"Actually, you can go accompany her, you don't have to be here."
Shang Xi spoke earnestly: "She came all the way down the mountain to find you, why don't you go accompany her."
Under the soft lamplight, Gu Wen stood in the middle of the hospital room, with Shang Xi's words entering his ears one by one, his eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter.
He felt puzzled.
With an almost cold and detached tone that had nothing to do with him, he said: "It's her business that she came down the mountain, why would I have to go accompany her?"
So many werewolves have come down the mountain, does he have to accompany every one of them? Just thinking about it felt ridiculous, boring, pointless.
Being here, accompanying her and the cub, that was what put him in a good mood and made him happy.
"Uh...she's White Tail right?" Could she have recognized the wrong person? Shang Xi doubted herself, otherwise Gu Wen's response was a bit too abnormal.
Yet Gu Wen nodded, and hmmed an affirmation: "She's White Tail."
His footsteps moved uncontrollably towards the hospital bed a few steps, they were talking so normally and calmly, seeing her sitting there, he had the instinctive urge to be closer to her.
And Shang Xi was a little confused.
Since she was White Tail, wasn't Gu Wen's attitude a problem? Or do werewolves simply not care about these little details?
It was just a couple days until Gu Wen's birthday, White Tail must have rushed over specially to celebrate with him.
She couldn't help sighing: "She really is so beautiful." Her hair was all white, while Gu Wen was pure black, one white wolf and one black wolf really matched well.
Gu Wen spoke indifferently: "Average."
He took a look at the woman sitting lazily on the hospital bed, her long hair draped casually over her shoulders. Her complexion was fair under the lamplight, free of any makeup. Her raven-like eyelashes cast a shadow beneath her eyes.
Because she wasn't wearing lipstick, her full lips lacked some color, just a hint of pale pink, not as rosy as when she wore makeup.
It made him unable to resist thinking, if he kissed them, bit them, those lips would turn red...
She was merely sitting there, doing nothing, yet to him, she was already a fatal temptation.
Perhaps White Tail was good-looking, the tribespeople kept mentioning her. But aesthetics had always been highly subjective.
Just like how others found White Tail pretty, he found Shang Xi to be good-looking.
"And this is just average?" Shang Xi felt Gu Wen's standards were a bit high. Also, to describe his love interest as "average"?
Wasn't he...a bit lacking in communication skills?
No wonder he was still reading "Thirty-Six Stratagems on Chasing Someone"...with his way of talking, he probably pissed White Tail off on a regular basis.
Knowing that she came down the mountain, he hurriedly bought a cheap human book to read.
Tsk tsk.
Shang Xi's lips quirked up slightly, feeling a bit gleeful over Gu Wen's misfortune. Serves him right for always pissing people off and making snide remarks. And now he was sneakily reading a book to learn, ha ha.
It was like a student cramming the night before an exam, desperately seeking a last minute miracle.
Thinking of White Tail's beautiful appearance with her head of white hair, she wondered curiously: "Are there pure white male werewolves among your tribes?"
If she had gotten involved with a pure white male werewolf, then her son would also have had white fur right? Just thinking about it, that'd be pretty cute too, white fur, black fur, both are so cute.
Hearing her ask about male werewolves, a glint of wariness flashed through Gu Wen's eyes. Sure enough, the next second, Shang Xi sighed again: "Pure white is so nice looking, like snow."
Gu Wen's heart tightened, his heart seemed to float in midair.
What did Shang Xi mean by this? Did she like pure white werewolves? Was she fishing for information from him?
What was she trying to do!!
He was a pure black werewolf, like thick ink, like the pitch dark wilderness at night. Did she...not like black?
Of course there were pure white male werewolves, but when it came to his lips, he no longer felt like telling her.
Nor did he want to lie to Shang Xi, so he could only keep silent for a while before tactically changing the subject.
"Cough, next Saturday, the kindergarten is having an outdoor camping field trip, requiring parents to participate."
As soon as Shang Xi heard it concerned her son's school, her attention was instantly diverted.
Gu Wen shamelessly felt relieved inside. He said: "The main tasks are to set up tents together, prepare food, and promote parent-child bonding. The school recommends all parents to participate if possible."
Shang Xi listened closely and nodded: "I understand, I'll make sure to arrange my work schedule for it."
She lowered her gaze, starting to think about how much inventory to prepare for next week, what needed to be arranged, what holidays were happening next week...
As for what she had asked Gu Wen earlier, it was unimportant and tossed to the back of her mind.
White Tail came down the mountain.
She felt it necessary to avoid any appearances of scandal with Gu Wen. Pointless matters, she stopped taking the initiative to chat with him.
Even if Gu Wen actively talked to her, she would answer quickly and concisely, before lowering her eyes to her own matters again.
