The tail fur puffed up in his hand, soft and fluffy, with an excellent texture.
“All done.”
No response.
“Xiaoye?”
He looked up.
Time returned to that tacit silence.
Lin Xiangyi held the girl’s hair strands, his expression serious.
Shen Ye, whose hair he was holding back, kept her eyes closed, sitting up straight and rigid as a block of wood. Her long lashes trembled unceasingly, her blush-tinged face lowered.
Shen Ye’s fingers twisted, crossed, and rubbed against each other, just like her chaotic inner state at this moment.
‘How could I be so careless.’
‘I just learned in the bathroom that my ears are sensitive, didn’t I?’
‘How did I get so dazed.’
‘But…’
Her hand unconsciously rose to touch her cheek.
The warmth transmitted through her palm was startlingly hot.
Unlike when she touched herself, this was an unfamiliar reaction.
From the moment Lin Xiangyi touched her cat ears, that sensation had been so real—far clearer than in the bathroom.
The mere thought that she had actually let out a meow just now made her want to bury her head in the ground.
And the feeling that followed was even more unbearable with shame.
A tingling numbness spread from the tips of her ears through her entire body. Threads of electric current nearly made her lose control of herself. Her thighs grew increasingly numb in the surge, and her calves couldn’t help but tremble.
Her small feet hooked into her slippers curled up uncontrollably. Even her toes strained as she endured, until the insides of her thighs drew close and her knees nearly knocked together before she barely managed to hold it in.
Haah… haah…
‘Good thing I held it together. He didn’t notice anything strange. Otherwise, I’d have lost all face.’
She covered her face, hiding the crimson blush spilling out.
‘At this rate, how can I still be his Grand Senior Brother?!’
‘I have to change it back!’
But the pair of hands behind her, as if sensing nothing unusual at all, continued their work—having lost a bit of composure, gaining a bit of stiffness.
Shen Ye’s lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but then she pressed them together and swallowed the words back.
The thought that the very ears which had produced that embarrassing sound were now exposed to her Junior Brother’s gaze made her deeply uneasy.
She circulated her spiritual power again, trying to retract that pair of “shameful things” atop her head, but still to no avail.
In truth, from the moment Lin Xiangyi had “shocked” her, she had been trying—just like when she first arrived here—to pull the ears back.
And just as Shen Ye feared, those cat ears alternated between flattening and perking up, trembling constantly, occasionally fluttering gently as if feeling an itch.
Even though Lin Xiangyi tried his best to avoid that area, whenever his hand drew near while combing through her hair,
that pair of cat ears, laced with fine white fuzz, would twitch rapidly and vividly, just like ears on a real cat, catching his eye all too easily.
“…”
Lin Xiangyi said nothing. He fetched a comb and began to brush through the girl’s hair.
As a capable older brother who had a younger sister, he was already well-versed in this task.
The teeth of the comb scraped through the strands bit by bit, a soft rustling sound playing slowly in the quiet atmosphere between them, like a lulling lullaby soothing Shen Ye’s taut nerves.
Outside the window, the night was thick as ink, spilling into the living room, melted away by the warm yellow lamplight.
Shen Ye felt her entire body loosen, as if all the burdens on her shoulders had been lifted.
Such leisurely, soothing moments were rare for her.
The constant conflict between spirit beings and humans, the Law Enforcer’s duties, the Azure Cloud Sect’s succession problem, and those spirit friends who never let her rest easy…
The burden of “Shen Ye,” the Law Enforcer, was too heavy.
For now, let her rest for a while under the identity of “Xiaoye.”
Wrapped in comfortable reassurance, Shen Ye’s eyelids slowly drooped.
Lin Xiangyi looked up.
Shen Ye was quietly leaning against the back of the chair, her head tilted to one side.
Her eyes were closed, her lashes trembling slightly, her sleeping face peaceful.
‘Did she fall asleep?’
Lin Xiangyi softened his movements and set the hair dryer aside.
Looking at the sleeping girl, he found he couldn’t muster a single thought of disturbing her.
Lin Xiangyi was a bit troubled.
‘What should I do? Should I wake her?’
He hesitated.
But as time passed, Shen Ye still did not wake.
‘Fine.’
Lin Xiangyi held his forehead and let out a helpless sigh.
Then, steeling himself, he set the hair dryer aside, bent down, slipped one arm under Shen Ye’s knees and the other around her back, and lifted her gently.
She was nothing but softness in his arms, making his heart race.
‘So light.’
He thought.
Then he lowered his head, looked at the girl’s quiet sleeping face in his arms, and froze again. For a moment, he couldn’t take a step.
‘She’s just a good-looking spirit being. Why does my Senior Brother care about her so much?’
He stared blankly for a few seconds, then forcibly tore his gaze away.
‘Xiaoye, just where did you come from?’
He shook his head inwardly, adjusted his hold, and walked toward the bedroom.
Just then, a rhythmic tapping came against his waist—soft and light, with a steady tempo.
He looked down. Contrary to its sleeping owner, that fluffy tail was swinging briskly against his side, playful and adorable.
“…”
‘Is she asleep or not?’
A vein bulged on Lin Xiangyi’s forehead.
He paid it no mind.
He simply walked into Shen Ye’s bedroom, set her down gently on the bed, and tucked the covers over her.
“Sigh.”
He let out a deep breath.
No matter how he looked at it, the day had been eventful, but at least it was finally over.
He cursed An Wenxin inwardly.
‘It’s all the Master’s fault.’
‘If she hadn’t been so vague, this wouldn’t have taken so much effort.’
He spat in his heart and firmly pinned the blame on his Master’s head.
“Ah-choo—!”
An Wenxin, sitting on her bed and about to sleep, sneezed out of nowhere.
She frowned suspiciously.
‘Strange. Why have I sneezed twice in a row today? I’m not sick, am I?’
She pinched her nose and thought for a moment.
‘One sneeze means someone’s thinking of you. Two means someone’s cursing you.’
‘Could it be?’
A smile slowly curved at the corners of An Wenxin’s lips.
‘Looks like both my good disciples are thinking of me.’
‘I’m such a blessed Master.’
She pulled up the covers and lay down comfortably.
‘Looks like I’ll sleep well tonight.’