novelraw Chapter 136: It Must Have Been a Success
Chapter 136: It Must Have Been a Success
"Not only did you manage to snag the difficult Sunxiao, but you also have Feiyan tearing his hair out over you."
Qiao Xixi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How did Feiyan get dragged into this?
Gu Man just gave her a mysterious smile and said no more.
Halfway there, Qiao Ang suddenly tugged on Tata’s hand.
Tata looked at Qiao Ang with a guileless expression. Qiao Ang nudged his chin toward him, and Tata, snapping back to his senses, tugged on Qiao Xixi’s hide clothes. "Auntie Xixi, can I have my big brother and sister come play at my house first, please?"
Qiao Xixi turned to look at her cubs. "Do you want to go?"
The cubs nodded in unison.
"Mother, we’ll only be a little while. We’ll be back really soon."
"Yeah, Mother! Why don’t you wait for us here? Tata said he has something good for us to eat."
Qiao Xixi was again at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. "Alright, then Mother will wait for you here."
But Gu Man said, "Let’s walk them over. I’ll be right back."
"Okay."
Qiao Xixi stood where she was, watching Gu Man lead the cubs away until they were out of sight before she finally looked away.
A moment later, the sound of clopping hooves came from behind her.
Qiao Xixi turned around curiously and saw Feiyan, dressed all in white, sitting astride a tall horse. His snow-white hair billowed in the wind, making him look exceptionally bewitching.
Qiao Xixi knew that Feiyan was stunningly beautiful, even prettier than many females, but because of his smug personality, she often overlooked his appearance.
Feiyan nudged the horse, and it pranced toward her. Petals scattered as it ran, a scene so beautiful it hardly seemed of this world.
For a moment, Qiao Xixi was completely mesmerized.
Feiyan rode right up to Qiao Xixi and, before she could snap out of it, pulled her up onto the horse.
Qiao Xixi let out a cry of surprise and could only grab Feiyan’s hand to steady herself.
"Feiyan, where are you taking me?"
The horse started to run. "You’ll know soon enough."
As soon as they had left, Qiao Ang, Qiao Qiao, and Gu Man emerged from their hiding place, their hands still covered in petals they hadn’t had a chance to throw.
"Qiaoqiao, do you think this will work?"
Qiao Qiao furrowed her little brow, conflicted. "Maybe..."
Qiao Ang scratched his head. ’Sigh, you dummy dad, you’d better not mess this up!’
Qiao Xixi was taken to a clearing. She looked around in confusion; there didn’t seem to be anything special about this place.
Feiyan lifted her in his arms, swung himself off the horse, and carried her to a patch of grass hidden by large leaves.
"Xixi, this is my gift to you. Open it and see."
Qiao Xixi stared at the huge leaves in front of her, astonished. "For me?"
Feiyan nodded, a little nervous. "Take a look."
Qiao Xixi was also very curious. She grabbed the leaves and yanked them away.
Underneath the leaves was a small mountain of all sorts of colorful fruits.
There were sweet-sweet fruits, a pink fruit that she remembered had a texture like an apple, and many green and yellow ones...
Qiao Xixi looked at Feiyan in shock. ’Does he have a thing for giving people fruit as gifts?’
The horse standing behind them—er, Ma Qing—kicked his hooves. ’He had to admit, he was shocked too. Shocked by the Young Clan Leader’s method of courting a female. Could a female like Qiao Xixi really accept such an outlandish Young Clan Leader?’
Ma Qing, pretending to be very intent on eating grass, couldn’t help but perk up his ears to eavesdrop.
"I’ve spent the last two days gathering all of these. I traded hides with other beastmen in the tribe for some of them. Do you like it?"
Snapping out of her daze, Qiao Xixi once again didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’This silly fox’s way of thinking really is different from other beastmen. It’s so goofy, a complete mismatch with his whole aura.’
In the blink of an eye, the silly fox produced a large bouquet of flowers from behind his back and knelt on one knee before Qiao Xixi.
Meeting those light brown eyes, Qiao Xixi’s heart suddenly began to race. She subconsciously pressed a hand to her chest. The feeling was actually familiar; she felt the same way now when she was with Jin Ling and Sunxiao.
