The tall and aloof man stood at the door, dressed impeccably. He asked, "Are you Shang Xi?"

"...Yes."

"Do you have a red birthmark on your right chest?"

Shang Xi blushed, a trace of anger flickered in her eyes. For a man and woman meeting for the first time, his words were indeed a bit presumptuous.

If you were to say he was being a scoundrel, his expression was too cold, and his voice did not carry any emotion. It was more like he was an interrogator rather than a scoundrel.

But how did this man know that she had a birthmark on her right chest…

Seemingly noticing her hesitance to answer, the man fell silent briefly as he continued to stare at her. Then he asked again, "Did you accidentally enter the wrong room four years ago at the Capital City Hotel?"

Shang Xi was taken aback, her eyes widening in surprise.

She was deeply shocked. She certainly remembered that life-changing night four years ago. If it hadn't been for that night, she wouldn't have gotten pregnant, and she wouldn't have had her child.

"How did you know..."

The man pressed his lips together, "I was there that night."

Shang Xi's eyes widened, and her mouth opened, but she couldn't find the words to respond.

Five years ago, when she was a sophomore in college, she accidentally entered the wrong room and climbed into the wrong bed when she returned to her hotel after a friend's birthday party.

She had been so drunk that she thought she was hallucinating when she saw a large black dog on the bed in the room. Shang Xi had always loved cats and dogs since she was a child, but she couldn't keep one because she was living with others.

She was quite courageous at the time, crawling onto the bed and started to pet the dog, not afraid of being bitten at all.

Later on, she had no idea what happened, but the big dog was gone, and in its place, a very good-looking man was lying on the bed.

She thought she was dreaming because she had been single for so long, and she played along.

The next day, she was woken up by a call before dawn. She reached for the phone in a daze, and found out that her grandma, who had raised her for ten years, had passed away. She was so panicked at the moment that she knelt down as soon as she got off the bed.

Only then did she realize she was completely naked, and a man was lying on the big bed, his back to her.

It wasn't a dream, the erotic dream she thought of was reality.

But she didn't have time to think about that, she hurriedly put on her clothes, without even getting a clear look at the man, and endured the discomfort of her body and left the hotel.

Shang Xi's parents both died when she was young, and she had been moving from one relative's house to another until she was ten years old, when a distant grandma took pity on her and took her away from her uncle's house she was living in at the time.

Over the years, her grandma has been very good to her, and Shang Xi is always thinking of repaying her after graduation.

Who would have thought that her grandma would pass away on her seventieth birthday?

Shang Xi couldn't accept that fact. After so many years, she finally met someone who really loved her, but now, that person was gone too.

Sadness, pain, and despair were like heavy clouds pressing on her head, and she couldn't shake it off. If she moved, it followed.

Beautiful scenery, delicious food, none of them could dispel the dark cloud over her head. She felt that everything was meaningless. Then, she found out she was pregnant.

"You have a hard time getting pregnant, this child may be your only one." The doctor said.

So...

Shang Xi dropped out of school.

From her childhood through to her adulthood, she always felt apart when visiting relatives, unable to blend into their happy family environment. She would stand to the side, watching.

She had no parents, siblings, or any blood relatives, but she could have her own child in the future.

No one would know how desperately she yearned for her child.

She had to give birth, she must have that child.

Her grandmother's old house was reclaimed by her children and she didn't have a place to go. So, with a baby, unable to afford schooling, she rented a cheap place and delved into job hunting.

She found a new motivation to live.

During her hardest days, she worked several jobs a day.

But when she strapped her baby to her back to work, hearing the child's giggles from behind, that made her feel blessed.

In this world, she felt that the number of people who hated her greatly outnumbered those who loved her.

The sense of bliss brought by kinship cannot be compensated by any amount of money as that place would forever be void.

She never dreamed that a man, more secretive than the devil himself, would come knocking at her door.

At that moment, the man glanced at the decrepit apartment hallway, rusty railings, knit his brows almost imperceptibly.

"Have you been living in such a place all these years," he asked, "with a child?"

Shanxi simply hummed in affirmation.

But, she was already planning to move. The new house she bought was now ready for occupancy.

"I'm Gu Wen." The man's voice was low and devoid of noticeable emotion. "I came to fetch you and your son, to live elsewhere."

