Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Falling in Love

No matter what Ji Yingran said, the wolf ignored her completely. She lay perfectly still, curled up so tightly that Ji Yingran wondered if she had fallen asleep.

In the past, when the wolf ignored her, Ji Yingran could at least see her ears twitching. But now, with her body coiled into a ball and her tail draped over her head, her ears were completely hidden, leaving no way to gauge her true emotions.

“If you keep ignoring me like this, I’ll get mad too, you know? You vanished without a trace all day for no reason, and I was angry enough to want to ignore you. Do you have any idea?”

Excellent. The wolf still ignored her, impervious to both soft words and tough love.

Ji Yingran gave up on persuasion and reached out to lift the tail covering her head.

She wanted to check if her ears were perked up, to see if she was even listening.

But before her hand could even tug at the tail—

Swish.

The tail whipped away, and the wolf raised her head. Her golden pupils gleamed with icy menace as a threatening growl rumbled from her throat.

Her fangs bared in a fierce snarl, her face full of fury at Ji Yingran’s attempt to touch her tail.

She was one very angry wolf.

Ji Yingran fell silent for a moment. Rather than pulling her hand back, she even pushed it closer to the wolf’s mouth.

“Baring your teeth, huh? Always baring them at me, huh? You never listen when I talk, so go ahead and bite. Here, bite me. Bite me to death, for all I care.”

She thrust her hand right up to the wolf’s muzzle.

The snarling wolf glanced at the encroaching hand and dodged her long snout to the side.

She dodged, but Ji Yingran insisted on shoving it toward her mouth. She even pried at the wolf’s jaws, trying to force her hand inside, determined to make her bite.

The wolf clamped her mouth shut tight. Finally fed up, she coiled into a ball again, burying her head under her belly.

Perfect. After that round of antics, she’d upgraded from tail-over-head to belly-over-head, even more securely hidden.

Mu Ci’s refusal to communicate was giving Ji Yingran a real headache. She hated letting conflicts linger overnight. Even though Ji Yingran was pretty angry herself, she was still willing to be patient and coax her a bit.

Who could blame her? She was a wolf, after all—and the life-saving benefactor wolf at that. Coddling her a little was only right.

But this wasn’t about coddling anymore. The wolf was straight-up ignoring her.

She refused to communicate.

It was troublesome, a real pain, but Ji Yingran didn’t give up. If gentle coaxing wouldn’t work, she’d force a conversation.

Ji Yingran simply flopped right onto the wolf’s body, sprawling across her like a mattress. The soft, fluffy fur was even more comfortable than the bed at home.

As she lay there, her hands didn’t idle. She stroked the wolf’s fur and gently squeezed her plush sides.

Didn’t like having her belly touched? Well, now Ji Yingran had to touch it. Her hand slid downward, zeroing in on the belly for a pinch.

“Whimper whimper!”

The wolf was already growling in anger, but Ji Yingran ignored it. She pinched and pinched and pinched.

The wolf wouldn’t actually bite anyway, so what was the harm in being a little bold? Especially when the goal was to force some communication.

So, Ji Yingran’s boldness was entirely justified.

At first, the Snow Wolf only growled, keeping her head buried under her belly without lifting it. But then Ji Yingran went too far, stroking the belly and eventually reaching the head hidden beneath it.

She even tugged at the whiskers by the wolf’s mouth.

That was the last straw.

The wolf shook herself violently, flinging the person groping all over her off her back.

Caught off guard, Ji Yingran tumbled to the ground, rolling a couple of times before coming to a stop.

She looked quite disheveled.

After rolling to a halt, she instinctively started to get up. Halfway there, her eyes darted around, and she flopped back down.

“Ow, ow, owie,” Ji Yingran clutched her wrist, pretending she’d twisted it in the fall. “My wrist hurts so much.”

After flinging her off, the wolf had curled back into a ball with her head tucked under her belly.

“Ow, it hurts so bad. I’m dying here.”

