Su Qinglan sat cross-legged inside the cave, blowing at the steaming bowl of rice in her hands. The warm smell of freshly cooked grains filled the air. It was the only comforting thing left for her in this crazy beast world.
She took a small bite, chewed, and sighed. The rice was soft and fluffy... Hu Yan’s cooking never disappointed, but still, she couldn’t enjoy it.
Because at this moment... all the beastmen were gone.
Yes, gone.
They had said something like, "We’ll talk among ourselves, beastman to beastman," and left her alone in the cave.
Man talk.
Su Qinglan pressed her lips together. "Man talk my foot," she muttered under her breath. "They’re probably planning how to glare each other to death."
She poked her rice with the chopsticks, frowning. Never in her entire life had she felt this uncomfortable. Not even during the apocalypse when zombies were chasing her down.
Because how was she supposed to face them now?
Just this morning she had told everyone that Xuan Long was her new mate.
Her face instantly turned red again just remembering it.
She wanted to bury herself in the rice bowl.
"How am I supposed to explain this?" she groaned, pressing her forehead against her knees. "Hey, guys, guess what! I brought home a new brother for you to play with!"
She shuddered. That sounded like something from those ancient palace dramas...except she was the Empress, and all the ministers wanted to fight for favor.
Just the thought made her want to cry.
If Hu Yan hadn’t come back in time and distracted them, she didn’t know how she would’ve survived that awkward tension. She might’ve just run straight into the forest and never returned.
"Ahhh, I really want to cry..." she muttered pitifully, scooping another bite of rice and chewing slowly. "How do other females handle so many beast husbands? Do they have superpowers? Or just thicker skin?"
The image of being surrounded by all those tall, muscular beastmen staring at her flashed in her mind, and she almost choked on her rice.
"Nope," she said aloud, thumping her chest. "Definitely going to be squeezed to death at this rate."
She sighed again.
Her eyes softened a little as she looked down at the food. "At least Hu Yan left me some comfort rice," she mumbled, nibbling another bite.
After a moment, she whispered, "Xuyu... Are you there?"
A light blue glow appeared beside her, and her system’s calm mechanical voice answered, "Host, I am always here."
She leaned her chin on her knees. "Xuyu... be honest. Am I doing something wrong? Should I not have accepted Xuan Long?"
There was a short silence before the system replied, "Host is not wrong. Host should not feel guilty. This world favors females. You should live without worries."
Su Qinglan frowned, poking the rice again. "But it feels wrong. I just asked Hu Yan to stay with me last night... And this morning I accepted Xuan Long. Doesn’t that make me sound... bitchy?"
"You are not cheating anyone," Xuyu replied patiently. "In the beast world, females having multiple mates is normal."
"But still..." She bit her lip. "Xuan Long’s eyes were so full of hope. I couldn’t say no. It’s like I was cheating him by hesitating."
The system paused for a moment, then said in a lighter tone, "Host should not worry. Host should find more powerful beast husbands and give birth to strong cubs."
Su Qinglan’s chopsticks froze in midair. "...What?"
"That way, Host will be even more protected," Xuyu continued in an oddly cheerful voice. "If Host wants, I can locate nearby powerful beastmen for recruitment."
"Recruitment!?" Su Qinglan almost dropped her bowl. Her face darkened. "Xuyu! What am I, a beastman collector!?"
"Affirmative. For survival purposes, collecting powerful beastmen is encouraged."
"...I’m going to uninstall you," she muttered, glaring at the glowing light.
But Xuyu continued as if he didn’t hear her. "Besides, Host, abandoning them would be worse. They have already pledged their lives to you. Even if you don’t accept them, they will never look at any other female."
Su Qinglan blinked, taken aback. "Never? Like, never ever?"
"Yes. Once a beastman chooses his female, it is for life. If you reject them now, they will live in pain forever."
Su Qinglan’s heart sank. "That’s... kind of sad..."
"Exactly. Therefore, Host should not feel guilty."
She sighed again, long and deep. "So basically... if I accept them, I feel guilty. If I reject them, I feel guilty. Great. Perfect. Love that for me."
Xuyu’s light flickered. "Host should just eat more rice. It helps with stress."
Su Qinglan sighed, hugging her knees. "Xuyu... I’m stressed."
"I can tell," the system’s voice replied lazily. "You’ve been sighing like an old grandma for the last ten minutes."
"Hey!" she snapped. "I’m serious!"
"So am I," Xuyu said. "If you sigh any harder, you might blow the fire out."
She glared at the empty air. "Ugh, you’re no help at all."
"What do you want me to say? There, there, my lovely Host, life is hard, but your beastmen are harder."
"XUYU!" she yelled, face burning. "What is wrong with you!?"
He snickered. "What? You wanted comfort. I’m just trying to cheer you up."
"That’s not cheering me up; that’s corrupting me!"
"Oh, please. You already live with four beastmen who fight over you every day. Don’t act innocent."
She gasped. "I am innocent!"
"Uh-huh. Totally. That’s why you blushed so hard when Xuan Long looked at you this morning."
"I...I did not!"
"Sure you didn’t," Xuyu said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Your face just turned red because of the temperature."
Su Qinglan covered her face. "I hate you."
"No, you don’t. I’m the only one who tells you the truth."
"The truth is you’re a perverted system that’s dragging me straight to hell."
"Hey, at least I’ll keep you company on the way down," Xuyu said cheerfully. "We’ll have matching flames and everything."
She groaned, flopping backward onto the floor. "Why did I even ask you for advice?"
"Because deep down, you know I’m right."
"You’re not right; you’re insane."
"Semantics," he said casually. "Anyway, eat more rice. You’ll need the energy for all the running you’ll do when those guys start fighting again."
She sat up, glaring at him. "You’re impossible!"
"And yet," he said smugly, "you keep talking to me."
"Ughhh!" She buried her face in her arms. "I regret everything!"
"Love you too, Host."