Ark Simulator, Didn't I Have No Physical Form?

"Where?" Su Rui subconsciously raised his hand to touch it, but saw Bai Xue leaning over, her thumb brushing against his earlobe. "Just kidding~"

She deliberately brushed her fingertips against the sensitive inside of Suri's ear, causing Su Rui to stiffen instantly. Her tail slammed onto the tatami mat, nearly spilling the miso soup.

"Puff..."

Lady Wenyue quickly covered the corners of her mouth with her folding fan, but the smile in her eyes was hard to hide. She watched as her head guard acted like a playful cat, constantly pawing at the silver-haired boy's ears and tail, while the usually calm sniper's ears were now bright red, and he could barely hold his soup spoon.

Volume 15, Chapter 828: My fur is very good.

"Su Rui," Bai Xue poked the base of his tail again, "Your fur is lighter than mine."

"Don't make a scene while we're eating..." Su Rui tried to maintain his authority, but his voice trembled slightly because his tail was being pinched.

Bai Xue ignored her, instead intensifying her efforts by combing the particularly long tuft of silver hair at the tip of his tail with her fingers. "This feels so good, like a calligraphy brush..."

"White! Snow!"

Su Rui finally lost his temper and grabbed her misbehaving wrist. Unexpectedly, Bai Xue used the momentum to flip over and straddle his lap, precisely pinching his trembling ears with both hands.

"Got your weakness, huh?" she announced triumphantly, gently rubbing her thumb against the most sensitive spot behind her ear.

Su Rui's pupils suddenly contracted, his tail bristled to twice its usual size, and he froze like a board. Lady Wenyue finally couldn't help but chuckle, the tassels on her folding fan rustling as her shoulders shook.

"Madam!" Bai Xue realized the inappropriate situation and hurriedly jumped off Su Rui's lap, but accidentally stepped on the tip of his tail—

"Aww!"

A sound somewhere between pain and shame escaped from Su Rui's throat. He curled up in a ball, clutching his tail, his ear tips beneath his silver hair turning a deep red. Bai Xue rushed to help him, only to have her hand slapped hard by the bristling tail.

"I... I didn't mean to..."

She guiltily tried to rub his stepped tail, but Su Rui dodged her. The handsome boy shrank into a corner of the tea room, his tail warily coiled in front of him, looking just like a cat that had been bullied badly.

Lady Wenyue cleared her throat at the opportune moment. "Xue'er, go to the kitchen and get some more plums."

"But--"

"Now."

The folding fan pointed sharply towards the door, the tone leaving no room for argument. Bai Xue had no choice but to leave, turning back every few steps, and before leaving, she mouthed "Wait for me to come back" to Su Rui, still unwilling to give up.

In the kitchen, the maid Aju, was pickling green plums. Bai Xue absentmindedly grabbed a handful, her eyes constantly glancing towards the tea room.

"Lady Bai Xue," Aju said, suppressing a laugh as she handed over a bamboo basket, "Is Mr. Su's tail alright?"

"It should be... alright?" Bai Xue poked at the plums in the basket. "I just stepped on them lightly..."

"You," the older maid shook her head, "Are just like the way you used to chase after weasels when you were a child."

Bai Xue was taken aback, suddenly recalling when she was six years old, she found a silver-white weasel in the back mountain and chased it for three whole days. In the end, she cornered the little guy in a tree hole, and it looked just as wary and pricked up.

"No way..."

She murmured to herself, her heart suddenly racing. Could it be that fate—

"Xue'er."

Lady Wenyue's voice suddenly came from behind. Bai Xue turned around and found that Madam Wenyue was already standing at the kitchen door, holding the tea that Su Rui had not finished drinking.

"He's shy." The lady handed her a teacup, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Go and coax him."

Bai Xue took the cup and noticed a small tuft of silvery-white hair floating on the tea—clearly fallen from someone who had lost their temper. She couldn't help but laugh, and suddenly an idea struck her.

In the tea room, Su Rui was trying to restore the flattened tip of his tail to its original shape. Hearing footsteps, he pricked up his ears alertly, but froze when he saw what Bai Xue was holding—

She held a small dish of honey, her fingertips still glistening with golden nectar.

"I've heard," Bai Xue knelt before him, her eyes sparkling, "That licking your fur can soothe your emotions?"

"Where did you hear that—uh!"

The protest was silenced by a honey-dipped fingertip. The sweet taste melted on his tongue, and Su Rui's pupils dilated slightly as he unconsciously licked his tail. Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Xue stroked his tail with her other hand, gently smearing honey on his bristling fur.

"Don't move," she whispered, "I'll help you tidy up."