The wolf’s head immediately popped out from under her belly, her eyes wide as she stared at Ji Yingran.

Perhaps from keeping her head buried so long, when she lifted it, one ear stood straight up while the other was flattened. Combined with her bulging eyes, she looked utterly adorably dumbstruck.

Pfft.

The wolf’s excessive cuteness made Ji Yingran lose control mid-act and burst out laughing.

The wolf blinked a couple of times, then narrowed her eyes slightly, a dangerous golden glint flashing within.

That damned two-legged beast, faking pain to trick her again!

Infuriating! Hateful!!

Ji Yingran touched her nose, a bit regretful. She was still supposed to be playing the pity card—how had she laughed? Acting wasn’t her strong suit; now the wolf had caught on. This was bad.

Embarrassment crossed Ji Yingran’s face. She rotated her wrist and forced an explanation. “It really did hurt a little just now, but it’s not so bad anymore. I wasn’t trying to trick you on purpose.”

The wolf said, “You were tricking this wolf on purpose!”

Ji Yingran’s eyes lit up. “Wolfie, you’re talking to me now. You’re finally paying attention to me.”

The wolf’s fluffy face fell, her long muzzle pouting. She started to curl into a ball again, ready to bury her face under her belly.

Ji Yingran reacted swiftly, rushing forward to cup her fluffy face and give it a rub.

The wolf instinctively shook her head to dislodge the hands.

Ji Yingran spoke up in time. “Just hear me out first. Cool your anger a bit and let me finish, okay?”

The wolf paused her head-shake, her round golden pupils fixed on Ji Yingran, waiting for the rest—for her explanation.

Ji Yingran cleared her throat lightly. Truth be told, she had no idea how to explain.

She didn’t even know the root cause, so how could she?

Without a real explanation, she’d have to resort to babying tactics. This wolf wasn’t much different from a child anyway—no, actually, she was worse than one.

She was a baby over a thousand years old.

“Wolfie is so handsome, so pretty, so kind, so magnanimous. As the head wolf, you can definitely forgive this foolish two-legged beast, right?”

“No. This wolf won’t forgive you.”

The wolf shook off the hands on her face and backed away several meters, putting distance between them.

Ji Yingran’s hands hung frozen in midair. She tugged at the corner of her mouth, inwardly grumbling. This wolf really knew how to make a fuss. Normally, a couple of compliments would have her tail wagging, and the matter would be forgotten. Who knew it wouldn’t work this time?

“Not forgiving, not forgiving, not forgiving. This wolf won’t forgive you. Even though this wolf is very pretty and handsome and generous and magnanimous, as the head wolf, I still won’t forgive you.”

Ji Yingran fell silent.

She’d soaked up every compliment and even repeated them back, but forgiveness was off the table.

“Alright, got it. You won’t forgive me,” Ji Yingran said mildly. She felt no impatience at the wolf’s unreasonableness, instead guiding her patiently. “I get that you don’t want to forgive me, but if you won’t, at least tell me why. Let me realize my mistake so I can apologize properly and we can sort this out.”

The wolf went quiet, preparing to curl up again.

Ji Yingran quickly intervened, stepping forward once more to cup her fluffy face.

“No curling up. No refusing to talk, Wolfie. The worst thing in a fight is the cold shoulder. You have to communicate clearly with me. Ignoring me like this will only hurt our feelings.”

This time, the wolf didn’t shake off her hands. After some awkward fidgeting, she finally spoke in a grievance-filled voice. “You went back on your word.”

Ji Yingran blinked in confusion. “Did I?”

The wolf didn’t answer, only saying, “Not keeping your word.”

Ji Yingran couldn’t make sense of it. She even suspected this illiterate wolf was just seizing the chance to show off idioms…

Even if she didn’t understand, it didn’t stop Ji Yingran from patiently coaxing. “Wolfie, when we’re communicating, you have to say things I can understand. Just tossing out two idioms won’t work on a two-legged beast. You said it yourself—I’m a foolish one. So can you explain clearly, so this foolish two-legged beast gets it?”

