Chapter 169
Morning.
Zhou Ziyou rubbed her eyes and walked out of the room, habitually clearing her throat and calling out, "Gray Tail—"
Then, she looked towards the empty and quiet home, falling silent for two seconds.
Oh.
Gray Tail had left.
Zhou Ziyou stood in place dazed for a while before walking to the balcony. In a row of flower pots of varying heights and sizes, various flowers and plants were growing lush and vibrant with life.
Zhou Ziyou remained silent for a moment, slowly squatting down and gently brushing a stalk of orchid grass.
These were the flowers and plants tended to by Gray Tail. He had taken only his clothes and left. What about these plants?
And where was he now? Had he found a place to stay?
She took out her phone, found Gray Tail's contact, snapped a picture of the plants, and sent it over.
"Don't want your plants?"
She got up and went to the kitchen. Remembering something, she opened the fridge, and sure enough, there was still a lot of mutton.
She sent a voice message, "Also, take the mutton from the fridge with you."
Werewolves only eat meat, and hunting must not be easy, she had watched quite a few nature documentaries.
Soon, a two-second voice message came from the other side, Gray Tail's low, muffled voice came through, "For you."
Werewolves don't know many words, so they communicate through voice messages.
Zhou Ziyou sent a voice message uncertainly, "What about your plants?"
Gray Tail sent a one-second voice message, his tone a little quicker this time, saying three words, "All for you."
Zhou Ziyou can't eat that much meat, she didn't want to eat so much, she had just lost a few pounds, and besides, meat was Gray Tail's food to fill his stomach. Now that he was living elsewhere, Zhou Ziyou didn't know how he was doing.
She spoke into the phone, "You can take the plants, but come over and take the meat."
On the other side, Gray Tail listened to this voice message three times, pursing his lips. Cang Ling, who was passing through the living room, also heard it. He had stayed over last night and seeing Gray Tail's hesitation, he sighed, "Don't you want to see her? Just go get the meat, and you'll get to see her, right?"
Gray Tail's eyes lit up for a moment, and he replied with an "Mm" into the phone.
Then, he closed the door, shutting out Cang Ling, and listened to the voice message a few more times. Zhou Ziyou's familiar voice came through, and he lightly curled his lips.
Seeing the closed door, Cang Ling snorted with amusement.
"Silly kid!"
Zhou Ziyou opened the one-second voice message, Gray Tail had only said "Mm."
She then asked, "When are you free to come over and get the meat?"
Gray Tail had to go with Knife Scar Face Uncle to look at houses today, so it didn't seem ideal to go to her place in the evening, so he said two words, "Now."
Zhou Ziyou sat on the couch and played with her phone, waiting for him to arrive.
Gray Tail, wearing a black hoodie, didn't use his fingerprint when he reached the door but instead knocked, hearing the familiar sound of slippers on the floor from inside. He unconsciously tensed up, growing a little nervous.
It seemed that ever since he realized he wanted her to be his mate, Gray Tail had become shy.
However, amidst the nervousness, there was also a tinge of anticipation.
The slipper sounds reached the door, and it opened with a click from the inside.
Gray Tail pursed his lips, standing up straighter, lowering his gaze to look at the woman at the door. She was still wearing a white nightgown, her long hair loose, her complexion fair, her face round.
Gray Tail held out the small basket of steamed buns he was carrying.
Zhou Ziyou was stunned for a moment, "...Why did you buy these again?"
Gray Tail said, "It's become a habit." And at this hour, she hadn't had breakfast yet. As he walked down the street, he naturally bought a portion from that shop.
He knew very well that Zhou Ziyou loved the steamed buns from that breakfast place.
"Thank you, little wolf brother." Zhou Ziyou felt her emotions were a bit complex as she reached out to take it. This was probably the last time she would eat the breakfast bought by the little wolf brother.
This guy was quite obedient.
"Come in, I'll find you a bag to put them in and take them with you." She turned and took a few steps, then remembered something and turned back, "Oh, right, don't change your slippers..."
The words hadn't fully left her mouth when her gaze fell on the slippers Gray Tail was wearing.
He had left in such a hurry that his slippers were still on the shoe rack.
Zhou Ziyou paused, then went into the kitchen.
Gray Tail followed, glancing towards the balcony and asking, "Did you water them?"
"I did." Zhou Ziyou squatted down and took out a large bag from the kitchen cabinet. For some reason, she felt a strange sense of awkwardness. This scene... reminded her of a couple who had just gotten divorced amicably.
