Beast World: From Villainess to Cub-Raising Chef
Chapter 133 - 132: Asking Grandpa to Walk Her Down the Aisle
Bai Junlan fumed for a good while before finally sputtering, "I’m the president of the Female Protection Institution! How dare you be so... so rude?!"
Bai Su asked a simple question, "Is your Female Protection Institution an officially recognized organization of the Federation?"
"Does it have the official authority to bear arms?"
"Does it grant an official Federation title?"
"Is your position as president officially recognized as a noble title, a military rank, or any other public office?"
With each question, Bai Junlan’s expression grew a little more unsightly.
Bai Su couldn’t even be bothered to argue with her anymore. Rolling her eyes, she said, "The president of some sham organization, wielding a chicken feather like it’s a royal decree and waving it in my face. At your age, you’re practically begging to be humiliated. You clearly don’t know your place."
Bai Junlan could no longer maintain her dignified facade and turned to leave.
But Bai Su stopped her at just the right moment. "Hey."
Bai Junlan was so furious she could have spat blood. She turned her head and glared coldly. "What is it now?"
Bai Su offered a kind reminder. "You’re a commoner. I suggest you learn some proper etiquette. You’ll show a Duke the courtesy he is due. If you don’t, I’ll be calling the police to have you arrested next time, okay?"
Bai Junlan was dizzy with rage. She felt as if all the servants lining the hall were watching and laughing at her.
She had been honored for most of her life, dedicated to her goal of protecting the interests of females. When had she ever endured such humiliation?
"Bai Su! I hereby declare that you are to be completely struck from the Bai family registry! You will never be part of our family again! In the name of the family, I will strip you of the Bai surname. You are unworthy of it!"
She trembled all over, gritting her molars hard enough to shatter them. Only then did she manage to force herself to perform a standard, formal bow of departure to Bai Su before turning and storming away.
Bai Su rolled her eyes. ’It’s a real stroke of luck this bunch from the Bai family has managed to live so long.’
*
The Bai family was getting desperate. Combined with the scene Bai Ruyan had caused at the hospital earlier, a rumor that Bai Su had killed Bai Xue began to spread like wildfire.
However, the rumor was still only circulating within aristocratic circles and hadn’t yet blown up online.
Still, many aristocrats who heard the gossip couldn’t help but feel a bit taken aback, and they abandoned any thoughts of trying to get close to Bai Su.
Bai Junlan even spearheaded a movement among the noble females to ostracize Bai Su.
The discussion about the matter was quite heated in the noble females’ group chat.
[I heard Bai Su was disowned by the Bai family!]
[Huh? Why?]
[I heard she kidnapped one of the Bai family’s females and locked her up, all to compete for the family’s assets.]
[We females already enjoy the highest level of treatment in the Federation. There’s no need to lower ourselves and compete with our own kind so viciously, is there?]
[What I heard is that it’s because that Bai Su person was kicked out by her family and was in exile for a long time. She never received a proper upper-class education.]
[No wonder she’s so vulgar. I saw her livestream once and thought it was so embarrassing for us females, the way she was always showing her face in public. So many people were praising her back then, I didn’t dare say a word.]
[I never watch her livestreams. And I’ve certainly never been to that backwater restaurant of hers.]
The females of the Imperial City banded together and launched a campaign of collective ostracism that, to Bai Su, was completely inconsequential.
When Yan Qingya mentioned it, Bai Su couldn’t help but want to roll her eyes.
She couldn’t be bothered with these so-called aristocrats. She had more important things to do.
Little White Spider’s bandages hadn’t been removed yet. Although his bones had healed, they still needed to be kept immobilized for a while longer.
Bai Su had simmered a creamy bone broth for him and prepared a few simple, fresh dishes: yam and jujube paste cakes, pan-fried steak with rosemary, rice mixed with salted egg yolk and crab roe, pan-fried fish cakes with dried shrimp, as well as some high-protein snacks like fried silkworm pupae and sand worms.
The little one was playing with Bai Xiaolang in the back garden. The servants had already shoveled away the snow, leaving them a clear space to build a snowman.
When he saw Bai Su enter, an uncomfortable look flashed across Little White Spider’s face, and he quickly stopped playing.
Although he had been back with Bai Su for a few days, they had been apart for a long time. Little White Spider had a shy personality and always felt awkward around her.
