Chapter 11: Worship

Ji Yingran pursed her lips, fighting back a laugh.

This wolf loved putting on airs. If she exposed her, she would surely get mad.

Ji Yingran pretended not to hear the sound of her gulping, grabbed two disposable bowls, and divided the fish between them.

She kept one bowl for herself and left the other for the wolf, of course. The poor thing had been drooling so much—it would be heartless not to save her some. Ji Yingran wasn’t one to eat alone.

That didn’t stop her from wanting to tease her a little, though.

Instead of handing over the Snow Wolf’s portion right away, Ji Yingran lifted her own bowl and began eating leisurely.

As she savored each bite, she couldn’t resist sighing, “This is so good. The flavor is incredible.”

The Snow Wolf’s ears shot straight up. Her nose twitched frantically, and her body inched unconsciously toward Ji Yingran.

Her posture grew more and more lopsided…

Clang! With a thud, the Snow Wolf toppled sideways onto the ground.

Ji Yingran whipped her head around at the noise. There was the Snow Wolf scrambling up in a fluster, quickly righting herself before throwing her head high in haughty denial of her mishap.

Ji Yingran couldn’t hold it in any longer. She let out a “pfft” of laughter.

The Snow Wolf bristled instantly. She slammed a paw on the ground, thrust out her chin, and fixed Ji Yingran with a fierce glare from her wolf eyes. She was pissed.

Ji Yingran pointed at the fish in her bowl. “I’m not laughing at you. The fish is just so tasty—I couldn’t help giggling while eating it.”

The Snow Wolf eyed her suspiciously. This two-legged beast had better mean it. If she dared mock the wolf, the wolf would make her regret it!

“Do you want some?” Ji Yingran asked.

The Snow Wolf’s eyes locked onto the disposable bowl. Her tongue flicked out to lick her lips unconsciously. Just when Ji Yingran thought she’d cave, the wolf jerked her head aside with a huff. Not satisfied, she rolled her eyes at the human for emphasis.

Her body language screamed: What haven’t I eaten in my life? As if I’d crave your lousy fish. Hmph, no thanks.

Ji Yingran watched her with helpless amusement. This had to be the tsundere-est wolf she’d ever encountered.

Of course, she hadn’t crossed paths with many wolves before. This Snow Wolf was the only wild beast she’d ever been this close to.

Ji Yingran asked her several more times if she wanted any, giving her ample chances to save face. But the wolf refused to budge, holding onto her arrogant facade.

Ji Yingran shrugged and polished off the last piece of fish in her bowl.

The wolf, who had been sneaking peeks the whole time, saw it vanish and erupted in frustration. She stomped her front paws on the ground in a frantic “tap-tap” rhythm.

Ji Yingran heard the pattering and glanced back. The Snow Wolf immediately reverted to icy aloofness, as if she hadn’t been the culprit.

“I’m all done.” Ji Yingran held up her empty bowl for inspection.

“Woo!” The Snow Wolf bared her teeth and growled menacingly.

Ji Yingran knew full well what that meant. She was sulking over missing out.

As the low “woo-woo” growls continued, Ji Yingran performed a little sleight of hand and produced another bowl from nearby.

The growling cut off like someone had hit mute.

Her ferocious glare softened at the sight of the fish, turning bright and clear. The entire wolf radiated sudden friendliness.

Ji Yingran rose with the bowl and approached.

The Snow Wolf’s eyes tracked it every step of the way.

Ji Yingran set the bowl down right in front of her. “Don’t be mad. I saved your share—how could I forget? Do you think I’m that kind of person?”

The Snow Wolf’s gaze remained riveted to the fish.

“Go on and eat.” Ji Yingran tilted her chin toward it.

Ji Yingran figured she’d dive right in this time, but she had underestimated just how tsundere she could be.

Drooling as she was, the wolf turned her head away once more, feigning supreme indifference.

Ji Yingran laughed in exasperation. Was it really necessary? She was totally smitten with this wolf. Did she have to beg her to eat…?

“Good Wolfie, you’re the best wolf ever. Come on, taste it—it’s delicious. Pretty please, just one bite?”

Ji Yingran cooed in the sing-song voice reserved for toddlers.

At long last, the Snow Wolf straightened her tilted head.

After repeated entreaties from Ji Yingran, she finally lowered her noble head, graciously sampling a taste to humor her.

