Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off

The creature that had spooked little Yueyue had long, shimmering blue hair and eyes as deep as the ocean itself.

In contrast, Yueyue’s own small eyes looked like bright blue gemstones, while the boy’s eyes carried the dark, mysterious shade of a deep sea.

As both of them stared directly into each other’s eyes under the moonlight, both cubs were completely dumbfounded.

The little boy, who had poked his head out from the center of the lake, continued to stare at her.

However, his ocean-blue gaze quickly drifted down, landing squarely on the large milk bottle beside her.

He had been hiding in the lake, quietly watching this little snake cub drink her milk for a very long time. He subconsciously reached down and rubbed his empty stomach.

He had been hungry for so many days! He had tried his absolute best to hunt the wild fishes swimming inside the lake, but those fishes were clearly more powerful than him.

They were far too fast and smart, effortlessly outsmarting him every single time and running away. He simply couldn’t catch a single one. After all, he was still just a tiny baby... only three years old.

Watching the little snake cub sip her warm milk so peacefully made his stomach growl, and a surge of jealousy had filled his heart. How could she be drinking so heartily while he was stuck here starving in the cold water?!

That was why he had angrily slapped his hands against the water earlier, splashing her on purpose.

Now, looking at the drenched little snake staring directly at his face, the boy felt a small prick of guilt.

Yueyue raised her head and hissed loudly at him once again, demanding in her snake language why he had ruined her peaceful drink!

But the little boy didn’t understand a single word of the snake language.

Slowly, he began to crawl out of the lake and onto the grassy bank. Yueyue’s eyes widened in sheer shock as she looked at the little boy’s upper body and then down at his tail.

She had never seen a creature like this before in her life! It was a mermaid baby!

Since Yueyue had never seen a mermaid before, her initial anger instantly vanished, replaced by wild curiosity.

His tail was stunningly beautiful, its blue scales shimmering like precious, glowing jewels under the night sky. Yueyue and her brother had always been obsessed with shiny, beautiful jewels!

Driven by her curiosity, Yueyue slithered forward.

The boy was startled by her sudden approach, but he stayed completely still. The tiny snake cub crawled right up to his side, gently reaching out with the tip of her snake tail to softly pat his glittering tail fin.

The boy almost recoiled from the cold touch, but he held himself back. Seeing the sparkling awe in Yueyue’s bright eyes, he suddenly realized something heartwarming...this little snake cub actually loved his tail!

A bright, happy feeling bloomed inside his chest. Back where he came from, no one ever looked at him with such admiration.

Everyone always treated him like an ugly, useless cub whom no one liked. He was overjoyed that this cute little snake found his tail so beautiful!

Looking down at her, the boy tilted his head and asked, "What is your name?"

He knew she wasn’t just a wild beast but an intelligent beast cub like him.

Yueyue simply hissed softly in response. The boy blinked, coming to a realization. Ah... she’s so young she hasn’t learned to speak human words yet, and I can’t understand her animal language.

She puffed out her chest and hissed proudly, "Yueyue!"

Of course, the boy still couldn’t understand her soft hisses. He sighed helplessly before pointing a small finger at his own chest.

"My name is Yuze," he introduced himself in a simple, gentle tone. "You can call me Yuze."

Yueyue let out another tiny hiss to acknowledge him.

Yuze looked at her glowing eyes and smiled. "You really like my tail, right?"

Yueyue nodded her little head eagerly, her tail tapping his fin again.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed in Yuze’s ocean-blue eyes. He pointed toward the milk bottle in her tail and said, "I will give you my most beautiful scale! Why don’t you give me that in exchange?"

Yueyue froze, completely stunned. He wanted her warm milk bottle?! But... if she gave it to him, what would she have left to drink?

Seeing her hesitation, Yuze immediately put on his most pitiful expression. His eyes welled up with big, glossy tears, looking so terribly heartbroken.

Part of it was definitely acting, but the main reason was that he was truly, desperately hungry! He had run away from his family’s home because he couldn’t take their mistreatment anymore and had somehow ended up in this strange estate’s lake.

He had been hiding here for two whole days without eating a single bite because the smart fishes kept tricking him. He was starving to death!

Looking at his teary, pitiful face, Yueyue’s soft heart completely melted. She yielded and gently pushed the milk bottle toward him.

Yuze’s eyes lit up with joy! Without hesitating, he reached down to his shimmering tail, grabbed hold of his largest, most radiant jewel-like scale, and brutally ripped it right off!

Riiip!

Yueyue let out a terrified, high-pitched scream!

"Hiss—!"

She had wanted a shiny scale, but she never expected him to hurt himself to give it to her! The sudden sight scared the little snake silly!

Yuze was startled by her loud scream. He looked down and noticed a tiny drop of fresh blood where he had pulled the scale from his tail.

Realizing he had frightened his new friend, he quickly dipped his tail into the cool lake water to wash away the blood, soothing the minor sting.

Once he was clean, he held out the glowing blue scale and gently placed it near Yueyue’s head.

Yueyue was still too shocked to move. She just stared at him with wide, round eyes as her little heart hammered against her ribs.

Unaware of her inner shock, Yuze eagerly grabbed the milk bottle, popped the top into his mouth, and took a massive, greedy gulp!

The moment the warm, rich milk hit his tongue, his ocean-blue eyes widened to the size of saucers! It was... it was overwhelmingly delicious! He had never tasted anything so sweet and comforting in his entire life!

Without stopping to breathe, Yuze chugged the entire bottle in a few giant mouthfuls, completely emptying it in seconds.

He set the empty bottle down, smacking his lips with pure satisfaction. Feeling a tiny bit of warmth return to his empty belly, he rubbed his stomach and looked at Yueyue expectantly.

"Do you have any more?" he asked hopefully. To a growing, three-year-old mermaid cub, that single bottle was just a tiny appetizer.

Yueyue shook her little head. She didn’t have any more bottles on her.

However, her clever mind quickly began to work. She thought about her big, strong father. If she took this hungry little mermaid boy back home to her father, her father would definitely give him a big, warm feast of delicious milk, right?