Chapter 69
Shang Xi looked at the message on her phone inviting her to dine, then looked up at Gu Wen again, holding a trace of strange doubt and puzzlement.
Gu Wen had invited her with ulterior motives. Seeing her look at him, he moved his eyes away uneasily and raised his hand to tidy up the cub's neat clothes.
He lowered his long eyelashes, covering up the deep shy affection in his eyes.
Shang Xi paused. She felt something was off.
She looked towards the main table where Gu Wen's friends were sitting. She had seen them last time.
That time, Gu Wen had also deliberately typed and sent a message to her.
But the content was completely opposite.
That time, he said: When you see my friends, I hope you can speak as little as possible, thank you.
Now, he said: Can I invite you to sit next to me for dinner?
The change was quite big. At that time, he clearly didn't want her to join his circle of friends.
Just because he inexplicably liked her now, there were these changes?
Shang Xi slightly hooked the corner of her lips, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
What to do, she...didn't seem to want to agree anymore.
In fact, today was Gu Wen's birthday, and they also had a cub. According to her past self, being a little more mature, she could have let it go.
When she was bullied by her cousin's children when she was little, most adults would say, let her not take it to heart.
After she nodded, her relatives would pat her head and praise her for being sensible.
She depended on others for food and shelter, she had no choice. Over time, when she grew up, she got used to not taking it to heart on the surface, being magnanimous on the surface, but her heart was cold and mocking.
After all, they were not important people, not people she would be with long term, so it didn't matter. Just deal with them with her usual attitude.
Sometimes she felt like she was split in two. She was not gentle at all, she was not magnanimous at all, she held grudges, if someone did something to her, she would shut the door and not want to get close to them.
Since she was little, she never had the capital to get angry and just leave. If she ran out of the door after getting angry at her relatives’ house, would they come to take her back?
No one came to take her back, she had tried it.
She envied those children who went on hunger strikes when they were upset, she envied those children who could quarrel with their parents.
If she didn’t eat, then so be it, if she quarreled, she was an “ungrateful wretch.”
Gu Wen's invitation to dinner could be a big or small matter. She should have agreed to let it go, one more thing or one less thing, as long as everyone was happy.
But for some reason, a string in her heart that had been sensible for many years suddenly didn't want to obey.
So she also started typing to reply.
"Forget it, that table is all Gu’s good friends, right? I talk a lot, I'm afraid I'll get too familiar with your friends by accident."
After clicking send, she walked towards the wolf couple from earlier, and naturally became one table with them.
Would Gu Wen be angry?
Probably few people would refuse his invitation, right?
However, whether he was angry or not, she didn't care.
"You..." The mother of the little girl wolf cub was stunned, seemingly unexpected that the master's wife would be at their table.
Shang Xi smiled, "Let's eat together, it just so happens I'm a little hungry too."
"Okay okay! It's just..." The female wolf looked back at the master behind her.
Gu Wen held the cub in one hand and looked at the text message on the phone.
The whole wolf was a little stunned.
She had refused.
He also thought of that dinner. He wanted to take the cub to meet his friends. At that time the cub didn't know him well yet, without Shang Xi the cub might not be willing to go, so he reluctantly invited her and sent a very foolish text message...
Now that she didn't agree to his invitation, it was understandable and reasonable.
There was no reason that whatever he said went.
She was the cub's mother, not his employee.
Gu Wen took a deep breath, suppressing the fleeting gloom in his eyes. Holding the cub, he walked straight towards Shang Xi.
If she didn't come, it was fine, he would go to her.
After all, he had to run towards her.
After Shang Xi sat down, she smiled and greeted the wolves. The wolves looked at her eagerly. Shang Xi thought, what's wrong with sitting and dining with them?
Why go to Gu Wen's table of friends?
At the last dinner, she had only met them once. It wasn't her misperception that she felt some of Gu Wen's friends seemed to have a problem with her.
Just as she was thinking, she felt someone standing next to her.
At the same time, she heard the soft bump of the table, and the wolves' obviously more excited, honored voices, "Master!!"
"Oh my! The master is here!!"
Shang Xi was slightly stunned and slowly raised her eyes.
Meeting Gu Wen's pitch black eyes, he pursed his thin lips, his long eyes lowered, and he said, "I was wrong before, may I sit here?"
"......"
With so many wolves and his son present, could she still say no?
What shocked her more was when did this lone wolf become so shameless? Sitting anywhere also required asking her permission, wasn't this his own home!
And he wasn't sitting with his friends anymore?
The wolves at the table all looked at her, just short of begging her to nod.
They seemed to really want to sit at the same table as Gu Wen.
At the same time, some discussion began.
"Did the master upset his mate?"
"Sounds like it, he's trying to make up."
"So the master is really together with this pure human."
"No duh, they even have a cub together, how could they not be together?"
