Beast World: From Villainess to Cub-Raising Chef

The corner of Bai Ruxin’s mouth twitched. "Third Brother... she probably just doesn’t recognize you. Don’t overthink it. Just find a chance to speak with her privately later."

You couldn’t blame Bai Su for not recognizing him.

The members of the Bai family were all just so biased.

When Bai Su was born and they discovered she was a Dutch Rabbit, everyone considered it a scandal.

Hardly anyone in the Bai family treated her as a proper young lady. They just kept her around the house like a servant.

Bai Ruyan doted on his younger daughter, Bai Xue, all day long. He paid Bai Su no mind, never even bothering to see her.

The girl had probably only seen him a few times since she was born. In recent years, she had been exiled and driven out, giving her even less contact with the Bai family.

’It would be stranger if she *did* recognize him, wouldn’t it?’

Over on the other side, Yan Hongyi quickly led the way, ushering Bai Su and Lu Tingyan inside.

A bustling crowd of others followed behind them, also hurrying into the venue.

Once inside the venue, Bai Su discovered it was a Western-style cocktail party, more like a large social event.

The event was held outdoors on a lawn covered with roses. An assortment of long tables was scattered about, decorated with fresh flowers and vials of nutrient solution.

There was almost no fresh food.

Bai Su paused, then quickly realized that very few people in the Federation could cook anymore. Naturally, eating real food at a banquet like this was out of the question.

The grounds were divided into several areas with various amusements.

At these banquets, eating wasn’t the point. Having fun was.

It was more like an open-air ball. Nestled among clusters of flowers, several bands played light, soothing melodies.

Holding Lu Tingyan’s arm, Bai Su’s face was starting to feel stiff from smiling so much.

’I can’t believe I survived the engagement party just to go through this. No wonder Lu Tingyan hates attending banquets.’

’How could I possibly relax and have fun with so many people staring?’

People even stared when she scratched her neck, whispering that her movements weren’t graceful enough.

Although Lu Tingyan rarely attended banquets, he handled these situations with practiced ease.

He just had to stand there with an arm around his little rabbit, and a steady stream of people would naturally approach to greet him and make conversation.

Yan Hongyi stayed beside them, helping to manage the conversations. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Nobles constantly came forward to pay their respects, but most couldn’t withstand Lu Tingyan’s powerful aura. Unsure what to say, they would exchange a few awkward, anxious words before retreating of their own accord.

Then the next wave of guests would squeeze in at the first opportunity.

This was the first time Bai Su had seen Lu Tingyan like this.

She spent the most time with him at her mountaintop restaurant.

On her turf, he was always gentle, and even the little ones weren’t afraid of him.

Bai Su knew he was the leader of the Federation, but it had never felt tangible.

Today was the first time she truly, in a real sense, felt the privilege that came with his identity.

Nearly all eyes were fixed on them—or more accurately, on Lu Tingyan.

She was merely being observed by association, thanks to her new title as "Lu Tingyan’s fiancée."

Lu Tingyan was surprisingly talkative today. With his arm around Bai Su, he would deign to respond to anyone, so long as they offered a few words of praise for her.

In the past, such a thing would have been unimaginable.

As the dancing began, the crowd’s focus finally shifted, and people melted onto the dance floor.

The music was too loud for conversation anyway.

Suddenly, a child darted through the crowd.

Bai Su froze. In that fleeting glimpse, the child’s features looked strikingly like Yelias. But by the time she focused her eyes, he was gone.

’Was I seeing things...?’

She scanned the crowd carefully again. She didn’t find the child, but she did spot Yelias standing at the edge of the gathering.

He seemed to sense her gaze and offered a faint smile from across the crowd.

Bai Su quickly smiled back before averting her gaze.

’I’m sure I wasn’t mistaken about that child. I’ll have to tell Lu Tingyan later and ask him to have someone investigate.’

Seeing that she was bored, Lu Tingyan leaned close to her ear and whispered, "There’s a fountain over there where it’s quieter. Would you like to go for a walk?"

Bai Su nodded. "Yes, please."

’Good, this will be the perfect chance to tell him.’

The two headed for a more secluded area.

But they were still the center of attention.

The members of the Bai family quickly noticed their movement.

Bai Ruyan was still fuming, his expression grim. He noticed their departure, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to risk another cold shoulder.

Bai Jiayue jutted her chin toward the younger generation of the family. "What are you all standing around for? We spent money to bring you here, not so you could stand around like wooden posts."

The younger girls were all dressed with exceptional elegance. They knew exactly why their elders had brought them to the banquet tonight.

In the Bai family, Bai Xue had always been the elders’ favorite. In the past, she had a monopoly on plum opportunities like attending these banquets.

Now that Bai Xue was locked up, the chance had finally fallen to them. Of course, they had to seize this opportunity to make an impression.

No matter how much Bai Su refused to admit it, she was still a Bai.

That made Lu Tingyan their soon-to-be brother-in-law, at least in name.

’If we can latch onto someone as powerful as Lu Tingyan, we’ll have our pick of all the high-quality males in the Federation, won’t we?’

’We could even get a Level 8 or Level 9.’

’Heck, maybe even...’

’Nothing’s set in stone yet. Maybe we could even push Bai Su aside and snag Lu Tingyan for ourselves!’

’After all, from what we’ve seen today, Bai Su isn’t that special.’

’She has such strong, bold features—not fresh or delicate at all.’

’And her figure is so voluptuous and gaudy, not even slender.’

’The heaviest one among us is only 93 pounds. Looking at Bai Su’s figure, she’s definitely way over that.’

’With such a vulgar appearance, Leader Lu must just be intrigued by the novelty of it.’

’He’s bound to get sick of something so tacky.’

’Maybe Leader Lu will be sick of Bai Su before they’re even officially married.’

They’d all heard the old family servants talk about that incident with the Bai family years ago.

’How could Leader Lu possibly like a female who drugged him, shamelessly tried to climb into his bed, and tried to force herself on him?’

’Females are rare in the Federation. A female with good character should be aloof, dignified, and self-possessed, waiting for a male to pursue her.’

’She shouldn’t lower herself by shamelessly climbing into a man’s bed. People would laugh her to death for that.’

Among the younger girls, the most ambitious was Bai Rongrong.

Her skin was fair, and she had a pair of languid phoenix eyes that, with every glance, exuded the frail, romantic air that was currently in vogue.

She was also a natural-born "sickly beauty" with a congenital heart condition. At five-foot-four, she weighed only 86 pounds.

She could barely walk a few steps without having to stop to catch her breath.

Bai Rongrong had the "sickly beauty" look that was all the rage, making her highly sought after in aristocratic circles. It was just that she was normally overshadowed by Bai Xue, so she wasn’t particularly well-known.

Her mother had instructed her long ago: with Rachel and her daughter about to fall from grace, this was her chance. If she could seize it, she and her mother would finally be able to get ahead in the Bai family!

’The others in the Bai family might be stupid, but I’m not.’

’On the contrary, I’m very smart.’

’I understand men far too well.’

’Lu Tingyan might be treating Bai Su like a treasure right now, but it’s only for the novelty.’

’After getting his fill of a rich, greasy dish like Bai Su, a man needs to cleanse his palate. Trying a refreshing little lemon like me will allow him to truly appreciate the difference in flavor.’