’And... since waking up, he still hadn’t properly apologized for what he’d done in the past. He always felt a knot of guilt in his heart that he couldn’t get past.’
Bai Su didn’t notice his inner turmoil. Bai Xiaolang and Bai Xiaoshe were much more direct; they would speak up immediately if they were unhappy with her.
So she didn’t sense anything was wrong, assuming that Little White Spider was just a bit unsettled after leaving the Medical Alliance.
She lovingly scooped Little White Spider up under his arms and placed him at the dining table.
Bai Xiaolang had already scrambled up onto his chair.
Bai Su kissed Little White Spider’s soft hair. "Go on and eat. You have to finish all of this today, okay?"
Little White Spider was much thinner and frailer than the other two, which broke Bai Su’s heart. She always felt the need to make it up to him.
She then handed spoons to Bai Xiaolang and Bai Xiaoshe.
Bai Xiaoshe should have been hibernating, but he was so worried about his younger brother’s recovery that he refused to sleep. Now he was so tired he was dozing off at the table.
The two little ones readily took their spoons. "Thank you, Mama!"
Bai Su ruffled their hair.
Little White Spider’s big, silver-gray eyes glanced shyly at his two older brothers, then back to Bai Su. He had practiced saying ’Thank you, Mama’ in his head several times, but still couldn’t get the words out.
His lips barely moved as he whispered, "Thank you... Bai Su."
The last two words were so quiet that the other two boys didn’t hear him.
Bai Su only caught it by reading his lips. She couldn’t help but smile and pinch his little cheek. "Where are your manners? Call me Mama!"
Little White Spider’s face flushed, but inwardly he breathed a sudden sigh of relief.
’Bai Su told me to say it. It’s not like I wanted to say it on my own.’
"Thank you... Mama..." Little White Spider whispered. Not daring to look Bai Su in the eye, his face flushed with embarrassment, and he buried his head in his bowl, starting to wolf down his food.
Seeing this, Bai Xiaolang and Bai Xiaoshe grinned.
Bai Su knew he was shy and didn’t dare tease him too much. She just acted as if nothing had happened. "You boys be good and eat now, okay? Mama has something to take care of."
"Okay, Mama!" Bai Xiaolang and Bai Xiaoshe said in unison.
Little White Spider quickly chimed in with his brothers, his own tiny "Mama" mixing in with their voices.
’After saying it a few times,’ he thought, ’calling Bai Su "Mama" didn’t feel so awkward anymore.’
Bai Su kissed the three little ones on their heads again before turning to go to the living room.
In the living room, it wasn’t just Lu Tingyan who had arrived, but Yelias as well.
Yelias gently patted her head. "I came to say goodbye. I need to return to the Lanton Family for a while."
Lu Tingyan had interrogated Bai Rongrong and learned that Bai Xue and her mother had been secretly dealing with the Medical Alliance for years.
He also made Bai Rongrong produce a list of names.
That list had been found on the computer in Rachel’s study, and it included several people from the Lanton Family.
’Grandfather’s death was likely connected to these people. He decided he would return to clean house within the family, and then formally apply—as the heir to the Lanton Family—to join Bai Su’s family and become her Beast Husband.’
Hearing this, Bai Su could only nod. Then she asked, a little embarrassed, "Um... since you’re here, I was hoping to ask you for a favor."
Yelias nodded gently. "Go ahead."
Bai Su’s face turned slightly red. "I haven’t been able to get in touch with Grandpa recently. I was hoping you could pass a message on for me."
"I want to ask Grandpa to be my Ceremonial Master. As you know, I’m not on good terms with the Bai family, and Grandpa is the only older relative in this world I’m really close to."
"I want Grandpa to take my arm, walk me down the aisle, and personally witness the wedding ceremony between me and Lu Tingyan."
Upon hearing this, Lu Tingyan’s thoughts were unreadable, but he shot a meaningful glance at Yelias.
Yelias felt as if an arrow had just struck him in the chest. He froze completely.
Bai Su looked at him expectantly. "Can you ask Grandpa for me when you go back? If he’s not willing, then just forget it..."
She blinked her large eyes, looking at Yelias with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.
Enduring Lu Tingyan’s teasing gaze from the side, Yelias’s expression darkened as he nodded. "Fine. I’ll... ask him."
’Personally delivering the woman I love into the hands of my rival...’
’This is so damn fucked up!’