He reached for her hand, then stopped, as if asking permission with his eyes first.

Lin Huahua sighed like she was helpless, but she still gave him her hand.

He held it carefully, then rubbed his cheek against her fingers.

That was too cute.

This huge three-striped white lion beastman, who could fight underwater and tear through enemies, was sitting there rubbing his cheek into her hand because she had told him she was not disgusted by him.

Lin Huahua could not help herself. She reached up and played with his white hair, combing her fingers through the damp strands near his face. "Silly lion."

Hu Baiyu leaned into her touch immediately.

He melted.

There was no other word for it. His broad shoulders relaxed, his eyes half-closed, and a low happy rumble started in his chest. His lion ears twitched every time her fingers brushed near them, and his tail swept once behind him in pure satisfaction.

Mu Qingyi, who had come back to the entrance at some point with a few cleaned gourds and had clearly heard enough to understand the situation, only stood there for a moment and watched them quietly.

He did feel a little jealous.

It was impossible not to.

He loved Lin Huahua too, and seeing her look at Hu Baiyu so softly made his chest ache in a quiet way. But unlike Feng Yiren, Mu Qingyi did not want to ruin the moment just because he wanted one for himself. He loved seeing her smile. He loved seeing her gentle. He loved seeing Hu Baiyu, who had suffered so much in silence, finally receiving warmth from the female he loved.

So Mu Qingyi only walked in calmly and placed the gourds near the wall, then smiled with that gentle deer warmth of his. "If you keep touching his hair like that, Huahua, he may not let you go before night food."

Lin Huahua quickly pulled her hand back.

Hu Baiyu looked disappointed at once.

Mu Qingyi laughed softly.

Lin Huahua’s ears went pink again. "I was only comforting him."

"Yes," Mu Qingyi said kindly. "I saw."

For some reason, the way he said it made Lin Huahua feel even more embarrassed than if he had teased her.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a much calmer way, though Feng Yiren did not show himself properly for some time. Lin Huahua thought he was hiding because he knew he had been wrong, but in truth, the fox was sulking while cutting and softening the skins he had gathered for her clothes.

He kept muttering under his breath the whole time, saying things like stupid lion, shameless lion, soft-hearted little rat, and why am I the one making clothes when I am the one being bullied, but his hands never stopped working.

By the time the sky outside turned golden and the tribe fires began to rise one after another, it was time to go to her family’s side for night food.

Lin Huahua had already calmed down fully by then. Her new feet protectors were still drying by the warm side of the cave, so she could not wear them yet. Because of that, the moment she stood, all three males looked at her feet.

She froze.

"Do not start," she said.

Hu Baiyu was already bending.

Feng Yiren suddenly appeared from the side with a dry hide in his hands and snapped, "Why must you be the one to carry her again? I want to carry her."

Hu Baiyu turned to him at once, ears lifting.

Mu Qingyi sighed softly, as if he had already seen how this would go.

Lin Huahua stared at them, then lifted one hand. "I can walk."

Three voices and one silent lion look disagreed at once.

"No," Feng Yiren said.

"You should not walk far with sore feet," Mu Qingyi said.

Hu Baiyu simply shook his head with deep seriousness.

Lin Huahua looked at all three of them and realized there was no winning this. In the end, Mu Qingyi settled it by calmly picking her up before the other two could fight again, and because he did it so smoothly, Lin Huahua had already been carried against his warm bare chest before she could protest.

Feng Yiren looked betrayed.

Hu Baiyu looked sad.

Mu Qingyi smiled like he had done nothing wrong.

Lin Huahua covered her face with both hands. "You are all too much."

Feng Yiren walked beside them with the folded soft skins over one shoulder, red tail swishing in annoyance. "Say that to the deer who stole the chance."

Mu Qingyi said gently, "You were too slow."

Feng Yiren’s eyes narrowed. "You planned that."

"I carried her because she needed to be carried." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"You carried her because you wanted to."

"Both can be true."

Lin Huahua peeked between her fingers, saw the two males arguing so calmly as if this was a serious tribe matter, and then looked at Hu Baiyu walking on the other side with his hand hovering near her back in case she slipped from Mu Qingyi’s arms.

These males were truly hopeless.

When they arrived at her family’s side, the place already smelled strongly of roasted meat.

Her mother’s cave area was bigger than Lin Huahua’s, with a wide open cooking space outside, smooth stones arranged around a central fire, and several thick furs laid under a shaded overhang.

There were dried herbs hanging from wooden hooks, clay pots lined near the wall, and piles of cleaned animal hides stacked neatly to one side.

Her mother sat near the fire, dressed in soft animal skins, her white rat ears decorated with small beads, while her males moved around her like powerful guards who were also servants, companions, and worshippers all in one.

Lin Weishan, the Rat King, sat on a large flat stone near the fire with his three-striped arm resting on one knee. His eyes went to Lin Huahua the moment she arrived, and when he saw Mu Qingyi carrying her, his brows lifted slightly.