Beauty and the Beasts

Bai Qingqing ate two huge bowls of meat for this meal as well. If it wasn’t for the fact that she really couldn’t stuff any more food into her tummy, she still felt like eating two more bowls. Smacking her lips, the satisfied Bai Qingqing exclaimed, “I only realized how delicious meat is today! So satisfying!”

“You don’t like to eat rice anymore?” Parker felt disappointed. He had selected twenty over seeds from the bag of rice and was even planning to exchange for more. He really wanted to let Qingqing eat the rice he personally planted. And now she was saying she didn’t like it anymore?

Ah, the snake has gotten Qingqing so much rice. She must have gotten sick of it.

Bai Qingqing shook her head and said with certainty, “Of course not. I will never get sick of rice.” Having eaten rice for over ten years, she wouldn’t be able to kick this dietary habit.

Parker heaved a sigh of relief and said happily, “That’s great.”

Bai Qingqing glanced at him. Strange. Doesn’t Parker hate to see females eating rice? Why did he suddenly change his attitude towards this matter?

“You don’t hate that I eat rice anymore?”

Parker recalled what he said to Bai Qingqing when he first brought her back, and his ears flushed instantly out of embarrassment about his stinginess. To conceal his feelings, he stuffed food into his mouth. “There’s so much rice in the house. It’d be a waste not to eat more.”

“If we don’t wish to eat it, we can always sell it away,” said Bai Qingqing, seemingly unconcerned. “Isn’t salt very expensive? We can use that to exchange for salt.”

Parker turned his head and glared at Bai Qingqing. “You’re not to sell it.”

Bai Qingqing gazed at Parker with a questioning look. The latter turned his head away and said incoherently, “It’s not as if I can’t afford to support you. Why should we sell it?”

Bai Qingqing felt a sweetness in her heart. He clearly couldn’t bear to see her eat poorly, yet he was being so awkward about it.

She lowered her head and smiled, choosing not to expose his lie.

It was drizzling lightly outside. In the shelter next to the stone house, the twenty over short-winged birds were behaving poorly due to the rain, tugging at the vines binding their feet and trying with all their might to fly out of the shelter, making a great din.

Bai Qingqing walked along the wall and went over to take a look. A gust of wind blew bird feathers all over her face. “Aiyah.”

“Roar!” Parker jumped out and roared at those birds, making them fly about and things to end up even more chaotic.

Blocking in front of Bai Qingqing, Parker gently pushed her backward. “Stay away while I round these birds up.”

“Mm.” Bai Qingqing retreated into the house as she wiped her face. Leaning against the door, her legs were still feeling like jelly.

There was a din outside for a while before it quieted down.

“Are you done?” Bai Qingqing had just moved along the wall two steps when Parker walked over with a bird’s egg in his hands.

“Only one bird laid egg still.” Parker shook his head, and several vibrant bird feathers fell off his hair together with the drizzling rain.

“It’s so vexing. I really wish we can just cut their wings.”

Bai Qingqing said, “You’re so cruel.”

However, Parker’s words reminded Bai Qingqing of something. She raised her head, a glow in her eyes. “What did you do to the birds? Why aren’t they making any noise now?”

“I tied them together.” Parker casually lifted Bai Qingqing with one hand and strode into the house.

Swinging her legs, Bai Qingqing said enthusiastically, “Set down the egg and bring along your bone blade. Let’s go and deal with those short-winged birds.”

Parker froze in his steps. He lowered his head and gave Bai Qingqing a bewildered look. “You’re really going to cut their wings?”

The speechless Bai Qingqing rolled her eyes at him.

Parker covered her with an old and slightly tattered animal skin, then carried her to the bird’s shelter together with the bone blade and stone blade.