Although he was speaking normally, his eyes maintained a sharp edge, their black pupils cold and devoid of warmth. They didn't resemble... that of a human's peepers.

Shang Xi found this eerily familiar because her son also had these moments when his large, pitch-black eyes seemed empty.

Like a cold and gloom-filled obsidian.

These eyes felt... like those of a predatory animal, striking fear into people.

She thought of a wolf.

In her twenty-five years alive, she had met numerous people, deliberately looking into many pairs of eyes. But she had only experienced this feeling with this man and her son.

It wasn't a misperception.

"How did you find this place?" She stared at Gu Wen, unafraid perhaps from prolonged exposure to her son's unusual eyes. "Did you... eat something that night?"

Years ago, when she initially cooperated, dreaming it all, she later freaked out and wanted to hide. She even thought she'd be the first person to die from an erotic dream.

Gu Wen hesitated for a moment, replying, "You could say I ate something."

As a matter of fact, that night was the annual occurrence of his estrus cycle, which had come three days earlier than expected.

He had found a nearby hotel to wait for aid.

Unexpectedly, a human woman barged in, touching and hugging him, leaving no part of his body untouched, almost going over every bit of him...

Possessing minimal human genes due to his grandfather's human lineage, Gu Wen was.

It's not that monsters are so sinister, this world has never only been occupied by pure humans.

It's just that humans are arrogant and think they are the only race that exists.

The Werewolf clan has always lived on the coldest, remote snow mountains, until recent years when humans built cities, his grandmother was attracted, came down the mountain and encountered his grandfather, who was a pure human.

Back then, when he woke up, he had been taken to the snow mountain by his clansmen. The mating period lasts five days, only needing to soak in the unique cold pond in the snow mountain for two days would suffice.

Werewolves will only have one mate in their life, unlike humans and other races who are fickle, before they meet that person, they will rather soak in the cold pond year after year than to just randomly find someone to solve it.

It's laughable that in recent years, pure humans are also pursuing a lifelong partner, he clearly sees those pure humans saying one thing to the face and another behind the back, eating from the bowl while looking at what's in the pot, walking on the street holding their partner's hand but their gaze is focused on others.

They promise something they can't deliver, hypocritically guaranteeing useless promises.

He really can't stand the disloyalty of pure humans towards their partners.

So, when he was very young, he swore that his partner would never be a pure human.

Pure humans are greedy, crafty, lazy, hypocritical, and unfaithful, just like his damned grandfather.

Because of the natural instincts of the Werewolf clan, his grandmother was loyal to his grandfather for a lifetime, accompanied him in his business endeavors, yet he fell in love with a pure human after getting rich, fortunately, he died drunk on the streets in the end.

And yet, his grandmother could not leave the world of pure humans. She continued her business ventures, passing down the commercial kingdom generation to generation.

Gu Wen is this generation's most brilliant inheritor.

But due to his premature mating period, he had the most intimate relationship with a very proactive pure human woman.

His clan told him that when they came to pick him up at the hotel, the room was empty, that woman had long run away.

Entering his room, tempting and seducing, then leaving right after their night together. It was just as expected of a human - frivolous and noncommittal. He should have known.

In the werewolf race, one only has a single mate in their lifetime.

He could either live with that human woman or spend his lifetime alone.

Yet that woman left, and he had no intentions to search for her.

At that time, he had just taken over a company, so busy he had no time to spare. After descending the snowy mountain, he threw himself into work and cast his personal matters aside. What was living a lone life to be worried about?

The company matters were more of a headache, mainly because werewolves were in the minority compared to human employees. His major business contacts were also humans.

He was not good at communicating with human men or women.

Humans had a preference for wearing strong perfumes that he deeply loathed.

He thought that there would be no ties with the human woman he had been with in this lifetime. After all, humans were so heavily populated, any city would be filled with them.

But last night...

On the full moon night, in the stillness of the night, he heard a baby wolf's call.

The sound was similar to that of a puppy's crying.

When he found its source, unexpectedly he detected the scent that belonged to his own bloodline.

That was...his pup.

He had only been with one human woman.

He didn't expect that woman was pregnant, and even gave birth to the youngster.

Every werewolf's cub needs to drink the spring water from the top of the Snow Mountain when they turn four and a half years old, otherwise, the pain from their bone development will be unbearable. Human medicine doesn't work.

