Chapter 154: Chapter 154: I picked fruit for Mu Qingyi because he barely ate

Feng Yiren looked delighted, but his fingers around her tiny body stayed careful. He was holding her firmly enough that she would not fall, but not tight enough to hurt her. In this form, Lin Huahua was really too small, so small that her whole body barely filled his palm, and because she was covered in soft white fur with two round twitching ears and a tiny angry face, Feng Yiren felt that even the beast gods must have created her like this just to make males lose their minds from cuteness.

Even now, while teasing her, his thumb lightly checked whether she was shaking, and his gaze flicked once toward the bushes she had been staring at.

He noticed.

Lin Huahua saw his expression change slightly.

She quickly turned her head back toward the bush.

The red eyes were gone.

Nothing moved there anymore, and there were only dark leaves, tall grass, and shadows that looked normal again under the weak firelight coming from the tribe.

Her tiny heart beat fast.

Maybe she imagined it.

Maybe the firelight tricked her.

Maybe after nearly being dragged underwater by a merman, her brain had decided every dark place should have eyes.

Feng Yiren lowered his voice. "What were you looking at?"

Lin Huahua looked back at him, then huffed. "Nothing."

"That did not look like nothing."

"It is none of your business."

"Everything you do is my business when you keep finding danger like it is fruit on a tree."

Lin Huahua remembered the fruit and immediately tried to wiggle out of his hand. "The fruit. I picked fruit for Mu Qingyi because he barely ate."

Feng Yiren froze.

His teasing expression changed.

He looked down at the fruits scattered near the tree, then back at the tiny white rat in his palm.

For some reason, the sentence made him feel strange. He had thought she had sneaked away because she was curious again, or because she wanted to touch something dangerous, or because she had simply gotten bored and decided to stress everyone.

But she had transformed into this tiny little thing and climbed a tree because she noticed Mu Qingyi had not eaten enough.

That was so soft it was almost unfair.

Feng Yiren’s mouth opened, but because he was Feng Yiren, and because his fox mouth had never learned how to honestly say something sweet without dressing it up in something annoying, he suddenly lifted her a little higher and narrowed his red eyes at her tiny face.

"Little rat," he said slowly, his tone becoming extremely pleased, "do you know how small you are right now?"

Lin Huahua froze.

She did not like that tone.

Feng Yiren’s fox ears perked higher, and his red tail swished behind him with pure wicked joy. "No wonder birds eat rats. You look like one bite."

Lin Huahua’s tiny ears shot up in anger. "Feng Yiren!"

Her voice in animal form came out small and squeaky, and that made the fox’s smile grow even wider.

He looked absolutely delighted.

He had finally found a way to tease her where she had no real power to fight back, and after all the times she had thrown things at him, mocked him in front of others, sent him to fetch herbs alone, and made faces at him across a fire, this moment felt like the heavens had finally patted his head and said, go on, annoying fox, this is your reward.

Lin Huahua tried to raise one tiny paw and point at him, but because her paw was so small and soft, the action had no threat at all. It only made her look like an angry little fur ball trying to command a mountain.

"Stop that," she snapped. "Stop laughing at me."

Feng Yiren pressed his lips together.

His shoulders shook.

Lin Huahua’s eyes widened. "You are laughing."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I am holding it in."

"Then do not hold it in. Choke on it."

Feng Yiren finally laughed. It came out low and bright, and because he was still shirtless with only his animal hide skirt tied around his narrow waist, his lean bare chest moved with the sound.

He looked far too happy with himself, and Lin Huahua became even angrier because she had no way to slap him properly in this form. She tried to kick him with one tiny back foot, but it only brushed his palm lightly.

Feng Yiren stared at the tiny kick.

Then he laughed harder.

Lin Huahua’s whiskers trembled from rage. "Put me down. I will transform back and beat you."

"You cannot beat me even in human form."

"I can ask Baiyu."

Feng Yiren’s smile paused for one second.

Then he looked away. "That is cheating."

"It is not cheating. It is strategy."

"You have no strategy. You followed fish." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Lin Huahua immediately opened her tiny mouth to bite him, but Feng Yiren had expected it this time and lifted his finger away just in time. Her teeth snapped on empty air, and she became even more furious.

"You are bullying me because I am small."

"Yes," Feng Yiren said honestly. "I am."

Lin Huahua stared at him in disbelief.

Feng Yiren looked down at her tiny body, then gave a satisfied sigh. "I finally understand why Hu Baiyu always wants to pet you. Look at you. You are smaller than my hand. If I close my fingers, you disappear."

He curled his fingers slightly around her just to show her, though he still left enough space so she would not feel trapped.

Lin Huahua immediately went stiff. "Do not close your fingers."

"I did not."

"You wanted to."

"I only wanted to prove a point."

"Your point is stupid."

"My point is that if you keep insulting me, I can carry you around in a basket and tell everyone you are my lucky white mouse."

Lin Huahua’s whole tiny body shook with anger. "I am not a mouse."

"You are close enough."