The Protagonist is Always Intimidating Me - Chapter 21

The man’s beautiful eyes were slightly open, clearly not expecting him to suddenly approach and hand him a fruit…

The other’s soft body looked as if it was soft and pliable, easy to pinch, while those pitch-black eyes, like obsidian, seemed to sparkle, suddenly making their way into the man’s heart.

Then, he smiled—a smile with the scent of the breeze. Tuanzi was mesmerized by the man’s smile, as if he could smell the fragrance of wine, making him feel light-headed and slightly intoxicated.

On that day, Tuanzi met someone who would change his entire life.

……………

The man’s lips were pale, and his long gray hair had lost its luster. He smiled weakly at Tuanzi, who was standing not far away. “Little guy, go play. Thank you for the fruit. It was very sweet.”

The man couldn’t be sure how many people were still pursuing him. For once, he felt a rare moment of compassion and didn’t want to involve this tiny creature in his troubles.

“…Are you just going to stay here?… And you’re injured too…”

Tuanzi hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked, “…Would you like to come to my place? My home is really big…”

The man, leaning against the tree, was surprised and raised his head slightly.

“…What if I’m a bad guy?” The man asked with a teasing smile, though he briefly wondered if Tuanzi could be one of those sent by the people hunting him.

Tuanzi was momentarily stumped. He stood still for a bit before awkwardly muttering, “…Well, it’s just me at home, anyway… I just wanted to show you so you could be a little jealous… I wasn’t going to let you in…”

Wait! Tuanzi, that kind of talk would make Hei Quan, who’s been begging to move in, cry like a kicked dog!

Tuanzi’s home turned out to be a surprise for the man. It was a stone cliff, somewhat far from the forest, with a rarely traveled path overgrown with grass. On both sides grew unnamed fruit trees and wildflowers, while ancient oak trees stretched out odd branches, adorned with clusters of white flower buds.

—Those flowers kind of look like this little guy.

The man glanced at the flowers and thought absently.

Tuanzi’s home was a cave nestled on the left side of a large boulder embedded in the mountainside.

The boulder covered half of the cave entrance, and with Tuanzi’s additional camouflage efforts, it was nearly impossible for anyone to notice the cave. It had taken Tuanzi a full month to dig this cave, and before that, he had only a hollow tree to shelter in.

This stone cave had been prepared for when Tuanzi could take human form. Still, when he brought the man here and saw the look of approval in his eyes, Tuanzi couldn’t help but blush as he grabbed a handful of his own white belly fur, feeling proud of his foresight.

Standing at the cave entrance, the man cast a glance at the enormous cave with an indiscernible expression, while Tuanzi on the ground appeared as small as an ant standing before an adult, so tiny that he could be easily overlooked.

Suddenly, Tuanzi felt himself being lifted off the ground. It was the man who had picked him up. Tuanzi tilted his head slightly to look at him, and the next thing he knew, the man had planted a kiss on his soft belly.

“!!!”

Tuanzi stared blankly at the man, his mind spinning.

Back then, Tuanzi was still inexperienced and naive, easily moved by the man’s gentleness. Innocently, he thought to himself, It seems like I’ve found my future wife…

Even though the other person is male, he is gentle, beautiful, handsome, considerate, and understanding… When I finally take human form… I can marry him…

I’m hopeless…

He covered his head, embarrassed by his own thoughts, and curled into a tight ball, his soft, fluffy white body shrinking even more.

But am I being too forward? What if I left a bad impression? What if it affected the harmony of our future family?

Tuanzi felt a little anxious. But before he could dwell on it any longer, the thick scent of blood coming from the man broke his train of thought.

No, my wife has some serious injuries. I need to find some medicine to heal him.

“Follow me!”

Tuanzi led the man out of the cave and ran back toward the forest.

The summer forest was lush, with branches heavy with sweet, juicy berries. The man, walking leisurely behind, even picked a few as they went.

