Chapter 19: Come on, doubt me, you should know the truth now, judge me!

That night, Su Mumu slept fitfully.

Her body felt as if it were floating on the surface of the sea, rootless and drifting.

There was a sense of crisis, a feeling that she might drown at any moment. Waves surged over her, submerging her nose and mouth until she couldn’t breathe.

She couldn’t breathe.

She couldn’t catch her breath…

‘I can’t breathe… Why? Wasn’t I just sleeping at home? What exactly is…’

“So you really are a fox demon, Mumu.” A familiar, cold voice drifted into her ear. It was Jiang Mengxin.

“I…?” Su Mumu opened her eyes dizzily.

What met her vision was Jiang Mengxin’s beautiful face and those amber eyes, frozen with an extreme, icy chill. A bone-chilling cold spread through her entire body.

Su Mumu found she couldn’t speak. “I… cough — “

Only then did she realize that her neck was being held tightly by a pair of elegant, slender hands. That was where the feeling of suffocation was coming from.

Jiang Mengxin was squeezing with such force that her fingertips trembled unnaturally, as if she intended to snap Su Mumu’s neck.

“You lied to me, even though we were such good friends…”

“I… ugh…” Su Mumu’s pupils began to contract involuntarily, and a thin trail of saliva leaked from the corner of her mouth.

“Still denying it? Then what are these ears?” Jiang Mengxin freed one hand and grabbed a fox ear, toyed with it ruthlessly.

The sensation from her ears sent a jolt through her body like an electric shock. Su Mumu couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and her body convulsed wildly.

She realized her hands had long since been tied, and her entire person was pinned beneath Jiang Mengxin.

“Crying?” A crazed smile and a sense of satisfaction appeared in the depths of Jiang Mengxin’s eyes.

“This face of yours is truly beautiful. I can’t bring myself to kill you yet… You know, I hate betrayal most of all. Since you’ve betrayed me for so long, why don’t you use your body to atone for your sins?”

“No…” Su Mumu struggled desperately, but it was in vain.

“I won’t let you die. From now on, you’ll be my exclusive toy, used to please me.” Jiang Mengxin narrowed her eyes. “After all, you are my best friend… right? Hehe…”

‘No…’

‘No… I don’t want this. I can’t accept this…’

‘What do you mean, exclusive toy?’

‘That’s clearly… a sex toy… I don’t want that.’

‘Xin Xin, listen to me… I suddenly turned into a fox demon. I don’t know why this happened.’

‘I didn’t lie to you…’

‘I… I can’t speak.’

“Is that expression fear? Or anger?” Jiang Mengxin murmured.

“Don’t be afraid, and don’t hate me, my dear friend… If the Xianzong found out, you would certainly be executed. But I… I only need you to play with me every day and pay a small physical price… We’re still best friends.”

‘No.’

‘This isn’t a friendship.’

‘This is slavery…’

‘Make a sound…’

‘Why can’t I make a sound…’

As Su Mumu’s vision grew increasingly blurred, Jiang Mengxin’s expression became a hazy, unrecognizable smear.

However, she loosened her grip, leaned over slowly, and kissed her. Su Mumu felt her forehead being touched lightly. At the same time, an endless wave of dizziness washed over her.

Her body sank into a whirlpool once more, as if she were back in the ocean. Fragmented light pierced her eyes, and she could no longer see anything.

Only a faint, gentle whisper remained in her ears.

“Goodnight, little Mumu… See you tomorrow.”

“No!” Su Mumu screamed as she woke up, throwing the blanket off herself.

Tick, tick, tick.

The sound of the alarm clock on the wall circled the room. Outside the window, an occasional cold breeze blew past, sounding like a knife scraping against bone. It was shrill and terrifying.

Su Mumu’s heart was racing.

‘Was I…?’

She stared blankly at the familiar wall in front of her.

“Mmm… Mumu? What’s wrong?” Beside her, Jiang Mengxin woke up, her eyes bleary with sleep.

“No, it’s nothing…” Su Mumu lowered her gaze. Her cheeks felt itchy, and when she touched her face, her fingertips came away wet. “Eh…?”

