The little ones were all carnivorous Little Beastmen, so she mostly made meat dishes.
Bai Su served lemon shrimp balls, tomato-glazed pork tenderloin, sweet and sour pork ribs, blueberry yam puree, and crab stick with eggs.
The little cubs were all growing, and carnivorous animals needed to eat a lot of meat to get enough nutrition.
The little cat cub was already going crazy with craving. Besides his cat ears and tail, cat fur couldn't help but pop out on his arms and cheeks.
Little Tiger was excited too, constantly bouncing in place.
Little Wolf was trying his best to control his gaze, but the way he was frantically gulping down saliva betrayed him.
Bai Su said with an amused laugh, "Alright, wash your hands and let's eat!"
The little ones scrambled to wash their hands, then climbed up to the table to eat.
Even though they had eaten her cooking a few times before, tasting something so delicious again, they couldn't help but wolf it all down.
Bai Su felt like the little ones' affection for her was about to materialize and float right out of them.
After the meal, she called Little Wolf into a room.
The other little ones looked at her nervously.
Bai Su said with an amused laugh, "It's okay, I just have something to talk about. I'm not going to hit him. Didn't I promise you I wouldn't hit anyone?"
But the little ones just stared anxiously at Little Wolf, only turning to leave hesitantly after he gave them a nod.
The excitement on their faces from dinner had completely vanished.
Bai Su shook her head. 'Looks like I still have a long way to go to earn their trust.'
Little Wolf followed her into the room, a little reserved and nervous. "Mama Dean, did you need me for something?"
Bai Su nodded.
She was going to lay her cards on the table with Little Wolf.
If she was going to be good to someone, she had to let them know.
'People have mouths for a reason—to talk.'
She looked at Little Wolf. "These past few days, have you felt your eyes and tail getting itchy every time you eat?"
Hearing this, Little Wolf froze in shock. "How did you know?"
Bai Su ruffled his hair. "Because it's my doing."
"I recently awakened a new Healing Ability. Any food I make now has a corresponding healing effect."
"If you eat my cooking every day, your eyesight will slowly return, and your tail will grow back."
Little Wolf found it hard to believe. "My eyes and tail... can get better?"
Bai Su nodded firmly. "Not only can they get better, they'll be even better than before."
"I know you don't trust me, but I want you to give me a chance to turn over a new leaf. I truly regret what I did, and I'll never hurt you guys again."
"I can't change what happened in the past, but in the future, I want to live here peacefully with all of you, okay?"
Little Wolf asked, "You... you're really going to heal me?"
Bai Su nodded. "I'm not just going to heal you; I'm going to heal myself, and I'm going to raise every one of you to be plump, healthy, and strong!"
"However, my Healing Ability needs to be kept on the down-low for now. Don't go telling anyone."
Little Wolf's face was full of discomfort. "Then why are you telling me?"
He still wasn't used to making peace and having a calm conversation with his former abuser.
Bai Su said, "Because out of all the children here, you're the oldest, the smartest, the most responsible, and the most charismatic!"
The four "most" compliments hit him so hard that even his broken tail behind him seemed to perk up.
An unnatural flush crossed his young face, and the wolf ears on top of his head twitched. "I get it. I'll keep it a secret for you."
Bai Su watched him with a smile. "Then let's make another promise. I'll help heal your injuries, and you'll forgive me, okay? We can protect the children here together and build a warm home!"
Her face was very chubby, but her eyes were large.
Even though her face was plump, it was fair and fresh-looking, and you could tell she had delicate, refined features underneath.
You have to understand, when a chubby, fair-skinned person smiles at you, they seem far less threatening than a skinny person.
It was as if chubby people had a natural affability, making it easier for others to like them and let down their guard.
Little Wolf met her smiling eyes and, after a long moment, finally nodded. "Okay, you have to keep your word!"
Bai Su let out a breath of relief. "A promise is a promise!"
*
「The next day.」
An explosive piece of news suddenly shot to the top of the trending topics.
The spiritual power of Lu Tingyan—the Federation's strongest Snow Wolf Beast Spirit and a Level 9 Beastman—had suddenly shown a trace of recovery!
Apparently, a soldier had personally seen Major General Lu go to the training grounds to try and use his spiritual power.
There had been a very faint fluctuation of spiritual power from his body.
You have to remember, Major General Lu was once the most powerful Beastman in the Federation. With him in charge, the Beastmen of other nations wouldn't have dared to invade the Federation.
Native-born Federation Beastmen could go to any country for business, travel, or anything else, and as long as they had their Federation ID, they could walk down the main street with their heads held high, hands on their hips, full of pride.
But ever since that battle four years ago, when Major General Lu's spiritual power was destroyed and he abdicated his position, the Federation had been declining year by year.
The Lu Family was among those most affected.
The Lu Family was the largest in the Federation and its ruling family.
After Lu Tingyan abdicated, his uncle, the Seventh-level Snow Wolf Lu Zhenguo, took over as the new Federation Leader.
In recent years, the Snow Wolf Beastmen from Lu Tingyan's branch of the family have fallen into decline, suppressed by Lu Zhenguo's faction.
The personnel in important military positions had all been hand-picked by Lu Tingyan. After Lu Zhenguo took office, he replaced them all with his own cronies.
This was also the reason for the Federation military's decline in power over the past few years.
When the news broke, Lu Tingyan was in his office at the military headquarters, handling work.
Since abdicating, he had been managing mundane city defense affairs for the Federation.
The office door was pushed open, and a Snow Wolf Beastman with beady eyes burst in.
The guard at the door looked troubled. "Major General Lu, he..."
Lu Tingyan glanced at his cousin, Lu Yanhua, and said coolly to the guard, "It's fine. You may leave."
The office door was closed.
Lu Yanhua sneered, taking off his jacket and tossing it casually onto the desk. He sat down beside it, propping his legs on the desk. "Cousin, you seem pretty comfortable holing up in this office all day, huh?"
With a cold expression, Lu Tingyan pulled out the documents pinned under his cousin's feet. "I'm busy. If you have something to say, say it."
Lu Yanhua clicked his tongue. "Who are you trying to impress? If my dad hadn't been kind enough to keep your position in the military, you think you'd still be sitting comfortably in an office?"
"A useless Beastman with no spiritual power, blind in one eye, you can't even support yourself. Aren't you just relying on my dad to have a job and earn that measly salary of tens of thousands a month?"
"It's only because I, your cousin, am so kind-hearted that you're even allowed to be a parasite of the Federation here. Otherwise, I would've thrown you out to sleep on the streets long ago!"
Lu Tingyan was long used to this. He simply lowered his head and focused on his work, not bothering to acknowledge him.
Lu Yanhua clicked his tongue twice, clearly annoyed. He snatched the document from Lu Tingyan's hands and slapped it across his face. "You still think you're the Federation Leader? Who are you putting on airs for in front of me? It's just a menial Federation job, you think you're so damn great?"
Lu Tingyan's face turned red from the slap, stinging hotly.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then picked up the document and continued to work.
Lu Yanhua spat. "What a pathetic dog, doesn't even know how to bark. How boring."
He suddenly leaned in, roughly grabbing Lu Tingyan's collar and patting his cheek in a demeaning way. "The only thing you've got left is this pretty face. I had my dad find a good place for you. You're over thirty, it's time you had a female. Zhu Li's male just died, so you can go be her Beast Husband."