254 - The Demon Fox Wife is a Foodie

Unbeknownst to her, Yanzhao's eyes had grown moist. Willing to cooperate, she changed her address, "Then... Ayin?" "Oops, you got it wrong!" The person behind her suddenly spoke with a buoyant tone, "Guess again. There’s a reward if you get it right this time!" At the mention of a reward, a solitary tear escaped from the corner of Yanzhao's eye, tracing a path down her cheek and soaking the hand that covered her eyes. The person behind her felt the wetness on their palm and hesitated momentarily, looking downward with a helpless tone, "It's okay not to guess right, but why the tears? I didn't think you wanted the reward so much." Yanzhao had wanted to say, "No reward is necessary." Yet before she could speak, tears fell first, sticking in her throat like a wad of cotton, causing her voice to crumble into a whimper. Since truly realizing her mother was her mother, so much time had passed. Yan Yuanqing’s spirit had been damaged and she had been resting in the Soul-Consolidating Pearl. Yanzhao hadn’t seen her mother since. Yanzhao believed she had accepted this with composure. She was accustomed to dealing with various upheavals. Even when she'd seen Yan Yuanqing’s body in the cave yesterday, she hadn't reacted so badly. But unexpectedly, her emotions became foreign to her. She discovered she had so many tears, unstoppable as they were. The person behind her grew anxious, "Hey, why are you crying? Don't be so easily teased, please stop crying, okay?" A gentle push on her shoulder forced Yanzhao to turn around, inadvertently meeting a pair of warm, gentle eyes. Yan Yuanqing cupped Yanzhao's face with both hands, gently brushing her thumb over her tear-stained, reddened eyes. There was a hint of innocent apology in her spirited brows and eyes, with a helpless tone, "Weren't you always quite resilient? How come after just a few days, your heart has become so fragile?" Yanzhao sniffled, "It's been more than a year, not just a few days." She tried to control her emotions, yet tears continued to fall like beads. After failing several times, she gave up holding them back and sobbed, "Mother, I couldn't protect Ayin. She’s been sealed away." Now, it was Yan Yuanqing’s turn to pause. Her deep, gentle eyes grew restless with unstoppable emotions. Yan Yuanqing bent over, placing a light kiss upon Yanzhao's forehead. Finally, she wiped away the tear marks from Yanzhao's cheeks, meeting her daughter’s puppy-like, watery gaze. "It’s no big deal, just a seal, after all." Chapter 276 Yanzhao was taken aback. Yan Yuanqing patted her cheeks and ruffled her hair, like she was teasing a puppy. After messing up Yanzhao's hair into a disheveled state, she smiled with bright eyes and asked, "Feeling better now?" Unnoticeably, Yanzhao's tears stopped falling. However, her eyes remained slightly red, and she stared at Yan Yuanqing in a daze, as though still lost in thought. Upon hearing those words, Yanzhao awoke from her daze. She said nothing, just inhaled deeply and lowered her head, quickly wiping the haziness from her eyes with her sleeve. Then, lifting her small face, the tear marks on her cheeks were gone, and her slightly red eyes shone with a hint of clarity, hiding the vulnerability and weakness she had inadvertently shown earlier as she faced Yan Yuanqing with greater determination. "I'm fine," Yanzhao replied. "My mood isn’t bad." Yan Yuanqing, who was usually perceptive, wasn't as understanding today. Curious, she asked, "Then why were you crying earlier?" Yanzhao turned away reluctantly, not wanting to answer. She thought the sealing of Nangong Yin was a serious matter, given how important her mother and Ayin were to each other. Knowing this, surely her mother would be worried. But Yan Yuanqing didn’t seem very concerned, making her own worry seem foolish. However, whenever Yanzhao turned away, Yan Yuanqing would follow and ask again, "Tell your mother, what grievance did my little darling suffer to cry so?" The words "little darling" made Yanzhao's ears burn. No one had ever called her "little darling" before. The term was both affectionate