"Xixi, can I become your beast husband?"
The blooming flowers made Feiyan’s face look even more radiant. Qiao Xixi hesitated for a moment, then didn’t take the bouquet from his hand.
The light in Feiyan’s eyes dimmed, bit by bit.
’So it’s no good after all, huh.’
"You lost to Sunxiao last time. He said you have to defeat him before you can join our family."
Feiyan’s head shot up, his previously dim eyes instantly alight with renewed hope.
"So, Xixi, you’re not accepting me right now... it’s not because you’re refusing me, but because I have to defeat Sunxiao? As long as I pass his test, it’ll be okay?"
Qiao Xixi nodded. "I’ll accept the fruit. The rest is up to you."
"This is great! This is great, HAHAHAHA!" Feiyan jumped to his feet, scooped Qiao Xixi into his arms, and spun her around and around.
"Hey, slow down..."
On the way back, a miserable Ma Qing was burdened with a pile of fruit wrapped in leaves and vines. Behind him were several other male Horse Beasts who had been summoned to help haul the fruit.
Meanwhile, their Young Clan Leader, on the verge of a successful courtship, was swaggering ahead with Qiao Xixi, flicking his big, snow-white tail, looking as smug as could be.
"Father Beast and Mother are back."
"Father Beast is smiling so much his eyes have disappeared. It must have been a success, hahaha."
Qiao Ang and Qiao Qiao ran out.
"Mother, Mother."
Feiyan stopped and gave his cubs a big, slobbery lick on their faces. ’It’s all thanks to my clever cubs! Otherwise, Xixi wouldn’t have relented so quickly!’
The cubs slapped his big head away in disgust.
"Mother, hugs."
Qiao Xixi reached out and lifted them both onto Feiyan.
"What tasty things did you eat at Tata’s house?"
Qiao Qiao’s big, clever blue eyes darted around. Grinning, she pulled a sugar-dusted fruit from her pocket. "It’s sweet and yummy. Mother, try some."
Qiao Xixi pinched her soft, pale little cheek. ’What a clever little imp,’ she thought with a huff. ’Don’t think I don’t know you were all helping Feiyan.’
Qiao Xixi had originally planned to go trade for some hides, but Feiyan said he had plenty and would give them all to her. Qiao Xixi accepted his offer frankly and simply decided to take the cubs home.
After they got home, Ma Qing and the others moved all the fruit into the courtyard.
After Ma Qing and his group left, Feiyan very naturally shut the courtyard gate and eagerly sidled up to Qiao Xixi.
When Jin Ling and Qiao Lie returned, they saw Feiyan wagging his big tail, butt in the air, busy as could be. Jin Ling’s expression darkened slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.
"Xixi, we’re back."
Qiao Xixi looked up from the mountain of fruit. "You’re back. How was the catch today?"
Jin Ling was only holding a few fish. "It’s getting cold, so the fish in the water aren’t moving much. I didn’t catch many."
What he didn’t say was that, because Qiao Xixi wasn’t with him, he had been too distracted to focus on fishing.
Qiao Xixi walked over to Jin Ling and first touched his hand. It was warm.
"Jin Ling, I accepted Feiyan today."
Jin Ling’s expression faltered for a second, but there was no other change on his face. "Mm."
Qiao Xixi hugged Jin Ling and looked up at him. "When Sunxiao is unhappy, it shows on his face. But you never show it."
Jin Ling sighed softly and hugged her back. "Xixi, as long as I know you have me in your heart, I can resolve these feelings on my own."
Qiao Xixi buried her face in his chest. "He still has to get past Sunxiao."
Jin Ling hummed in agreement. "He should have to. Only if he’s strong enough can he better protect you and the cubs. I’m willing to accept one more person to protect you."
That night, when Sunxiao returned, Feiyan was on high alert the entire time, in case Sunxiao suddenly decided to attack him.
But to everyone’s surprise, after Sunxiao came back, he just shot Feiyan a cold glance and didn’t stop him from staying for dinner.
But once he had eaten his fill, he left the courtyard, saying he was going to bathe in the stream.
But he left, and by midnight, he still hadn’t returned.