Lan Yue watched her sister’s retreating figure disappear back down the path. Her face became even redder, turning a shade of explosive crimson.
She honestly wanted to cry right then and there. Her sister had definitely seen everything! The charcoal smudging, the explanation, the clumsy kiss...all of it!
Embarrassed and venting her frustration, she immediately turned around and glared fiercely at the young rabbit beastman.
"You!" she huffed, her chest heaving as she pointed a trembling finger at him. "It’s all your fault! You big, foolish rabbit!"
Without giving him a chance to speak, she reached down and snatched up the perfectly grilled fish lying beside the small fire.
"You... don’t talk to me!" she puffed her cheeks out, turned on her heel, and stormily marched away through the thick snow, her boots crunching loudly.
Tu Yelang blinked his round eyes in complete bewilderment. Seeing her walking away, he quickly stood up and called after her, "Lan Yue! Wait!"
She didn’t stop, her back rigid with proud anger.
Tu Yelang scratched his silver-white hair, thoroughly confused by the ways of females.
Remembering the advice from the older males in his tribe, he decided to just ask in his usual, completely straightforward manner.
"...Lan Yue. You really don’t like me?" He paused, his long ears twitching downward before he asked even more directly, "...Am I simply not fit to become your beast husband?"
Hearing such a blunt, shameless question thrown out in the open, Lan Yue almost stumbled right over a pile of snow.
She barely managed to steady herself, her heart leaping into her throat. She slowly turned around, her mouth twitching in disbelief.
Who on earth asks something like that so directly in the middle of the forest?! This silly, blunt rabbit!
She opened her mouth to snap at him, but when she looked at his disappointed face, her words caught in her throat.
Tu Yelang’s long, fluffy rabbit ears had drooped completely flat against his head, looking incredibly sad and rejected.
For some strange reason, seeing him look like a pitiful, abandoned creature made her anger suddenly lessen. She narrowed her eyes, folding her arms across her chest tightly.
"But..." she started, her voice dropping as she tested him. "If I say yes, that you aren’t fit... will you just go and find another female tomorrow?"
Tu Yelang immediately shook his head, his silver hair flying. "No," his answer came instantly, without a single shred of hesitation. "I won’t."
Lan Yue tilted her head. "Why?"
Tu Yelang lowered his head, staring at his boots. In his winter clothes and with his ears flat, he looked exactly like a pitiful little rabbit abandoned out in the freezing snow.
"My heart..." he muttered softly, a bitter smile appearing on his handsome face.
"It would probably stay broken for years. I don’t think I’d be in the mood to look for another female ever again."
Lan Yue quietly stared at him. Seeing his drooping rabbit ears and hearing his honest confession, she suddenly wanted to burst out laughing. But she bit the inside of her cheek and held it back, maintaining her haughty, proud demeanor.
Instead, she raised her chin proudly, pointing a finger right at him.
"Good!" she declared dramatically.
"Listen to me, Tu Yelang. If I ever see you smiling or acting sweet toward another female in this city... I will personally break both of your long legs! Do you hear me?"
She dramatically brushed her long hair behind her shoulder, giving him one last fierce glare, and then proudly turned around.
"Hmph!"
With a loud snort, she continued walking toward home, her pace brisk and full of satisfaction.


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