Su Qi noticed the little fox swaying unsteadily and quickly reached out to support her.
"Maybe you should lie on the couch to apply the medicine. Standing like this probably isn’t a good idea."
The little fox’s tail twitched irregularly, and her ears trembled slightly.
"Okay..."
Su Qi helped her over to the couch, where the little fox settled onto the soft armrest, lying on her stomach.
She turned her head slightly, barely managing to glance back at Su Qi.
Her eyes shimmered with an indescribable emotion.
"Please continue... but I’m a bit afraid of pain. There’s some pain-relief medicine in the bedside drawer in my room..."
Su Qi nodded and hurried to the little fox’s room.
The door wasn’t locked. He pushed it open, took two steps inside, and spotted the bedside table.
Pulling open the drawer, he found it filled with strange objects—
A pair of small pink rings, a slightly larger black ring, and a few stickers.
Just a bunch of things he couldn’t make sense of.
Though he was curious, time was of the essence.
He’d have to find an opportunity to investigate later.
After moving aside the items on top, he finally spotted a blue-and-white plastic medicine bottle tucked in the corner.
Picking it up, Su Qi noticed the bottle felt slightly cool to the touch.
Seemed like this pain-relief medicine was something special.
Returning to the living room, he found the little fox still in the same position, though her condition seemed to have worsened slightly—her breathing was uneven.
"Found the medicine." Su Qi sat on the edge of the couch, unscrewed the cap, and a faint herbal scent wafted out—something natural, maybe aloe vera?
Not being a medical expert, Su Qi could only guess.
He squeezed a bit of the ointment onto his fingertip. The gel was transparent and smooth, likely due to the aloe content.
Carefully, he brought it closer to the wound.
"It might feel a little cold..."
The moment the ointment touched the injury, the little fox’s entire body tensed from the "pain."
"Does it hurt?"
"It’s... bearable..."
"If it’s bearable, then shift forward a bit so I can see the wound better for applying the medicine."
The little fox didn’t respond, silently inching forward.
But now her feet couldn’t reach the floor, leaving her weight entirely on the couch’s armrest.
Su Qi gently spread the ointment. The skin around the wound wasn’t as smooth as undamaged areas—it felt uneven.
"Does the ointment need to be rubbed in?"
"Mhm... it does..." The little fox buried her face into the couch cushion, her voice muffled. "It needs to be fully massaged in to be absorbed..."
Following her instructions, Su Qi began lightly working the ointment into the wound.
As he did, the little fox’s breathing grew more erratic, and her tail flicked restlessly.
Just as Su Qi reached the deepest part of the wound—
The little fox’s tail lashed out uncontrollably, striking Su Qi’s arm.
"Should I stop for a bit?"
"No." The little fox answered hastily, then softened her tone. "This is pain-relief ointment. If it’s not evenly absorbed, the actual healing medicine will hurt more later..."
Su Qi stayed silent and continued.
He watched as the skin around the wound contracted slightly with each of her breaths.
He squeezed out more ointment and kept applying it.
Once finished, Su Qi double-checked its effectiveness.
Pressing lightly or prodding the wound no longer elicited any noticeable pain.
Seemed like it was working.
Now it was time for the actual healing medicine.
With the pain-relief layer in place, the next step would be much easier.
At least the little fox wouldn’t react too strongly from the pain and interrupt the process.
However, the healing ointment was far rarer—unlike the pain-relief one, which came in a generously filled bottle, this was in short supply.
Applying it with fingers might waste some, leaving parts of the wound untreated.
He’d need proper medical tools.
Spotting a box of cotton swabs nearby, Su Qi recalled doctors saying they were used for precise application.
But he had no medical experience.
Hesitantly, he picked up a cotton swab much larger than usual.
Gently, he brought it toward the center of the wound.
"I’ll try using a medical swab. It might be more precise."
Hearing this, the little fox’s ears shot upright. "Wait—"
But Su Qi had already lightly dabbed the swab onto the wound.
The little fox shuddered violently.
Seeing her condition was still stable, Su Qi carefully guided the swab deeper into the wound.
He felt the surrounding skin tighten, resisting the foreign object.
That was normal.
After all, if someone suddenly touched an open wound, anyone would instinctively recoil.
But Su Qi had anticipated this.
He’d made sure the little fox was securely positioned before starting.
Dipping the swab in more ointment, he slowly worked it in, spreading the medicine evenly around the wound.
Practice makes perfect.
After a few tries, he developed a rhythm—gently moving the swab in and out to ensure full coverage.
"Is this pace okay? Does it hurt?"
Su Qi asked softly.
The little fox nodded rapidly, her ears twitching with each motion.
The process wasn’t overly long, but it wasn’t quick either.
Suddenly, the little fox’s tail shot straight up. "No... no..."
Su Qi immediately stopped. "What’s wrong?"
Her voice was weak. "I just remembered... this ointment’s been sitting for a while..."
Su Qi frowned. "You mean it’s expired? Should we stop?"
The little fox wrapped her tail around Su Qi’s arm, preventing him from continuing. "It’s gone a bit damp... hopefully it still works."
Su Qi disagreed. "If it’s damp, we should stop. No point risking side effects. Health comes first."
"I’ll buy fresh medicine tomorrow."
With that, he flicked the swab clean and set it aside.
The expired ointment didn’t adhere well to the wound.
"Looks like it’s not working right. Let me clean off what we just applied."
The little fox refused. "No. Applying medicine is hard enough. I want to recover quickly. Let’s see if it works first. If there’s a bad reaction, then clean it off. Otherwise, it’s a waste."
Su Qi hesitated but didn’t argue.
The little fox added, "Just put a bandage over it to help the medicine absorb."
Su Qi sighed inwardly. This little fox was quite the taskmaster.
Whoever said foxes repaid kindness was clearly mistaken.
So far, it had been entirely one-sided—Su Qi doing all the giving.
What a raw deal.
He’d have to find a way to balance things out later.
As the little fox got up, Su Qi caught a glimpse of the bandaged wound—a faint, transparent fluid seeping through. The medicine clearly wasn’t as effective as she’d claimed.
A long road ahead indeed.
【Joy +99999】
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
