I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"Sir, how's the pressure? Is it too heavy? Should we go a little lighter?"

The dragon earnestly inquired about the artist's feelings and made various adjustments accordingly.

"Nothing else is needed, this is fine."

"If there is anything wrong, please scold me."

"Why should I scold you? To take my anger out on you for this would be incredibly narrow-minded of me."

Glancing at the artist's crooked and disheveled red scarf, Bai Zhou sincerely praised:

"Sir, you are certainly broad-minded. However, I want to serve you better, so all feedback is important information that I need to remember and improve upon."

"Hmm...you did a great job. I have no feedback to give you at the moment."

The artist gave it a perfect score and made a verbal promise to Bai Zhou for the next time.

After tidying up the miscellaneous items and chores, the two faced an even more important event.

"Sir, you should rest now."

After washing up, it was almost 7 PM, so Bai Zhou urged the painter to rest quickly.

"Well……"

The little guy is great in every way, except he can't seem to shake this worrying habit.

He always wanted her to go to sleep so early, even though this time of day would normally be a time for painting or sightseeing.

That's such a waste; those were precious years.

But seeing Bai Zhou's serious face, the painter had no choice but to take off his coat, loosen his scarf, and prepare to listen to him and go to sleep.

Can……

The painter looked around the house.

There's only one bed here, and it's not very big. If she sleeps in the bed, where will she sleep during the day?

Is the little guy still planning to sleep on the floor?

It's autumn now, and sleeping on the floor at this time of year will make you catch a cold.

or……

"..."

The artist looked up at Bai Zhou, only to find that the other person was also looking at her.

The bluish-white tail kept wagging, indicating that its owner was very excited and flustered.

"Don't disturb me tonight."

He shifted his body further in, and the artist made room for him to rest, sternly instructing him not to grind his teeth or snore.

"Of course not."

Bai Zhou sat down happily, took off his robes, put on a pure white undergarment, and slept with the painter.

■

The lights were off and all was quiet; only the sound of their breathing could be heard between them.

I can't sleep, I just can't sleep!

Xi quietly looked at the ceiling, lying on the soft mattress, covered with a warm quilt, yet she felt more energetic than on any night in recent years.

Although this wasn't the first time they had slept together, those were all when he was a child. Sleeping with Bai Zhou, now that he was an adult, was a first for them.

Xi glanced up slightly, wanting to see what the person next to her looked like.

But this sight made her even more energetic.

(zzz)

The little guy is already asleep, and he looks like he's sleeping soundly.

Is it really that easy to get sleepy when sleeping alone?

Can't she talk to herself more? She only said a few words today; she still has so much to say.

Xi gently turned over and carefully examined his sleeping face.

The little guy has grown up and his face is becoming more and more handsome, but you can still get a glimpse of what he used to look like from his current appearance.

His body had also become stronger, and a thin undergarment could no longer conceal the true appearance of his physique.

Its tail had also become very thick, easily able to wrap around her tail, and even at one point suppressed her tail into a passive state, allowing it to be freely wrapped around by its tail.

That feeling... is intoxicating...

That's great.

Xi closed her eyes, gently holding Bai Zhou's hand, which was tucked into the blankets, and waited peacefully for the time to fall asleep.

"Sir, sir, get up and have breakfast. You can go back to sleep after you've eaten."

Suddenly, an incessant sound came from beside her, making Xi slightly annoyed.

Why are you so energetic so early in the morning? You've kept her from sleeping.

Xi squinted at him, then raised her hand and gently patted his arm that was draped over the pillow.

"Ah Xi, don't make a sound... I still need to sleep..."

Xi's soft, sweet voice sounded like she was coaxing him during the day.

On such an evening, how could Bai Ri bear to wake her up again? So he could only let her sleep in.

Unexpectedly, he slept until late afternoon before finally getting out of bed.

"Did you not go to bed early last night, sir?"

While helping Xi wash up, I also tried to figure out why Xi had been sleeping in for so long.

"I go to bed early."

