After The Soft And Cute Beauty Marries The Wolf King - Chapter 18

Xie Zhiqing was originally listening attentively, but his face turned red when he heard the last sentence.

 

He pursed his lips, wanting to say something but feeling too shy.

 

He touched his nose and said apologetically, “It seems like it was during last year’s Zhongyuan Festival? I really can’t remember. I… I often sneaked out of the palace to play.”

 

Lang Sa frowned and lectured him, “Indulgent.”

 

“Yes.” Xie Zhiqing said with embarrassment.

 

Lang Sa couldn’t hold back his expression anymore. He poked Xie Zhiqing’s face and said, “There are many places on the grassland, I’ll take you to play.”

 

Xie Zhiqing obediently nodded, “Okay!”

 

After that, they talked about other things.

 

As the night grew darker, Xie Zhiqing’s voice gradually lowered, and he fell into a deep sleep.

 

Wrapped in the blanket, his body was still bare, but he could sleep peacefully beside Lang Sa without feeling any danger.

 

Lang Sa lay next to him, propping up his head, with Xie Zhiqing’s warmth close by, just a slight movement away from touching.

 

Lang Sa didn’t dare to move, afraid that even a slight touch to the little prince’s body would trigger his animalistic instincts. Xie Zhiqing had no idea how many vile thoughts were hidden in the seemingly safe person sleeping beside him.

 

Not to mention—

 

Lang Sa lifted his wrist to look.

 

A dark mark had already appeared at the cuff. The wolf pattern started from the back and wound along the arm, finally crawling to the wrist.

 

This was the characteristic of their wolf clan’s ** 卅.

 

Lang Sa was already very familiar with this. After entering maturity, every beast clan would go through heat/rut. If they didn’t endure it and let it pass, the next heat would be longer and more painful. Those unlucky enough might not even survive.

 

Just like in his previous life.

 

Lang Sa put down his arm, closed his eyes, and lay flat on his back. The warmth beside him was impossible to ignore, and Xie Zhiqing’s even breathing could be heard in his ears, along with the fresh soap scent from the person’s hair.

 

I can endure a little longer, Lang Sa thought, enduring it once more.

 

Anyway, with the experience from his previous life, he wouldn’t be so unlucky in this one. Lang Sa chuckled to himself amidst the suffering.

 

What he said to Xie Zhiqing tonight was true, but far from everything.

 

Lang Sa concealed the more important and sadder past, simplifying their fate from their previous life into a brief encounter of love at first sight.

 

As for the catastrophe that An Yu experienced six months later, the fire that burned for a day and a night, the relatives who died in the hurried escape, and… Xie Zhiqing, covered in dirt, lying by the roadside with torn and tattered clothes…

 

Lang Sa pressed on his chest, still unable to breathe when he thought of those scenes.

 

*

 

In his previous life, Lang Sa’s heat symptoms became increasingly severe, forcing him to consider marriage.

 

The old Wolf King said, “Whether you’re human or wolf, male or female, you still have to have an idea.”

 

After much thought, Lang Sa’s first thought was of the little prince he had seen before returning to the grassland.

 

However, when he returned to An Yu, it had already undergone tremendous changes.

 

By the time he saw the little prince again, the person had already breathed their last.

 

Money, jewelry, everything valuable, even their clothes, had all been looted.

 

Nevertheless, the person still tightly guarded their older brother with disabled legs, unable to be separated.

 

Lang Sa gave the two brothers a proper burial and saw that the little prince was tightly holding a small jade rabbit.

 

Back on the grassland, Lang Sa often thought of the two faces he had seen with the little prince—if you could call it seeing.

 

It felt like a wound had been torn open in his heart, and regrets and belated feelings of love would always emerge to engulf him.

 

The person he cared for was no longer in this world, and Lang Sa lost interest in the matter of marriage. However, the drawbacks of heat, which had been lingering for a long time, finally manifested when Lang Sa was 25 years old—although Lang Sa was usually strong and healthy, the symptoms of heat were severe but not unbearable. He had never paid it any mind until…

 

Just before losing consciousness, Lang Sa once again thought of the little prince wearing a rabbit mask. He wondered if, at the moment his life ended, he must have been very scared.

 

*

 

The person who had been quietly sleeping beside him suddenly made a sound.

 

Lang Sa turned his head to see Xie Zhiqing change his posture, removing his palm from under his cheek—probably because it had gone numb from being pressed for too long.

 

Lang Sa smiled and held his hand, tucking it under the blanket.

 

The sour mood he had felt suddenly seemed to clear up, and Lang Sa poked Xie Zhiqing’s cheek, whispering softly in a voice only he could hear, “In this life, I’ll protect you, Xiao Qing’er.”

 

*

 

The next day, Xie Zhiqing woke up first as usual.

 

He rubbed his eyes and habitually turned over to sit up—

 

Then quickly hid back under the covers.

 

What’s going on! Why wasn’t he wearing clothes?!

 

Xie Zhiqing was dumbfounded.

 

Memories from last night slowly flowed into his mind, and Xie Zhiqing covered his head with the blanket in embarrassment.

 

What kind of person would be bold enough to not wear clothes and lie down with someone to chat about their feelings? Xie Zhiqing couldn’t understand.

 

He turned his head to look at the Wolf King next to him—

 

Good, he was still sleeping.

 

He quietly stretched his arm to reach for his clothes and haphazardly put them on.

