Beast World: From Villainess to Cub-Raising Chef

Bai Su had anticipated they would come today, so she fried some extra lotus root patties, packed them into small takeout boxes, and gave one to each of them to bring home.

When Lu Tingyan arrived, he saw a line of females queued up at the orphanage entrance.

He raised an eyebrow. As he walked inside, he happened upon Bai Su coming out with the boxes and distributing them.

The females couldn’t help but look at her with gratitude, offering both thanks and apologies. They thanked her for helping rescue their children and for giving them such fragrant food, and they apologized for the rumors they had spread before.

After everyone had left, Lu Tingyan went inside. He sat on the sofa with a few of the little cubs, watching the news and waiting for dinner.

Without turning her head, Bai Su said, "You’re back?"

Lu Tingyan froze for a moment before realizing she was talking to him. He answered with a noncommittal grunt.

’No one had ever spoken to me in such a homey way...’

Lu Tingyan sat on the sofa, took off his military cap, and stared dazedly at Bai Su’s bustling figure from behind.

Beside him, the children were playing rambunctiously while the boisterous news was projected onto the wall.

The kitchen was an open-plan design connected to the living room. Bright, warm light bathed the entire space.

Something was simmering on the stove, BUBBLE BUBBLE. Bai Su’s hair was tied up in a loose, lazy bun. A few strands had escaped, falling softly at her temples and the nape of her neck, swaying gently with her skillful movements.

Lu Tingyan felt as if everything before him was veiled in a soft halo of light, so warm and beautiful it seemed almost unreal.

His gaze was uncontrollably drawn to her back.

’She seems to have lost a lot of weight. Is it because she’s been working too hard?’

’But her complexion doesn’t look haggard at all.’

Her skin had always been very pale. With her hair piled high, the fair, delicate skin of her nape was exposed.

The graceful line of her neck possessed a natural allure. Her smooth, well-rounded earlobes peeked out from between the stray strands of hair at her temples.

As he stared in silence, his mouth grew inexplicably dry. He had the urge to brush her stray hairs aside and completely expose those crystalline, perfect earlobes to his gaze, to stare at them to his heart’s content.

Her hands were actually quite beautiful—slender and shapely. The tips of her fingers and the joints of her wrists had a delicate pink hue, while the pads of her fingers were a flushed crimson, exuding an indefinable, seductive charm.

With such a beautiful pair of hands resting on a fresh, glistening white radish, the radish no longer looked like a radish, nor the knife like a knife. It was as if she were engaged in some kind of performance art, designed solely for the appreciation of her hands.

Suddenly, the warm scene was blocked by a small, scowling face.

Bai Xiaolang blocked his line of sight, his expression unfriendly. "Enjoying the view?"

Lu Tingyan: "..."

Bai Xiaolang lowered his voice to warn him, "You’d better stay away from my Director Mama, or you won’t like what I do."

Lu Tingyan snapped back to reality, suddenly realizing with a shock that he had been staring at this woman for a very long time. ’What the hell is wrong with me?’

’I despise females, and of all females, I despise this one the most.’

’Our relationship is one of mutual convenience, nothing more.’

’She’s using me to get the orphanage recognized by the Federation and escape her exile status, and I’m using her food to heal my injuries and recover my spiritual power.’

He’d been eating her food for days, and his left eye—the one that had changed color from his injury—was already beginning to perceive light again.

The spiritual power in his body was no longer faint and erratic; it was beginning to show clear signs of sprouting.

Lu Tingyan retracted his gaze. "Relax. I’m not interested in your Director Mama."

Bai Xiaolang gave him a look of clear distrust. "You’d better mean it."

Bai Su brought the dishes to the table. "Wash your hands! Time to eat!"

"AWOO!" The children cheered, scrambling to their feet to go wash their hands.

On the menu today was Pork Knuckle in Savory Sauce, Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple, Chestnut Braised Chicken, Lemon Shrimp, Braised Lamb, and Beef and Potato Stew.

