Su Qinglan sat there for a moment longer, staring at her rice bowl. The sounds outside were almost none, like they had disappeared from the world, but she knew better.
She frowned. "They’ve been gone too long..."
Her fingers tightened around the bowl. Sitting here doing nothing was driving her crazy. Finally, she sighed and stood up. "Forget it. I’ll just go see what those beastmen are doing."
But before she could take even two steps toward the cave entrance, someone appeared in front of her.
"Lan Lan!"
Rong Ye bounded in with his usual foxlike grin, his tail swaying happily behind him. His violet eyes sparkled as he looked straight at the bowl in her hands.
"I also want to eat that! What is it?" he asked eagerly, already leaning close.
Su Qinglan blinked, caught off guard. "Ah? This? It’s just...plain rice."
Before she could finish, Rong Ye snatched the chopsticks from her hand, scooped up a bite, and popped it straight into his mouth.
"Mmm!" He chewed with a pleased hum, eyes shining. "So good! It’s even sweeter when Lan Lan feeds me."
Su Qinglan’s brain short-circuited. "W...Who said I was feeding you?!"
But Rong Ye just grinned wider, his sharp little fangs glinting as he leaned closer.
"Feed me more?" he said, voice soft and teasing.
She wanted to throw the bowl at his head... But somehow, she didn’t. Because an idea struck her, maybe she could get insider information from him.
Because she was hell sure, otters are not going to tell her what their little talk was.
"You want to eat...here," she said and scooped up a big bite before giving him the gentlest smile she could muster.
Rong Ye opened his mouth obediently, his eyes never leaving hers as he leaned in and ate the bite directly from her chopsticks.
Su Qinglan blinked again. Why did feeding him suddenly feel like such a dangerous thing to do?
Trying to ignore her racing heart, she cleared her throat. "So... what were you all talking about earlier? You left me alone for so long."
Rong Ye’s ears twitched, and his lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Does Lan Lan really want to know?"
She nodded quickly, like a curious chicken pecking grain. "Of course I want to know!"
He chuckled lowly and leaned closer, his voice dropping. "Then come closer."
Su Qinglan hesitated, but curiosity got the better of her. She leaned in too, their faces so close now that she could see the faint glimmer of his furred ears twitching.
Just as she opened her mouth to ask again, Rong Ye suddenly blew softly against her ear.
The warm breath made her shudder instantly.
"H-Hey!" she yelped, jerking back with wide eyes. "What are you doing!?"
But Rong Ye’s grin only grew wider, his tail swishing lazily behind him.
He leaned in again, whispering right next to her ear, "We were talking about how Lan Lan wants to mate with me and give birth to little foxes."
"Wha...?!" Su Qinglan’s entire face turned crimson.
He blew again, teasingly. "So? When should we start?"
Her hand twitched. For a moment, she actually considered smacking him with the rice bowl.
She didn’t even want to think, Why did she bother to trust him, knowing him...has he ever answered her anything straight? This fox was just obsessed with good food and little foxes.
"You...you lousy fox!" she hissed, glaring at him with burning cheeks. "Dream on!"

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