However, after Zhi Yao finished speaking, Pei Chiyao still didn't respond to her.
The young girl really didn't know what was wrong with this man. Was it because she had sneaked here alone?
Surely there was no need to be angry for so long!
Zhi Yi looked at Zhi Yao, equally perplexed, and said, "Yao Yao, aren't you going to keep him here?"
"No. I'm going to return him to where he belongs."
Return him to where he belongs?
Zhi Yi was a bit confused but didn't pursue the question further. "What do you plan to do?"
Zhi Yao smiled without answering, and instead turned to Ling Jue and said, "Father, you never really wanted to be the Wolf King, did you?"
Ling Jue, like Pei Chiyao, was completely love-brained.
Without waiting for Ling Jue to answer, she continued, "Actually, it was easy for me to guess. Back then, you took such a big risk, fighting your way through so many wolves, just to protect Mother, right? Because the old Wolf King wanted to harm my mother, but you had no right to take her from him. So, you went all out and killed him, becoming the Wolf King yourself. This way, you could protect Mother, isn't that right?"
The thought processes of love-brained people are often similar, making it easy to guess.
Hearing this, Ling Jue was shocked, completely surprised that Zhi Yao could guess his thoughts from back then so accurately.
Looking back at his mindset from that time, he still felt it was somewhat immature.
But he didn't regret it, because only this way could he protect Zhi Yi.
If he hadn't become the Wolf King, there would still be many in the Wolf Tribe eyeing Zhi Yi covetously.
This was the best solution.
No one knew that back then, Ling Jue had been on the brink of death. But thinking of Zhi Yi, he had persevered.
"Father, you don't hate our Fox Clan either, do you?" If he truly hated foxes and the Fox Clan, Ling Jue wouldn't have fallen in love with Mother.
"Father, I have a way that can let our family live together forever. Do you want to hear it?"
If he still wanted to be with Zhi Yi, the conflict between the Wolf Tribe and Fox Clan would always exist, so why not...
"Stop being the Wolf King, and let's live together in the human world."
Forget about both the Wolf Tribe and the Fox Clan.
Life is already hard enough, so why worry about so many other things?
People should live for themselves, foxes should live for themselves, and wolves too.
The most important thing in life is to be happy.
Let other unrelated foxes or humans fight amongst themselves if they want!
Why should they care? There are too many such affairs, and if they tried to manage them all, they simply couldn't keep up.
Hearing this, Ling Jue was even more stunned.
He had thought about leaving the Wolf Tribe to live with Zhi Yi before.
But...
But he was afraid.
He was afraid that Zhi Yi didn't love him, afraid that once he no longer had the status of Wolf King, he would have no way to keep Zhi Yi with him.
Zhi Yi was too good at running away. He had chased her so many times, and if it weren't for having many people at his disposal, he might have lost her long ago.
Seeing Ling Jue still hesitating, Zhi Yao looked up at Zhi Yi and asked, "Mother, what do you think of my idea?"
Zhi Yi was also stunned. She had always thought... that Ling Jue would never leave the Wolf Tribe for her.
He loved her, but... he was ultimately a wolf, and a wolf's ambition is innate and impossible to give up.
How could he possibly give it up for her?
Zhi Yao was getting anxious.
She had long seen through it all. Father was definitely willing, and Mother should be willing too, but these two were like people without mouths, saying nothing and leaving everything to be guessed by others.
"Alright, you two, stop agonizing over it. Just tell me the result. Father, you go first. Are you willing?"
Ling Jue replied almost without hesitation, "As long as Zhi Yi doesn't leave me, giving up being the Wolf King and leaving the Wolf Tribe are simple matters for me."
Upon hearing this, Zhi Yi was utterly shocked.
"You..."
She looked at Ling Jue in amazement, at a loss for words.
Zhi Yao then turned to Zhi Yi and asked, "Mother, what about you? Are you willing to stop worrying about the Fox Clan's affairs and just be with Father like this?"
Zhi Yi was silent for a moment. Just as Ling Jue's heart was sinking, she spoke, "Why wouldn't I be willing?"
She sighed, "If I had truly been able to leave him, how could he have found me so quickly every time?"
Except for the last time.
When she ran away with Zhi Yao, that time, she had made up her mind to leave.
She could put herself in danger, but not her child.
A young fox cub was the most delicious food for the Wolf Tribe.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Ling Jue, but she couldn't take even the slightest risk.
Ling Jue could hardly believe what he had heard. He stood there dumbfounded for three seconds, unable to say a word. When he finally reacted, he picked up Zhi Yi in one swift motion, eager to take her back to their room and throw her on the bed...
Zhi Yao watched her father, who seemed about to go mad with joy, and shook her head helplessly. "A love-brained man, hopeless."
She then turned to look at Pei Chiyao.
Having finally sorted out her parents' affairs, it was now Pei Chiyao's turn.
Zhi Yao sighed. What would this family do without such a clever, witty, and adorable little fox like her?
"Pei Chiyao, why are you angry?"
Without waiting for Pei Chiyao to answer, Zhi Yao continued, "I know. You're mad that I disregarded my safety and brought the cub to such a dangerous place. You're mad that I met Xie Qinzhou. You're mad that Xie Qinzhou still has designs on me. And you're also mad that I wanted to touch him just now, right?"
Zhi Yao felt she had Pei Chiyao's little psychological game completely figured out.
But unexpectedly, Pei Chiyao denied it. "No. None of that."
The man finally turned to look at Zhi Yao.
"Zhi Yao, do you think I don't understand you at all?"
Zhi Yao was stunned.
What? What did he mean by that?
She didn't understand.
"You had Yan Mu pretend to be you to deceive me. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Zhi Yao was even more confused. He was actually... angry about this?
Zhi Yao couldn't quite understand the reason for this anger.
But Pei Chiyao was about to explode with fury. "Zhi Yao, I am angry. I'm angry that you disregarded your own safety and the safety of our child. I'm even angrier that you didn't tell me about this. You'd rather tell Yan Mu and have her help you deceive me than speak to me directly."
Zhi Yao hurriedly tried to explain, but Pei Chiyao didn't give her the chance.
He gripped Zhi Yao's chin firmly and, without waiting for her to speak, kissed her fiercely.
Zhi Yao was left breathless from the kiss. From the corner of her eye, she could see Xie Qinzhou, who had fully transformed into a fox, seemingly looking up at them with a puzzled expression...
