Chapter 36
Chapter 36
The scenery outside the window continued to recede.
Sitting in the back seat, Shang Xi looked outside. The warm, golden light of the sunset shone through, casting a cozy glow. Her gaze seemed vacant as she stared for a long time before blinking.
She was just an ordinary person.
In her ordinary life, what was the worst thing she had ever done? When she was young, she secretly took in a stray puppy, but her cousin brother, who disliked her, found out and drowned it in the river.
When her eldest uncle found out, he asked her, "Couldn't you have just left it alone? Who asked you to bring it home? You can't even take care of yourself, and yet you want to raise a little animal. How ridiculous."
Her cousin brother wasn't scolded by the adults and was extremely proud. He said, "It's your fault it died. You're the one to blame. If you hadn't brought it home, where would I have drowned it?"
She felt extremely guilty at that time and cried bitterly. It was her fault that the little dog died.
If she hadn't brought it home, maybe a kind-hearted person would have found it and taken care of it, giving it a good life.
Gray Tail was a werewolf. Although they were different races, in her eyes, they could communicate with each other, and he was just a person—an ordinary boy who had died.
His death was intertwined with her.
Her mind was about to explode, and her heart felt suffocated.
She was just an ordinary person experiencing something like this for the first time. To be honest, it was difficult for her to digest.
When Gu Wen's car drove onto the familiar road halfway up the mountain, white buildings emerged among the green grass and trees.
In this past month, Shang Xi had become familiar with this road.
Now, her heart tightened.
She was somewhat afraid of seeing that group of enthusiastic and adorable wolves, the wolves that always came out to greet her.
Perhaps they no longer wanted to listen to her stories.
Shang Xi had lived for twenty-five years and had experienced too many painful things in her life. It was only two years ago that her career started to take off, and she had some savings, enough for her and her son to live a decent life. She finally felt completely happy.
But recently, her son fell ill.
His biological father, Gu Wen, came looking for them, and he wasn't even human.
She thought that it didn't matter as long as her son was healthy.
She tried to accept the existence of another world. The werewolves treated her well, and she gradually felt that everything was fine, even if there was one werewolf who didn't like her.
But how did things end up like this?
Shang Xi couldn't understand, and her mood was terribly bad.
Had she done something wrong? Upon careful consideration, she hadn't. She had worked hard all day and was just hungry that night, wanting to find something to eat.
But...
Gray Tail died.
Her head started to ache, and she closed her eyes.
She just felt that her happiness was always within reach but never quite there.
Every time she felt that life was going well, something new happened.
Was she unworthy of happiness?
Shang Xi looked at her son beside her. His face was fair, chubby, and his eyelashes were thick, long, and straight. One small hand grasped the seatbelt, and the other held onto her clothes, his face tilted in her direction.
Shang Xi pursed her lips and blinked away the moisture in her eyes.
She had already found happiness.
Just six more months, and she would hold on for another six months.
With her child by her side, she had to be strong.
As they arrived at the gate, there were no werewolves cheering and running out, as expected.
Gu Wen was the first to get off the car, holding the sleeping cub in his arms. He took a few steps and then stopped.
He turned around to look at the woman who seemed to be absent-minded.
He pursed his lips and spoke, "Follow me."
Shang Xi slowly lifted her eyes to look at him.
Gu Wen was tall and looked down at her, his gaze low. "I've told you before, Gray Tail's matter has nothing to do with you. You don't have to blame yourself."
He continued in a deep voice, "No one dares to harm you, so what is there to be afraid of?"
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Shang Xi thought, she was indeed afraid, but not afraid of being hurt, rather afraid of facing the cold resentful eyes of the werewolves.
It was so rare to have a group of people, or rather, not people, but it didn't matter, who treated them warmly. The important thing was the genuine affection she felt.
But now, it was all about to disappear.
The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt.
"What about you?" She spoke up, only to realize that her voice was trembling. She stared at Gu Wen and said, "Don't you blame me? If I hadn't come to Nanfeng Courtyard, if I hadn't gone downstairs that night to find something to eat..."
Just like that little dog back then, if she hadn't picked it up, maybe her cousin brother wouldn't have drowned.
Her eyes were in disarray, her defenses crumbling, and she lost her usual composure.
Upon hearing her words, Gu Wen's deep and dark gaze fell on her, and he furrowed his brow, making his features even sharper.
At this moment, his voice was cold, "As the manager of the Qingcheng werewolf clan, I don't remember pronouncing you guilty."
Shang Xi was taken aback.
Gu Wen's voice turned colder, "Listen, it was me who asked you to come to Nanfeng Courtyard. When you go downstairs to eat is your freedom, and you have every right to do so."
