Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Rong Ye is Gentleman?
She gasped and looked back at the others. "Wait here!" she shouted, running toward Hu Yan like an excited child. She grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the tree. "Hu Yan, come here! Look at this! Can you dig a hole inside this tree like, not destroy it, just empty the middle?"
Hu Yan blinked; he was confused for a moment. He studied the tree with his sharp eyes, then nodded. "Our claws are strong enough. It won’t harm the tree if we dig carefully. The wood is thick but soft inside."
Su Qinglan’s eyes lit up. "That’s it! That’s the answer! A tree house... but not on top but inside!" her excitement barely contained. "It’s safe, dry, and sturdy. Even if the rain tries to drown us, this big fella will protect us!"
"You’re quite bold, Su Qinglan. Only you would think of living inside a tree," Rong Ye said. He still couldn’t digest the idea of living inside a tree. What are they? Tree mice?
"Of course. Genius ideas don’t come to ordinary people, you know," Su Qinglan immediately said, not even bothering to explain to him.
Hu Yan laughed softly at her blunt answer. "You do realize it will take days to hollow out one?"
"Then start sharpening your claws," she said proudly, pointing at the tree like a commander leading her troops. "Gentlemen, this will be our new home. I, Su Qinglan, officially declare this... Tree No. 1!"
"What is ’gentlemen’?" Han Jue asked with a tilt of his head. He realized Su Qinglan really had many strange ideas, and she often used strange words he had never heard.
Su Qinglan looked at his stupid face, and a sly idea came to her mind. "Gentlemen are basically... the kind of beastmen every female secretly wants to cuddle with on cold nights."
And just as she thought, the trio immediately blushed at her words, and Hu Yan even stuttered, "What are you talking about?" The blush on them was so obvious it made her giggle.
She nodded. "Yeah, it’s just as I said
... gentlemen are the beastmen females admire," she said and winked at them.
With that, she didn’t stop for them and immediately ran to find more trees like this... not realizing her words had made them so proud and excited that, if they were in their beast form, their tails would have reached the sky.
Even Han Jue, who was the most stoic, could not control his expression, and his ears became so red they looked ready to drip blood. He coughed and pretended to inspect the tree.
On the other hand, Rong Ye still couldn’t believe what he heard, and just as he realized she was running away from them, he chased after her and called, "Lan Lan, what do you mean by that? Are you telling me I’m a gentleman? And you wanted to cuddle with me tonight, you could have just said it," he said with a smug and proud expression.
Even though he tried to act serious, his face was tinted red, but his skin was thicker, so he didn’t feel embarrassed.
Su Qinglan almost tripped at his words. Damn, how could she forget he was also there? She could tease both Hu Yan and Han Jue, but him... no way. This damn fox would practically ask for a demonstration from her.
"No, you misheard. I did not say that about you," she immediately lied.
"Su Qinglan, you can’t change your words now. You have to cuddle me tonight," he said with an angry expression.
"Dream on, you stinky fox!"
"This young master is not stinky!" And just as he was about to catch her and teach her a lesson, Hu Yan caught him first and said, "That’s enough. We have to build the house too. Don’t make her tired."
"Damn, you tiger, let me go! I need to teach her a lesson! Why did she lie..."
At his words, Hu Yan and Han Jue both growled at him. "And how exactly are you going to teach her a lesson?" Hu Yan said with a deadpan expression.
Suddenly, Rong Ye lost all his momentum when he looked at both of them. Damn, now they were actually bullying him! And when he looked at Su Qinglan, she was laughing at him from behind Han Jue. His ears dropped immediately. Why did his charms not work on any of them? he thought pitifully.
Han Jue completely ignored him and turned toward Su Qinglan. "How should we start digging it? Should we follow something or just hollow it out?"
Su Qinglan also become serious and started explaining how they should start the digging so they wouldn’t ruin the good tree.
After explaining everything to the three beastmen, she even drew a small map on the ground, showing exactly how they should carve the inside of the tree. It was not easy to explain, but she used sticks and stones, and somehow it all made sense.
The three listened carefully. What surprised her most was Han Jue. He didn’t just listen — he was the first to start working. His blue eyes burned with focus, his claws digging neatly into the wood.
For a moment, she just stood there, amazed. She had never thought this grumpy wolf could believe her so easily.
She smiled softly. "So he does trust me," she whispered under her breath, a warmth blooming in her chest. Even though he didn’t speak much, his actions spoke louder than words.
Rong Ye and Hu Yan soon joined him, and together they worked with silent determination.
As she watched them, she felt proud and happy. They didn’t laugh at her strange ideas. Instead, their eyes grew wide with curiosity and respect.
And after wandering here for some time, she realized she couldn’t stay here for too long.
This mountain top was beautiful, but it was also open and wild. There were beasts around, and it was not safe...especially when two of her protectors were busy carving the tree. Hu Yan had insisted she go back to the tribe for now.
"You’re not staying here alone," he said firmly. "You’re pregnant. You could get sick in the open air. You need rest."
She pouted a little, but she knew he was right. Her stomach already felt a bit heavy, and she was tired after walking so much.
So after giving her final instructions, she hopped onto Hu Yan’s back again. Her small basket was tied beside her, filled with the food she had gathered earlier.
Stove also hopped up with her.
As they started down the mountain, her mind drifted to food again. Her stomach gave a tiny growl. "Hu Yan," she said in her soft, sweet voice, "I want to eat eggs today."