Chapter 4
Xu Qingzhou paused, looking in the direction of the sound.
Behind the wooden plank stood a man who looked to be in his early thirties. He had a long face, narrow eyes, and a slightly hunched back. Although most of his body was hidden by the plank, one could tell from his overall demeanor that he was not fat.
The man smiled and introduced himself familiarly:
"I am Xiao Ran and Xiao Ning's father. My name is Zhang Pengfei, you can just call me Brother Zhang."
With Chi Jun in her arms, it was difficult for Xu Qingzhou to write. She smiled and nodded to Zhang Pengfei, mouthing "hello".
Zhang Pengfei was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening.
"Oh...right, right, I heard from your sister Qin Jia that you are not able to speak."
For two strangers, a slight smile from Xu Qingzhou would be enough to end the conversation and allow them to go their separate ways.
But Zhang Pengfei didn't seem to intend to do that. He glanced at the fox in Xu Qingzhou's arms with interest and asked:
"Is this the fox you picked up?"
Xu Qingzhou nodded.
“Oh my, it’s really good-looking,” Zhang Pengfei said, making a teasing chirping sound as he reached out towards the fox’s head. “No wonder my two little girls are always asking to play with the fox.”
Xu Qingzhou instinctively took half a step back to avoid it.
It wasn't that she disliked people touching her fox, but rather that she worried the fox might scratch them.
Back when we were at my uncle and aunt's house, my aunt Xu Meiling was scratched by a fox. Although my cousin Xu Linlin reacted quickly and dodged once, she was so frightened by the fox's sudden ferocity that she dared not approach it again, only daring to curse it from afar as "dead fox" and "dead beast".
Zhang Pengfei noticed the dodge, his hand froze in mid-air, and he gave an awkward laugh.
Xu Qingzhou was a little embarrassed and was about to put the fox down and take out paper and pen to explain properly when Zhang Pengfei suddenly exclaimed with delight, pointed at the fox with a happy expression, and said to her:
"Hey, does it want me to hold it?"
Xu Qingzhou looked in the direction he was pointing.
The fox had a chicken leg in its mouth, its two front paws reaching towards Zhang Pengfei. Its eyes were narrowed, and the corners of its mouth were turned up. It was actually... smiling?
“Come, come,” Zhang Pengfei simply put down the wooden board with his other hand and stretched out his hand toward the fox. He only remembered halfway through before looking at Xu Qingzhou for help: “Can I... hug you?”
Xu Qingzhou was a beat slow to react, but after regaining his senses, he nodded.
The fox really liked Zhang Pengfei.
She obediently nestled in Zhang Pengfei's arms and played with him. She even opened her mouth obediently to let him take out the chicken leg and hand it to Xu Qingzhou, just like he was coaxing a child.
Xu Qingzhou glanced at the chicken leg in his hand, then looked at the fox rubbing its sharp snout against Zhang Pengfei's face. For some reason, a thought suddenly popped into his mind:
It seems like it would have been better not to bring this chicken leg back at all...
*
At noon, in addition to a dish of stir-fried mushrooms and greens, Xu Qingzhou specially made a plate of braised chicken legs.
This was a large meat dish that she had almost never seen on her table before. After being vegetarian for the past two months, Chi Jun was starving and devoured four chicken legs in a row.
Xu Qingzhou was quite pleased to see him eating so heartily.
After finishing his meal, the fox wiped his mouth, jumped off the little chair, and trotted out, as if something very clear had already taken shape in his mind, just waiting for him to finish eating so he could do it immediately.
Xu Qingzhou was a little curious, so he stood at the door and took a look.
They discovered a fox with a large tail, swaying as it walked north along the corridor, then turned right at the corner and walked ten meters before stopping in front of the twins' house.
To be precise, it was in front of Zhang Pengfei's house.
Xu Qingzhou: "..."
Soon, the sounds of the twins playing with the fox and Zhang Pengfei maintaining order came from the suite diagonally opposite, echoing lively and cheerfully in the rental courtyard.
Previously, they would have avoided the twins at all costs, but now, because of the twins' father, Zhang Pengfei, they have come to visit them on their own initiative.
The fox probably... really likes Zhang Pengfei.
Xu Qingzhou recalled the scene of Zhang Pengfei holding the fox in his arms, the two of them playing affectionately together. She looked in that direction, gently bit her lip, turned around and went back to the small dining table to continue eating the rest of her lunch.
The chicken leg was probably a little cold.
It doesn't taste as good as before.
