Marrying the Soft-hearted Villain

Ruan Qiuqiu squinted in the sun for a while, thinking how nice it would be if the wolf at home could also come out and bask in the sun.

A warm light flickered in her eyes as she vaguely recalled the first time she saw him—Yuan Jue in the form of a small wolf cub, gnawing on the snow that had fallen on the ground outside.

Actually, at that time, Mr. Big Gray Wolf had already prepared wooden basins and other items in the "storage room" of the cave.

Based on the memories of Little Gray Wolf's love of cleanliness, even though he was seriously injured at the time, it wouldn't have been impossible for Yuan Jue to clean himself.

But perhaps, before she arrived, the wolf had already given up hope.

From the time he was a tiny little wolf, Mr. Gray Wolf had repeatedly found shelter, only to be driven out or forced to abandon it. Even if the demons outside rumored that Yuan Jue was a tenacious and abnormal big gray wolf, he would eventually get tired.

However, all of that was in the past now.

Ruan Qiuqiu touched her cheeks, which had been chilled by the wind, and her eyes curved into crescents—when Grandma Ruyi returned, she would ask her to help make a simple wheelchair with willow branches. If making a wooden wheelchair was too difficult, a small wooden cart like the one before, which could be pulled from the front, would also work…

Lost in thought, Ruan Qiuqiu quickly arrived at Grandpa Mo's cave.

To her surprise, Grandpa Mo's cave entrance, which had been bustling with activity since Grandma Ruyi's arrival, was unusually quiet. The large Xiang bird that Grandma Ruyi had hunted was gone, and the ground was clean, without any trace left behind.

The entire area around the cave was silent.

"Xiaoyu, Xiaobohuo, are you home?" Ruan Qiuqiu quickly walked to the entrance of Grandpa Mo's cave and asked, standing in front of the animal skin curtain.

"Sister Qiuqiu? Is that Sister Qiuqiu?" A little girl's voice came from inside the cave, tinged with surprise. "You're finally awake?!"

Ruan Qiuqiu "??". What did she mean by "finally awake"? Had she been asleep for a long time?

As Ruan Qiuqiu wondered, the animal skin curtain was lifted from inside, and Xiaobohuo poked her little head out, shrinking back slightly from the cold wind. "Sister Qiuqiu, come in quickly."

"Okay." Ruan Qiuqiu responded and entered Grandpa Mo's cave, only to find that the originally crowded cave was now very empty, with only the bed Xiaobohuo pulled her to sit on remaining.

Grandpa Mo, Xiaoyu, and Mo Cat were all gone.

Ruan Qiuqiu felt even more strange. She turned to speak to Xiaobohuo, but a soft ball of fluff was thrust into her hand. "Sister Qiuqiu, come spin some thread. Grandma left a lot of messages for me to tell you!"

Ruan Qiuqiu "…" She could only swallow her questions and start twisting the fluff into thread.

Xiaobohuo organized her words. "Sister Qiuqiu, do you know you've been asleep for two days? It's already the afternoon of the third day!"

Ruan Qiuqiu "…Has it really been two days?" It was said that the flow of time in the memory world was different from the outside world. She thought only one day had passed in the real world.

"Yes." Xiaobohuo nodded. "Grandma went to find you yesterday morning, but she said you were dreaming."

Xiaobohuo continued, "She originally wanted to wake you up by force, but as soon as she called you, Brother-in-law bared his teeth at her and attacked indiscriminately, growling fiercely."

Ruan Qiuqiu "…Is Grandma Ruyi alright?"

"She's fine. After being attacked, Grandma quickly came back and told us that no one was allowed to go near your cave for these two days! Then she grabbed Grandpa and left." Xiaobohuo said, glancing regretfully at the light white fluff in Ruan Qiuqiu's hand. "Originally, my older brothers wanted to send some fluff to you yesterday afternoon…"

She digressed slightly, "Yesterday, Big Brother and Second Brother were lucky and caught two Mianmian beasts. They sheared off a lot of fine fluff~"

Seeing her rosy cheeks and happy expression, Ruan Qiuqiu didn't interrupt, skillfully twisting the soft fluff in her hand into thread.

Xiaobohuo didn't forget the main point and quickly returned to the topic. "Grandma came back this morning with a big red eagle, saying she was going to take our whole family to move to the Bear Tribe. Grandpa actually agreed."

"She said she would come back in the evening. If Sister Qiuqiu woke up, I should wait for her at our house."