When Gu Wen frowned at her, she would respond like a polite and diligent bank teller, asking: "Mr. Gu, do you have anything else left to say?"
Gu Wen: "......"
Faced with her "strictly business, efficient" gaze, he swallowed back what he wanted to say.
It's just...it's just...!!
He didn't dare express any displeasure to Shang Xi. All he could do was fume in aggravation as he stood by the window staring into the distance at the forest, grinding his sharp fangs. He really wanted to go hunting immediately to vent his frustration, irritability, and slight grievance (that he refused to acknowledge).
On the fourth day, Shang Xi was discharged from the hospital. It was also Gu Wen's birthday that day.
Her condition wasn't too serious, so she planned to leave the hospital directly to check up on her two shops. Gu Wen's birthday party would be held at Nanfeng Courtyard that night.
Gu Wen sent her to her shop. When she got out of the car, she thought for a bit, then turned to face him and said: "Mr. Gu, happy birthday. I wish you have all your wishes fulfilled, and that everything goes your way."
Over the past two months, her relationship with Gu Wen had experienced its ups and downs. Up till now, it couldn't be considered that good, but also not that bad. On the whole, it was still fine.
Gu Wen had just been staring at her back watching her exit the car and leave. He didn't expect her to turn around and say this.
His dark eyes widened slightly, the wolf was completely stunned.
Shang Xi pursed her lips briefly: "Well then, goodbye." She turned to leave.
Gu Wen remained motionless for a long time.
The next second, Shang Xi came back again.
"I almost forgot, here, this is for you." Shang Xi took out a small white box, passing it through the car window to him: "It's not worth much money, but to me it's priceless. You should like it too."
Gu Wen was surprised and overjoyed to be receiving an unexpected gift. He felt this birthday was worth it.
He stretched out his hand to take it, suppressing the nervousness, delight, and anticipation churning inside him. His voice came out slightly hoarse: "Thank you."
Shang Xi left.
He watched her back as she entered the flower shop before disappearing from sight.
Only then did he withdraw his gaze back to the white box in his hand, eyes shining brightly as if he were a greedy dragon who obtained a rare treasure, wary of everyone around.
It wasn't safe to open it now.
Returning to Nanfeng Courtyard with so many werewolves around, unsafe.
Going back to his company office? Also too many people, unsafe.
He drove the car straight out of the city in one go. Through a muddy, rugged trail in the wilderness, shielded on all sides by tall trees and thorny bushes.
Sitting inside the car, he closed the windows tightly, and let out a light exhale. Moving carefully and cautiously, he opened the box.
It was a small, thick photo album.
【Baby's Photos Before Turning One Year Old】
He froze upon flipping to the first page.
The first photo showed a slightly flushed-face baby sleeping in swaddling blankets, round and chubby.
Looking to be around three months old. The picture quality was fuzzy, clearly taken with a cheap phone camera.
That was...
His cub, shortly after being born?
That small bundle, soft and tender, eyes closed sleeping.
For a moment, Gu Wen felt a stab of heartache.
He had missed four years of a little life.
Through the photo, he imagined what it would be like to hold the little one in his arms, imagining the soft milk scent emanating from the cub's body, warm and cozy.
But imagination is cold.
He held an empty space.
If he had gone to find Shang Xi personally back then, would he have not missed out?
In Gu Wen's long and countless regrets afterwards, this was only the painful beginning.
He reluctantly pulled his gaze away to look at the second photo.
It was around the same age, the cub in swaddling clothes, mouth open and crying, quick to anger, face cried red.
The little chubby face was still cute.
Gu Wen couldn't help but curl his lips, but the pain spread in his heart.
His fingers touched the crying little chubby face in the photo. Little one, why are you crying?
Unfortunately, he couldn't touch his tears or soft fluffy cheeks, let alone hold him and coax him not to cry.
He couldn't stop thinking, only two or three months old, and your mom is still weak postpartum, what will she do when you cry?
In the next photo, the little one had a pacifier in his mouth, teary eyes in his big eyes, not crying anymore. The hand holding the milk bottle was white, thin, very thin.
That was Shang Xi's hand.
She wasn't short, with long fingers, but had become so skinny that there was little flesh on the bones. Gu Wen knew that females of any species suffered when pregnant and giving birth to cubs, but that was someone else. He wasn't kind enough to feel distressed for strangers.
But seeing Shang Xi's hand so skinny it was almost just skin and bones, his heart twisted painfully out of his control.
That night when he hastily researched, the information was simple, just a few lines: Shang Xi, twenty-six years old, female, local of Qingcheng, raising a cub alone for five years, no mate.
At first, aside from what happened that year and his prejudice against humans, Gu Wen didn't like her, but he never denied how hard it was for her to raise a cub alone.
