Morning sunlight spilled gently into the room,
filling every corner with warmth.
Ah Li and I sat at the dining table,
a simple breakfast between us.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
For the first time in a long while…
Life finally felt normal.
"You look happier today,"
Ah Li said softly, a faint smile on her lips.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Because I think… we've finally left everything behind."
Ever since the ritual collapsed,
Everything had changed.
Ah Li had returned to being human.
And I…
I had remained human too.
As if fate itself had made an exception just for us.
A cruel world…
giving us a rare moment of mercy.
Not everyone was so lucky though.
Lin Guodong.
Li Ya.
They had become ordinary wild foxes in the eyes of the world.
Captured.
Resold.
Thrown into the brutal supply chain of the fur industry.
Round after round of cages.
Markets.
Transit.
Torment.
Again and again.
They kept their human minds.
But no one ever saw them as human again.
Sometimes,
I still thought of them.
A strange, bitter feeling surfacing in my chest.
Not happiness.
Not sympathy either.
Just a quiet understanding of what consequence meant.
"What are you thinking about?"
Ah Li asked, noticing my silence.
"Lin Guodong… and Li Ya," I replied.
She was quiet for a moment.
Then softly said:
"Maybe… that's just the result of their choices."
"If they hadn't been so blinded by greed and hatred… they wouldn't have ended up like that."
I nodded.
"You're right."
"But what matters is…"
I squeezed her hand gently.
"We're not letting their shadows define us anymore."
From that day on,
I threw myself fully into the future.
Studying harder than ever.
Waking early.
Staying up late.
Even weekends meant grinding problems and mock exams.
Until the day the exam results came out.
"Ah Li!"
"I made it!"
I ran back home, holding the admission letter in my hands,
still half afraid it wasn't real.
Her eyes widened.
Then slowly…
She smiled.
A real one.
"That's amazing," she whispered, eyes shimmering.
"You did it."
"No," I said, holding her closer.
"We did."
"Without you…"
"I wouldn't have made it here."
University came faster than expected.
We packed what little we had.
Stepped onto the train together.
As the city pulled away behind us,
the scenery outside blurring into a stream of colors…
I looked at her.
And she looked back at me.
No monsters.
No hunters.
No curses.
Just two people
moving forward
into their own future.
And for once…
Fate didn't stop us.
– End –
Thank you for reading this story until the end.
I wrote The Fox Girl I Can Never Repay not as a tale about monsters,
but about two people who held on to each other when the whole world refused to understand them.
If this story reached you in any way—made you think, ache, or simply feel a little less alone—
then it already means more than numbers ever could.
This is a short piece, but it came from a real place in my heart.
And if you'd like to walk with me a little further, I'll be writing more stories—
some sweet, some sharp, some strange—
but always honest.
Thank you for lending me your time.
If you enjoyed this one, feel free to check out my next work.
Let's meet again in the next story.
My next piece will be longer.
I'm working on the transition from short stories to a novel—and it isn't easy.
Writing longer isn't just adding words.
It means rebuilding structure, deepening characters, and sustaining the plot over time.
I'll do my best to keep it tight—no filler, no dragging—only what the story truly needs.
It's a challenge, but I'll keep going.
Because when you write what you love, life stays bright—especially with you here.