Having said so much in one breath, Xiaobohuo seemed a little excited. "I don't know what Grandma did to Grandpa, but he looks much younger after coming back! But Grandpa's mouth is a little swollen, I'm a little worried."

"Sister Qiuqiu, what do you think Grandma did to Grandpa?"

Ruan Qiuqiu "…"

Looking at Xiaobohuo's innocent eyes, she threw out the unhealthy thought of 'Could Qing Ruyi have hung Mo Bugui up with willow branches?' and said decisively, "She probably fed Grandpa something delicious!"

"Yes! I think so too!" Xiaobohuo looked at her with a grin, swinging her legs. "We'll just wait for Grandma and the others to come back."

Ruan Qiuqiu looked at her, smiled and nodded, twisting the wool while recalling Xiaobohuo's words—

To put it in a timeline, it was already the afternoon of the third day.

Grandma Ruyi went to find her yesterday morning and found her dreaming, so she took Grandpa Mo and left with him. This morning, she came back to inform Xiaobohuo and the others that they were moving.

Grandma Ruyi had told her before that the Winter Bear Tribe was very close to the nearest trading market. She probably spent two days at the Winter Bear Tribe and had found a better cave to live in.

Ruan Qiuqiu wasn't surprised that Grandma Ruyi and the others were moving. Although Grandma Ruyi and Grandpa Mo were called "Grandma" and "Grandpa," Ruan Qiuqiu felt she should call them Aunt Ruyi and Uncle Mo. It wasn't very convenient for adults and children to live together.

However, could the big red eagle Xiaobohuo mentioned be referring to the silly eagle, Tian Xiu? Hadn't he gone back yet? Why was he at the Winter Bear Tribe?

Ruan Qiuqiu couldn't quite understand.

After twisting the fluff in her hand, she looked at the pile of fluff behind Xiaobohuo and suddenly wondered if she could ask Grandma Ruyi to make a simple handloom.

But even without a loom, simply hand-knitting a sweater seemed possible…

If only there was cotton. This world was an ancient fantasy world. Could there already be plants similar to cotton that she just hadn't discovered yet? Wearing animal skins in winter was fine, but wouldn't it be very stuffy and uncomfortable to wear them in summer?

She really hoped that Mr. Big Gray Wolf would recover quickly and explore this world with her.

As Ruan Qiuqiu thought about it, she felt that she was thinking too far ahead. The current crisis hadn't been completely resolved, and she was already making plans for her future life.

Ruan Qiuqiu curved her lips and touched the red bead hidden in her collar.

She didn't even realize that the wolf was in every one of her plans.

Mr. Periwinkle Gray Wolf had unknowingly become a part of her life.

And the wolf she was thinking about was also working hard to recover while twitching his ears, anticipating whether his little wife, who had been gone for a while, would use the Sound Transmission Spirit Bead to talk to him.

He could have initiated contact with her, but the wolf was worried about disturbing her, so he just endured and waited patiently.

He had waited for so many years, so many years, waiting a little longer for her didn't matter.

…

…

Ruan Qiuqiu and Xiaobohuo waited together for most of the afternoon, twisting all the fluff into balls of yarn.

"Sister Qiuqiu, take some!" Xiaobohuo said, trying to stuff yarn balls into Ruan Qiuqiu's backpack.

Ruan Qiuqiu felt a warmth in her heart and didn't refuse this time. She patted Xiaobohuo's head and said with a smile, "Okay."

Both she and the wolf at home needed soft yarn, so Ruan Qiuqiu accepted.

But her backpack contained a lot of the healing water droplets she had saved up these past few days, so Ruan Qiuqiu didn't let Xiaobohuo help her pack them. After a moment of thought, she took three balls of yarn.

Ruan Qiuqiu put away the yarn, thinking that it was getting late and that the awkward wolf might have woken up. She reassured Xiaobohuo and walked out of the cave, using her spiritual power to connect with the Sound Transmission Bead, intending to speak to Mr. Big Gray Wolf.

But just as she uttered the first word "Tian" of "Tianluo Gray Wolf," the familiar cry of the big eagle came from outside the cave, "Wah~ Woo Wah~ (We're here, we're here, is this the last trip?)"

Ruan Qiuqiu's hand trembled, and the bead fell into her clothes. She didn't withdraw her spiritual power, but only whispered the second half of the sentence, "…Mr. Wolf? Are you awake?"

