Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Young Master Grey Wolf carried Ruan Qiuqiu up the steep mountainside on his back. Nearing their destination, he let out a soft "Awoo," signaling her to duck her head as a low-hanging rock face approached.

Ruan Qiuqiu responded with a hum and lowered her head, just barely avoiding bumping it against his natural wolf fur.

As Xiaoyuan Jue continued his climb, the world around Ruan Qiuqiu gradually darkened. When light reappeared, they had arrived near the cave where Young Master Grey Wolf currently lived.

"Awoo. (We're here.)" Young Master Grey Wolf announced, and Ruan Qiuqiu quickly slid off his back.

In the dim light, she noticed that while the bloodstains were gone from Xiaoyuan Jue's paws, they were now covered in small cuts. Her eyes began to well up.

"Am I very heavy?" Ruan Qiuqiu asked. She wanted to take the animal hide wrapped around her feet and give it to Young Master Grey Wolf, but like the mask on her face, it wouldn't come off.

Preoccupied with worrying about whether Qiuqiu would dislike his den, Young Master Grey Wolf paused for two seconds after hearing her question. He then twitched his pointed ears and replied, "Awoo? (A wolf can carry ten Qiuqius at once.)"

Ruan Qiuqiu was speechless.

Looking at the serious expression on Young Master Grey Wolf's face, she felt a mixture of heartache and amusement. A wave of complex emotions washed over her, and she reached out to take his icy hand. "Didn't you say you were going to take me back to your cave?"

Holding hands with his little wife made Young Master Grey Wolf shy and uncomfortable, but he also felt a surge of happiness.

He gently held Ruan Qiuqiu's equally cold hand. Wanting to warm her up, he instinctively mastered a skill he'd never been able to grasp before—localized self-heating.

More precisely, he used his spiritual energy to warm the paw Qiuqiu was holding.

He'd never been able to do this before, yet today, he somehow knew how.

He led Ruan Qiuqiu forward, past the wild grass growing along the cliff edge despite the winter chill, over the marshmallow-soft snow, and across a narrow, frozen stream. Finally, they arrived at his den.

The dark little cave was incredibly humble compared to the cave she and Big Grey Wolf currently inhabited.

Having seen the dwellings of many demons and humans, Ruan Qiuqiu knew that the cave Yuan Jue had previously built was considered quite good among demons, and with the addition of a door, it could even be called luxurious.

But for the young Young Master Grey Wolf, finding any shelter at all was already a significant achievement.

Ruan Qiuqiu had no intention of criticizing, but she couldn't help but ask Young Master Grey Wolf, who stood beside her, "Why is your hand getting hotter and hotter?"

Young Master Grey Wolf, whose intentions seemed to have been misunderstood, fell silent.

He thought he hadn't controlled the temperature well and that Ruan Qiuqiu disliked it. His previously perked-up tail tip drooped, and he carefully lowered his temperature, feigning ignorance. "Awoo? (What?)"

Ruan Qiuqiu held his hand, noticing it was slightly red from the heat, and regretted not asking him sooner when she first sensed the unusual warmth. From the moment she took his hand, she felt the temperature rising. At first, she thought perhaps demons were different from humans, as she had no experience holding Big Grey Wolf's hand.

But as the heat intensified, she realized something was amiss.

Wearing her mask and being much shorter than him, Young Master Grey Wolf couldn't discern her emotions when she remained silent. He simply drooped his ears dejectedly.

Ruan Qiuqiu looked up and saw that her Young Master Grey Wolf's eyes were reddening for some reason, and his hand quickly returned to its icy state. He apologized cautiously, "Awoo… (Sorry…)"

Ruan Qiuqiu vaguely guessed why he was apologizing, and the thought made her heart ache even more—this was probably like the medicinal herbs incident.

Was he trying to raise his body temperature to keep her warm? But she was only a consciousness; even if she felt cold, it wouldn't matter.

But should she say, as expected of a snail grey wolf? He was always quiet and reserved, silently doing everything he could.

However, Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't bring herself to scold him; she simply didn't have the heart.

"…Wolves don't need to apologize. Wolves haven't done anything wrong." Ruan Qiuqiu continued to hold his hand. "Wolves are good."

But after she spoke, Young Master Grey Wolf's eyes didn't return to normal; instead, they became even redder.

Although he was delicate and beautiful, his expression when embarrassed was always fierce, making him appear quite intimidating.

Young Master Grey Wolf remained in this fierce state until they entered the cave. Because it was dark inside, Ruan Qiuqiu could no longer see his expression, and he finally relaxed.

The cave was small and had no door. Even though it wasn't directly exposed to the wind and a fire was lit, it was still very cold.

Because firewood was scarce, they didn't light a fire that would last through the night until it was almost dark.

Young Master Grey Wolf roasted the only fist-sized egg in the cave for her and gnawed on half a lamb leg himself.

Ruan Qiuqiu knew there wasn't enough food and wanted to say she wouldn't eat, but her consciousness was unexpectedly hungry. Moreover, whenever she said she wouldn't eat, Young Master Grey Wolf would make an expression that pained her heart. So, in the end, Ruan Qiuqiu ate.

