After a long while, Bai Di finally let go of Si Lu. He buried his face in Si Lu's neck, nuzzling intimately.
"Lu Lu, I really missed you. Even when you're right in front of me, I still miss you~" Bai Di said softly.
"I know." Si Lu patted Bai Di's head affectionately.
"But Lu Lu, you don't miss me~" Bai Di said, aggrieved.
The next second, Si Lu felt a bit of warmth on her neck. Could it be...
"No, it's not that I don't miss you. I do. It's just... you know, I want to be fair, A'Di~" Si Lu cupped Bai Di's face and made him look at her.
Sure enough, when she saw his reddened eyes, her heart ached.
Sigh.
There's no helping it! Having too many beastman partners just turns out like this.
"Lu Lu, I know. I'm not angry, and I'm not upset. I just hope you'll look at me more often, not ignore me, not forget that I exist." Bai Di looked at Si Lu with puppy eyes.
Greedy. After getting some, he wanted even more.
They were all like that.
"I understand. Lu Lu, actually, I'm very content right now. Every day, I'm really happy and satisfied!"
"But people are selfish and greedy. I keep wanting a bit more of your love. Am I bad? Am I not likable?" Bai Di said sadly.
Truthfully, he didn't like this side of himself either, but he didn't know what to do.
He clearly knew that he spent the most time with Si Lu. After all, the others had to go out hunting, but he didn't. Because he was a shaman, he could stay by Si Lu's side all day, every day. And yet, he still felt unsatisfied, still felt a bit wronged, and he didn't even know why. Maybe he really was too greedy.
He also felt that this side of himself wasn't appealing—making things difficult for Si Lu—but he didn't have any reassurance. He just wanted Si Lu to care about him more, to love him more.
"That's not true. It's normal to feel that way. Everyone does. Don't blame yourself or feel guilty."
"In the future, you can tell me anything, okay? Don't keep it all inside, or I'll feel heartache. To me, all of you are my important, important family. I don't want to see any of you sad or upset."
"A'Di, don't say those things about yourself again, alright?" Si Lu stroked his face with pain in her heart.
Sigh.
Such a fool!
"Lu Lu, I made things difficult for you. I won't do this again. Don't worry, I'll be good. I'll listen," Bai Di said firmly, looking at Si Lu.
Wasn't it true? What more could he ask for? He was already lucky enough.
If he kept being greedy, would he really deserve Si Lu?
Besides, his beloved female was even comforting him like this, not even getting angry. He was truly touched.
"It's alright. If you're ever in a bad mood, just talk to me. I'll listen. Of course, not just you—everyone. I know you all have some pressure and things on your minds. You need to let them out, to talk. I'm willing to listen!" Si Lu said.
She wasn't just saying this to Bai Di, but to Cheng Mo and the others as well. She knew male beastmen had excellent hearing. Even though she and Bai Di were speaking inside the cave, the others could probably hear a bit of it too.
"Mm, Lu Lu, you're so good!" Bai Di's eyes shimmered with emotion.
His mate was just so wonderful.
"I'm nothing compared to you all. Look how well you take care of me, down to every little detail," Si Lu said with a smile.
Wasn't it true?
She felt she was nothing compared to what they did for her.
Each of them was so wonderful, and she...
"Lu Lu, I won't allow you to talk about yourself like that. You're the most wonderful one. Meeting you is our greatest luck!" Bai Di said, and then kissed her soft lips again.
The two kissed...
Very quickly, enticing and provocative sounds echoed from within the cave.
...The people sitting around the fire outside fell into silence.
Kano's face instantly turned bright red.
He panicked and ran off.
Heiyao, Nance, and Song Zhan all twitched at the corners of their mouths.
Song Zhan actually started laughing.
And he laughed so hard he almost doubled over!
But the next second, Heiyao shot him a look, and he immediately shut up.
Alright~!!~
This guy is terrifying!
No kidding, that look just now really scared him!
Alright!
He really couldn't beat Heiyao and didn't dare mess with him either.
Seeing Song Zhan fall silent, Heiyao ignored him again.
This guy—was he really stupid or just brainless?
Laughing that loudly outside—what if Si Lu heard? That would be so awkward!
Even though they were just outside the cave, not far away, they could still clearly hear what was going on inside. So it was likely the people inside could hear what was going on outside, too.
If that guy's laughter startled Si Lu, or affected her somehow, Heiyao would definitely teach him a lesson.
He could tolerate anything else—but not when it came to Si Lu.
Nance also felt Song Zhan had gone a bit overboard just now...
Thankfully, Heiyao stopped him.
Song Zhan, like a child who had done something wrong, hung his head low.
"Get some rest." Heiyao said, and then left.
Nance and Song Zhan watched Heiyao's back with some confusion.
This late at night—where was he going?
But the two didn't dwell on it.
Song Zhan transformed into a big tiger and lay by the fire, closing his eyes.
Nance snuggled closer to him by the fire and turned into a little bunny.
At that moment, Song Zhan opened his eyes, looked at the pitiful little bunny, and gently covered him with his big tail.
In that moment, he felt like he and Nance were battle-worn brothers.
Nance felt the big tail covering him, opened his eyes in confusion to glance at Song Zhan, then closed them again and went to sleep.
…
The next morning.
When Heiyao returned from outside, he saw Song Zhan and Nance already busy.
Those two were surprisingly in sync.
Just then, Cheng Mo also came out holding the little cub.
Si Lu and Bai Di were still sleeping.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Si Lu finally woke up.
The moment she stirred, Bai Di sensed it immediately.
He opened his eyes and looked at her gently.
"Good morning," Bai Di smiled at her.
"Mm, morning," Si Lu said and sat up.
"I'll dress you." Bai Di immediately grabbed her clothes and helped her dress.
"Everyone's here today. No one's gone out hunting—it's a rare day." Bai Di spoke as he dressed her.
"And today, there's also the exchange gathering. Want to go take a look?" Bai Di asked.
"What's the exchange gathering?" Si Lu looked confused.
She had no idea!
"The exchange gathering is when beastmen from all different tribes come and display their goods. If someone from another tribe sees something they like, they'll trade for it—bartering. It gets pretty lively!"