Chapter 80: Strategy

Strategy: Create opportunities for close physical contact.

“It’s the dead of winter, and she’s wearing so little. Isn’t she cold?” Lady Ou muttered to herself as she finished hanging the laundry in the yard and headed back inside.

“Hm? What did you say?” Ji Yingran asked, puzzled.

Lady Ou gestured toward the outside and said casually, “That white-haired girl next door. You must not have seen her. It’s the middle of winter. Sure, there’s a bit of sun out there, but the wind’s fierce. She’s wearing just a single layer of clothing with her arms and legs all exposed. I feel cold just looking at her.”

Lady Ou shrank her neck as she spoke. Her face had gone stiff from the cold wind just from stepping out to hang the clothes.

Ji Yingran frowned. Mu Ci usually dressed in flashy, layered outfits full of bright colors, piling one garment on top of another. So why was she down to just one piece today?

Something was off. Extremely off.

Ji Yingran stepped into the yard and peered over at the neighboring courtyard.

The silver-haired woman lounged lazily on a rattan recliner, clad in a vivid red strapless dress that left her shoulders bare and a hemline that barely skimmed her thighs.

She wasn’t wearing any shoes. Her feet dangled beside the recliner, swinging idly as she basked in the sun with utter contentment.

In this kind of weather, where the wind overpowered the sun, only she could lounge like that. Anyone else would have scurried indoors long ago, shivering.

Mu Ci, swinging her bare feet leisurely, suddenly noticed Ji Yingran’s gaze. Her feet froze mid-swing.

She abruptly shifted her position.

Rolling onto her side, she propped her head up with one hand, bent one leg slightly, and traced circles on the rattan recliner with her toes.

The motion was rather seductive.

Ji Yingran walked over and said in a low voice through the fence separating their yards, “Why are you dressed like that?”

She completely ignored Mu Ci’s current pose.

“It’s freezing out here, and you’re wearing just that one thing. Aren’t you cold?”

As the words left her mouth, she suddenly remembered that this woman was a wolf from Snow Mountain, one who could melt a patch of snow just by lying on it.

What humans considered winter was probably child’s play to her. She might even find it hot.

“Even if you’re not cold, it’s not appropriate to dress like this in the yard. What if someone passing by sees you…”

Mu Ci showed faint signs of baring her teeth. She wasn’t pleased with this string of reactions from Ji Yingran. But when she heard “What if someone passing by sees you…”

Mu Ci hastily reined in her bared teeth and looked at her with excitement.

The human was jealous. She didn’t want passersby to see her dressed like this. Her possessiveness was strong, after all.

Mu Ci was thrilled—but only for half a second. Then Ji Yingran continued, “If they see you dressed like that, passersby will think you’re crazy.”

Mu Ci’s smile froze on her face.

A low “Woof woof” growl rumbled from her throat.

What was wrong with this lowly human? Why was she reacting like this? It didn’t match the strategy guides on her phone at all!

Had the phone lied to a wolf? Or was Ji Yingran just too stupid?

Ji Yingran misinterpreted her again. “Don’t woof at me. I’m not trying to control how you dress. Wear whatever you want. But it should match the season. You can’t wear summer clothes outdoors in winter. It’s too out of place.”

The wolf: “Woof woof!”

Ji Yingran: “Go inside and put on another layer.”

Mu Ci did a carp flip off the recliner and sauntered over to Ji Yingran, hips swaying.

A wrought-iron fence separated the human and the wolf.

Mu Ci tilted her chin up slightly and placed one hand on her hip. “You’re only noticing that my clothes don’t match the season?”

This Wolf advises you to think it over carefully before answering.

Ji Yingran looked her up and down. “We’ll set aside the clothes for now. That stance of yours… why are you cocking your hip like that?”

Mu Ci’s face visibly darkened.

How was it cocked? This was clearly a sway! Clearly a sexy pose!

Stupid two-legged beast!

Mu Ci shot her an extremely displeased glare, then turned and stalked back inside. A moment later, she stormed out again.

Bang!

She kicked the fence.

The once-sturdy barrier shook and wobbled. Satisfied, she turned and walked away.

Ji Yingran reached out and tentatively touched the iron fence in front of her.

Clang!

Dust billowed up as the fence collapsed.

Ji Yingran tugged at the corner of her mouth. She had known it would end like this. With strength like hers and her habit of kicking everything in sight, she had already wrecked the iron gate before. Now she had taken down the fence too…

She was a little annoyed, but mealtime had arrived, so she still prepared something tasty and brought it over.

This wolf might be disobedient, but she still needed to be fed.

“Wolfie, it’s lunchtime.”

The collapsed fence actually made things easier. No need to go out the gate and around—she could just step right over.

There was no sound from inside the house, but the wolf was definitely home. Calling her wouldn’t make her respond, though.

The door wasn’t closed. Ji Yingran carried the large iron pot straight inside and set it on the table.

Mu Ci ate a lot, so Ji Yingran didn’t bother serving it into a bowl. She just brought the whole pot over. Easier that way.

After setting down the pot, she glanced toward the window.

Mu Ci was perched on the windowsill, swinging her bare feet. She still wore that extremely short red strapless dress.

Normally, when Ji Yingran brought food, she would zip over in a flash. Today, for some reason, she stayed put, holding that weird twisted pose and swinging her feet.

“Why aren’t you moving? Come eat before it gets cold.”

No response. She kept up the weird pose, swinging her feet.