“Where are we going?”

“To find something to heal your wounds!”

Tuanzi ran ahead without turning back. The man smiled slightly, took large strides to catch up, picked him up, and placed him on his shoulder, handing him a fruit he had picked earlier along the way.

“I’ll carry you, you give directions.”

Tuanzi happily accepted the bright red fruit and popped it into his mouth, savoring the sweet and sour juice as it burst.

My wife is really virtuous~

The summer weather in the forest was unpredictable. One moment the sun was blazing, and the next, heavy rain poured down. The broad leaves of the plants shook under the weight of the rain, but Tuanzi skillfully tore off a giant leaf and held it over the man, as if shielding them both with an umbrella.

The rain stopped quickly. Following Tuanzi’s directions, the man parted some tall grass, and a faint light shone through from ahead.

“We’re here!”

Tuanzi leapt down from the man’s shoulder and walked ahead.

“…The medicine is here?” The man looked at the meadow bathed in moonlight, where the glowing grass shimmered like the stars on lapis lazuli.

“Yup!” Tuanzi dove into the grass and began digging around. Soon, the dense grass covered him, making him disappear from view. The glowing grass emitted a soft light, and around them, the summer insects sang faintly, with the occasional distant bird call.

“……”

The man opened his mouth as if to call out to him but then realized he didn’t even know the little guy’s name, so he stopped.

“Huh?”

Tuanzi’s voice broke the silence as he popped back out, covered in grass bits, his shiny black eyes looking at the man in surprise. “You’re not using it?”

“All of this is top-quality medicine for healing wounds!”

The man, who had only ever used medicinal pills, looked at the glowing grass with a bit of dismay: ……

“Where did you just go?”

The man smoothly changed the subject.

“I went to find some fruit! A few of the fruit trees nearby are ripe again, and there are some big pine nuts too…” Tuanzi said, pulling out a few round wild fruits from his mouth and pushing them toward the man.

He glanced back at the man who still hadn’t moved, sighing in his heart that his wife seemed a bit lazy… Well, fine, I’ll do it myself then. Tuanzi resignedly started gathering the grass.

“Later, just press this grass onto your wounds. When it stops glowing, replace it. Your face looks so pale, we might have to stay here for the night…”

Tuanzi rambled on as he gathered the glowing grass, his round little tail swaying and twitching, drawing the man’s attention.

“……”

Suppressing the urge to reach out and touch him, the man’s expression remained calm and composed.

“Here you go~”

Tuanzi waddled over on his short legs, carrying a large bunch of glowing grass and placing it in front of the man. The man tilted his head and stared at him for a moment, staring until the other became shy, then let out a soft laugh.

Damn! His eyes… and his smile… They’re way too unfair!

With his sharp hearing and vision, Tuanzi quickly covered his eyes, suddenly flustered.

Seeing the little one in his hands feeling embarrassed, the man continued to laugh.  His large hand gently brushed off the bits of grass stuck to his fur. Tuanzi squinted its eyes comfortably, but then the man suddenly spoke, his voice pleasant but instantly startling the once calm Tuanzi:

“I just remembered… earlier, your little belly teased me… Will you take responsibility?”

Tuanzi: Σ(っ 〃° °〃)っ

“!!! What do you mean by teasing?! It wasn’t my belly, you were the one who kissed me first! Besides, I wasn’t even moving! Anyway, I’m not irresponsible, I only like you a little, but you can’t just take advantage of me! I’ll only like you, but—”

Tuanzi, now fully flustered, stammered uncontrollably, his whole body heating up. He was thankful for his fur, though he didn’t realize his exposed paws and teary eyes gave away his true feelings.

His eyes shone like tiny stars, his joy overflowing.

The man lowered his head and chuckled lightly, thinking to himself, I’ve really fallen.

But there’s no helping it…

—It’s truly beautiful. It’s as if it packed the entire sky full of stars into his eyes, then let them all pour out in front of me.