Let me Touch your Tail

Chapter 45

"My silly daughter, come have a drink with me?"

Yan Yuanqing's smile was warm and her demeanor graceful, as she put on what she believed was her most gentle expression and spoke to Yan Zhao.

Yan Zhao stood dazed in the pavilion, looking up at Yan Yuanqing from below.

Yan Zhao remained expressionless and did not respond, creating a slightly chilly atmosphere.

Another cold breeze swept through, lifting Yan Yuanqing's clothing and freezing her smile on her face.

"Hey." Yan Yuanqing, feeling awkward, pulled back the wine pot. "Why aren't you reacting at all? We've met here before, haven't you forgotten?"

Yan Zhao remained silent, standing there like a wooden post.

Yan Yuanqing got up, lightly pushed off the roof, and floated down, quickly arriving in front of Yan Zhao.

She took Yan Zhao's hand and said softly, "Little Zhao Zhao, I am your mother."

I am your mother.

The words echoed in her ears, and Yan Zhao suddenly came to her senses.

Then, with a whoosh, she vanished from Yan Yuanqing's sight.

Yan Yuanqing: "......"

Tsk.

The first plan had failed.

It's alright, she had many more plans—third, fourth, fifth... probably a hundred or so.

There was bound to be a way to bridge the gap with her daughter.

Yan Zhao shivered and opened her eyes.

The view was still dark, the sky not yet bright. She was sitting on a tree with the fox in her arms, holding the dark golden bead.

Yan Zhao looked around and then at the bead in her hand, puzzled.

The small fox, awakened by her movements, pressed its head against her arm, showing a bit of a spoiled attitude.

Yan Zhao let go of the bead, leaned back against the tree trunk while holding the fox, and intended to close her eyes and continue sleeping.

In her dazed state, she heard a familiar voice gently call: "Little Zhao Zhao, don't sleep, come play with your mother!"

"Mother is so lonely. Don't you care?"

"Eh, your mother has only seen you once in three hundred years, and you still don't want to talk to her. How cold."

Yan Zhao: "......"

The vein on her forehead throbbed intensely, and then she woke up.

Yan Yuanqing's voice echoed in her mind all night, more distressing than nightmares.

Yan Zhao woke up, sitting dazedly on the tree branch, her mind empty and unthinking.

Not sleeping meant the persistent voice in her ears would disappear.

The small fox, waking up several times, noticed Yan Zhao unusually not closing her eyes and appearing deep in thought.

It nudged Yan Zhao's chin with its nose, but Yan Zhao didn't respond.

The small fox tilted its head: "?"

It straightened up from Yan Zhao's embrace and forcefully placed its small head in front of Yan Zhao's eyes.

Seeing the fox, Yan Zhao, fearing it might fall, instinctively reached out to hold it.

As the first light of dawn appeared, Bi Lan finished her meditation and opened her eyes.