Ji Yingran changed her approach. “It’s something tasty. If you don’t come soon, it’ll cool off and won’t taste good.”

Mu Ci’s swinging foot paused. Her eyes widened. For a wolf, tasty food was vitally important. Tasty food going bad was a grave matter.

In the next instant, Mu Ci pounced over and buried her head straight into the pot.

Ji Yingran offered her the chopsticks she held, then quietly withdrew them.

Mu Ci had a habit of shoving her whole face into the pot when eating. She knew how to use chopsticks, but she rarely bothered. They weren’t much use anyway.

With her windstorm eating speed, chopsticks really were superfluous.

Smack smack.

Smack smack.

The living room echoed with chewing sounds, occasionally punctuated by the slurp of her licking her lips and a muttered “Not tasty enough.”

Ji Yingran stood nearby, watching quietly with a gentle smile curving her lips.

“Don’t eat so fast all the time. It’s all yours. No one’s going to steal it from you,” Ji Yingran advised.

Such advice was usually ignored by Mu Ci. She never listened.

But today brought yet another strange turn.

The wolf actually stopped. She lifted her face slightly from the pot and sneaked a crafty peek at the human.

Ji Yingran was baffled.

Mu Ci abruptly straightened up, snatched a tissue from the pack nearby, and daintily patted her mouth like a lady.

Ji Yingran: “?”

Normally she just licked her mouth clean with her tongue. Why was she using tissues today?

That pack on the table was for Ji Yingran’s own use. The wolf had never touched them before. This was a first.

Using a tissue wasn’t all that surprising. It was the affected, contrived way she did it—like something half-learned from TV, and poorly at that…

After wiping her mouth, Mu Ci snatched the chopsticks from Ji Yingran’s hand. She delicately picked up a piece of meat, placed it gently in her mouth, and chewed.

One bite of meat, wipe with tissue. Another bite, another wipe.

Ji Yingran: “?!”

What on earth was she up to? Just eat normally. Eating like this was downright eerie…

“I’m full.” Mu Ci set down the chopsticks lightly and blinked up at the human.

Ji Yingran: “???”

Her blinking continued, shifting to one eye, then the other.

Ji Yingran took a step back. “Did you get something in your eye?”

Mu Ci’s blinking halted.

“That’s impossible. You’re a demon. Demons can’t get sand in their eyes.”

“You know demons can’t get sand in their eyes!”

Mu Ci’s voice rose sharply, startling Ji Yingran.

Ji Yingran patted her chest. “Look at you, always startling me like that. One second you’re all soft and gentle, the next you’re yelling. You’ll give me a heart attack someday.”

“As long as it’s not sand in your eye, it’s fine. But if there’s no sand, why are you blinking like that? And so strangely.”

Anyone who didn’t know better might think she was possessed. Scary stuff.

Of course, Ji Yingran didn’t dare say that last part aloud.

Mu Ci’s eyes darted as an idea struck her. She perked up immediately.

“My eye really does feel like there’s sand in it.” Mu Ci blinked a couple more times and rubbed at her eye. “It itches. Definitely sand.”

In the past couple of days, Mu Ci had learned plenty of strategy tips on her phone. One of them: Pretend sand got in your eye and have the other person come close to blow it out. Perfect for creating close-contact opportunities and building an ambiguous atmosphere.

Excellent. A golden opportunity. This Wolf had to seize it.

Since she thought there was sand, Mu Ci would make use of it.

Ji Yingran eyed her suspiciously. “Didn’t you just say demons can’t get sand in their eyes?”

Mu Ci glared. “This Wolf’s eye has sand in it right now. If This Wolf says it does, then it does.”

Ji Yingran gave in. “Fine, fine. We’ll say it’s sand.”

Mu Ci pointed to her left eye. “Come blow on it for me.”

“You sure?”

“Hurry up. Stop dawdling.”

Ji Yingran glanced at her perfectly fine eye. Under her urging, she had no choice but to play along.

If she didn’t help blow it out, who knew what tantrum this wolf would throw next.

What a troublemaking wolf.

Mu Ci was half a head taller than her. Ji Yingran motioned for her to lean down.

Mu Ci complied this time. After all, it was her own plan—she could hardly refuse.

Ji Yingran didn’t come too close. She merely blew lightly in a perfunctory manner before saying, “There, that should do it.”

“No, it’s not. Are you just going through the motions? The sand still hasn’t come out—my eye hurts.” Mu Ci put on a pained expression.

Ji Yingran wasn’t entirely sure. Could there really be sand in her eye?

As Ji Yingran hesitated over whether to believe her, Mu Ci raised a hand and pointed to her right eye, gesturing for her to blow on it.

Ji Yingran’s mouth twitched. Hadn’t it been her left eye just moments ago? How had it suddenly switched to the right?

She had almost fallen for Mu Ci’s nonsense.

Ji Yingran found the situation amusing, yet she had no choice but to play along—and not half-heartedly, either. She needed to do it properly.

Fine. She could treat it like humoring a child.

Ji Yingran leaned in closer, gently cradling Mu Ci’s face as she bent down to blow softly on her eye.

“There. Is that better now?”

Mu Ci didn’t respond. She simply stared at the woman before her, her expression dazed.

The two of them were so close that Ji Yingran could make out the faint quiver of Mu Ci’s eyelashes. She could even see her own reflection mirrored in those deep pupils.

Their gazes intertwined, flowing like rippling water.

A cool, pine-like fragrance—unique to the wolf—wafted into Ji Yingran’s nose, leaving her momentarily entranced.