Even foxes have dignity.

Xiao Chi wasn't in a hurry. He just sat down next to her and casually combed the fur on the back of the white fox with his fingers.

Yu Fuli was initially tense all over, but Xiao Chi's movements were not unpleasant. The force was just right, and following the flow of fur, it was actually... a little comfortable.

Coupled with his still-healing injury and low spirits, his tense nerves gradually relaxed, and he almost fell asleep under this comfortable caress.

No! I must stay alert! He forcefully shook off his sleepiness.

Soon, new food arrived.

The perfectly seared steak exudes an enticing aroma of grilled fat and spices, while the warmed milk wafts a rich, creamy fragrance.

Xiao Chi placed the plate beside the nest.

A delicate fragrance wafted into her nose. Yu Fuli's stomach rumbled loudly, unusually clear in the quiet room.

He froze, feeling utterly humiliated.

Xiao Chi chuckled softly, said nothing, and simply pushed the plate forward a little further.

I struggled internally for a full minute.

Dignity is precious, but it's even more of a loss for a fox to starve to death!

Yu Fuli finally, very slowly and with great difficulty, turned its head out of the ball of fur, revealing a pair of wet, sleepy, and wary fox eyes. It glanced at the plate, then quickly glanced at Xiao Chi.

Then, he stretched out his paw, pulled the plate in front of him, lowered his head, and began to eat the cooked steak in small bites.

The movements even had a touch of elegance (in my own opinion), and I tried my best not to make a sound.

Xiao Chi watched it eat, his interest growing even stronger.

This fox looks so much like a human.

Not only is he picky about cooked meat, but even his eating manners are awkwardly particular.

After Yu Fuli finished eating the meat, and then reservedly licked a few more mouthfuls of milk before curling up again to continue sleeping, Xiao Chi slowly spoke:

"How's the injury? Is it still very painful?"

The white fluffy ball remained motionless, pretending not to hear.

"Dr. Wen said you're recovering much faster than expected. Ordinary animals that have been shot don't wake up and eat this quickly," Xiao Chi continued, his gaze falling on its left forelimb wrapped in a dressing.

Yu Fuli's heart skipped a beat.

The abnormal physical recovery was beyond his control.

Have we been discovered?

Yu Fuli chose to bury her head even deeper.

"Take good care of your injuries." Xiao Chi glanced at the fox pretending to be dead, and finally said, standing up, "It's safe here. You're not going anywhere until I figure out what you really are and why someone shot you."

After saying that, he turned and left the room, leaving Yu Fuli, a fox, bewildered in its den.

What does "what am I?" mean? Yu Fuli was both angry and anxious. "I'm just a fox! An ordinary (not really) fox!"

However, his demonic power is currently damaged and his injuries have not yet healed. Let alone transforming back into human form, he even has difficulty maintaining consciousness.

There's no escaping it now.

We can only take it one step at a time and focus on recovering first.

He buried his head in the mat in frustration, and drifted off to sleep again in the comforting sunlight and the lingering aroma of food.

When he groggily woke up from his slumber, the first thing his still-unconscious mind caught was the sensation of his body being carefully moved.

Immediately afterwards, an enlarged, overly close-up handsome face came into view.

Xiao Chi was looking down, one hand supporting his abdomen, the other seemingly examining his hind legs, his movements filled with a pure, inquisitive curiosity.

"So it's a male fox..." Xiao Chi murmured thoughtfully.

Before the words were finished—

"hiss!"

Three fresh red marks instantly appeared on the back of Xiao Chi's hand. Yu Fuli used its uninjured right front paw to give him a sharp slap.

Yu Fuli was fully awake, his amber fox eyes burning with obvious shame and anger.

Where is that person looking?

Don't you know that even foxes have privacy?

Wen Qiaoan, who was preparing nutritional supplements nearby, looked up when she heard the noise and saw Xiao Chi being scratched. She let out a short, unceremonious laugh: "Serves you right."

