“Are you really not going to eat?” Su Mumu asked.
“Humiliating me again?” Jiang Mengxin’s tone was even colder.
Inside the cave sealed by the world of ice and snow, it felt particularly freezing. Outside, the sound of the wind periodically drifted in like the wailing of wolves, shrill and eerie.
This dim little world was actually somewhat cozy.
Overall, Su Mumu was in a pretty good mood. She had saved Xin Xin, and the mission was successfully completed. Next, she just needed to slowly win her over and eliminate her hostility toward the fox.
Be patient. Stay calm.
Keep it up!
“I’m not,” Su Mumu said as she took a bite herself. A crisp crunching sound echoed as she chewed. “Eat something to replenish your strength. Tomorrow, I’ll catch some rabbits to roast.”
“Oh,” Jiang Mengxin responded.
“Are you really not going to eat?” Su Mumu was puzzled.
“Do you think I can trust you?” Jiang Mengxin asked.
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, Su Mumu was still a bit choked up by the response.
“Under the current circumstances, if you don’t trust me, who else can you trust?” she asked.
“I only trust my Bestie. It doesn’t matter who else comes; whatever accomplices or methods you have, forget it!” Jiang Mengxin muttered softly.
With that, she twisted her body and reluctantly turned on her side, showing her attitude through action. She kept the back of her head toward Su Mumu, unwilling to even spare a glance!
‘So that’s how it is…’ Su Mumu felt a bit emotional. ‘You trust your Bestie that much? What if she lied to you?’
“Impossible,” Jiang Mengxin’s voice was very soft.
“What if?” Su Mumu pressed.
The cave fell silent for a while.
Only then did Jiang Mengxin’s voice ring out again. “Then I would still trust her.”
Su Mumu gave a silent, bitter smile. ‘Really…?’
Jiang Mengxin couldn’t see that smile.
“You want to get information about her through me?” Jiang Mengxin’s emotions fluctuated. “If you dare do anything to her, I’ll have your life!”
Whoa.
How terrifying.
‘This girl is serious…’
Well, it was actually a bit touching.
Su Mumu felt complicated. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment, and an unprecedentedly bold idea popped into her head.
“Then… what if I am Su Mumu?”
She said it softly, without any emotion. It was like a fire extinguisher for their emotions.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became heavy and eerie. Outside, the wailing of the wind grew even louder, almost exceeding the limits of what her ears could bear.
‘No, perhaps it’s my own heartbeat…’
Su Mumu touched the left side of her chest.
***
After a long while, Jiang Mengxin responded quite reluctantly, “You’d better stop joking.”
“What if?” Su Mumu pressed once more.
A rustling sound followed as Jiang Mengxin turned over and cast her gaze over again. Her face held an unreadable calmness.
“She would never lie to me.”
“Is that so?” Su Mumu thought for a moment, pulled out the last piece of the biscuit, and handed it over. “Then just pretend she’s the one feeding you.”
Jiang Mengxin’s gaze remained frozen for several seconds. It was unclear if she was thinking or hesitating.
Finally, she opened her mouth. Then, she bit the biscuit hard, crushing it.
A shrill cracking sound followed.
In an instant, countless crumbs scattered. Even the half of the biscuit remaining in Su Mumu’s fingertips shattered. The force of her teeth was easy to imagine.
Jiang Mengxin finished the half-piece of biscuit like she was swallowing a date whole, barely even chewing.
Su Mumu was a bit dazed.
‘Fine.’
‘It seems she really hates foxes.’
‘Forget it.’
‘I’m exhausted.’
‘Time to sleep.’
She would work harder on the rest tomorrow after waking up.
As for the problem of keeping watch tonight?
Su Mumu didn’t think any creature could move freely on such a terrifying, apocalyptic snowy night. Even if there were, she would wake up immediately.
No joke — the fox ears on her head weren’t just for looking cute! They were a pair of natural radar!
“I’ll sleep at this end so I won’t bother you,” Su Mumu said, lying down at the other side.
The two of them lay facing away from each other.
“You’d better not,” Jiang Mengxin’s attitude was still cold.
***
In the middle of the night.
Su Mumu lay there for a long time before she could fall asleep again.
Her mind was in a muddle, thinking about how to break the ice in their current relationship. Consequently, her sleep quality was exceptionally poor.
The hay padding was also uncomfortable. To be honest, Su Mumu was very particular about her bed and even her pillow! And this damn pile of hay didn’t have a pillow.
She already had bad sleeping habits, and under these conditions, her sleeping posture became even more chaotic.
She was like a depressing, non-stop spinning top, turning to her side one moment and kicking her legs the next.
It was absolutely torturing Jiang Mengxin.
“Move your foot! Hey!”
“You dead fox, did you hear me!”
” — !”
Jiang Mengxin stared fixedly at the fair little foot next to her cheek. Look, she was kicking again. Kicking right in her face.
She was really fed up!
Sleeping like a dead pig.
‘I can’t sleep! How am I supposed to sleep?!’
She really wanted to teach this dead fox how to behave!
Jiang Mengxin’s teeth were itching with hatred. Look, now she wasn’t just kicking her face; she was trying to shove it into her mouth.
If you called it intentional, it didn’t look like it. If you said it wasn’t intentional, it didn’t look like that either.
To put it simply: she was asking for it!
Jiang Mengxin carefully recalled everything that happened today. Every detail and messy thought was organized clearly and distinctly. Cause and effect were quickly stacked like a deck of cards being shuffled.
A hint of calculating metaphor flashed deep in her eyes.
***
The next day.
When Su Mumu woke up, the wind and snow outside the cave had stopped. However, the weather was even colder. She was woken up by the cold.
“So cold, so cold, so cold…”
Su Mumu hugged her tail for warmth and sat up dazed, staring blankly at the white world outside the cave.
‘Oh right, I’m in the Outer realm world.’
For a moment, she hadn’t adapted to the new environment!
Ugh, so hungry. Cold and hungry.
“You’re awake too?” Su Mumu noticed that Jiang Mengxin had also opened her eyes.
“Yes,” Jiang Mengxin said softly.
Su Mumu was slightly stunned. Strange, did Jiang Mengxin seem less cold and difficult to get along with today? Did her anger from yesterday dissipate?
“Then wait for me.” Su Mumu slowly put on her shoes.
“Going where?” Jiang Mengxin asked succinctly.
“To see if there are any rabbits. I’ll catch one to roast.”
Her feet stepped onto the thick snow, and her shoes were almost submerged. The tail behind Su Mumu swayed slightly; she was in a good mood.
“I’ll be nearby. If anything happens, just give a shout, and I’ll come back immediately.”
“I don’t need your protection,” Jiang Mengxin said.
“If I don’t protect you, how can I get back to Xianzong? I don’t have the means to return.” Su Mumu shrugged, her face full of helplessness.
Jiang Mengxin stared at her for a long time. After a while, she finally asked, “Then why did you come to the Secret Realm?”
Su Mumu gave a brilliant smile, appearing somewhat playful. “Guess~~”
“Disgusting,” Jiang Mengxin curled her lip. “A 1,000-year-old fox pretending to be young.”
“How rude!” Su Mumu frowned. “I’m not even 20 yet!”
“Whatever you say.” Jiang Mengxin didn’t want to deal with her at all.
“Fine, fine, fine.” Su Mumu let out a huff of anger and left the cave.
It wasn’t until her figure completely disappeared that Jiang Mengxin revealed a grave expression, her thoughts racing —
‘Not even 20.’
‘A student.’
‘And someone who knows both Xianzong and me very well.’