Chapter 298: Red Bean Tangyuan
Yu An opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. She was about to say no, but then had a better idea and kept quiet, letting the Fourth Young Master continue his misunderstanding.
Terror seized the Fourth Young Master, but he fought to keep his composure. "We didn’t kill Yu Yao and his men! I’m the son of the Tian Family’s Head. I have my father’s spiritual power imprint on me—you can’t kill me!"
"Oh, so that’s it," Yu An said with sudden understanding. "No wonder you herded them into the wolf pack instead of getting your own hands dirty. Pretty clever."
’Too bad they weren’t smart enough to use that cleverness for something worthwhile. And how unlucky for them, to run into me—someone who has a score to settle with the Tian Family.’
’Still, as the son of the Tian Family Head, he’s more valuable alive than dead.’ With that, Yu An tossed them into her space for now.
And so, while the Fourth Young Master was still reeling in confusion, he found his surroundings had completely changed.
Tian Shu knew how to play his cards right. He had managed to snag a cushy gig inside the space: supervising the others with a small whip in hand.
When he saw that newcomers had arrived in the space, he was about to go and show them the ropes. But as he turned, he saw a familiar face.
"Fourth Master?"
"Tian Shu!"
The Fourth Young Master was dumbfounded. "What are you doing here?!"
’That woman brought me to this place. And Tian Shu’s here too. Could it be? The whole time he was missing, was he conspiring with the Yu Family?’
Without bothering to figure out what was going on, the Fourth Young Master began to shout, "Tian Shu, you dare to conspire with the Yu Family and betray our own?! When I get back, I’m telling Father, and he’ll punish your entire household!"
Now, it was Tian Shu’s turn to be dumbfounded.
’What?’
’Conspiring with who?’
’He might have temporarily surrendered to Yu An, but he hadn’t betrayed the family!’
Tian Shu was about to argue, but Yu An and Han Li’s arrival cut through the tense atmosphere.
"Tian Shu," Yu An began, glancing at the Fourth Young Master, "he says he’s Master Tian’s son. Is it true?"
"See? And you say you haven’t conspired with the Yu Family," the Fourth Young Master said heatedly. "The Yu Family of Earth Geography City and our Tian Family are mortal enemies! You’re a traitor to the clan!"
’What did I even do?’
’How am I a traitor now?’
Tian Shu’s temper flared. He turned to Yu An and said, "My Lady, he is indeed the son of the Family Head, ranked fourth. But he’s not very bright—he’s both stupid and malicious. He used to constantly cause trouble for me."
When they were children, the two were like fire and water. The Fourth Young Master constantly used his high status to bully the lower-ranking Tian Shu. It was only after they grew up that he stopped being so childish.
’Who would’ve thought that the moment we met again, this bastard would start slinging mud at me like a madman.’
’Has he really lost his mind?’
Tian Shu was mystified. ’Our old grudges were water under the bridge long ago. I’ve been in the Beastman World for the past few years, so I couldn’t have offended him. I haven’t even had the chance to, have I?’
Having been away from home for so long, he had no idea that his unscrupulous father, Tian Rong, had picked several fights with the Fourth Young Master’s maternal uncle. As a result, his uncle had missed out on several choice appointments.
Combining new resentment with old grudges, and believing he was doomed to die anyway, the Fourth Young Master had a rush of blood to the head. He decided to brand Tian Shu a "traitor" and drag him down with him.
The Fourth Young Master rashly blurted out his reasons. Tian Shu finally understood, and at the same time, thought the man was a complete moron.
’He really isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Can’t he see this whip tucked into my belt? Isn’t it obvious I’m in charge around here?’
’Instead of trying to get on my good side, he’s trying to frame me... Heh heh!’
’Well, this moron used his status as the Family Head’s son to bully me endlessly when we were kids. My time for revenge has finally arrived!’
Yu An was speechless. "Tian Shu, I’m leaving him in your care. Put him to work with the others."
"If you want revenge, go ahead. Just don’t kill him."
"You got it," Tian Shu said, delighted. "Don’t you worry, My Lady. I know where to draw the line."
’I’ll get my revenge first. As for what comes after...’
