Chapter 51: Why are you all looking at me like that? I am full
At that exact moment, a glowing screen suddenly lit up in front of Lin Huahua.
It floated there where only she could see it, and her system appeared with all the shameless timing in the world.
{Congratulations. User Princess has passed the cooking attempt test. Reward will now be issued.}
Lin Huahua’s face changed immediately.
"You do not even have any right to test me," she said inside her mind with a cold little snort. "I am pretty sure Pa did not tell you to do that."
The system ignored her smugly.
{Basic cooking skill data will now be downloaded into memory. Please receive.}
Before Lin Huahua could curse it properly, a stream of new knowledge began flowing into her head, and although it did not feel painful, it was strange enough to make her blink several times.
Very quickly, all sorts of simple cooking ideas, combinations, steps, and food instincts settled into her mind. It was not like she suddenly became some great master chef from the heavens, but things related to food now made more sense to her.
If she saw ingredients, she would no longer stare at them like an abandoned child. She would actually know what could be done with them.
Lin Huahua’s eyes lit up instantly.
This was useful.
Actually useful.
So useful that for one second she almost forgave the system.
Almost.
Then she remembered its earlier attitude and immediately stopped herself.
Humph.
The system disappeared again after the download completed, and Lin Huahua was left sitting there with a much better mood than before.
Mu Qingyi roasted more meat while the others continued eating, and now that the flavor had improved, the atmosphere in the cave became even warmer.
Since deer beastmen were never too fond of heavy meat, Mu Qingyi spent more time preparing it for the others than eating much himself.
Feng Yiren ate with open enjoyment, Hu Baiyu ate quietly while still stealing glances at Lin Huahua whenever he thought she was not looking, and Mu Qingyi remained his calm and nurturing self as he continued preparing more for everyone.
Hu Baiyu in particular was having a very difficult evening.
The lion kept trying to focus on the food, but every time Lin Huahua moved, every time she licked her lips after tasting the meat, every time her damp hair brushed her shoulder, his mind would suddenly jump back to the bath room, and his whole body would stiffen again.
His innocence had truly been ruined.
And the worst part was that the closer he sat to her, the worse it became.
Lin Huahua, who had no idea what kind of lion disaster was happening inside his head, only noticed that he seemed especially quiet and stiff.
She did not think much about it though, because she was already becoming happy from the new cooking knowledge in her head and from the fact that the meal had turned out better than she expected.
By the time she was done, there was still an extremely huge pile of meat left.
Lin Huahua looked at it, then looked at the three males, and said with complete confidence, "I already told you we were not going to finish all this."
If only she knew the truth.
The males had only been eating little by little because she was still eating.
They were deliberately holding back so that they would not make her feel rushed or leave her with nothing.
Also, compared to their appetites, Lin Huahua really ate very little.
Very, very little.
This was another thing that confused them.
Because in the past, Lin Huahua actually ate a lot. Not only did she eat a lot, she also ate expensively.
Yet now she had only eaten a little and was already rubbing her stomach like a satisfied little rat who had found one good grain and decided life was complete.
Mu Qingyi looked at her stomach. Feng Yiren looked at her face. Even Hu Baiyu looked at her with confusion.
Was she pretending or lying?
Did she actually not like the food?
Lin Huahua saw the way they were staring and frowned. "Why are you all looking at me like that? I am full."
She even rubbed her little stomach again to prove it.
Only after seeing that she truly looked satisfied did they stop questioning it.
Then Feng Yiren glanced at the remaining meat and said with a very natural face, "Only I can finish all this."
Mu Qingyi turned to look at him slowly.
Hu Baiyu also looked at him.
The fox lifted his chin. "What? Am I supposed to pretend I do not have a stomach?"
Lin Huahua nearly laughed.
The next moment the males stopped holding back.
And only then did Lin Huahua realize that what she had seen earlier was not even their real eating speed.
The other two finally stopped holding back, while Mu Qingyi continued preparing meat for them and only ate a little of the lighter things at the side. The difference in appetite was so shocking that Lin Huahua’s eyes widened.
What was this?
Were they trying to empty a mountain?
Had they been acting polite for her sake all this time?
The more Lin Huahua watched, the more stunned she became.
So this was the appetite of beastmen.
No wonder none of them had looked worried about that huge pile of meat.
As she was still staring, Hu Baiyu was suddenly the first to stand.
He bowed his head toward her in quiet gratitude, then turned and left.
Lin Huahua blinked in confusion.
That was it?
That was all he was having?
To her, Hu Baiyu seemed to have eaten the least out of the three.
She had completely forgotten that he was a lion.
There was no way a lion had a small appetite.
There was clearly another reason he had left so quickly, but Lin Huahua did not know that his poor innocent lion heart was already burning itself alive and that the bath room memory had not let him rest even for a moment.
So she only called after him, "Is that all you are eating?"
Hu Baiyu paused for one second but did not turn back. Then he kept walking.
Lin Huahua frowned in confusion but did not think too much of it.
By the time the rest of the meal was done, she was already feeling sleepy.
The whole day had been too much, and now that she was warm, full, and finally not in immediate emotional pain, all she wanted was bed.
Thankfully, Mu Qingyi had already arranged her bedding.
So Lin Huahua stood up and headed toward her room naturally, while Feng Yiren and Mu Qingyi stayed behind to deal with the remaining things.
There were three rooms in this cave home, and normally Mu Qingyi had his own separate space, but after mating, things were clearly not as simple as before.
Lin Huahua pushed aside the hide curtain and walked into her room, but before she could fully settle, she heard movement behind her and turned around.
Mu Qingyi was there.
He had followed her inside, and from the look of it, he was also preparing to sleep.
Lin Huahua immediately froze.
Then her face turned a little hot.
Then her white rat ears twitched.
Then her little tail gave a startled flick.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Mu Qingyi stopped too, and when he realized what she meant, the calm deer beastman actually became flustered. A faint blush climbed onto his face, and even his usual steady gaze shifted for a second.
He looked at her, then at the bedding, then back at her again, and his whole expression clearly said that he had only just realized how this might look.