Chapter 34
Chapter 34
She glanced at the son in Gu Wen's arms.
In the end, she didn't say anything.
Today marked the thirtieth day at Nanfeng Courtyard.
Exactly one month.
She actually wanted to ask where the other werewolves had gone, what happened? Are they okay?
After giving it some thought, she decided not to ask.
Although she had a good relationship with the werewolves, she was, after all, a pure human. In this household, she was still an outsider, the only pure human.
Everyone (the werewolves) had their own privacy, and they wouldn't tell her everything when they had something going on. She understood.
If they wanted to tell her, they would naturally do so.
And she would listen when they spoke.
After dinner, Cang Ling took the initiative and said, "Master, let me drive to Moshan Grassland."
Black Tail hastened to say, "No, I'll drive."
Gu Wen glanced at them and said, "No need, I'll drive myself."
Shang Xi was taken aback for a moment. So, this time, it would be just the three of them?
She thought there would be a large group.
In the end, Gu Wen drove out in another black Bentley. Shang Xi wasn't surprised when she saw the child safety seat inside.
The weather was nice today, with bright sunshine. It was neither hot nor cold in Qingcheng's May.
She brought a small water bottle for her son, wolf milk powder, and a little jacket in case it got cold there.
She also brought some fruits and snacks.
She even packed a bug repellent spray in her bag.
Gu Wen drove for three hours, taking the mother and son to Moshan Grassland.
Moshan Grassland had a total area of 5,300 square kilometers. It was vast and abundant in resources. When the sheep grazed with their heads down, it looked like clouds had fallen to the ground from a distance.
Many times, Dai Cen, who was in charge of procurement, would place orders with the herders here.
It wasn't far from Qingcheng and was a place loved by the werewolf clans.
Even in broad daylight, they could show their ears and tails here without anyone noticing.
Gu Wen had a reason for bringing his cub here.
He wanted to teach his cub something.
He had contracted a large area of grassland here, where no idle people were allowed to enter.
Shang Xi was amazed when she came here for the first time. Under the sunlight and in the gentle breeze, she stepped on the tender grass. There were unknown little flowers blooming on the grassland, and they smelled particularly fragrant.
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At first, she had reservations because Gu Wen was there, but she couldn't resist and ended up lying on the tender grass, feeling so comfortable that she wanted to sigh.
Even the little unpleasantness in the house about the werewolves was temporarily forgotten.
Not far away, Gu Wen was teaching his son.
"Retract your ears and tail within a second."
The cub was a bit nervous, and small beads of sweat had already formed on his fair face. He obediently listened.
The next second, his small tail, which had been involuntarily wagging, froze for a moment and disappeared with a swish.
Gu Wen spoke in a deep voice, "Do it again."
This time, the cub didn't forget his little tail.
At first, Shang Xi was sunbathing, taking pictures of herself, enjoying the sunshine with her eyes closed. But then she quietly moved toward the father and son, perking up her ears to listen.
She was quite curious about what Gu Wen was going to say.
"...We werewolves have four different forms."
"The first kind is the pure wolf form," Gu Wen said, holding a book that he had somehow acquired. In the picture, a large green and black wolf stood on the grassland, baring its sharp teeth menacingly.
Baby Shang tilted his head. "Is this Uncle Green Tail?"
"Yes," Gu Wen nodded. "Two seconds, and he transforms into the pure wolf form."
Baby Shang exclaimed in acknowledgment and followed suit, successfully imitating the transformation.
Gu Wen turned a page. "This is the second form."
In the picture, a brown werewolf stood upright in human form, wearing clothes that revealed no difference in appearance from its head, limbs, and the pure wolf form.
"This is the third form."
Then, Baby Shang saw Black Tail inside the house. He hadn't changed much, with large ears on top of his head and a big tail behind him. He was dressed in casual white attire, smiling at the camera. He looked the same as he usually did in the house.
Gu Wen flipped another page. "This is the fourth form..."
Then, Gu Wen pursed his lips.
In the picture, a fifteen-year-old boy wearing a white shirt and loose black pants appeared. His chin was slightly pointed, and his eyes had a somewhat melancholic gaze fixed on the camera. He looked completely human.
The fourth form of the werewolves was to be indistinguishable from humans, just like they were now.
Baby Shang furrowed his small eyebrows. "Who is he?"
He felt a sense of familiarity. If he wasn't mistaken, it was that person whom he didn't particularly like. He had seen him once before, looking at his mom with disgust in his eyes.
After a while, he heard his father's voice.
"He is called Gray Tail."
Baby Shang responded uninterestedly, confirming his suspicions.
Gu Wen took one last look at the picture, his expression unchanged, and closed the book.
A gentle breeze blew across the grassland, and he thought about the time when Gray Tail had arrived at Nanfeng Courtyard a month ago. At that time, apart from being a little pleasant towards himself, he didn't like anyone.
And the werewolf taking the photos was Cang Ling.
Upon hearing the name Gray Tail, Shang Xi also paused.
Since that day, she hadn't seen Gray Tail again.
In fact, in the days following that night, she had wondered where Gray Tail had gone. She herself had been injured because of Gray Tail, which was true, but when she thought about his past of being abused, her emotions became complicated.