A vicious glint flashed in Tian Shu’s eyes. The fact that he had surrendered to Yu An and betrayed his family must never get out. Otherwise, his entire family would be hunted down by the Tian Family!
The Zaizai had finished their training for the day. They were all sitting in a neat row, waiting for their afternoon cookies.
The Cloud Beast, Little One, was brimming with confidence. But when he took out the baked cookies, the smell of something burnt assaulted his senses!
"COUGH COUGH COUGH—"
Little One was so sad he started to rain. "An’an, the cookies are burnt..."
They were burnt to a crisp, completely inedible.
Yu An let out a chuckle. "I’ll do it, I’ll do it. Which one of you Zaizai wants to come comfort poor big brother Little One? His little heart is broken."
"Me!"
"Me, me, me!"
Surrounded by the five Zaizai, Little One immediately stopped raining, his heart fit to burst with happiness.
Yu An smiled, pressing her lips together. She put a batch of cookies in to bake, then started preparing various fillings with Han Li.
Black sesame, peanut, osmanthus-sugar, fruit...
Han Li asked curiously, "An’an, what are you making?"
"A delicious sweet treat," Yu An said, rolling the fillings into small spheres. "They’re round, and ’round’ symbolizes ’reunion.’"
After that, she just kept rolling and rolling them in glutinous rice flour until they became little snow-white dumplings.
The process was fun, so the Zaizai each took a turn rolling several, chirping away as they compared whose looked prettiest.
Yu An also made *tangyuan*, which have a different preparation method and texture.
The wrapper for *tangyuan* is soft, smooth, and chewy. Less flour comes off when they’re boiled, so the resulting soup is clearer.
The rolled *yuanxiao* have a chewier coating, and the water they’re boiled in becomes thick, almost like a congee.
The Zaizai each had their favorite, but since glutinous rice is hard to digest, Yu An limited how many they could eat.
Trying to act cute was useless, no matter who they tried it on. Han Li put on an apologetic look, showing he was powerless to help, and stood in firm solidarity with Yu An.
He instantly became the Zaizai’s least favorite Beast Father. The five little ones ran off to try their luck being cute with Mo Yan and the others.
"That won’t work either."
Han Li muttered. Seeing that the Zaizai had run off, he sidled up to Yu An and practically glued himself to her side.
"An’an," he said, nuzzling her cheek. "Let’s go outside."
"Isn’t there enough room for you to sleep in the space?"
Yu An popped the last *tangyuan* into his mouth. "We have perfectly good rooms in the manor, and you insist on camping outside?"
"You promised you’d watch the stars and the moon with me," Han Li mumbled, his mouth full. "You have to keep your word."
"Alright, alright, we’ll go outside."
When he was with Yu An, Han Li always wore his heart on his sleeve. The only reason he didn’t want to stay in the space was that he was afraid the Zaizai would interrupt them.
’It would be different outside. The little brats could scream their lungs out, and they still wouldn’t be able to ruin his plans!’
Han Li wanted to climb a tree, but Yu An told him to keep dreaming. Instead, she spread a thick blanket on the grass, where they could lie down and see the stars.
’Well, that’s fine too, I guess.’
’Watching the stars, the moon, or anything else was secondary. As long as he was with Yu An, that was all that mattered.’
Out under the open sky, there had originally been a fist’s-width of distance between them. But thanks to *someone’s* tireless efforts, that distance shrank to zero.
The stars above were dazzlingly bright. Yu An was lost in their beauty when a shadow suddenly fell over her.
"I’m watching the stars," Yu An said, giving him a playful push. "You’re in my way."
Han Li huffed. "The stars aren’t nearly as good-looking as I am. An’an, look at me."
A gentle breeze rustled through the woods as the moonlit lovers kissed. Lost in the moment, Yu An heard Han Li mutter under his breath.
"An’an, you didn’t make my favorite red bean *tangyuan*."
’Why is he bringing that up now, of all times?’
Yu An found it amusing and casually promised to make them for him tomorrow.
’If he wanted *tangyuan*, couldn’t he just say so?’
"We don’t have to wait until tomorrow," Han Li said, taking a deep inhale of her sweet scent. "You can make it up to me right now."
"So sweet. Time to dig in~"