Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

After settling the cub in, Xu Lingguang returned to the clan's territory with Lan Jian to treat it with new ointment and check on how well its injuries were healing.

Chenghuang truly lives up to its reputation as a divine beast. Its previously severe wounds have completely healed in just over ten days, leaving no trace of the injury.

Pink new flesh grew from the original wound, and snow-white downy hair grew out, only about the length of a finger. It felt soft and fluffy to the touch, much like the downy fur of a cub.

Xu Lingguang couldn't resist secretly touching it a few more times, unaware that the newly healed wound was extremely sensitive.

Lan Jian resisted the urge to move and glanced back at him.

But Xu Lingguang was so engrossed in the wonderful feel of the plush fur that he touched it again and again, completely unaware of his gaze.

Lan Jian finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up to remind them, "The injuries are no longer serious, let's begin."

Xu Lingguang said "Oh," and could only regretfully give up and begin to care for him.

Because of the meal at the cabin today, Lan Jian's size has shrunk considerably, to less than a quarter of its usual size. Xu Lingguang felt that it was about the same size as a tiger in the zoo, making it much easier and more convenient to take care of.

Perhaps because he was getting to know Lan Jian better, he wasn't as careful with his words as before, and muttered a complaint: "You can shrink, why didn't you shrink before? It's much easier to do caregiving after you shrink."

Lan Jian twitched her ears, naturally refusing to admit that she was genuinely enjoying the nursing process and had deliberately avoided shrinking.

He simply shifted the blame back to him: "You didn't mention it."

Xu Lingguang opened his mouth, but was speechless.

You wouldn't know if I didn't ask, but you're surprised when I do, right? :)

Because of the smaller size, the nursing time was also shortened this time.

When Xu Lingguang was polishing the claw hooks for him, he sat cross-legged on the white jade bed, with Lan Jian's two claws resting on his legs. Xu Lingguang could hold one of the furry claws in each hand.

This feeling is an irresistible temptation for a plush toy lover.

Xu Lingguang tried to hold back, but couldn't resist. He secretly glanced at Lan Jian and saw that he was pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed. He then pretended to casually take Lan Jian's hand in his palm and quickly and gently squeezed it.

So soft and bouncy.

It's also furry.

The paw pads, only slightly smaller than his palm, were soft and slightly warm, and felt very comfortable to the touch. Holding them in his palm felt like squeezing a large, soft, plush toy.

Xu Lingguang was overjoyed. Seeing that Lan Jian seemed oblivious, he couldn't resist pinching her again, two, three times...

Lan Jian noticed the moment Xu Lingguang secretly pinched her for the first time.

He initially intended to pretend he didn't know, but Xu Lingguang pressed his luck. He pinched him once, then a second, a third… countless times. Finally, Lan Jian couldn't take it anymore and opened his eyes to look at him, asking in a flat tone, "Have you pinched enough?"

Xu Lingguang: "..."

Xu Lingguang: "!!!!"

Xu Lingguang blushed from head to toe.

Their toes were curled up so tightly they could form a mountain like the Ailao Mountains.

He never expected to be caught red-handed secretly sharpening Lan Jian's claws. He lowered his head and obediently began sharpening Lan Jian's claws, stammering, "Enough, enough."

Lan Jian stared at the whorl of hair on his head and saw that his two exposed ears were bright red and twitched strangely. A smile appeared in her eyes.

It felt like if he asked a few more questions, Xu Lingguang would dig a hole and crawl into it on the spot.

After finishing his treatment, Xu Lingguang was too embarrassed to look up and meet Lan Jian's gaze. He packed his things and fled in a panic.

He'd never been so incredibly stupid in his life!

Lan Jian soon noticed that Xu Lingguang was acting strangely.

Since that day, Xu Lingguang seemed to deliberately avoid him whenever he came to the clan's territory to borrow the notebook.

Even if they occasionally bumped into each other, Xu Lingguang would just lower his head, give a quick greeting, and then turn and leave.

Lan Jian looked at his back with some confusion, frowning slightly, wondering if he was angry because she hadn't massaged his paws that day.

He was a little confused and a little disappointed.