’The old and young alike are all carnivores.’

’I’ve figured it out. They’re all clearly meat-eaters. When I cook with pork, beef, and lamb, their injuries heal much faster.’

’But perhaps due to the difference in their spiritual power, Bai Xiaolang’s injuries are almost completely healed, while Lu Tingyan’s have only recovered by twenty or thirty percent.’

Bai Su figured the healing required for a Beastman with Level 5 spiritual power versus one with Ninth-level spiritual power was vastly different.

’Then again, that suits my purposes just fine.’

’I haven’t gotten the story of what happened all those years ago out of Lu Tingyan yet. I can’t let him leave this quickly.’

Lately, her own body always felt warm, especially her lower abdomen, which had an indescribable sensation.

Bai Su remembered what happened last night and looked up at Lu Tingyan, only to find him staring right back at her, his long, narrow eyes filled with a probing curiosity.

She brandished her chopsticks. "Why are you staring at me instead of eating? Is there rice on my face?"

Lu Tingyan: "..."

’I must have water on the brain to have thought this woman was a delectable beauty.’

’So what if she’s a female with slightly larger eyes, a slightly straighter nose, slightly fuller and plumper lips, a slightly chubbier face, and a pair of cute, drooping rabbit ears?’

’Bai Su’s true form is a Dutch Lop-eared Rabbit. Judging by the pale, milky-coffee color of her ears, it must be the result of childhood malnutrition.’

’The ears of a well-cared-for Dutch Lop-eared Rabbit Beastman should be a pure orange, not a pale chocolate-milk color like hers.’

’Fur color is set after adulthood, but... he thought she was actually pretty cute this way.’

But Bai Su suddenly asked him, "What did you all do with Bai Xue?"

Hearing this, Lu Tingyan’s expression grew indifferent. "She’s being held at the Federation Police Station. Three days’ detention as a warning."

After all, she is a female—and a Level 5 Female at that. With her excellent fertility, she has certain privileges. They can’t really do much to her.

The Federation Commissioner, however, wasn’t so lucky. He’s been suspended and is under investigation.

After all, this operation had a huge impact, rescuing over a hundred Beastman cubs. The social repercussions and the empire-wide online discussion this stirred up in the Interstellar Beast World Empire were no joke.

If the Federation Commissioner’s actions had caused the rescue to fail and resulted in the deaths of over a hundred cubs, he would have been executed by the Federation.

Bai Su nodded but said nothing.

’I figured as much,’ she thought. ’With Bai Xue’s status, not to mention her being the novel’s female lead, there was no way she’d receive a heavy punishment.’

’In fact, punishing her too harshly might just trigger her protagonist-halo buff and activate male lead number two or three to come save the day.’

After eating, Bai Su left the bowls for the children to wash and turned to go upstairs for a bath.

Lu Tingyan watched her go upstairs and suddenly called out, "You know, you can make more of the vegetable-based dishes you like. You don’t have to accommodate us carnivorous Beastmen."

Bai Su whipped her head around, her face dark as she glared at him. "I. Am. A. Rabbit. An omnivore. I don’t have to eat grass."

Beside him, Bai Xiaolang’s face was just as dark, his eyes filled with warning.

Lu Tingyan stared at the two remarkably similar faces, one large and one small, and something in his heart stirred.

’Bai Su... a treacherous woman, always scheming for ways to climb the social ladder and latch onto power.’

’After what happened back then, she got pregnant with my child and left in secret. Who knows what she hoped to gain from me by using the child as a bargaining chip.’

’There’s no mistaking Bai Xiaolang’s Companion Ability. He is my child.’

’Besides, last night, I had my aide take a sample of my hair and Bai Xiaolang’s for testing. There’s no doubt that Bai Xiaolang is my son.’

Lu Tingyan’s eyes darkened. His gaze suddenly locked onto the woman across from him. "Bai Su, you’re Bai Xiaolang’s mother, aren’t you?"