So It Turns Out You’re a Fox Spirit (GL) - Chapter 32
“It’ll be alright… It’ll be alright…”
Le Xiaoyao kept murmuring this phrase, yet she felt cold sweat continuously breaking out on her back. Her hands were trembling, and she could barely grip the steering wheel. Worry, regret, even self-condemnation. Her eyes were red, and warm liquid streamed down the corners of her eyes. She was crying…
Only when hovering between loss and gain can one truly understand how important that person is? She had feelings for her five years ago, didn’t she?
The clouds were plentiful tonight, and the moon was intermittently hidden.
When Le Xiaoyao rushed back to the apartment, she was met with pitch blackness… The security guard told her that due to an accidental fire, half of the apartment’s electrical lines were burned, causing a large-scale power outage.
“Fire… were there any casualties! Were there any casualties?!” Le Xiaoyao shouted, her eyes red, her emotions somewhat out of control.
The security guard was startled, “Yes… a woman was burned and has been sent to the hospital…”
“Which hospital?!”
Just then, her phone vibrated, and the familiar ringtone came through. It was actually a call from Fu Jin? Le Xiaoyao nervously answered the call…
“Did you call so many times? Is there something urgent?”
The familiar voice, carrying a hint of laziness. Le Xiaoyao hadn’t fully recovered yet, “You… are you okay? Where are you?!”
Le Xiaoyao’s sudden shout of “Where are you” made Fu Jin’s ears hurt. Fu Jin pondered, even if she was being petty and didn’t answer her calls, there was no need to be so aggressive, right…
“I’m at home.”
“Wait for me!” Both angry and relieved, Le Xiaoyao hung up, indicating that she had been tormented beyond measure today…
She took off running, completely disregarding her image. The key was the 23rd floor, and the damn power outage! Climbing 23 flights of stairs in one breath was equivalent to a week’s worth of exercise for Le Xiaoyao. She was left half-dead after climbing up, gasping for air, feeling like she was about to explode from heat… Strangely, why was there no trace of fire at all? She couldn’t even smell a hint of scorching? Was today April Fool’s Day?
“Fu Jin! Fu Jin!” Le Xiaoyao hammered on the door of 2306 while shouting, still breathless.
The room was pitch dark. Fu Jin carefully held a candle and went to open the door… As soon as the door was opened, Le Xiaoyao rushed over to hug her, startling her into quickly spreading her arms, holding the candle far away. She had almost burned Le Xiaoyao’s hair just now.
Le Xiaoyao tightly wrapped her arms around Fu Jin’s waist, resting her chin on her shoulder, her heart pounding fiercely. She gasped, “I thought… I thought…”
“Why are you breathing so heavily?” Fu Jin was caught off guard by the sudden, deep embrace. She held the candle with one hand and gently stroked Le Xiaoyao’s back with the other.
Le Xiaoyao moved her head from Fu Jin’s shoulder. She couldn’t see her face, it was too dark. “Climbing 23 flights in one go, can… can I not be panting?”
“A fire broke out in Block D, the power lines are damaged, and we don’t know when the electricity will be restored.”
What? Block D, not Block B? Le Xiaoyao thought, did I mishear? No, it must be that reporter who got it wrong, right? It must be that reporter who got it wrong! If your Mandarin isn’t good, don’t be a reporter! This is utterly misleading, 23 flights of stairs~
“You thought what?” Fu Jin moved the candle closer to see Le Xiaoyao’s face clearly. She saw her eyes were red. “Did you cry? What’s wrong?”
Le Xiaoyao was still struggling with the Block D and Block B issue. No wonder she couldn’t smell the scorching. Block D and Block B were separated by an artificial lake, and Block B was directly upwind. What a major screw-up, an absolute huge screw-up! She was so embarrassed. She had just been shouting at the security guard downstairs, acting no different from a lunatic… Thinking this, she lowered her head again, burying her entire face in Fu Jin’s shoulder nook. So embarrassing…
“Have you… hugged enough?”
Le Xiaoyao naturally didn’t realize she had been hugging her for five minutes. It was Fu Jin’s kind “reminder” that made her let go. She forced a smile and said, “…It was freezing coming back from outside, a hug made it much better~” In reality, sweat beads were practically dripping from her forehead, and she was on the verge of radiating steam, yet she had to lie against her conscience and say she was cold.
Fu Jin still pressed, “You said you thought…”
Le Xiaoyao adopted the distraction policy, pointing to the candle in Fu Jin’s hand, “This candle of yours is quite nice…”
The candle in Fu Jin’s hand was a cartoon elephant, which was now burned down to practically nothing. How could something so damaged be considered nice? “Oh, a student gave it to me. It just came in handy.”
“You thought what?” Fu Jin wasn’t so easily fooled. The moment she opened the door, Le Xiaoyao had rushed in and hugged her. That didn’t look like someone trying to warm up.
“…I thought I wasn’t hungry… but I think I am a little hungry.” Le Xiaoyao’s stomach let out a rumbling sound, which was quite timely. She was indeed hungry. Climbing 23 flights on an empty stomach really required courage~
“There are still some spare ribs. I’ll heat them up for you to eat.”
