Ugly, Fat, and Vicious? My Five Beast Husbands Are Obsessed Anyway

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Another Person Joining?

No, really, her relationship with them was completely innocent.

Now that they’d just left, what was she supposed to say?

For the first time, Su Luoluo felt that being completely innocent was even harder to deal with than being caught trying to sneak into someone’s bed.

Back then, people just relentlessly accused her, with occasional sounds of ridicule.

It was nothing like now, with Luan Ting’s eager gaze and Nantu’s inscrutable expression.

Some beastmen perked up their ears, their faces hungry for gossip.

Others looked skeptical, sizing her up with searching eyes.

Of course, there were also gazes of resentment and jealousy mixed in.

All in all, she was getting every kind of look imaginable.

But the gazes she couldn’t ignore most were from Luan Ting, who stood right in front of her, and the unreadable Nantu.

Su Luoluo swallowed a few times before forcing a smile. "Actually, it was pretty much the same as it is for everyone else."

’How was she supposed to explain this?’

’She couldn’t just say the four of them slept under a single beast skin blanket, could she?’

It was the truth, but saying it out loud would give everyone the wrong idea.

Of course, Su Luoluo couldn’t admit that absolutely nothing had happened, either.

She didn’t want to give Su Zhao any leverage, or she’d end up having to cook for the entire tribe.

’She had no desire to become everyone’s servant.’

So she could only give a vague answer.

As soon as the words left her mouth, a chorus of scoffs rippled through the crowd.

The gossipy beastmen were disappointed they didn’t get any juicy details.

The other females, hearing that Su Luoluo didn’t deny sleeping with the three men, were filled with resentment.

Luan Ting, however, wasn’t thinking about all that. He simply couldn’t understand why those three had suddenly become so close to Su Luoluo.

In the past, he was always the one who had to break up their fights.

He also felt that his own relationship with Su Luoluo had grown distant; they weren’t as close as they used to be.

That was why he wanted to know how they had slept.

After all, just a few days ago, when it was time to sleep during the night watch, the three of them had been pushing and shoving, refusing to be near her. They had looked at Su Luoluo with nothing but disdain.

How could such a massive change have happened in such a short time?

A faint sense of loss welled up inside him.

Nantu, on the other hand, was purely curious. In such a short time, that wicked female Su Luoluo had somehow managed to tame those three. He wondered what despicable methods she had used.

’I can’t fall for her tricks like they did.’

"Luoluo, what you just said would have been better left unsaid," an older female commented, shaking her head.

But Su Luoluo was not thin-skinned. She just smiled and replied, "That’s our private business. Aunt Nian, why don’t you tell us how you and your beastman husbands sleep at night?"

At this, the female turned bright red and said no more.

She had said that to Su Luoluo banking on the fact that she was older and that Su Luoluo, being young and thin-skinned, would be easily embarrassed.

She never expected Su Luoluo to be so brazen.

At her age, her beastman husbands hadn’t touched her in years. To say any more would only bring shame upon herself.

She left in awkward silence.

Once breakfast was over, it was time to work. With the show over, the crowd of beastmen dispersed to get on with their tasks.

Luan Ting felt a pang of emptiness and turned to leave as well.

But Su Luoluo called out to him, inviting him with a radiant smile, "Luan Ting, I’m making a feast for lunch. Why don’t you come join us?"

Luan Ting paused, surprised that Su Luoluo would invite him to eat.

’Su Luoluo’s cooking is naturally delicious; otherwise, why would those guys hover around her all day?’

’Could that be the reason?’

With that thought, Luan Ting didn’t refuse, but he did look troubled. "I might be back a little late. The leader wants me to go with him to find prey today."

Su Luoluo nodded. "Okay."

After saying his piece, Luan Ting left.

Nantu was still standing off to the side, but Su Luoluo didn’t even spare him a glance, let alone invite him to the meal.

’A sapiosexual isn’t someone who can be won over with a few meals.’

Without a second thought, Su Luoluo turned and left.

’A man like him can only be attracted during a moment of glory. At any other time, if I try to get close, he’ll probably just view me with prejudice.’

Besides, their last encounter had not been pleasant.

Nantu watched as Su Luoluo walked away without so much as a glance in his direction, and he scoffed inwardly.

’Just as I thought, Su Luoluo holds a grudge over every little thing. It’s just a meal, isn’t it?’

