Future Beast World: Becoming A Pampered Beauty-Chapter 179 - 123: Whose Little Cub Is This?
’Is he trying to part ways with me?’
"It was love at first sight with you, Young Master. My heart was stolen on our second meeting. It has to be you. Wherever you go, I will follow!" Sang Luo declared to him, her voice firm and resolute.
Si Ye’s face turned red again. "You... you’re really serious..."
He wasn’t an idiot. At first, he’d believed her nonsense, but after spending the last two days with her, he’d half-guessed and half-suspected the truth—that he was her target.
She really wasn’t joking.
"I’ll go pay the bill."
He scrambled to his feet and fled in a panic.
Sang Luo watched him go to the counter, sighing as she rested her chin on her hand. ’How can I win over this innocent Little Phoenix? If all else fails... should I drug him and have my way with him tonight?’
As she was mulling it over, a cool, slick sensation slithered up her arm.
Startled, Sang Luo glanced down to see a Little Black Snake, which had appeared from who-knows-where, coiled around her arm. When it saw her looking, it even flicked its little pink tongue. Its silvery-gray vertical pupils shone with an unusual brightness, as if it had seen something that brought it immense joy and surprise.
"What a beautiful Little Black Snake! And it doesn’t even bite. You’re so well-behaved~" Sang Luo’s eyes lit up. She gently scooped the Little Black Snake, which was about to fall, into her palm and stroked its smooth, sleek little body.
Having been around Beastmen for so long, she had subconsciously forgotten her fear of wild snakes. That is, until the Little Snake nuzzled against her palm and then suddenly opened its mouth!
She jumped in fright, only to see the Little Snake merely flick its tongue out and earnestly lick her palm, as if trying to memorize her scent... Its tail wagged even more happily.
As Sang Luo watched, she let out a laugh, her expression softening considerably.
She gently rubbed its little head with the pad of her finger. When she pressed a little harder, its head flattened, then bounced back when she let go.
"Haha, how cute~"
It then rolled over to expose its soft belly for her to rub. Only then did Sang Luo realize the Little Black Snake’s underbelly was actually silvery-white.
Si Ye returned quickly.
"Where did you find this cub?" Si Ye asked, surprised to see the Little Black Snake coiled around Sang Luo’s hand.
"I didn’t find it. I have no idea where this Little Black Snake came from. It just crawled onto my hand a moment ago."
Si Ye smiled. "Look at those intelligent eyes. It doesn’t look like a wild beast, more like a Beastman cub."
"Mm, I think so too. It doesn’t bite at all; it’s very well-behaved!" Sang Luo looked around. "I don’t see its Beast Father or Beast Mother. What should we do?"
"Let’s just sit and wait for a while." Si Ye sat back down, poured two cups of tea, and pushed one toward her. "Young, senseless cubs like to run all over the place. A little snake this small is even more prone to squeezing into corners. It probably just got lost while wandering off. When its parents realize it’s gone, they’ll definitely come back to find it."
The morning market was full of open-air stalls, with people coming and going along both sides of the road. If they saw an adult Beastman frantically searching for something, it would probably be the parents of this Little Snake.
Sang Luo wasn’t too worried. She sat at the stall, drinking tea and waiting.
She stroked the Little Snake’s flat belly. "Could it be hungry?"
Si Ye ordered another steamer of meat buns.
"Give the child to me. I’ll feed it." Si Ye reached out to take it, but the Little Snake paid him no mind, continuously trying to snuggle into Sang Luo’s arms.
Sang Luo chuckled. "Looks like this Little Snake likes me more!"
’...’ ’It’s not just "likes me more," it’s a world of difference!’
’Even if Beastman cubs were more sentient, this was the first time I’ve seen a Snake Clan cub be so affectionate with someone. Aren’t the Snake Clan supposed to be cold-hearted by nature? Why is this Little Snake so attached to a stranger like her?’
"Are you sure you don’t know this Little Snake? It seems a bit too attached to you. A cub wouldn’t show affection to someone for no reason," Si Ye said, puzzled.