One party had forgotten to take something and came back to get it. Their conversation was familiar yet distant.
She maintained her squatting position and looked up at the young man by the door. He was too tall—she had to tilt her head back, and naturally, without hesitation, she said, "You squat down too."
Gray Tail didn't ask why and simply squatted down, averting his gaze, not daring to look at her directly.
Zhou Ziyou felt better then, looking at his face, not noticing his discomfort, and asked, "Where did you stay last night?"
"At Knife Scar Face Uncle's place."
Zhou Ziyou thought for a moment, "Oh, the one who came here before? With the scar across his brow?"
Gray Tail nodded.
He glanced at her, touched his nose, lowered his gaze, his ears reddening, but his mood was joyful and happy. It seemed that just squatting in the kitchen with her like this also brought him bliss.
Zhou Ziyou felt reassured that he had a place to go.
She handed him the bag, "Pack it yourself."
Gray Tail replied with an "Mm" and took it. The fridge was right next to him, so he opened it and silently started taking out the meat.
Zhou Ziyou closed the cabinet and stood up, reminding him, "You... be careful, don't get hurt, and take care of yourself."
Gray Tail had his back to her as he took the meat from the fridge, his fingers were cold, but his heart was warm, "Mm."
He finished packing and was still squatting there.
Zhou Ziyou found it strange, "Get up, why are you still squatting?"
She seemed to have forgotten who had asked him to squat in the first place.
Gray Tail silently stood up.
Carrying the large bag of meat chunks, he glanced at her reluctantly. Should he leave now? He didn't want to leave...
Zhou Ziyou had finished her reminders, and for a moment, she had nothing more to say.
Usually, she was the one doing the talking, and when she stopped, the silence settled. It was no different now, as the surroundings grew quiet.
Zhou Ziyou hadn't thought much of it before, but now this silence felt strange. She also noticed that Gray Tail was boldly staring at her with burning eyes.
Whenever Zhou Ziyou looked back at him, Gray Tail would quickly avert his gaze to the floor, his avoidance too obvious.
"..."
"Ahem, well, if you need anything, just let me know. I'll go eat my breakfast now."
Zhou Ziyou had almost forgotten.
This kid had said last night that he liked her and wanted her to be his wife.
Tsk tsk, thinking about having a wife at such a young age.
Gray Tail's liking for Zhou Ziyou never really registered with her. She truly saw Gray Tail as a brother, so she was quite at ease about it, even feeling a bit amused.
The feeling... was like that of a sister who found out her brother had developed a crush, and she viewed it with a sense of amusement. Except in this case, the object of affection was herself.
Although she had this amusement, she was now with Zhou Li, so she had to keep some distance from this little guy.
She didn't keep Gray Tail long, said a few words to him, and Gray Tail silently looked back at her before leaving with a bag of meat.
He was going to buy a house for humans!
A house for him and Zhou Ziyou.
And... and for the cubs...
Gray Tail didn't take the elevator, he walked down the stairs, his face growing redder with each step.
After finishing breakfast, Zhou Ziyou tidied up the house. She and Zhou Li had an appointment at noon to eat at a certain restaurant.
She tried on several outfits in front of the mirror before finally going out, satisfied with how she looked.
On the other side.
Gray Tail followed Cang Ling to look at houses. The sales manager, Mr. Wang, who wore a suit, was a slender man with a fair complexion. He showed them a few places. During this time, he checked his phone several times, and although he tried to hide it, it was clear his mood wasn't great today.
Suddenly, Mr. Wang's phone rang. He said to Cang Ling, "Excuse me, you two take a look around. I need to take this call." Then he turned and went out the door to a more distant hallway.
This was a three-bedroom apartment with decent lighting.
Cang Ling asked, "What do you think?"
Before Gray Tail could answer, they heard a voice. They paused and looked towards the door, the voice coming from the hallway outside.
As werewolves, they could naturally hear what humans might not.
Mr. Wang's voice, laced with anger, came through:
"We agreed to stay together for life! It hasn't been that long, and you can't resist going to matchmaking events! Do you really love me?"
"You're hurting an innocent woman! Ha! Like it's so hard for you? Am I not a man? Don't my parents want me to get married and have kids?"
"In this life! I will never do something so unscrupulous for my own sake! When I look back at midnight, I fear my conscience will suffer the agony of torture."
Gray Tail's side story will come after Cang Ling's, though Cang Ling's part isn't very long. After that, I'll write a bit more about Shang Xi Lone Wolf, and then it'll be largely concluded.