’To think she’d just ignore me completely. As if I’d even want her food!’

...

After leaving the main tribe area, Su Luoluo returned to her "wild kitchen."

They had been in a hurry to get back that morning, so they had made do with wild fruit for breakfast.

Since breakfast had been lacking, lunch had to be excellent.

The pottery she had made was on the table, and the more Su Luoluo looked at it, the more she liked it.

She arranged the pieces in her cabinet, sorting them by size.

Then, she used some earth to build a proper earthen stove.

Her previous "pots" had been made from fruit husks, which were too soft for an earthen stove. That was why she had been using one she’d built from stones.

It was usable, but not ideal. It was so low that squatting down to cook was uncomfortable.

Now that she had pottery pots that could sit flat, she naturally wanted to improve her cooking setup.

While the earthen stove dried, Su Luoluo ran to her "treasure trove" to find ingredients.

With an extra person coming today, she needed to make a bit more food.

She could tell that Luan Ting was feeling a little down about how close she had become with the other three.

’I can’t let him feel this way for long,’ she thought. ’What if Su Nuannuan takes advantage of this opening?’

’He’s the first one I plan to win over.’

Having a variety of pots made cooking much easier and gave her a lot more creative freedom.

With so many people gathering today, hot pot was the perfect meal.

She didn’t have any pre-made hot pot soup base, so to make one from scratch, she’d have to stir-fry the seasonings in a separate pot.

There definitely wasn’t enough time for that today, so Su Luoluo decided against making the spicy, Post-apocalypse-style hot pot.

Instead, she would make two other kinds: a refreshingly delicious sour-soup hot pot and a mushroom-soup one.

Her treasure trove was rich with produce, making it the perfect place to source ingredients for a hot pot.

Her dress had become loose, so Su Luoluo had tied a knot to keep it in place, which meant she could no longer use it as a makeshift bag to carry things.

So she broke off some willow branches and wove two baskets.

This way, she could put all the ingredients she gathered—various mushrooms, corn, crown daisies, wild onions, fish mint, starwort, and ferns—into the baskets.

The sour soup base was made from an unknown type of sour wild fruit, which she stir-fried with wild boar meat to release its juices. Then, she seared a fish to make a rich stock and boiled it all together.

Afraid it would be too sour, she added a few red chili peppers to balance the flavor.

She also sliced some wild boar meat very thinly.

There was meat and vegetables, but unfortunately, no noodles.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t make them, it just took too much time, and she wouldn’t be able to finish them today.

’I’ll definitely make them next time,’ Su Luoluo thought to herself.

As soon as the sour soup and mushroom broth came to a boil, their fragrant aroma drifted in every direction.

Mo Xuan smelled it from a great distance and followed the scent over.

As for Xiao Ye, it went without saying; he had arrived early, bowl in hand.

Fu Feng was a little late this time, but he arrived at almost the same time as Mo Xuan, one right after the other.

The sour soup was an enticing red, while the mushroom soup was a vibrant green.

Both pots looked equally delicious.

Mo Xuan rubbed his hands together and asked, "Can we eat from both of these?"

Su Luoluo nodded and explained, "The one on the left is the sour-soup hot pot, and the one on the right is the mushroom soup. If you don’t like sour food, just stick to the mushroom one."

After explaining, she mixed some dipping sauces in a few small bowls, then looked at the three of them. "Hold out your bowls."

The three men did as she said without the slightest hesitation.

After handing out the dipping bowls, Su Luoluo sat down at the table but didn’t start eating.

Fu Feng, tantalized by the aroma, was practically drooling. "Can’t we eat yet?" he asked.

"Wait, there’s one more person," Su Luoluo said with a smile.

"Someone else? Who?" Fu Feng asked, confused.

Su Luoluo smiled faintly. "He should be here soon."

’Luan Ting is a punctual person; he should be on time for a meal.’

No sooner had she spoken than Luan Ting appeared before them, bowl in hand.

Mo Xuan, Xiao Ye, and Fu Feng never expected that the "someone else" Su Luoluo had mentioned was Luan Ting.

It wasn’t that they were unhappy to see Luan Ting, but one more person meant one less portion for themselves, which meant they would get to eat a little less.

The ones who felt this change most acutely were Mo Xuan and Xiao Ye.