After The Soft And Cute Beauty Marries The Wolf King - Chapter 5

 

Of course, here’s the passage with the requested change:

 

Xie Zhiqing didn’t know when Lang Sa had returned. In short, when he woke up again, it was already bright outside, and Lang Sa was peacefully asleep on the floor.

 

Xie Zhiqing was startled, rubbed his eyes, and quickly got out of bed, wanting him to go back to sleep.

 

At this moment, all thoughts of familiarity or embarrassment were set aside.

 

Lang Sa was sleeping soundly, and no matter how he called him, he wouldn’t wake up. Later, Xie Zhiqing mustered the courage to pat his face, finally waking him up.

 

“Wake up, did you really sleep on the floor all night? Weren’t you uncomfortable?” Xie Zhiqing grabbed his arm, trying to pull him up. “Go back to sleep!”

 

*

 

Lang Sa indeed returned in the middle of the night. He had just managed to settle down to sleep when he was woken up by Xie Zhiqing.

 

He opened his eyes and wanted to say, “Don’t bother me, I want to sleep a little longer,” but what he saw was a figure clad in thin clothing.

 

The bedding from last night was warm and cozy, and Xie Zhiqing had just woken up, still carrying the warmth from the covers. Naturally, he didn’t feel cold. However, the grassland climate was dry and cold, and one could easily fall ill if not careful. Xie Zhiqing was new to the place, so he needed to be extra cautious.

 

Lang Sa lifted the blanket and pulled Xie Zhiqing into his own bedding.

 

“It’s cold, don’t freeze.”

 

Without thinking much, it was a subconscious action in his half-awake state.

 

He noticed that Xie Zhiqing was dressed lightly, while his bedding was quite warm. He generously shared half of the blanket, enveloping him tightly, and his arm that had nowhere to go naturally draped around his waist.

 

However, on Xie Zhiqing’s side…

 

His limbs stiffly clung to Lang Sa’s shoulders, their bodies pressed tightly together.

 

He was wearing only a silk robe, and Lang Sa… his upper body was bare.

 

The sensation of his skin transmitted through the thin fabric to Xie Zhiqing, the warm temperature spreading from his chest to his fingertips, to his shoulders, and to his cheeks.

 

Xie Zhiqing felt his cheeks heating up, and unfortunately, Lang Sa was holding onto him with quite some strength, leaving him unable to move.

 

The layer of clothing between them was too thin, and Xie Zhiqing could almost hear Lang Sa’s strong heartbeat.

 

Feeling breathless, he used both hands to push against Lang Sa’s shoulders, trying to push him away.

 

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Lang Sa suddenly turned over and got up.

 

He made a dissatisfied sound, his tone full of annoyance, then he grabbed a piece of clothing, roughly put it on, and kicked the door open.

 

A cold gust of wind rushed into the room.

 

Xie Zhiqing hid himself in the blanket, burying almost half of his face, leaving only his big round eyes fixed on the door.

 

Oh, it’s Ateus.

 

Ateus stood outside the door, its golden eyes quietly fixed on Lang Sa.

 

The two confronted each other for a while, and finally, Lang Sa gave in, saying, “I’m annoyed, get lost!”

 

He turned his head and said to Xie Zhiqing, “A few old men from the clan insisted on seeing me. I’ll be back soon. You…”

 

He glanced at the now disheveled bedding, estimating that it was already cold, then pointed to the floor and said, “You can sleep a little longer, don’t catch a cold.”

 

Xie Zhiqing obediently nodded.

 

Ateus watched for a while, then wagged its tail and walked into the room.

 

Now Xie Zhiqing mostly believed that Ateus wouldn’t harm him, but he still couldn’t overcome his instinctive fear. As Ateus approached him, he closed his eyes tightly, avoiding eye contact.

 

The faint smell of grass from Ateus wafted into Xie Zhiqing’s nose, and then, his ear itched…

 

It was using its nose to nuzzle his earlobe, then it bit the corner of the blanket and made his cocoon even tighter.

 

When he opened his eyes, Ateus had sensibly retreated half a meter away, looking at him docilely.

 

Xie Zhiqing reached out and touched his ear, smiling shyly.

 

“You sure know how to act well.” Lang Sa leaned against the door with his arms crossed, his tone oddly teasing.

 

Ateus placed both its front paws on the ground and shook its ears, paying no attention to Lang Sa’s words.

 

“It wants to stay here,” after a while, Lang Sa said, “such a shameless thing.”

 

He used his boot to nudge Ateus’s rear end, then turned to Xie Zhiqing and said, “If you don’t want it to stay, I’ll take it with me.”

 

Xie Zhiqing looked at the large wolf with raised ears that was now lying on the ground, then looked at Lang Sa’s displeased expression, and cautiously said, “It’s… fine for it to stay, fine.”

 

Since they would have to get along with them sooner or later, he couldn’t keep being in this fearful state forever, Xie Zhiqing thought.

 

He grabbed the corner of the blanket, swallowed hard, and reached out his hand to Ateus, saying, “Hello, Ateus.”

