"It’s inherent." Xiu Xi answered, faint traces of light flickered beneath his downcast eyelids.
She didn’t know how to respond to that.
"Don’t you know yourself?" she asked again.
Just like her, not knowing how she suddenly acquired the golden finger.
Xiu Xi looked at her, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Still failing to pry any substantial information from him, Ruan Jiaojiao felt a bit disappointed. However, considering the little secrets she herself was hiding, she thought it wasn’t a big deal—it’s not like everyone doesn’t have secrets they can’t share, right?
Ruan Jiaojiao was an expert at self-consolation and her mood brightened once again.
She picked up the plump creature circling around her and began kneading it, laughing joyfully.
Xiu Xi watched her, his gaze filled with tenderness.
Before him unconsciously surfaced the scene when he first met her.
He had lived in that forest for over ten thousand years, not remembering since when he became spiritually awakened.
The first day he awakened, he descended the mountain, but after wandering around at the foot of the mountain a few times, he found it dull and returned to continue living his life as the King of All Beasts.
But even as the King of All Beasts, he was lonely, for in that place, only he had awakened intelligence; the other beasts were nothing but food in his eyes, and he did not hold them in esteem.
And so he lived in solitude for many, many years.
Until that day, when she suddenly entered his line of sight—on that day, he had just finished feasting and was lying on the ground dozing off, with a pile of his unfinished food beside him.
Before he could truly fall asleep, a strange scent reached his nose. He opened his eyes lazily, just a thin slit.
And then he saw a tiny thing, even smaller than his paws, wobbling over. It seemed to be testing whether he was asleep, lingered for a while in front of his nose, and then confidently bared her tiny fangs at him with a huff.
The breath she exhaled even smelled of milk, yet she seemed to think herself very formidable, with a face filled with smugness.
Seeing that he didn’t react, her eyes lit up, and she bounded over, wagging her little tail as she bit into the prey beside him.
Regrettably, her small teeth proved to be nearly useless, unable to tear off even a piece of meat.
He just watched her, tiny mouth biting a piece of meat, her slender body, only skin and bones, rolling on the ground, struggling, straining, and she managed to tear off a little bit of meat...
She looked as if she had tasted some kind of unprecedentedly delicious food and even purred with pleasure!
At that time, he could only think that this little thing was incredibly brazen; in this forest, no creature dared covet his food, not even the leftovers he didn’t want. But her, so tiny, not even the size of his paw, dared to tear at his food in front of him.
He watched her like a toy, as she wiggled her little bottom and gnawed at his meat right in front of him, ate her fill, and even dared to glance over triumphantly before running away.
In the days that followed, he would bring prey to the same spot, half-close his eyes to nap, waiting for this little one to show up...
"Jiaojiao, come change your clothes; we’re going to town for photos."
Ruan Jie’s voice suddenly called out from outside, interrupting Xiu Xi’s reverie. He withdrew his gaze, looking at Ruan Jiaojiao who was still playing with Little Wolf cub and inadvertently making herself giggle, his eyes filled with indulgence.
Ruan Jie had already made his way to the backyard and pulled Ruan Jiaojiao, who was sitting on the threshold: "Sister, hurry up, I’ve already changed my clothes. I’m just waiting for you."