Chapter 227 - 195: It Seems an Old Friend Has Come (11)

In the evening, after the last patient left Su Mo’s clinic, she prepared to head home too.

Just as she picked up her bag, the fox trotted out after her.

Su Mo turned to look at it. "Didn’t I get dinner ready for you? You should rest here."

The fox hopped right onto her feet and hugged her leg.

"Whimper~" it cried nonstop.

Su Mo bent down, scooped it up, and stroked its fur, which was as smooth as satin. She then turned and walked back inside.

She wanted to put it on the bed, but it clung to her arm and refused to let go.

Su Mo frowned. "Be good now, or you’ll be sleeping on the streets, you know~"

"Whimper~"

The little fox let out a soft whine, looking utterly wronged.

Su Mo sighed and, still holding it, sat down on the bed. "Alright, I’ll stay and keep you company~"

The fox contentedly adjusted its position, even unconsciously nuzzling against her.

Su Mo scratched its fluffy head, then its neck. It squinted its eyes in comfort and fell asleep a moment later.

She carefully lifted the fox off her lap, got up, and left.

By the time the fox on the bed realized what was happening, Su Mo was already outside, locking the door.

It slumped against the door, desperately clawing at it and whimpering pitifully.

Su Mo squinted, gave it a little wave, and said, "Goodbye. Get some rest."

The little fox sat there looking dejected, watching her figure disappear from view.

When Su Mo got home, she saw a pair of men’s leather shoes by the door.

She started towards the kitchen. As she expected, the man who had been away on a business trip for the past few days was back.

Without turning his head, Xuan Qing said, "Wash your hands. Dinner’s almost ready."

Su Mo asked in confusion, "Didn’t you say you’d be gone for seven days?"

’It’s only the fifth day, isn’t it?’

"The trip ended early, so I came back early."

Su Mo smiled, walked past him, and went to wash her hands.

As she turned back, she heard Xuan Qing ask, "Did any... special patients come to the clinic today?"

Su Mo thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "A fox that can’t shapeshift came in. Its body seems to have been corroded by something, and it’s pretty badly injured. I’m letting it stay at the clinic to recover."

Xuan Qing’s brow furrowed slightly.

After dinner, Su Mo curled up on the sofa with a book.

Xuan Qing walked over, wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face in her neck. "Did you miss me?" he asked in a husky voice.

Her eyes still glued to the words in her book, Su Mo nodded. "Mhm."

The next moment, the book was plucked from her hands. "Liar. Is this how you miss me?"

"I..."

His lips fell gently upon hers. Su Mo subconsciously tried to dodge, only to be pressed firmly onto the sofa as a trail of lingering, delicate kisses fell upon her.

Later, he carried her all the way to the bedroom.

In a daze, she heard him say, "Next time you miss me, be more serious about it."

Su Mo felt as if she were floating on a sea of clouds, with no energy left to answer him.

"Let’s go register tomorrow. I want to make things more official."

Exhausted from his advances, Su Mo dazedly agreed, "Okay..."

...

So much so that when he pulled her out of bed the next morning, her mind was still in a fog.

Xuan Qing looked at her hazy eyes and chuckled. "Forgotten what you promised me last night?"

Su Mo frowned and thought for a moment, vaguely recalling something.

"I’ve already prepared everything. We’ll leave after breakfast."

The man before her took her hand and pressed a card into it.

"All my income from over the years is on this card. Keep it safe."

Then, he brought over a stack of red booklets. "And all the property deeds are in here."

Su Mo stared at the pile of things in front of her, somewhat stunned.

Before she could react, she felt a cool sensation on her finger. An exquisite ring had been slipped onto her ring finger. Sunlight streamed in from the window, catching the ring and reflecting a dazzling light.

Xuan Qing gently pulled her into his embrace, his tone as soft as a spring breeze stroking a willow. "Finally, all that’s left is me. You can lose everything else, but you can’t lose me."

Su Mo instinctively leaned into his embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Squinting her eyes, she said, "I won’t."

She looked at the perfectly sized ring on her finger and chuckled. "I should have been the one to prepare all this."

"It doesn’t matter. As long as the end result is you, nothing else is important."

...

When Su Mo and Xuan Qing arrived at the administration office, it had just opened for the day.

After taking their photos, they went to the registration hall to wait in line.

Su Mo took a call and was now speaking to someone a short distance away.

Someone carrying a stack of forms walked over and asked routinely, "Are you here to register, or to get a certificate?"

Xuan Qing looked at the forms in the person’s hand and frowned, a greedy desire growing wildly in his heart.

He knew the difference between the two all too well. One could fill out a registration form with many Enchanting Demons, but the certificate could only be obtained once.

’If only she could belong to him and him alone...’

"Sir, have you decided?" the person before him urged.

Xuan Qing took a deep breath. "The registration form."

’They’ll come for her eventually. Her side... is destined to not be occupied by me alone.’

He couldn’t, with the knowledge he had, let her make the wrong decision. It would be unfair to her, and unfair to them.

When Su Mo hung up and walked over, Xuan Qing had already filled in his information.

She looked at the registration form in her hand, actually a little surprised.

’But if this is what he’s decided, then that’s fine.’

Su Mo quickly filled in her own information and handed over their two photos.

After completing the procedure, Xuan Qing left some wedding candy for the staff and then led Su Mo out by the hand.

Su Mo voiced the question in her heart, "Why didn’t you take the certificate form just now?"

Under the blazing sun, he looked down at her, his eyes filled with an unyielding tenderness. "Because you’ll definitely meet other wonderful people in the future. I don’t want you to make any decisions you might regret."

’Even though I want her all to myself, I want her to be happy even more.’

’Our reunion was meant to bring her joy, not regret.’

He had a feeling they would be coming to find her soon. The scent of a fox on her last night was... the best proof.

Su Mo looked at him, a little confused, not quite understanding why he was so certain.

’But it didn’t matter. She had always been the type to take things as they come.’

Xuan Qing led her by the hand through the park toward the parking lot. Before they even reached the car, he saw two tall figures standing in the distance.

The trees lining the path were lush and green, casting dappled shadows and specks of light on the two men, like a slow-motion scene from a movie.

Xuan Qing could clearly see the momentary loss of focus in the eyes of the two men across from him. It seemed they had arrived even faster than he’d imagined.

Mo Xiao nearly rushed forward. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he’d last seen the person before him. The figure that flashed through his dreams at midnight was now, finally, standing right in front of him, alive. The shock was indescribable.

’He was so afraid that if he blinked, she would disappear from his sight once more...’

’He really wanted to hold her tight right now, to tell her just how much he had missed her.’

Ever since that battle where Jiang Wu was obliterated by the final blow, she had vanished as well.

He would never forget what she had told them. She had said she wouldn’t die, that she might just be going somewhere very far away.

He believed her. And so he kept searching, and searching...

The waters of Wangchuan are cold, and they burn with a searing pain. But as long as he could find her, it was all worth it.

Mo Xiao’s move to rush forward was stopped by Fei Yan.

He looked at Su Mo’s blank gaze and reminded him softly, "Don’t scare her."

Mo Xiao’s eyes were red as he stared at the person before him. Her gaze was that of a stranger. In an instant, he understood.

He suppressed the roiling emotions in his heart, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the person he thought of day and night. A thousand words were on the tip of his tongue, but now, he didn’t know how to begin.

Su Mo cast a suspicious glance at the men in the distance, letting Xuan Qing lead her toward them.

She asked quietly, "Your friends?"

Xuan Qing gently tightened his grip on her hand and nodded, then explained with a smile, "They’re your friends, too."

After a pause, he corrected himself. "They are very important people in your life."