It took him a whole night.

He found that pure human woman, Shangxi.

He wanted to take his cub away but according to the records, this woman has been working from dawn to dusk these past years, raising the cub all by herself was extremely hard.

The cub was not his in the eyes of the law.

The cub was born without his knowledge, he hasn't done anything for these years, he was not qualified to take the cub away.

In that case, he might as well take both mother and child away.

Looking frustrated, he said impatiently, "You don't have to think about useless things like refusing or resisting. I won't let my child live in such a place."

"You just have to nod, understand?"

Shangxi stared at his face that resembled her son closely and casually replied with a "Oh".

Actually, she hadn’t...even thought about refusal or resistance.

As the saying goes, you’re an idiot if you decline a benefit.

Since the child’s birth father had come to reclaim them, of course, she would support his pent-up paternal love.

She turned around and went into the house, "I need to see your paternity test with the child."

Gu Wen spoke, "Alright."

"Then where are we moving to? You say where, and I'll decide if it's suitable."

Gu Wen was relieved that this woman was cooperative and reasonable. He replied with a softer expression, "Halfway up Qingcheng Mountain, South Wind Court."

"Come in and have a seat."

There was slight hesitation from Gu Wen before he stepped forward.

As soon as he entered the room, he stood by the door, examining the setting. The light was too dim, the walls were yellow, the couch was old, and the house was tiny, just several dozen square meters.

Although it was kept clean and the furniture was neatly arranged.

Underneath the wooden table was a green inflatable horse toy, unmistakably, a child's plaything.

The walls were also adorned with outdated literacy posters, color posters, and animal posters.

A clear hint of the life lived here.

He could tell from the warmth that permeated the house that even though the mother and son were poor, their lives were filled with love and warmth.

His gaze was drawn to a height chart on the door.

The last marking almost reached his thigh.

The young boy seemed relatively tall.

After all, he himself was 1.96 meters tall.

The scent inside the room was not unpleasant. The milky aroma from the cub was heavy, his pitch-black eyes softening momentarily.

The cub was inside the room.

He stood with hands behind his back, looking out the window onto the small balcony where a row of clothes hung.

There were clothes belonging to the cub, and belonging to Shang Xi.

.

Suddenly, a noise came from the cub's room. It seemed he had picked up a scent, letting out a small growl. Gu Wen took his time and headed towards the room, stopping at the doorway.

The cub stood on the bed, his chubby body wearing only a white short-sleeved shirt that reached his knees, revealing chubby little legs. His plump, bun-like face stared fiercely at him, a pair of jet-black eyes fixated.

His mouth was open, revealing two small fangs, growling threateningly at him. “Grr...Grrr!”

The growl sounded like a baby babbling.

As he was about to reach the age of four and a half, his bones were growing, and without the spring water from the peak of the iceberg, discomfort tinged his body, causing his little bun face to turn red.

Shang Xi, being a pure human, can only assume that the cub has a fever.

She would never know the pain of the cub’s bones growing in the night without nourishment from the spring water.

“Grrr!! Grrr!!” The cub continued to growl, attempting to chase away this dangerous intruder. His instincts alerted him that this intruder was powerful and dangerous.

He had to protect his mother.

"Awwooo!!!" His howl intensified, perhaps due to the intimidation from the scent of his own kind. His soft black hair twitched at both sides, sprouting two fluffy black wolf ears. Because he was still a cub, the ears were small and short.

They were not the ears of a pure human.

“Awo…” The cub’s roar stalled briefly, producing a short syllable, then stopped. He felt something odd and quickly raised his chubby little hands to cover his ears.

Fearful of being seen, especially by his mother.

He thought his mother hadn’t seen them before.

From a young age, he had already discovered that he was different from others.

In this world, being different was a mistake.

He seemed like a little monster.

He covered his small ears, turned his tiny bottom, and hid inside the quilt, leaving only his pure black tail peeking out.

He didn't appear to be very clever.

After finishing her talk with someone outside, Shang Xi returned to the room. Upon sight of Gu Wen standing at the door, she frowned and walked in big strides towards him.

Gu Wen noticed the cub on the bed becoming even more panicked, struggling inside the quilt, trying his hardest to retract his tail and ears.

