Garlic butter and thyme perfumed the air as they entered Nanna’s house. Beneath the overwhelming scents of butter and herbs was the smell of grilled chicken, and if she sniffed hard enough, she could almost smell the subtle sweetness of cooked white rice.

                Despite the saliva-inducing aroma of the food, something smelled fishy — and it wasn’t the food.

                Why did Nanna invite the hú shén over for dinner without informing her first? Nanna always told her everything. But not this time. This time, Nanna enforced her plan without giving a word or two of warning. It didn’t take a genius to know that some kind of treaty was going on between Nanna and the fox. The real question was — what kind of pact did they make?

               “Dinner’s ready! You two better come over and eat before the food gets cold.” Nanna bellowed from the dining room.

               “You heard your grandma, we better hurry.” the fox said as he led her to the other room.

               Nanna was grinning from ear to ear when they entered the door. Not only that, Nanna’s eyes were sparkling with joy. Why was Nanna so happy? Sure, they’ve killed a powerful demon today but killing demons in the past had never induced a smile like that on her grandmother’s face. Unless the smile wasn’t caused by the demon’s death. She widened her eyes when it finally clicked in her mind. Holy hell, she was still holding hands with the fox! Did Nanna think they were an item now?

              She wanted to pull away but the hú shén tightened his grip on her fingers. Slightly irritated by the turn of events, she glared at him and hissed under her breath, “What is going on?”

              A half-smile appeared on his lips, “I’ll tell you after dinner.”

              “Why not now?”

              “Because the time and place are not right.” His smile deepened, making the dimple on his right cheek more visible, “And also because I’m hungry. Don’t you also want to eat first, xiăo jiĕ?”

              Okay, he had a point, her stomach was growling after all.  It was probably a good idea to put some food in the belly first before she goes on a rampage.

              Seeing that she’d calmed down, the fox released her hand and took a seat. Since there were only three chairs and two of them were already occupied by the fox and Nanna, she had no choice but to sit next to the hú shén. Truthfully, she didn’t know which was worse — watching Nanna smiling like a lovesick school girl or “accidentally” bumping knees with the hú shén. She knew he did it on purpose. If Nanna wasn’t watching them, she would’ve kicked him in the shin underneath the table. She didn’t want to hurt him; she just wanted to teach him a lesson.

              Nonetheless, the meal was delicious. The grilled chicken and garlic butter sauce was a wonderful combo. When it was time to clear the table and clean the dishes, Nanna quickly shooed them away and insisted that she wash the dishes herself.

              “But I want to help-”

              “It’s okay. I can do it itself.” Nanna persisted as she quickly rounded the dirty dishes onto a silver tray, “You two should go out for a walk. It’s a beautiful night for moon-watching.”

              “Thank you for the delicious meal. I’ll your granddaughter back in a couple of hours.” The hú shén gave Nanna a deep bow.

              “Have fun.” Nanna chirped as she bid them adieu. The old woman stifled a chuckle as the fox sneakily took her granddaughter’s hand again.

              Aish, Nanna, what the hell are you up to?, she wondered as the hú shén led her out of the house. They walked aimlessly down the empty streets, bypassing the local library and deli. The silence between them only made her heart beat faster. She could feel the irregular pounding of her heart as they moved further away from Nanna’s house. With the rise of demon attacks, most people have already gone home and locked their doors. Nobody was out right now to help drown the rapid beating of her heart.     

             “We met before.” The fox suddenly said out of nowhere, taking her by surprise.

             She turned and looked at him, “What?”

             “It was a long time ago.” He tilted his head upward and looked up at the gleaming moon, appearing as if he was reflecting on the past. The hood of his black cape slid back slightly, revealing more of his face. His eyes were still hidden underneath the velvety material but she could make out the shape of his nose and cheekbones.

             She couldn’t help but wonder about the color of his eyes. Would they be brown or something more exotic? There were spirits with eyes as black as coal; there were also spirits with eyes as light as moonbeam. She wondered which side of the color spectrum his eyes fell into. She sneaked a second glance at his half-covered face and decided that it wouldn’t matter. He would be beautiful either way. At that thought, she scolded herself. You don’t like him! Stop thinking about his eyes!

             “I saved you from a forest demon when you were eight. You and your family were vacationing in Changsha that summer. One weekend, your family took you on a camping trip. You wandered away from them and got lost in the woods. A rogue demon saw you all alone and helpless and decided to attack you. Your legs were bleeding when I found you. I guess you erased that event from your memory because it was such a traumatic experience.” He pursed his lips, “I was twelve back then and had just started my training as a demon-hunter earlier that month. I didn’t know how to battle a forest demon. I winged it and got hurt myself. But it was worth it because I saved your life.”

             “Is that why you wear a cape? To hide your scars?” she asked in a quiet voice. Damn it, she couldn’t live with herself if she was the one behind the scarring of his face.

             The hú shén chuckled, the tension in his voice loosening slightly, “No. I don’t have scars. I just like wearing the cape.”   

              She rolled her eyes, “You’re not a superhero.”

              “Are you sure? I’m a demon-hunter after all. Doesn’t that count as a type of superhero?” he joshed.

              “I’m also a demon-hunter. You don’t see me wearing a stupid black cape with a hood larger than my entire head.” she retorted.

             The moment she finished her sentence, he leaned closer to her until his lips brushed the sensitive skin behind her ear, “Maybe I’m doing this because I want you to fall in love with my personality first.”

             It was a mere touch but it made her skin tingle like it never had before. She could hear the sincerity in his voice and knew he was telling the truth. He liked her. But…did she feel the same way? Sure, he made her heart pound and her mind crazy but that didn’t mean anything. They’ve only known each other for a few days; it seemed a little too soon for her to develop any romantic feelings for him. 

             “I’ll give you time.” he said after observing her face, “When you have your feelings sorted, you can come and tell me.” He gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek before walking away.

             She stood there idly for a moment as her mind spun in circles. Before the fox left her sight, she hollered, “Wait!”

             He stopped walking and turned to look at her, “Yes, xiăo jiĕ?”

             “Nanna was playing matchmaker, wasn’t she?”

             He nodded, “Yes. She’d paired us up ever since that incident in the forest. She trusted that I would take care of you.”

             She wanted to facepalm herself. Goodness, her Nanna had been setting up an arranged marriage between her and the fox…but without the marriage part. Nanna’s plan would’ve been a disaster if she didn’t have any feelings for him whatsoever.

             “Before you go, I want to ask you one last question.”

             “Ask away.”

             “What’s your name? I really want to know.”

             “I told you many years ago. If you look into your sub-conscience, you will find it.” He gave her one last smile before disappearing into thin air.

             She stomped a foot on the ground. His answer didn’t help at all since she had no recollection of the forest demon attack event. Maybe a meditation session would help. Or a hypnosis session.   

Author's Note: Ayo, I'm back. Sorry for the delayed update, I was just too excited about EXO's comeback to write. Anyway, I got my XOXO albums today (they literally just came an hour ago)!!!!!! YAY! I got Suho and Tao's photocards. I really wanted Kai and Lay's photocards but I guess I'm a little out of luck. It's okay, I like Suho and Tao.

Still waiting for the drama version of Wolf. SM, WHERE IS IT?! Stop teasing us! ;__________;