Yin Yue opened the den door expecting sunshine, fresh air, or maybe a flower.
What he got was a dead rabbit.
Big, fluffy and freshly killed. Laid out neatly on a palm woven mat like a very polite threat.
He stared at it and It stared back. With very judgmental eyes.
"Okay," Yin Yue muttered. "Okay. Maybe it's a joke. Maybe Feng Xia is escalating."
Then he saw the note. Scratched onto a piece of bark, tied with grass twine:
> "For your protein. —LZ"
Yin Yue stood there in silence for a long moment.
Then:
"OH MY GOD I'M ENGAGED."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🐺 WOLF COURTSHIP RITUAL: Gifted Kill
💘 Symbolism: I Hunt For You = I Live For You
🫠 HOST STATUS: Emotionally Flattened
📢 NEARBY BEASTMEN: Already Watching
Mi Mi walked past with a bundle of herbs. Saw the rabbit and paused.
Whispered, "Oh my stars."
Feng Xia appeared like he'd been summoned by drama.
"Well, well, well," he said, tail swishing. "You've reached the meat-gift stage. How traditional."
"This is not happening," Yin Yue said faintly.
"Oh, it absolutely is. That's a formal pre-mating gesture. He hunted that for you personally. Do you know what comes next?"
"I don't want to know."
"Den redecorating."
Yin Yue covered his face. "I'm going to bury myself with this rabbit."
Feng Xia patted his shoulder. "Don't forget to name it first. It died for love."
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
💘 PUBLIC RECEPTION: 99% Assumes Proposal
🧠 HOST INTERNAL DIALOGUE: Hysterical Flirting with Panic
🐺 ML STATUS: Not Present, But Entirely Responsible
Later, when Yin Yue stomped into the central square with the rabbit wrapped in a blanket and shouted, "Someone take this, I'm not ready for commitment meat!" Then Lang Zhu appeared.
Looked at the rabbit then at Yin Yue.
And said, calmly, "You don't like rabbit?"
Yin Yue choked. "That is not the problem!"
Lang Zhu nodded. "I'll hunt deer next time."
Yin Yue screamed into his sleeve. Somewhere, Feng Xia started drawing up guest lists.
Lang Zhu was returning from patrol when it happened.
The sun was high. The air was calm. The forest smelled like clean earth and slightly unspoken feelings.
He didn't even make it to the village gates before Yin Yue blocked his path again with arms crossed, eyes blazing, holding the cleaned rabbit hide like it was Exhibit A in a case of emotional harassment.
"We need to talk," Yin Yue said.
Lang Zhu blinked once. "You ate it."
"That's not. yes, it was delicious, but that's not the point!"
Lang Zhu tilted his head. "Then what is?"
"You can't just leave animals at my door like some terrifying, furry Cupid!"
"I didn't leave animals."
"You left a rabbit."
"That's food."
Yin Yue waved the hide. "That's symbolic food!"
Lang Zhu just watched him quietly.
Yin Yue scowled. "Okay, serious question. Are you courting me or just trying to keep me alive long enough to develop Stockholm syndrome?"
Lang Zhu didn't blink.
"Both."
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
💘 ML ROMANTIC DECLARATION: Delivered
🫠 HOST INTERNAL CORE: Fully Melted
📢 WITNESS STATUS: 3 Squirrels, 2 Rabbits, 1 Extremely Delighted Feng Xia
Yin Yue made a noise halfway between a gasp and a wheeze.
"You..you can't just say that."
"You asked."
"I was being rhetorical."
"You know I don't do that."
Yin Yue stared then groaned and turned in a circle.
And then buried his face in the rabbit pelt like a man defeated by his own taste in emotionally unavailable apex predators.
Lang Zhu added, voice quieter now: "If you want me to stop, say so."
Yin Yue looked up. Eyes wide.
"You'd stop?"
Lang Zhu nodded.
"No questions. No bitterness. I'll still protect you. Just say the word."
Yin Yue swallowed hard.
Then whispered, "That's worse."
Lang Zhu didn't smile, not quite but something in his eyes softened.
"You're not prey," he said. "You never were."
> 💘 RELATIONSHIP METER: Sharp Rise
🫶 HOST STATUS: Devastated by Sincerity
💬 System Note: This counts as a confession. Please update your mental panic accordingly.
Yin Yue didn't answer. Just handed him back the rabbit hide. Then walked away very quickly and tripped over a root.
Lang Zhu caught him, of course. Didn't comment just set him back on his feet and let him go.
The soup was hot. The sun was warm.
And for one glorious moment, Yin Yue thought he might survive the day without someone saying "mate" at full volume in public.
He was wrong.
"So!" the Elder announced, standing near the firepit with a bone walking stick and a very smug grin. "It is the season of binding, and as the stars are aligned and the rabbit has been accepted our Chief and the outsider are now spiritually joined."
Yin Yue spat soup across the table. Feng Xia caught it with a napkin calmly and Lang Zhu didn't even blink.
> 💻 SYSTEM 520:
🐺 ML EXPRESSION: Calm Acceptance
🧠 HOST MENTAL COLLAPSE: Active
💘 VILLAGE STATUS: Celebrating Prematurely
"W-WHAT?!" Yin Yue wheezed.
The Elder tapped his staff. "It is sacred tradition. A wolf's offering is a soul promise and the human has accepted three, possibly four, symbolic acts. The ears. The meals. The den. The catch."
