Hei Yao's lips curled slightly as he swam closer, suddenly taking the fingers holding the shrimp into his mouth, smiling at Si Lu with amusement.
Si Lu froze in that moment, feeling the other's tongue lightly licking her fingers.
This guy...
Si Lu's face flushed red, and she quickly pulled her hand back.
He did that on purpose, for sure.
Such a sly guy.
Hmph.
Eat the shrimp, fine, but why eat my hand too?
Si Lu glanced at Hei Yao, and seeing the ripples in his eyes, her heartbeat quickened and her face reddened even more.
In her heart, she silently cursed, 'Demon!'
This guy is shameless!
Also, who gave him permission to be so seductive?!
This is really tempting—someone's bound to sin because of him.
Besides, they were still on their journey. This guy just couldn't behave, could he?
Si Lu looked at Hei Yao with a hint of grievance, but the latter didn't care at all.
In fact, he even smiled at her, a smug and proud smile.
Hei Yao hadn't expected the little female to react so strongly, but honestly, her reaction was adorable.
If this wasn't the wrong time, he really wanted to hold her in his arms and cherish her a bit.
Yes!
That's exactly what he wanted.
Hei Yao continued to chew the dried shrimp in his mouth while watching Si Lu, thinking that the shrimp tasted really good.
Of course, it was the little female who fed it to him personally, after all.
Naturally, it tasted delicious.
His heart felt sweet as well.
Sure enough, the little female liked him after all.
"Is it tasty?" Si Lu asked curiously, not dwelling on the earlier incident but instead looking at Bai Di and Hei Yao.
She wasn't sure if the two of them liked this kind of flavor.
Of course, she thought it was great.
The taste was really good.
As a snack, it was indeed a nice choice.
And it could be used in soups or stir-fried dishes as well.
In any case, it was really convenient to eat.
She just didn't know if they would like the texture.
"It's quite good, very chewy. I think this dried shrimp could be great for the young ones to chew on for their teeth," Bai Di said.
He also thought Si Lu was incredibly clever.
"Indeed, it's good for teething. Dried shrimp can also be stored for a long time, which is really impressive. Our little female is so smart to come up with this idea," Hei Yao agreed.
Clearly, he had thought through the advantages.
This kind of dried shrimp could last a while, and it was easy to eat.
When hungry, it could serve as a quick bite for the females.
And of course, teething young ones could chew on it too.
"Well, it's thanks to you all for catching a bunch of shrimp for me, and Hei Yao's fire-drying them just right. Otherwise, drying them in the sun wouldn't have worked," Si Lu said.
Exactly.
Without their help, how could she have done this?
It was because of them that she was able to do these things.
"Still, it's your smarts that made it work. Even if we had the skills, we wouldn't have thought of this," Bai Di praised.
He thought their little female was much smarter than the other females, always coming up with good ideas.
She was always inventing new things that impressed them.
"Not only can shrimp be dried like this, but fruits can be too. And wild animal meat—all kinds of dried foods can be made for easy eating and storing," Si Lu said. "Though fish isn't really ideal because of all the bones."
Actually, she hadn't come up with these ideas herself. Many foods nowadays are preserved this way—by drying them to remove moisture and extend shelf life.
Dried fruit, vegetables, and all sorts of dried meats—it all works the same way.
She was planning to make more of these once they settled down.
"Sure, whatever you want to make, I'll help you with it. When it's convenient, I'll dry them for you," Hei Yao said, seeing how enthusiastic Si Lu was.
As long as it was something she liked, he was willing to do it.
Moreover, it was such a simple task, so naturally, he'd help the little female accomplish it.
Since she liked eating it, of course, they had to make more for her.
"Lu Lu, why did you feed them but not me? I want to taste it too," the big tiger grumbled, feeling a bit upset.
Lu Lu was being biased.
He felt a little wronged.
Besides, she was sitting on his back, yet she had forgotten all about him.
Thinking of this, his heart felt even more aggrieved.
How could she be like this?
"I didn't forget! I just wanted them to try it first to see if it was good. I didn't want to give you something that might not taste good." Si Lu lied, feeling a bit guilty.
She really had forgotten about the big tiger just now.
But being reminded by him, she felt a bit guilty and embarrassed.
Immediately, Si Lu took a couple of dried shrimp from her fur pouch and fed them to the big tiger.
"Well? How is it?" Si Lu asked.
Hei Yao and Bai Di didn't pay much attention to Si Lu's earlier explanation. They weren't stupid—they knew Si Lu had indeed forgotten about the big tiger. But since she had offered such a sincere explanation, they weren't going to expose her.
Besides, this dumb tiger probably wouldn't even notice.
"It's good, really chewy," the big tiger nodded and said.
He thought it was great for the young ones to chew on, especially when they were teething.
Females could eat it when they were bored, too.
Anyway, that's how the big tiger saw it.
For males, though, the shrimp didn't seem like enough. After drying, there was only a tiny bit of meat left—it wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.
But still, the taste was good.
"Later, let Amo try some too. If you all like it, I'm sure Amo will too," Si Lu said with a smile.
She was happy that they liked it.
She was thinking of making more of these kinds of foods in the future.
Hei Yao's excellent abilities certainly couldn't go to waste.
Each of them had different attributes, so they had to be put to good use.
Si Lu was already planning to come up with more ideas when she had time.
"Of course, as long as you like it, that's what matters most," Song Zhan said with a smile.
Yes.
As long as she liked it, that was enough.
Hei Yao and Bai Di glanced at the big tiger. How did this guy suddenly become so talkative?
He hadn't been like this before.
It seemed the tiger was slowly changing.
Who knew? Maybe one day he would actually become smart.
"I love it, and you guys like it too, so that's the best," Si Lu said with a smile.
It was a form of recognition, after all!
They had acknowledged her ideas and decisions.