Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Conflicted Li Chenlin
"We were in the right to begin with. If the leader still won’t release them, then we’ll handle it according to the law!"
"I’d like to see which of the Federation’s laws says that a mistake made by Bai Xue warrants detaining both her and her child for this long!"
*
The morning light was already visible on the mountaintop. It was late October, nearly November.
In the northern Federation, the weather turned cold early, and it was even more so on the mountain.
In the late October weather, Bai Su wore a sweater and still needed a thick, padded jacket over it to stay warm.
’I spoke too soon,’ she thought.
The restaurant wouldn’t be able to stay open until the end of the year.
The Federation was also known as the Snow Country. Being located in the north, the mountaintop would start seeing snow by mid-November.
Although Lu Tingyan had repaired the mountain road, it would still be unsafe when covered in heavy snow.
’I’ll keep the restaurant open until next month, then close for the season,’ she thought. ’I can reopen next year when spring comes and the weather warms up.’
It wasn’t like she was really doing it for the money, anyway.
Even if she closed the restaurant, she could still livestream and teach people how to cook.
Bai Su stomped her feet to warm them up, then went into the kitchen and turned on the heat.
Lu Tingyan, worried she would be cold, had installed underfloor heating in the courtyard and rooms long ago, so it wasn’t actually that cold inside.
She started her livestream, set up the camera to the side, and began preparing her ingredients.
The stream comments were projected onto the wall in front of her.
People quickly flooded in.
[Boss Lady, you’re up so early!]
[YAWN. Getting up so early in this cold weather. I feel so bad for our little rabbit boss lady.]
[That’s so tough. I’m still surfing the web tucked in my bed.]
[Is the temperature on the mountaintop even lower?]
Bai Su laughed. "It’s okay. When you’re doing something you love, it doesn’t feel like hard work."
A comment asked: [Boss Lady, watching you chop vegetables is so therapeutic! Are there any tricks to dicing radishes? When will I ever be as smooth as you?]
Bai Su gave a gentle reminder, "There’s no need to rush when chopping vegetables. You’ll get the hang of it with practice. Just be careful not to cut your hands. It’s okay to go slow."
Comment: [Awww, okay, thank you, Boss Lady! You’re so sweet!]
Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen.
Li Chenlin stared grimly at the livestream, his eyes filled with the rage of being toyed with.
His mind endlessly replayed Bai Su’s bone-chilling words before she jumped off the ship, and the image of her exploding in front of him.
’He didn’t want to admit it, but even though he had never been toyed with like this before, his first thought upon learning she wasn’t truly dead had been wild elation.’
But that was immediately followed by the humiliation and fury of being played for a fool.
No female had ever dared to humiliate him like this!
’Am I some kind of worthless person?’
’Do I really have to have her and no one else?’
Li Chenlin shot a dark look at his silent assistant. "Go find me some females! Now!"
He refused to believe it. Without Bai Su, there were still so many gentle and lovely females in the world.
’Who the hell does she think she is? Does she really think I can’t live without her?’
The assistant quickly gathered the remaining females on the ship, telling them their big chance had arrived. If they wanted to climb into Li Chenlin’s bed, this was their one and only opportunity.
Although the females were still afraid of Li Chenlin, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation.
After all, a male as powerful and fabulously wealthy as Li Chenlin—a Level 9, no less—was a catch you couldn’t find even if you searched with a lantern.
If they could latch onto him, they would truly have nothing to worry about for the rest of their lives!
The female maids joyfully lifted their skirts and entered Li Chenlin’s bedroom.
He was sitting on the bed, his face expressionless, making it impossible to read his mood.
His handsome, melancholic face, with its pale skin, was unsettlingly alluring.
The maids drew closer. "President Li..."
Seeing that Li Chenlin didn’t resist, one of them grew bolder and leaned against him.
Touching Li Chenlin’s rock-hard biceps, the maids grew flustered and excited. Their tails couldn’t help but curl up, the slender tips twining around the tip of Li Chenlin’s tail.
This was a mating invitation among Snake Beastmen.
Li Chenlin suppressed the discomfort in his heart and raised a hand to embrace the female Snake Beastman in his arms.
’The feel is wrong. She’s too thin. Skinny, with almost no flesh.’
Most females in the Beast World considered being thin as beautiful. They were rail-thin, so slender they looked as if a gust of wind could knock them over.
In the past, Li Chenlin never thought there was anything wrong with such females.
He could even appreciate some of the gentle and delicate ones.
But after being with Bai Su, he felt like everything was wrong.
’Females shouldn’t be this sickly and frail. Their waists can be soft, but not so weak that they can’t take any force. They should be a bit more curvaceous, not so bony. You can feel their ribs so easily it’s unsettling, as if you might accidentally crush them to death in bed. They should be more vibrant, more full of life, healthier and stronger. Their eyes should be more calm and composed, with less fawning and more graceful poise. At the very least, when a large hand grabs their waist, the soft flesh of their seemingly flat waistline should fill the gaps between his fingers, bringing a deeply comforting sense of satisfaction. Not feeling prominent ribs just a few inches up from their side.’
Li Chenlin was surrounded, rubbed against, and held by them, yet his mind was completely filled with the image of Bai Su.
He grew more and more agitated.
’It’s already come to this. These females are trying so hard to please me, so why isn’t my body reacting at all?’
’Damn it!’
Irritated, Li Chenlin violently pushed them all away. "Get out!"
The maids were thrown to the floor, their faces showing terror.
But a bolder maid still trembled as she crawled to the bedside, forcing a stiff, fawning smile. "President Li, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? I know a lot of tricks, I can..."
Li Chenlin stared gloomily at the maid by his bed and suddenly entered his Beastification State. A giant snake head appeared, opening its massive, blood-red maw to bite down on her.
The maids screamed in terror and fled.
The maid by the bed was too frightened, her mind went blank. The stench of death washed over her, and she even forgot to dodge.
The instant the snake’s fangs touched her neck, they abruptly stopped.
’She doesn’t like it when I kiss her with a mouth that has eaten someone...’
Li Chenlin abruptly retracted the snake head, then suddenly grew furious.
’Why should I stop just because she doesn’t like it?’
’Who the hell does she think she is?’
’She doesn’t even like me! She loathes me to the extreme, she even thinks I’m disgusting!’
’Am I a masochist? She’s already like that, and I’m still ridiculously trying to abide by her little request?’
Li Chenlin opened his massive maw again and lunged toward the maid.
The moment his teeth touched her neck, they stopped once more.
The image of those few days when she had snuggled up to him, obedient and gentle, staying by his side with a smile and acting cute, flashed through his mind.
’She’s a little rabbit. She doesn’t like the smell of blood. If I eat this maid, will the smell of blood linger in my teeth? Maybe brushing my teeth would clean it away?’
He silently retracted the snake head again.
Torn by his inner conflict, Li Chenlin finally exploded in a fit of shame and anger. "Get out! You’re an eyesore!"
He sent the maid flying with a sweep of his tail and slammed the door shut in frustration.