"Even Master is like us in this kind of situation. I'm most afraid of upsetting my mate, her wolf bite really hurts."
"The master's mate is a pure human, the wolf bite doesn't hurt right? How nice."
............
Shang Xi didn't hear these discussions, of course Gu Wen heard them. The corner of his lips curled up imperceptibly. Seeing Shang Xi nod her head and say, "You can sit wherever you want," Gu Wen's lips parted, and he answered almost without thinking, "But I only want to sit next to you."
As soon as he said this, some of the wolves started howling.
Shang Xi was caught off guard hearing this somewhat ambiguous remark. She frowned slightly and glanced at Gu Wen.
What was with this lone wolf?
She saw Gu Wen was embarrassed himself after saying that. Under the black short hair, his ears turned red.
He lowered his long eyes, glanced at her then looked away again.
A flash of chagrin crossed his eyes. Would Shang Xi feel he was too frivolous?
Shang Xi suddenly leaned towards him. Gu Wen's body stiffened.
She reached out her hand.
Gu Wen didn't dare move his whole body.
Then he heard Shang Xi say, "...when did he fall asleep again? It's time to eat and he's sleeping again."
She was looking at the cub, she was talking about the cub.
Gu Wen let out a slight breath of relief, and was inexplicably somewhat disappointed. No, disappointed? What was he thinking...
The cub had indeed fallen asleep, lying in his father's arms. His long straight eyelashes were like a row of little fans. His little hand grabbed the hem of his clothes, sleeping soundly.
Gu Wen had said before that sleeping more was good during this period of bone development. Shang Xi also didn't plan on waking up her son.
Let him wake up and eat later.
Other than her, the wolves were all eating meat.
Nanfeng Courtyard made beef, mutton, pork, horse meat, Snow Rabbit meat, Snowbird meat...
Anyway it was just meat to fill them up.
Shang Xi thought this must be a carnivore's paradise.
At the center main table.
Fu Su spread his hands and shook his head with a smile, "Alright, let's eat our food."
"It's really different when you have a mate you like."
"Isn't White Tail coming down?"
"She has too many pursuers, she's hiding now."
Qin Ming withdrew his gaze from Gu Wen and silently thought, he didn't expect Gu Wen would also become one of those wolves chasing after their mate.
Finding a mate so early, wasn't that a bit troublesome?
Just as he was thinking this, he noticed a gaze staring at him next to him.
It was Blue Tail.
Sitting at the same table with the Black Tails, she almost forgot to eat, staring at Qin Ming with her beautiful eyes, with too many things hidden in them, there were love, longing, heartache and grievance.
Qin Ming paused slightly and withdrew his gaze.
The last time he came to Qingcheng, he didn't go to see her.
Now there were too many werewolves here, she didn't dare come looking for him. She was so timid that even though she wanted to talk to him, she didn't dare come over.
He sighed and went to the quiet lakeside after the meal.
Sure enough, the female werewolf came over in a hurry, stopping two meters away in her blue long skirt.
"When are you leaving this time?"
"Tonight."
"Don't you want to see me? Have I become a nuisance to you? I know you came to Qingcheng last time but didn't come to see me. I've been looking forward to seeing you, waiting for you to come find me." Blue Tail became more and more aggrieved as she spoke, with tears falling down her face: "Do you dislike me now? Think I'm useless?"
Qin Ming turned around and sighed: "No, I don't dislike you."
Blue Tail was wearing a light blue off-the-shoulder long dress, revealing snow-white skin. She had dressed up today, even putting on lipstick.
"You like things that pure human females use?" Qin Ming asked.
Blue Tail immediately covered her face, but felt the action was too abrupt and put her hand down in embarrassment. She lowered her head and said, "Yes, Xiangxi taught me." She lowered her head even more, somewhat embarrassed, "...Does it not look good?"
Qin Ming looked at her deeply without nodding or denying, and said, "Use whatever you like, whether I think it looks good or not is unimportant."
He wasn't her partner, there was no need to ask him. For some reason, he didn't say what came to his mouth.
His nose twitched as he sniffed the air.
She still had a faint scent of that male werewolf, the brown one, Brown Tail.
Qin Ming's mood became irritable.
"How old is that male werewolf at the flower shop?"
He suddenly asked.
The change of topic was so abrupt that Blue Tail was stunned for a moment, then honestly answered, "There's still a month until he turns 20."
Qin Ming's lips tightened slightly, his tone a little uncontrolled in its sternness: "You know it so clearly?"
He seemed even more irritable.
"No, he said it himself." Blue Tail sensitively perceived his mood and carefully said, "Are you unhappy?"
"No." Qin Ming steadied his breathing.
Did that young male werewolf fail to restrain his scent, or was it deliberate...
No, it was none of his business.
