Seeing that both of them had fallen silent, An Jin felt a wave of awkwardness.
She picked up a section of Gu Yin’s tail and draped it over herself like a blanket, covering half her face. "...Did I bring up something painful for you two? I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t ask again."
"No,"
the wolf and the snake said in unison.
Gu Yin coiled the tail resting on An Jin’s thigh, wrapping it around her slender waist and pulling his beloved female into his arms.
His fingers caressed her face as he said with a faint smile, "On the contrary, I’m very happy."
"A female only asks about a male’s past when she likes him."
Ling Hong tossed the branch in his hand into the bonfire. A smile lifted his well-defined features, but a trace of sorrow lingered in the depths of his jade-green eyes. "If she doesn’t like a male partner, she’ll never care whether he lives or dies, aside from mating a few times during her heat. Let alone taking the initiative to ask about his past..."
His Beast Father was too stern, strict, and taciturn, making him the least favored among his mother’s dozen or so partners.
Even after his Beast Father died, his mother never came back to see him, not even once.
’She probably forgot she even had an abandoned partner, didn’t she?’
Seeing An Jin take the initiative to care about them filled Ling Hong and Gu Yin with a genuine joy, a fiery warmth swelling in their chests.
It was just that their pasts weren’t happy, blissful, or interesting stories. They were filled with bloodshed and battle, and would be too dull to recount.
Besides, it was already late. It was time to rest.
"You had her for the past few days. Tonight, it’s my turn to sleep with Jin’er."
Ling Hong looked down, counting on his fingers with a serious expression. Then, his eyes lit up as he shot a threatening look at Gu Yin, his snowy-white wolf tail swishing on the ground.
"HISS~"
Gu Yin’s crimson eyes stared at him coldly. The fingers on the female’s waist tightened. After a moment’s standoff, he finally, reluctantly, let go.
"Go on."
’It’ll be my turn tomorrow anyway. I can endure it. One night will pass quickly.’
’In a couple of days, when we go out hunting, I’ll find a chance to teach this wolf a lesson and make him understand who Jin’er’s favorite, number one partner really is.’
Gu Yin shot Ling Hong a cold, dangerous glare before returning to his own room, where he simply coiled around an object and curled into a ball.
...
The first rays of morning sun streamed through the window, dappling An Jin’s body. She squinted her eyes open and raised a hand to block the harsh light.
Her body was enveloped in a large, fluffy white mass. She was swelteringly hot and had broken out in a sweat.
"Huh? You didn’t go hunting today?"
An Jin struggled to sit up. She couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch Ling Hong’s fluffy ear, then followed up by booping the Silver Wolf’s wet, black nose.
"AWOO?" She was met with a pair of sleepy, hazy green wolf eyes.
The Silver Wolf shook his head, gave her face a lick, and then transformed into a tall, upright, silver-haired man. He instinctively scooted closer to her, his long, elegant fingers resting on the small of her back. "The hunting parties switched shifts today. It’s Hu Che’s team’s turn. Let me stay with you today, okay?"
"Okay! I’ve actually been wanting to look for some beans these past few days. After I wash up, let’s both take a few baskets and go for a walk in the woods."
An Jin couldn’t help but pinch his fluffy wolf ears again. She saw the man’s tall ears soften slightly and droop amidst his silver-white hair, the tips tinged with a faint blush.
Suddenly, she felt a change in his body.
An Jin quickly pulled her hand back. ’Careless. I forgot about that.’ She had no desire to go at it all night and then all morning too.
Ling Hong got out of bed and got ready with her. When they returned to the tribe from the river after washing up, they saw dozens of Beastmen crowded together on the street, blocking the road completely.
A cacophony of various noises made it impossible to hear what they were arguing about.
"What’s going on here?"