The morning sun didn't just filter through the curtains of the Feng Villa;
It seemed to hesitate at the window, as if sensing the sheer density of the killing intent radiating from the breakfast room.
Nan Si woke up to a peculiar sensation. Usually, she was pinned to the bed by the heavy, possessive warmth of Feng Yuan's arm.
As She felt the emptiness beside her, Nan Si rubbed her jade eyes, yawning like a small, sleepy kitten.
She climbed out of the silk sheets, her waist still feeling a lingering, sweet ache from the previous nights of "doting," and padded down the stairs.
The sight in the dining room was nothing short of a silent battlefield.
But today, the air felt electric.
From the left side of the hallway wafted the aroma of a five-star kitchen: truffle-infused omelets, crispy golden hash browns, and the rich, earthy scent of Blue Mountain coffee.
From the right side, however, came a scent that shouldn't exist in the human world—the fragrance of Spirit-Dew fruits and celestial nectar, a smell so sweet it made the air feel thick like syrup.
The long mahogany table had been divided by an invisible line.
On the left sat Feng Yuan, dressed in a sharp black silk robe that fell open slightly to reveal the firm, pale lines of his chest.
He was calmly flipping through a tablet, his expression the definition of "glacial indifference."
On the right sat Nan Hu, draped in a robe of iridescent violet feathers, lazily peeling a fruit that shimmered with a rhythmic, pulsing light.
"Sisi, you're awake," Feng Yuan said, his voice dropping into that low, magnetic register that always made Nan Si's toes curl.
He pulled out the chair next to him. "The chef just finished the spicy gluten strips you asked for. I also had them prepare a bowl of bird's nest soup to nourish your qi."
"Spicy strips for breakfast? Utter trash," Nan Hu sneered, flicking a shimmering purple grape into the air and catching it in his mouth.
He handed a glowing pear toward Nan Si.
"Little sister, eat this 'Cloud-Spirit Pear' instead. It will stabilize your fox fire and cleanse your meridians. Don't let this mortal turn your stomach into a junkyard for human grease."
Feng Yuan's hand, which was holding a silver fork, tightened until the metal began to groan.
He looked up, his eyes swirling with a dark, paranoid hunger. "My wife likes what she likes. Your 'magic fruit' looks like a glowing choking hazard. If you want to feed a zoo, go to the park."
"Wife?" Nan Hu laughed, a cold, melodic sound that made the crystal vases on the sideboard vibrate.
"A piece of paper signed by human laws? To the Nine-Tailed Clan, she is a Princess. To me, you are a temporary pet she's keeping for entertainment."
[Beep! Darkness Value: 75%!]
Baby's voice echoed in Nan Si's head, sounding like he was munching on popcorn
[Host, the 'Jealous CEO' meter is spiking! If you don't eat both the pear and the spicy strips, I think the villa is going to explode!]
Nan Si sighed, walking to the head of the table.
She reached out, took a spicy strip with one hand and the glowing pear with the other, and took a bite of both at the same time.
"Mmm! It's the 'Sweet and Spicy' flavor!" she chirped, her eyes curving into crescents.
"If you two don't stop glaring, I'm going to invite Lu Sheng and the others over to eat. At least they bring their girlfriends!"
The mention of the "squad" seemed to momentarily break the tension.
In the high-society circles of China, the "Ice King" Feng Yuan wasn't the only one who had finally been "tamed."
"Speaking of Lu Sheng," Feng Yuan said, his gaze softening as he watched Nan Si eat.
"He called this morning. He wants to host a double-date dinner. He finally managed to convince Lin Xia to go public."
Nan Si's eyes lit up. "The 'Wife Sanctuary' girl? He finally caught her?"
Lu Sheng's pursuit of Lin Xia had been the talk of the city. Lin Xia was a fierce, independent woman who ran a famous shelter for women—the "Wife Sanctuary."
Lu Sheng, the flamboyant playboy, had spent six months volunteering at the shelter, scrubbing floors and carrying heavy boxes, just to get a three-minute conversation with her.
He had been "chasing his wife" so hard that he'd lost five pounds and gained a permanent habit of checking his phone every ten seconds.
"He did," Feng Yuan said, a smirk of pity crossing his lips.
"But he's still under a 'probation period.' He has to follow 50 rules she set, or he's back to scrubbing floors."
Nan Si giggled. "And what about Yan Shuo? Is he still dating that sweet nurse?"
Yan Shuo, the cold and clinical genius doctor, had fallen for Su Su, a girl who was as soft and sweet as cotton candy. Their love was a classic "Doctor-Patient" romance.
Su Su had been a volunteer at his hospital, and her gentle, clumsy kindness had melted the ice in Yan Shuo's surgical heart.
Now, the man who used to look at people like they were just anatomical charts was often seen carrying a pink thermos and making sure Su Su wore a scarf in the wind.
"Yan Shuo is hopeless," Feng Yuan remarked, though there was a hint of warmth in his tone.
"He's currently writing a 500-page manual on 'How to Keep Su Su Healthy.' He treats her like she's made of spun sugar."
"And Mo Jinnian?" Nan Si asked, leaning her chin on her hand.
"Mo Jinnian is Mo Jinnian," Feng Yuan replied.
"He and Jiang Ran are at the villa next door. They've been together since they were five years old.
Their marriage is so stable it's boring. They don't even need to speak; they just look at each other and know what the other is thinking."
Nan Hu listened to this talk of human love with a look of extreme boredom.