Her tongue curled around a piece of fish meat and chewed it slowly.

In the next instant, her chewing halted. Her eyes burst with radiance.

Unable to keep up the act, she plunged her muzzle into the bowl.

She devoured it like a whirlwind, polishing it off in mere gulps. Her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips with lingering relish, her head swaying ever so slightly in bliss.

What an utterly adorable wolf.

Ji Yingran took in every reaction. Clearly, she loved it—enough to forget all about playing it cool.

Ji Yingran cleared her throat with a smug “ahem.” “My cooking isn’t half bad, is it? I don’t have many talents, but good cooking is one of them.”

The Snow Wolf shot her a look and snorted derisively through her nose. Her expression plainly read: What’s with the smugness? Your cooking’s just okay. Not that great.

The moment Ji Yingran turned away, however, the Snow Wolf—ever faithful to her “not that great” verdict—proceeded to lick the bowl clean. She slurped noisily, her earlier arrogance nowhere to be seen.

Ji Yingran heard the licking sounds but resisted the urge to look.

No way was she turning around. One glance, and the wolf would blow up again. This wolf was cute in her anger, but so very proud.

Heaven only knew where she picked up such a fierce sense of idol baggage… especially when it was just the two of them in the mountain cave.

She licked away for quite a while, scouring every last drop of oil, before finally stopping. Ji Yingran half-expected the disposable bowl to dissolve under her tongue.

With the bowl licked spotless, the Snow Wolf headed straight for the exit without a backward glance.

Ji Yingran called out hastily, “Hey, where are you going? It’s snowing buckets outside!”

The Snow Wolf didn’t pause, bolting out in an apparent frenzy over some urgent matter.

Ji Yingran blinked in confusion when she doubled back—something clamped in her jaws.

“Thump.” She spat it out at Ji Yingran’s feet.

Looking down, Ji Yingran finally understood the “emergency.” The wolf had unearthed the tuna she’d buried in the snow and dragged it right to her.

The Snow Wolf bobbed her chin insistently. The message was clear: Not enough. Make more.

“You want more already?” Ji Yingran said.

The Snow Wolf didn’t reply—of course she couldn’t. She just nudged the fish insistently with her paw until it was up against Ji Yingran.

“Got it. I’ll make you another one.” Ji Yingran picked up the fish from the ground.

“Hmph.” There was no thanks from the Snow Wolf.

Far from grateful, she eyed Ji Yingran with disdain: For this wolf to deign to eat your food is your greatest honor.

Ji Yingran played along. “I’m thrilled that Wolfie deigns to eat my cooking. Thank you so much!”

The Snow Wolf’s tail flicked upward in smug satisfaction.

Ji Yingran smiled and gestured. “I’ll make it for you, but you can’t block the way like this. How am I supposed to cook?”

The Snow Wolf slanted her a glance before slowly sidling aside. Not without another pointed huff, naturally.

Ji Yingran shook her head with a chuckle. Under the Snow Wolf’s expectant stare, she set to work on the fish.

She sliced it, marinated it, added oil, and pan-fried it…

The Snow Wolf watched unblinkingly, her eyes brimming with curiosity—until Ji Yingran gave the wok a deft toss, flipping the fish midair with ease.

Her golden wolf eyes widened a fraction. Curiosity edged into… adoration.

Ji Yingran chuckled softly. The Snow Wolf snapped out of it, hastily resuming her aloof posture.

In a mere ten minutes or so, the fresh batch of fish was ready.

Ji Yingran reached for a bowl to serve it, but the wolf—too impatient to wait—shoved her head straight into the wok.

Fresh off the heat, still scorching hot… What did she expect?

The Snow Wolf let out a startled “ow!” and leaped back, flailing her singed muzzle as she hopped from spot to spot.

It was a comical sight.

But Ji Yingran had no time for laughter. She rushed over at once, cupping the wolf’s head in both hands and peering into her mouth from either side.

“Let me see. Did you burn yourself? You can’t just shove your face into something that hot!”

The Snow Wolf blinked up at the human inches away, momentarily forgetting the pain. She stared blankly for a beat.

In her golden wolf eyes gleamed the reflection of the woman before her: soft features, striking beauty—the most beautiful human she’d ever seen.

She liked beautiful things.

Huh? Wait—what was this two-legged beast doing? Why was she prying open the wolf’s mouth…?