Hu Ya never expected to see Su Yu safe and sound at the gathering. She was shocked and a little flustered.
'How could this be?'
She had personally seen Su Yu leave the tribe to forage. Given her frail body and poor eyesight, leaving the tribe in winter should have been a death sentence.
And just as she'd expected, after leaving the tribe that winter, Su Yu never returned. Hu Ya had been certain she was gone for good.
But…
'Su Yu wasn't dead?'
'How is she not dead?!'
Shi Wei stood behind Su Yu, silently protecting her.
Sang Guo stared curiously at the stunningly beautiful female before them.
She was different from the other females. Like Su Yu, her skin was fair and she was very tidy. Her snow-white hair was styled in two braids that fell to her sides, with a few small flowers tucked into them.
Sang Guo couldn't help but look down at herself.
A dusty Beast Skin Skirt, wheat-colored skin, and messy, curly hair.
For some reason, Sang Guo felt a pang of inadequacy.
'This female… she's as beautiful as Yu Yu.'
She tugged on Su Yu's cloak and asked, "Yu Yu, do you know her?"
When Su Yu first heard Hu Ya's voice, she didn't react right away. She shook her head in confusion. "I… don't think so?"
Hu Ya was surprised. "It's me, Hu Ya. Don't you remember me?"
"Oh, right. I forgot," Hu Ya said with an apologetic expression. "Your eyesight is bad; you can't see."
Su Yu's expression changed slightly.
'Hu Ya?'
'Isn't that the protagonist from the novel I transmigrated into?'
The protagonist, Hu Ya, was a female Beastman from the Fox Clan with low Fertility. Her Amu had a large litter, and because Hu Ya was born with poor fur quality and low Fertility, she was always ostracized at home.
As she grew up, her stunning looks caused her to be ostracized by the other females in the tribe. Eventually, during a beast tide, the tribe abandoned her, and she was devoured by beasts.
After her death, she was unexpectedly reborn as a child. Using her knowledge from her past life, she predicted several major disasters that would strike the tribe, gradually winning over its people and being acclaimed as the tribe's witch doctor.
Besides advancing her own position, the protagonist didn't give up on seducing men. This was especially true after she was reborn and discovered that she now, unexpectedly, had the highest Fertility in the tribe.
She began seducing Beastmen from outside her tribe and, through a series of coincidences, met the other male leads…
As Su Yu zoned out, Shi Wei's concerned voice cut through her thoughts. "Yu Yu, are you okay?"
Su Yu snapped back to reality, pushing down her turbulent thoughts. She shook her head. "I'm fine."
She had already prepared herself for the possibility of meeting the original protagonist. While her feelings were complicated, she was managing to keep her composure.
The moment Shi Wei spoke, Hu Ya's attention was drawn to the tall, strong, and handsome man. Seeing how tenderly he cared for Su Yu, a flicker of jealousy flashed in her eyes.
On the surface, however, she feigned concern. "Yu Yu, where did you run off to all winter? After the leader realized you were gone, he searched for a long time. We all thought you were dead."
Hu Ya continued, "It's wonderful that you're alive. The leader and Jinwei will be so happy to see you."
Hu Ya stepped to the side and gestured. "The leader and the others have a stall over there. Why don't you come with me and say hello?"
Su Yu shook her head, leaning with exaggerated 'frailty' against Shi Wei's chest. She lowered her eyes. "They probably don't want to see me. After all, in the tribe's eyes, I'm just a useless female Beastman."
"Never mind…" Su Yu sighed. "According to the rules, the moment I left the Bataang Tribe, I was no longer one of them. I'm a female of the Liaoshui Tribe now. It's better if I don't go say hello."
These passive-aggressive words made Hu Ya's expression freeze. Finally, she said regretfully, "Fine. Jinwei will be heartbroken when he finds out."
"However…" Hu Ya cast a curious glance at Shi Wei. "Is this Wolf Beast the male you've chosen?"
"I really thought you would wait until after winter to become partners with Jinwei!"
Hu Ya remained impassive, frequently bringing up Jinwei's name because she knew Su Yu liked Jinwei.
Back in the tribe, Su Yu had given her trouble for getting close to Jinwei.
Given Su Yu's old temper, she would surely lose control and fly into a rage.
Hu Ya couldn't stop a smirk from forming. She threw a furtive glance at Shi Wei. 'Such a powerful Wolf Beastman… Su Yu doesn't deserve him at all.'
'He should be mine to enjoy.'
But to her disappointment, Su Yu's reaction was not what she had hoped for.
She blinked, her pale, delicate face a mask of innocence and bewilderment. "What are you talking about? Jinwei obviously likes you. Why would he ever want to become partners with me?"
Hu Ya was stunned for a moment and flatly denied it. "How is that possible? He clearly li—"
Before she could finish, Su Yu cut her off. "If Jinwei didn't like you, why would he confiscate my winter food to give to you?"
Su Yu sneered inwardly.
'I'm not an idiot.'
'Even if I can't see, I know Hu Ya is trying to drive a wedge between me and Shi Wei.'
Even though having multiple Beast Husbands was normal in this world, no male could remain calm hearing the female he was with had another Beastman in her heart.
Su Yu didn't want Shi Wei to misunderstand and cause unnecessary arguments.
Shi Wei had indeed felt a knot of discomfort in his chest when he heard Su Yu had previously wanted to partner with another male.
But when he heard Su Yu say that this male he had never met had confiscated her winter food for the female in front of them, his expression instantly turned cold.
Sang Guo was shocked too, and she cried out, "What kind of scumbag male does that! If you want to woo a female, give her your own food! What kind of man steals from another female?"
Sang Guo pointed at Hu Ya and said fiercely, "And you! You did it on purpose, didn't you? You knew exactly why Su Yu had to leave the tribe, but you took her winter food without a second thought. And now you show up here, putting on this fake, caring act? You're disgusting!"
Shi Wei pulled Su Yu behind him to protect her and said coldly, "Get lost."
When Hu Ya heard Su Yu's words, her heart jumped in shock.
'How does she know?'
Before she could defend herself, Sang Guo and Shi Wei were already unceremoniously trying to drive her away.
The other Beastmen at the nearby stalls were watching the conflict with curiosity. Hu Ya's face was rigid; she didn't want to ruin her public image, so she had no choice but to say:
"You've misunderstood. It's not what you think. The only one Jinwei has ever liked is you. I'll have Jinwei come and explain it to you himself later."
Su Yu shook her head. "No, I don't want to see him. Besides, after what he did, he ceased to be a real male in my eyes."
Hu Ya looked like she wanted to say something but stopped herself. In the end, she let out a heavy sigh, and just as she was turning to leave, a male Beastman hurried over.
He grabbed her by the hand. "Ayala! What are you doing all the way over here? I've been looking for you everywhere…"
When Hu Ya saw him, her eyes lit up. She quickly grabbed his hand and pointed at Su Yu, saying, "Jinwei, you're just in time. Quickly, explain to Su Yu that it wasn't me who told you to confiscate her food for me."
Jinwei froze for a second, then whipped his head in the direction Hu Ya was pointing. His expression turned to shock when he saw Su Yu. Then, his face darkened. He pulled Hu Ya behind him and demanded in a low, furious voice, "Su Yu, why are you bullying Ayala again! A vicious female like you! How come you didn't die out there?!"
"I'm warning you! If you bully Ayala again, forget about ever returning to the tribe! I'll make the leader banish a vicious female like you for good!"