Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Young Master Grey Wolf could no longer touch her right foot, which had become transparent.

The transparency was spreading. This was likely a sign of the time she had left in the memory world. The transparent area was gradually expanding. Calculating from yesterday evening, she could only stay with him for two more days at most.

Ruan Qiuqiu looked at the large leaf Young Master Grey Wolf had found somewhere, filled with sparkling water. Her heart ached, and she didn't know what to say.

The perceptive Young Master Grey Wolf noticed her low spirits. He seemed unhappy.

He pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, then shook the few water droplets from his long eyelashes, which were still damp from his outing. He reached out and plucked two tufts of silvery-grey wolf fur from Ruan Qiuqiu's mask.

Young Master Grey Wolf carefully held the fur in his hand. It was now imbued with his little wife's scent, and he would put it away carefully later.

"Wolf… Awoo… Out… (Wolf will go out first. Qiuqiu should get up quickly.)" Young Master Grey Wolf looked at Ruan Qiuqiu, a small glimmer of hope flickering in his clear, spring-like eyes. "Awoo… (Later, shall Wolf take Qiuqiu to catch fish?)"

Would going out and moving around improve her mood?

Ruan Qiuqiu clenched her hands. She wanted to nod, but in her current state, forget about catching fish; if Young Master Grey Wolf wasn't careful, he would discover her disappearing right foot.

Looking at his expectant expression, her heart ached.

Ruan Qiuqiu's eyes reddened. She didn't know how to tell the little wolf in front of her that she couldn't go fishing with him.

Not only could she not accompany him fishing, but soon, she wouldn't even be able to talk to him.

Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't help but wonder if disappearing into thin air after three days would make him sadder, or if confessing now that everything was an illusion would be more painful.

She opened her lips, but her throat was tight. "I…"

Ruan Qiuqiu was interrupted mid-sentence by Xiao Yuanjue.

"Awoo~ (Wolf understands. Is Qiuqiu sick?)" The wolf, unwilling to wake up in his bones, was still in the form of a wolf cub. His beautiful pupils gradually darkened.

"Awoo… Awoo. (Wolf will find medicinal herbs.)" A hint of pleading appeared in his eyes as he stared intently at Ruan Qiuqiu. A knowing scarlet light flickered in his eyes, and his eye sockets reddened.

He looked like he was about to cry.

Ruan Qiuqiu felt like crying too, seeing the wolf like this.

She knew that the wolf cub standing before her was the same Grey Wolf who had held her down on the stone bed.

She also knew that Grey Wolf subconsciously didn't want to wake up.

Even if they returned to reality, she wouldn't leave him.

Why was this wolf acting so spoiled?

Despite these thoughts, Ruan Qiuqiu's heart softened.

She reached out and took Young Master Grey Wolf's hand. "My leg hurts. I can't go fishing today."

"We have enough food at home. Will you stay home with me today?"

Hearing the word "home" from Ruan Qiuqiu, Young Master Grey Wolf's eyes reddened even more.

In the end, neither of them went anywhere. They stayed in the cave, diligently learning human language for most of the day.

The transparency in Ruan Qiuqiu's right foot didn't recede; it spread even faster than she anticipated.

By evening, her lower leg had become almost entirely transparent.

Fortunately, the transparency of her consciousness didn't cause any pain, so Ruan Qiuqiu felt alright.

…

For the next day and a half, Ruan Qiuqiu kept Young Master Grey Wolf from going out.

The back of her right leg was almost entirely transparent.

Young Master Grey Wolf had noticed her peculiarity, but he didn't lift the dry grass covering her right leg. He acted as if everything was normal, appearing calm in front of her.

The next afternoon, Young Master Grey Wolf suddenly announced he was going hunting and told Ruan Qiuqiu to wait for him at home.

The weather outside was unusually good that day. The sun emerged, shining through the clouds and casting a warm, golden glow on the mountain walls.

A sliver of light shone through the cave entrance, illuminating Young Master Grey Wolf's face, making him appear bathed in light.

In such warm and bright weather, food would be plentiful, and hunting would be much safer.

But Ruan Qiuqiu still didn't want him to go. She felt she couldn't stay with him much longer.

This time, however, Young Master Grey Wolf was unusually firm.

No matter what Ruan Qiuqiu said, he insisted on going.

Ruan Qiuqiu "obediently" (helplessly) nodded, but the wolf cub was still worried.

He took Ruan Qiuqiu's hand and hooked her pinky with his, then gently touched his forehead to hers.

"Wolf tribe's… promise." Young Master Grey Wolf said seriously. "Wait… Wait for Wolf to return."