 

Ateus’s golden eyes brightened, and it immediately stuck its big head into Xie Zhiqing’s palm.

 

The rough fur made Xie Zhiqing’s palm itch, and he couldn’t help but smile.

 

Lang Sa, on the side, made a “hmph” sound and said, “Leaving now. If it bullies you, hit it. It won’t dare to fight back. Oh, almost forgot, here.”

 

After saying that, Lang Sa went outside and brought back a cage.

 

He lifted the black velvet cloth covering the cage and held it up for Xie Zhiqing to see.

 

The cage was lined with a thick layer of cotton, and inside was a snow-white little rabbit.

 

Originally lying in the blanket, Xie Zhiqing sat up from the ground, his eyes widening slightly. “This is…”

 

“I said I’d bring you a gift before I left yesterday, didn’t I?” Lang Sa’s tone carried a slightly imperceptible smugness. “I caught it when I came back. Haven’t caught small animals in a while… Aiya! Aiya!!!”

 

The little rabbit in the cage suddenly woke up and saw Lang Sa’s face.

 

It trembled all over and immediately tried to escape, but the cage wasn’t that big. It ran around in a daze, banging against the cage, and looked like it was going crazy.

 

Lang Sa: “…”

 

Fine, some people might appear human on the surface, but deep down, they’re wolves.

 

They could fool people, but they couldn’t fool a rabbit.

 

Lang Sa felt so embarrassed that he hadn’t been treated like this in a long time. He was extremely speechless, placed the cage on the ground with a thud.

 

The little rabbit scrambled out of the cage and continued darting around like it was escaping for its life. But whether it was

 

due to being panicked or something else, it actually ran headfirst into… Ateus.

 

After barely escaping from one wolf’s clutches, it immediately ran headlong into another wolf.

 

The little rabbit couldn’t handle this repeated shock, and its eyes rolled back as it fainted.

 

Ateus: “…”

 

Xie Zhiqing sat on the ground, watching in astonishment as the events unfolded before him.

 

Not just him, but the man and wolf in the room were also plunged into a peculiar silence.

 

“…” After who knows how long, Lang Sa cleared his throat and awkwardly said, “Oh, it’s scared of me.”

 

Xie Zhiqing: “Ah.”

 

Well, what else would it be? What rabbit wouldn’t be afraid of a wolf?

 

Realizing that he was indeed not welcome by the rabbit, Lang Sa left with a sulky expression.

 

The rabbit was still lying on the ground. Later, it was picked up by Ateus and placed into Xie Zhiqing’s arms.

 

Xie Zhiqing could only laugh wryly. Now, sleep wasn’t an option anymore. He got up, put on his clothes, and carefully examined the rabbit he had been given.

 

“I hope it’s not scared to death…” Xie Zhiqing mumbled anxiously to himself.

 

Ateus used its nose to nudge Xie Zhiqing’s arm, swinging its big head left and right before moving it up and down.

 

Xie Zhiqing pondered for a moment and asked, “Are you saying it’s not dead and it’s okay? Is that what you mean?”

 

Ateus clumsily nodded its head.

 

Xie Zhiqing felt somewhat relieved.

 

He propped his chin on his hand and waited eagerly for the little rabbit to wake up again.

 

Ateus also didn’t dare to move around recklessly, lying obediently on the ground, trying to reduce its presence.

 

Indeed, this little rabbit had strong vitality. Despite being caught by Lang Sa and then frightened, it managed to survive. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, it finally opened its eyes once more.

 

Xie Zhiqing immediately stood in between the rabbit and Ateus, using his body to shield the small creature from the huge wolf behind him.

 

He gently patted the rabbit’s head to calm it down, softly saying, “How about you go into the cage and wait for a bit? I’ll go gather some grass and make you a nest. Is that okay?”

 

He wasn’t sure if grassland animals were intelligent, but this little rabbit seemed to understand. Its drooping ears perked up, and it shifted to a more comfortable spot, curling up.

 

“Good little thing.” Xie Zhiqing pinched the tip of its ear, then got up to retrieve the cage.

 

In the meantime, Ateus had been lying quietly in the corner. After the rabbit woke up, it even covered its eyes with its front paws, trying to convince itself that as long as it couldn’t see the rabbit, it wouldn’t be afraid.

 

Xie Zhiqing found it amusing. He opened the cage to let the rabbit crawl inside, then turned to Ateus and said in a soft voice, “I’m going to take it outside. Don’t be scared.”

 

*

 

Once there was a creature even more fragile than himself present, Xie Zhiqing seemed to have gained a bit more confidence when facing Ateus.

 

“Um…” he hesitated before extending his hand to Ateus, “I’m going to go outside to gather some grass now. See if there’s anything edible for the little rabbit. Do you want to come with me?”

 

Ateus got up from the ground, walked behind Xie Zhiqing, and used his head to push the door open.

 

Xie Zhiqing: “…”

 

What’s going on, Lang Sa kicks the door open with his foot, while Ateus uses his head to knock.