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

Chapter 133 - Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt

Dong Hua had materialized out of nowhere. She looked at his handsome reserved face as he brought a piece of roast duck up to her mouth.

She obediently took a bite and chewed while smiling at him with a dreamy look on her face.

I must look like a total goof, she thought.

While she chewed and macerated at on the salty five-spiced sweetness of the duck, he put his chopsticks down and used his fingers to pull off the piece of bone that was still attached to the duck.

Her eyes widened at what he had done. She started to chew faster not wanting him to have to hold the wet piece of duck in his fingers any longer than necessary. She figured it must be torture to him.

He tilted his face slightly and raised an eyebrow while watching her.

"Take your time. No need to react in a rush. Take your time before you respond," he said firmly but with the same authoritative tenderness she loved so much from him.

And then it hit her smack in her dreamy little head. He was not just referring to her frenzied squirrel chewing to unburden him from holding onto meat with his bare hand. He was referring to her grandfather's comment about having once thought she might grow up to marry Yang Kai.

Oh right, him.

All it took was the unbeatable combination of roast duck and her librarian for her mind, body, and soul to bypass the past trauma of Yang Kai.

She slowed down her chewing to fully appreciate the perfect mouthful of duck and to be mindful of the moment. It was a moment she never imagined she'd ever have.

She looked down at her bowl of noodle soup as she swallowed. What was it that she was feeling?

Hearing that name brought on obvious discomfort for what he had done to her in the past.

In the past. 

A wave of relief washed over her as she realized the intense fear, anguish, and shame she used to feel when thinking about what happened to her was strangely distant. It was like she was looking at something on the other shore across the wide expanse of Lake Wangsheng that was far away. She could make out the blurred edges and the general shape but that was it. It was nothing but a shadow, there was no longer anything detailed enough to scrutinize or judge.

She returned back to the present moment and looked at Dong Hua whose stillness enveloped her in his warm observant gaze.

She leaned forward and parted her lips as he placed the bite-sized piece of duck he had earlier torn in half into her mouth. Unconcerned with the eyes in the kitchen that were on them, he took the tip of his forefinger and lightly traced her glistening lips before sitting back to patiently wait for her to finish chewing.

By this time, Ye Hua and Bai Qian were standing with her clutching the restored plate as they watched the former emperor of Heaven and Earth feeding roast duck to their niece with his hands.

Migu, stood frozen at the entrance of the kitchen with his o-shaped mouth.

Bai Zhi's eyes darted back and forth from his granddaughter to the almighty god.

No one in the fox den had been at the Phoenix Flower Exhibition to see Dong Hua lovingly feed her juicy ripe loquats while they were on the cloud. They just knew of his reputation of being adversed to any hand-to-food-to-mouth activities. His shocking performance as the chicken wing destroyer was considered an anomaly, but to see him calmly tearing greasy meat and crispy duck skin in his hands to feed the little fox princess was truly unbelievable.