As their cohabitation settled into routine, Fox Lian grew dissatisfied with keeping his affection private. He wanted the entire academy to know—Emma was his, from head to toe, inside and out.
That thought reached its peak one afternoon.
Emma was in the library, studying, when a flustered bird-clan youth shyly approached, holding out a perfumed letter: "Em… Emma senior sister, this is my…"
Before he could finish, a silver tail darted in, snatching the letter away. Fox Lian appeared behind Emma, violet eyes cold as he swept his gaze over the boy: "She doesn't accept."
The youth stumbled back, intimidated: "F-Fox Lian… I only…"
"She already belongs to someone." Fox Lian cut him off, tail wrapping Emma's waist possessively, pulling her into his arms. "Can't you see?"
Emma was stunned by his sudden dominance, barely able to react before he half-embraced, half-dragged her out of the library.
"What are you doing?" Back in her dorm, Emma looked helplessly at the sulking fox.
Fox Lian pressed her against the door, tail restless: "From now on, you're not allowed to accept anything from others."
"I didn't even accept it…"
"Not even think about it!" He lowered his head, biting her lips lightly in punishment. "You can only accept mine."
Emma found his jealous antics both amusing and heartwarming. She rubbed his bristling ears: "Got it, petty fox."
But his sense of crisis didn't fade. The next day, Emma discovered her academy robe's inner sleeve embroidered with a tiny silver fox head, complete with a lifelike tail motif.
"What's this?" She held it up to the light.
Fox Lian, brewing tea, didn't even look up: "Anti-counterfeit mark."
Emma: "…" Truly, this jealous fox was incorrigible.
More outrageous still, Fox Lian began escorting Emma to and from class daily. He insisted on walking her to the classroom door, tail entwined with her hand until the last moment, then kissing her forehead in front of everyone before reluctantly leaving.
"Fox Lian," Emma protested for the umpteenth time, blushing, "everyone's watching…"
"Let them watch." He stole another kiss from her lips, unashamed. "Better they all know you're mine."
Thus, the entire academy was forced to witness the goddess Emma being "escorted" by Fox Lian every day. At first, whispers abounded, but eventually even Gu Liang stopped reacting.
"Tch," Gu Liang muttered to Cangming, arms crossed. "That fox is like a dragon guarding treasure."
Cangming nodded gravely, handing her a deep-sea pearl: "Our way is better."
But Fox Lian's declarations of sovereignty only escalated.
During alchemy class, Emma was focused on controlling the furnace flame when she felt a cool weight at her neck. Looking down, she saw that beside the fox-ear pendant Fox Lian had given her, there now hung a small silver bell. Exquisitely crafted, engraved with intricate fox clan patterns, it chimed crisply with the slightest movement.
"What's this?" Emma asked, spotting Fox Lian leaning casually against the doorway, violet eyes glinting mischievously.
"Locator bell," he replied. "So no matter where you are, I can find you."
Emma laughed in exasperation: "I'm in the academy. How could I get lost?"
"Just in case." He walked over, tail naturally wrapping her waist. "After all, my goddess is very popular."
He flicked the bell lightly, its clear chime echoing in the alchemy room. Satisfied, he leaned close to whisper in her ear: "Now everyone knows you're mine."
That night, Emma discovered her shoelaces, hair ribbons, even her alchemy fan all tied with matching little bells.
And the fox's explanation? "So when you walk, it's like saying 'Fox Lian's, Fox Lian's, Fox Lian's.'"