In the past, whenever Xu Lingguang came to the clan's territory, he would always deliberately gravitate towards him, whether there was something to do or not. He would bring him some snacks, chat for a bit, ask about the Ailao Mountains, and smile so much that his eyes would crinkle up. Just looking at him gave you a warm feeling, like you had been basking in the sun.

But now Xu Lingguang not only doesn't smile at him anymore, he also avoids him.

So the next time Xu Lingguang came to give her a treatment, Lan Jian hesitated for a long time before placing her paws in his palm.

He made a huge decision to let Xu Lingguang pinch him to his heart's content.

The feeling of having one's paw pads pinched was very strange; that tingling, itchy sensation would travel from the paw pads all the way to the tips of the ears. Lan Jian was actually a little nervous, so she deliberately avoided Xu Lingguang's gaze and pretended that everything was normal.

Only Xu Lingguang looked at him with surprise. Was Lan Jian trying to sharpen his claws first today?

He thought about it and still didn't understand. He figured there was nothing wrong with sharpening the claws first, so he went to get a file, sat down cross-legged, and began to carefully sharpen Lan Jian's claws.

Lan Jian: "..."

He suspected that Xu Lingguang was still angry. On one hand, he wondered why this person was so easily angered, and that he could be coaxed more easily than a cub when he was angry. On the other hand, he didn't like that Xu Lingguang was angry with him.

After another period of hesitation and agonizing, Lan Jian placed her other paw on the back of Xu Lingguang's hand.

Is that enough?

Xu Lingguang: ?

He stared blankly at Lan Jian, then slowly blinked and asked, "Should we sharpen this claw first?"

Lan Jian: "..."

Extending his claws was already the limit of his attempts to show goodwill. Seeing Xu Lingguang's bewildered expression, he became somewhat annoyed and retracted both claws, lying there silently.

Xu Lingguang became increasingly puzzled, wondering if someone had angered him, given his unpredictable mood today.

One minute they want to sharpen their claws, the next they don't.

I don't know who was so blind as to mess with this ancestor.

He was implicated and suffered as a result.

It's really hateful!

Because his attempt to make amends failed, Lan Jian was in a very bad mood and didn't speak to anyone else after that.

Xu Lingguang felt that it was much quieter than usual and seemed to be in a bad mood, but he couldn't figure out who had offended it, so he didn't dare to speak rashly and could only conscientiously complete the work at hand.

After all the procedures were completed, he was packing up his tools when he saw Lan Jian still lying there looking unhappy. He hesitated for a moment and handed her the lychee cake he had brought: "I made lychee cake and brought you some. I put in a bit more sugar this time, so it might be a little sweeter than before."

Lan Jian glanced at him sideways, intending to say she wouldn't eat it in a huff. But when she met Xu Lingguang's gaze, she couldn't bring herself to say "I won't eat it," and finally said awkwardly, "Just leave it there."

Xu Lingguang said "Eh," put down the lychee cake, and prepared to go back.

As I reached the door, I hesitated for a moment, then asked, "It's my birthday the day after tomorrow. I'm planning a simple celebration. Would you like to come? Just showing up would be great; we can all have a meal together and have some fun."

Lan Jian glanced at him sideways and felt that his voice was soft and gentle, as if it carried a pleading tone. She almost nodded.

But thinking about how Xu Lingguang had been avoiding him before, and now he wanted him to celebrate his birthday, he felt a bit competitive and wanted to put up a good show. So he raised his chin and said arrogantly, "I might not have time that day."

If Xu Lingguang were to beg him, perhaps he could get it.

Xu Lingguang let out an "Ah," not too surprised. He quickly waved his hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright, then you go ahead and do your business."

Actually, he was just asking casually. It was already beyond his expectations that Lan Jian would be so approachable. Xu Lingguang never expected that this big shot would come to celebrate his birthday.

However, thinking that Youyu and the cubs would definitely be there, it wouldn't be good to only invite the cubs and not Lanjian, as it would risk offending Jin Datui, so she only extended a polite invitation.

If Lan Jian doesn't want to come, then he doesn't have to!

Anyway, there are still cubs, so it's lively enough.

Xu Lingguang ran off as soon as he finished speaking, leaving Lan Jian so angry that her ears were perked up.

Weren't you going to invite him to his birthday banquet? How can you be so insincere!