Beauty and the Beasts

“What?” asked Curtis.

Bai Qingqing stared at her tummy and said, “If it’s a female baby, how do we know whose baby is it?”

Curtis laughed and said, “The scent of their bloodline is different. It’s easy to distinguish.”

“I see.” Bai Qingqing felt relieved.

As she craved fish today, Parker went into the water, caught a large fish, and stewed it for her right now. When he lifted the pot lid, the aroma wafted through the air.

Bai Qingqing wrinkled her nose and got up to walk towards him.

“Smells so fragrant!” Now that she was pregnant, Bai Qingqing wasn’t afraid of getting fat. Picking up a bowl, she squatted down beside the fire.

Parker poured some soaked starch noodles into the pot and picked up a slice of fish for her on the way. “Eat the fish first. The noodles will be ready in a while.”

The fish stew was very fragrant and tasty. The soup was of a creamy white color, making it seem as though milk was drenched over it.

As Bai Qingqing ate a mouthful of fish, her countenance changed slightly, and she was no longer as anxious to eat. After carefully chewing it, she was about to swallow the fish when that indistinct fishy smell suddenly became intolerable. The fish meat had just glided into her throat when she vomited it out following a nauseated feeling.

“Ooh!” Bai Qingqing quickly turned her head away to avoid vomiting into the bowl.

Parker hurriedly patted her on the back gently and asked frantically, “Why are you vomiting again? Didn’t you crave fish?”

The churning sensation in Bai Qingqing’s stomach brought about tears to the corners of her eyes. Curtis brought her a cup of water, and only after drinking it did she feel better.

“I very much want to eat it, but as I ate it, I find the fishy taste really strong,” said Bai Qingqing.

A gust of wind blew the white air in the pot upon her face, bringing about a repugnant expression on Bai Qingqing’s face once more. Clearly, she used to find this dish aromatic and tasty. Yet now, the fishy taste was unbearable to her.

Parker scooped out the fish in Bai Qingqing’s bowl and ate it, then revealed a confused expression. “It tastes yummy.”

He had put a lot of heart into making this fish dish today, much more so than usual.

Curtis pressed Bai Qingqing’s head against his arms to block out the white air. “What do you want to eat? I’ll go out and find it.”

Bai Qingqing smacked her mouth and said weakly, “I still want to eat fish…”

“I’ll make a new pot right away!” Parker said happily, “Since you like to eat fish so much, this must be my baby. Hahaha…”

With that, he excitedly went off to catch another fish.

Sick of eating bland and fishy-tasting food, Bai Qingqing said to Curtis, “I want to eat spicy fish. Sour and spicy fish.”

“I’ll head into the mountains to find if there are red spikes. As for the sourness…” Curtis pondered a moment, then asked, “Do you want to add unripe fruits into the pot?”

“That will do as well, so long as it’s sour.” Bai Qingqing nodded repeatedly.

“That’s easy to find. I’ll go right away.” Curtis smoothed her hair and said gently, “Be good and stay under the tree. Don’t run about.”

“Got it.” Bai Qingqing couldn’t wait for him to leave. Watching their back views as they left, images of the various fish dishes she had ever eaten before ran through her mind.

There was the sour and spicy pickled fish that was oh-so-appetizing, the red and fiery chopped pepper fish, the juicy and rich-tasting sweet and sour fish…

Merely the thought of it made her salivate. Bai Qingqing sucked in her saliva and doodled pictures of fishes on the ground to curb her hunger.

Very quickly, Parker returned with fresh fish. Since Curtis had yet to return, he first marinated the fish using condiments.

After nearly another hour had passed, Curtis finally came back with a package wrapped in tree leaf.

Bai Qingqing hurriedly went up to him. “How did it go? Did you find it?”

Curtis looked ashamed as he opened the tree leaf package, revealing only a few green oranges inside.

“I found the red spike plants, but they had yet to grow out. I tasted the tree leaves, and it wasn’t at all spicy.”