Chapter 7: That Thing... Was Definitely Not a Belly Button!

“Here we go, Foxy’s bath time...”
Yu Xueqing lifted the fox by the scruff of its neck with one hand and headed towards the bathroom. Then, she placed Ansheng into a large, antique-style bright red basin.
Yu Xueqing moved over to the electric water heater to adjust the temperature.

In Changxi Town, although there were self-built homes as grand as estates, none of these luxurious houses had piped gas.
Solar energy and electric water heaters were the norm here.

“Phew—”
Seeing Yu Xueqing adjusting the water temperature, Ansheng did not laze about like a lord but squatted calmly in the basin. His back gradually rested against the edge, exposing his pure white fur and fluffy coat completely.
Among the snowy white fur, near the belly, there was a black circular spot, resembling the bullseye of a target.

Ansheng’s expression was grave; he glanced up at the bright overhead light and then cautiously at Yu Xueqing.
During bath time, nothing else mattered—only the vulnerable spot exposed under the light.

“Ying, ying, ying—”
Ansheng looked warily at Yu Xueqing, as if facing a formidable enemy.

“...”
Yu Xueqing saw her fox adopt this do-or-die stance and couldn’t help but feel awkward.

At home, there were two places Ansheng never ventured into.
The first was the kitchen when Yu Xueqing was there; the second was the bathroom when she was inside.

On the first day of adopting Ansheng, inexperienced Yu Xueqing had mistaken the black circular spot on his belly for a navel and, while washing off the dirt, accidentally jabbed the center of that spot with a finger coated in shampoo.

At that moment, Yu Xueqing heard Ansheng’s terrified scream mixed with pain for the first time.
The fox went from a living creature to a curled-up ball.

It was soon clear the black bullseye on his belly had nothing to do with a navel.
Yu Xueqing’s dexterous hand almost knocked off the fox’s bell.

Since then, in the bathroom, the fox always stood under the brightest light, deeply wary of Yu Xueqing.

As for why Ansheng refused to enter the kitchen when Yu Xueqing was cooking?
Because she once splattered hot oil onto his tail.

That was the first time Ansheng truly understood his own jumping ability.

He had been innocently nuzzling her leg, trying to coax her into buying him cola.
But instead of getting his lime-flavored soda, he narrowly avoided landing in the cooking pot alongside the fish after the hot oil splashed on his tail.

“I’ve checked a thousand times; I know where the navel really is...”

Yu Xueqing’s eyes drifted, a little guilty as she tried to explain to the fox.

Honestly, with a black protrusion amid pristine white fur, it was really hard to keep one’s attention elsewhere.

Yu Xueqing reached out her hand.
Ansheng, leaning against the basin’s edge, used his tail as a support point, lifted his hind foot, and pressed it against her hand.

Yu Xueqing withdrew her hand and tried another angle.
The fox stretched out his leg, perfectly matching her wrist.

They locked eyes for a moment. Yu Xueqing silently picked up the bath sponge.

“Too harsh, not a shred of trust...”

...

After washing and drying Ansheng, Yu Xueqing tossed the fox into the bedroom and carried her clothes back to the bathroom.

“Mmm—”
Ansheng lay on the bed, rolling over and stretching lazily, feeling refreshed with no sign of tiredness despite the nightfall.

He closed his eyes and browsed through his mental “Wish List.”

As expected, a new wish appeared, one related to Yu Xueqing.

[“Ah—no trust at all, how can a dog be this wary of its owner? Yu Xueqing muttered sadly while bathing.”]

[Wish fulfilled: Foxy-brand double-door refrigerator.]

“Damn double doors!”

Seeing the wish, the fox jumped up excitedly.

He had thought Yu Xueqing would wish for him to help with live-stream sales, but instead, she suddenly wished for a Foxy double-door refrigerator.

What was a double door? Naturally, it meant the little fox could lie flat on the ground, spreading all four limbs wide.

But after thinking about it, Ansheng realized the wish made perfect sense.

In the past, foxes absorbed human yang energy to become spirits.

Now society had advanced, technology developed, and humans had reversed the trend—beginning to absorb the yang energy of small animals.

Online, there was even a group led by a user named Lady Shiji, orchestrating organized, large-scale activities to absorb small animals’ yang energy.

Lady Shiji’s appearance was sly and wicked beyond words.

“Forget it... the steel wool flower language means endurance; just consider it rent for living in the big villa.”

Ansheng muttered to himself, sprawled in a double-door pose, continuing to scroll through the list to find other easy wishes to fulfill.

But no matter how he looked, the easiest wishes were just a few elementary school kids wishing not to do homework.

Ansheng twitched at the corner of his eye—after all, he didn’t want to do homework on their behalf either.

Of course, he was happy enough to forge parents’ signatures.

Too bad technology had advanced so much that parents now had to verify their signatures with facial recognition on WeChat.

After some thought, Ansheng felt the easiest wish to fulfill was still the one Yu Xueqing had made before: the rise and fall of the tea mountain.

Yu Xueqing’s family ran a tea shop, but due to severe market homogenization, profits were steadily declining.

Her father wanted to transform the business. Having worked in the industry for a long time, he felt capable of managing a tea plantation.

But with elderly parents and children to care for, he lacked the reckless courage to fully commit. He only leased a few acres of mountain land to experiment with planting and gain experience.

However, the tea trees on those few acres would sometimes flourish and sometimes wither, driving Yu Xueqing’s father to frustration.

The cause was a mystery to both father and daughter.

But actually, it was quite simple. When Ansheng visited the mountain land, he immediately smelled something familiar.

The land Yu Xueqing’s family rented was a veritable rat’s nest; beneath the soil of the tea fields, fat, healthy mountain rats gnawed on the roots as if it were a game.

After seeing the fields, Ansheng prescribed a solution.

Thirty snakes released into the area immediately alleviated the rodent problem, and the tea trees gradually recovered.

“Yaha—my fox treasure!”

Just as Ansheng was thinking about heading back to the mountain tonight to fully solve the rodent issue,

Yu Xueqing, freshly bathed, returned to the bedroom and saw the little fox sprawled out like a flatbread, enjoying the air conditioning.

Her eyes lit up. She buried her face in the fox’s chest and let out a strange giggling sigh as she inhaled deeply.

Did the fox smell bad? Not at all. Her Ansheng had no odor, only a hint of grassy and honeyed fragrance.

The scent was intoxicating.

“Ying, ying, ying—”

Surprised by Yu Xueqing’s sudden belly attack, Ansheng felt an unbearable ticklish sensation, instinctively letting out soft fox-like whimpers and laughter.

They played until eleven at night. Yu Xueqing stroked the fox’s belly, gradually drifting into sleep.

Ansheng crawled out from under the covers, shook his snow-white fur, glanced at the door and air conditioner, and with a heroic resolve, stepped outside.

What could compel a little fox to leave the cool air-conditioned room on a hot summer night?

Was it love, responsibility, or temptation?

If Ansheng were to answer, he’d say it was the delicious aroma of the late-night snacks from the neighbor’s aunt’s house!