"Humans and their trivial attachments. Sisi, why bother with these 'couples'?
Come back to the Demon Realm. I've already prepared a palace for you made of star-jade and will let you chose male concubines as much as you want."
Nan Si ignored her brother's tempting offer, focusing instead on the way Feng Yuan's thumb was subconsciously stroking the back of her hand.
The "Ice King" was listening to her talk about his friends, but his focus was entirely on her.
He was checking her temperature, making sure she wasn't too tired, and watching the way her lips moved.
It was a level of doting that felt heavy, yet so safe.
Over the next few days, Nan Hu didn't leave. He became a permanent, violet-clothed shadow in the Feng Villa.
He watched everything.
He watched as Feng Yuan stayed up until 3:00 AM, not working on his business empire.
But hand-mapping a route around the world that avoided all areas with high humidity because "Sisi's hair gets frizzy, and it makes her grumpy."
He watched as Feng Yuan, a man who had never knelt to anyone, knelt on the floor to put on Nan Si's socks because she was "too lazy" to bend over after a long bath.
He watched as Feng Yuan, whose time was worth millions of dollars a minute, spent three hours in the kitchen with a chef,
learning how to make the perfect spicy gluten strip because he didn't want Nan Si eating "unhealthy" factory-made ones.
One evening, Nan Hu stood on the balcony, watching the two of them in the garden below.
Feng Yuan was wrapping a cashmere shawl around Nan Si's shoulders, his movements so tender it was as if he were handling the most fragile soul in the universe.
"He's obsessed," Nan Hu whispered to himself, his violet eyes glowing. "It's not just love. It's a soul-bond. He's tied his very life-force to her happiness."
Nan Hu realized that if he took Nan Si away, he wouldn't just be breaking Feng Yuan's heart—he would be extinguishing his soul.
And more importantly, he saw the way Nan Si looked at the mortal. Her eyes weren't just the eyes of a princess playing with a pet; they were the eyes of a girl who had finally found her home.
The next morning, Nan Hu appeared in Feng Yuan's study.
Feng Yuan didn't look up from his desk. "If you're here to complain about the breakfast again, the door is behind you."
Nan Hu didn't sneer. He walked over and threw a small, ancient-looking jade token onto the desk.
"It's a Spirit-Link. If Sisi is ever in danger—true danger that your mortal money can't fix—crush it. I will tear through space to get to her."
Feng Yuan finally looked up, his eyes narrowing. "You're leaving?"
"I have a Realm to run," Nan Hu said, crossing his arms.
"And besides, I can't stand the smell of your 'spicy strips' anymore. But hear me, mortal. I've watched you. You treat her well. Better than many of our kind treat their consorts."
Nan Hu stepped closer, his voice turning cold and lethal. "I give you my blessing for this 'wedding' you are planning. But if her light ever fades—if she looks even one percent less happy than she is now—I will return. And I will not just take her; I will erase every trace of your existence from this world."
Feng Yuan didn't flinch. He stood up, meeting the Demon Prince's gaze with a steady, dark intensity.
"You won't get the chance. I will spoil her until she forgets that the Demon Realm even exists."
Nan Hu let out a short, bark-like laugh. "We'll see. Goodbye, Sisi's monkey."
With a swirl of violet feathers, the Demon Prince vanished, leaving the room smelling of mountain air and ozone.
[Beep! Darkness Value: 60%!] [Mission Update: The Brother's Acceptance Complete!]
Nan Si came running into the study a moment later, looking around. "Ah Yuan! Where did Brother go? He didn't even say goodbye!"
Feng Yuan walked over and pulled her into his lap, burying his face in her hair. "He had some business. But he left a gift." He showed her the jade token. "And he gave us his blessing."
Nan Si's eyes widened. "Really? He didn't try to turn you into a toad?"
"He tried," Feng Yuan murmured, his hands wandering to her waist, pulling her closer until there was no space between them.
"But I think he realized that I'm a much more dangerous monster when it comes to you."
Nan Si laughed, nuzzling his chest. "You're just my Ah Yuan."
"Yes," he whispered, his eyes darkening with that familiar, possessive heat.
"And you are my wife. It's time we made it official. I've already contacted the designers. Your dress will be made of silk spun from silver spiders, and we'll have the ceremony on the private island."
[Host!] Baby chimed in.
[Don't forget the original owner's wish! She wanted to travel the world! You have to do it before the 'Wedding Night' becomes a 'Wedding Year' and you never leave the bed!]
Nan Si blushed furiously, remembering the "three requests" she had made.
"Ah Yuan... after the wedding, can we go to the North Pole? And Paris? And the rainforests?"
Feng Yuan kissed the tip of her nose. "We can go wherever you want. I'll buy the planes, the hotels, and the cities if I have to. As long as you're with me, the world is yours."
Nan Si felt a surge of warmth. Everything was falling into place.
Her brother had accepted her love, the "CEO squad" was all happily tamed, and her Jue Jue was looking at her with a devotion that transcended time and space.
But as she looked into Feng Yuan's eyes, she saw a flicker of something—a deep, ancient loneliness that even her love hadn't fully cured.
It was as if he knew, deep down, that their time was a countdown.
"Ah Yuan," she whispered, "I will love you for as long as this world turns."
"And I," Feng Yuan replied, his voice a vow, "will love you until the stars themselves go dark."
As they sat there, planning a wedding that would be the envy of the world, the shadow of the future loomed—a future of travel.
But for now, there was only the sweetness of the present and the smell of spicy gluten strips.