It was past midnight. The den was quiet.
The fire had burned low, casting shadows across the fur-strewn floor.
Yin Yue lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, hands folded over his chest like a man awaiting burial.
Lang Zhu was beside him, breathing slow and steady. Yin Yue turned his head.
"I have a question."
Lang Zhu murmured, "Mm?"
"Why me?"
Lang Zhu opened his eyes, said nothing.
So Yin Yue filled the space because of course he did.
"I mean..you could've chosen anyone. There are literal fox spirits in this village. That hawk beastman? Absurdly hot. I'm just..me."
Lang Zhu rolled onto his side. Propped himself up on one elbow and looked at Yin Yue like the question itself was strange.
Then said:
"You're clever. You make things grow with your hands."
Yin Yue blinked.
"You ask questions no one else dares to ask."
"…Like why you bring dead rabbits as proposals?"
Lang Zhu nodded. "Exactly."
"You're kind," he added. "Even when you don't want to be."
Yin Yue's breath hitched.
"You challenge me," Lang Zhu said, lower now. "And you stay."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
💘 ML LOVE CONFESSION: Direct Hit
🫠 HOST STATUS: Emotionally Disarmed
🛏️ BED SHARING: Upgraded to "Forehead Touching"
Yin Yue couldn't look away.
"I thought you liked me because I was different," he whispered.
Lang Zhu shook his head. "I love you because you're you."
Silence. The fire popped once. Yin Yue turned his head into the pillow.
"I'm going to cry."
Lang Zhu pulled him close.
"So?"
"It's embarrassing."
"It's mine."
> 💘 ML POSSESSION: Gentle
🫶 HOST HEART: Fully Owned
🧠 DEN INTIMACY: Absolute
Yin Yue buried his face in Lang Zhu's chest. Didn't speak again, didn't have to.
Lang Zhu leaves a gift for Yin Yue: a carved stone charm, simple but carefully made, with tiny wolf-ear details and a pattern from their shared blanket.
Yin Yue found it on the edge of his pillow. Small and smooth stone. Not just a rock but carved.
A little oval talisman etched with wolf ears, and on the back, a tiny looping spiral of thread the same shape woven into their mating blanket.
It was simple and rough in places. Obviously made by hand. He stared at it for a full minute.
Then sat down slowly on the bedding like someone had just proposed again and he needed to reassess his entire emotional budget.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🎁 GIFT TYPE: Symbolic Craft
🫠 HOST STATUS: Crying Over a Rock
💘 ML STATUS: Emotionally Assassinating with Zero Regret
Lang Zhu entered a few minutes later, carrying herbs. Saw him and paused.
"You found it," he said.
Yin Yue lifted it wordlessly.
Lang Zhu said, "It's for your pouch. For luck."
Yin Yue blinked rapidly. "Why is it shaped like your ears."
Lang Zhu: "So you remember who's watching over you."
Yin Yue made a sound that might've been a sob or a laugh or a small emotional implosion.
"Stop it," he whispered.
Lang Zhu stepped forward. "What?"
"You can't just..leave rocks near my face and win me over."
Lang Zhu raised an eyebrow. "Is it working?"
Yin Yue clutched the charm to his chest.
"…Maybe."
> 🫶 INTIMACY STATUS: Spiraling Softness
💘 ML LOVE STYLE: Silent, Symbolic, Devastating
🧠 HOST REALIZATION: This Is It. This Is Everything.
Later, Yin Yue wore it on a cord around his neck.
Didn't mention it again. But Lang Zhu saw it and smiled.
Didn't need to say a word.
Yin Yue decides he's going to return the favor. He spends an afternoon trying to carve something or anything for Lang Zhu. The result is a lumpy, asymmetrical little wolf.
Yin Yue stared at the half-carved chunk of wood in his hands.
It had started as a wolf. Now it looked more like a very tired fox that had lost a fight with a squirrel.
He cursed softly under his breath and tried again.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🪵 GIFT ATTEMPT: Active
🛠️ CRAFTING SKILL: Not Good
🫠 HOST MOOD: Embarrassed but Determined
He kept at it. Sandpapered the snout. Trimmed the tail.
Tried to fix the ears then accidentally gave the poor thing three.
Feng Xia appeared halfway through and stared.
"…What is that."
"It's love," Yin Yue snapped.
Feng Xia coughed violently. "It's also cursed."
"I didn't ask your opinion."
"You never do, and yet I always give it."
Yin Yue glared at him until he left, then finished the carving. Ugly and lumpy.
That night, he set it quietly on Lang Zhu's side of the bedding.
Said nothing and went to sleep. Pretended not to care.
Until Lang Zhu picked it up. Turned it over in his hand and smiled.
Not a small smile or not a smirk but a real, full, soft smile that cracked straight through Yin Yue's defenses.
Yin Yue peeked through the blanket. "It's hideous."
Lang Zhu shook his head. "It's perfect."
"You're just saying that because you're in love with me."
"Yes."
"…Wait."
Lang Zhu tucked the carving into his pouch.
"I'll keep it with me. Always."
> 💘 ML STATUS: Emotionally Wrecked by Ugly Gift
🫶 HOST STATUS: Unprepared for How Much That Meant
🧠 RELATIONSHIP PROGRESS: Peak Softness
Yin Yue buried his face in the furs.
