As soon as she returned home and stepped through the door, Zhi Yao was startled.
She saw Pei Chiyao sitting on the sofa - it was rare for him to be home so early.
By this time, Ling Xiao had already put Little Lychee down. He was quietly following behind the two of them, but the moment he stepped through the front door, Pei Chiyao's gaze shot towards him.
Little Lychee was overjoyed to see Pei Chiyao. She cheered and quickly ran to Pei Chiyao's legs, hugging them tightly as she called out, "Daddy, daddy, you're home so early today?"
Only then did Pei Chiyao withdraw his gaze. He bent down to scoop up Little Lychee, sitting her on his lap. He affectionately ruffled his daughter's hair and said, "Mm, I wanted to come home early today to take you and mommy out. But shouldn't Little Lychee first tell daddy who this is?"
Little Lychee followed Pei Chiyao's gaze to Ling Xiao. She slapped her forehead, suddenly remembering she hadn't introduced him to Pei Chiyao yet. "Daddy, this is your future son-in-law, my future boyfriend."
As soon as these words left her mouth, the smile on Pei Chiyao's face instantly froze. Just moments ago, he had been feeling quite content, but now, with Little Lychee's statement, his mood shattered into pieces.
Son-in-law? Boyfriend?!
The surrounding air rapidly dropped by several degrees, and the atmosphere in the entire living room became strange.
Pei Chiyao pointed at Ling Xiao and said, "Why did you also bring home a wolf cub?"
Was there some inexplicable connection between their Fox Clan and the Wolf Tribe? Why did they all seem to fall for wolves?
Of course, except for Zhi Yao, who had better taste and fell for a dragon. Apart from that, he was puzzled by the Fox Clan's taste in partners.
What? Wolf cub?!
At these words, both Zhi Yao and Little Lychee were stunned. Their gazes fell simultaneously on Ling Xiao. Little Lychee, in particular, pointed at Ling Xiao with a trembling hand and said, "You... you're a wolf?!"
Her expression stirred an inexplicable emotion in Ling Xiao. After a moment, he curled his lips and candidly admitted, "Yes, that's right. I'm a wolf."
He had expected Little Lychee's face to show disgust and fear next, but to Ling Xiao's great surprise, Little Lychee actually... actually pounced on him?!
"Oh my gosh, you're actually a wolf, that's so cool, so handsome! Quick, quick! Hurry up and show me your wolf tail so I can play with it!"
It's worth noting that wolves were her favorite! Her grandfather and uncles were all wolves. To her, wolves were the cutest creatures in the world.
Ling Xiao had known Little Lychee's true identity from the start. She was a fox - he had spotted that at first glance.
Foxes and wolves were natural enemies. Usually, when a fox encountered a wolf, they would either think about how to kill it or how to escape.
Little Lychee's reaction was truly a first.
Seemingly noticing Ling Xiao's surprise, Zhi Yao couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle, "It's alright, you don't need to worry. We have many wolves in our family."
Wh... what?
Ling Xiao could hardly believe what he was hearing.
Many wolves?
This house had two foxes and a human, how could there be many wolves?
But before he could ponder further, Little Lychee tightly hugged him, nuzzling against him and sniffing carefully, "Wow! It really is the scent of the Wolf Tribe!"
This was just too cool!
It looked like she could also embark on a romantic fox-wolf love story like her grandparents.
However, before the little girl could speak again, she suddenly found herself lifted into the air. She waved her short, chubby limbs, saying, "Oh my, what's happening? Why am I... why am I flying?"
She looked up and realized it was Pei Chiyao who had picked her up.
Pei Chiyao held Little Lychee up with one hand, and with the other, he interlocked his fingers and tapped her little head, saying, "Go to your room and reflect on your behavior. You're far too young to be thinking about these things."
Little Lychee felt utterly wronged. She knew her father wouldn't approve.
This thousand-year-old jealous monster.
She made a face at Pei Chiyao, then quickly transformed into a little fox and scurried back to her room.
With Little Lychee gone, Ling Xiao felt even more awkward.
Zhi Yao waved at him, saying, "It's okay, don't mind what he said. I'm in charge in this house. Why don't you go upstairs and play with Little Lychee? After dinner, I'll take you home, okay?"
Ling Xiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Watching him go upstairs, Zhi Yao turned her attention back to Pei Chiyao.
Seeing the man's icy expression, Zhi Yao couldn't help but laugh softly. She reached out and rubbed Pei Chiyao's face, saying, "Are you jealous? It was understandable when you were jealous over me, but now you're even jealous over our daughter? I've heard that Fifteen is quite popular at school too, with many girls liking him. How come I haven't seen you get jealous over Fifteen?"
Her words...
Pei Chiyao looked up at Zhi Yao, catching the teasing smile in her eyes. He couldn't resist and raised his hand to give her fox bottom a hard smack, saying, "You ask why I don't care about Fifteen?"
The answer was actually quite obvious - because Little Lychee was a girl.
Of course, it wasn't just because she was a girl. More importantly, Little Lychee had a face that was almost 80% similar to hers.
Every time he saw Little Lychee's face, it reminded Pei Chiyao of what Zhi Yao looked like as a child, and he couldn't help but want to dote on her more. To make up for all the time he hadn't known Zhi Yao.
Zhi Yao rested her head on Pei Chiyao's chest, nuzzling against his firm torso, and said, "Pei Chiyao..."
She suddenly changed her tone and said, "Husband, our wedding anniversary is coming up soon."
Pei Chiyao looked down at Zhi Yao and said, "Darling, I'm so happy that we can be together now. I hope in this life, we can grow old together."
Remembering the regrets of their past life, both Zhi Yao and Pei Chiyao felt a twinge of sadness.
She reached out and intertwined her fingers with his, nodding firmly as she said, "Don't worry, nothing and no one will ever separate us again."
They would be together forever and ever, watching Fifteen and Little Lychee grow up together, seeing them leave to live their own lives.
But she and Pei Chiyao would always be together.
Because they had long since been imprinted deep into each other's souls.
Zhi Yao gazed deeply at Pei Chiyao. Her golden eyes shimmered brightly, filled with indescribable emotions.
"I love you."
She quietly wrapped her arms around Pei Chiyao's neck, unable to resist burying her face in his neck once more, nuzzling him again and again.
This familiar gesture instantly reminded Pei Chiyao of how she looked when he first met her.
Back then, Zhi Yao was still a little fox, and her favorite thing to do was to curl herself into a tiny ball and coil around his neck. The feeling was something he would never forget.
After all these years, she was still the little fox in his heart, and also the little girl he loved and cherished the most.
He gently inhaled the scent of Zhi Yao's hair and said, "I love you too, my little girl."
