Moonlight flowed like water, spilling quietly across the dormitory window. Emma leaned against Fox Lian's chest, fingers idly combing the softest tuft of fur at his tail tip. Suddenly, she looked up and asked: "Fox Lian, when you were little… were you a crybaby?"
She truly couldn't imagine it—the aloof, noble fox lord who could shatter countless hearts with a single glance, as a child.
Fox Lian's fingers paused in her hair, violet eyes flickering unnaturally in the moonlight. "Who said that?" he tried to sound calm, but the tense twitch of his tail tip betrayed him.
Emma chuckled, poking his sensitive ear root: "Just guessing. Your ears are so sensitive, your tail trembles at a touch—you must've been a little crybaby."
"Nonsense." His ears flushed red, tail trying to slip from her grasp, but Emma held it firmly.
"Let me guess…" Emma's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Did you cry when you tripped? When other fox kits stole your toys? Did you need to hug your tail to sleep?"
"Emma!" Fox Lian tried to cover her mouth in embarrassment, but she dodged deftly.
They tumbled together onto the soft blanket, his tail instinctively curling around her waist, ears red as blood. Under her relentless gaze, he finally buried his face in her shoulder, muttering in defeat: "…Only cried a few times."
"A few?" Emma raised a brow.
"…A few times a month."
Emma burst into laughter, picturing it—a silver-haired, violet-eyed little fox, fluffy ears and tail, eyes brimming with tears over the smallest things, clutching his tail and sobbing…
"The academy girls who worship you should see this side of you." She teased, pinching his burning ears.
Fox Lian lifted his head, violet eyes shimmering with moisture, tinged with grievance: "You despise me now?"
"How could I?" Emma's heart melted, kissing the damp corner of his eye. "I think it's adorable."
Then, with sudden inspiration, she pulled out a memory stone from her bracelet: "Want to cry for me now? I'll keep it as a memento."
"Emma!" Fox Lian lunged to snatch the stone, tail flailing in panic. "Don't you dare!"
In the end, the stone was confiscated. But as compensation, Fox Lian had to sign an "unequal treaty"—allowing Emma to hug his tail three times a month, touch his ears freely, and occasionally recount childhood embarrassments.
Thus, classmates at the academy noticed that Fox Lian's ears were often flushed in public lately, while Emma frequently gazed at her fingertips with a mysterious smile.
Only Gu Liang, once again struck head-on by General Cangming's blunt affections, gnawed angrily on dried fish: "Damn it! Even his dark past is cute! That fox really is a monster!"