"You… you all…" Lianlian's face went deathly pale with fright. Bright red blood dripped from between her fingers and splattered on the ground. Terrified, she grabbed her mates and ran!
Si Lu and her group watched them leave without saying a word, not even asking their own mates to stop them.
Well, this could be considered a proper lesson for the other side.
"Little female, this bracelet is for you—actually, take everything on this stall too. You saved me today. This is your payment. I'm not the kind of beastman who takes advantage of others." As he spoke, Feng Xiu directly put the bracelet on Si Lu's wrist, then turned around and left without another word.
Si Lu hadn't even processed what happened before the bracelet was already on her. She stared at it, a bit dazed.
The bracelet was made of some kind of gemstone, strung together in five distinct colors. It was very beautiful. The stones were nearly transparent, but each had a faint tint of color—red, orange, green, blue, and purple.
Si Lu took one look at it and instantly liked it.
So pretty!
She really did like it.
But wait—this bracelet, didn't that other female just try to trade for it? And the male beastman hadn't even considered giving it up. And now he just gave it to her for free?
What a strange beastman.
Beside her, Hei Yao and Cheng Mo both froze up and exchanged a glance. Just now, when that beastman approached Si Lu, neither of them sensed it at all!
Something's not right!
Could it be… that guy's strength is beyond theirs?
That had to be it.
Otherwise, how could they not have noticed anything? Thank goodness the guy wasn't hostile.
If he had been, that would've been bad. Really bad!
They always thought they were strong. And yet a strange male managed to get close to their little female without them noticing at all. The realization hit them like a truck.
Time to work on getting stronger.
"LuLu, that bracelet is so pretty! It's gorgeous!" TǎTǎ looked at the bracelet on Si Lu's wrist with wide eyes and excitement.
No wonder that other female wanted to trade for it.
It was really beautiful
She loved it too. Of course, she only admired it—had no other thoughts.
"Yeah, it really is pretty," Si Lu replied with a smile.
"If you ask me, that male beastman just now wasn't bad at all. You don't think… he's into you, do you? I mean, why else would he give you something so special? That other shameless female wanted to trade for it, and he didn't even budge." TǎTǎ teased.
Right?
Come to think of it, that male beastman was acting very different toward Si Lu.
Could he really be into her?
Cheng Mo and Hei Yao, standing nearby, both furrowed their brows slightly. It's hard to tell what they were thinking.
"Don't tease me like that. Maybe he just had something urgent and left. TǎTǎ, see if there's anything you like—pick what you want. The rest, I'll have Yao and Mo pack it up." Si Lu said casually.
Since the guy gave her everything, she'd just accept it.
Besides, she didn't even know who he was. No way to return it even if she wanted to.
I mean, she didn't even know his name. How could she give it back?
"Aww, LuLu, you're the best. I actually had my eye on a couple of things." TǎTǎ was thrilled.
She and Si Lu were close, so of course she didn't need to be polite.
"If you like something, take it. It's not like I can give it back anyway. He said it's mine, so it's mine now," Si Lu said with a smile.
Exactly.
She didn't know why, but she felt like that guy meant to give it to her from the start. Even if she didn't know the reason why, that was just her gut feeling.
He said it was a reward for her helping him… But she didn't even do anything!
So yeah, that was probably just a lame excuse.
In the end, TǎTǎ picked out some pearls to make a bracelet later and a few beautiful shells.
The rest was packed up by Cheng Mo.
Just then, Bai Di and the others came back. He'd traded for quite a bit of refined salt and got some thick, high-quality furs—planning to make Si Lu some clothes for winter.
"LuLu, we're back. Did you find anything you like?" Bai Di asked with a smile.
"I did! Look." Si Lu showed him the colorful bracelet on her wrist.
"LuLu's taste is excellent," Bai Di praised.
"Of course! Not much left to see here. If we're done, let's head back. TǎTǎ, how about you guys?" Si Lu asked.
They'd already traded for what they needed. Si Lu was tired and ready to go home.
"We're done too. Let's go together." TǎTǎ instantly grabbed her hand.
She didn't have anything else to do anyway.
Her mates were still trading, but she didn't need to stick around.
"Xiong Da, come back with me. Xiong Er, go let the others know and come back with them. I'm heading home with LuLu," TǎTǎ instructed.
She was tired too.
She'd been to the exchange fair so many times, nothing here really wowed her anymore.
"Got it. Be safe." Xiong Er nodded and left to find the others.
"Let's go! Time to head home." Si Lu smiled.
"I'll carry the little one. You take LuLu," Hei Yao said, gently taking the cub from Cheng Mo's arms.
Cheng Mo nodded, instantly shifting into his beast form—a huge two-meter-tall sika deer. Si Lu naturally climbed onto his back.
Not only that, TǎTǎ's mate, Xiong Da, lifted her up to sit on his broad shoulders. It looked like…
"LuLu, what do you think? I'm super tall now, right?" TǎTǎ grinned brightly.
She loved sitting on her mate's shoulders like this. Hehe, made her feel like a giant.
It was the best feeling ever!
"Super impressive! You're so high up, I have to crane my neck just to see you," Si Lu replied with a laugh.
No wonder TǎTǎ liked big, strong mates.
So this was why!
And honestly, it was kind of cool.
"Right? Hehe, you've got to find a tall, strong mate too. Then we can both ride around on their shoulders looking all majestic!"
"Xiong Da, let's roll out!" TǎTǎ commanded dramatically, an adorable mix of cute and badass.
Si Lu couldn't help laughing out loud.
Next to her, her own mates were giving her side-eye.
Was their little female… Disappointed they weren't tall and brawny?
Of course, the most heartbroken of all was Bai Di.
He really wasn't tall and brawny.
Ahem. "Let's just go. It doesn't matter if they're tall or not. I like what I like. I like good-looking ones," Si Lu said awkwardly.
No kidding!
Her mates might not be the muscle-bound giants like TǎTǎ's, but damn, each one of them was stunning. And yes, also pretty badass!
To her, they were tall and strong—but in a different way than what TǎTǎ meant.
TǎTǎ was into those massive, jacked, 2-meter-tall types.
Her own guys were still tall—like 180cm to 190cm—with broad shoulders and slim waists, and each one more handsome than the last. That was totally her type.
After hearing her explanation, the group of them finally relaxed a bit.
That's right.
LuLu just liked them like this.