Xu Qingzhou still made do, finishing all the rice in his bowl, and then covered the remaining two chicken drumsticks with a lid, saving them for the fox to eat at dinner.
After a quick clean-up following the meal, Xu Qingzhou used the afternoon to study.
Senior year of high school is a crucial year in a student's life. Although she has finished the summer homework assigned by the school, Xu Qingzhou dares not slack off now, knowing that she will have much less study time than other students after school starts.
She meticulously reviewed her old textbooks and incorrect answers, studying and summarizing them one by one.
Time always flies when you're focused.
As time passed, the geometric shape cast by the sunlight at the doorway continuously shrank and changed until it finally disappeared completely.
When Xu Qingzhou looked up from the workbook again, the clock had already struck 6:50.
It was getting dark.
Xu Qingzhou rubbed his eyes, put down his pen, and first picked and washed the vegetables to make a pot of vegetable and vermicelli soup. Then he put a few pre-packaged shredded radish buns into the steamer.
After everything was prepared and she had a little free time, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She belatedly realized that the fox still hadn't returned.
Half a day had passed, and Xu Qingzhou wasn't sure if the fox was still at Zhang Pengfei's house, or if it had already run off to play and couldn't find its way home, so he hurriedly went to look for it.
Fortunately, Xu Qingzhou saw the fox's snow-white figure as soon as he arrived at the door.
I'm sitting side by side with my twins on the sofa, watching cartoons.
I don't know if it can understand it or not, but anyway... its expression looks quite focused.
Xu Qingzhou found it somewhat amusing, and his lips twitched slightly—
"You've come looking for the fox, haven't you?"
Xu Qingzhou turned around.
Zhang Pengfei was standing behind her, holding a basin of freshly washed dishes, smiling broadly.
They had obviously already eaten dinner.
Xu Qingzhou felt apologetic and quickly stepped aside, saying:
Sorry, I lost track of time while studying this afternoon. I'm sorry for the trouble, Fox.
Zhang Pengfei laughed nonchalantly and walked past her into the house.
"What's the trouble? You can just do your thing. We all like this fox, and look, we even had dinner at our house."
...Have you finished eating?
Xu Qingzhou could only smile apologetically.
She wanted to take the fox back first, but when she got close, the fox ran around the house and refused to go with her. In the end, Xu Qingzhou was sweating profusely and her face was a little red from trying to catch it, but she couldn't even grab a single hair.
Zhang Pengfei couldn't help but laugh:
"Oh, you can leave it here to play for a while. Anyway, you don't need to worry about it while it's with me."
Having said that, Xu Qingzhou looked at the fox and could only shake his head helplessly.
Sorry, I'll come pick him up after dinner.
"It's alright, it's alright, you go back and do your work."
Xu Qingzhou left alone.
I kept turning back to look at myself, feeling a pang of jealousy, as if I'd been given a half-empty bottle of vinegar.
She felt that her little fox probably wanted to find a new owner.
*
As if to confirm Xu Qingzhou's lament, in the following days, the fox still went to Zhang Pengfei's house whenever it had free time. At first, it was just playing around, but it quickly progressed to staying for most of the day, refusing to come back for meals, and even taking its afternoon nap at Zhang Pengfei's house.
They eat together, take naps together, watch TV together, and even go out for walks and take photos together, just like a close-knit "big family".
Xu Qingzhou, the original owner, could only stand aside and watch the fox be all lovey-dovey with someone else.
What's even more heartbreaking is that sometimes you have to be called over to witness and record their sweetness firsthand—
The time Xu Qingzhou remembered most clearly was when she had just returned from buying some school supplies and saw Fox playing with Zhang Pengfei and his daughter in the courtyard on the first floor. When Zhang Pengfei saw her, he naturally raised his hand to greet her.
"Come on, Xiao Xu, take a picture of us."
He then shoved the phone into her hand.
Xu Qingzhou took the phone.
In the video, the twins hugged Zhang Pengfei's legs on either side, while the fox obediently lay on Zhang Pengfei's head, grinning at him with squinted eyes.
—It doesn't look like her pet; it looks more like Zhang Pengfei's.
Xu Qingzhou pressed the shutter button.
The image freezes.
Zhang Pengfei took the phone, initially excited to see the finished product, but his brows furrowed upon seeing it:
"Oh no, this won't do, most of the fox's body isn't even in the frame."
He said it casually, but Xu Qingzhou blushed and looked a little awkward.
Sorry, let me take another picture for you.
"Okay, okay."
This time, the fox appeared completely intact in the shot.
