Moonlight flowed like water, spilling quietly across the window lattice of the dormitory. Emma leaned against the bedhead, reading an ancient text, while Fox Lian rested on her lap, silver hair cascading like a waterfall, his fluffy tail lazily sweeping the edge of the bed in languid rhythm.
Suddenly, he rolled over to face her, violet eyes glimmering under the lamplight with a stubborn intensity. "Emma." His voice was muffled.
"Mm?" Emma didn't lift her gaze from the book, her free hand automatically stroking the tip of his ear, fingers absently kneading the soft fur.
"Am I… the most handsome?"
Emma's hand stilled. She lowered her gaze. Fox Lian was staring at her unblinkingly, those famed "starry eyes" now holding something rare—uncertainty, a plea for reassurance.
She almost laughed. This fox, who since their relationship began had been brimming with confidence, flaunting himself at every turn, was actually asking such a question?
"Why ask that suddenly?" she teased, fingers sliding from his ear to his cheek. "Didn't someone already declare himself 'the academy's number one beauty'?"
Fox Lian caught her mischievous hand, pressing it to his face, his tone carrying a faint trace of grievance: "That's what others say. I want to hear it from you."
Emma softened at his rare vulnerability. She set aside her book, cupped his face in both hands, and studied him seriously.
Under the moonlight, his skin was pale to translucence, features sculpted like the finest divine craft. Silver lashes trembled faintly, casting delicate shadows. His violet eyes reflected only her, brimming with expectation. His fox ears quivered slightly, lined with soft silver fur glowing gently in the night.
He was… breathtaking.
Emma remembered their first meeting—her fear, her avoidance. Then being drawn to his accessories, the reckless moment she touched his ears, and finally surrendering to the tenderness of his "fluff." Every step had circled back to this face, this presence.
Her silence dimmed his gaze. His tail drooped, voice lower, tinged with insecurity: "…Do you think that merman prince, or your fiancé…"
"Foolish fox." Emma cut off his self-pity, pressing a gentle kiss to his brow, then down his nose, finally to his tense lips.
When the kiss ended, she leaned her forehead against his, meeting his rekindled violet eyes, and whispered firmly: "They may be handsome."
Feeling him stiffen, tail ready to flare, she smiled and added, tapping his chest: "But only here… is my fox."
"So," she kissed his flushed ear tip, voice thick with tenderness and possessiveness, "in my world, you will always be the most beautiful. The only one."
Fox Lian's eyes blazed brighter than stars. He flipped her into his arms, tail wrapping joyfully around her, clutching her as if she were the world's greatest treasure.
"Say it again." He buried his face in her neck, voice muffled, unable to hide his delight.
Emma laughed softly, indulgent, hugging him back, stroking the tail trembling with excitement: "You're the most beautiful, my fox."
Moonlight was gentle, the night just right.
And the next day, the entire academy knew—the aloof Fox Lian walked around grinning, tail wagging like a windmill… but that was another story.