"You are the mother of the cub, and no one can harm you. That's my stance."
Even if it happened again, he would still let Gray Tail leave.
"The killer of Gray Tail is in the management bureau, so why would you pretend to be the killer?" Gu Wen stared at her.
Shang Xi didn't know why, but her eyes inexplicably started to turn red. She shook her head and wiped her eyes hastily.
She thought of that little dog that had drowned.
From Gu Wen's cold and deep black eyes.
She seemed to hear him say, "The killer who drowned that little dog was your cousin brother, so why would you confess?"
Shang Xi took a deep breath, but her gaze remained blurred.
When she was young, she deeply believed that she had caused the death of that little dog, and she cried for a long, long time.
Gu Wen's words might have been an unintentional coincidence, but they overlapped with that memory.
She stared at him through her blurred vision, her voice trembling with suppressed emotions, "Thank you."
Regardless of whether it was in the past or now, she had to thank him.
At the entrance of the living room.
Cang Ling leaned against the door, staring at the silent pack of wolves in the living room. They had all heard the conversation between the clan leaders.
Cang Ling said, "I also think this matter has nothing to do with Shang Xi."
Black Tail looked at the ground and also spoke, "I think so too."
Red Tail let out a soft howl, her eyes still red, and said, "We live and eat in the clan leader's house. We should show respect to the mother of the cub. Gray Tail acted impulsively."
When she said this, everyone fell silent.
Yes, the clan leaders had taken them in, not to let them harm the mother of the cub.
Taking a step back, even if Gray Tail didn't mean to, the fact remains that Shang Xi was hurt.
Green Tail remained silent for a moment before saying, "If only there were no Fallen Wolves in this world."
"We all hope for that," Cang Ling said, opening the front door and looking at the approaching family of three. He slightly bowed, "Master, Shang Xi, little one, welcome home."
Holding the baby, Gu Wen lagged behind.
Then, she saw Black Tail, Green Tail, Red Tail, and Blue Tail appearing behind Cang Ling. Their eyes were swollen, but they still smiled and greeted her, "Welcome back, Shang Xi!"
Shang Xi caught her breath.
Finally, with teary eyes, she nodded.
Gu Wen cast a serious gaze over each member of the clan.
"I can't guarantee that we will wipe out all the Fallen Wolves, but I can promise you that from now on, no wolf from Nanfeng Courtyard will die at the hands of the Fallen Wolves."
"Kill all those scum!!"
"They will all meet a miserable end!!"
"Awwoooo!"
"Awwoooo!"
The wolves howled in high-pitched voices.
The baby in Gu Wen's arms suddenly opened his eyes, only to have Gu Wen cover his ears and eyes with his hand.
"Go to sleep, I'll carry you to your room."
The baby murmured sleepily, then asked, "Where's Mommy?"
"She's right next to me."
Upon hearing her son's voice, Shang Xi called out, "Little one."
Satisfied, Baby Shang closed his eyes and fell back asleep.
He was currently in the stage of rapid bone development, requiring plenty of sleep. His body easily grew tired.
The next day, Monday.
When Shang Xi came downstairs, she saw a brown wolf with a suitcase and a large backpack, surrounded by Black Tail and the others.
"Are you really leaving? Brown Tail, do you know it's dangerous to leave the wolf pack?"
"Gray Tail... You're doing it again. Calm down!"
Brown Tail had already caught Shang Xi's scent. He glanced at her before looking away.
"This is the Master's place, but I want to leave now."
He had a good relationship with Gray Tail, and it seemed like only he hadn't forgiven Shang Xi.
It wasn't about forgiveness or not, but he held some resentment towards Shang Xi. However, as Red Tail said yesterday, Shang Xi was the mother of the Master's child.
If anyone should leave, it should be him.
"Where will you go if you leave?"
"Yeah, you don't have an education. What kind of job do you think you can find to support yourself? Or are you going back to Snow Mountain?"
Brown Tail shook his head. "No need to say more. I insist on leaving."
"I offer freedom here." A deep voice came from behind Shang Xi.
She turned around and saw Gu Wen dressed in formal attire, his expression indifferent, walking downstairs with a steady pace.
As he passed her, he glanced at her and spoke, "Not coming down?"
Shang Xi was momentarily stunned but nodded.
She followed him downstairs, feeling somewhat relieved by Gu Wen's tall and broad figure blocking the view of the wolves.
Gu Wen asked calmly, "Is the little one still sleeping?"
"Yes, I'll wake him after having breakfast. There's still time."
