After patting the fox’s head as usual, Qin Suixi turned and headed back to his study.
Ning Qi’an narrowed his eyes. As soon as the door closed, he jumped up and made a beeline for the leash hanging on the wall. Garbage item. It’s just there to make a fox’s life miserable; better off without it.
It was made of cotton—likely because they assumed a small fox wouldn’t have much strength. While Ning Qi’an looked lean, he was a genuine, wild carnivore. After some focused gnawing with his canine teeth, the leash was severely frayed; one good tug and it would snap.
Mission accomplished. Ning Qi’an released the saliva-soaked leash, turned his head with a flourish, and locked eyes with Qin Suixi, who had been leaning against the study door watching for who knows how long.
Ning Qi’an: …
He retreated half a step in guilt, but then, like many children who have been caught in the act, he put on a brave face, pressed himself against Qin Suixi, and wagged his tail frantically.
Qin Suixi remained unmoved. He picked up the fox—a familiar move—and escorted him to the scene of the crime (the leash). Ning Qi’an didn’t dare to speak; he sprawled out on the floor as flat as possible, carefully observing Qin Suixi’s expression.
Qin Suixi was expressionless. Ning Qi’an couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but as long as he didn’t hit the fox, it was fine.
…
Qin Suixi stared at the leash that was on the verge of being decapitated for a long time. Finally, he held the rope right in front of the fox’s eyes. The fox, knowing it had messed up, was exceptionally quiet. He gave one of the fox’s whiskers a gentle tug; seeing the fox flinch but then immediately push its face back toward him, he asked, “Know you were wrong?”
Qin Suixi’s voice came from high above. Ning Qi’an blinked and gave a conciliatory wag of his tail.
Ning Qi’an: I know I was wrong, please let me off.
Qin Suixi said, “Do you not like going out, or do you not like being walked by me?” He deliberately emphasized the “me.”
Ning Qi’an wanted to respond, but after a moment of careful thought, he realized that neither answer was good. If he chose the first, he did like going out, just not being leashed. But if he chose the latter, he had a hunch Qin Suixi would get angry. So, Ning Qi’an chose to play dumb and acted like he didn’t understand.
Qin Suixi really couldn’t do anything about him. He tossed the leash into the trash and placed a new order online for a different one, adding a few chew sticks to the cart as well.
“I bought chew sticks,” Qin Suixi said. “You are not allowed to bite anything else from now on.”
Ning Qi’an, who was well past his teething stage: ? Does he really think I’m a juvenile fox?
At night, after enjoying the moonlight, Ning Qi’an lay down on the pillow as usual. Having experienced how comfortable the house was, he had been sleeping there for the past few days, and Qin Suixi was quite happy to let him stay.
The lights went out, and a sliver of faint moonlight leaked through the curtains, vaguely outlining the lump on the bed.
His face was turned toward the other side. A fox’s sleep is usually very sound; not long after the lights were out, the reassuring sound of breathing entered his ears like a lullaby a mother might hum to an infant, pulling him into a dream.
Just before drifting off to sleep, Qin Suixi vaguely thought, The fox seems to really like hiding behind the curtains. Maybe I should buy another smaller bed to put over there.
Qin Suixi had a nightmare.
In the dream, a thick python was strangling his neck, making it hard to breathe. He struggled to catch his breath, trying to raise his hand to pull the python off, but his body was weak and limp. He couldn’t move a single finger, left to be at the mercy of the snake as it stripped away his right to breathe. His own heartbeat, growing faster and faster, thundered in his eardrums.
“Hah—”
Qin Suixi’s face was flushed as he bolted upright, staring at the ceiling until his pupils focused. He gasped for air; even though he had woken up, the feeling of suffocation remained on his neck.
He felt something extra on his neck—a smooth, warm, snake-like thing pressing down on him hard.
“What the hell!”
Qin Suixi sat up abruptly. The thing on his neck slid down to his thigh with his movement. Qin Suixi shivered, looked down, and saw—an arm.
Yes, a human arm.
The security code to his door was only given to Secretary Chen and Auntie Liu, and neither of them could possibly be in his bed.
Damn it, who is it?!
Qin Suixi turned his head in a fit of rage to look. There was a strange boy on the bed. Half of the boy’s face was buried in the soft pillow, and the exposed half featured delicate, handsome features and fair, smooth skin. Perhaps because the heat had been on for too long, his cheeks were tinged with a faint red hue. His lips were slightly parted, and he looked to be sleeping soundly, making one loath to disturb him.
Qin Suixi’s sexual orientation was male. Seeing someone like this appear in his bed early in the morning—and being at a red-blooded age himself—he leaned over. His head lowered slowly, and his right hand grabbed the boy’s cheek, flipping him over so his entire face was exposed to the air.
Qin Suixi: !!!
It’s really you! The person I had a brief encounter with at the police station.
Qin Suixi’s first reaction was: Good grief, so the source of the nightmare where I was strangled by a python all night was you.
His second reaction was: How did he get into my bed?
There were still red marks from the pillow on the boy’s left cheek, making him look somewhat pitiful. Qin Suixi didn’t soften in the slightest. He gripped the boy’s face with his fingers and shook it ruthlessly.
Get up! If you don’t get up, I’m going to strangle you.
Ning Qi’an was having a wonderful dream about being surrounded by chicken legs. He picked up a chicken leg almost as big as his own head and was just about to take a bite when suddenly the world shook violently. The chicken leg in his hand fell into a bottomless crack under his feet. The rocks above his head were crumbling, and he couldn’t stand steadily and fell to the ground. He tried to crawl, but couldn’t get up because of the shaking. Finally, he gave up and lay on the ground, and then…
He woke up.
Ning Qi’an half-opened his eyes, feeling something pinching the sides of his cheeks. Impatiently, he swiped his hand forcefully.
Slap—
He hit a hard, long object, and the back of his hand stung a little.
“Get up.”
It was Qin Suixi’s voice in his ear. Ning Qi’an had never heard him sound so cold.
“What are you angry about so early in the morning?” Ning Qi’an mumbled while rubbing his eyes. Then, he froze completely, his whole body stiffened, and he looked at his own hand in disbelief.
“How are you in my house? How long have you been stalking me? I’m going to call the police right now!”
Before he could even answer, Qin Suixi pulled out his phone and pressed three digits. Seeing this, Ning Qi’an lunged at him, shouting, “Wait, wait, wait! Listen to my explanation!”
Qin Suixi’s finger hovered right over the green call button. He looked down at Ning Qi’an with half-lidded eyes and said, “I’ll give you one chance. Why are you in my house?”
Upon hearing this, and terrified that the other would call the police, Ning Qi’an quickly blurted out, “Your dad!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Qin Suixi went back to calling the police.
Ning Qi’an used his agility to leap up and snatch the phone, hurriedly hanging up. He breathed a sigh of relief, then turned around to see Qin Suixi pulling another phone out from under his pillow, clearly intent on calling the police again.
Only then did Ning Qi’an realize what was wrong with his previous words. He shouted, “Your dad ordered it! If you don’t believe me, go ask him!”
Qin Suixi paused, looked up, and said, “My dad? He wouldn’t be this disrespectful of my wishes.”
Ning Qi’an’s brain lagged for a few seconds, then he added, “Wait! The fox, the fox! I am your fox! I really was sent by your dad!”
Clack.
Qin Suixi calmly picked up the phone again and said, “I don’t believe a word of it.”