Zhang Pengfei was very satisfied and praised her for taking such a good photo, saying that the composition of the optical fiber was just right.
Xu Qingzhou forced a smile, but couldn't quite manage a genuine laugh.
Because the twins' photos with the fox looked so harmonious, they deliberately kept the fox out of the frame.
She felt ashamed of her own dishonorable thoughts.
The reason she found it distasteful was that Xu Qingzhou knew perfectly well that a fox, as a living creature, had the right to choose to play with the people it liked, and her discomfort stemmed purely from her own possessiveness.
Imposing possessiveness on a fox is definitely inappropriate.
Therefore, in response to this situation, Xu Qingzhou also tried to make some changes, such as buying snacks and small toys for the fox, and imitating Zhang Pengfei's fried chicken bucket, he bought some chicken wings and fried them himself.
Unfortunately, these things didn't really attract the fox. Even the "fried chicken wings" were a complete failure. Not only did the chicken wings burn and waste oil, but Xu Qingzhou also got several small burns on the back of his hands and arms.
In his frustration, Xu Qingzhou had only one option left—to console himself.
—The fox only goes out to play every day. As long as it knows to come back to sleep at night, it means that deep down it considers this place to be its home.
It's a living, breathing animal, and there's nothing wrong with choosing to stay with people it likes.
—The fox has finally found something that makes her happy, so why should her master take it away from her?
—Imposing possessiveness on a fox is far too domineering.
After that, every time Xu Qingzhou saw the fox dragging its big tail and swaying towards Zhang Pengfei's house, he would silently take a breath and repeat these words in his heart to remind himself.
Whether it was because he was used to the fox frequently running to Zhang Pengfei's house, or because this self-hypnotic approach really worked, as time went by, Xu Qingzhou's mindset actually gradually became more peaceful.
With school about to start, she even found a convenient opportunity in the fox's friendly behavior towards Zhang Pengfei—
Since the fox and Zhang Pengfei are "going to each other", perhaps after she starts school, she can leave the fox at Zhang Pengfei's house during the day.
Xu Qingzhou didn't have the courage to ask for help.
But after weighing the pros and cons, she decided to swallow her pride and try to bring it up with Zhang Pengfei.
If the other party doesn't agree, that's normal, there's nothing we can do about it.
But if we agree, the fox won't have to be locked up in the small rented room all day long, wouldn't that be better?
You can't ask someone for a favor empty-handed.
After making up his mind, Xu Qingzhou thought for a moment and decided to go to the small market first to see what suitable small gifts he could buy for the twins, and also bring back some groceries for the next few days.
After finishing a test paper, Xu Qingzhou tidied his desk a little, grabbed his keys, and went out.
As she turned around, she habitually glanced in the direction of Zhang Pengfei's house.
The main door was tightly closed, with only the windows open for ventilation, revealing the screens inside.
It seems the fox went out with Zhang Pengfei and his two daughters.
*
The wholesale market was very close to the vegetable market, so Xu Qingzhou went there first and picked out two blue tulle dresses inspired by the Snow Queen.
She remembered that when she was very young, she especially loved princess dresses like these and liked to hold a magic wand and pretend she could cast spells. And as far as she could recall, the twins seemed to like watching Elsa.
After asking the price, Xu Qingzhou gritted her teeth and bought the two identical dresses, then took them to the market.
As noon approached, the market was bustling with people.
Xu Qingzhou first went to the vegetable section and bought some potatoes, greens, and loofah. After thinking for a moment, he carried the bag and squeezed into the prepared food section.
She remembered that Zhang Pengfei liked to buy a kind of fried chicken popcorn, which the fox loved to eat. It seemed that it was bought from a deli stall here.
She looked around for a moment, then squeezed through the crowd and walked toward a food stall with a yellow sign. As she got closer, her eyes lit up when she saw a white figure in front of the stall.
fox.
However, the next second, Xu Qingzhou's smile froze.
A rope was around the fox's neck. Zhang Pengfei half-squatted on the ground, holding the rope with one hand and stroking the fox's head with the other, while looking up to talk to the person in front of him.
It's perfectly normal to keep animals on a leash when they're out in the wild. You could also interpret Zhang Pengfei's actions as a responsible way of preventing the fox from running away.
However, what suddenly made Xu Qingzhou's heart sink, and a strange feeling welled up inside him, was what Zhang Pengfei said to the people opposite him with a smile on his face—
"As you just saw, this fox of mine is no ordinary one. You think you can buy it for only 2,000 yuan? Absolutely not, not at all."
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