Mi Mi raised a hand. "Also, the time they shared the same fur blanket during rain season."
"We were cold!" Yin Yue cried.
Shan Da added, "So warm though. I saw the cuddling."
Lang Zhu finally spoke.
"I didn't hear any complaints."
Yin Yue looked at him. Eyes wide. Face red.
"You knew this was happening."
Lang Zhu took a slow sip of tea and said nothing.
Feng Xia leaned over.
"So, fiancé," he whispered. "Have you picked your wedding robe yet?"
"I'm going to throw myself into the soup pot," Yin Yue muttered.
"Too late," Feng Xia said brightly. "You're already stewing."
> 🫠 HOST STATUS: Publicly Spirit-Bonded
💘 ML STATUS: Emotionally Smug, Tail Wagging Slightly
📢 Gossip Level: Apocalypse-Tier
After the meal, Yin Yue stormed off toward the stream to scream into the trees.
Lang Zhu didn't follow well not immediately.
But when Yin Yue looked back, hours later, the fire was still burning in their den.
And someone had left a new blanket folded on his side of the bed.
Yin Yue curled into it cursed softly and fell asleep smiling.
The den had always been too big for one person.
Yin Yue had told himself it was temporary. That he was a guest. A refugee. A soft human in a very sharp world.
But somewhere between rabbit gifts and public spirit-bond announcements, the den stopped being temporary and so did Lang Zhu.
At first, it was subtle, a shift during sleep, a shoulder brushing his under the furs.
A low breath against the back of his neck when the fire burned low.
Yin Yue pretended not to notice but he absolutely noticed, especially the tail.
The traitorous, warm, soft-furred tail that sometimes curled lightly over his ankle at night or flicked against his calf when Lang Zhu turned.
It was torture. Fluffy, maddening, slow-burn torture.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🐺 TAIL CONTACT LEVEL: 7 (Teasing)
🫠 HOST STATUS: Flustered to Hell
💘 ML STRATEGY: Proximity as Love Language
One night, Yin Yue shifted closer to the fire. Lang Zhu followed just a little.
Yin Yue coughed. "You're really not going to say anything, huh?"
Lang Zhu stared into the flames. "I could."
"…But?"
"I think you like the silence."
Yin Yue scowled. "I don't like the silence. I like answers."
Lang Zhu's tail flicked again.
This time, it brushed across Yin Yue's hand and stayed.
Yin Yue nearly combusted and he pulled the blanket over his face.
"This is emotional warfare," he mumbled.
Lang Zhu's voice was low. "You're warm."
"I'm human, I'm always warm."
"You smell safe."
Yin Yue peeked over the blanket. "What?"
Lang Zhu didn't explain. Didn't look at him but his tail curled tighter.
And Yin Yue reached down very slowly and pet it. Just once.
Lang Zhu shivered then smiled.
> 🧠 HOST MENTAL NOTE: Do Not Touch Tail. Do Not Touch Ta—
💥 HOST: Touches Tail Anyway
💘 ML AFFECTION: Physically Manifesting
Yin Yue lay awake for a long time.
Listening to the steady rhythm of Lang Zhu's breathing beside him.
Then whispered, very quietly:
"…I'm so screwed."
Yin Yue woke up tangled. Not in blankets but
With wolf. A very warm, very muscular, very wolf-eared problem wrapped around him.
Lang Zhu's arm was draped around his waist like it belonged there.
His leg was hooked around Yin Yue's calf like this was normal.
And his breath was warm against Yin Yue's neck, steady, slow, terrifyingly comforting.
Yin Yue froze. Not metaphorically but literally he did not move.
> 💥 SYSTEM 520:
🛏️ SLEEP STATUS: Cuddled Beyond Reason
🫠 HOST: Emotionally Glitched
🐺 ML STATUS: Peaceful, Possibly Smug
"You're awake," Lang Zhu murmured against his skin.
Yin Yue twitched. "No I'm not."
"You didn't move."
"I was frozen.. with emotion."
Lang Zhu's arm tightened just slightly. "You didn't push me away."
"I was under duress."
"You're warm."
"You keep saying that like it's my fault."
Lang Zhu didn't reply just nuzzled into the curve of Yin Yue's neck like it was something he'd done a hundred times before.
Yin Yue's heart tried to flee his body but unsuccessfully.
He opened his mouth to argue. To say something sharp and clever. But nothing came out. Just a quiet breath.
Lang Zhu's tail curled across both their legs.
Yin Yue made a noise, small and weak. Definitely not fond.
Lang Zhu said, "I'll move if you ask."
Yin Yue didn't speak, didn't move and didn't ask. Neither did Lang Zhu.
> 💘 BOND STATUS: Confirmed by Silence
💬 ML CONFESSION STYLE: Touch > Words
🧠 HOST ACCEPTANCE LEVEL: Denial with Pillow
That morning, they got up late and no one asked why.
But Feng Xia winked for ten full minutes.
Yin Yue spent most of breakfast holding his bowl with trembling hands and glaring at everyone who breathed near him.
But Lang Zhu? Lang Zhu reached over took a piece of roasted root from his plate and ate it slowly.
Then said, "You sleep better next to me."
Yin Yue's brain melted completely. And his heart? Didn't disagree.