Chapter 199: Following Her Every Step

Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Following Her Every Step

"Of course not. My body’s just going to have some temporary issues, that’s all. It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry."

She wrapped her arms around his, resting her head on his shoulder. Her smile was bright and beautiful, as if nothing was wrong at all.

But Zhu Xiu wasn’t so easily fooled. His eyes, tinged with a faint red glow, remained fixed on her.

Bai Wanwan knew he was searching for any crack in her facade, so she smiled even more radiantly. "I even told you that I’m not a Beastman from this world. There’s no reason to hide anything else from you."

It wasn’t that she wanted to hide it from him, but she didn’t want to make them worry.

’Hua Sheng is still looking into it. What if it’s just a minor issue? There’s no need to make them worry more than they have to.’

’And if... it is a big problem, their worrying won’t help. It would be better to just cherish the time we have left and live our lives to the fullest.’

Zhu Xiu didn’t press the issue. Bai Wanwan couldn’t tell if he believed her, but she put on a good act, and he didn’t seem to notice anything amiss.

There was no sun today; the sky was overcast. When a gust of wind blew past, Bai Wanwan couldn’t help but flinch from the cold.

Zhu Xiu noticed and immediately wrapped his long arms around her, pulling her slender, delicate body into his embrace.

Enveloped in his warmth, Bai Wanwan leaned lazily against him and smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I’m hungry. Let’s go back and get something to eat."

When they got back, Yan Lie was standing at the door, eagerly looking out for them. The moment he saw Bai Wanwan, he broke into a wide grin and rushed over to greet them. "Wanwan, you’re back! Xin Feng has already grilled the meat. Come on in and eat!"

Bai Wanwan was truly famished; her stomach had already grumbled RUMBLE RUMBLE a few times.

She picked up her bowl and dug in, eating the delicious chunks of meat and drinking the savory fish soup.

She deliberately ignored the three intense gazes fixed on her from the side, cleaning her bowl completely.

Stuffed to the brim, she rubbed her belly and looked up just as a black shadow darted past her.

"What was that?"

Bai Wanwan stared in surprise. Zhu Xiu only needed a single glance back to know it was his three cubs.

"The snake cubs are just playing around. I’ll go wrangle them and bring them inside."

Bai Wanwan waved a hand dismissively. "It’s normal for cubs to be playful. Go on and play with them outside for a bit. Don’t worry about me, I’m perfectly fine."

’If they keep hovering over me and staring like this, I feel like they’re going to burn holes through me with their gazes.’

Zhu Xiu didn’t particularly want to play with the cubs, but since they had run outside, he, as their Father Beast, had to keep an eye on them.

"Wanwan, did you eat enough?"

Xin Feng asked gently, always feeling that their little female was a bit too thin.

’She needs to put on some weight, then she’ll be less likely to have problems.’

"I’m full. In fact, I’m stuffed."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Yan Lie’s face.

His usually bright and sunny face was marred by several obvious scratches; the injuries were clearly not light.

But when he saw Bai Wanwan’s gaze turn to him, his features still lit up, and he flashed her a brilliant smile.

"Why are you always so goofy?"

Bai Wanwan raised her hand, her fingers gently tracing the scratches near his eye and on his cheek. "Does it still hurt?"

Yan Lie immediately nodded. "It hurts. Wanwan, if you blow on it for me, it won’t hurt anymore."

Bai Wanwan didn’t answer, but she slowly leaned in and gently blew on his wounds.

She knew perfectly well that Yan Lie was no cub; there was no way he could get this banged up just from falling down.

After what happened between her and Yan Lie last night, Zhu Xiu must have been furious. She guessed he had misunderstood and beaten Yan Lie up.

Yet Yan Lie hadn’t taken the opportunity to tattle. He might be a bit clingy, but his heart was pure.

Since he wasn’t saying anything, Bai Wanwan decided to play dumb.

