Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: When Life Gives You Meat, Feed the Tiger (01)

The female’s face lit up like the sun. She turned instantly to her mates. "Bring our meat!"

The two beast men moved quickly. One sprinted off to fetch it, while the other crouched down beside her protectively, still casting cautious glances at the fire.

As the fire crackled quietly between them, the young female finally mustered the courage to speak again. She clutched the already eaten stick of meat and said timidly. "Qinglan-jie... I’m Bai Ling’er. These are my mates, the one who has gone to take the meat is Zhen Huai; he’s a bear beast man... and this is Wen Fei; he’s a fox."

Su Qinglan raised an eyebrow, eyeing the contrast between the two. Zhen Huai, broad-shouldered and burly, looked like he could wrestle a tree out of the ground. Meanwhile, Wen Fei had sharp features and cool eyes—he was the gentle type of fox who could almost bewitch anyone with just a look.

The fox beast man appeared calm, composed even, but Su Qinglan wasn’t fooled. His gaze was sharp, almost piercing, as if it could peel back her skin and read her bones. If she so much as thought of playing any tricks on his mate, she had no doubt he’d tear her to pieces without blinking.

She gave him a casual glance in return, unfazed. Relax, Mr. Fox. If I wanted to hurt her, I wouldn’t be feeding her grilled meat like a generous cave auntie.

A bear and a fox, huh? Now that she thought about it, Bai Ling’er did seem like the type to collect extremes.

She just gave a slow nod. "Mm. Not bad."

Inwardly, Su Qinglan stared blankly at the air in front of her.

Was that the right response? Should she have complimented them more? Said they looked strong and handsome? Or maybe something like "wow, such fine mates you have"?

Was that what people in the beast world did? Complimented each other’s men like livestock at a market?

She didn’t know. She had no idea what the social etiquette was here. Her brain paused for a moment, then started spinning again.

Wait... should I introduce mine now? Isn’t that the normal thing?

A second of awkward silence passed.

She almost opened her mouth. But then her face twitched.

Right. Her own beast husbands... status was still unknown; can they even call me beast husband?

She cleared her throat lightly and decisively did not mention them.

No husbands, no problem.

She crossed her arms and leaned back a little. "Mm." Another highly informative grunt. "Nice to meet you all." Very smooth and definitely not suspicious.

"Good save," she praised herself silently, even as she felt like a fraud sitting in a throne of lies.

The bright, hopeful look in Bai Ling’er’s eyes didn’t fade, though. In fact, she looked even happier, like Su Qinglan’s awkward approval was worth a thousand treasures.

Su Qinglan hummed lightly, but inwardly she let out a sigh of relief. Good thing the girl introduced herself, because she genuinely had no clue who any of them were.

But the real shock came when the beast man lifted one hand. With a smooth motion, his claws extended, catching the faint glint of firelight. Schk! Schk! Schk! In just a few swipes, the thick slab of meat was reduced into neat slices—each cut clean, even, and paper-thin.

Su Qinglan’s jaw nearly hit the ground.

Her gaze dropped to her own aching hands, the calluses forming on her palm from gripping that crude stone dagger. She remembered the sweat dripping down her back, the endless hacking just to saw through one stubborn chunk of meat. Her arm still felt like it had been beaten with a hammer. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Meanwhile, this beast man had just processed an entire slab in the time it took her to blink.

Su Qinglan’s lips trembled. Why?! Why is the world like this?!

I’m also a beast woman. Why don’t I get claws? Why am I stuck with these... these fat potato hands?!

The injustice nearly brought tears to her eyes. Watching the beast man shake off the last trace of blood from his claws like it was nothing, she felt her heart ache so badly she wanted to gnaw on the roasted stick just to vent her frustration.

The female, however, was delighted. She eagerly gathered the slices, skewered them onto thin branches, and turned back to Su Qinglan with a bright, hopeful gaze.

"Qinglan-jie... like this? Do I roast them like this?"

Su Qinglan forced her lips into a stiff smile, her inner heart still bleeding. "Y-yes. Just... roast them slowly. Don’t rush."