"Lanlan looks so much like that fox fairy right now," Chu Hengyuan sighed. Although she no longer had fox ears and a fox tail, her arrogant look was so much like that of a fox.
Rong Lan was stunned and lowered her head guiltily. How could she not look like it? She was that very fox.
"Right! Brother, were you scared by that human - intelligent fox?"
Chu Hengyuan could tell that the little girl was trying to change the subject, but he was happy to play along. "I was scared, but only for a moment at the beginning. After that, it was okay." In fact, he knew that the little fox was his little wife. Because it was her, he wasn't scared at all.
"Brother, how can you be so accepting? You should never have come into contact with human - intelligent monsters before. I thought you'd be so scared that you'd doubt your life," Rong Lan said, relaxing her guard now that he wasn't making a move on her. She lowered her head and leaned on his shoulder.
She had wanted to ask him this question when she was in the form of a fox. He seemed to respect her as the fox fairy, but he wasn't afraid of her.
Chu Hengyuan reached out and gently ruffled the back of the little girl's head. The smile on his face remained unchanged. "Because I've read a lot of books. I always feel that there must be things in this world that I've never heard of. Sometimes, I even believe that the dragons and phoenixes in the legends are real. So, while a talking fox is a big deal, it's not something that can shatter my worldview."
After all, he was from a powerful and influential family, well - traveled and well - informed. The more a person has seen, the broader their vision, and the easier it is for them to believe that there must be surprises in this vast world that ordinary people can't see.
Rong Lan coughed lightly. She really wanted to tell her brother that dragons and phoenixes did exist, and dragons weren't that far away from them.
"The roast chicken isn't ready yet. How about I tell Lanlan a story?" Chu Hengyuan twirled the little girl's hair in his hand, looking a bit pensive.
Rong Lan nodded eagerly. "Sure!" A story meant that her brother wouldn't suddenly steal a kiss from her.
"When I was very young, my mother was seriously ill. And when I was a kid, I really liked reading mythological legends and books like Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. I once believed that besides humans, there were ghosts, monsters, and gods in this world."
Rong Lan played with the buttons on her brother's white shirt. Actually, half of his perception was correct. There were indeed more than just humans in this world. There were ghosts and the Yama who was in charge of them. But obviously, only a very small number of people could see ghosts. In most people's perception, ghosts went against their worldview.
"At that time, Mom would coax me and say that she was actually a fairy who came to the mortal world to endure hardships. The gods in the sky were urging her to go back, and she might not be able to accompany me as I grew up. She also said that as long as I could be a good boy, not do evil, and not hurt others, when I grew up, she would definitely come down to the mortal world to pick me up and take me to live in the sky. For a while, I believed this story. But by the time Mom passed away, I was old enough to understand life and death."
"I knew that what Mom said was just to comfort me, but I still hoped that even if there was only a one - percent chance, the Heavenly Court really existed and my mom was really a fairy in the sky. So, I'm not afraid of monsters because if there are monsters, there might also be gods. This would prove that Mom didn't lie to me and that she really went to the Heavenly Court."
He still remembered that when his mother passed away, he didn't cry in front of her. He kept telling her what the Heavenly Court and the gods in his imagination were like because he knew that as long as he showed that he believed what his mother said, she would be at ease.
He hoped that at the end of her life, his mother wouldn't worry about him.
Rong Lan reached out and wrapped her arms around her brother's neck. Her head still rested on his shoulder. She could hear the smile in his tone, but she still felt sad for the young Chu Hengyuan back then. It was a good thing that he could now talk about his past pain with a smile, but he must have been sad many times on the way from then to now before he could finally talk about it with a smile.
"As a very powerful fortune - teller, I can honestly tell you, brother, that there are ghosts and monsters in this world," she said. After all, she herself was a monster. "There's also the Underworld as described in the books, but there's no Heavenly Court and no gods."
Chu Hengyuan smiled. "Lanlan, do you mean that you can see ghosts?"
Rong Lan, who had been secretly tugging at the hair on the back of her brother's head, stopped. Had her brother's ability to grasp the key points regressed?
The key point of her words didn't seem to be that.
But it was good that the topic could be diverted.
"Only charlatans can't see ghosts. As a senior fortune - teller, of course I can see ghosts!" Rong Lan snorted proudly.
Chu Hengyuan complimented her cooperatively. "Lanlan is really amazing!"
"Of course!" Rong Lan looked up, giving the man with a faint smile a resentful look. "Brother, you really should start cooking. I can already hear my stomach growling."
Chu Hengyuan didn't let the little girl off easily. The roast chicken was almost ready. If the little girl was really hungry, she could eat the roast chicken while waiting for him to finish cooking the other dishes. But if he let her off this time, he didn't know when he'd get another chance to trap her at the kitchen counter. "Lanlan, give me my reward, and I'll start cooking right away."
Rong Lan looked directly into the man's eyes resentfully, trying to use a pitiful expression to soften his heart.
However, she underestimated his determination again.
She looked until her eyes were tired, and she even heard the oven beep to indicate it was done. Rong Lan still didn't hear her brother say "forget it." Instead, the smell of the roast chicken made her so hungry that she said, "I admit defeat."
She decided to end this stalemate for the sake of the roast chicken.
"Brother, close your eyes."
Chu Hengyuan replied with a soft laugh, first reaching up to take off his gold - rimmed glasses and placing them on the kitchen counter before closing his eyes as the little girl asked.
Rong Lan took a deep breath and held the man's face with both hands.
Her brother looked so obedient with his eyes closed. It wouldn't be a loss for her to kiss him, but he deliberately took off his glasses. He probably wouldn't let her get away with just one kiss.
Looking at the man's thin lips, the blushing little fox slowly leaned in. Just when there were only three centimeters between their lips, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a white ball.
She froze, and her attention was instantly diverted. She tilted her head and saw little Amber squatting at the kitchen door.
Rong Lan: "???" When did little Amber come over? How long had it been squatting at the door watching?
This wouldn't do. The awkward position she and her brother were in wasn't suitable for a little one to see. Moreover, her face was already so hot that it felt like it was on fire when it was just the two of them. With a little cat as an on - looker, her face might really catch fire.