Chapter 68: Showing Off

A white shadow flashed past.

Even staring intently, Lady Ou couldn’t make out what it was. The speed was astonishing.

Her hand trembled slightly on the broom. Had a ghost really gotten into the house?

“Ranran, stay inside. Don’t come out. I’ll check what’s going on.”

Gripping the broom, Lady Ou inched slowly toward the door and cautiously peered outside.

Ji Yingran’s heart leaped into her throat. She was already mentally rehearsing how to explain White Hair’s sudden appearance in the house.

“Nothing out here,” Lady Ou said after inspecting the courtyard. Her confusion deepened. “Was I seeing things? No, I definitely saw something.”

At those words, Ji Yingran hurried into the yard and scanned around. Mu Ci was nowhere in sight.

She glanced next door. Somehow, Mu Ci had already retreated there and was now lounging on a recliner, basking leisurely in the sun.

Ji Yingran let out a long breath of relief—at the same time, she couldn’t help grinding her teeth. This Wolf had flashed past the window three times in a row. No doubt about it; she was doing it on purpose.

What an immature Wolf!

Ji Yingran cursed her silently, but Mu Ci seemed to sense it. She shot upright on the recliner with a whoosh.

“So noisy first thing in the morning! You two lowly Humans, this is disturbing the peace, you know? Watch out, or I’ll report you. Have some manners when you live among others.”

Ji Yingran fell silent for a beat, then shot back irritably, “Just sunbathe and keep quiet.”

Mu Ci’s eyes widened. “Talking back? Not qualified.”

Ji Yingran laughed in exasperation.

Talking back? Who was the stubborn one here? Who was deliberately stirring up trouble?

Lady Ou hurried over and pulled Ji Yingran back. Lowering her voice, she said, “Kid, why argue with that lunatic? Ignore her. Don’t even respond, or she might lose it and hop the wall to come beat us up.”

Mu Ci took offense. “Who’re you calling a lunatic? So rude. Your manners are abysmal. This Wolf is sunbathing now. Stop making noise—it’s annoying.”

Lady Ou blinked in surprise. They were so far apart, and she’d whispered, yet Mu Ci had heard every word.

Ji Yingran rubbed her forehead with a wry smile. This one had zero manners or politeness to speak of, yet she was always the first to call others rude…

She didn’t even know where to start.

Lady Ou had to head out for work on time, but the fleeting white shadow still weighed on her mind. She seemed restless and on edge.

It was understandable, of course. Strange happenings in one’s own home weren’t exactly conducive to peace of mind.

After some deliberation, Ji Yingran decided it was time to come clean. There was no hoping This Wolf would rein herself in. To keep from scaring Lady Ou half to death, it was better to give her a heads-up now.

Lady Ou was just about to leave for work. Finally, Ji Yingran gathered her thoughts and broached the subject tentatively.

She cleared her throat. “Mom, don’t you think the white hair next door looks kind of like… an animal?”

Lady Ou took her windbreaker from the rack and slipped it on. “An animal? What kind? A husky?”

Ji Yingran perked up instantly. “Exactly! Just like a husky. Close enough to count as relatives, right? Don’t you think she looks like a wolf?”

Lady Ou fastened the buttons on her coat without much attention. “A wolf? You mean a rabid one?”

Ji Yingran: “…”

“What I mean is, if you don’t think of her as human—just an animal—then a lot of her crazy antics start to make sense. She’s not human, so of course she doesn’t act like one. Isn’t that right?”

Lady Ou looked up at her. “What are you getting at? You’re not thinking of inviting her in again, are you? Hey, kid, are you okay? Stop making excuses. I don’t care if she’s a husky or a wolf—nope. Absolutely not.”

Ji Yingran drew a deep breath and laid it all out. “Didn’t I tell you before? I was saved by a wolf on Snow Mountain. She’s that wolf.”

The living room plunged into dead silence.

“Mom, I know it sounds crazy and hard to believe, but it’s true.”

Lady Ou walked over, her gaze full of concern. “Ranran, has the bakery been struggling? Did it hit you hard psychologically? Maybe I should take you to see a therapist.”

Ji Yingran: “…”

Lady Ou coaxed her gently. “Of course, Mom believes you. Absolutely. It’s a wolf, sure. But how about we make a therapist appointment anyway? Just to check—no need to resist.”

Ji Yingran: “…”

The confession had failed spectacularly—and nearly landed her in therapy.

It took countless assurances that she was fine, perfectly sane, and didn’t need a shrink before Lady Ou reluctantly let it go.

Ji Yingran massaged her brow. What a mess…

On second thought, though, whether Lady Ou believed her wasn’t the point. Planting the seed ahead of time was what mattered.

Ji Yingran dreaded the day Mu Ci might show up with a wolf’s head on a human body right in front of her. If that happened, this preemptive warning would at least give Lady Ou some mental preparation—not total panic.

Explaining ahead of time was necessary. As for belief, that could come later.

Over in the neighboring yard, the culprit Mu Ci was still sprawled on her recliner. But she wasn’t leisurely sunbathing anymore. Instead, she toyed with the phone in her hand.

She turned it this way and that, clearly delighted.

A gift from the Two-Legged Beast—a black phone. So ugly.

After inspecting it for a while, Mu Ci suddenly twitched her nose and began sniffing the phone intently, with great focus.

Ji Yingran had no idea what she was smelling, but from her spot by the wall, she watched Mu Ci sniff away for quite some time.

“What are you sniffing? Does the phone smell like something?”

“Yes. It smells like Two-Legged Beast.”

The scent of Two-Legged Beast? What did that even mean? Ji Yingran didn’t quite get it.

