Beauty and the Beasts

Using these two condiments, Bai Qingqing marinated the meat for a while, before putting it to roast on the fire.

As the familiar fragrance of the roast meat entered his senses, the delight in Alva’s eyes intensified. “It’s this smell.”

Bai Qingqing wrapped the roast meat with a tree leaf, before tearing out a hind thigh and handing it to him.

“Have you mastered it?”

Looking at the meat before him, Alva was dazed momentarily. “Is this for me?”

“Try it. I can’t finish it by myself anyway.” Bai Qingqing tore another thigh and started chomping on it herself.

Alva smiled as he received the roast meat from her, then said, catching her off-guard, “When we give food to someone of the opposite sex here, it means we like that person.”

“Pff!” Bai Qingqing spat out the meat she had just finished chewing and started coughing.

Eating the meat in big bites, Alva was unable to stop due to the tastiness in his mouth. Incoherently, he said, “But when I gave you the pine nuts I did it on behalf of the tribe, it has nothing to do with me.”

“I know.” Bai Qingqing also was focused on eating.

Looking at the female who had her head lowered as she ate, her mildly wavy hair falling over her shoulders messily and appearing a little frizzy, Alva couldn’t help but add, “Do eat more pine nuts, it’s good for the hair.”

“Hair?” Bai Qingqing paused for a moment. She glanced at Alva, and only managed to react when she saw him looking at her hair. “Oh, got it, thanks.”

Behind the tree, with an expression so dark it was terrifying, Bella stomped her feet before leaving in anger.

…

On the first night at the peacock village, Bai Qingqing suffered from insomnia. Having arrived in the beastman world for over a year, this was the first time she was sleeping alone, and she wasn’t quite used to it.

The second day, she naturally woke up later.

“Shucks, Muir!”

Bai Qingqing haphazardly smoothed her hair and fixed her skirt, before walking out of the wooden house.

“Scram! I’m not eating your pine nuts!”

Hearing the scream of the female from afar, Bai Qingqing looked towards the source of that voice and saw, to her surprise, Alva being driven out from Bella’s wooden house.

Sensing Bai Qingqing’s gaze on him, Alva looked towards her. Upon seeing this, Bella walked out of the house and rolled her eyes at the sight of her.

“Scram!” Bella suddenly hollered. No idea if she was targeting Bai Qingqing or Alva.

The panicked Alva knelt before Bella on one knee, his tone subservient. “You said you would mate with me after you go into heat this year. Are you going back on your word? Why?”

“Go and pursue her, I don’t want you anymore,” Bella said coldly.

Bai Qingqing was stunned.

Alva glanced at Bai Qingqing with a gaze that made her shiver. There were resentment and fury in his eyes. Bai Qingqing thought to herself, “Oh no.”

She didn’t stay on to listen in on their conversation any longer and simply went down the tree carefully, before running out of the village.

Muir was standing tall and straight by the river for god knows how long. Upon seeing Bai Qingqing, his wooden-statue-like face slowly revealed a faint smile.

“You’re here.”

“Good morning.” Bai Qingqing forced a smile. She sat down by the river and sighed.

Muir also sat down. He showed Bai Qingqing a piece of animal skin that carried a faint bloody smell. “I made this yesterday. It’s not very well done, but it should be alright to sleep on top of it. I’ll bring you animal skin of better quality tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

Bai Qingqing’s coldness made Muir’s expression turn cold. Gripping Bai Qingqing’s shoulders, he asked, “Are you unhappy? Did they mistreat you?”

Bai Qingqing looked up at him and shook her head after a moment’s hesitation.

“It’s just that I miss Parker and Curtis,” Bai Qingqing said.

She didn’t wish to cause Muir any more trouble. She decided she would just avoid Bella and Alva in the future.

Muir let go of her and smiled bitterly.