Oh No, Daddy Sent Me To The Beast World!

If he had been a statue, he would have cracked right there.

Missed him?

She missed him?

His blue eyes widened in complete shock.

For a second, he even wondered whether he had understood wrongly.

But Lin Huahua was still looking at him, and although her reason for saying it had been pure emergency nonsense, her crying face made the words sound very real.

Hu Baiyu’s heart was instantly hit.

No.

Hit was too light a word.

It was overturned.

Flipped.

Thrown straight into the sky and back again.

She missed him.

Lin Huahua missed him.

This was the kind of sentence Hu Baiyu had probably never even dared to dream of hearing from her, not in the old days, not now, not ever. So the moment it came out of her mouth, all the sadness in him was washed over by a wave of happiness so fierce that it almost made him dizzy.

He looked at her as though she had just handed him the moon with both hands.

His chest turned hot.

His ears grew warm.

Even the urge to lean down and kiss her flashed wildly through his mind.

He wanted to.

Very much.

But Hu Baiyu still held himself back. He did not want to scare her. He did not want to ruin the moment. He only looked at her with such obvious happiness that even a blind person could probably feel it from three steps away.

Then Lin Huahua noticed something.

His lion tail had moved.

It was not wagging like a dog.

Of course not.

Hu Baiyu was a lion, not some happy little puppy.

But the tip of his tail was flicking in a lively way, and the whole tail moved with a certain restless pleased energy that made his inner excitement impossible to hide.

Lin Huahua stared.

Then she stared at the tail again.

Then at his face.

Then back at the tail.

This giant lion was trying so hard to look steady, but his tail had already sold him out completely.

And somehow, that was just too cute.

Too cute.

So cute that Lin Huahua finally let out a small giggle through her remaining tears.

The sound was light and sudden, like a little bell.

Hu Baiyu looked relieved the moment he heard it.

Lin Huahua wiped at her wet face with the back of her hand and muttered, "Fine. Is my water ready?"

Hu Baiyu nodded immediately, as if waiting for this exact question.

Then he quickly signed that he would get everything ready for her at once.

Once he finished signing, he moved with surprising speed for an injured person. He turned and hurried off to deal with the bath, looking so eager to serve that Lin Huahua could only stare after him for a second before smiling helplessly to herself.

This lion really was too honest.

Too cute.

Too easy to fool.

Then again, the fact that he had been fooled by her nonsense so completely also made a little guilt poke at Lin Huahua’s heart.

Just a little.

A very tiny little guilt.

Still, she told herself firmly that this was only a temporary lie. A strategic lie. A survival lie. She had been emotionally damaged and had said what she needed to say.

That counted as self defense.

Yes.

That was fine.

Once Hu Baiyu left to prepare things properly, Lin Huahua stood alone for a brief moment and drew in a slow breath.

The sadness from earlier had not disappeared completely, but it was not crushing her the same way anymore.

She still missed home.

She still wanted to go back.

She still felt betrayed by her father.

But after crying, after hugging Hu Baiyu, after making up a lie so sweet that the lion nearly floated away from happiness, her little heart finally settled down a bit.

Then she thought of her brothers.

Her brothers would definitely not give up easily.

Even if her father was stubborn now, if they got another chance to contact her later, they would surely think of something.

Maybe a plan.

Maybe a loophole.

Maybe some sneaky nonsense.

Her brothers were very good at sneaky nonsense.

So for now, Lin Huahua decided that since she was stuck here, she would endure it for the moment.

Only for the moment.

That did not mean she had accepted her fate.

Absolutely not.

It only meant she was waiting.

Waiting wisely.

Waiting beautifully.

Waiting like a smart little white rat princess who would eventually find a way out one way or another.

By the time she finished comforting herself, Hu Baiyu returned.

This time, he was carrying a proper bathing tub and guiding it carefully into a separate room meant for washing. The room was darker than the main area of the cave, and because it was tucked farther inside, the light did not reach very well. Still, the space was private, and Hu Baiyu had already prepared the hot water and begun mixing it carefully so it would not be too hot for her.

Lin Huahua followed him there and watched.

The warm water gave off soft steam, and in the darkness of the room, the white steam rose in curling threads that looked almost dreamlike.

Hu Baiyu tested the water, adjusted it, then turned back to her and signed that it was ready.

Lin Huahua looked at the room and realized just how dark it was.

It was very dark.

She could barely make out the shapes clearly, but because she had already had a whole emotional storm today, she did not think much of it.

At some point, Hu Baiyu went and quietly moved off toward the corner, He stood so quietly that Lin Huahua could barely tell he was still there.

Lin Huahua noticed him there, but she only assumed he was staying nearby because of his protective nature. After all, she had already begun to notice that Hu Baiyu hated leaving her alone for too long.

Plus she couldn’t see a thing in this darkness so she was confident he could even see anything at all either.

So she simply let him stay.

Then, trusting him completely in that moment, Lin Huahua lifted her foot and stepped into the bath.