Night deepened.
The bonfire barbecue was winding down. Male Beastmen who had mates could no longer hold back, carrying their full-bellied females off to roll in the grass.
Su Yu's hearing was already sharp. As she listened to the blush-inducing sounds coming from all around, she completely lost her appetite for the roasted meat in her hand.
Shi Wei noticed the change in her. A flicker of a smile crossed his eyes as he stepped forward and scooped her up. "Let's go," he said. "It's getting chilly. We should head back to the cave and rest."
Su Yu murmured her assent. She didn't struggle, just rested obediently in his arms and let him carry her.
It couldn't be helped. It was dark, and she couldn't see. Walking on her own meant she was bound to fall.
Back in the cave, Shi Wei silently placed Su Yu on the stone bed. He then stoked the embers of the bonfire, coaxing them back to life to make sure she wouldn't get cold.
Only then did he go outside to prepare the meat he'd brought back, as well as the plants Su Yu had gathered.
After quickly salting the meat, Shi Wei tidied everything up and gave the cave a quick sweep before heading out to wash himself.
Su Yu simply sat on the stone bed, watching him work.
When he returned, still steaming from his wash, Su Yu tilted her head to 'look' up at him. "Were you angry today?" she asked.
Shi Wei didn't answer, his wolf-like eyes gazing deeply at her.
Su Yu felt a bit lost. She had never been in a relationship before and didn't know how to handle a situation like this.
She opened her mouth, about to try and soothe him, but he suddenly pulled her into his arms.
Shi Wei's muffled voice sounded by her ear. "I was angry. But not at you. I was angry at myself."
"Angry at myself for being useless, for not being able to make you feel secure. Your health is poor, yet you still have to worry about whether we have enough food."
"And I'm angry that I couldn't resist the effects of the prickly fruit today, which led to you being insulted."
Shi Wei paused. Fighting back the bitterness and jealousy in his heart, he kissed her cheek and said hoarsely, "Yu Yu, you should take a few more Beast Husbands."
"Your health is fragile. I'm afraid... I'm afraid I can't provide for you well enough on my own."
Shi Wei was truly afraid.
And his heart truly ached for Su Yu.
Especially when he heard her say she knew how to make Earth Eggs taste good. Shi Wei's first reaction wasn't joy, but a pang in his heart.
He didn't know what kind of life she had led before, but he remembered their first meeting.
In the dead of winter, she had been out foraging for food all by herself. She'd been targeted by a Tun Tun Beast and nearly gored to death. He knew then that Su Yu must have had a hard life in her previous tribe.
He figured she must have suffered from eating poisonous Earth Eggs in the past, and only through that hardship did she slowly figure out how to cook them so they wouldn't be toxic, turning them into a delicious food.
'My little female... she must have suffered so much in the past.'
He didn't want her to suffer anymore.
'Even if it means sharing her with other males, it doesn't matter. As long as I have a small place in her heart, I'll be content.'
Hearing this, Su Yu felt both moved and pained. Her nose tingled, and she threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. Her voice was thick with emotion as she chided him, "You silly fool. What kind of Beast Husband pushes his own mate away?"
Su Yu paused, then tilted her head up to look seriously at the Wolf Beast before her, who had been so good to her since they first met. "I don't want to find any other Beast Husbands," she said plainly. "Right now, I only like you."
Su Yu knew that in this Beast World, if she wanted to recover from her ailments and live a good life, taking on more Beast Husbands was a necessity.
But... she was still a firm believer in monogamy. For now, she couldn't bring herself to accept a second Beast Husband.
'Let me just take things slow,' she thought. 'I'll think about it again once I've adapted to the rules of survival in this world.'
Shi Wei hadn't expected his gambit to result in a declaration of love. He froze for a second, his face flushing crimson as his ears and tail popped out uncontrollably.
The tail behind him began to wag furiously.
Shi Wei couldn't stop himself from tightening his arms around Su Yu's waist, pulling her even closer into his embrace. He had to confirm it. "You really... like me?"
