Chapter 113 - 114: Competing for Favor

In this era, self-driving cars were already very common, but to prevent accidents, Blue Star still strictly prohibited driving without a license.

Shen Mqing was quite confident in his driving skills, and he enjoyed the feeling of controlling the steering wheel, so he usually drove himself.

It was just past midnight when they returned to the villa.

When Shen Mqing appeared before everyone, holding a water-soaked jacket, they all instinctively took a step back.

Shen Mqing also caught a whiff of the fishy smell from the clothes and grimaced in disgust.

Barely ten minutes after the two returned, Ling Xuan drove his car back to the villa. To ensure Wen Qian and the others’ safety, Ling Xuan had been waiting outside the nightclub. As soon as their car left the parking lot, he immediately followed.

"Did you fall in a river?" Yin Zhi furrowed his brow, raising a hand to block Shen Mqing, who was trying to move forward. He wanted to go to Wen Qian’s side, but when he looked up, he saw Gu Mian was already standing there.

"Don’t you have any sympathy...?" Shen Mqing grumbled unhappily. His gaze then swept over the crowd before he walked arrogantly into the kitchen, clutching the fish. "You ignore me now, but soon I’ll be out of your league..."

Everyone was left utterly speechless.

Looking up at Gu Mian, Wen Qian suddenly remembered something and quickly pulled a dagger from her waist. Just as she was about to hand it over, he grasped her hand. "You don’t have to give it back. It’s a gift for you."

Before Wen Qian could say anything, Chi Ye had already leaned in. He looked down at the dagger, then back at Gu Mian, and suddenly realized the man’s surname... Chi Ye instantly fell silent.

"Thanks, then." Wen Qian didn’t stand on ceremony with Gu Mian. Although the dagger was exceptionally beautiful, in her eyes, it was just a dagger.

’Still, since it was a gift from Gu Mian, she would take good care of it.’

By now, the Little Fox and Ling Xuan had followed Shen Mqing into the kitchen, curious about the bulging thing in his arms.

"Let’s go take a look, too." Yin Zhi affectionately nuzzled Wen Qian’s neck a couple of times, then, ignoring Gu Mian’s deep stare, he took her hand and led her toward the kitchen.

Li Jiu, who had been nestled on Wen Qian’s head, flew down, circled beside Gu Mian, and then landed steadily on the head of a gray-and-white wolf nearby.

Chi Heng lifted his head but didn’t shake Li Jiu off. He glanced at Chi Ye beside him and started walking along with him.

When everyone had entered the kitchen, the once-spacious area suddenly felt cramped. In the center stood Shen Mqing, holding a freshly sharpened cleaver and gesturing up and down over the fat carp.

Ling Xuan: "What’s going on? Don’t tell me the shard is in its stomach?"

Shen Mqing nodded, his eyes narrowing to slits. He harrumphed at the fat carp. "Eating everything will only be your downfall."

By now, the large carp was clearly dead, its bulging belly motionless. Shen Mqing brandished the cleaver a few more times, but the blade never once landed on the fish.

Wen Qian gave him a strange look. "You’re not... scared, are you...?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Shen Mqing’s eyes widened. He then waved the knife in the air twice more. "CHARGE!!"

"..."

The cleaver rose and fell, landing squarely on the cutting board.

The huge carp, however, remained untouched.

The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward. Shen Mqing swallowed hard. To be honest... this was also his first time seeing an uncooked dead fish like this.

Pressing a hand to her temple, Wen Qian wore an ’I knew it’ expression.

"Why don’t I do it?" Ling Xuan glanced at Yin Zhi’s expression. If this continued, Shen Mqing probably wouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen ever again.

The moment Ling Xuan finished speaking, a gleaming cleaver was thrust into his hands. Shen Mqing puffed out his chest and declared, not showing any weakness, "Fine, I’ll give you a chance to show off!"

...

Ling Xuan didn’t cut the fish open right away. After getting everyone’s opinion, he scaled it first. The fat carp was enormous and had only just died, so it could easily be made into a late-night snack.

The Little Fox pulled Wen Qian behind him, afraid that scales might fly onto her. The two of them stood at the very back of the group, quietly waiting for Ling Xuan to finish preparing the fish.

No one was particularly sleepy, and they had nothing better to do, so they all just waited.

The scaling was finished quickly.

Ling Xuan sliced the fish open and found a small, blue, crystalline object inside. This piece of the Critical Stone was about the size of a thumbnail, the smallest shard they had found so far. After washing the shard and handing it to Wen Qian, Ling Xuan began to clean the carp’s entrails.

After she received the shard, everyone except Gu Mian and Ling Xuan gradually left the kitchen. Wen Qian placed the shard in a small box and, at the same time, took out her phone to schedule a prison visit for the month.

’Besides the piece on the Little Fox’s neck, the only known remaining shard is the one her adoptive parents have. Hopefully, after getting that one, the Critical Stone can be pieced back together.’

’But at the same time, Wen Qian thought of something less pleasant: if the Critical Stone was completed, would the Beastmen really disappear from this world?’

’She knew it was a good thing for the Beastmen to leave Blue Star, but looking at the ones around her, she couldn’t help but feel reluctant to see them go.’

"What are you thinking about?" Yin Zhi seemed to have noticed something and thoughtfully handed Wen Qian a freshly poured glass of water.

Wen Qian was stunned for a moment, then shook her head.

’She didn’t want her own selfish thoughts to affect Yin Zhi.’

’You can’t have the best of both worlds; gain and loss always go hand-in-hand. The Beast World was never a part of Blue Star to begin with. All these years have been a blessing.’

’It’s just that too many people don’t understand. They see the Beastmen as a thorn in their side, and because they look down on them, they don’t cherish them.’

Qianqian took a sip of water and subconsciously asked, "Can you turn into a kitten?"

Yin Zhi didn’t hesitate and transformed immediately, nestling in Wen Qian’s arms, meowing and rubbing against her.

Qi Ke, who had been sitting on a chair, saw this and immediately remembered how much Wen Qian liked fluffy little animals. The next second, he transformed into a fox... Waving his big, fluffy tail, he squeezed right into Wen Qian’s arms.

Yin Zhi was unhappy about being pushed aside and instinctively tried to push back. Wen Qian, afraid the two would start fighting again, simply hugged one in each arm.

Chi Ye was speechless off to the side. ’He began to recall in detail if it was really only the Wolf Clan that had love-addled brains. The guys in front of him didn’t seem to be thinking clearly at all...’

’However, this thought had barely formed when his nephew, with Li Jiu still on his head, also sidled up to Wen Qian. He sat up, his chin resting perfectly on her knee, and looked up at her, blinking his bright eyes.’

’Chi Ye instantly stopped thinking about it. He was afraid if he continued down that path, he’d have to scold himself too. Wasn’t his own little nephew supposed to be level-headed? How could he give off the illusion that he was also vying for favor... Could it be that he was the legendary self-aware love-addled brain?’