Chapter 88: Prove to us right now that you really accept these males
The moment Su Yanrong’s males dropped to their knees and started begging, the anger on Lin Huahua’s face did not disappear, but it did loosen a little, because no matter how annoyed she was at that vulture woman, she could still see very clearly how much those males loved her.
That was the thing about beastmen in this world.
Once they chose a female, once they truly accepted her into their hearts, then even if that female was difficult, proud, annoying, ugly, or always causing trouble, they still looked at her as if she were precious. They still stood close to her, still watched her every movement, still noticed when her breathing changed, still panicked when she looked frightened, and still begged for her when things went wrong. Their ears, tails, eyes, shoulders, every part of them showed it before their mouths even did.
Su Yanrong’s males were exactly like that now.
Their heads were lowered, their shoulders were tense, and even the way their tails pressed low to the ground showed how desperate they felt. One of them had both hands pressed hard into the dirt as he begged. Another kept glancing at Su Yanrong with pained eyes, clearly wishing he could pull her back and hide her behind him. A third looked ready to bite through his own tongue from helplessness, because the female he had chosen had just offended the princess in front of the whole tribe, and now even he could not protect her from the consequences.
Lin Huahua saw all of that, and her little heart, which had been full of fire just now, softened in spite of herself.
Not toward Su Yanrong.
Absolutely not toward Su Yanrong.
But toward the males.
Because they really did care.
They cared so much that even now, when this woman had caused them nothing but stress, they were still kneeling in the dirt for her.
Still, Lin Huahua’s ears twitched sharply and her eyes narrowed again when she looked at that vulture woman, because soft heart or not, she still remembered very clearly that this bitch had the nerve to keep staring at Feng Yiren as if he were some piece of fat meat hanging in the sun waiting to be stolen.
What the hell?
How could she let that go?
No.
She was not about to.
Before Lin Huahua could even fully settle on what kind of punishment she wanted, Tu Xiaotao’s rabbit ears shot up so high they looked like they might fly away, and the lively rabbit beastwoman immediately pointed at her with one accusing finger.
"You are not about to change your mind now, right?" Tu Xiaotao asked with bright eyes and full suspicion. "Do not tell me you are going soft after shouting like that. I have waited too many years for this day."
Lin Huahua turned to look at her and almost laughed despite herself, because Tu Xiaotao’s whole face was full of the kind of fierce excitement that only came from long-held grudges and a naturally troublesome personality.
"Obviously not," Lin Huahua said at once. "You all will still punish her."
That answer made Tu Xiaotao visibly relax.
Good.
Very good.
The rabbit beastwoman’s tail wiggled behind her in satisfaction.
Then Lin Huahua’s gaze shifted toward Mao Qingyue, and her own eyes narrowed a little because that civet cat woman looked entirely too calm for the amount of chaos in front of her.
Mao Qingyue was still holding one of Su Yanrong’s arms down, and her face was cold and reserved as always. She was the type whose emotions only really showed in her eyes and the slow movements of her tail, so anyone who did not know her would think she was completely unbothered.
Lin Huahua, however, had already started remembering enough to know better.
So she pointed lightly and said, "Especially you, because at least with the other two I can tell what is in their heads, but you look like you have already planned ten extra punishments and buried them in your heart."
Tu Xiaotao burst out laughing.
Even Lang Yinzhi’s lips twitched.
Mao Qingyue, who had indeed already been planning something in her mind, paused for one second after being called out so directly. Then she looked at Lin Huahua, her civet ears flicking once, and said nothing at all.
That silence alone was enough to make everyone understand that yes, she had absolutely been planning something.
Tu Xiaotao instantly leaned closer with delight and said, "See? I knew it. I knew it. Her face was too calm. Whenever Qingyue gets that calm, it means someone is about to suffer properly."
Mao Qingyue still did not speak.
But her tail gave one slow dangerous sway.
That was enough.
Lang Yinzhi, who was the roughest and most direct among the three, snorted and tightened her hold on Su Yanrong a little more. "She deserves whatever is coming next," the wolf beastwoman said flatly. Her voice carried no sweetness at all, only sharp certainty, because if there was one thing Lang Yinzhi hated, it was nonsense, and Su Yanrong had been pouring out nonsense for too long.
Lin Huahua looked between the three of them and felt, not for the first time, that she had really been stupid in the placeholder’s old life. These women had clearly cared enough to stay angry for this long, and if they had not cared, would they really still be here now?
That thought had barely settled when Tu Xiaotao suddenly slapped both hands together and gasped.
That gasping sound alone was enough to make Lin Huahua wary.
Because everyone could tell when Tu Xiaotao had just gotten an idea.
And usually, her ideas were not safe.
"Fine," Tu Xiaotao said brightly. "We will not kill her and we will not break any bones. Maybe a few slaps, because slaps are normal and also healing happens quickly anyway, but no broken bones."
The males kneeling in the dirt instantly looked a little less like they were dying.
Lin Huahua also relaxed a little.
Then Tu Xiaotao smiled.
It was a terrible smile.
A rabbit smile, yes.
But a dangerous rabbit smile.
And the moment Lin Huahua saw it, her rat ears twitched with unease.
"Only if..." Tu Xiaotao began slowly.
Lin Huahua knew at once that trouble had arrived.
"Only if what?" she asked carefully.
Tu Xiaotao’s eyes gleamed. "Only if you prove to us right now that you are not acting, and that you really accept these males."