Jin Ling saw the worry on Qiao Xixi’s face and comforted her, "Don’t worry. Sunxiao knows his limits."

Qiao Xixi snapped out of it. It wasn’t that she was worried about what Sunxiao would do to the black dragon cub—she was just vexed about how to handle the male lead.

Her rational mind told her that the male lead was still just a cub, just like Qiao Lie and the others had been. Her relationship with him could be turned around.

But the moment she thought about how he might oppose them in the future, she felt an urge to just... get rid of him.

But she quickly cast that thought aside. ’We’ll just raise him for now.’

That night, Qiao Xixi tossed and turned, only falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning.

In the morning, she was woken by a series of rustling sounds.

"An’an, don’t disturb your mother while she’s sleeping."

"MEOW! MEOW!"

Qiao Xixi opened her eyes to see the little tiger cub tossing aside the pillow and fur blanket, her little mouth babbling as if she were looking for something.

"What’s wrong? Are you looking for a toy?"

Jin Ling had previously carved wooden figures of their beast forms for each of the cubs. An’an had taken the tiger carving and loved it so much that it had practically become her Ababei—she had to hold it even while she slept.

Jin Ling handed her the wooden carving, which had been hidden under the pillow. "Come on, let’s go eat with Father."

After grabbing the wooden carving with her little hands, the tiger cub still showed no intention of leaving with her father. Instead, she continued her search.

Seeing this, Jin Ling was at a loss. He could only go fetch some water for Qiao Xixi to wash up with.

Qiao Xixi took a clean set of fur clothes out of her storage space. Just as she was about to change, Jin Ling took them from her.

"I can do it myself."

But Jin Ling didn’t let go, his gaze soft as he looked down at her.

"Let me."

Qiao Xixi was happy to be pampered, so she let him dress her. Watching his gentle eyes and brows, she was suddenly struck with the urge to tease him. She rose onto her tiptoes and planted a light kiss on his Adam’s apple, instantly feeling his body go rigid.

Qiao Xixi let out a playful laugh. Just as she was about to press her advantage, she felt something wrap around her thigh.

"Meeeeow... Meeeeow..."

The little tiger cub was crying pitifully, making it impossible for Qiao Xixi to ignore her.

Jin Ling took a deep breath, suppressing the heat flaring up in his body, and bent down to pick up the cub.

"What’s wrong, An’an?"

The little tiger cub clutched her wooden carving, lying listlessly on Jin Ling’s shoulder. If they hadn’t all been right there, one might have thought she’d suffered a terrible injustice.

"MEOW! PFFT PFFT!"

Great. None of them could understand a word of her baby-talk.

Jin Ling could only carry the cub outside the shelter, thinking that a change of scenery might distract her and cheer her up.

The cub’s big eyes darted around outside, and she was indeed captivated by her older siblings.

Jin Ling understood her gaze and carried her over to them.

Just as the cub was about to leap into her siblings’ arms, she caught sight of the black dragon cub standing under a nearby tree.

The cub’s eyes lit up.

"MEOW!"

Twisting her chubby little body, she scrambled down from Jin Ling and started crawling toward the black dragon cub.

But just as the cub was about to reach the black dragon cub, Qiao Ang swooped in and picked her up.

"An’an, you can’t get too close. The fathers said he isn’t our family or our friend, so we should just watch him from a distance."

Hearing Qiao Ang’s words, the black dragon cub pressed his lips together, his expression still stubborn.

He had stood there all last night. Those two males hadn’t hurt him, but he hadn’t left either. He knew the forest was dangerous at night; he didn’t dare to leave.

With those big males around, the wild beasts wouldn’t dare come near.

But he was so tired and sleepy that he had fallen asleep at some point without realizing it.

When he woke up, he saw Qiao Lie and the others surrounding him.

The black dragon cub felt very uneasy, but he didn’t want anyone to notice his turbulent emotions. He instinctively puffed out his little chest, trying to show that he wasn’t afraid of them.

"AWOOOO! AWOOOO!!!"

But the little tiger cub was frantic, struggling to get down from Qiao Ang’s arms.

’That’s my new toy!’

’I want my new toy!’

Only then did Jin Ling sense that something was off, but he wouldn’t let his cub venture into danger.

"An’an, be good." Her father’s stern tone made the little tiger cub settle down for a moment. Though she was small, she was very good at reading everyone’s emotions.

She knew her father wasn’t going to let her get her toy.

"Alright, let’s all go eat first."

Jin Ling gestured for Qiao Ang to carry the tiger cub away.

Qiao Ang wasn’t one to be foolish when it came to his sister. No matter how much she struggled, he didn’t let go, carrying her directly back to the shelter.

Jin Ling looked down at the scrawny yet straight-backed black dragon cub. Xixi had said to let him stay, so he wouldn’t chase him away. But until he could be sure the cub was safe, he wouldn’t let him get too close to Xixi and the others.

The black dragon cub thought Jin Ling was about to attack him, and all the muscles in his body tensed up.

"Eat up. We’re leaving in a bit. If you want, you can follow on your own."

The black dragon cub stared at the large piece of beast meat in front of him, his eyes wide with surprise.

’They don’t seem to welcome me,’ he thought, ’but they don’t want to hurt me, either.’

Watching Jin Ling’s departing back, the black dragon cub spoke softly, "Thank you."

While they were eating, the little tiger cub kept looking toward the black dragon cub. Several times, she tried to sneak out when no one was looking, only to be snatched back by the sharp-eyed and quick-handed Jin Ling.

After several failed escape attempts, the little tiger cub got angry.

With a little "awoo," she gobbled up the last scrap of meat in her small bowl. Then, in a fit of anger, she slammed her hand down—SMACK!—and the stone bowl shattered.

Qiao Xixi: "..."

"AWOO!"

"An’an."

Although Jin Ling doted on his cub, he wouldn’t let her run wild. He picked her up and turned to leave the shelter.

The cub knew her father was angry. She puffed out her little cheeks, but her eyes darted toward Qiao Xixi.

Seeing their little sister being carried out, her older siblings grew a little worried.

"Mother, she’s still just a little cub. You can’t spank her."

Qiao Xixi found their worried expressions a little amusing. "Don’t worry, your father Jin Ling could never bear to."

Outside, Jin Ling held the little tiger cub. Seeing her steal glances at him every now and then, his heart softened.

"An’an, you really like that black dragon cub. Tell Father, were you the one who brought him back?"

Just now, while tidying up the tiger cub’s fur clothes, he had smelled the black dragon cub’s scent on them.

"MEOW! PFFT PFFT!"

’He’s my toy! My toy!’

Seeing her reaction, Jin Ling knew. Case closed. She was the one who had dragged the black dragon cub back.

The black dragon cub was in the middle of eating his meat when he looked up and saw the big male from before, holding that plump, rosy cub. It looked like he was disciplining her.

He stared, completely captivated. He was a cub of the Black Dragon Clan, but they all said his bloodline was impure. For the Black Dragon Clan, an impure bloodline was the greatest taboo. Because of this, he had been exiled from their territory when he was very, very young.

He didn’t know where to go; he just wanted to survive.

Yesterday, while being attacked by a beast in the forest, he had hidden in a tree. He was so weak from his injuries that he fell asleep. When he woke up, he smelled a sweet, milky scent. He liked it, so he crawled out, wanting to get closer. The next thing he knew, he’d been captured.

That scent... it seemed to come from the little Golden Tiger Beast cub.

The black dragon cub thought for a moment, then walked toward the little tiger cub and her father...