At night, when there was no one around, Wan Ruo quietly took the offerings, paper money and river lanterns. She came to the willow tree beside the pond in the back garden. With a dry willow branch on the ground, she drew a circle on the ground.
She wrote her grandma's name on each bundle of paper money. First, she put the paper money into the circle she had just drawn. Then she laid out the pastries and fruits she had made by herself. She lit the paper money in the circle and then knelt down and kowtowed beside it.
As the paper money burned out, Wan Ruo lit the river lantern and put it into the river. She thought it was the seventh day after her grandma's death and she would see her grandma's soul, but she didn't.
She stared blankly at the river lantern floating slowly into the distance on the river, at that tiny glimmer of light in the pitch - black river.
Quietly, a long time passed. When she came to her senses, she gently wiped away the tears that had fallen unconsciously.
She turned around and stood up, but was startled by Bai Chen who had appeared behind her without her noticing. She accidentally slipped and fell into the water.
"Help! I... I can't swim!" Wan Ruo shouted, "Gurgle, gurgle."
Bai Chen frowned slightly and jumped into the water without hesitation. He carried Wan Ruo out.
He laid Wan Ruo on the ground, wrung out his soaked clothes, and then stretched them.
He looked at Wan Ruo. She was completely soaked and coughing up water beside him. She hugged her chest with both hands.
Bai Chen took off his coat, wrung it dry, put it on her, and then picked her up.
Wan Ruo sneezed and curled up in his arms. The two of them huddled together for warmth. Bai Chen slightly curled up the corners of his mouth and took her to his residence.
Bai Chen put Wan Ruo beside the stove and then lit the stove. This would make her warmer.
Wan Ruo curled up her body, hugged her legs, and sat beside the stove to warm herself.
At this time, Bai Chen brought two sets of clean clothes and handed them to Wan Ruo, saying, "Here, change into my clothes first."
Wan Ruo looked at Bai Chen, took the clothes, and looked around.
But she saw Bai Chen taking off his clothes right in front of her. She quickly covered her eyes and questioned, "What are you doing?"
"I'm changing clothes!"
"No, don't you see there's a girl in front of you? Don't you know to avoid it?" As she said, Wan Ruo quietly opened a little gap between her fingers and peeked at Bai Chen's actions through the gap.
Bai Chen bent down and squatted in front of her, smiling and saying, "You're right! But there's no place for me to avoid here. So I'll have to trouble you, girl, to turn around."
After saying that, he started to take off his clothes on his own.
Wan Ruo saw his snow - white skin and firm eight - pack abs. Her face instantly blushed to the tips of her ears.
She quickly covered her face and turned around, shouting loudly, "Hey! You're so perverted!"
Bai Chen seemed to enjoy this, "Hurry up and change your clothes. Do you want me to help you?" Bai Chen said charmingly.
Hearing Bai Chen's words, Wan Ruo turned her back to him, covering her eyes and remaining motionless.
At this time, a pair of hands grabbed Wan Ruo's arms and removed her hands. "You can open your eyes now!" Bai Chen said playfully.
Wan Ruo squinted her eyes into a tiny slit and looked at Bai Chen. Seeing that he was fully dressed, she opened her eyes wide and disdainfully shook off his hand.
"Aren't you going to change?" Bai Chen looked at Wan Ruo and asked.
Wan Ruo shook her head without saying a word and still curled up there.
Seeing this, Bai Chen had no choice but to pick her up and walk towards the bed.
This action scared Wan Ruo. "What are you doing? Put me down!" Wan Ruo was so anxious that tears were about to fall.
What was he going to do? Force himself on her?
Thinking of this, she struggled desperately, waved her fists randomly, and even bit his shoulder.
How hard she must have bitten! Through the clothes, the bloodstain was slightly seeping out. Bai Chen winced in pain and threw her onto the bed.
Wan Ruo quickly grabbed the quilt and blocked it in front of her chest.
Bai Chen's cold look instantly softened. He turned around and threw the clothes on the ground to her, gently saying, "Why are you so nervous? I just want you to change your clothes in the quilt. I'll sit here so you don't have to worry... But you'd better be quick, or I can't guarantee that I won't peek!"
Seeing Bai Chen sitting with his back to her, drying his wet clothes beside the brazier, Wan Ruo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She quickly got into the quilt and changed out of her soaked clothes.
Just as Wan Ruo popped her head out after changing clothes, she saw Bai Chen staring at her intently. She punched him.
"You're a peeping tom!"
"I just wanted to see if you were done changing!" Bai Chen said aggrievedly.
The two of them sat together beside the brazier to dry their clothes. Wan Ruo looked at Bai Chen from time to time. There was still the bloodstain on his shoulder from her bite just now. She felt a little guilty.
She was also a bit at a loss. She clearly had a crush on him before.
Maybe it was when he rescued her from trouble, maybe when he helped her, or maybe when he risked his life to save her. She thought she was special to him.
It turned out he always had a purpose! The inner core in her body was probably the reason he risked his life to save her.
Stop being self - indulgent. Put away your crush on him. He's a fox demon! There seemed to be two little people fighting in Wan Ruo's heart, and she was entangled.
"I'm sorry. Are you... okay?" Wan Ruo asked guiltily, pointing at Bai Chen's shoulder.
Seeing her guilty look, Bai Chen immediately pretended to be injured and said wickedly, "It seems to hurt a lot! Maybe a kiss can cure it!"
A kiss? Wan Ruo's face instantly blushed to the back of her ears.
She pretended not to hear anything, lowered her head, and whispered, "You're a fox demon, right?"
Although Wan Ruo's voice was very soft, Bai Chen heard it. He was stunned for a moment and then looked at Wan Ruo. Presumably, she already knew.
"Are you afraid of me?" Bai Chen said gently.
Wan Ruo thought for a long time and weakly asked, "Then will you eat me?"
This question made Bai Chen a bit confused. He frowned slightly and looked at her thoughtfully.
She grabbed the clothes on her chest and continued, "I heard that the brides chosen by fox demons will all be eaten in the end!"
Hearing her choking voice, Bai Chen felt a bit heart - ache. She was probably really afraid of him.
Wan Ruo suddenly looked at Bai Chen and said aggrievedly, "You saved me from danger many times because of the inner core in my body, right?"
Bai Chen couldn't refute this point. It was indeed the case, but he didn't expect that he would fall in love with Wan Ruo.
Seeing that Bai Chen didn't say a word, did that mean he admitted it?
Wan Ruo stood up and was about to leave. Bai Chen grabbed her. Not knowing what to say, he could only squeeze out a few words with difficulty, "You're indeed the bride of the fox demon. I know you're not ready yet, but this is the truth!"
She shook off Bai Chen's hand and ran out.
She ran under a tree and slumped against the trunk. In the pitch - black night, she felt a kind of loneliness and helplessness she had never felt before.
She stared at the weak moonlight in the sky. It seemed that she could see her grandma's smiling face.
Just as she was staring blankly...