It was Blue Tail's freedom to find a partner, he couldn't make any commitments so he shouldn't delay others.
Blue Tail needed protection so much, it was good for her to confirm a partner early.
Thinking this, he said a few more words then left without looking back. But in his heart, there was an uncomfortable feeling he couldn't ignore.
Gu Wen's 30th birthday was spent exceptionally harmoniously and peacefully. The clansmen ate, drank and chatted in Nanfeng Courtyard, leaving after sunset.
Only familiar faces were left in Nanfeng Courtyard.
White Tail had gone off somewhere unknown, and Xiangxi kept looking for her but didn't see her.
Night fell.
In Nanfeng Courtyard, the Black Tails were moving the gifts brought by the clansmen. The werewolves had all heard that the head of the family had a cub, and specifically brought some small gifts for Baby Shang. There were snow rabbit bones for the cub to grind his teeth on.
There were transparent white snow stone necklaces.
There were blue stones from the snowy mountain streams.
The werewolves helped unpack the exquisite big boxes, taking out the small gifts and handing them to the cub.
Shang Bao really liked these odd little gifts. Holding them bundled in his clothes, he climbed the stairs step by step to his room.
When Xiangxi came out after her shower, she saw her son had spread out all kinds of little trinkets on the blanket in his room.
"Mom, I'm giving you the prettiest necklace."
That snow stone necklace.
"What is this, jade?" Xiangxi picked it up and examined it closely. "Looks quite nice."
The white and transparent stone faintly emitted a soft glow.
Mother and son curiously looked at it for a while before Gu Wen came to feed the cub.
Xiangxi was wearing a white nightgown. Seeing him come, she habitually got up and went to the balcony.
Gu Wen's gaze kept following her, but Xiangxi kept her head lowered playing on her phone, not glancing back at him even once.
Gu Wen's lips tightened. He returned to the bedroom.
Lying in bed, he couldn't fall asleep, his mind full of Xiangxi and the progress of their relationship.
He held the button, staring at it in the dark for a good while. His ears grew hot, but his actions were decisive as he brought it under his nose and took a deep sniff.
It was entirely her scent.
His ears and tail popped right out.
He suddenly sat up in bed, grabbed the little box, and took out all the buttons that belonged to Xiangxi.
Holding them in his hand, there was a small handful.
No one would know that late at night, the tall werewolf was gently wagging his big tail in his room, holding buttons and feeling excited and shy.
He didn't know how to get closer to Xiangxi.
Only at this late hour could he go crazy like this alone.
He even took out his chat records with Cangling, listening to Cangling's recordings, which were the stories Xiangxi had told at the very beginning.
Listening to her gentle and pleasing voice, it was as if she was sounding right by his ear, her voice so close yet no one was next to him.
Gu Wen felt restless, thinking about this and that, sometimes shy, sometimes crazy, sometimes downcast, sometimes excited.
When he woke up in the morning...
Recalling some inappropriate scenes from his dreams, Gu Wen took a cold shower before going downstairs.
He felt this couldn't go on. It wasn't even mating season yet his heart was so unsettled, no different from those young werewolves who had never fallen in love, like the Black Tails.
But it seemed he had never fallen in love either.
Gu Wen resigned himself to the fact that he was no different from the Black Tails.
Oh, perhaps he had underestimated Black Tail. That guy already had someone he liked.
Right now, Black Tail was being surrounded by clansmen forcing him to confess.
"Come clean, Black Tail. Where did you meet her?"
"She's a pure human female, not a female werewolf."
"Black Tail you rascal, you've got skills. You're the first to find a partner, introduce us."
Black Tail gripped his phone tightly, unable to stop smiling: "...We're just chatting online for now, it's called an online romance. Haven't met her in person yet. But I really like her voice."
Xiangxi silently took a bite of her food, thinking werewolves were even starting online romances nowadays.
Did the other party know she was chatting with a werewolf?
Black Tail had a blissful, sweet expression: "I've known her for half a year. She calls me big brother. She plays games with me. It'd be great if she really became my partner."
The other werewolves were sour grapes.
"Damn, this traitor secretly found someone. Get out!"
"I feel awful!"
"I really do like her. She said she doesn't look very good. I don't care about looks. I really quite like her." Black Tail was bubbling over with happiness.
Listening to this, Xiangxi felt something was off.
"We're meeting this Saturday, Xiangxi. Help me coordinate an outfit, okay?"
"Oh, sure."
Gu Wen ate in silence, watching Black Tail's pathetic state. The more he looked, the more annoyed he got.
Even Black Tail had someone now!
He glanced at Xiangxi, his heartbeat racing like thunder.
Ahem...
"Shang Xi, are we going swimming today?" He glanced at Xiangxi again and spoke up.
His expression didn't reveal anything, but his heart had already turned over itself several times.