He had originally thought that Su Yu had only paired with him out of desperation.
'It was because she was so sick and miserable at the time, that's why she... '
But now, she was saying she liked him...
Su Yu nodded, both seriously and emphatically. "Of course."
'Honestly, who wouldn't fall for a tsundere, considerate wolf boy who's boyfriend material to the max!'
Shi Wei couldn't contain his joy. He released Su Yu, shifted into his beast form, and shot out of the cave, howling at the moon. AWOO! AWOO!
He kept it up until Ruer's shout echoed from the distance. "What's all that howling in the middle of the night! Go back to your cave and howl at your own female!"
Su Yu: "..."
She silently buried her face in the Beast Skins.
'So embarrassing...'
She hadn't been hiding for long before an enthusiastic Shi Wei dug her out and pounced on her, pinning her to the bed.
Su Yu was forced to listen to Shi Wei's confessions all night long, and she came to experience firsthand just how intense his feelings for her were.
It wasn't until dawn was about to break that Su Yu finally fell into a deep sleep.
The consequence of their roughhousing was that Su Yu's fragile body developed a fever again. Not only did her back ache, but her lips and throat were swollen as well.
A frantic Shi Wei carried her on his back to find Granny Wu Zhi, only to receive a harsh scolding from the old woman.
His wolf ears drooping, Shi Wei guiltily helped her drink some water. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I shouldn't have been so rough last night..."
"It's okay. My body is just too weak." Su Yu blushed, screaming internally.
'This is killing me!'
'What kind of female gets sent to the witch doctor after sleeping with a male!'
'This is a major loss of beast-face.'
Since she was sick, Su Yu couldn't go out with the foraging team today. She had to stay obediently with Granny Wu Zhi and wait for Shi Wei to return from the hunt before going back to their cave.
Since Su Yu had discovered a new way to eat Earth Eggs yesterday, the foraging team brought back mostly Earth Eggs today.
Several males with mates came to ask Su Yu how to prepare the Earth Eggs so they could cook for the females in their families.
Su Yu didn't hold anything back, patiently teaching each one. She made sure to tell them that the Earth Eggs had to be cooked thoroughly, as undercooked ones would still cause an upset stomach.
The males all thanked her profusely, bringing her lots of Earth Eggs and fruit they had gathered that day.
Su Yu felt the Earth Eggs, each one bigger than her two fists combined. She decided to make potato starch noodles when Shi Wei returned that evening. They could have them in a soup; it would be a nice change for dinner.
At this thought, Su Yu couldn't help but sigh.
'If only I could see properly. Then I wouldn't have to wait for Shi Wei to come back to do everything.'
The system, 250, spoke up in a cheeky voice: [If you want to see sooner, then you'd better hurry up and get pregnant with Shi Wei's cub!]
Su Yu blushed and subconsciously placed a hand on her lower abdomen.
She recalled how, during their lovemaking last night, she had specifically asked Shi Wei to finish inside... and then she had secretly taken a One-shot Fertility Pill.
'I wonder if I'll get pregnant with a cub this time...'
While Su Yu was idly lost in her thoughts, the once orderly tribe suddenly erupted into chaos. From outside the settlement, waves of wolf howls echoed.
Su Yu's heart clenched. She shot to her feet and asked Wu Xiong, who was playing nearby, "What's wrong? What's happening?"
Wu Xiong didn't answer right away. He pricked up his ears, listening for a moment, then let out a loud, answering howl of his own. AO!
Only then did he turn back to Su Yu and say urgently, "The Hunting Team... they've been attacked by Stray Beasts! There are casualties! Sister, you stay in the cave and don't go anywhere! I'm going to get Grandma!"
The moment he finished speaking, Wu Xiong transformed into a small brown bear and scampered off.
The color drained from Su Yu's face.
'The Hunting Team was attacked by Wandering Beastmen? Then what about Shi Wei? Is he all right?!'