The snow outside gradually intensified, and Young Master Grey Wolf showed no signs of leaving, so Ruan Qiuqiu began teaching him human language.

Time passed quickly, and Ruan Qiuqiu soon became sleepy.

She hadn't expected that as a consciousness that could only be seen and touched by Young Master Grey Wolf in his memories, she would not only feel hunger but also sleepiness…

However…

Young Master Grey Wolf had no bed, let alone a stone bed made of special stones that wouldn't get cold.

He only had a nest of dry grass that barely resembled a bed and a worn animal hide.

"Um…" Young Master Grey Wolf, whose learning speed was astonishing and who had already mastered some simple common phrases, still had a slightly childish voice tinged with guilt. "No… no… bed."

Ruan Qiuqiu smiled at him to indicate it was alright.

She huddled in the corner and lay down on the dry grass. Perhaps because they were both young now, she didn't think too much about it. "It's big enough for both of us."

Young Master Grey Wolf blushed. He hesitated for a long time, debating whether to shift into his demon form.

Although his demon form was only about two meters long now, it would be easy to wrap around Ruan Qiuqiu.

But while he was still hesitating, Ruan Qiuqiu had almost fallen into a deep sleep.

He couldn't quite tell yet and assumed she was already asleep.

Young Master Grey Wolf wasn't particularly stupid, or rather, Big Grey Wolf, pretending to be a young wolf, had a vague sense that something wasn't right.

But if he had to pinpoint exactly what was wrong, he couldn't.

He had a feeling that Ruan Qiuqiu wasn't his current little wife, but quite possibly, his future one.

That's why he felt so familiar with her so quickly, why he liked her so much.

Young Master Grey Wolf looked at the strange mask on her face, his eyes gentle.

He was actually very good at observing the expressions of other demons and humans. Thinking about her hesitant pauses several times during the day, he could roughly understand.

Young Master Grey Wolf gently touched the fluff on her mask with his fingertip, his voice as soft as a warm summer night breeze brushing against her cheek. His words were a mix of slightly stammering human language and wolf speech.

Ruan Qiuqiu pieced together his words with difficulty.

"Is… future wolf… very bad?" So bad that she didn't want to tell him.

Ruan Qiuqiu's eyelashes trembled. She heard Young Master Grey Wolf grit his teeth, trying to keep his voice from choking. "N-no…"

His future self, having finally obtained what he longed for most, would no longer be alone, despite the many difficulties.

But he couldn't bring himself to say these words.

He had realized that everything now might be fake.

But Big Grey Wolf, disguised as a young wolf, subconsciously refused to think about it.

He knew, he was afraid that when he woke up, he would find that he would have to wait a long, long time before meeting her.

He so hoped, so desperately hoped,

That she could stay with him, always and forever, from now on.

A few short, choked sobs escaped into the air, quickly fading into silence.

As if everything that had just happened was just a fleeting illusion.

Ruan Qiuqiu's eyes filled with tears. She didn't know how to comfort the young Young Master Grey Wolf. As she searched for the right words, the dry grass beside her sank slightly.

The wind blowing in from outside lessened considerably.

Ruan Qiuqiu opened her eyes blearily; the light was almost completely blocked by a certain wolf.

He had become very large, his clean fur carefully kept at a distance from her.

Ruan Qiuqiu shifted to the side, reached out her small hand, and hugged him, burying herself completely in Yuan Jue's fur.

Although it was still a bit prickly, the slight pain was bearable.

She didn't know what to say, she just wanted him to stop being so sad.

Young Master Grey Wolf trembled and slowly closed his eyes.

The night in the memory world seemed particularly short. Ruan Qiuqiu didn't sleep for long before the sky outside brightened.

Beside her, Young Master Grey Wolf was gone.

Ruan Qiuqiu sat up and looked down at her feet. She tugged gently and found that the animal hide could now be moved.

Ruan Qiuqiu's face lit up, thinking she could perhaps leave the hide for Young Master Grey Wolf. But when she took the hide off her feet, she discovered that her feet had become transparent. ??

Ruan Qiuqiu reached out to touch her feet, but felt nothing.

A guess forming in her mind, Ruan Qiuqiu picked up a piece of dry grass that couldn't pass through her foot yesterday and tested it with a trembling hand.

The dry grass went right through.

Sounds came from outside the cave. Ruan Qiuqiu frantically tried to wrap the hide back on, but when she looked down again, the hide had vanished.

Ruan Qiuqiu only had time to cover her right leg with dry grass before Young Master Grey Wolf walked in, carrying some unappetizing-looking, meager fruits.

He had realized that his future self was in a bad state and that everything now was fake, but he still pretended not to know anything in front of her.

As he had done yesterday, he placed all the fruit in her arms.

While he wasn't looking, Ruan Qiuqiu stealthily touched his tail with her vanished foot.

Empty. She felt nothing at all.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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