Chapter 67: You sprained your ankle, so what has that got to do with my male?
Hu Baiyu, on the other hand, was still the only one in the group who truly did not understand what was happening.
To him, Ya Yun was a familiar female who seemed to have slipped.
To him, Lin Huahua was standing right there and he wanted to go to her.
To him, this entire moment felt like a bad obstacle placed right in his path for no reason.
So after steadying Ya Yun, Hu Baiyu immediately tried to withdraw his hand and stand properly.
But Ya Yun, who had not missed the sour look in Lin Huahua’s eyes, felt delighted inside.
She had seen it.
The princess was bothered.
Very bothered.
That meant the plan was working.
If things went as usual, Lin Huahua should get angry and throw a fit. She should insult Hu Baiyu or push him away or say she did not want him if he liked another female so much. And if that happened, Ya Yun would naturally be able to slide in and play the soft understanding one.
She had been hoping for something like this for a while now.
That was why, instead of letting go, she tightened her hold on Hu Baiyu’s hand and said in an even softer voice, "I think I sprained my ankle."
This time, even Hu Baiyu looked at her differently.
Seriously?
That expression was very clear on his face.
He could not speak, but his lion eyes said enough.
Even his ears twitched in what looked suspiciously like disbelief.
Lin Huahua saw that and almost laughed from anger.
Oh, so this woman really was doing it on purpose.
That made her dislike her immediately.
Not just dislike.
Strongly dislike.
Her little white rat ears turned slightly back, and her tail flicked once in sharp irritation as she stared at Ya Yun with full suspicion. Why the hell was this woman acting like that in front of her? And with her male too?
Yes, she had been talking about finding good females for them.
Yes, she had thought maybe Hu Baiyu liking someone would help later.
But this one?
This fake falling, sweet voiced, hand clinging little duck woman?
No.
No, thank you.
She did not like it.
Ya Yun, meanwhile, felt very satisfied with herself. She had hoped the princess would react, and now that the princess was staring, Ya Yun only felt prouder. In her mind, she was already imagining Lin Huahua doing what she always did, throwing a fit and rejecting Hu Baiyu in public like usual. If that happened, would it not only make it easier for Ya Yun to comfort him later?
But she miscalculated one thing.
She forgot that this Lin Huahua was not the same as before.
Before things could continue further, Lin Huahua finally spoke.
Her voice was no longer confused or hesitant. It was sharp and clear and full of something fierce that made both Ya Yun and Hu Baiyu look at her immediately.
"You sprained your ankle," Lin Huahua said, and then her brown eyes narrowed as she stared straight at the duck woman, "so what has that got to do with my male?"
The air went still.
Mu Qingyi blinked once.
Ya Yun’s face changed.
And Hu Baiyu froze so completely that his lion tail stopped moving behind him.
Lin Huahua then lifted her chin and called out, "Hu Baiyu. Come here."
That was all.
Just three words.
But the effect was ridiculous.
The moment Hu Baiyu heard her call his name like that, everything else around him seemed to stop mattering. He forgot the duck woman. He forgot the fruits. He forgot the whole awkward scene. He immediately pulled his hand free from Ya Yun and stood up with such speed that the woman nearly stumbled for real this time.
Then, like a huge obedient lion who had just been called by his female, he went straight to Lin Huahua’s side.
He really was too big for the sweetness of the act.
This was a three-striped lion beastman.
A huge, powerful, terrifyingly strong male who could make weaker beastmen step back just from pressure alone.
Yet when Lin Huahua called him, he came over so quickly and quietly that it looked almost unbelievable.
Of course, Hu Baiyu himself was not calm at all inside.
He was blushing.
Badly.
Because standing close to her like this brought everything back again, and the innocent lion who had been thoroughly ruined by his own thoughts the night before now felt his heart beating hard in his chest just from being beside her.
Ya Yun saw all of this and nearly bit through her own tongue from anger.
The princess had only called once and this lion had gone over like a good dog.
How could she not hate that?
Still, she forced herself to keep a pitiful look on her face, because losing openly now would be too ugly.
Only then did she lower her head and greet the princess in a proper morning manner, her voice respectful on the surface, though inside she felt sour and stinging. At the same time, she could not stop staring at Lin Huahua’s face properly now that they were this close.
And what she saw made her feel even worse.
The princess really was more beautiful than before.
Not slightly.
Not in some tiny way one could ignore.
No.
Way more beautiful.
Her pale skin looked almost luminous, her lips softer, her eyes larger and more innocent, and even the tiny angry expression on her face made her seem vivid and alive in a way the old princess never had. Ya Yun had known Lin Huahua for a long time, so this difference hit her hard. Had she just never noticed it before? Or had something really changed?
Either way, jealousy rose again.
Lin Huahua, however, did not care what was happening in the duck woman’s heart. She only looked at her coolly and asked, "What exactly are you doing around my area?"
Ya Yun’s face remained mild and sweet. "I was only picking sweet fruits nearby."
Lin Huahua’s eyes moved over her basket.
Then over the area.
Then back to her face.
And then, because she had already started noticing something else in the beast world, she asked very directly, "Do you not have a male? Why are you the one picking fruits for yourself?"
The moment those words came out, Ya Yun’s face nearly cracked.