Xiao Chi shook off the stinging red marks on the back of his hand, not particularly angry. He simply raised an eyebrow at the white fox, who had retreated back into the depths of the mat, its wary amber eyes glaring at him. His tone was tinged with innocent bewilderment: "Just confirming the gender, why such a big reaction?"

Yu Fuli simply didn't want to pay him any attention, burying her head in her fluffy tail, showing him with her actions that he shouldn't be touched.

Wen Qiaoan walked over with the prepared medicine, squatted down in front of Yu Fuli, and said in a much gentler voice, "Here, it's time to change the dressing. Drink this while you're at it; it'll help the wound heal."

He held a slender dropper in his hand, filled with a light green liquid that emitted a faint herbal fragrance.

Yu Fuli peeked through the gap in its tail but didn't move.

Who knows what this doctor prescribed?

If he remembered correctly, Wen Qiaoan was a doctor.

"Don't worry, it's not poisonous." Wen Qiaoan seemed to see through his concerns and patiently explained, "You've lost a lot of blood and refused to eat. This is the only way to get the necessary nutrients and antibiotics. If you don't drink it, your wound will have a hard time healing and you'll also get a fever."

Yu Fuli hesitated for a moment. He did feel weak and his wounds were throbbing.

In the end, the will to survive overcame his awkwardness, and he slowly stuck his head out a little, taking small sips of the medicine from the dropper with Wen Qiaoan's help.

The taste is surprisingly refreshing with a hint of sweetness; it's not unpleasant to drink.

Wen Qiaoan gently removed the dressing from his left forelimb and examined the wound.

The suture site was somewhat red and swollen, but there were no obvious signs of infection, and the recovery speed was indeed much faster than that of ordinary animals.

He skillfully disinfected the area and reapplied the medication and bandaged it.

"Its resilience is astonishing," Wen Qiaoan said to Xiao Chi while operating it. "Moreover, it seems to fully understand what we say, and its intelligence and response far surpass that of ordinary animals."

Xiao Chi leaned against the cabinet, his gaze never leaving the white fox that seemed docile but whose eyes were actually wandering around.

"continue."

"We initially suspect that it can understand what we are saying."

Yu Fuli listened intently, his mind racing with alarm bells.

Oh no, we've been found out!

He was about to be dissected and studied! His first instinct was to curl himself up again.

Xiao Chi walked up to him, squatted down, and looked directly into those wary fox-like eyes: "Did you hear that? You're a special little guy now. Tell me, can you understand human speech? And where did you originally belong?"

Yu Fuli kept her mouth shut, determined not to utter a sound, though she couldn't anyway.

My inner monologue is screaming: I belong to Qingqiu! You wouldn't know even if I told you! Let me go!

"Not going to tell?" Xiao Chi wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he smiled and reached out to rub the tip of Yu Fuli's ear. This time, Yu Fuli didn't scratch him but just turned his head away.

"Then just stay here and recover. Once you're healed, we'll have plenty of time to talk."

Turning around, he left with Wen Qiaoan. The two whispered a few more words. Yu Fuli strained his ears to hear them clearly, but their voices were too low, and he could only vaguely hear the words "shooting" and "no trace".

After Wen Qiaoan left, only Xiao Chi and Yu Fuli remained in the room.

Xiao Chi stopped teasing him and simply took a tablet computer and sat on the sofa not far away to work on things, occasionally glancing up at the white fox in its den.

Yu Fuli was a little annoyed. Xiao Chi seemed to be watching him too closely, and he couldn't escape even if he wanted to.

Not to mention that he has now been almost exposed.

Faced with a fox that might understand human speech, Xiao Chi didn't react in any other way. What exactly was this protagonist in the book thinking?

The sun was warm, and the medicine seemed to be taking effect; Yu Fuli felt a wave of drowsiness. Before losing consciousness, he vaguely thought: I must recover as soon as possible, at least to have the ability to protect myself and escape... And Lin Xun, I wonder how he is. It's been so long, he shouldn't be in any danger, right?

Before his consciousness sank into darkness, he seemed to sense Xiao Chi approaching and gently pulling up half of the curtain, blocking the somewhat glaring sunlight.