Yan Lie’s face was cupped in her small, soft hands, and he could feel her sweet breath on his skin. He was so happy he couldn’t bear to blink, staring without pause at the beautiful face of the little female before him.

Yan Lie felt he could never get enough of looking at her!

"Zoning out again?"

Bai Wanwan patted him. Yan Lie gave a dopey chuckle and squeezed her hand, refusing to let go.

Just then, Shi Hua walked out from the inner room.

"Sister, you’re back?"

Shi Hua, her face etched with worry, hurried over while supporting her round belly.

Worried she might fall, Bai Wanwan quickly stood up and helped her sit on a nearby stone stool.

"I only found out what happened last night when I woke up this morning—it sounded so dangerous! I came looking for you just now, but you’d already gone out. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

She said it all in a rush, her hurried tone revealing her deep concern.

Bai Wanwan smiled and patted her hand. "Don’t worry, see? I’m perfectly fine."

Seeing Bai Wanwan’s rosy cheeks and cheerful smile, Shi Hua breathed a small sigh of relief.

Bai Wanwan looked down and reached out to stroke her belly. "Little cubs, why aren’t you out here yet?"

A look of blissful contentment settled on Shi Hua’s simple features. "I’ve been feeling things more distinctly the last couple of days. I think it’ll be soon."

"Then we need to start getting things ready. And you shouldn’t be rushing around like you just were. You need to rest when you can, and don’t get worked up over nothing."

"Okay, Sister, I’ll listen to you."

Seeing Shi Hua’s arrival steal away all of Bai Wanwan’s attention, Yan Lie felt a strong urge to toss the female back into her own house.

Xin Feng walked over and patted his shoulder. "If you don’t have anything else to do right now, why don’t you go process yesterday’s kill?"

"Oh, right."

’Wanwan’s not paying attention to me now anyway,’ he thought. ’I’ll get this done quickly and come back. Hopefully, that Shi Hua will be back in her own home by then.’

Bai Wanwan and Shi Hua chatted for a while longer, until she noticed a weary look on Shi Hua’s face.

"You’re tired. Let me help you back to your room to rest."

"It’s fine, I only just woke up a little while ago!"

"That’s how pregnancy is. You should sleep whenever you feel like it. It’s how the cubs grow big and strong."

She stood and helped her up, and the two walked together toward Shi Hua’s room.

’Host, Host...’

Just as she stepped into Shi Hua’s room, the system’s voice echoed in her mind.

Bai Wanwan faltered mid-step. Shi Hua, beside her, noticed and turned to look at her. "Sister, what’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing, I just remembered something. Let me help you lie down, then I’ll head back."

"Okay."

Shi Hua obediently agreed, letting Bai Wanwan help her lie down slowly.

"Is Mu Feng out?"

"Yeah. He said that since he’s the only male in our family, he needs to hunt more. He’s afraid there won’t be enough food when the cubs are born."

"What’s there to be afraid of? We’re all one big family. If you’re short on food for a while, we have plenty."

"He doesn’t have much to do at home anyway, so I just let him go."

As Shi Hua spoke, her eyes grew heavy with sleep. Bai Wanwan tucked the blanket around her. "If you’re tired, just sleep..."

In just a few moments, the sound of Shi Hua’s even breathing filled the room.

Bai Wanwan had been there herself. She knew that when you’re pregnant and sleepy, you can fall asleep in an instant.

She rose quietly and tiptoed out, trying her best not to make a sound.

’Host, would you please acknowledge me?’

Hua Sheng had called out to her more than ten times and was on the verge of losing it.

’Shi Hua wasn’t asleep yet. I had to take care of her first.’

’Besides, if I got distracted talking to you, Shi Hua might have thought something was wrong with me.’

’Alright, talk. What’s the emergency?’

’There are two developments. And neither of them is good.’

Hua Sheng was just a system, but Bai Wanwan could somehow hear the heavy weight in its tone.

Bai Wanwan took a shallow breath. ’I’m ready. Tell me.’