With her soul returned to its place, a rich and enticing aroma of food instantly wafted into her nostrils.
So fragrant… is this Shangguan Yunzhu’s cooking?
Lu Qiancha’s ears perked up alertly, catching the faint clinking of bowls and plates coming from the kitchen.
Moments later, footsteps approached, and Shangguan Yunzhu appeared, carrying several plates of delicate side dishes, placing them on the simple wooden table.
“Time to eat, Little Qiancha.”
Her voice was light and cheerful as she called out to the small blue figure still “facing the wall” in the corner.
“Don’t call me Little Qiancha! I’m not little, call me Senior Brother!”
Lu Qiancha instinctively bristled and turned her head, her cheeks puffed out.
“All right, all right, got it—Senior Brother Qiancha.”
Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyes sparkled with a smile, her tone full of indulgent submission, yet her hands moved decisively.
A small wooden spoon laden with food was already carefully brought to Lu Qiancha’s lips.
“Ah, open your mouth.”
“I have my own hands… paws!”
Lu Qiancha angrily turned her head away, resisting, “I don’t need to be fed! Don’t treat me like a child.”
“Mm-hmm, I know.”
Shangguan Yunzhu nodded repeatedly, sincerity shining in her eyes. “I absolutely don’t see you as a child, Senior Brother.”
That smiling expression clearly spelled out four big characters: ‘Saying one thing, meaning another.’
“Mm-hmm…”
Faced with such an exquisite mixture of tenderness and half-hearted “respect,” Lu Qiancha squeezed out a choked sound, a blend of anger and helplessness, and resigned herself to sit down, clutching the wooden bowl with her paws as she slurped her soup.
“So, Senior Brother, why exactly did you come to Taoyuan Village?”
Shangguan Yunzhu propped her chin with one hand, her amber eyes filled with pure curiosity. “Could it be… you sneaked out just for fun?”
“Like that would happen! You actually believe that? I’m not a child.”
Lu Qiancha almost choked on her soup, setting down the bowl in frustration.
“Then why did you come?”
Shangguan Yunzhu tilted her head, pressing for an answer.
Lu Qiancha scooped a large mouthful of meat broth without enthusiasm. “Got a Zongmen Mission to investigate a bunch of missing people, and followed the trail here.”
She gulped down the soup, then flopped her small face onto the table with a bitter expression, her entire being radiating a weary exhaustion as if life had lost all meaning.
“So… did you find them?”
“Yes,” Lu Qiancha rested her cheek in her paw, looking sullen.
“But they’re all so happy here they don’t want to leave! What, am I supposed to knock them out one by one, tie them up like dumplings, and throw them back to Jiangling City?”
Saying this, she angrily licked the grease off her lips. Her slightly rounded belly pressed against the table through her clothes—looking exactly like a little wolf too full and too lazy to move.
“That’s really troublesome…”
Shangguan Yunzhu nodded sympathetically.
After the meal, just as Shangguan Yunzhu was about to get up and clear the dishes, she saw that the small blue figure had already nimbly jumped down from the chair.
With practiced paws, Lu Qiancha stacked the bowls and plates neatly, then with a few quick steps carried them steadily into the kitchen.
“Hm?”
Sensing a curious gaze from behind, Lu Qiancha turned her head in puzzlement. “What are you looking at?”
“Just… surprised.”
Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyes glittered. “I didn’t expect Senior Brother to be so… adept at these trivial household chores?”
“No choice.” Lu Qiancha instinctively rolled up her sleeves (even though she didn’t have any) and opened the water bucket, her tone tinged with helplessness.
“Shifu and Shiniang are busy with the Xianmen rituals, and when my Shimei joined, she was even smaller than I am now. So the responsibility of managing the household just fell on me.”
“Who doesn’t want to be a hands-off manager and just lie back? Honestly, it’s all because life forces us to.”
“Wah—!”
Shangguan Yunzhu’s eyes lit up like little stars instantly. She pounced forward and wrapped her slender body tightly around Lu Qiancha, rubbing her cheek excitedly against the soft skin.
“You’re such a responsible good kid!”
“Hey hey! Shangguan Yunzhu! Let go! Stop rubbing!”
Lu Qiancha felt like a piece of jelly being kneaded repeatedly, her voice cracking.