Silence stretched on after her words.

Ji Yingran waited patiently. The wolf stayed quiet for a long while, and they fell into a standoff.

Several minutes passed with no words from the wolf, but at least she wasn’t curling up to hide anymore. That counted as progress.

Ji Yingran didn’t demand much—just that she not shut down communication.

A few more minutes ticked by. Just as Ji Yingran thought she wouldn’t speak again—

Wolfie finally spoke, slow and deliberate. “How could you not have someone you like? You do. You have to.”

A question mark slowly floated over Ji Yingran’s head. What a leap in topics.

Sure enough, communicating with a wolf came with a species-spanning generation gap…

Ji Yingran didn’t understand but pondered seriously. After racking her brain and recalling the day, she remembered the wolf had asked this very question right before blowing up in anger.

How could she have no one she liked?

So, this must be the main reason for her rage. Ji Yingran had to choose her words carefully.

One wrong answer, and the wolf—who had just started opening up—might curl up again, stalling them once more.

If things went worse, she might even leap out the window and run off, staging another runaway drama.

No way was Ji Yingran letting her run off again. The wolf wouldn’t suffer out there wandering, but Ji Yingran would be worried sick.

This troublesome wolf…

Ji Yingran released her face, pursed her lips, and her mind raced for the perfect response.

Before she could formulate her words, the wolf spoke again.

“Back at Snow Mountain, you said you liked me. You said it.”

The wolf’s voice carried a note of grievance, her wolfish face scrunching up.

“You said it yourself—how come you don’t have anyone you like? You’re denying it now, going back on your word, breaking your promise!”

As Wolfie spoke, she grew more and more agitated, suddenly lifting her front paw and slamming it heavily onto the ground.

“Crack!”

The fragile porcelain tile floor cracked under the stomp.

The crack didn’t stop Wolfie from lifting her front paw again for another hard stomp—lift and stomp, lift and stomp once more.

Her mouth kept mumbling nonstop: “You said it yourself. You’re going back on your word.”

Ji Yingran had originally been a bit dazed and hadn’t quite understood, but now, if she still didn’t get it, she’d really be a fool.

So that’s the reason…

Who would’ve thought.

Ji Yingran said she had no one she liked, and Wolfie got upset. She felt humans should like her, that she’d been excluded, and got angry.

Such a reasonable reason to be mad.

It was so reasonable that Ji Yingran was nearly speechless—what did she think was some huge deal? It was just this. Just this!

Though she was inwardly complaining nonstop, Ji Yingran showed not a hint of dismissal on her face. Instead, she was utterly serious and solemn.

“Wolfie, you’re misunderstanding me. I said I have no one I like—that statement is perfectly fine.”

“How is it fine? It’s a huge problem!”

Seeing Wolfie about to get worked up again, Ji Yingran quickly added,

“I said I have no one I like, but I didn’t say I have no wolves I like. You’re not human, so isn’t it totally reasonable to say I have no one I like?”

Wolfie’s angry expression froze, her brain seeming to lag as her eyes blinked blankly.

“I have no one I like, but you’re a wolf. I do like wolves. You’re the one who misunderstood me—I haven’t gone back on my word.”

Wolfie, uncertain: “You like wolves?”

Ji Yingran nodded firmly: “Yes, I really like Wolfie.”

Wolfie fell silent, her face expressionless, as if she hadn’t registered the words.

But the tail behind her shot straight up with a “whoosh,” standing perfectly rigid.

Less than two seconds later, though, Wolfie realized something was off and eyed the human suspiciously.

“Even though you’re not qualified and I definitely have to reject you, since you like this wolf, why say you have no interest in romance? You clearly want to date me!”

Ji Yingran was stunned.

Wait, hold on—not right, that’s not right at all.

Is the “like” I meant the same as the “like” Wolfie means?

Ji Yingran’s “like” was for fluffy animals, for friends.

What did Wolfie mean by “like,” and why was she bringing up dating??