The rain continued to drip against the forest floor as Hu Yan emerged from the overflowing stream.
In his massive tiger form, he looked like a golden mountain rising from the water. A huge, silver-scaled fish was clamped firmly in his jaws, its tail still flapping weakly.
He trotted over to the bank, his golden eyes landing on Rong Ye. The fox was supposed to be doing the laundry, but he was mostly just splashing around and humming, looking entirely too smug.
To any other beastman, he looked like a happy groom, but to the hardworking tiger, he looked like a lazy slacker.
Hu Yan dropped the fish on the rock before eating it in one bite, and soon he shifted back into his human form. He didn’t even bother to wipe the water from his muscular chest.
"Was it good? You seem very relaxed, Rong Ye," Hu Yan said, his voice deep and rumbling like thunder. He looked at the pile of hides.
"I’m going to come over and check every piece. If I find even a single spot that isn’t washed properly, you’ll be the official hide washer for everyone in this house for the entire month."
Rong Ye’s tail stopped wagging mid-air. He looked at Hu Yan with wide, shocked eyes. "What?! An entire month? Why would I..."
"Because you’re ’talented,’ aren’t you?" Hu Yan cut him off with a dry, knowing smirk.
"Since you have so much energy to smile foolishly, you can use it on the scrub hides."
Rong Ye grumbled under his breath, his ears flattening. He knew Hu Yan wasn’t joking.
Everyone was clearly jealous of his luck and charm from last night! He didn’t dare slack off anymore. He went back to work diligently, scrubbing the furs and clothes with more effort than he had ever used in his life.
He couldn’t risk being the laundry slave for the tiger and the snake; their clothes were huge and heavy!
By the time the morning passed, Rong Ye was finally done. He gathered the heavy, damp clothes into a basket, ready to take them back to the house to dry by the fire.
Meanwhile, Hu Yan had been busy. He had eaten two more fat fish to satisfy his own appetite before catching a particularly large red fish to take home.
Lan Lan loves fish stew, he thought, his expression softening. The babies need the nutrition.
He also picked out a couple of fresh ones to set aside. He planned to take them to Bai Ling and the others later.
Catching fish was notoriously difficult for foxes who hated getting their fur soaked, so he knew they would appreciate the gift.
"Let’s go," Hu Yan grunted, hoisting the heavy fish onto his shoulder.
Rong Ye followed behind him, lugging the heavy laundry basket.
He had no idea that as he walked toward the door, Han Jue was standing inside with a face as dark as a storm cloud, just waiting for the "hooligan" to step over the threshold.
Rong Ye reached the treehouse first, his tail swaying with excitement. He dropped the heavy laundry basket outside the door without a second thought, his heart racing.
He couldn’t wait to see his mate! He was especially dying to see where the fox mating mark had appeared on her skin.
When he had woken up earlier, she was so deeply buried in the furs that he hadn’t dared to poke around and wake her, but now he was ready to claim his bragging rights.
"Lan Lan! Your handsome husband is..."
Before he could even finish his sentence or step a foot inside, a large, powerful hand clamped onto his neck. With a sudden, violent yank, Rong Ye was hauled backward and dragged right back out of the house.
Hu Yan, who was walking just behind him with the fish, watched the fox disappear into the bushes with a confused blink.
He decided to ignore whatever drama was happening between them and walked inside.
There sat Su Qinglan. She was wrapped in a soft hide, sitting comfortably on the ground floor bedding.
She was currently focused on a steaming hot potato, dipping it carefully into a small pile of salt and chili. When she saw Hu Yan, she gave him a bright, cheerful wave, but he noticed her eyes kept darting nervously toward the door. She looked... guilty.
Hu Yan crouched down beside her, his amber eyes searching hers. "Lan Lan, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at the door like you’re waiting for a storm?"
Su Qinglan didn’t say a word. Instead, she leaned forward and gave him a soft, lingering kiss on the cheek.
To distract him further, she broke off a small piece of the hot, spicy potato and fed it to him with her own fingers.
Hu Yan, ever the steady and devoted husband, ate it without a shred of shame. He was used to her habit of sharing her food, and he found it incredibly sweet. He let her feed him, enjoying the warmth of her presence.
WAAAAAAAH!
A miserable, high-pitched scream echoed from the forest nearby. Su Qinglan flinched so hard she nearly dropped the rest of her potato.
Her face paled slightly, and she immediately clutched Hu Yan’s arm, giving him her most dazzling, sweet smile.
"Hu Yan... honey... can you go out and call them back?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "I think... I think they’ve had enough ’exercise’ for one morning."
Hu Yan didn’t ask any questions. He could feel that something was very wrong with this trio, but he knew better than to get in the middle of Han Jue’s temper. He nodded and stood up, heading back out into the rain.
Left alone, Su Qinglan bit her lip. She had wanted to teach that naughty fox a lesson for being so shameless, but hearing those wails was making her heart soften.
She had only intended for Han Jue to give him one good smack to even the score, but it sounded like the wolf was being much more thorough than she expected! She grimaced as another miserable wail drifted through the air.