and unfamiliar, and she wasn't used to it. Yanzhao refused to answer, so Yan Yuanqing pretended to cry into her sleeve, "It was so hard to see you again, and yet you're treating me so coldly. Boo hoo, I'm so heartbroken." "..." Yanzhao fell silent. It had been too long since they'd seen each other. She almost forgot how unconventional her mother could be. Yanzhao pouted, dropped her gaze, and stared at her toes, speaking in a small voice, "I already said." Nangong Yin being sealed was a serious issue, and she was afraid of being punished, more scared of her mother being heartbroken upon learning the news. Yet, nothing happened, making her feel silly. "Hm?" Yan Yuanqing suddenly leaned in, tilting her ear, "What did you say?" Yanzhao finally ran out of patience and pushed Yan Yuanqing's face away. "Why aren't you worried about Ayin at all? Aren't you and Ayin Dao companions?" "Eh?" Yan Yuanqing's face was distorted from being pushed, but she still resisted against Yanzhao's hand, her eyebrows lively at the revelation, "You know what Dao companions are?" Yanzhao disliked how Yan Yuanqing still treated her like a child, "Of course I know!" Furthermore, her mother’s focus was completely misplaced! Yan Yuanqing became intrigued and, not letting Yanzhao remind her about the pressing issue of Nangong Yin’s sealing, suddenly grasped Yanzhao's hand, "Let's sit and have a proper chat. Has my little Zhaozhao encountered some matters of the heart?" Yanzhao: "?!" Before she could resist, Yan Yuanqing had already led her to sit in the pavilion. Yan Yuanqing swept her sleeve lightly over the empty table, producing several plates of pastries and spirit fruits. She picked up a flower-shaped cake with chopsticks, placing it on the empty plate in front of Yanzhao with a smile, "Let me guess, has our Zhaozhao found someone she likes?" Yanzhao: "..." The topic shifted too quickly for Yanzhao to keep up. Though her own thoughts were usually quite scattered, in front of her mother, she felt insignificant by comparison. Seeing Yanzhao in a daze, Yan Yuanqing playfully poked her daughter's nose tip, using a playful, soft voice as though she were teasing Yanzhao with pet names, "Isn’t that right?" Her daughter, being so adorably clueless yet knowledgeable about Dao companions, indicated some prior research. Yan Yuanqing’s eyes twinkled with curiosity and she tried to guess who might have captured Yanzhao's heart. She had a certain someone in mind, but due to her long slumber caused by her spiritual wound, she couldn't be certain that Yanzhao hadn't met someone new in the meantime, so she dared not conclude prematurely. Confronted by Yan Yuanqing's expectant gaze, Yanzhao suddenly felt shy. In front of Bilan, she could confidently voice her thoughts. Yet, facing Yan Yuanqing, she couldn’t maintain that same openness for inexplicable discomfort. The seat felt like it had pins in it, making Yanzhao a bit antsy. Seeing that Yanzhao remained silent, Yan Yuanqing feigned a pout, wiping away nonexistent tears, "Boo hoo, my daughter isn’t close to me. She doesn’t want to share her thoughts, and her mother is so heartbroken..." While pretending to cry, she peeked through her slightly parted fingers to clandestinely observe Yanzhao. "..." Yanzhao averted her gaze speechlessly. Yan Yuanqing tugged at Yanzhao’s sleeve, as if unwilling to relent until she shared her secret. Yanzhao sighed with resignation, her expression conflicted. Only after pondering for a long time did she whisper a single syllable, "Yes." Yan Yuanqing immediately perked up. "Really?!" Her eyes gleamed with excitement, completely unaware of the dignity expected of an elder. She leaned in eagerly, "Who is it? Tell me, your mother promises to keep it a secret!" Yanzhao thought to herself: As if you’d keep a secret. Though she didn’t know Yan Yuanqing too well, Yanzhao just had a feeling: if she shared her thoughts with Yan Yuanqing, her mother would turn around and tell Nangong Yin. This inexplicably made Yanzhao feel embarrassed, awkward and uncomfortable. She vaguely realized that her mother was different from Bilan. With Bilan, she