Gu Wen spoke, "Open your mouth and take three deep breaths."

He was instructing the cub.

The cub was momentarily stunned, but then it seemed like he followed the instruction. Instantly, the little tail behind him disappeared.

Shang Xi moved to the door, lowering her voice, "Mr. Gu, the child is asleep, don't wake him, he's not feeling well."

Saying this, she glanced into the room.

She saw a small lump on the bed, an unlikely shape for a sleeping person.

"Baby, have you woken up?" A glimmer of hope sparkled in her eyes as she walked in, "Are you feeling better? Or are you still uncomfortable?"

The little guy revealed his face, flushed even redder than before, drenched in sweat from the recent panic.

This scene etched itself into Shang Xi's heart, causing her to rush over anxiously, trembling hands gently caressing her son's small face, "What happened? Did you get another high fever? Let's go to the hospital, mama will take you to the hospital."

Half a month has passed, but the hospital seems to be of no help.

Even though he appeared to have symptoms of a fever, the doctors insisted there was nothing wrong. They had visited over a dozen hospitals, with no results.

Some doctors even questioned her mental state.

Asserting that her son was completely fine.

But she knew better than anyone else--her baby was sick.

But she was powerless; she couldn't take the pain for him. Every night, her son would break out in a cold sweat from the pain, clutching tightly onto her hand, his face etched in agony.

As Shang Xi was taken over by these thoughts, tears welled up in her eyes. Her heart ached palpably, shaking from the horrid feelings that overwhelmed her as she prepared to carry her son away.

"I know what disease he has," Gu Wen interjected.

Shang Xi stopped.

"I can save him."

"He has something in him that pure humans don't possess, you should have noticed, right?"

The young cub continues to hide, but after spending every moment with him in the past four years, as a mother, how could I not perceive anything.

The cub, he is too innocent.

Shang Xi stiffened slightly, clinging tightly to her child.

Gu Wen didn't like to beat around the bush; he was not a patient person and got to the point quickly, "I am his father, you don't need to be wary of me. He has more than half of the wolf clan's blood in him, human medicine won't work on him."

As soon as Gu Wen's words fell, the cub in Shang Xi's arms seemed tired, his small ears instantly popped out again, he no longer had the energy to hide them.

Especially when Gu Wen was around, this inborn scent stimulated him.

But since his mother was there, he hurriedly stretched out his small plump hand to cover them, to hide.

He helplessly burrowed into Shang Xi's arms, "No look, Mommy no look, awoo... no look..."

Shang Xi had seen it, she had already noticed.

She had seen it within this half a month.

Looking at this scene, Gu Wen frowned, his voice deepened, "You have imposed stress on him, he is afraid of letting you know."

Shang Xi's heart trembled, hugging her son tighter, "It's okay, it's okay, even if I saw it, it doesn't matter. Mommy thinks it's very cute, don't be scared, don't be scared."

Her lips, moist with tears, kissed the cub's small ear, "Mommy knew it long ago, it doesn't matter. Mommy loves Baby the most, right? Don't be scared."

The cub was gradually soothed, peeking at its mother with wide eyes, "Mommy?"

His fluffy little ears were gently stroked by his mother, who was smiling at him.

Wow! Mommy is truly not scared at all!

He found joy in that, laughing in the arms of Shang Xi, flashing two tiny fangs before his eyes slowly shut, as he drifted off to sleep.

Only after her son was sound asleep did Shang Xi leave the room.

She wiped away her tears and confronted Gu Wen, "I don't care if you're from the werewolf tribe or wilderness tribe, all I want is for my child to recover his health."

That night.

Without even taking time to pack up everything, Shang Xi took her son and left with Gu Wen.

In a mansion located up on Qingcheng Mountain, deep underground, it was as cold as winter, completely covered in ice and snow.

This was an ice chamber built by Gu Wen at great expense, equipped with top-tier facilities to keep the temperature at its lowest.

The heart of the snow was a small pool of blue water.

This was spring water that Gu Wen had brought back from the top of a snowy mountain ages ago.

Shang Xi sat within this strange, beautiful room, barely able to pay any attention to her surroundings, for the only thing her gaze rested upon was her son's rosy face, causing her heart to twinge.

No wonder, no wonder they couldn't find any issues at the hospital.

She felt absurd, leaving with a man she had only known for several hours.