Mu Ci suddenly realized she was being watched. She whipped her head around. “When did you get here?”

Ji Yingran smiled. “I’ve been standing here as long as you’ve been sniffing the phone. But what did you mean by ‘Two-Legged Beast scent’? Do I have some special smell?”

Mu Ci: “Stinky. You’re stinky.”

Ji Yingran’s mouth twitched. “You say that again. How am I stinky? Whatever, not worth arguing. Don’t worry about whether the phone stinks—you can’t wash it. I know you’re a clean freak, but washing it will break it. Got it? No washing.”

Mu Ci pouted. “Quit nagging over here. Annoying. Scram.”

Ji Yingran didn’t budge and kept on. “Do you even know how to use the phone? If not, I can teach you.”

Mu Ci soured, baring her teeth.

Ji Yingran smiled helplessly. She wanted to teach her, but Mu Ci refused to cooperate. This Wolf’s personality was impossible to pin down.

She needed to find a way—some opportunity to nudge that quirky temper of hers. Otherwise, basic communication would always be an uphill battle.

Back in her room, Ji Yingran grabbed her own phone and dialed Mu Ci’s number.

She pressed call and held it to her ear, waiting for an answer.

Let’s see if the Wolf would pick up. If she wouldn’t let anyone teach her, she had better actually know how to use it.

“Ring… ring… ring…”

It rang five or six times with no answer. Just as Ji Yingran figured it wouldn’t connect—that Mu Ci had no clue how to use the phone and was about to hang up—

“What!” A gruff voice barked from the receiver.

“It actually connected. So you do know how.” Ji Yingran was mildly surprised.

Mu Ci rolled her eyes—though Ji Yingran couldn’t see it. “Just some human communication gadget. What’s so hard? Naggy as ever. Testing me? Not qualified.”

Ji Yingran laughed. “Fine, as long as you know. From now on, when I call, remember to pick up. I can’t always find you, and it worries me.”

Mu Ci tsked. “Clingy and gross. Not qualified.”

“Okay, enough with the ‘not qualified’ already. Wolfie’s voice is so nice—voices that good should say nice things. Don’t you think?”

There was a long silence on the other end. Then came a smug tone.

“This Wolf’s voice is the best, obviously. But Human, your voice…” Another long pause. “…is awful. Your voice is awful.”

Ji Yingran had seen it coming.

“Wolf, when I compliment your voice, you should compliment mine back. That’s how normal conversations work—mutual compliments, give and take.”

“Come on, repeat after me. After I say your voice is nice, you reply: ‘Is my voice nice? Yours is nice too. Thanks—your compliment makes me happy.’”

“See? That way, everyone feels good. Stop sniping at people every time. Just talk nicely—peaceful communication. Get it?”

Another several seconds of silence. “What nonsense? Chatterbox. Annoying. Hanging up.”

Beep, beep.

Ji Yingran glanced at the disconnected screen and shook her head with a smile.

She hadn’t listened to a single word after all that talk—no surprise there. It was just like the wolf she knew.

Whatever. There was plenty of time ahead. This wolf showed no signs of leaving anytime soon; she seemed intent on sticking around for the long haul. Ji Yingran could teach her bit by bit.

It would be a daunting task…

The wolf ended the call and prodded the screen lightly with her finger, idly scrolling through the phone.

Bored, she was about to toss it aside when her gaze landed on the photo album.

Her eyes darted about, interest sparking instantly. She tapped right into it.

When Ji Yingran had discarded this old phone, she’d only roughly transferred some data to her new one. She hadn’t bothered deleting anything from the old device.

As a result, the album held thousands of photos.

Most of them were shots of food. Whenever Ji Yingran whipped up something new, she’d snap a picture out of habit, and over time, those had piled up into the thousands.

Mu Ci swiped through them one by one, her mouth watering like mad. Her long tongue lolled out, licking greedily as she stared in rapt fascination, as if she might swallow the phone whole.

But she managed to restrain herself. She didn’t actually gulp it down.

Buried in that mountain of food pics, she stumbled on one of the rare exceptions: a selfie of Ji Yingran.

It dated back a few years. The flowers she’d lovingly tended in the yard had burst into bloom, filling her with uncontainable delight. Unable to resist, she’d leaned in close beside one and snapped a photo together.

The woman in the picture wore a faint smile, her demeanor soft and gentle. Even the flower beside her seemed to glow with unusual tenderness.

Mu Ci’s gaze locked in place. She stared at the image on the screen, making no move to swipe to the next photo for a long, long while.

This picture drew her in more than all the food.

She zoomed in for a closer look. Zoomed in further. Examined it even more intently.

Her mood buoyant, the wolf bobbed her head slightly. “This lowly human isn’t the least bit good-looking.”

She tapped the image and set it as her wallpaper.

The food photos in the album held no further appeal. She fixated on that single selfie, poring over it again and again.

She was lost in it, utterly content, when the sound of digging drifted over from neighboring Building 10.

Qing Li had apparently swiped something else—who knew what—and scampered out to the yard to bury it.

Mu Ci glanced at the phone in her paw, then at the azure-haired woman nearby. A sly gleam flickered in her eyes.

She strolled over casually, making sure to flaunt the phone in her grip without seeming too obvious.

This stupid thing flaunted her mate’s smartwatch gift every single day. Well, today This Wolf was going to rub her nose in it. What was so special about a smartwatch? This Wolf had scored a phone too, hadn’t she?

Mu Ci’s tail shot up, her chin jutting skyward in supreme arrogance. She was smugness incarnate.

See that? A phone. A phone from the two-legged beast!