Chapter 123: Chapter 123: I did not mean to follow him. The fish looked cute.

Mu Qingyi moved first. He took a folded hide from the basket and wrapped it around her wet shoulders. Feng Yiren grabbed the water gourd, uncorked it, smelled it quickly to make sure it was clean, then held it near her lips but did not force her. Hu Baiyu shifted her again, letting her lean against his chest while his huge hand covered the back of her head like he was shielding her from the whole world.

"Drink a little," Mu Qingyi said softly.

Lin Huahua took two tiny sips, then pulled away. "I am really fine now."

"No, you are not," Feng Yiren snapped at once. "You are pale. You are shaking. Your ears are flat. Your tail looks dead."

Lin Huahua’s eyes widened with instant offense, and even though she had almost drowned, her pride still returned enough for her to look down at her wet tail.

"My tail is not dead."

"It looks dead."

"It is wet."

"It looks dead and wet."

"Feng Yiren!"

That little offended cry, hoarse as it was, made Mu Qingyi’s expression loosen for the first time, because if she still had the strength to argue with Feng Yiren, then she was truly coming back to herself. Hu Baiyu also lowered his face against her head and breathed in shakily, and the sound was so relieved that Lin Huahua’s anger softened.

But Feng Yiren was not done.

No.

Of course not.

The fox had been scared out of his mind, and because he was Feng Yiren, fear came out of his mouth wearing anger as a hide skirt.

"We warned you," he said, pointing toward the river like the water itself was standing trial. "We told you to stay where we could see you. We told you not to go near the deep water. We told you to come back if we called you. But no. You saw some jumping fish and followed them like a cub chasing a glowing bug. What were you thinking?"

Lin Huahua’s mouth parted.

"I..." she started, but she did not know how to answer because, in truth, she had not been thinking at all.

That made her feel worse.

Her wet white rat ears drooped lower.

Her eyes filled with tears before she could stop them, and the moment Feng Yiren saw that, his own expression changed, but he had already gone too far to stop smoothly.

So he kept going, but now his voice had a cracked edge under the anger.

"If Hu Baiyu had been one breath slower, do you know what would have happened? If that had been the snake beastman instead of a merman, do you think we could have pulled you back so easily? A four-striped snake beastman, Lin Huahua. If he wrapped around you and disappeared into the forest, even all three of us might not reach you in time."

Lin Huahua’s eyes grew even wetter.

She understood he cared.

She really did.

The way his ears kept twitching, the way his tail lashed, the way his hands kept opening and closing as if he wanted to grab her and check her himself, all of that told her that he had been terrified. But he was being so mean right now, and she was already scared, embarrassed, tired, wet, and shaken.

Her bottom lip trembled.

Feng Yiren froze.

Mu Qingyi’s head turned very slowly toward him.

The calm deer beastman did not raise his voice. He did not need to. His antlers cast shadows over his face, and his brown eyes, which were usually warm, had gone cold enough to make even Feng Yiren’s fox ears twitch.

"That is enough," Mu Qingyi said.

Feng Yiren’s mouth opened. "I am only saying..."

"I said enough."

The air tightened.

For a moment, the difference in stripes was not just something spoken about in rules. It was there in the space between them. Mu Qingyi was three-striped. Feng Yiren was two-striped. They were close, they were rivals, they were both her males in complicated ways, but when Mu Qingyi’s protective temper truly came out, Feng Yiren felt it.

Hu Baiyu looked at Feng Yiren too, and although the lion was still holding Lin Huahua, his gaze was no less warning.

Feng Yiren swallowed the rest of his words.

His red ears tilted back.

He looked away first, angry, worried, and helpless all at once.

Lin Huahua sniffed.

That tiny sound made all three males soften at once. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Mu Qingyi reached out and carefully wiped the corner of her eye with his thumb. "You were frightened. He was frightened too, but that does not mean he should speak like that while you are still shaking."

Feng Yiren’s tail flicked sharply.

He still did not apologize.

Not yet.

But his face looked worse than before, because now that he had stopped talking, the guilt had room to bite him. If something had happened to her, he would never forgive himself. He had been the first to shout, but not the first to reach her. He had seen her eyes go blank. He had seen the water close over her. He had heard her scream. Those few breaths would probably replay in his head for a very long time.

Lin Huahua rubbed her own eyes with the heel of her hand and muttered, "I did not mean to follow him. The fish looked cute."

Feng Yiren looked back at her in disbelief. "The fish looked cute?"

"They were jumping."

"Fish jump."

"Not like that. They were playing."

"They were bait."

"I know that now."

"You know that now," Feng Yiren repeated, looking like he wanted to laugh and shout at the same time. "Wonderful. Very useful timing."

Lin Huahua’s cheeks puffed up weakly. "You are still being mean."

"I am being honest."

"You are being mean honestly."

Mu Qingyi sighed, but this time the sound held more relief than worry.

Hu Baiyu lowered his face and gently rubbed his cheek against Lin Huahua’s damp hair. It was such a soft lion-like motion that Lin Huahua’s anger faltered.