Gantang could not overcome her senior brother’s stubborn persistence and soft pushing, so she had to enter the house, looking back every three steps.
This left the dizzy little wolf cub alone in the chilly small courtyard.
A cool breeze blew past with a chill. Sitting alone on the cold stone stool, Lu Qiancha did not feel any clearer.
Instead, she felt the restlessness and dizziness rising from the depths of her heart amplify in the surrounding silence.
She shifted her body uneasily, always feeling as if her arms were empty, lacking something to lean on.
Almost instinctively, her small paws searched for the storage bag at her waist. A faint spiritual light flickered, and she pulled out a finely sewn cloth doll. This was a gift Gantang had given her previously.
Lu Qiancha immediately grabbed it like a lifesaver, clutching the doll tightly in her arms. She squeezed it hard with her arms and buried her soft little face deep into the doll’s plush body.
The familiar touch and the slight bulge of the stuffing finally brought a faint sense of peace.
“*Sniff, sniff~*” Lu Qiancha’s small nose unconsciously rubbed and sniffed the doll in front of her.
Perhaps it was because Lu Qiancha often held the doll while sleeping with Xun Xue, but she caught a scent of Xun Xue’s frost fragrance from it.
Lu Qiancha let out a soft sound. The last sliver of sanity she had managed to maintain in the cold wind crumbled instantly under the temptation of that familiar scent, like thin ice melting in the sun.
The warm medicinal power of the Shihu Zhulan was like a surging warm current, completely submerging her small head and stirring it into a pot of sweet, sticky paste.
“Ugh… Respected Mother…” Lu Qiancha’s small paws tightened around the doll, her knuckles turning slightly white.
Her eyes were blurry and out of focus. She could no longer maintain her sitting posture and slid down from the stone stool like a piece of melting rice cake.
She curled up on the cold ground, hugging the doll tightly, shrinking herself into a blue-furred Chabao.
Inside the room, Gantang was restless. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became.
With her senior brother looking so dizzy, what if she fell asleep in the courtyard and caught a cold? What if she bumped into something?
Her excessive worry finally pushed Gantang to try and go out for a look.
She quietly pushed open a crack in the door and peeked into the courtyard—
Under the sunlight, there was only a blue-furred Chabao curled up on the ground, shivering slightly while hugging a doll.
“Senior Brother?!” Gantang’s heart instantly jumped into her throat. Disregarding everything else, she rushed out of the room and reached Lu Qiancha’s side in a few steps.
“Senior Brother, are you okay? Wake up.” She crouched down, frantically trying to help Lu Qiancha up, her voice laced with obvious panic.
“*Mnh…*” Suddenly being moved by an external force, Lu Qiancha extremely reluctantly lifted her dazed face from the doll.
The light and shadows before her blurred and wobbled, and a light blue silhouette entered her chaotic vision.
That gentle shade of blue instantly overlapped with the warm image of Xun Xue in her mind.
A light of dependence flickered in her blurry blue eyes. She did not answer Gantang’s question.
Instead, she gently reached out her soft little hands, tried to stand on her tiptoes, and opened her arms toward the blue figure. In a soft, milky voice, she called out, “Respected Mother… huggie~”
“Se — Senior Brother, look closely!” Hearing that “Respected Mother,” Gantang nearly jumped in place. She waved her hands frantically, her voice trembling.
“I am not your mother. I am Gantang, your junior sister, Gantang.”
“*Mnh…*” All she got in response was a softer, more blurred mumble. Those misty blue eyes, brimming with moisture, clearly were not focused on Gantang’s face.
Instead of backing away, Lu Qiancha followed her instincts and shuffled half a step forward, nearly embedding herself in Gantang’s arms.
She tilted her flushed little face slightly, her gaze vacant, as she mumbled again, “Huggie~”
Watching her senior brother’s completely unrecognizable and dazed state, Gantang’s heart pounded wildly. A rush of heat, a mix of guilt and immense temptation, surged to her head.
This was simply a godsend.
“Ahem…” She suppressed the corners of her mouth that were about to grin all the way to her ears.
Her eyes darted around guiltily as she whispered quickly, “Well… Senior Brother, you are the one asking for a hug. Don’t blame me when you wake up. You can’t scratch me, and you can’t deduct my allowance.”
Before her voice could even fade, Gantang could not wait any longer. With a hint of thief-like excitement, she reached out and firmly scooped the soft, warm, vanilla-scented wolf cub into her arms.
She felt that furry head nestle against her neck in a dependent manner. As the warm breath brushed against her skin, Gantang was so happy she almost hummed.
She half-carried and half-supported the dazed little wolf, slipping back into her warm and fragrant bedroom as if her feet were winged.
Once back in the safe and private space, Lu Qiancha was placed on the soft bed. However, instead of settling down, she became even more clingy.
“Pet me~” She used her little head to push open Gantang’s palm and proactively moved her ear tips closer. Her fluffy, warm, big tail skillfully wrapped around Gantang’s wrist, rubbing affectionately.
Her watery blue eyes narrowed as she looked at Gantang, her throat making a piteous request, “Ears are itchy, tail is itchy… I want pets~”
“Okay, okay. I’ll pet you. I’m petting you now,” Gantang replied repeatedly. Her tone was 120,000 percent reluctant and forced.
But the wild joy overflowing from her eyes and the corners of her mouth that she could not stop from curling upward completely betrayed her inner feelings of having hit the jackpot.
She immediately freed one hand and, with extremely practiced movements, gently pinched Lu Qiancha’s pair of twitching, perfectly soft blue-furred wolf ears.
An ultimate touch of warmth, softness, and furriness traveled through her fingertips.
She first carefully rubbed the most sensitive spot at the base of the ears with her thumb, watching the little wolf cub tremble comfortably, her eyelashes fluttering as a satisfied purr escaped her throat.
Seeing this, Gantang grew bolder.
She began to use her fingertips to lightly scratch the inside of the ear flaps in various ways and used her fingernails to very gently comb through the fine fur, feeling it quiver happily in her palm…
Her other hand struggled to free itself from the tail’s wrap. She stroked from the base of that fluffy, tempting big tail all the way to its furry tip.
The person who had been groomed lay there as the tail curled and stretched lazily in her palm.
In her ears were Lu Qiancha’s soft whimpers…
What more could one ask for in life?
Gantang felt her entire being filled with an immense sense of happiness. Her soul felt as if it were floating on clouds, light and warm.
Even the Western Paradise or the Grand Dao of Three Pure Ones opening a lecture could likely not compare to this moment.
She looked down at the little wolf who had completely collapsed into a soft wolf pancake in her arms.
Gantang felt the softest part of her heart being pierced, a sweetness so intense it was almost overwhelming.
‘How can Senior Brother be this cute?’
Gantang thought blissfully. The furry sensation at her fingertips intoxicated her, and she felt as if she could play like this for an entire day.