Chapter 171: You’re Avoiding Me

Li Jiu’s eyes lit up instantly. He cupped the brightly colored fruit in both hands, his face filled with eager anticipation.

He took a bite, and a crisp CRUNCH echoed as the flesh entered his mouth. His eyes narrowed slightly in sheer bliss.

This was the Snake Fruit, a specialty of Snake Valley. Its skin was an alluring, dazzlingly bright red, and its texture was second to none. The moment one bit into it, sweet juice would explode in the mouth. The crisp pulp, with its unique fruity aroma, was simply irresistible.

However, the terrain of Snake Valley was perilous and riddled with traps, making it nearly impossible for the average person to enter.

The Snake Clan treasured this fruit, so other Beast Clans rarely had the chance to taste it.

Each year, only a handful of Snake Fruits made it to the market. Not only was the price jaw-droppingly high, but only the nobility of the Beast Clans were qualified to savor them.

"Is this very rare?" Wen Qian asked, blinking her expressive eyes in confusion.

As far as she knew, this fruit couldn’t be more common.

She had eaten them every day during her time in Snake Valley. If Gu Mian hadn’t talked her out of it, she would have even eaten Snake Fruit for dinner.

’Right,’ she thought. ’I remember there being countless fruit trees planted in the backyard of this house, all bearing similar fruits.’

The corners of Gu Mian’s mouth lifted into a faint smile. He didn’t answer, but simply took Wen Qian’s hand and continued to lead her forward.

Before long, the group arrived at the dining room. As always, the table was laden with a sumptuous feast.

An entire table was filled with steaming, fragrant delicacies.

The five of them took their seats around the table. The atmosphere was reasonably quiet.

Li Jiu sat in a corner, but his eyes never left the various precious fruits arranged on the table. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his gaze filled with longing.

The Snake Clan were carnivorous by nature and extremely picky about fruit. Any fruit they valued was bound to be a delicacy of the highest quality.

"You can eat any of the fruit on the plates. If that’s not enough, I’ll have Wei Xun pick more for you," Gu Mian said softly, seeming to have read Li Jiu’s mind.

Wei Xun was his ever-loyal guard.

Li Jiu nodded, pleasantly surprised, then remembered to whisper a "thank you" to Gu Mian.

Yin Zhi snorted in disdain at the sight. ’Birds have no backbone,’ he grumbled internally. ’So easily bought with a few pieces of fruit.’

"Qianqian, when are you coming back to the Tiger Clan with me?" Yin Zhi asked, propping his chin on one hand. His voice suddenly shattered the calm.

The question made Wen Qian choke, and she nearly dropped her chopsticks. She instinctively glanced at Gu Mian, but he was still chewing his food at an unhurried pace, his movements graceful, his expression an unreadable mask.

Yet Wen Qian grew inexplicably nervous. She couldn’t fathom what he was thinking.

"When did I ever say I was going back with you?"

Wen Qian took a deep breath and slowly let the words out.

’Even if I were going back somewhere, it would be to the Wolf Clan,’ she thought. ’Chi Heng is still at home waiting for me.’

But she didn’t dare say that out loud, otherwise Gu Mian would have another fit.

"You’re not going to stay here forever, are you?"

Yin Zhi’s brow furrowed, his eyes filled with confusion.

Wen Qian fell silent. Of course, she wasn’t going to stay in Snake Valley forever. Even though Gu Mian took meticulous care of her and life there was incredibly pleasant, she had a home of her own to return to.

Yin Zhi seemed to sense something. His eyebrows shot up and his voice rose. "You’re not going to look for that wolf, are you?"

Wen Qian’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected to be read so easily and immediately grew flustered.

She buried her head and shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice into her mouth, trying to escape Yin Zhi’s piercing gaze.

"So you are..."

Yin Zhi clutched his chest, his face a mask of profound heartbreak. He was clearly furious.

"So what that snake said was true..."

The Little Fox, Qi Ke, frowned, his brow deeply furrowed.

Previously, a snake had sent them a message through Li Jiu. At the time, he had been deeply skeptical and hadn’t paid it much mind—neither Wen Qian’s amnesia, nor Chi Heng taking her back to the Wolf Clan for a Contract...

After all, back on Blue Star, Chi Heng had always been discreet and had never made any inappropriate advances toward Wen Qian.

Who could have imagined that this same person, who had blended so quietly into the background, would come to occupy such an important place in Wen Qian’s heart after returning to the Beast World...

Wen Qian was filled with frustration and annoyance. She had no desire to answer their ridiculous questions.

In her opinion, where she chose to go was entirely her own business.

’Even if these people in front of me all have some history with me, that’s no reason for them to limit my choices, right?’

With that thought, Wen Qian took a deep breath, her gaze instantly hardening with resolve.

She no longer tried to evade the topic, and her tone was exceptionally calm. "Why can’t I go look for him?"

In Wen Qian’s memory, Chi Heng had cared for her deeply, and their time together had been filled with sweetness and joy. The Wolf King had also been very kind to her; they had all made her feel like she had a family.

She wanted to return to her lover’s side. Wasn’t that the most normal thing in the world?

"Why...?" Yin Zhi was so incensed by her words that he let out a laugh, his expression a mixture of anger and helplessness. "He hit you with a metal box back on Blue Star!"

"It’s called a mo—" the Little Fox, Qi Ke, started to correct him, but he swallowed the rest of the word.

"It doesn’t matter!" Yin Zhi’s eyes were red with indignation, and he couldn’t be bothered with such trivial details.

After what had just transpired, Yin Zhi and Qi Ke had lost all credibility in Wen Qian’s eyes. She said nothing, slowly ate a few more bites of rice, and then unhurriedly set down her chopsticks. "I’m full!"

Her voice was clear and casual, as if the heated argument had nothing to do with her.

"Were you even listening to me...?" Yin Zhi was completely aggrieved, his voice trembling slightly.

He hadn’t traveled thousands of miles, overcoming countless obstacles, just to be ignored and given the cold shoulder.

"I heard you!" Wen Qian glanced casually at Yin Zhi, but her eyes darted away as if she’d received an electric shock.

’This man is just too handsome. Every time I look at him, I can’t help but smile.’

’To avoid looking like a total fangirl, and to strengthen my resolve to return to Chi Heng, I’ve decided... I absolutely will not look directly at this man again.’

’Oh, right. And the fox spirit next to him... can’t look at him either. Definitely not.’

"Then you..." With his eyes still red, Yin Zhi reached for Wen Qian’s hand, but she easily dodged him.

The man froze for a second, a wounded look clouding his eyes. He stared at Wen Qian in disbelief, seeming to murmur to himself, "You were never like this before..."

"Hm?" For some reason, Wen Qian suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Yin Zhi sniffled, his eyelashes trembling faintly. After a moment, he added in a very low voice, "You’re avoiding me."