CHAPTER 306: CHAPTER 304: QUITE INSIDIOUS (PART 1)

Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng continued along the path they had come, searching for the missing Little Black.

Both were exhausted and hungry, having been busy all day without even a sip of tea, just focused on finding Little Black.

Yet neither of them suggested resting, because Little Black meant too much to them.

So much so that losing Little Black felt like losing a family member.

Mu Shuangshuang was used to teasing Little Black, always thinking the black mink would forever stay with her. Who would have thought, in a blink of an eye, everything had changed, and something so endearing had disappeared.

A wave of sadness swept over her heart.

"Little Black..." Mu Shuangshuang shouted at the top of her lungs.

Lu Yuanfeng joined in calling.

The two ran towards the direction of the abandoned house where Mu Danian and Chen Hong were staying, hoping to find Little Black nearby.

"Little Black, can you hear me? If you can, come out. I promise never to hit you again."

"Little Black, I know you’re nearby. You’re so clever, you won’t be caught, right?"

Mu Shuangshuang murmured as she searched.

By now, it was completely dark; there was no moon, not even a star, and Er Gui Village was pitch black.

Beneath her feet were either clumps of mud or rotting branches, and with each step Mu Shuangshuang staggered.

Several times, Mu Shuangshuang nearly fell.

Luckily, each time Lu Yuanfeng managed to pull her back in time.

She thought, if not for Lu Yuanfeng, she would probably fall face-first into the mud.

After circling the village three times, Mu Shuangshuang’s legs were about to give out, yet Little Black’s shadow was still nowhere to be found.

Mu Shuangshuang felt chaotic inside; suddenly, she crouched down and began to blame herself.

"What do we do, Lu Yuanfeng? We can’t find Little Black. Little Zhi will cry herself dead. I couldn’t protect her rabbit last time, and now this..."

"Shuangshuang, don’t be sad..." Lu Yuanfeng crouched down too, frantically trying to comfort Shuangshuang.

Seeing Shuangshuang like this made his heart ache, like being stabbed in the chest.

His throat tightened, making it difficult to speak.

The more he comforted her, the more Mu Shuangshuang blamed herself.

Lu Yuanfeng became anxious; he just wanted the girl in front of him to not be so upset.

Everything went black, Mu Shuangshuang’s chin resting on Lu Yuanfeng’s shoulder.

"Shuangshuang, Little Black will be fine, you’re not allowed to talk about yourself like that."

His hand rested on Mu Shuangshuang’s back, gently patting her.

This was the first time he saw Shuangshuang so sad; ever since he met her, she’s always faced everything around her optimistically, always the brightest of the crowd.

But this time...

While Mu Shuangshuang was feeling down, something knocked into the back of her heel, causing her to tilt forward, inadvertently dragging Lu Yuanfeng down with her.

Her head hit Lu Yuanfeng’s chest, her palm pressed against his waist.

Lu Yuanfeng’s eyes glimmered brightly, his waist under her small hand, which seemed to move slightly, perhaps intentionally.

His adam’s apple quivered, his voice gruff and hoarse, carrying an unspeakable tone.

"Shuangshuang, are you... hurt?"

Mu Shuangshuang was completely dazed, her head a mush, barely any strength left.

She felt a pleasant scent of soap drift over...

Mu Shuangshuang tried to get up, but Lu Yuanfeng suddenly let out a low cry.

"Shuangshuang, don’t move..."

A seventeen-year-old boy, at that age of emotional uncertainty, especially with someone he loved being so close.

Lu Yuanfeng struggled to endure, wanting to do something mischievous but knowing he couldn’t.

Mu Shuangshuang realized Lu Yuanfeng’s unusual behavior and truly stayed still, yet her body felt frozen, immensely uncomfortable.

Mu Shuangshuang thought she could just slightly adjust her leg, it should be fine!

But just a small movement was detected by Lu Yuanfeng.

In the pitch-black night, the two felt a peculiar sensation hovering around.

Mu Shuangshuang opened her mouth, completely lost, unsure what to do or say to ease the awkwardness.

Especially when she sensed a domineering air on Lu Yuanfeng that wasn’t usually there, Mu Shuangshuang began to feel scared.

Then, the culprit let out a joyful "hiss hiss" nearby, piercingly loud in this quiet night.

But like a bucket of cold water, it extinguished the flames between Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng.

Mu Shuangshuang shot up like a monkey, scrambling away from Lu Yuanfeng as far as possible.

She knew that youths with adolescent hormones have little self-control.

Even if Lu Yuanfeng was mature, he was still seventeen, and her mental age, well, in her twenties.

Mu Shuangshuang silently scolded herself; after all, she’s been an "auntie" before, nearly taken advantage of by a young lad.

Truly useless.

Little Black realized it was completely ignored, its hissing grew louder. At that moment, Mu Shuangshuang took hold of its ear, shaking it several times.

"You knew to come back? Why not die out there, following us for quite a while now, huh? Seeing us unhappy, are you smug?" Mu Shuangshuang threatened with a cold snort.

She thought Little Black was lost, crouching down embarrassingly to blame herself only for it to have been trailing her all along.

Little Black hissed even louder, its paws constantly sliding back and forth, yet it was too dark for Mu Shuangshuang to see its cute antics.

Lu Yuanfeng mostly recovered by now, and Mu Shuangshuang gave Little Black a good lesson.

The earlier unexpected incident was unanimously ignored, as if it never happened.

Returning home, the Mu Family’s Third Branch members each came forward, relieved to see Little Black.

Especially Little Zhi, who took Little Black from Mu Shuangshuang’s hands, giving it a big kiss.

This revived Little Black’s spirits, which had been down due to the scolding, and it purposely bared its teeth at Mu Shuangshuang, only to burrow into Little Zhi’s arms when Mu Shuangshuang raised her hand.

As they say, there’s always one that can overcome another, and the crowd laughed at this scene.

"Everyone have some water and take a rest. I’ll prepare dinner!"

Searching for Little Black took about an hour and a half in total, but fortunately, the outcome was good.

Mu Shuangshuang let out a sigh of relief.

Tonight, it was indeed getting late; she needed to cook dinner quickly.

(Chapter revised~)