After Giving Birth, All My Beast Ex-Husbands Suddenly Want Me Back-Chapter 13: A world that values appearances

Mino didn’t know how much time had passed before he finally snapped back to his senses. He gently let the hide curtain fall back into place and quickly retreated outside.

He clutched his chest, trying to calm his racing heart.

Why was there only a tiny female inside?

And... she was far too beautiful. Without a doubt, she was the most gorgeous female he had ever seen.

He was mortified by his earlier rudeness.

Slapping himself hard, Mino scolded himself inwardly. How could he have acted so disrespectfully just out of a momentary anger?

He peeked at the hut from behind the curtain, pondering what to do next.

Ask him to fight over the hut with that female? Impossible. She was too stunning—he’d rather give her the place!

The thought of this beautiful female sleeping in his hut made Mino’s cheeks flush. For some reason, a shy, joyful warmth spread through him.

And so, he sat outside the curtain, quietly staring all night.

As the morning sun rose, gentle sunlight poured into the stone hut.

Her butterfly-like lashes fluttered, and her beautiful eyes slowly opened.

Nina had slept soundly through the night as well. She stretched lazily and began walking toward the door.

Hearing the movement, Mino tensed. He stood up, gripping his hide skirt tightly, his gaze locked nervously yet expectantly on the curtain.

Nina pushed the curtain aside and stepped out. The moment she looked up, her view was instantly filled by an extraordinarily handsome male.

He had short ash-gray hair, and his sapphire-blue eyes were clear and radiant, like the stars reflected on the ocean. Long curled lashes framed those mesmerizing eyes, making them even more vivid and striking. His nose was straight and refined, his lips soft with a gentle rose tint, and his pale, flawless skin added to his perfect features.

Tall and well-built, his muscular form was proportioned and strong. He wore a sleek, silver-white crafted hide outfit, exuding an elegant and noble air.

Nina was momentarily stunned. He was the most handsome male she had ever seen—completely outclassing any modern celebrity she could imagine.

Was this some kind of early-morning blessing, or was she still dreaming?

She pinched herself discreetly. Yep—she was awake.

A stranger was outside, and Little Bun hadn’t warned her. Likely, it had gone into hibernation.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Nina asked, keeping her hands behind her back as she quietly pulled out a stun rod from her system backpack.

Mino’s eyes lit up when he saw her, and his heartbeat started racing again.

Seeing her so cute and alert, and noticing that she had spoken to him first, he stammered nervously in response, "I... I... I’m Mino... this... this... was originally... my hut... I... I came back last night."

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his wild heartbeat.

Nina blinked, slightly amused—such a handsome guy and yet a stammerer. Truly, no one was perfect.

Wait... this was his hut? But hadn’t the chief said all three of these huts were unoccupied?

"You... you came to claim the hut? But the chief told me all three were ownerless," she asked cautiously.

"N-no, n-no, I... I’m not trying to take the hut from you. This... this one... you can have it. I... I’ll stay in the hut next to yours," Mino stammered, waving his hands frantically. He stole a quick glance at Nina.

Seeing that she didn’t react, he hurried to explain, finally finding his words flowing smoothly. "I’m an outsider male. I paid the beast crystals for this hut, but I had to leave for a few days. The chief probably thought I wasn’t coming back."

"Oh." Nina nodded slightly, understanding.

So that’s how it was.

Since he was willingly giving up the hut, she wouldn’t argue. But... having a neighbor suddenly felt like a small hassle. She couldn’t very well make him go live somewhere else, though. Still... that face, though.

Her annoyance faded as she looked at his ridiculously handsome features. Maybe having a neighbor wasn’t so bad after all.

At that moment, Aji arrived with the food.

He was a little late today, and walking up, he immediately froze at the sight of a face as delicate and lovely as a flower. He stood dumbstruck, dropping the bundle he was carrying without realizing it, his mouth slightly agape, pupils quivering.

He glanced around, as if checking he hadn’t made a mistake.

"Y-you’re Nina?" Aji asked, uncertain.

"Yes, Aji," Nina replied with a gentle smile.

"Your face...?"

"It’s healed now. The poison is gone."

"Oh... that’s... that’s good."

Aji’s eyes took in her features—the same familiar eyes and brows, only now the dark splotches were gone, her skin smooth and porcelain-white. Nina looked even more beautiful than he remembered.

Seeing her transformed like this, Aji’s face flushed. He had already felt a fondness for her before, but now his heart skipped even faster.

Mino, standing nearby, caught a glimpse of her smiling at another male and inexplicably felt a pang of jealousy. He didn’t like seeing her smile at someone else.

Meanwhile, Aji snapped out of his daze and realized the food he’d brought had fallen to the ground. He quickly crouched to pick it up, hugging everything to his chest with a guilty expression.

"Sorry... I dropped all the food I brought for you," he said, his voice full of apologies.

"It’s fine," Nina said lightly. "Just wash it, and it’s okay."

Luckily, most of the food was wrapped in leaves, so nothing was seriously dirty—just a few scattered fruits.

"Mm, I’ll wash it in a bit," Aji nodded, his cheeks flushed. "Are... are you hungry? You can eat some fruit first, and I... I can grill the meat for you, okay?"

He felt a strong desire to show off in front of Nina.

Mino, seeing another male trying to impress her, couldn’t help but react. "Little female, I... I can grill meat too. And I’m especially good at it."

The moment the words left his mouth, Mino froze, surprised at himself. Wait... was he actually trying to curry favor with a female? He didn’t even realize he had said it—and strangely, he didn’t regret it.

Hearing him, Nina looked over, and Mino felt his ears burn. "Let me grill it for you," he added nervously.

Nina thought: Are new neighbors usually this enthusiastic? And they’ve only met me today...

Aji finally noticed Mino. "Mino, you’re back?"

They’d gone hunting together before, so they knew each other.

Mino rolled his eyes inwardly: So it took you this long to notice me, a fully grown male?

"Yes, I’m back," he said, "and I’ll be staying next to the little female." He sneaked another glance at Nina as he spoke.

Aji felt a twinge of envy. There’s still an empty hut... should I move closer too?

Seeing Aji confirm Mino’s identity, Nina quietly retracted her stun baton. She stepped forward and took the meat blocks from Aji’s arms. "No, it’s fine. I’ll do it myself."

She didn’t want to trouble anyone.

Nina unwrapped the leaves around the meat, placed the chunks in a small stone basin, went inside to scoop some water, and began washing them.

Watching her delicate, jade-like hands expertly clean the meat, both Mino and Aji felt a pang of guilt. How could such fragile little hands handle this kind of rough work?

Aji cursed himself silently, thinking: Why didn’t I help after hunting before? Such a fool.

Mino grabbed the stone basin. "Little female, just rest for a moment. Let me handle it."

He reached out and started cleaning the meat himself.

Aji quickly set down the remaining items he was holding. "Right, just tell us what to do and we’ll help."

Nina thought wryly: So this really is a world that values appearances...