Favorite of the Beast-world: I Got Rich Through Farming-Chapter 376 - 251: Number 3’s Worries, Mysterious Sadness, and Divination
"It’s nothing. I just ran into some unpleasant characters. Come now, my little cubs are back so early. Are you hungry?" she asked, casually scooping up the third cub and ruffling his fluffy head.
"WHIMPER~" The third cub had a pair of beautiful, shimmering, light purple eyes. Compared to his two lively, boisterous older brothers, his temperament was far more docile and gentle. Even his cries were soft and faint, like a little girl’s.
He tucked in his little front paws, the tips of his claws barely peeking out, and carefully hooked the straps of her dress at her shoulders. Then, he nuzzled his small, snowy-white head against her chest.
An Jin felt like she was holding a ball of fluff; he was frighteningly light. A sense of tenderness and worry bloomed in her heart.
She had noticed something was wrong over a month ago. The eldest and second eldest were growing bigger and heavier, with the sturdiest one, the eldest, already weighing close to 30 pounds. But the third cub remained small and skinny, barely growing at all, no matter how much meat she fed him.
Because of this, he was often bullied by the other two. An Jin even suspected the reason the third cub grew so slowly was that his brothers often stole his meat when she wasn’t around.
The eldest and second eldest were utterly wronged! They pawed at the hem of their mother’s billowing skirt, transforming into little mops dragging along the floor.
"WAH-WOO! WAH-WOO!" A mess of tears and snot, they wailed pitifully that they were cute, obedient, *good* little cubs. How could they possibly do something only bad cubs would do, like stealing their little brother’s roasted meat?
’Still, I have to admit, meat from someone else’s bowl always smells better... SLURP.’
The moment a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen, the eldest and second eldest took off running. The third cub, nestled in An Jin’s arms, couldn’t hold back either and began pushing forward with his short, snow-white paws, trying to get out of her embrace.
"By the time you get there, your brothers will have snatched all the meat," An Jin said, patting his head with a smile. "Come on, Mommy will take you to get some."
"AWOO!"
Having grown so fast, the eldest cub, still trying to run under the table out of habit, got himself stuck between the table legs. He kicked his own legs furiously, but it was no use.
Seeing his mother carry the third cub to the dining room, and imagining that food-snatcher, the second cub, was probably already taking his first bite, the eldest cub stretched out his claws in indignation. He scraped at the floor and howled desperately, "AWOOO-WOOO~"
"Pfft, how did you get stuck here? You silly cub." An Jin set the third cub down and pulled the eldest out from under the table, laughing.
The eldest shook his whole body from head to tail and gave a sharp snort.
"AWOO!" ’I’m not silly! I’m the smartest and strongest little wolf, the leader of all the cubs in the city!’
Of the three, the eldest was the most like Ling Hong. From his looks to his temperament—that stubborn, proud streak that surfaced every now and then—he was practically a carbon copy.
"Haha..." An Jin couldn’t help but laugh again, so hard her stomach started to hurt. She bent over and stroked his stubborn, proud little head. "Alright, alright, my brilliant little wolf. I just never imagined the most brilliant little wolf in the world would get stuck under a table, unable to get out."
"Awooo~" he whimpered, feeling wronged. His howl was much quieter this time. He lowered his little head and pawed at the carpet, the tips of his pricked ears turning pink.
A small cloud of fuzz floated into the air. A new hole had been clawed into the carpet.
’Good grief.’ The smile on An Jin’s face cracked before it could fade. ’So young, and already showing the destructive talent of a husky.’
An Jin carried the third cub and led the eldest into the kitchen. Ling Hong had already finished cooking. The table was laden with food—five dishes and three soups, a mix of meat and vegetables, all of them her favorites.
Over the years, he had come to know her tastes like the back of his hand.
A wave of emotion washed over An Jin. She set the third cub on the floor and gently wrapped her arms around the man’s broad, fit back from behind. "Thank you for everything. All this time, you’ve taken such wonderful care of me, remembering every little thing I like and dislike. I love you..."
Ling Hong stiffened slightly, fighting the heat rising to the tips of his ears. He turned, smiling, and scooped her into his arms. "What are you saying? Isn’t this what a partner is supposed to do?" He reached out and gently tapped her pert nose. "After all these years, if I didn’t even know what you like to eat, I’d really have to despise myself."
"Mm, I don’t know why... I just... I was suddenly overwhelmed with feeling..." An Jin buried her head in his chest, completely puzzled. ’Where did all those sappy, sentimental words come from?’
For a fleeting moment, her eyes had started to sting, and a sudden, unexpected feeling of loss had flashed through her heart. ’Maybe I’ve just been too on edge lately.’
But her love and gratitude toward Ling Hong were real.
He was the first Beastman she had met upon arriving in this world. When she was at her weakest, he was the one who had stepped forward, willing to protect her at all costs and give her warmth.
From the very beginning until now, that love and gratitude had burned brightly in the depths of her heart, never once changing.
"What... what’s wrong? Is it because of that incident? Don’t worry, I’ll protect you..." Seeing the corners of her eyes were red, Ling Hong was completely stunned. He wondered if maybe he had held her too tightly.
An Jin touched the tear stains on her own face and froze. ’That’s strange.’
’Why... why did I suddenly start crying?’
’I was moved, but not *that* moved, right?!’
’I’ve heard that when one’s spiritual power reaches a certain level, they can use Divination to see the past and future. They can even vaguely foresee their own fate and the fate of others, which causes precognitive spiritual fluctuations...’
’Does this mean something is about to happen?’
’But I haven’t divined anything about it.’
Unable to find an answer, An Jin chalked it up to her usual explanation: her tear ducts were acting up because she’d been so on edge lately.
"AWOO? AWOO?"
The three little cubs had their front paws propped on the kitchen counter. Hearing the commotion, they all turned their little heads in unison, tilting them in confusion as they watched the two people hugging.
An Jin sniffled, quickly let go of Ling Hong, and walked over to the counter to gently pull the three of them down, one by one.
As she carried the food to the dining room, a black-and-red python that had been sleeping coiled in a corner stirred. It flicked its forked tongue, and, drawn by the aroma of the food, its long body uncoiled and wound around An Jin.
"Why were you crying?" Mi Yin’s upper body shifted into human form. His cool, slender fingers brushed the reddened corner of her eye, and his voice deepened.
"It’s nothing. I just got a little emotional all of a sudden. I don’t know why..." She shook her head. ’I’m just as confused about it as he is,’ she mumbled to herself.
’How could it be "nothing" when she looks like she just finished crying?’ Mi Yin’s heart ached for her. He turned and shot Ling Hong a cold glare but, in the end, said nothing, silently taking a seat beside her to eat.
Xi glanced back and forth, nervously chewing on his chopsticks. Seeing the dark aura emanating from Mi Yin, he didn’t dare ask anything.
"AWOO!"
"AWOO-AWOO~"
"WHIMPER~"
At their level of intelligence, the three little cubs were not yet able to comprehend the sudden shift in atmosphere at the dinner table.
When they saw three small stools placed next to the four large stone ones, they immediately realized they could finally eat at the table! They hopped joyfully onto the stools, propped their front paws on the edge of the table, and yelped, ready to be fed.