Su Rui stood frozen, watching as she carefully combed the silver fur on the tail with her fingertips. Honey clung to the messy fur, and her movements were very gentle. Occasionally, when she touched the sensitive base of the tail, she could feel the muscles under her palm tremble slightly.

"Does it still hurt?" she suddenly asked.

"... It doesn't hurt."

Her voice was muffled, tinged with grievance. Bai Xue looked up and saw that Su Rui was turning her face away, her eyelashes casting a small shadow under her eyes, and there was still a little honey on her lips.

As if possessed, she leaned in and licked away the sweetness.

"!"

Su Rui's ears perked up instantly, and its tail lashed out and wrapped around her wrist. Bai Xue then realized what she had done, and her cheeks flushed instantly.

"I'm sorry, I--"

Her words were cut short by a honey-scented kiss. Su Rui's palm rested on the back of her neck, her silver hair falling beside her face, creating a small, intimate space.

"It's even."

When they parted, his voice was hoarse, but his tail honestly wrapped around her waist.

Outside the door, Lady Wenyue gently closed the paper door she had been peeking through, and gestured for silence to the maid behind her. Sunlight filtered through the latticework of the corridor, casting dappled shadows on her purple kimono, and also concealing the satisfied smile on her lips.

It seems that Wenyue House is going to be very lively from now on.

Just as the morning light crept onto the windowpane, Bai Xue was startled awake by a series of urgent knocks on the door. She groggily turned over and brushed her cheek against something furry—it was Su Rui's tail, loosely wrapped around her waist.

"Lady Bai Xue!" The maid Aju's voice came through the paper door, "The lady sent me to bring you something."

Bai Xue rubbed her eyes and was about to get up when Su Rui pushed her back into bed. The silver-haired, handsome boy, half-asleep, pulled her closer, patting the tatami mat with his tail in dissatisfaction. "Sleep a little longer..."

His voice was hoarse from the early morning, and his warm breath brushed against her earlobe, making Bai Xue shrink back.

"No way," she protested softly, but couldn't help reaching out to rub his ear on the top of his head. "Aju is waiting."

Su Rui's ears twitched sensitively, and then he retaliated by sweeping the tip of his tail across her waist. Bai Xue jumped up with a "Yay!" but tripped over the tail wrapped around her waist and fell back into his arms.

A Aju laugh came from outside the paper door.

"I'm coming right away!"

Bai Xue scrambled to her feet, hastily threw on a coat, and rushed to open the door. Aju stood outside, holding a lacquered tray with a meaningful smile on her face. On the tray were two sets of casual clothes, a bulging money bag, and—

"This is..."

Bai Xue picked up the letter in the center of the lacquer tray and removed the sealing wax. Lady Wenyue's elegant handwriting appeared on the paper:

Xue'er:

You are granted a seven-day leave effective immediately. Take Mr. Su to familiarize yourself with Lungmen.

--Also, a new dessert shop has opened in West District; their honey cake is said to be excellent.

On the back of the letter was a simple map, marking several shops and attractions. Bai Xue's fingertips trembled slightly as she looked up at Aju: "Does Madam really say that?"

Volume 15, Chapter 829: They don't need to come back for these seven days.

"Absolutely true." Aju smiled and handed over the lacquer tray. "Madam specifically instructed that we don't need to rush back in the next seven days."

She leaned closer and lowered her voice, "The kitchen has prepared bento boxes, and your favorite plum wine."

Bai Xue took the lacquer tray, her heart pounding. Seven days! A full seven days to take Su Rui everywhere! She turned and rushed back to her room, almost tripping over her own wooden clogs.

"Su Rui! Wake up!"

She pounced on the bed, excitedly shaking the still-sleepy handsome boy. Su Rui reluctantly opened his eyes, his silver hair sticking up in a messy heap, his tail instinctively wrapping around her wrist. "What's wrong...?"

"Madam has given us a holiday!" Bai Xue patted the letter on his chest. "Seven days! We can go—"

She suddenly stopped, because Su Rui was looking at her quietly with his amber eyes, the morning light gilding his eyelashes, and the silver bell around his neck rising and falling gently with his breath.

"You can go..." her voice softened involuntarily, "Anywhere you want to go."

Su Rui's ears slowly perked up.

An hour later, Bai Xue stood in front of the gate of Wenyue Estate, constantly adjusting the shoulder straps of her backpack. She changed into the casual clothes prepared by the lady—a dark blue stand-up collar short jacket, a dark red belt around her waist, and her hair tied in a high ponytail with a red rope at the end that matched Su Rui's silver bell.

"Are you done yet?"