Ruan Qiuqiu wanted to laugh, but after Young Master Grey Wolf left the cave, she felt that his actions were strangely familiar.

It seemed Grey Wolf had done the same thing before she entered the memory world.

If this was a unique wolf tribe promise, what was the big wolf trying to tell her?

She now understood that Yuanjue wasn't as indifferent or rejecting towards her as she had thought.

Ruan Qiuqiu wondered what the passage of time had done to this adorable Young Master Grey Wolf, making him increasingly less expressive and more difficult to get along with.

She closed her eyes to rest, waiting for the wolf cub to return.

But Ruan Qiuqiu waited for a long time. Even as the sky outside darkened, Young Master Grey Wolf didn't come back.

Ruan Qiuqiu became afraid. Most of her body had turned transparent. If it got any later, she would leave the memory world.

She supported herself against the wall, stood up on one leg, grabbed a wooden stick from the cave, and with her almost fragmented consciousness, decided to go outside and look for the wolf.

But before she could take a few steps, she heard laughter in the distance. The unpleasant voices of the male demons from the Water Pearl Tribe drifted over. "How stupid is this wolf? He actually wanted to trade his tail for medicinal herbs. Hilarious! What use do we have for his tail?"

"Tsk, you weren't there. Didn't Zhuzhu's father beat him until he vomited blood? You didn't see his incredulous and desperate look."

"Hey, isn't he a wolf demon? Why would he exchange it for medicine meant for humans?"

"He must be crazy. Forget about him, it's creepy. Come on, this wolf cub is almost dead. Just throw him back into his den and let him die. Then we can't say the Water Pearl Tribe wronged him."

The voices drew closer, and Ruan Qiuqiu's heart felt as if pierced by a thousand needles. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

A heavy thud echoed in her ears, accompanied by a strong smell of blood. Two adult pig demons tossed her perfectly fine Young Master Grey Wolf into the cave.

He was covered in blood, his tail half severed, but his hands were tightly clutching something.

Overwhelmed by an indescribable rage and heartache, Ruan Qiuqiu trembled, almost unable to breathe.

Zhuzhu's father did this?

But wasn't he a good demon who had once helped Young Master Grey Wolf?

He had told her in the past two days that Zhuzhu's father had given him warm water to drink and that he had given him the tattered hide.

What did expulsion mean?

What did leaving him to die mean?

So, being bullied, having stones thrown at him, and being called mute were only a small part of the nightmare?

So, the Flame Wolf Tribe wasn't the first tribe to abandon him?

How many times had her Young Master Grey Wolf been abandoned?

Ruan Qiuqiu wished the wooden stick in her hand would transform into two large blades so she could slice the two hateful pig demons in half.

But with all her strength, she only managed to weakly toss the stick towards the cave entrance, then half-collapsed onto the ground, her body becoming almost entirely transparent.

"Cough…" Young Master Grey Wolf on the ground coughed softly. He struggled to open his eyes, reaching out to touch the increasingly transparent Ruan Qiuqiu.

But again and again, both his hand and the hard-won medicinal herbs in his grasp passed right through her.

Hot tears flowed from Young Master Grey Wolf's eyes, dripping onto the ground. He looked utterly heartbroken.

Seeing him like this, Ruan Qiuqiu thought she was about to die.

But they would soon be able to meet in reality.

Young Master Grey Wolf choked back a sob, sat up with all his might, grabbed her hand, and, as if mustering all his courage, said, "Woo… Wolf… wants to kiss Qiuqiu."

"Mm, mm." Ruan Qiuqiu raised her remaining right hand, groping until she touched his wet cheek.

Young Master Grey Wolf bit his lip hard, tears streaming down his face.

Ruan Qiuqiu nodded vigorously, and her mask fell off.

She saw her reflection in his eyes. It was her childhood self.

A gentle kiss landed on her eyelashes. Ruan Qiuqiu's vision blurred completely as a powerful force pulled her back to reality.

Young Master Grey Wolf in her fading vision seemed to awaken from a dream. He chased away the hateful pig demons, carried their discarded animal hides, and wandered the continent. He rescued the Red Eagles of the Sand Tribe and defeated the strongest warrior of the Tiger Tribe.

He crossed deserts and glaciers, the only constant being his unending loneliness.

With tears clinging to his lashes, Young Master Grey Wolf slowly, little by little, grew up.

…

Her consciousness snapped back. Ruan Qiuqiu slowly opened her eyes to a somewhat dazzling light.

Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. Before she could fully regain her senses, she felt her hand being tightly held by a warm, almost scalding, large hand.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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