Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off novel Chapter 246

Chapter 246: Chapter 246: From Mermaid Tribe

Su Qinglan placed the stone bowl back into Lan Yue’s hands.

The bowl was still warm, steam slowly rising from the surface. The smell alone made Lan Yue’s stomach tighten. She lowered her gaze and took a small sip.

She ate not because she wanted to. She ate because she had to.

Her hand unconsciously moved to her lower abdomen. The child inside her was still alive. And it needed strength and energy to survive. No matter how broken she felt, she could not let herself starve.

So she chewed slowly and carefully.

The food was soft, warm, and rich. The taste spread across her tongue, unfamiliar and overwhelming. Lan Yue paused for a brief moment, her fingers tightening around the bowl.

It was delicious. She had never eaten anything like this in her entire life.

In her city, food was simple and bland. Meant to survive, not to comfort. But this felt like something made with care.

Without realizing it, she took another bite.

And another.

Su Qinglan watched her quietly.

She noticed the way Lan Yue ate, slow and restrained, like someone afraid the food might disappear if she rushed. The way her shoulders remained tense even while eating. The way her eyes sometimes lost focus, drifting somewhere far away.

After a long silence, Su Qinglan finally spoke.

"What’s your name?" she asked softly.

Lan Yue paused.

She swallowed the food in her mouth and lifted her eyes.

"...Lan Yue," she answered.

Su Qinglan nodded. "Where did you come from?"

Lan Yue hesitated again, her fingers tightening around the bowl. She lowered her gaze to the food.

"You’re not from the closed tribes," Su Qinglan added calmly. It was not a question. She was stating a fact.

Lan Yue nodded slowly.

"Yes," she said. "I’m not from here."

She took another bite, as if gathering strength from the warmth.

"I’m from a mermaid tribe."

Su Qinglan froze. Her eyes widened slightly.

A mermaid tribe?

That tribe also existed?

Mermaids. The word was really fascinating to her. It was her first time she had actually encountered a beast female from water, and now she could not help but give her another look.

Before she could say anything, Lan Yue continued on her own.

"My family was attacked," she said quietly.

Her voice did not shake. That scared Su Qinglan more than tears would have.

"It happened suddenly. There was no warning." She paused, then added, "My beast husband did the only thing he could."

Su Qinglan’s heart tightened.

"They left me here," Lan Yue continued, her tone flat. "So I could survive."

She did not explain how. Neither did she explain how she appeared here, so far from her tribe.

And Su Qinglan did not ask.

Some things were not meant to be understood by outsiders. Some things could not be explained without tearing wounds open again.

Lan Yue lowered her head and took another bite.

Then another.

But her breathing slowly grew uneven.

Her hand trembled.

A drop fell into the bowl.

Then another.

Before she realized it, tears were dripping down her face, falling silently as she continued to eat. Her chest tightened violently, a sharp hiccup escaping her throat.

She tried to swallow but miserably choked. Her shoulders shook.

"I don’t know," she whispered brokenly, her voice cracking at last. "I don’t know if they’re alive. I don’t know if they’re dead. Or just taking their last breath."

Her tears fell faster now.

She kept eating, almost desperately, as if stopping would cause her to fall apart completely.

"I don’t know anything anymore."

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