She turned back to urge him, only to see Su Rui awkwardly tugging at his collar. The lady had prepared a SilverAsh suit for him; the well-tailored fabric accentuated his tall, handsome figure, but—

"A tie..." He frowned, his long, slender fingers tangled with the dark blue silk ribbon. "How do you tie it?"

Bai Xue's eyes lit up, and she immediately jumped in front of him. "I'll help you!"

Her fingertips brushed against his Adam's apple as she deliberately slowed her movements, twirling her tie around his neck. Su Rui's ears slowly turned red, and his tail wagged uneasily behind him.

"You don't even know how to tie a kimono, do you?" He narrowed his eyes.

"You've been spotted!" Bai Xue chuckled, letting go of his hand and haphazardly tying her tie into a knot. "It looks pretty good this way too!"

Su Rui sighed and started tidying up again. Sunlight filtered through the treetops, dancing on his silvery eyelashes as his slender fingers deftly twirled, quickly tying a perfect Windsor knot.

Bai Xue was stunned.

"Let's go." Su Rui naturally took her hand. "Where to first?"

His palms were warm and dry, his fingertips calloused from years of holding guns. Bai Xue suddenly realized that this was the first time they had walked hand in hand openly and honestly in the sunlight, in their truest form.

"Let's go get breakfast first!" she squeezed his hand tightly. "I know a place that makes incredibly delicious shrimp dumplings!"

The morning teahouses in West District were bustling with activity. Bai Xue pulled Su Rui into a window seat on the second floor and excitedly ordered a table full of dim sum.

"These shrimp dumplings have thin wrappers and lots of filling," she said, picking up a translucent dumpling and placing it in Su Rui's bowl. "Try it!"

Su Rui cautiously took a bite, and the sweet broth immediately filled his mouth. His ears twitched happily, and his tail swayed slightly behind the chair—this was the habitual action that Bai Xue had recently discovered he had when eating delicious food.

"How about it?"

"Not bad," he commented casually, but honestly picked up another one.

Bai Xue chuckled to herself and pushed over another plate of rice noodle rolls, "This is even better, drizzled with our special soy sauce..."

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt the tail under the table wrap around her ankle. Su Rui ate her rice noodle roll without changing her expression, but the tip of the tail quietly drew circles on her calf.

"Hello..."

Bai Xue's ears burned, and she was about to protest when she saw Su Rui suddenly perk up his ears. His gaze turned to the stairwell, and his fingers unconsciously tightened—

"What's wrong?"

"Someone's following us." He lowered his voice, his tail taut. "They've been following us ever since we left Wenyue Estate."

Bai Xue followed his gaze and saw an old man wearing a straw hat standing at the top of the stairs, talking to the waiter. She narrowed her eyes and suddenly laughed out loud, "Those are the madam's bodyguards!"

"... What?"

"Look," Bai Xue pointed to the jade pendant faintly visible at the old man's waist, "That's the mark of the Wenyue House. Madam must have sent him to ensure our safety."

Su Rui's tail slowly relaxed, but her ears remained alert. "Why didn't you just tell us?"

Bai Xue scooped up a spoonful of congee with preserved egg and lean pork, winking mischievously. "Because Madam knows that if she tells you someone is following you, you will definitely—"

"Find a way to shake them off," Su Rui replied, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Sunlight streamed through the carved window lattice, casting dappled shadows on the table. The two exchanged a smile and, in perfect unison, picked up the last shrimp dumpling.

In the afternoon, they strolled along Lungmen's famous commercial street. The dazzling array of shops overwhelmed Su Rui, especially the newly opened dessert shop—the window displayed the honey cake mentioned in Lady Wenyue's letter, its golden, soft cake drizzled with glistening honey and garnished with fresh berries.

"Want one?" Bai Xue shook her bulging money bag.

Su Rui's tail tip curled quietly around her wrist, but her eyes remained fixed on the shop window. "... two."

They sat in the dessert shop's small garden, sharing two slices of cake. Su Rui ate elegantly, but honey still got on his lips. Bai Xue couldn't resist reaching out to wipe it off for him, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Here."

Su Rui's thumb traced the corner of her lips, taking away a bit of cream. His gaze was focused, sunlight flowing in his amber eyes like melting honey.

Bai Xue suddenly felt a little short of breath.

"Where to next?" she hurriedly changed the subject, only to see Su Rui pull out Lady Wenyue's map from his pocket.

"Here."

He pointed with his long, slender finger to a small marker on the edge of the map—a hill overlooking the sea, with the caption "Best spot for sunset viewing."

"If we leave now," Su Rui glanced at the sky, "We can just make it to sunset."