“…”
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. The corners of Bai Xuci’s lips pulled into a straight line.
He felt he had no competitive edge; he was just an ordinary white rabbit.
“I don’t like rabbits. I prefer you.” The tone was flat, with no major emotional fluctuation.
Hearing this, Bai Xuci felt Fan Yue’s state wasn’t quite right. He wanted to lift his head, but was forced back down.
“??”
Unable to break free for the moment, he could only lie there, looking slightly depressed.
Bai Xuci had intended to tilt his head to rest, but suddenly noticed some resistance.
He glanced back slightly, his eyes widening a bit.
“E-ears?” His tone was confused.
He tried to retract them himself, but it was ineffective. No need to guess who was behind this.
Bai Xuci felt a cool touch as the other party’s fingers curled right around the base of his ears.
It felt a bit strange.
Bai Xuci nudged his head forward, his soft, elastic ears slipping out of the distinctively jointed fingers.
“Not letting me touch?” The tone still held no emotion.
“No, it’s just uncomfortable…” Two rabbit ears slowly flattened against his head.
Bai Xuci felt weird, especially because of the sensation just now.
He couldn’t describe it; it was ticklish.
His rabbit ears flicked instinctively, smacking the back of Fan Yue’s hand.
Smack smack. It hit quite hard.
Bai Xuci: “…”
“Sorry.” A weak voice, tinged with awkwardness.
After Bai Xuci spoke, Fan Yue didn’t respond.
“Zunshang?” He was curious if the other party was listening.
But soon, Bai Xuci felt even stranger, because the hand was moving over his shoulder blade, then sliding down at a very slow speed.
“!!”
Bai Xuci acted like a caterpillar, swiftly inching forward, hoping the hand behind him would stay away.
But this behavior was useless.
Inch forward a bit, and the embrace would tighten a bit.
“Zunshang!” Bai Xuci wanted to push him away, but his strength didn’t allow it. He could only howl “with all his might.”
The hand behind him finally paused.
Bai Xuci let out a sigh of relief, relaxing his spine and resting his chin back on the shoulder.
That was terrifying.
But just then, the hand behind him suddenly started moving again. Bai Xuci instantly got goosebumps.
So, what, exactly, are, you, doing!!
Mustering his emotions, Bai Xuci spoke righteously: “Zunshang, you can’t bully a little demon like me…”
The slender fingers finally touched that fluffy thing.
And circled it.
Bai Xuci instantly felt wrong all over. His cheeks burned like fire, and he buried his head swiftly into Fan Yue’s shoulder.
He trembled slightly.
How could this happen… tail… the tail.
He had never exposed it before.
Shameful, shameful. He burrowed even harder.
The tail tried hard to shrink back, seemingly refusing to be touched.
“Not letting me touch?” The tone had no inflection, the face expressionless.
Bai Xuci just hugged Fan Yue’s shoulders tightly, instinctively wanting to hide himself, especially the tail.
But just then, cool fingers reached onto the back of Bai Xuci’s neck.
“Eh?”
Bai Xuci was “lifted” up like a little chick, his arms still unconsciously encircling the other’s neck, until he was lifted a bit of a distance away.
He drooped.
Two rabbit ears, plus a tail that couldn’t be retracted, accompanied by a pair of red eyes.
He looked over foolishly just like that.
“Zunshang, Zunshang, your eyes…”
“Why are they red?” His voice trembled.
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