 

When he lay back under the covers, he bumped into Lang Sa’s body again.

 

Xie Zhiqing: “…”

 

Can’t you be less energetic when you’re asleep, Wolf King!

 

It’s so embarrassing, Xie Zhiqing thought as he lay stiffly, staring blankly ahead.

 

The slight movement might have disturbed Lang Sa, who opened his eyes, still a bit groggy, and asked, “Are you awake?”

 

“…” Xie Zhiqing whispered, “Um, it’s still early, would you like to sleep a bit longer?”

 

Lang Sa didn’t even give a response, he simply closed his eyes again.

 

Well, that solved the awkwardness of small talk between the two.

 

Xie Zhiqing got up quietly, washed up, quickly went to change food and water for Fufu, and tidied everything up. Eventually, Lang Sa woke up.

 

“Lang Sa, you, you’re awake.” Xie Zhiqing’s face was still a little warm as he stuttered.

 

Lang Sa wasn’t fully awake yet, he yawned and said, “Yeah.”

 

He gestured with his finger for Xie Zhiqing to come over.

 

Xie Zhiqing approached Lang Sa timidly and asked, “What’s up—ah!”

 

Before he could finish his sentence, Lang Sa pulled him into his arms.

 

Lang Sa’s heartbeat reverberated through Xie Zhiqing’s chest, steady and powerful like a human’s.

 

Lang Sa’s hands held him firmly, almost trapping him in his embrace. Xie Zhiqing’s cheek pressed against Lang Sa’s shoulder, unable to discern the source of the warmth against his skin.

 

Xie Zhiqing tentatively reached out and wrapped his arms around the Wolf King’s waist.

 

Lang Sa didn’t speak, only quietly held him. After a while, he cleared his throat and said, “Just a hug, to wake up properly.”

 

Xie Zhiqing bit his lip and obediently let him hold him.

 

After a long while, Lang Sa said, “Xiao Qing’er, let’s make a deal.”

 

“What?”

 

“In the future,” Lang Sa carefully said, “can you not, wake up so early.”

 

Xie Zhiqing: “…”

 

Suppressing a smile, he patted Lang Sa’s back and said, “Oh, you, really!”

 

Lang Sa lazily let go of him.

 

With Lang Sa’s teasing, Xie Zhiqing finally felt less awkward.

 

The two of them sat together and had a breakfast that didn’t quite qualify as breakfast, then took Fufu and Ates for a walk.

 

On the way, they ran into one of Lang Sa’s subordinates—the majority of the hunting party that had gone with Lang Sa, returning only this afternoon.

 

Lang Sa nodded and said, “Got it, go ahead.”

 

Xie Zhiqing was puzzled, “Why didn’t you come back with everyone else?”

 

Lang Sa stretched lazily, kicked the silent Ateus beside him, and said, “This little wolf cub came to find me yesterday, saying someone was anxiously waiting for me at home.”

 

“…” Xie Zhiqing almost gasped for breath, “Hahaha! Really!”

 

Lang Sa imitated his tone, “Yeah!”

 

Xie Zhiqing: “…”

 

At this moment, Fufu, sitting on Ateus’s back, gave him a gentle bump on the head.

 

Lang Sa chuckled twice and stopped teasing Xie Zhiqing. He reached out to him, saying, “Come here.”

 

Xie Zhiqing pursed his lips, turned away, and didn’t want to pay attention to him.

 

Lang Sa circled around to him, stooped down, and leaned in front of him.

 

Xie Zhiqing tried to dodge several times but couldn’t escape. Finally, he was amused by the Wolf King’s thick-skinned behavior.

 

He grabbed Lang Sa’s hand and placed his own hand in his palm.

 

There were shallow calluses between Lang Sa’s fingers, and his hands didn’t feel smooth. Holding Xie Zhiqing’s hand, those rough traces didn’t scratch any softness.

 

Lang Sa moved his fingers, using his thumb to open Xie Zhiqing’s fingers, interlocking their hands.

 

His hands were warm, not making one feel cold even in the cold wind.

 

After walking a few steps, Lang Sa suddenly spoke up, “About your outfit today—”

 

Xie Zhiqing looked down, “What’s wrong with this outfit?”

 

He looked around, his red cloak was worn perfectly, not dirty or torn, he didn’t know what caught Lang Sa’s attention.

 

“Nothing, I was just asking,” Lang Sa replied, “what color is this? Is it red?”

 

“Oh, you’re asking about this,” Xie Zhiqing said, “it’s red, can you see it clearly? Xiaoxiao said you can only distinguish between light and dark colors.”

 

“Yeah, just light and dark,” Lang Sa said helplessly, “that’s why I’m asking you.”

 

“It was a birthday gift from Father Emperor last year,” Xie Zhiqing smiled and introduced, “It’s okay, I’ll tell you about any colors you see in the future.”

 

“I wasn’t talking about that—” Lang Sa shook his head, “I just feel a bit regretful, I feel like red should suit you well, but I can’t see it.”

 

He straightened Xie Zhiqing’s collar and confirmed, “You should look good in red.”

 

Xie Zhiqing awkwardly touched his face, “Really?”

 

Lang Sa nodded, “Really.”

 

Lang Sa’s compliment sounded sincere, not just polite. Xie Zhiqing happily accepted his praise and exclaimed, “That’s great!”