Ficorpio
Chapter 1
My dad found a little white fox while hunting in the mountains.
He swore up and down that white foxes were intelligent, clean, and capable of bringing a man good romantic luck.
“Wouldn’t surprise me if she brought you a beautiful wife by this time next year,” he’d said.
I looked at the Little White Fox, who had once again followed me into the bathroom and was insisting on joining me in the shower, and sighed.
I had no idea whether she was intelligent.
But she certainly had no shame.
Otherwise, how could a female fox have no understanding whatsoever of the boundaries between men and women?
I was getting ready to shower. I had barely pulled off my T-shirt when a streak of white squeezed through the crack in the door.
It was the Little White Fox.
She expertly wound around my feet, rubbing her furry head against my calf. A soft, flattering purr rumbled in her throat.
I knew exactly what she wanted.
She wanted to shower with me again.
I scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom door.
“Wait outside.”
I set her down in the hall.
She tilted her head at me, her golden eyes filled with pure innocence.
I shut the door without locking it.
There was no point. I knew it wouldn’t stop her.
The moment I turned on the shower and the hot water struck my skin, the door was pushed open.
The Little White Fox took dainty steps into the bathroom and leaped straight into the tub.
Water splashed everywhere.
She settled into the corner, soaked from head to tail, and stared at me without moving.
The look in her eyes suggested that I was the one who had barged into her bathroom.
I turned off the shower.
When I reached down to pull her out, her body went rigid. The soft pads of all four paws clung firmly to the tub’s surface.
She wouldn’t budge.
“What are you trying to do?”
She didn’t make a sound. She only stared at me.
I tried again to lift her out.
All four paws dug into the side of the tub, holding fast as if they had been nailed there.
My dad’s voice echoed in my head.
“That fox has a powerful presence. She’s intelligent, clean, and a good omen.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me if she brings you a beautiful girl by this time next year.”
I looked at the “good omen” sitting in my bathtub and sighed.
I still didn’t know whether she was intelligent.
But she definitely loved being clean.
She loved it far too much.
I gave up trying to force her out and turned the shower back on.
She seemed pleased. After flicking her tail, she began licking the fur on her body.
The water slid over her snow-white coat, leaving darker streaks in its wake. She cleaned herself meticulously, starting with her front paws and working all the way to her hind legs. Not a single spot escaped her attention.
I rinsed the soap from my body.
Then I suddenly felt a warm, wet sensation against my chest.
I looked down.
The Little White Fox had raised her head and was licking my chest.
My entire body stiffened. I quickly pushed her furry head away.
“Cut it out.”
She let out a small whine, sounding somewhat aggrieved.
Chapter 2
I ignored her and finished rinsing as quickly as possible.
I had just reached for her to carry her out of the tub when she jumped out on her own.
She shook the water from her fur, rolled across the bath mat, and ran out of the bathroom.
After drying myself, I followed her into the bedroom.
She was already curled up on my pillow.
My pillow.
I picked her up, intending to put her at the foot of the bed.
She immediately began struggling, her claws scraping across my arm.
It didn’t hurt, but she was absolutely determined.
There was nothing I could do except let her have her way.
I turned off the light and lay down.
The pillow was filled with the faint, indescribable scent of her fur.
In the middle of the night, a subtle sensation woke me.
My face felt itchy and damp.
Half asleep, I sensed something soft and wet touching my lips.
Once.
Then again.
Each touch was cautious, almost tentative.
It was a tongue.
I woke instantly and opened my eyes.
In the moonlight filtering through the window, I saw an enormous fox face hovering over me.
The Little White Fox was intently licking my lips.
With extraordinary care.
My mind went completely blank. I shoved her away.
She rolled to the edge of the bed and let out a short, wounded cry.
I sat up, my heart pounding.
What in the world was going on?
Slowly, she crawled back toward me. This time, she didn’t come near my face.
Instead, she tucked herself beside my pillow and gently curled her large, fluffy tail around my neck.
It wasn’t tight, but it left no room for escape.
When I shifted, she tightened it a little more.
I lay there frozen, unable to sleep for the rest of the night.
This fox was definitely not normal.
No ordinary animal behaved like this. It was far too human.
I decided to keep her in the living room.
I shut and locked every window and door in the bedroom, checking them several times to make sure they were secure. Then I carried her to the couch and set her down.
“Stay here like a good girl.”
She looked up at me, a soft whine rumbling in her throat.
I hardened my heart, closed the bedroom door, and locked it from the inside. Then I leaned against it, listening for movement outside.
There was no scratching at the door. No crying, either.
The silence was almost more unsettling.
I let out a breath and turned toward my computer.
Then I looked back.
I froze.
The Little White Fox was sitting upright in my desk chair.
Her head was tilted to one side as she watched me, her tail swaying gently behind her.
I rushed over and opened the bedroom door.
The living room was empty.
I ran for the kitchen next.
The tiny kitchen window, the kind that only let you stick your head through, was open a crack.
Chapter 3
A chill spread through my entire body.
The apartment was on the sixth floor. How had she gotten inside?
I grabbed my phone and called my father.
The moment he answered, I started complaining.
“Dad, there’s something wrong with your fox! She’s become a supernatural creature!”
“She just jumped in through the kitchen window on the sixth floor!”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
Then my father burst into roaring laughter.
“Ha-ha-ha! That’s wonderful! That’s a good thing!”
I was stunned.
“What’s good about it? She nearly scared me to death!”
“What do you know? It’s a sign from the fox spirit, a blessing! It means she’s chosen you as her master!”
“Dad, this isn’t a blessing. It’s a horror story!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about! A blessing has practically been delivered to your doorstep, and you’re trying to send it away?”
His voice boomed through the phone.
“You’d better take good care of her. Feed her well and treat her properly!”
I was starting to think my father had lost his mind.
“I don’t care. Come and take her away!”
“Stop talking nonsense! Other people would beg for this kind of luck, and you’re trying to throw it out? Treat her well. Do you hear me?”
With that, he hung up.
I stood there holding my phone as helplessness washed over me.
Clearly, I couldn’t count on my father.
So I decided to try a different approach.
I dug a feather wand out of the storage cabinet and waved it in front of her.
She didn’t even lift her eyelids. She looked at me as if I were an idiot.
I took out a small rubber ball and tossed it at her feet.
She glanced down, then slowly raised one paw and pushed the ball beneath the couch.
It felt like she was mocking me for wasting her time.
I brought out my secret weapon: a package of imported beef jerky.
The moment I tore open the wrapper, the rich smell of meat filled the room.
At last, she reacted.
She leaned closer and sniffed the strip of jerky in my hand.
Then she stuck out her tongue.
She licked my finger instead of the jerky.
I went completely numb.
She wasn’t interested in the toys or the treats.
She was only interested in me.
Wherever I went, she followed without taking a single step away from me.
When I went to the bathroom, she sat outside the door.
When I sat at my computer to write code, she sprawled across my feet.
I finally stood up in frustration and paced back and forth across the apartment.
Then a plan began to take shape.
I changed into clothes for going out and picked up my keys.
“I’m heading out. You stay home and be good.”
I said it to her deliberately.
She immediately got to her feet and followed me, looking as though she intended to leave with me.