“Why don’t you call me ‘Yunzhu older sister’ anymore?”
Shangguan Yunzhu finally stopped, pouting slightly, her amber eyes watery as she looked at her with a hint of grievance at being “demoted.”
“I! Am! Older! Than! You!”
Lu Qiancha spoke each word deliberately, feeling a headache coming.
“But Qianqian used to call me that so sweetly—‘Yunzhu older sister, Yunzhu older sister.’”
Shangguan Yunzhu dragged out the tone mockingly, her expression both innocent and persistent.
“That was just for the role!”
Lu Qiancha twitched at the corner of her mouth. Of course, she had to pretend to be a child back then.
“Then play along now too?”
Shangguan Yunzhu pushed her luck, pouting coquettishly as her chin rested between Lu Qiancha’s two furry pointed ears.
Whoosh—
Warm breath swept unimpeded deep into the sensitive ear canals.
“Guh~”
A strong tingling sensation exploded like electricity. Lu Qiancha’s whole body jolted, leaping half a step away.
She reached out a paw and slapped Shangguan Yunzhu’s face with a “smack,” trying to push away the mischievous face that had gotten far too close. “I! Refuse!”
Shangguan Yunzhu, pushed aside, now sported a somewhat obvious paw pad print on her cheek.
The look of disappointment in her eyes quickly vanished as she brightened up, proposing with shining eyes, “Since you’re older than me, how about I call you… Senior Sister Qiancha?”
Lu Qiancha placed a paw over her forehead, staring at Shangguan Yunzhu with a sigh. “I remember you’re the Sect’s recognized Ice Beauty, right? Please don’t ruin your image.”
“Where am I icy?”
Shangguan Yunzhu instantly retorted as if her tail had been stepped on, her tone full of complaint.
“Shifu and Shiniang only care if I become talented; they nag me to cultivate all day and don’t understand anything unless I ask. As for that Qingfeng guy…”
She curled her lip, full of disdain. “Two-faced, speaks nonsense! What else can I do but keep a cold face to stop him from bothering me?”
Lu Qiancha twitched the corner of her mouth upon hearing those words. She had always suspected this so-called Ice Beauty was a bit of a façade, and now she knew there was more behind it.
Not wanting to argue with this ‘Ice Beauty’ any longer, Lu Qiancha turned away, showing off her fluffy big tail as she bent over to toss the remaining dishes into the water bucket and started washing.
Seeing Lu Qiancha busy, Shangguan Yunzhu naturally couldn’t stay idle. She stepped forward to help clean the bowls and plates in the bucket.
Shangguan Yunzhu quickly rolled up her sleeves and joined in. Without a word, the two worked in quiet harmony. Once the washing was done, Lu Qiancha just moved toward the cushion—
Huff!
A pair of jade-like hands struck again like lightning, firmly scooping her up and carrying her back to the warm little bed.
Lu Qiancha was placed on the soft bed. Her small paws scratched the air symbolically, issuing a warning: “If you pull a surprise attack like that again… I, I’ll really scratch you.”
“Pfft~”
Shangguan Yunzhu couldn’t help but laugh, tapping Lu Qiancha’s nose with her fingertips. “Next time I carry you, I’ll give you a heads up.”
“No way!” Lu Qiancha said resolutely. “No carrying! And no warnings either! I’m not some pet you can just carry around!”
“Mm-hmm, all right, all right, I’ll listen to Senior Brother.”
Shangguan Yunzhu nodded vigorously, seriously indulging Lu Qiancha’s fussing. Then she wrapped her hands around Lu Qiancha’s body, helping her change into a nightdress.
Lu Qiancha struggled in vain a few times before resigning herself. She hugged her tail and curled into a warm little blue ball.
“Hmph, I’m not talking to you. I’m going to sleep.” She closed her eyes with a pout, signaling a truce.
“Mm-hmm, sleep well.”
Shangguan Yunzhu chuckled softly, her fingertips gently brushing the tuft of fur sticking up. Her voice was as gentle as water. “Good night… Little Qiancha…”
“I told you, don’t call me Little Qiancha!!”
Lu Qiancha’s protesting voice faded into the warm darkness…
In the end, amidst this chaotic yet strangely comforting scuffle, the little wolf pup’s breathing evened out, completely sinking into the deep game of chess with the Lord of Dreams.
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