What if Gu Wen is deceiving her, playing her for a fool, or even wanting the child's life...

No, thinking too much is pointless now.

She's out of options.

As a desperate mother, she could only place her hopes on this strange man.

After all, her son looks a lot like him, and she has seen the paternal confirmation. She could only trust.

As soon as Gu Wen walked into the room,

Shang Xi suddenly stood up, as if she had seen a lifesaver. She ran over and asked, "Mr. Gu, have you brought the medicine?"

She was standing too close to him.

Gu Wen halted and frowned slightly, "Stay away from me." He said, and then walked past her toward the bed.

Werewolves are very conscious about their distance from females and they are only intimate with their partners.

Even though he had the closest relationship with Shang Xi, she was not his partner. She was just a pure human who seduced him, spent the night with him, and then left.

As for her, he wouldn't say he despises her, but he just doesn't like her.

It was impossible before, and it will be impossible in the future.

Having a pup won't change his attitude.

"You pure humans are always like that, constantly trying to touch." He said with light mockery.

At the moment, Shang Xi's mind is full of her child, paying no heed to his attitude. She follows him, standing far behind, staring at the jade bottle in his hand.

He uncorks the lid, and a wisp of white mist emanates from the bottle's mouth.

"Wake up the cub."

Shang Xi snaps back to reality, climbs onto the bed, and gently cradles her son, softly rocking him: "Baby, can we wake up now? Have medicine before going back to sleep. After having it, it won't hurt anymore."

The little guy gently opens his eyes.

Shang Xi stretches out her hand, "Give it to me, I'll feed him."

Gu Wen sneers, "You want to hold it? "The cold spring water from the top of the iceberg- you think you can touch it?"

A pure human's hand would burn like touching a red-hot iron, a kind of scalding pain.

Shang Xi hesitates, thinking about how his words sting. She presses her lips together, "If you can, you do it."

Without a word, Gu Wen directs the mouth of the bottle towards the young one's mouth. Shang Xi watches as her son begins to gulp it down as if he was drinking sweet nectar, quickly emptying the bottle.

"One bottle a day. Go to sleep," Gu Wen reaches over to pat the cub's head.

"He will not be in pain tonight."

Shang Xi furrows her eyebrows, "I'll stay with him."

She does not feel at ease.

Gu Wen's gaze lingers for a moment on her dark circles and slightly haggard face. He smirks, "As you wish."

He turned and left.

That night, Shang Xi hadn’t slept all night. Her child, who hadn't been resting peacefully for more than half a month, finally had a good sleep.

Her son really had a chance to survive.

She smiled with curved lips. She hadn't rested much in the past half month either. With the pressure lifting, she couldn't help but collapse, sliding down to sleep on the edge of the big bed, on the thick white carpet.

She didn't even have the thought or energy to go to the bed.

Seven o'clock in the morning.

Gu Wen stepped into the room, paused when he saw the woman sleeping on the floor.

He looked at the young one, put his mind at ease, and turned to leave.

As for the woman sleeping on the carpet, he didn't take another look.

He didn't want to touch this pure human woman.

But, after all, she is the mother of the cub.

Let someone else carry her.

In this house, there were female werewolves.

---

---

This book's consumption guide: If you're looking for a strong female lead, an impressive show-off, or a staunch feminist character, you might want to step back. Not a good fit for those who swoon over male protagonists as well since the male lead is quite submissive in the later part.

My work is not recommended for extreme fans of either male or female leads.

As a reminder, please read the above once more. After all, this low-key author is quite fierce and prone to retort.

Note: the male lead is a self-pitying, self-courting lone wolf. Don't judge him by normal standards; many of his ideas are demented! He is, unfortunately, only half a man...

After falling in love with the female lead, he is very henpecked, and his loyalty to her lasts a lifetime. He is the epitome of a virtuous man.

Werewolf Clan age setting: Members can generally live up to 300 years and even beyond. The female lead attains a similar lifespan after consuming something later on in the story.

Reminder: The main theme of this novel is raising offspring and revolves around the banality of daily life. Everyone is heterosexual.

Romantic, touching, with a happy ending.

Repeating once again, the low-quality author may go berserk in the comment section. Life is all about getting heated, you curse me~ I curse you~ Let's be sweet together~~