The relationship between those werewolves and Gray Tail seemed to be pretty good. Sometimes, when they unintentionally mentioned Gray Tail, they would quickly stop and cautiously glance at her, as if they were afraid she would get angry.
But she really wasn't angry.
Gradually, she learned more about Gray Tail from their conversations.
Gray Tail's wolf father and wolf mother had once ventured into the mountains during his early wolf cub days. The two werewolves didn't fare well in the human world, lacking education and skills. They had simple minds and went to construction sites to earn money by carrying bricks, wanting to buy meat to eat without having to hunt.
If they could earn a lot of money, they could have an endless supply of meat.
However, something happened at the construction site, and the couple died.
Gray Tail was overwhelmed with grief, unable to maintain his human form and transformed into a pure wolf cub. He was captured by a drunken man and kept as a dog, enduring long periods of abuse.
As a pure wolf cub, he couldn't speak, only making howling sounds.
After escaping, he had to fend for himself and barely made it to fifteen years old. He was saved by an accident involving Gu Wen and brought to Nanfeng Courtyard, where he had a decent life for a while, not even reaching twenty years old.
Now, the life he had worked so hard for was gone.
The conversation happened the day before yesterday, and it didn't sit well with her.
"Actually, I'm not so angry anymore. Can we let him come back?" She approached Black Tail with these words.
After all, she was only staying for six months. She would leave after six months.
As long as Gray Tail promised not to hurt her anymore, he could stay in Nanfeng Courtyard for however long he wanted. Compared to them, she was the one who didn't fit in, the sudden "intruder."
Yes, Shang Xi felt like an "intruder" in Nanfeng Courtyard.
Everything made her believe so.
First, there was the complicated relationship between Gu Wen, the owner of Nanfeng Courtyard, and her.
Second, she was a pure human, feeling out of place and unable to blend in.
Third, she was just passing through here because her son needed the special cold spring.
Fourth, it was partly her own fault. She didn't want to live in other people's houses anymore, so she worked hard and bought her own house.
All of this made her feel like an "intruder."
As for her son, he was Gu Wen's only cub, the beloved little master of the house. He was the most qualified person to live in Nanfeng Courtyard.
And she, as the "intruder," actually "expelled" a native like Gray Tail.
She felt uneasy. After saying those words, Black Tail said, "The master won't agree, right? You're the cub's mother, and you got hurt. He's very angry."
"Well, I'll talk to him another day."
These past two days were so busy that she forgot.
On the way back, the cub got tired and fell asleep in his seat, leaning his head to the side.
Gu Wen remained silent as he drove.
The car was very quiet.
Shang Xi slowly spoke, "Mr. Gu, I want to talk to you about something."
"Go ahead."
"About... Gray Tail, um... I'm not angry anymore. Can you let him come back? I feel sorry for him." Shang Xi sat in the back seat, looking at Gu Wen's profile.
Gu Wen remained silent for a while.
He parked the car on the side of the road.
His usually deep voice didn't reveal any emotions.
"He's dead."
Shang Xi froze, "What... What do you mean?"
"He was eaten by a completely corrupted werewolf."
Shang Xi widened her eyes, her mind went blank, and she became completely still.
"Shang Xi, listen, I'm being serious." Gu Wen sat in the driver's seat, raised his gaze, and looked directly into her eyes through the rearview mirror. "Gray Tail's matter has nothing to do with you. That's how I see it."
Gu Wen fell silent for a moment, then said, "As for what the other werewolves think, don't worry about it."
Shang Xi didn't know how long she had been staring blankly before she regained her senses. Gray Tail was dead?
He... he was dead?
He was bitten and eaten by that completely corrupted werewolf?
It must have been painful.
Was Gray Tail's death her fault? Shang Xi tried hard to stay calm and think. Her mind was a mess, and even though it wasn't her fault, it still weighed heavily on her heart.
It seemed like no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't escape the connection.
She suddenly remembered the morning when the werewolves didn't come down to eat the food she cooked, the stiff smile at the stairwell, and their avoidance of her figure.
So, it wasn't her making things difficult for herself by blaming herself. The attitude of those werewolves who greeted her cheerfully every day already explained the problem.
They blamed her.
"You say... it has nothing to do with me? Then who is it related to?" Shang Xi spoke in a daze.
Gu Wen tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "The cause is me, not you."
If he had told Gray Tail earlier to bring Shang Xi to Nanfeng Courtyard, it wouldn't have caused him so much agony and unwillingness.
If he hadn't openly shown his resistance towards Shang Xi from the start among the werewolf pack.
Gray Tail wouldn't have scared Shang Xi in the middle of the night because of him.
He just didn't expect...
A twenty-year-old werewolf would die without Nanfeng Courtyard.
In fact, he knew that no matter what attitude or thoughts he expressed to Shang Xi, she would still be in pain, feeling miserable.
From a certain perspective, he and Shang Xi were actually standing on a sharp blade together.
Shang Xi later reflected.
It turned out that she and Gu Wen had started to have a thread between them, apart from their complicated relationship.
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Thank you for the comments urging me to update, gifts, and the cries of "Wuwu" (an expression of crying). (T/N: This sentence is a reference to the author's note to readers)