In the room, the flickering candlelight illuminated those crystal teardrops, making them bloom like brilliant fireworks in the gloom.

“Mumu?” Jiang Mengxin snapped awake instantly. She sat up, her face full of concern. “You’re crying? What happened?”

“I…” Confusion filled the depths of Su Mumu’s eyes.

“Did something happen?” Jiang Mengxin asked.

“No.” Su Mumu forced a smile through her tears. As they slid past the corners of her mouth, she tasted their saltiness. “I just had a nightmare.”

“What kind of nightmare… could have such a strong lingering effect?” Jiang Mengxin frowned.

“I dreamed…” The words caught in Su Mumu’s throat, and her smile gradually vanished. “I dreamed that we ended our friendship.”

“Are you stupid?!”

Jiang Mengxin’s voice was incredibly loud, nearly causing the entire small house to shake.

“Ow…” Su Mumu covered her ears.

“You! Get out from under the covers and stand in the corner!” Jiang Mengxin’s expression was complex, looking both angry and worried.

“No… it’s cold.” Su Mumu lowered her head slightly, not daring to meet Jiang Mengxin’s gaze.

It felt as though if she looked into those amber eyes, the dream from moments ago would come rushing back.

That dream… it felt so real. It felt like something Jiang Mengxin’s personality would actually lead her to do…

If the truth were discovered, that would definitely be the result…

‘I don’t want that…’

‘I don’t want our friendship to end. I don’t want to become a toy for someone to vent their emotions on. I don’t want to lose my current life…’

“Mumu, sometimes you really are quite dull,” Jiang Mengxin said with a helpless look.

“I’m not dull,” Su Mumu responded in a small voice.

“How could we ever stop being friends?” Jiang Mengxin asked.

“That… I, I…” Su Mumu didn’t know how to respond. “How should I put it… in that dream, I did something very terrible to Xin Xin…”

‘No, it was beyond terrible… It was a super-duper, galaxy-level, ultra-terrible thing…’

*Poof.*

The scent of flowers filled her nose, accompanied by a warm temperature, as if she were bathed in sunlight. Jiang Mengxin was hugging her tightly.

“No matter how terrible it is, we would never stop being friends.”

Su Mumu was caught off guard by the hug. “I… I don’t think so… because it was something truly awful…”

Jiang Mengxin released the embrace. Su Mumu felt the warmth vanish. At the same time, those amber eyes leaned in extremely close.

In Jiang Mengxin’s pupils, Su Mumu saw her own reflection — a face full of confusion and fear.

Jiang Mengxin’s gaze seemed to hold a sort of scrutiny, an ambiguous suspicion. For a moment, Su Mumu instinctively wanted to turn away.

But she endured it. She chose to look Jiang Mengxin directly in the eye.

There was no reason not to look at eyes that beautiful. Right?

‘You probably suspect me already, don’t you?’

‘I’m acting so abnormally. With your personality and your intelligence, you must be starting to doubt me.’

‘You’re smarter than me, and stronger than me.’

‘I know I can’t keep it from you.’

‘How could I possibly hide it from… my best friend in the whole world?’

‘In this world, the person who knows me best is you…’

‘You know the truth now, don’t you?’

‘That look in your eyes says everything is clear, right?’

‘Go on, pronounce my death sentence.’

‘Hurry, judge me!’

‘If I miss this chance, I might never have the courage to look into your suspicious eyes again… I’ll never have the courage to face the truth…’

“Mumu,” Jiang Mengxin murmured.

“Yes,” Su Mumu answered softly.

“You’re an idiot,” Jiang Mengxin said.

“Yeah! It’s all me, I… huh…?” Su Mumu was stunned.

“Pfft — Hahahaha!” Jiang Mengxin burst into laughter. She reached out and pinched Su Mumu’s cheek. “As expected, it really is soft…”

“What are you… doing…?” Su Mumu was at a loss.

‘Is this part of the judgment too? To put psychological pressure on me?’

“Stupid Mumu.” Jiang Mengxin pouted, as if expressing some sort of dissatisfaction. “In this world… the person I like most is you. Why on earth would you think we’d stop being friends?”

Su Mumu was completely dazed.