Le Xiaoyao broke out in another cold sweat. She didn’t want to eat that ancient fossil again~ Although she couldn’t bear to refuse her kindness, but… sigh! Forget it, she’d eat it. After all, Fu Jin made it herself. “Mmm, okay.”
“Look how scared you are, with an expression like you’re about to be martyred. Is it that bad?”
Fu Jin, are you sure it’s not bad? Not only was it bad, it was bad to an extreme degree. Le Xiaoyao asked her, “Did you taste it?”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
…
Finally, Le Xiaoyao found some dried noodles in the refrigerator and decided to just cook some noodles to fill her stomach. She was truly starving. It was just a simple bowl of egg noodles, sprinkled with a little chopped green onion. Fragrant, truly fragrant~ She happily held the bowl of noodles and sat down at the dining table. The elephant candle was placed in the center of the table, only a third of it remaining.
Fu Jin also went to the kitchen to get a pair of chopsticks, unceremoniously pulled out a chair, and sat down right next to Le Xiaoyao.
Le Xiaoyao was about to grab a bite with her chopsticks when she saw Fu Jin sitting next to her, looking at her expectantly…
“Actually, I didn’t eat dinner either.”
“Before you…” Why didn’t you say anything when I was making the noodles! Le Xiaoyao only made a portion for one, and now she was so hungry her eyes were seeing stars. Fu Jin, how could you be so “inconsiderate”…
After all that work, Le Xiaoyao didn’t want to make another portion, so she simply pushed the bowl to the center, “Let’s share.” This way, she could also wash one less bowl.
So, two people, one bowl of noodles, began to eat.
Honestly, snatching food and eating together was indeed more delicious than eating alone! Especially, Le Xiaoyao couldn’t believe Fu Jin would be so “unyielding”… Completely disregarding her ladylike image, she rolled up her sleeves, afraid of missing even a bite.
Since she was so impolite, Le Xiaoyao didn’t need to be polite either. This was her labor of love! She thrust her chopsticks down, scooped, rolled, and twisted a large mouthful, sucking it into her mouth…
“Eat slower!” Fu Jin pressed Le Xiaoyao’s chopsticks with her own, not letting her eat.
Le Xiaoyao ignored her, pulled out her chopsticks, and continued eating. Hmph, if you eat slowly, you should eat less~
The already small bowl of noodles was quickly “snatched” up by the two of them. It was a proper gobbling feast. Finally, only one piece of egg remained. The two of them were literally glaring at it. Le Xiaoyao was quicker and snatched it up in one go. Fu Jin was a step slower and only managed to grab a piece of chopped green onion…
Fu Jin put down her chopsticks, indicating surrender.
The “victorious” Le Xiaoyao generously brought the egg to Fu Jin’s mouth, feeding it to her, “Open your mouth… I won’t stoop to your level, it’s yours.”
With a bowl of hot noodles in her stomach, she felt particularly comfortable. Although the candlelight was faint, it gave a warm feeling. This could barely be considered a… candlelight dinner?
“Were you worried about me just now?” The two were still sitting very close. Fu Jin turned her body to face Le Xiaoyao, resting one elbow on the table to prop up her head, tilting it slightly, smiling somewhat suggestively.
Le Xiaoyao stammered, unsure how to reply, “I…” In the end, she tried to change the subject and asked, “Are you full?”
Fu Jin stared intently at Le Xiaoyao. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips, after eating the noodles, were also plump and red, very… tempting.
Le Xiaoyao suddenly became nervous. Her eyes wanted to wander, but it was dark all around. Within her visible range, there was only Fu Jin, who was staring at her and smiling…
Should I admit it? I was worried about you just now. I was worried you would get hurt. I was worried I would never see you again… But how should I say it? Being stared at by Fu Jin like this, Le Xiaoyao didn’t even know where to put her hands…
“Are you full? Do you want anything more…” Le Xiaoyao’s voice faded halfway because Fu Jin leaned in closer.
Their lips were practically touching.
Le Xiaoyao’s hands gripped the chair cushion tightly, her heart pounding fiercely. A warm kiss landed on the corner of her mouth before she even had time to close her eyes.
It was fleeting, extremely gentle.
It was a smooth, continuous action, less than a second, but that second felt like it was frozen in time. Her heart raced and raced… Le Xiaoyao couldn’t help but inwardly despise herself. She was this old, yet she was acting like a sixteen-year-old girl in the prime of her youth…
“I’m full now.” Fu Jin curved her lips, pursed them, and looked slightly playful.
Was she… being teased? But, so sweet, her kiss was so sweet.
What could be sweeter than this: I have feelings for her, and she has the same feelings for me.
Le Xiaoyao somewhat distractedly touched the corner of her mouth, and then a similarly suggestive smile bloomed on her face. She stood up, leaned in toward Fu Jin, and touched her forehead against hers.
Her right hand slowly caressed Fu Jin’s cheek, her thumb gently rubbing the corner of her lips, “But I’m not full…”
The remaining third of the candle burned out.
The pitch-black environment, on the contrary, escalated the ambiguity. Le Xiaoyao groped and leaned in, little by little…