Soon enough, a pleasant aroma began to travel into the room.
Xue Yao lifted her nose, sniffing the air. She could catch faint hints of scallion, garlic, and vinegar, as well as the more overwhelming scent of cooked meat dipped and covered with sweet sauce. The food smelt good. Too good.
That was another trait of being a fox— her senses were largely exaggerated to catch even the lightest of scents and smells.
After the aroma entered the room, the young man entered afterwards, carrying a dish with him. He neared her, and with curiosity, she stood a little taller just to get a better look at what exactly he was cooking. Her whiskers twitched.
"Puppy, have some marinated beef," the young man hummed, "I prepared it last night for myself, but I guess I have a companion to eat some of it with now!"
He picked up a piece with a pair of bamboo chopsticks, hovering it near her mouth.
Was he trying to feed her?
How degrading was that?
She would not let him feed her! If she allowed a mortal to feed her and those up in the Celestial Heavens knew about it, wouldn't they all laugh about that? It was embarrassing to even imagine such a thing.
Xue Yao turned her head away daintily.
The young man faltered, lowering his hand. "I guess you don't trust me enough yet, do you?" He smiled a bit. "But that's fine; you can eat on your own."
He stood up and left with the plate of marinated beef, then returned just as quickly with a shallow wooden bowl that he placed a few slices of the beef into. The young man placed the bowl of meat down in front of her and took a few steps back, allowing for her to have some space to herself that she was grateful for. She didn't like having someone stick themself in her face all the time.
Xue Yao stepped forward after he moved back, bending her neck to take her first bite of the beef.
Truthfully, she wasn't hungry. She had no point in eating the meat. Yet still, after smelling the pleasant aroma of the beef, she couldn't help herself. Besides, the slices of beef were there for her to eat— if she didn't, it would be a waste.
Her first bite of the beef revealed to her that the taste was indeed just as flavorful as the scent. She didn't know if it was because her taste buds were enhanced since she was in the shape of the fox or simply because the food was just cooked flavorfully, but she enjoyed it thoroughly.
The beef was marinated for just a perfect amount of time. Not only was the taste of the beef absolutely delicious with its precise balance of sweet, sour, salt, and spice, but the meat itself was unbelievably tender as well. The acidity of the vinegar added didn't draw away from the overall taste, rather enhancing it to create a more bold, delicious flavor.
The marinated beef was too delicious that she doubted her own taste buds. She quickly ate all of the thin slices in her bowl, then looked up with hesitation at the mortal.
Who was this man? Why was he so good at cooking?
This was almost unnatural. She thought that she already tasted all the delicies the world could provide in the heavens, but that was clearly an inaccurate opinion.
The young man took her judgemental gaze as a sign that she wanted more, which wasn't a wrong estimate but not exactly the most correct one either. He gave her a bright, enthusiastic smile and picked up the bowl, filling it with more beef, then returning it to her.
"Eat up, puppy. You must be hungry, so you can have as much as you want."
At this moment, Xue Yao would've raised her eyebrows if she had them, except, being a fox, she didn't. So, she just bent down and continued to eat the meat, this time at a slower pace as to savor the taste some more.
The young man took this opportunity to talk some more while he watched her eat.
"You must have to have a name, right? I can't just keep calling you 'puppy' forever…" he muttered under his breath.
She stopped eating for a brief second to give him a look. 'Obviously, I already have a name. And… I'm not even a puppy in the first place.'
The young man stopped to think for a few moments until an idea hit him. He looked at her with a beaming expression, asking, "How is 'Little Xue'? Since your fur is white as snow— Xue— and you are a very pretty dog."
"Little Xue"?
What an absolute coincidence that her original name was "Xue Yao", with the same "Xue" and everything.
Although Xue Yao didn't particularly approve of the "little" part, she supposed that it was a fairly decent name to call her. She would much rather prefer "Little Xue" over the irritating "puppy"...
She chewed the bite of beef that was in her mouth and then paused, giving him a nod of approval.
The eyes of the young man widened in surprise at her nod. "It's— as if you understand what I'm speaking?" He leaned in a bit. "Little Xue— did you just— did you just agree to what I said?"
Xue Yao froze.
She was about to nod back at his question, but then she realized one important thing— normal foxes— or even dogs— didn't understand the human language. If she acted too understanding, surely the young man would get suspicious about her exact origins.
It wasn't that she didn't want him to find out that she was an immortal either. She just wanted to make sure that for the time being, he would allow her to stay here until her leg completely healed. It wouldn't be the best thing to happen if he became afraid at her comprehension and threw her out while her left leg still limped like it did. Xue Yao wouldn't know what to do if her wound bled through the bandages or if she needed help again.
So, Xue Yao decided that for now, the safest option was to cope with the young man's antics until her leg healed. After eating all of that marinated beef, she changed her mind a bit. It wouldn't really be the worst thing in the world to stay with this young man.
He was a funny human. In fact, he was even somewhat cute the more she stared at his face, so she wouldn't feel too unhappy to live with him.
Upon weighing all her choices and decisions, Xue Yao came to a solid conclusion.
She pretended like she wasn't paying attention to his question of whether or not she could understand, bending her head down in the bowl and continuing on with scarfing down her food.
From the corner of her vision when she glanced up, the young man seemed almost disappointed that she didn't understand. He looked down for a few seconds, then gave himself a bashful smile.
"It's just me being foolish, isn't it?" He laughed a little at himself. "Of course. What was I thinking? You're just an average dog— why would you understand what I was saying?"
The corner of Xue Yao's eye twitched at "average dog".
She looked up with a warning expression. 'Don't make me regret all of my decisions, human.'
"Well then," the young man disregarded her look and went on, "Little Xue, I guess I'll be raising you from now on. Let's get along good, alright?"
He reached over, his hand hovering over her fur as to pet her, but just before the last second, Xue Yao flinched and moved away.
'Mortal, petting is a very degrading act.'
"You don't want to be petted?" The young man frowned. "I suppose that's getting a little too ahead, right? You don't trust me enough, right?"
He tucked his hand away and watched her eat the last piece of beef. Xue Yao, upon swallowing her last bite, nudged the bowl towards him with her right paw and looked at him expectantly.
'More, please?'
"Do you want more?" The young man laughed, "You already ate so much…. Little Xue, you're going to get a stomach ache if you have any more. I don't want that to happen."
'Don't worry… common mortal afflictions like feeling full do not affect immortals. I would like some more of that now, please.'
The young man, being unable to hear her thoughts, scratched the back of his neck. He bent down a bit so that they were closer to eye level, then gave her a calm smile.
"Since we're going to be getting along for some time, I guess you have to know my name too, don't you?"
'Calling you 'mortal' isn't too difficult for me. But if it makes you feel more comfortable or if you feel inclined to tell me, then go ahead.'
"My name is Luo Qing, Little Xue. Let's be good friends from now on!"