could openly express her innermost thoughts because she didn’t care what Bilan thought of her. But with her mother, she couldn’t maintain the same mindset she had in front of Bilan. She cared about her mother's opinion—because her mother wasn't just her parent but also her sister's teacher. She had to consider whether liking her sister might hurt her mother. Suddenly, it dawned on her why her senior sister would say that even if two people like each other, they might not be able to be together. Being together requires more than just liking each other. She didn't need to worry about others' opinions, but her mother was different. She couldn't treat her mother as she would others. Yanzhao pondered these things, her thoughts wandering, emotions alternatively rising and falling. Although she remained silent for a while, Yan Yuanqing could see Yanzhao's constantly shifting expressions. Privately, she couldn’t help but think how, in the short year they hadn’t seen each other, her dear daughter had become so enamored, unable to extricate herself. This signaled that Yanzhao was growing up fast, which filled her, as a mother, with both comfort and an inexplicable sense of loss. Yan Yuanqing didn't rush Yanzhao, waiting patiently for her to sort out her thoughts. When Yanzhao finally realized she had spaced out, forgetting they were still talking, she looked up to see Yan Yuanqing smiling at her. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Yanzhao lowered her head, her fingers entwining as she traced circles. "If I’m honest, will you promise not to get mad?" Yan Yuanqing's heart skipped a beat, her seemingly calm exterior hiding an inner exclamation. Her daughter's first innocent brush with love was so adorable, prompting a wave of her own youthful memories. Of course, her youth was different; when she met Nangong Yin, she had already lived for a few thousand years... Suddenly, an alarm went off in Yan Yuanqing's mind: Our little Zhaozhao is only three hundred years old! That’s two hundred years earlier than when Lu Xu started hovering around Yue'er! Isn’t it a bit too early to be thinking about romance? Yan Yuanqing’s mind was all over the place, starting from a gossipy curiosity to a cautious worry. Looking at Yanzhao, then again, Yanzhao still had her head down, waiting for a response. Yan Yuanqing closed her eyes, took a deep breath, calming her agitated feelings, and lifted her lips into a small smile, speaking softly, "Why would I be mad? No matter who you like, I won't be angry." Yanzhao lifted her head, sneaking a glance at Yan Yuanqing, "So you're saying you agree?" Yan Yuanqing: "???" I didn’t say that! She’d been outsmarted by her own daughter. Little Zhaozhao seemed so innocent, yet she was already using little tricks on her mother! Yan Yuanqing’s mouth twitched slightly, not willing to let it go just yet, "But you haven't even told me who it is." Yanzhao appeared to gather her courage, standing tall, "Because no matter who it is, you’ll support me." Then, as if suddenly realizing something, her shoulders dropped in disappointment, her face clouded over with an expression of loss, "Or maybe you don't think that way? Were you opposed all along, and I misunderstood..." Saying this, an unjustified sense of grievance surged within her, making her feel as though she was speaking the truth, and her eyes reddened in an instant. Her expression was so plaintive that her eyes turned red immediately. Yan Yuanqing was taken aback and couldn’t tell if Yanzhao was acting or truly hurt by her ambiguous attitude. Seeing Yanzhao on the verge of tears, Yan Yuanqing grew frantic, "Oh hey hey! I didn’t oppose it! It’s no big deal, don’t cry, don’t cry. Do tears cost nothing? You can like whoever you want, I won't oppose!" Yanzhao instantly lifted her head, her eyelashes fluttering, and the tears in her eyes vanished. The next moment, her eyebrows arched, her eyes crinkled into crescents, and she broke into a big, bright smile, "You're the best, mom!" "I don't long for the moon, but for this meeting with you," Yanzhao thought, feeling grateful for her understanding mother.