Beauty and the Beasts

She picked up a piece of the rice noodles and tasted it. It wasn’t too bad, and it reminded her a little of rice noodle rolls.

 Now that she thought of rice noodle rolls, she decided not to flip the rice pulp, and instead let it roast over a small fire before removing it from the lid.

Despite only spreading the rice pulp over the lid and steaming it three times, the amount of rice noodles Bai Qingqing made was enough to fill her bowl to the brim. And there was so much rice pulp left. It was enough to last her three or four days. This would allow her to save more food than when she ate white rice.

 Bai Qingqing made a seasoning by stir-frying dried chili, pepper, fresh ginger, and garlic. She then drizzled it over the rice noodle rolls. The taste surprised her. She would be proud of this even if she made it in the modern world.

 “You guys should try this. It’s so good,” Bai Qingqing said as she picked up her bowl and stood up.

 Cortis glanced at the red food and frowned. His tongue moved in his mouth restlessly.

 “Uh… try it, Parker.” Bai Qingqing awkwardly turned towards Parker. She would make a non-spicy version next time for Cortis.

 “Okay.” Parker ran towards her with a shy expression on his face.

 He only ate a small mouthful of rice as he couldn’t bear to eat too much of it. Although he liked its taste, he was a carnivorous animal and so didn’t really take a liking to vegetarian food.

 “It’s nice, but it’ll be even better if it was made of meat,” Parker said.

 Bai Qingqing was a little disappointed that the two males didn’t really like to eat rice. However, she believed that she would be able to make more delicious food in the future!

 Bai Qingqing poked at the food in her bowl and said, “I’ll make sliced meat next time, then.”

 Parker nodded his head repeatedly. “Okay, okay!”

 After seven to eight consecutive days of rain, the sky finally cleared.

 The water level in the river had risen so much that the water spilled onto the main road. Lobsters, water snakes, and other animals were scattered all over the floor.

 Bai Qingqing’s face lit up when she saw the lobsters outside, images of steaming hot braised prawns appearing in her mind. She rushed back to the bedroom and hurriedly put on her sneakers before grabbing her makeup from her bag.

 Parker purred while standing at the entrance.

 “I’m bored to death. I want to go outside and play.” Bai Qingqing giggled. “Are there wood ear mushrooms in the mountains? Let’s go to the mountains and play after picking up the lobsters.”

 The moment Bai Qingqing mentioned wood ear mushrooms, Cortis recalled the days when he spent time with her alone. He quietly walked towards her and hugged her waist from behind.

 “I’ll come with you.”

 “I want to come too.” Parker jumped up and transformed into a human. He then ran to the wooden box and rummaged through it for his clothes.

 Bai Qingqing opened the cap of her liquid eyeliner and looked in the mirror as she began to dot her face. The ink was barely visible on her clean face.

 Bai Qingqing was stunned. Oh no. The liquid eyeliner dried out…

 Is it because I previously forgot to cap it tightly? What rotten luck.

 “Are you done?” Now fully clothed, Parker ran over to Bai Qingqing. Upon seeing her clean face, he urged her to hurry up. “Quickly draw the dots on your face!”

 Bai Qingqing wanted to cry but had no tears. She wailed. “The ink dried out.”

 She then heard Cortis chuckle and felt the vibrations in his chest from behind.

 Cortis reached out to lift Bai Qingqing’s chin and forced her to turn back and look at him. He smiled and asked, “It’s not like the freckles are your clothes. You can still leave the house without them.”

 Bai Qingqing pondered as she looked at Cortis. Still feeling uneasy, she replied, “I think I shouldn’t go out. I’m scared.”

 Parker also pulled a long face. He didn’t have Cortis’s confidence. He was too young, and there were many in the City of Beastmen who could defeat him.

 “With me around, you don’t have to worry. You can’t hide from everyone else forever, right?” Cortis asked softly with a smile on his face. “But, if you end up liking other males, I’ll make sure they never appear in front of you ever again.”

 Bai Qingqing froze. She silently averted her eyes to glance at Parker.