Xi squinted and let Bai Zhou do as he pleased. Only after the towel was removed from her cheek did she reply with her next sentence.

“Ah Xi’s blanket is a bit thin; it will hurt his tail if he lies on it.”

"I see, I've got it. I'll add a thicker mattress later."

After getting ready for the evening, Bai Zhou took her out for breakfast or lunch, which was past midnight.

"Juxian Pavilion... What a boastful tone."

"Sir, would you like to try the food at this restaurant?"

By day, the evening had stopped at a restaurant with a sign bearing an astonishing name.

He was curious; how much nerve must one have to dare to name something like that? And what if it turned out badly? Wouldn't they be afraid of being criticized by those picky diners?

For example, right now.

Upon entering the restaurant, the two heard an astonishing commotion and heard diners and chefs arguing.

"A bowl of mixed noodles. The alkaline noodles weren't rinsed in cold water, so they taste like alkaline water all over; the fish balls don't taste like fish meat either, but in order to pretend, you specially added curry sauce imported from abroad, trying to make them into curry fish balls, using the spiciness of curry to mask the tastelessness of the fish balls, but that's too naive!"

"You clearly didn't cook them long enough, so the curry flavor just stuck to the surface of the fish balls and didn't penetrate them at all. And by repeatedly cooking these fish balls in the soup, the curry flavor was completely diluted. You made a perfectly good curry fish ball that has neither the flavor of fish nor the curry flavor. It's a failure!"

"The radish wasn't picked properly, too many fibers, a failure! The pork skin was overcooked and mushy, no chewiness, a failure! And the blood is all mushy, it falls apart as soon as you pick it up, a complete failure!"

"The worst part is the large intestine. It wasn't cleaned properly at all, there are still lumps inside, are you kidding me? Hey, there are lumps, there are lumps, did you see that? Hey, there are lumps?"

The white-haired nine-tailed fox, with a roguish air, held the bowl that she had described as worthless and hurled insults at the chef.

"Guest, please calm down. This guy is a new temporary worker we just hired. Somehow he ended up in charge of cooking this time. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against him."

"This bowl of noodles, and everything else you've spent at our restaurant today, will be paid for by us. How does that sound?"

Similarly, Volper's boss, with a forced smile, begged the nine-tailed fox for forgiveness.

"Hmph, this noodle dish has already ruined my appetite; no matter how delicious the food is, it will only make me lose my appetite."

Nine-Tails remained silent. He didn't accept the money and immediately got up to leave.

"Ok?"

Upon seeing the two people enter, Nine-Tails' silver eyes lit up slightly.

"Sir, this restaurant doesn't have a very good reputation. Should we go to another one?"

Bai Zhou was asking Xi about his plans after what had just happened when he suddenly heard someone calling his name, and then his face was covered in a huge white smear.

"My esteemed guest!"

The silver nine-tailed fox's voice was sickeningly sweet, and the part that was coated on it was ridiculously soft.

"Who? Who is it?"

His face was covered in white dust, and he lost sight of Xi. In his haste, he pushed away the people rushing towards him and went to look for Xi.

"Sir, I'm so glad you're alright."

Bai Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, then turned his attention to the "attacker".

"Young lady, I have no relation to you, so why did you do such a rude thing? Don't you know that men and women should not touch each other?"

Bai Zhou raised an eyebrow, wanting to correct the overly unrestrained behavior of this Volper.

"Huh? You don't recognize me... How could you not recognize me..."

Nine-Tails didn't care about being reprimanded at all; instead, she was sad that she hadn't been remembered.

“You did that to me, I’ll remember you for the rest of my life, but you say you don’t know me…”

She adopted a weak and submissive demeanor, a far cry from the tough woman she had been when arguing with the chef.

"But I really don't recognize it..."

Looking at the white-haired, silver-eyed Nine-Tailed Fox before him, Bai Zhou fell silent.

"Well, my esteemed guest, have you remembered now?"

"You are……"

Those figures flashed through Bai Zhou's mind, and then he suddenly realized.