Chapter 89: Must I do it here?
The whole crowd stirred at once.
Lin Huahua blinked.
Then blinked again.
"What do you mean prove it?" she asked.
Tu Xiaotao folded her arms proudly, fully enjoying herself now. "You must kiss every single one of them and hug them properly. Not that kind of tap-tap nonsense either. I mean a real hug. A long one."
Lin Huahua’s face exploded red on the spot.
Her pale cheeks turned so pink that even the tips of her white rat ears looked as if they had been dipped in color. Her fluffy tail gave one violent flick behind her, then curled around her own leg as if trying to hide from the shame of it all.
"K-kiss?" Lin Huahua stuttered.
Tu Xiaotao nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Kiss."
"And hug," Lang Yinzhi added with a cold smile, because although the wolf beastwoman was still mad at her, she was not about to pass up a chance to see this properly. "For longer than one breath. None of that princess nonsense."
Mao Qingyue finally spoke too, and because her voice was quieter than the others’, the effect somehow felt even heavier. "If you do that, then everyone here will know that you have really changed."
The villagers nearby, who had already been pretending not to listen while listening with all their hearts, immediately became even more attentive.
Shi Yan’s eyes brightened.
Even the lion cubs in her basket looked alert, though that was mostly because the adults around them had become more alert too.
Su Yanrong, still pinned on the ground, forgot to struggle for one stunned second. She felt jealousy grow so much in her heart, she wanted to die.
Her males also looked confused now, because although they were kneeling and begging, even they wanted to see what would happen next.
Lin Huahua, meanwhile, looked as if someone had just announced that she needed to climb onto the roof and sing to the moon naked.
The words had gone straight into her face and lit it on fire.
"Must I do it here?" she asked in disbelief.
That was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
Not no.
Not impossible.
Not how dare you.
But must I do it here.
The moment those words fell, something shifted behind her.
Her males had gone from angry to very still.
Very, very still.
Because now that the possibility had become real, each of them was reacting in his own dangerous way.
Hu Baiyu’s lion ears had gone red again.
Not a little red.
Red enough that even Shi Yan, who was standing some distance away, could probably notice. The huge white lion beastman tried to keep his face steady, tried to look like the same sweet innocent male he always was around her, but the warmth and hope in his eyes were too strong to hide. He wanted it. He wanted it very much. The thought of being kissed by her in front of everyone, not by accident, not in secret, but openly and because she chose to do it, made his whole chest feel tight with longing.
Mu Qingyi looked calmer.
Of course he did.
He always looked calmer.
But even on his face, there was that quiet wanting now, that deep gentle desire that only waited with all its heart. His antlers caught the light, his broad bare chest rose and fell steadily, and there was still that nurturing softness in him, yet behind it sat unmistakable anticipation. He wanted it too. He wanted it very much. He only hoped she would not feel too pressured.
And Feng Yiren?
That shameless fox had a completely different expression.
The moment Tu Xiaotao suggested kissing and hugging, something dark and bright flashed through his red eyes. His fox ears lifted slowly, his swollen bee-marked face somehow still managed to look smug, and there was a kind of lazy dangerous hunger in him now that made Lin Huahua’s stomach jump in the worst way. It was not the same as Hu Baiyu’s soft innocent excitement or Mu Qingyi’s warm steady hope. No. Feng Yiren looked like a fox who had just been told he could finally bite the fruit hanging too close above his head.
That look made Lin Huahua’s heart go strange.
This shameless fox.
Her eyes moved from one to the next, and the more clearly she saw what they all wanted, the redder she became.
The whole village was watching too.
Actual tribe members.
Different beast people.
Some with baskets in hand.
Some with meat knives.
Some still sitting beside the fires.
Even a pair of old aunties had clearly stopped pretending they were sorting roots and were now staring very openly.
Lin Huahua wanted to faint.
Truly.
But then she thought of the alternative.
If she refused now, then everyone would continue doubting her.
That meant Su Yanrong would escape too easily.
No.
That could not happen.
So after struggling with her own embarrassment for several long breaths, Lin Huahua lifted one trembling hand and pointed at Tu Xiaotao.
"Fine," she said, though it came out weak the first time, so she had to clear her throat and say it again more properly. "Fine."
Tu Xiaotao’s rabbit ears stood up in delight.
The villagers became even more alert.
Shi Yan nearly smiled too widely.
And Su Yanrong looked deeply disturbed.
Lin Huahua then turned slowly toward her three males, and the moment she really looked at them, she almost regretted her entire existence.
Because those three were staring at her.
Not casually.
Not lightly.
No.
They were fully staring.
Hu Baiyu looked like a huge good boy trying very hard to stay calm while his whole lion heart galloped inside his chest. Mu Qingyi looked warm and tender, but there was also a deeper want in his gaze now that made her ears twitch. And Feng Yiren, that shameless bastard, looked as if he was already enjoying this before it had even started.
Lin Huahua’s tail curled tightly behind her.
Aiyo.
Why did this suddenly feel dangerous?
The funniest part was that just a moment ago she had still been thinking about how to find them suitable females later. Yet now, standing under the full gaze of the whole village while her three males looked at her like this, she did not feel like some noble problem-solving princess at all.
She felt like prey.
A very small prey.
A very embarrassed prey.