The Librarian and the Fox Princess: a Donghua Dijun and Bai Fengjiu story, V.I

Chapter 78 - The Debut Pt. 1

She snuggled her face deeper into the pillow and wrapped her arms tighter around the pile she was hugging. The pillows appeared to move as if they were readjusting themselves. They felt firm and cold under her arm. Why were there so many pillows on the bed, she wondered half-dozing. Had she built a fort before falling asleep? And why were the pillows trying to get away from her? She dug her little fingers into one of the pillows and pulled it closer into her face.

She heard a muted hiss, a groan, and then an "mmm".

These pillows need to be quiet so I can sleep.

But wait, she thought as a flash of insight pervaded her slowly waking consciousness.

Pillows ...are...not.. animate.

As if she was sending out a scout to survey the situation, she slowly opened one of her eyes. She appeared to be in her room. Everything was hazy and foggy. She blinked her eyes a few times. She must have imagined the noise.

She pressed her face into her pillow that smelled of sandalwood. Dijun must have put sandalwood in the incense burner for her. He was always thoughtful like that.

She realized her arm was thrown over a pile of purple pillows. She started to squeeze and scratch at the pillow. It was a soothing activity to her when she was younger. When she was in her kit form she would enjoy kneading the pillows with her paws. She'd then proceed to rip them into shreds while pulling out the cotton stuffing.

As she kept kneading the pillow in her fingers, a deep low voice from above descended.

"Is this your version of a pelvis exam?"

Both her eyes opened wide and she gasped. She slowly sat up to see that she had been pawing at the hip of her librarian.

He looked at her without any expression.

"You're not a pillow," she said redundantly.

"I'm afraid not, but if that's what you'd like me to be then I'm sure my million year cultivation can accommodate you," he said shamelessly. "I can turn into a handkerchief, a pillow, a stick ... a chicken wing," he said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Still feeling embarrassed, she fought hard with herself to suppress the smile that wanted to unravel across her face like a cat stretching in the sun.

She noticed that he was holding up a book.

Their book.

"Hey," she said cautiously as she pointed at the book. "Are you reading the next chapter?!" Every word that came out of her mouth was louder than the next.

Dong Hua's face gave nothing away. He simply replied in a pacifying tone, "shh, you're in a dream, this isn't real, come lie on me and just relax."

She looked confused as if she was seriously considering what he said.

Suddenly, before Dong Hua could stop her, she slapped herself hard on her shoulder. "Oww," she said as she rubbed away the sting. The pain told her everything she needed to know.

"This is not a dream; give me that book!!" she growled out like an enraged kitten. Dong Hua sat completely still as she lunged at him. All he needed to do was to hold the book over his head to initiate rough-play from her end.

Dong Hua magically fortified everything below his waist as she tried to climb on him to reach for the book. Her knees jabbed into him and one of her hands dug into the top of his head to balance herself as her other arm reached out pitifully to the book he was holding up.

She pressed herself against him, in her desperate attempt to grasp at the seemly suspended book he held far above his head. In the ensuing struggle, he found his face smothered into her soft warm chest. He shamelessly wrapped his other arm around her waist to allow for safe continued smothering.