"Mmhmm, it really does look good." Si Lu glanced at his fair chest and blushed slightly.
Truth be told, it really was quite a sight.
"I like it a lot." Nansi looked at the little deer on his chest, his eyes full of tenderness.
At last, he had become her rightful partner! What a wonderful feeling!
"I'm hungry, Nansi." Si Lu rubbed her belly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"I'll carry you down." Nansi immediately scooped Si Lu up from the animal skin and carried her down to the first floor.
As soon as Si Lu arrived downstairs, she saw the few people busying themselves in the open space below.
Each of them was hard at work, and seeing them labor like this made her heart ache a little.
Nansi brought Si Lu over to the campfire.
"The meat soup is ready. Have some." Heiyao spoke gently, his gaze soft as he looked at Si Lu.
They were all in perfect harmony, not mentioning her and Nansi's relationship, as if it were something they had already tacitly accepted.
After all, they knew Si Lu was shy, so the subject was glossed over.
It was quite normal for a female to find a mate. In their family, male beastmen were indeed a bit scarce. If you compared them to others, it wasn't unusual for some females to have seven or eight, or even ten partners.
If Nansi hadn't joined them, they would have only had four males, which really wasn't enough.
A random female could easily have seven or eight, nine, or even ten partners. If they were good-looking or had strong reproductive abilities, they would have even more.
That's why they had always thought about finding more partners for Si Lu—ones she liked and who were powerful. After all, how else could they take better care of her?
The more male beastmen she had, the better protected she would be, and the better care she would receive.
This was an unspoken, widely accepted reality on the Beastman Continent.
Si Lu felt a little embarrassed, but seeing that everyone was acting normal, she relaxed.
She had worried they might get jealous, but everything seemed fine—except for Baidi, who appeared a little unhappy.
Baidi was a bit upset, but he understood it was normal. Even if it hadn't been Nansi, there would have been other male beastmen.
Someone as wonderful as Si Lu couldn't possibly have only four partners.
Besides, Si Lu had many secrets. If she had too few partners, it wouldn't be enough to ensure her safety.
The more partners she had, the more secure she would be, and the better her protection would be.
Baidi felt a small pang of sadness, but he quickly adjusted. Seeing Nansi's beaming face, his heart was still a little sour.
As for the others, they didn't seem to have any particular thoughts and behaved as usual.
"Here, have some meat soup. It's been simmering for a while, and I made sure it's just right. I've been waiting for you to wake up so you can have some." Heiyao smiled warmly at Si Lu, holding out a bowl.
Becoming a mate took a lot of energy, and Heiyao knew that once Si Lu woke up, she'd be hungry. Plus, since she was carrying a child, she'd be even more prone to hunger and fatigue.
So, he had prepared the food in advance.
"Ayao, you're the best! I'm so hungry, my stomach's practically touching my back!" Si Lu exclaimed in delight. "Come on, open your mouth. I'll feed you." Heiyao held up a spoonful of soup, bringing it to her lips.
Meanwhile, Nansi had already started roasting meat for Si Lu. He knew she liked grilled meat.
It couldn't be too tough, nor could it be too rare.
If it was too tough, it would be dry and hard to chew, but if it was too rare, there'd be blood, which Si Lu didn't like.
He remembered clearly from when Baidi had grilled before. He was very particular about it.
"Lu Lu, I found some wild fruits in the forest earlier. Try them and see if you like them." Baidi spoke up, coming over to the fire after flipping over the herbs he had been drying. He took a few fruits out of a small animal skin pouch.
The fruits were red, resembling cherries, but larger, like big dark-red cherries—almost like a deep purple-red, looking especially tempting.
Si Lu's eyes lit up the moment she saw the fruit in Baidi's hand. If she wasn't mistaken, these were large cherries.
She couldn't believe it. There were cherries here too!
"I like them! They remind me of a fruit I've seen before. I've had them before." Si Lu's eyes sparkled with excitement.
The cherries were full and large, and not only that, they were a beautiful color. She was really craving them.
She wasn't sure how they would taste, but from the looks of it, they probably wouldn't be bad.
She had cherry trees in her space, but no big cherry trees.
If she could somehow grow cherry seedlings in her space, that would be wonderful.
But she wasn't sure when they would start growing. After all, the plants in her space grew randomly; she couldn't just grow whatever she wanted at will.
It felt like opening a mystery box, with surprises inside but no way to control it.
"Why don't you give it a try? I've tasted them already, and they're sweet and tangy. The flavor's really good. You can eat them without worry." Baidi smiled. Seeing how much she liked them, he felt relieved.
Since Si Lu was pregnant, he wanted her to have a good appetite and eat well, so both she and the baby could absorb nutrients and the little one could grow strong.
"I'll see if they taste the same as the ones I had before." Si Lu took one from Baidi's hand and popped it into her mouth.
In the next moment, her eyes lit up instantly. It was exactly the same, and it tasted delicious.
"If you like them, I'll pick more for you next time. Though these fruits are hard to find, the forest does have some. If you search carefully, you can find them. Here, take all of these. I also picked a small basket of them over there, so you can eat them slowly." Baidi smiled as he handed her all the fruits he had picked, along with the animal skin pouch full of them. He also mentioned the large bamboo basket he had filled.
He had washed all the fruit inside the animal skin pouch.
When he saw these fruits, he knew they were edible, because he had seen beastmen from the tribe picking them before—especially those with pregnant females who ate them often. So, he made a mental note.
He had also tasted them while picking them. He wouldn't have given them to Si Lu if he hadn't tested them himself.
Having tasted the fruit, he was confident that Si Lu would like it, which is why he picked a lot.
After all, it wasn't the kind of fruit you could find just anywhere, anytime.