Knowing she had it rough, doing something forceful like directly taking the cub away was not something he could do.
At first he thought that compensating her struggle to raise the cub was just giving her money, he couldn’t give her anything else.
To truly love someone, one would feel heartache and distress for the other. Here, love includes familial love, friendship, and romantic love.
When strangers encounter difficulties and troubles, people would just sigh, and say they feel distressed? They’d forget in a moment.
That endless, heart-wrenching distress would only appear in deeply loving parents, bosom friends, and devoted lovers.
The deeper the love, the more it hurts.
He admitted that back then he knew Shang Xi was raising the cub alone and it wouldn’t be easy, but he didn’t feel distressed.
At this moment, his heart had undergone an earth-shattering change. Just seeing the cub cry distressed him over Shang Xi still being weak postpartum.
Seeing that hand with clearly protruding bones made his heart clench tightly in pain.
If he had gone to find her personally back then and raised the cub together, it would’ve been so much easier for her.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t turn back time.
He had missed those years with the mother and child.
The third photo.
The cub was five months old, chubby little face fair and pudgy, grinning happily.
Gu Wen stared intently, not knowing what he was feeling. Before he realized, he had flipped to the last page.
The cub was one year old.
Very big already, head full of black hair. The round chubby face revealed an adorable sweet smile. He sat in the arms of a woman in a white T-shirt whose face was half hidden.
Very fair, thin, beautiful.
Holding a very big one-year-old chubby baby, she smiled blissfully, eyes shining brightly, brows arched high, as if full of infinite expectations for the future.
After staring for a while, Gu Wen took out this photo and put it in his wallet he carried with him.
He had missed the first few years, but wouldn’t miss the next many years.
From now on, he would place Shang Xi in his heart, protect her, make sure she would never have such a hard time, never be so haggard again.
He suddenly wanted to know about Shang Xi’s specific life before and after meeting him.
He wanted to know everything about her.
On the way back, he told Dai Chen to do this.
His car stopped at Qingfeng Flower Shop again.
Today was his birthday. His friends had already gone to Nanfeng Courtyard.
The werewolves there were starting to prepare food and get busy.
As the star of the day, he should’ve already been at Nanfeng Courtyard.
But now he didn’t want to go anywhere, he just wanted to be closest to her.
Suddenly, he saw Shang Xi come out.
“...You guys go ahead, thanks for the trouble, I’ll go check out the second shop.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Wen didn't even think before opening the car door and getting out.
Shang Xi turned around to see the tall figure standing by the roadside and was stunned for a moment. “Oh, Mr. Gu why are you still here?”
Gu Wen silently walked up to her, gazing at her intently with lowered eyes. “I want to give you a ride.”
Finally he opened his thin lips, “...May I?”
Shang Xi frowned slightly, looking at him as if he were an alien. This guy, what’s up with him now? His tone was strange, reminding her of his mocking attitude towards her before.
But it was also different this time. His expression held no mockery, brows slightly furrowed as if vexed over something. Head lowered gazing at her, his tone also carried a touch of humility and pleading.
Shang Xi felt it was like a big injured dog coming to her wanting comfort.
What’s...wrong with him?
“I mean, it’s your birthday today, shouldn’t you be at Nanfeng Courtyard now?”
Why did he suddenly come to give her a ride and be her free chauffeur?
Ah... Just what kind of creature are werewolves? Everyday she could only make wild guesses about them. Can’t blame her, this lone wolf really was just too...too toxic!
Any other werewolf would be easier to understand than him.
As she was thinking this, Gu Wen's phone rang.
"Sorry." He glanced at Shang Xi, rather impatiently took out his phone and answered.
Shang Xi heard a female voice, it was...that white tail’s voice right?
"Where's the birthday wolf? Everyone's here already."
As expected urging the birthday star.
Even White Tail called, he should...
"I don't have time now, we’ll talk tonight." Gu Wen said curtly then immediately hung up.
Shang Xi froze.
More endless confusion. Are werewolves’ attitudes towards their love interests this awful?
Can Gu Wen succeed chasing the goddess this way?
So that book was a waste huh.
If this keeps going, destined to be mateless.
No way, it can't be that roadside stall book taught him, can it?
Shang Xi thought then still kindly reminded, “You werewolves, the females are also women. Um, I mean, if you’re chasing someone, you should have a nicer attitude.”
Gu Wen didn't react at first.
Frozen.
Then his face turned red. “You...noticed?”
Shang Xi made a sound indicating affirmation. “Noticed.”
Gu Wen lowered his eyes, ear tips completely red.
His heart pounded nonstop.
Two chapters combined. Ah I'm so sorry my dears didn't write up to the confession, I'll keep writing...next chapter confession, see you tomorrow morning.
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