Hearing his words, Sang Luo felt a pang in her heart. She looked gently at the Little Black Snake in her palm. Black body, white belly, and its silvery-gray eyes were incomparably beautiful. In her memory... she had seen a pair of eyes like these before. Though the pupil color was different, they were just as endearing.
’If those two snake eggs had hatched safely, they probably would have looked a lot like this Little Black Snake.’
What a pity...
Before the fleeting thought in her mind could fully form, she snuffed it out.
’Even if they were alive, Caesar said it takes at least five or six years for the Soaring Snake Clan to hatch. The timing doesn’t add up. All Snake Clan cubs look more or less the same. I can’t lose my mind over every Little Snake I see.’
Sang Luo shook her head. "I don’t know it."
’The Soaring Snake is the king of the Snake Clan. Perhaps because I once carried snake offspring, some lingering trace of their aura remains in my body, instinctively drawing this Little Black Snake of the same clan to me.’
Sang Luo used her chopsticks to mash out the soupy meat filling from a bun. After letting it cool a bit, she fed it to the Little Snake.
It ate joyfully, gobbling up whatever she fed it. It wasn’t a picky eater at all, even eating the bun’s doughy skin.
The steamer of buns was quickly finished.
Si Ye said, "It’s so small, but it has a huge appetite. I’ll go buy some roasted meat."
After Si Ye left, Sang Luo continued to play with the Little Snake.
"This Little Snake is my lost child. It seems to like you very much."
A cool, pleasant voice drifted over.
A shadow fell over the table.
A pleasant, light, cool fragrance wafted over.
Sang Luo froze, her heart skipping a beat as she stared blankly up at the man in white who had appeared before her at some unknown moment. "Cae... Caesar..."
The man had black hair and was dressed in white. He was tall and elegant, his eyes covered by a strip of White Silk, giving him a cool, aloof, and noble air.
He turned toward Sang Luo. "Who is this noble female speaking of? Do we know each other?"
"...S-Sorry, my apologies. I’ve mistaken you for someone else." Sang Luo snapped back to her senses, so ashamed she wished she could disappear. She started to hand the child over but pulled her hand back, wanting to confirm. "Are you the child’s Beast Father?"
"Yes. I brought him out to buy something just now, but he ran off and disappeared in the blink of an eye. I came back to look for him, and sure enough, here he is." The man in white extended a hand toward the Little Snake. "Little Qi, come back."
"This cub is so cute. His name is Little Qi?"
"Mm, it’s his nickname. Just Qi."
The Little Black Snake gave Sang Luo a reluctant look, but hearing its Beast Father’s slightly stern call, it obediently returned to his palm.
Sang Luo felt relieved. "Keep a close eye on your child. Don’t lose him again next time."
The man nodded and handed her a Qiankun Bag.
Sang Luo waved her hand, refusing to take it. "Parents who’ve lost a child are always frantic. Besides, I’ve had a clutch of little snakes myself before, so I understand the feeling. I’m happy I could help. No reward is necessary."
"You’ve had children?" His probing gaze fell upon Sang Luo, especially her stomach. She looked quite young, not like someone who had ever been pregnant.
"Yes, and it wasn’t just..."
From a short distance away, Si Ye called out to her. Sang Luo quickly turned her head to answer. When she looked back, the Little Black Snake and the mysterious man in white had vanished. It was as if they were a gust of wind that had never been there at all.
A Qiankun Bag lay at her feet, a reminder that what had just happened was not an Illusion Realm.
Sang Luo looked left and right, then picked up the Qiankun Bag. She felt the exquisitely embroidered cloud pattern on it but didn’t open it to see what was inside. She simply put it away in her storage space and turned to find Si Ye.
A moment later, the figure of the man in white reappeared at the mouth of an alley. He tore the White Silk from his face, revealing enchanting purple eyes that could steal one’s soul.
He stared at the backs of the departing pair for a long while. The Little Black Snake poked its head out from his wide sleeve, looking utterly dejected.
The man’s long, slender, jade-like hand gently stroked its little head.
"You want to be close to her. Why?"
