CHAPTER 21: CHAPTER 21: SU QINGLAN’S COOKING SCAM

Su Qinglan followed behind him with small, quick steps, clutching her arms around herself as if that could calm the storm inside. The whole way back, her mind kept spinning—what if the big tiger suddenly turned and snapped her head off? What if he wanted to punish her for playing tricks in front of the female?

But when they finally reached her cave, Hu Yan suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The tall tiger stiffened. His sharp golden eyes swept around the cave, and for a moment, he almost didn’t recognize it.

Everything was clean. The dust was gone, all the mess was cleared, there was no sign of any rotten meat or pungent smell, and the bedding was neatly stacked. The faint smell of flowers lingered in the air, soft and refreshing. It wasn’t the filthy place he remembered.

For the first time, real surprise flickered in his cold gaze.

...This female. Did she really change?

Then he remembered what happened just a little while ago. He thought of her sweet voice and how she had lied. She twisted her words and made the other females hurt so badly they started choking on their own blood.

His expression darkened again. No. She was still the same evil female. The only difference was that today, her targets were two disgusting females who deserved it.

That’s why he didn’t open his mouth to defend them earlier, because he knew exactly what kind of intentions those women carried. But it didn’t mean he trusted the female in front of him either. He didn’t want to waste words because he knew clearing himself only made him go from one evil female’s mouth to another.

In the end... Su Qinglan was already his mate. And no matter what, Hu Yan was not the type of male who would betray his female. Even if she was cruel, even if she was hated, she was his.

Behind him, Su Qinglan nervously fiddled with her fingers, almost tiptoeing as she trailed after him. Now that the two of them were alone, she didn’t know what this beastman would do.

Would he scold her? Ignore her? Kick her out?

Her heart pounded in her ears. She didn’t dare breathe too loudly.

But then...

Grrrrrrrgle~

Her stomach let out the loudest growl of her life.

The sound echoed in the quiet cave, stabbing straight into the heavy silence. Su Qinglan froze, her cheeks burning.

Hu Yan’s steps halted. His golden eyes shifted back to her.

His eyes immediately widened as he realized that she must not have eaten anything.

"I will go hunt for meat," he said at last. After all, from the start, he had only come to find her because he could not sleep the entire night and he was craving the delicious food all night, so the first thing he did after morning was to search for her.

His eyes almost ignited with a hungry gaze, and it was practically telling her that he wanted to eat that spicy pork strip.

Su Qinglan’s breath hitched. Wait—why did he look at her like that? Like he was staring at a piece of meat?

"Do you need anything else?" he asked after a short pause. His voice was serious. "I am your male. It is my job to take care of you."

Su Qinglan blinked. Once. Twice. Then her whole heart gave a big thump.

He... he didn’t scold her? He didn’t question her? He just... accepted it like that?

Scrambling to take advantage, she hurriedly explained, "Yes! There’s this kind of meat that would taste better... ah, like pork strips. The meat should be reddish, tender, and a little fatty. If there’s any beast that looks close to that, it’ll taste good..."

She paused, trying to explain better.

"You know, it’s from this round animal that goes oink oink—" She raised her hands, puffed out her cheeks, and actually made the sound. "Oink. Like that. The animal is kind of fat and pinkish and makes a sound like... oink oink."

She was so focused on imitating a pig, she didn’t notice the way Hu Yan’s golden eyes blinked slowly, watching her with a strange look. He tilted his head slightly, his mouth twitching like he was holding back something.

Wait.

Why was he looking at her like that?

And then... it hit her. She froze.

Oh no.

She was actually acting like a pig. Making pig sounds. With her round cheeks and her current body size, she probably looked like a pig too.

Oh. My. Stars. A wave of horror crashed over her.

What was she doing?! Was she possessed?! Was she trying to die of secondhand embarrassment?!

She wanted to dig a hole and throw herself into it. Across from her, Hu Yan cleared his throat softly. His expression was unreadable... Though the slight twitch at the corner of his lips definitely looked amused.

"There is such a beast," he said after a long pause, like he was politely ignoring the fact she’d just oinked at him. "It makes the same sound. It’s called a Fat Snort Beast. I will bring it back."

And without another word, the great tiger warrior turned and strode out of the cave, his broad back disappearing into the shadows of the trees.

Su Qinglan stared after him with her mouth slightly open.

Was that it? He just went hunting for her? Her lips slowly curved. Maybe this scary tiger was not so scary after all.

But before she could enjoy the moment, her brain started working again. And it hit her like a brick.

Wait. She had promised him spicy pork strips. And what did she have to make them? Nothing.

Not a single chili. No soy sauce. No oil. No garlic. No ginger. Not even a cooking pan. All she had was salt and maybe a little bit of hope.

She dropped on the ground and held her face in her hands.

"This world is a scam," she said to herself.

In her world, spicy pork strips needed a few basic things. Like chili peppers. Soy sauce. Garlic. Ginger. A bit of sugar. Some oil. And a proper pot or pan to cook them in.

But this beast world had none of that.

It was like trying to bake a cake with a rock. Her stomach growled again, and she let out a long sigh.

She was about to give up and just boil the meat with salt when a small idea lit up in her mind.

The forest near the caves was big and full of strange plants. What if she could find something that looked like chili or ginger? Maybe something spicy? Something that could make the food taste hot?

Her eyes brightened.

Even if the ingredients were not exactly the same, she could find something close. And if she could not?

Well...

Her lips curled into a slow smile.

That big tiger man had never eaten real spicy pork strips anyway. He would not know the difference. She could cook him something different and tell him it was spicy pork. He would believe her.

Maybe he would even ask for more.

"Perfect," Su Qinglan said under her breath, her eyes shining.

She wrapped her arms around her waist and laughed to herself like a little villain. "Chef Su is back. Whether it is spicy pork or not, I will make it look like five-star food."