Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off

The moment Su Qinglan’s eyes fully focused on Hu Yan, her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand.

Seeing his golden eyes...the same eyes that had turned blood-red with madness in that dark, forgotten timeline...made her pulse race.

In that other life, he had lost his mind, his son, and his soul because of a lie.

In that life, she had watched him walk into the forest with a dead cub in his mouth, never to return.

"Hu...Yannn."

A sob broke from her throat. Before Hu Yan could even say a word of greeting, Su Qinglan lunged forward and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest.

"I am sorry, Hu Yan! I’m so sorry!" she wailed, her voice thick with a decade’s worth of unshed grief.

"I wronged you so much... I let them take everything... I’m so sorry!"

Hu Yan froze, his heart hammering against his ribs. He had no idea what she is talking about. He wrapped his powerful arms around her, pulling her small body as close as possible.

"Lan Lan, it’s okay! Shh, I’m here," he whispered urgently, his own eyes stinging with tears of relief.

"You don’t have to say sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve just been having a nightmare, that’s all. It’s over now. I’m right here." He simply assumed she had seen a long nightmare.

He stroked her hair with a shaking hand, trying to console her, but Su Qinglan couldn’t stop.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the tiny, cold tiger cub in the mud. She gripped his arms so hard her knuckles turned white, sobbing until she couldn’t breathe.

Suddenly, two small, fluffy figures tumbled on the bed. It was their two tiger cubs. They had been staying with Shi Feng, but the moment they heard their mother’s voice, they had escaped and rushed to her side.

When Su Qinglan saw them...healthy, breathing, and very much alive...she let out a sound of pure agony and joy.

She reached out and scooped them both into her lap, clutching them to her chest with such force that the cubs were momentarily stunned.

She kissed their little heads, their ears, and their paws, her tears soaking their fur. She refused to let them go even for a second, as if she were afraid they would turn into dust if she loosened her grip. "My babies... you’re here... you’re really here," she choked out.

The two tiger cubs were confused. Usually, their mother was gentle and playful, but now she was a mess of tears and desperation.

However, they could sense the deep, overwhelming sadness coming from her.

They didn’t struggle. They didn’t make a sound. Instead, they sat silently on her lap, leaning their small bodies against her for support.

Xiao Yi reached out and softly licked her palm, his little tongue rough and warm.

The other nuzzled into the crook of her neck, letting out a tiny, comforting purr.

They were trying to tell her that they were safe, that they were hers, and that they weren’t going anywhere.

Hu Yan watched the scene, his heart aching. He sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around all three of them...his mate and his children.

After Su Qinglan finally released Hu Yan, her blurry, red-rimmed eyes shifted toward Rong Ye.

In the nightmare of her past life, she had seen him murdered by his own blood... brutally killed by a beastman from the Fox City while he was already burning with fever.

She remembered his cold, pale face and how Han Jue had been forced to bury him in a nameless grave.

The grief hit her all over again, fresh and agonizing. She opened her arms wide for him, and Rong Ye didn’t wait for an invite; he immediately threw himself in her arms.

His eyes were already red from crying all day whenever he saw her crying in her sleep.

"Rong Ye...Rong Ye...my silly fox..." She grabbed his face with both hands, her fingers trembling against his skin, and began to pepper his lips and forehead with desperate, shaky kisses.

"If there is any trouble in your life... if your family, if that city, if anyone comes for you... you tell me!" she whispered, her voice almost shaking.

"Don’t try to solve it alone! Don’t you dare go out there and fight them by yourself! Tell me first! Promise me!"

Rong Ye was stunned. He didn’t know how she could possibly know about the dark secrets of his clan or the brothers who wanted him dead. He could feel the distraction and the terror radiating from her body. He nodded repeatedly, his own eyes softening with a gentle smile.

"Lan Lan, I promise," he murmured, his voice low and steady as he held her waist. "I would never do anything alone. I will tell you everything. I won’t leave you."

Only when she felt the solid, warm reality of his heartbeat did she finally pull back, her eyes still brimming with tears.

She whispered a quiet, broken "Thank you," her voice so full of relief that it made Rong Ye’s own throat tighten.

She nuzzled her cheeks against his, hugging him with a strength that spoke of a thousand years of loneliness.

Inside, she was crying for the Rong Ye who had died in the mud, yet she felt relieved that this version of him was still alive...the same silly fox.

She never wanted him to face such cruelty; he was far too innocent for the harshness of this world.

Her gaze met Shi Feng’s, and she realized that in her past life, she had never met him.

A small, bitter part of her felt grateful for that... In that dark timeline, everyone who had crossed her path had met a horrific end.

She was glad he had been spared the curse of knowing her back then.

She opened her arms to him, and Shi Feng immediately hugged her tightly in return.