The Fox King

Chapter 48: Don’t Be Frightened

Luo Qinghan tilted his head to watch Zhe Huo dozing like a log at one end of the bed. He blinked slowly, then reached out and traced a tiny finger along the profile of her forehead, eyes, and nose. He didn’t even notice himself performing such a silly act.

However, Zhe Huo seemed to feel his touch. She wrinkled her nose belligerently, and murmured, “Qinghan… don’t be frightened…”

Qinghan gazed at her, ears twitching faintly, and laid his head down. He couldn’t resist turning to keep looking at her sleeping face, couldn’t resist slowly leaning in closer, head resting upon one hand as he took in the sight of Zhe Huo in dreamland.

Zhe Huo only awoke at sunrise, blinking her eyes blearily and stretching as she got up. She looked about groggily, then suddenly snapped to full awareness. Wasn’t she supposed to have been standing guard over Qinghan? How had she ended up asleep like this? Where was the boy?

Questions deluged her mind. She yanked the blanket aside and rolled out of bed, slipped on her shoes and left the room. When she stepped outside, she immediately saw Qinghan, tail wagging as he tip-toed around atop the table, his back to her as he set down bowls and utensils. His pointed ears perked up suddenly, as though noticing a presence behind himself. Turning his head, his eyes lit up when he saw her. “Zhe Huo, breakfast is ready!”

Zhe Huo approached uncertainly. “Qinghan, did anything happen last night?”

Qinghan cocked his head to the side, and thought for a moment. “You bit me, last night.”

Her face flushed red, and her eyes boggled with disbelief. “No… way…”

The boy waggled his finger at her.

And then Zhe Huo saw the small, pink mark upon his index finger. Although faint, it was unmistakably a bite mark. She was starting to feel distinctly awkward.

Thoughtlessly, Qinghan ploughed onwards, “Also, I stole a kiss from you last night, and fell asleep hugging you. Does that count?”

Now she was going red from head to toe. “Qinghan, you…” But whatever she’d wanted to say, when she saw Qinghan looking up at her, innocent and pure, she ended up swallowing her words. Glumly, she said, “I… I wasn’t talking about that sort of thing. What I’m asking is: Did any bad guys come into the room, last night?”

Qinghan shook his head. “Nope.”

Zhe Huo sighed with relief. So far, so good. Perhaps she and Tao Feiyan had only been imagining things. Maybe no one was after Luo Qinghan after all.