Gu Wen acknowledged with a sound.
He approached the pack of wolves at the entrance, his gaze fixed on Brown Tail.
"Are you leaving? Have you decided where to go?"
Brown Tail nodded, "Yes, I'm going to my human friend's house."
Gu Wen said, "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. If you want to come back, I won't object. Go ahead."
Brown Tail bowed deeply, "Yes, Master."
Brown Tail left, and his figure grew increasingly distant.
Gu Wen didn't say anything and turned to the dining table.
Black Tail looked at the meat on the plate, pondered for a moment, and said, "Master, can we leave Gray Tail's room untouched? Sometimes I miss him and would like to visit his room..."
Gu Wen paused, his grip on the cutlery tightened slightly, "I never thought of touching his room."
Shang Xi stared at him, in that instant she felt that Gu Wen was feeling sad.
Although he didn't show it much, he must be feeling the same way.
Shang Xi lowered her gaze and silently continued her meal.
Then Black Tail said, "Gray Tail planted a lot of flowers and plants on the balcony of his room. Does anyone know how to take care of them?"
Most werewolves don't plant anything, but Gray Tail enjoyed messing around with them.
"I know..." Shang Xi spoke without hesitation.
As soon as she finished speaking, the other werewolves looked over.
Shang Xi hesitated, realizing that it might not be appropriate for her to take on this task, even though the werewolves didn't blame her. But asking her to take care of Gray Tail's flowers and plants felt a bit...
Gu Wen glanced at her indifferently and said, "You teach me, and I'll take care of them."
"Okay." Shang Xi nodded vigorously.
It made sense for her to manage them since she couldn't easily access Gray Tail's room.
Besides, Gray Tail didn't seem to like her very much, so he probably wouldn't want her touching his flowers.
The werewolves all wanted everything in Gray Tail's room to remain as it was, and naturally didn't want to move the flower pots.
She quickly finished her breakfast.
She wrote down the care instructions for the flowers and the watering schedule in a small notebook, and handed it to Gu Wen.
"I'll go get Shang Bao first..."
Gu Wen raised his gaze and looked behind her, his dark eyes slightly curved, "No need."
Shang Xi felt something and abruptly turned her head.
She saw Shang Bao, dressed in his little school uniform, rubbing his eyes and standing at the stairs on the second floor, holding a small tie.
"The little one is awake!"
"Good morning, little one!"
...
On the way to drop off Shang Bao at kindergarten, Shang Xi once again sat across from Gu Wen.
Her state of mind was unexpectedly different.
Their relationship hadn't changed much, but she felt like she at least understood Gu Wen a little bit.
She had to admit that this lone wolf was actually not bad, apart from being a bit narcissistic and having a sharp tongue.
After watching her son enter the kindergarten, out of sight, Gu Wen turned around and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to the store."
"Thank you."
She fastened her seatbelt and Gu Wen averted his gaze.
They didn't say anything throughout the journey.
...
In the afternoon, when they went to pick up the child.
Shang Xi packed the flowers she was going to give her son and got into the car.
Gu Wen took the initiative to speak, "What kind of flowers did you bring for the little one?"
Since he wasn't interested in flowers, even if he smelled them, he wouldn't know what kind they were.
Shang Xi took out a carefully wrapped flower from her pocket—a delicate white gardenia.
Gu Wen didn't say anything further.
Just after receiving the cub, Gu Wen noticed the cub holding the flowers that Shang Xi had given, with a happy smile on its little lips. However, it seemed to "ignore" Gu Wen himself. He pursed his lips, feeling a bit displeased.
Dai Cen was also in the car, and they were the only two left when they returned.
He spoke up, "Mr. Gu, would you like to prepare small gifts for the young master every day? That way, he will also grow closer to you, right?"
Gu Wen agreed.
Dai Cen got a raise.
The next afternoon.
After picking up Baby Shang, Shang Xi took out the carefully prepared flowers as the little boy looked at him expectantly. "These are the freshest flowers from the shop."
It was a rose.
"Thank you, Mom!" Baby Shang smiled, his eyes curved, revealing his small, pointy tiger teeth.
Gu Wen watched the mother and son for a while, then cleared his throat and slowly took out an exquisite gift box from the pocket of his suit jacket.
He placed it on the table.
In the curious and puzzled eyes of the mother and son.
He looked at the cub and said, "Take a look and see if you like it."
Baby Shang was a bit confused.
Why was Dad also giving him a gift?
He glanced at his mom.
Shang Xi nodded, "It's from Dad. Take it and say thank you."
"Oh."
"Thank you, Dad."
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Two updates merged. Goodnight.