Inside the cave, due to a slight delay, Mr. Big Gray Wolf, who only heard "Tian" and the second half of the sentence, twitched his pointed furry ears in confusion.

Sweet… Mr. Wolf, what did that mean?

Could it be, was she saying he was… sweet?

Praising him as a sweet wolf?

She had only been out for an afternoon, why was she suddenly praising him like this?

Yuan Jue furrowed his brows, his face cold, but a faint blush slowly crept up his handsome cheeks.

The wolf had never heard such blatant praise without any derogatory meaning.

Qiuqiu, she really was…

Clearly, she herself was much sweeter than a wolf.

His big tail swished behind him. Mr. Overthinking Gray Wolf, enduring the slight pain of his meridians finally healing, shifted his eyes, which had regained some light, and let out a small "Mmm."

But his "Mmm" was drowned out by the silly eagle's subsequent "Wah~ Goo Wah~," and Ruan Qiuqiu didn't hear it at all.

She glanced at the silly eagle, who was frantically pulling the cart, and said regretfully, "Okay, then Wolf should rest well. I might be back a little later today."

After saying that, Ruan Qiuqiu withdrew her spiritual power and cut off the connection.

Mr. Big Gray Wolf "…"

He clutched the unresponsive bead, stunned for several seconds before realizing what had happened, and understanding that the noise mixed with Qiuqiu's voice that he had deliberately ignored was the cry of the silly eagle.

The wolf's expression darkened belatedly, and he slowly squeezed out two words through gritted teeth, "…Tian! Xiu!"

…

The big eagle had no idea that he had unintentionally interrupted the "Periwinkle Gray Wolf's" unmasking, nor did he know that he had cost a certain big wolf, who hadn't fully recovered and didn't want to burden his little wife, his rare opportunity to chat with his wife for the day.

Having flown back and forth for so long, pulling the cart, the big eagle felt utterly exhausted.

Xiong Duoduo and Xiong Yuan, the two bear brothers, hadn't returned to the Winter Bear Tribe for some reason. He only found out after inquiring that Xiong Xiaohua wasn't the only injured bear in the Winter Bear Tribe.

Aside from the dozen or so uninjured humans in the Winter Bear Tribe, there were only fifty-six bears in total. Among them, besides the injured and the elderly bears, there were more than twenty cubs of various races under the age of ten, making the place look like a joint orphanage of various tribes.

Xiong Duoduo, who had left, was actually the strongest among the uninjured bears in the Winter Bear Tribe.

The big eagle was simply speechless.

He hadn't realized how miserable the Winter Bear Tribe was until he went there.

The small amount of medicinal herbs he had brought was simply not enough. Later, he had to search overnight again. Fortunately, he was lucky and found three or four more plants, but it was still a drop in the bucket.

And he had been pestered by Xiong Gungun and the other cubs. Even Xiong Xiaohua had woken up once midway, uttering what sounded like his last words, "Until Duoduo and the others come back, please take care of the cubs."

It made him, a single eagle who hadn't even become a father yet, feel like an old dad.

But complaining wouldn't help. After all, he was the one who had softened his heart and offered to help. Fortunately, not long after, Tian Xiu ran into Grandma Ruyi, who was on her way to investigate.

She told him with a smile that as long as Tian Xiu was willing to be her laborer, he could exchange for some medicinal herbs, and she could pay in advance.

Although Tian Xiu felt that the demonic energy on her was a bit strange, Grandma Ruyi's medicinal herbs were genuine. Moreover, Xiong Xiaohua and the two bear leaders were on the verge of collapse, so Tian Xiu agreed to her terms.

Grandma Ruyi, of course, hadn't lied. The medicinal herbs she used were the ones that Ruan Qiuqiu and Xiaoyu had picked on the cliff and Mo Cat hadn't used up.

Afterward, Grandma Ruyi went to see the old patriarch of the Winter Bear Tribe and, after obtaining his consent, chose a cave. This led to the scene of Tian Xiu helping Grandma Ruyi and the others move.

Ruan Qiuqiu, who had been pulled aside by Grandma Ruyi and told a whole bunch of things, still hadn't fully processed everything. She asked, "Grandma Ruyi, didn't you say last time that you would check out the situation at the Winter Bear Tribe before deciding whether to move or not?"

Qing Ruyi winked at Ruan Qiuqiu. "Grandma discovered a hidden barrier in the back mountains of the Winter Bear Tribe. Guess what's inside?"

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