Chapter 36: Chapter 36: A Cornered Rabbit Will Bite

Bai Xue was finally somewhat satisfied. She let out a cold snort and carried the dish out.

Bai Su turned her head and continued cooking, a pair of soft rabbit ears drooping beside her cheeks, looking pitiful.

A pink band-aid was placed beside her.

She looked up, stunned, and met Lu Tingyan’s gaze.

The light in his eyes flickered, his expression unreadable. "Treat your wound."

Without another look at Bai Su, he turned and fled the kitchen.

Bai Su raised an eyebrow. ’I hadn’t expected Lu Tingyan to be so innocent.’

’All I did was confess, and he blushed so hard he had to run away.’

System: [Lu Tingyan’s favorability has increased!]

Bai Su: [It increased just like that??]

System: [Yep! Host, you have to believe in your charm!]

Bai Su: [...Such a sin.]

System: [Actually, you could really consider my suggestion. Having the male lead’s baby will earn you a ton of points. Haven’t you always wanted to redeem a Skill item for the little wolf cub, so he can have some Skills for self-defense?]

Bai Su: [We’ll see...]

She was, in fact, a little tempted. But even though the male and female leads weren’t together yet, she was still intimidated by the "protagonist’s halo." She was afraid that stealing the female lead’s man would lead her to a gruesome death.

The main issue was that while she had successfully reformed one villain cub, there were still three black-hearted villains roaming free.

If she stole the female lead’s man and those three little villains defected to the female lead’s camp, her life would be forfeit.

System: [I already told you! This new life is your reward for being a good person your entire last life and accumulating great merit. It won’t let you be killed by the female lead!]

Bai Su: [Stop trying to fool me.]

’Dying would be an easy way out; living is the real challenge. The system could keep her alive, sure, but she wanted to live *well*.’

’At least...’

’I’d need two cubs on my side to even the odds against two of the villains. Only then would I dare to make a move.’

System: [Oh, come on, just listen to me! Don’t worry. Others might not be able to, but you definitely have what it takes to go up against the female lead.]

Bai Su narrowed her eyes. [You seem really eager for me to fight Bai Xue over things, huh?]

The system suddenly played dead and went offline.

The corner of Bai Su’s mouth twitched, and she ignored it.

When the shop closed for the day, Bai Su finished making lunch and called everyone to eat.

The four little cubs cheered and went to wash their hands.

Bai Su was about to call for Bai Xue when she saw her run out from around a corner, eyes red with grievance. Upon seeing Bai Su, Bai Xue shot her a vicious glare, as if she wanted to skin her alive.

After Bai Xue had run far away, Lu Tingyan emerged from the corner.

Bai Su paid it no mind, simply calling him over for lunch before turning to go inside.

Suddenly, her wrist was seized. She was forcefully yanked backward, her body stumbling uncontrollably until it slammed into a rock-hard chest.

Bai Su quickly steadied herself, her brow furrowed. "Are you crazy?"

Lu Tingyan stared at her face, his expression inscrutable. "Are you that desperate for a man?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Bai Su was furious and tried to wrench her hand free.

But the size difference between them was too great. Lu Tingyan was nearly six-foot-three, exuding a natural pressure and overwhelming masculine aggression.

Lu Tingyan, after all, had spent years in the military. His lean muscles were honed in real combat, and he possessed seemingly endless, brute strength. The slight tightening of his grip on her wrist was enough to make her eyes water in pain.

She wasn’t used to being confronted so directly with her own weakness. Putting on a brave front, she glared at him. "Let go! You’re hurting me!"

Something must have snapped in Lu Tingyan, because he suddenly lunged forward, viciously pinning her against the wall with his massive chest. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Bai Su’s chest constricted, feeling as if half the air had been forced from her lungs. She could only struggle weakly, squirming to create a little more breathing room.

A hoarse, grim voice sounded by her ear. "Don’t you just love physical contact with males?"

For the first time, Bai Su so viscerally felt the physical difference between them.

He was like a colossal beast, mercilessly crushing the palm-sized, plump little rabbit into a narrow corner.

The little rabbit bared its teeth, kicking and struggling with every ounce of strength she had.

To the giant beast, however, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

She gritted her teeth. "I don’t!"

Lu Tingyan’s eyes were sinister. "Then why didn’t you reject Yan Xiaoliu’s advances? When he had your finger in his mouth, what were you thinking?"

Being crushed, Bai Su’s Beastman instincts kicked in, filling her with an irrepressible fear of the tall man pinning her. An uncontrollable sense of grievance washed over her, and tears of pure shock and terror welled in her eyes. The flush at the corners of her eyes gave her a naturally fragile, broken appearance.

"Please, stop... It really hurts," she pleaded instinctively. The pain caused her beast features to manifest more strongly, her fluffy tail becoming more and more visible.

Her long, drooping rabbit ears emerged even more, hanging soft and plush against her cheeks. In her pain, she instinctively tried to hug her own face with them.

"Yan Xiaoliu moved too fast... I... ugh, I didn’t have time to refuse."

"I don’t like physical contact with males!"

Her true form was a Dutch Rabbit, and because of poor nutrition growing up, her frame was much more delicate than that of other rabbits.

Though chubby, her natural build was still very petite.

If it weren’t for this layer of soft flesh, he would have already crushed her bones.

The difference in strength between a tall, ferocious wolf and a petite rabbit was as vast as the sky and the earth.

What was a light squeeze to the wolf was an overwhelming, crushing force to the little rabbit.

The little rabbit seemed to understand nothing about predators. The more she struggled against his body, the more she provoked the beast’s savage nature, making him unable to control the urge to tear apart and devour the slender, delicate, plump rabbit in his grasp.

His predatory instincts flared, and he unconsciously tightened his grip.

"Ngh... hurts..." ’I want to curse him out.’

Her unconscious whimper, however, made the last thread of reason in his mind snap. He swooped down abruptly.

"Mama, it’s time to eat. What are you doing?" Bai Xiaolang’s somewhat naive-sounding voice abruptly called out from the doorway.

Lu Tingyan’s lips were a mere fraction of an inch from hers when he abruptly froze.

Bai Su seized the opportunity to shove him away, viciously twisting the flesh at his side with all her might.

She turned her head, forcing a stiff smile. "Let’s go, let’s go, time to eat!"

"Mm." Lu Tingyan didn’t even frown, even though she had likely left a nasty bruise on his side.

’So... even a cornered rabbit will bite.’

Having received the answer he wanted, Lu Tingyan followed her inside. His expression was as distant and cold as usual, yet the corners of his mouth unconsciously tilted up in a slight smile. He looked to be in a good mood.

Bai Xiaolang watched them enter, the innocence on his face replaced by a somber gloom. The fierce, sullen look in his eyes was almost identical to Lu Tingyan’s, as if they were cast from the same mold.

’He couldn’t have been mistaken. Just now, Lu Tingyan had been about to hurt Mama.’

’I’m still too weak, not nearly strong enough to contend with that big scoundrel.’

’I have to get stronger, and fast!’

’Looks like... that matter will have to be moved up...’