"I hate this feeling."
Lang Zhu kissed the top of his head.
"You don't."
Yin Yue groaned but he smiled too.
Late one night, Yin Yue curls against Lang Zhu's chest, the fire had died down to glowing coals and the den was quiet.
Yin Yue still lay curled against Lang Zhu's chest, fingers playing absently with the edge of his robe, too full of love to sleep and too scared to say it again out loud when Lang Zhu was awake.
So he waited until his breathing slowed. Until his hand relaxed at Yin Yue's back.
Until Yin Yue was sure absolutely, definitely sure that he was asleep.
Then he whispered:
"I love you."
Soft and not rushed. Just fact simple and true.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
💘 LOVE CONFESSION: Voluntary, Unforced
🛏️ ML STATUS: Actually Awake
🫠 HOST STATUS: Emotionally Raw, Peacefully So
Lang Zhu didn't move and didn't speak. Yin Yue smiled faintly into his chest.
"Of course you're asleep for this."
Lang Zhu's voice came, low and close to his ear:
"I'm not."
Yin Yue froze. Lang Zhu's arm curled tighter.
"Say it again."
Yin Yue groaned. "I already did."
Lang Zhu: "I want to hear it when I'm looking at you."
Yin Yue peeked up and met his eyes. Its dark, focused and devoted.
And said, very quietly..
"I love you."
Lang Zhu didn't smile or didn't smirk he just touched his forehead to Yin Yue's.
And whispered, "I know."
Then kissed him like the world had always meant for this.
A visiting merchant beastman flirts with Yin Yue. It's light and it's harmless.
The merchant was just being nice. That's what Yin Yue told himself.
Tall. Handsome. Leopard-spotted. Charming.
He smiled across the basket table and said, "You new here?"
Yin Yue nodded, half-laughing. "Been here a while, actually."
"You don't look like anyone else."
"I get that a lot."
The merchant leaned closer. "That's not a bad thing."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🐾 FLIRTATION LEVEL: Moderate
🐺 ML STATUS: Approaching Fast
🫠 HOST STATUS: Oblivious, Temporarily
And then lang Zhu appeared.
No sound just presence.
Heavy. Immediate. Absolute.
He stepped between them didn't speak.
Just stared the merchant down for five full seconds of territorial tension.
Yin Yue blinked. "Lang Zhu?"
Lang Zhu looked at him. Then, calmly, slid an arm around his waist. Pulled him close and said to the merchant:
"He's mine."
Beat.
"Not yours."
Beat.
"Ever."
> 💘 POSSESSIVENESS: Deployed
🧠 HOST HEART: Offline
📢 CROWD STATUS: Stirring, Whispering, One Rabbit Fainted
The merchant blinked. Raised his hands.
"Understood," he said, and backed away slowly like a man who had almost stepped on a sacred altar and survived.
Yin Yue stood frozen. Pressed against Lang Zhu's side. Unable to form coherent thought.
"Yours?" he squeaked.
Lang Zhu looked down at him. Tail flicking slightly.
"You are."
"You can't just say things like that in public!"
"I just did."
"People are watching!"
"I know."
Yin Yue covered his face.
From somewhere nearby, Feng Xia shouted, "Say it again but louder!!"
> 🫠 HOST STATUS: Dead
🛏️ ML STATUS: Emotionally Victorious
💬 VILLAGE STATUS: Gossiping Uncontrollably
Yin Yue buried his face in Lang Zhu's shoulder and whispered, "I hate you."
Lang Zhu, voice low and smug: "No, you don't."
And Yin Yue didn't.
Yin Yue tries to pretend he wasn't deeply affected by Lang Zhu's very public "he's mine" moment.
Yin Yue spent the rest of the afternoon hiding behind a drying rack. Literally.
Feng Xia found him two hours later, clinging to a length of linen like it could protect his dignity.
"You okay?" the fox asked, grinning.
"I'm fine."
"You're red."
"I'm cold."
"It's eighty degrees."
"Shut up."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🧠 HOST DENIAL LEVEL: Maxed
💘 PHYSICAL CONTACT TOLERANCE: Critically Low
🫶 ML STATUS: Smug and Approaching
Lang Zhu found him not long after. Didn't say anything just handed him a cup of tea and touched the small of his back.
Yin Yue jumped like he'd been tased.
Lang Zhu blinked. "Sensitive today."
Yin Yue hissed, "Don't start."
Lang Zhu leaned closer. "Start what?"
"You know what."
Lang Zhu brushed his fingers up his spine. "Do I?"
Yin Yue short-circuited and had to sit down.
> 💘 TOUCH COUNT: 3 (Back, Shoulder, Waist)
🫠 HOST STATUS: Overheated
🐺 ML STATUS: Still Not Sorry
At dinner, Lang Zhu sat beside him of course and didn't even touch his food.
Just rested a hand on Yin Yue's thigh and carried on a conversation like that was normal.
Yin Yue dropped his spoon. Mi Mi choked on soup.
Feng Xia whispered, "They're disgusting. I want what they have."
Yin Yue muttered, "I'm going to combust."
Lang Zhu calmly poured him more stew.
"You're mine," he said again.
Soft this time. Just for Yin Yue to hear.
And the worst part? Yin Yue didn't argue. He just leaned in.