Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off-Chapter 402: Sneaky Little Vine

Su Qinglan was still listening to Han Jue’s lazy teasing when she suddenly felt something cold and slightly damp brush against her wrist.

She looked down.

A thin green weed was slowly... very slowly... inching its way toward her from Han Jue’s arm.

It moved like a suspicious little thief.

For a second, she just stared.

Then it clicked.

"Stove?!"

The weed froze mid-crawl. Su Qinglan’s eyes widened, so he really was...

Damn.

His stealth ability had improved way too much.

He had been wrapped around Han Jue’s arm this entire time and she had not noticed him at all. Not even a little bit. If he had not decided to move on his own, she might have ignored him forever.

"You sneaky little vine..." she muttered.

She quickly reached out and lifted him gently, wrapping his thin body around her wrist like a bracelet.

She leaned closer and whispered softly, "Stove... did you miss me?"

The weed immediately tightened around her wrist and rubbed against her skin dramatically.

"Of course I missed you! You are my true family! What is good about these stinky males?!"

Su Qinglan coughed awkwardly.

Behind her, several pairs of eyes narrowed slightly.

Stove continued complaining without fear.

"They did not feed me a single proper meal these days! I almost became a dried weed from hunger! First sun-dried on land... then soaked and bloated in the sea! I was wrinkled! Wrinkled!"

Han Jue raised a brow. "You eat sunlight."

Stove ignored him completely.

"If I had not secretly caught a few tiny fish in the middle of the sea, I would have starved! Do you know how hard it is for a plant to fish?! I almost got motion sickness from floating around!"

Su Qinglan blinked.

"...Plants can get motion sickness?"

"Yes! After all, I am a part of you... I do everything like you..."

He shook dramatically.

"These men are completely insane. They travel without eating properly! How are they alive?! They only cook for you! They did not feed me anything properly!"

Su Qinglan paused. That... was slightly true.

Before she could respond, Stove suddenly tugged at the small hide bag hanging from Han Jue’s waist.

He waved his leafy tip urgently.

"Look! Look!"

Han Jue clicked his tongue but unhooked the small bag and handed it over.

Su Qinglan opened it carefully.

Inside was a tiny spiritual plant.

Its once bright little flower looked pale and thin. The leaves drooped weakly as if a breeze could knock it over.

Stove’s voice became even more aggrieved.

"My wife has not eaten anything! She refuses raw food! Where am I supposed to cook for her in the middle of the ocean?! She has only been surviving on the little energy I share with her! Look how thin she is! She used to be round and beautiful!"

Su Qinglan stared at the tiny plant.

Then she looked at Stove.

"So you also made her addicted to cooked food."

Stove puffed up proudly despite looking like a struggling noodle.

"Of course. I am a responsible plant. I only gave her the best."

Rong Ye snorted.

Han Jue covered his mouth, clearly holding back laughter.

Even Xuan Long’s lips twitched faintly.

Stove continued ranting.

"I have fully realized something! Staying with you is the best decision in my plant life! Living with these men was a mistake! They only care about feeding their female! They did not make a single proper cooked meal for me! How can a delicate spiritual flower survive like this?!"

Su Qinglan’s expression softened.

"You silly vine..."

She gently reached into the bag and stroked the tiny flower with her fingertip.

A small glow of green energy slowly gathered at her finger.

The little flower immediately absorbed it greedily.

Its drooping leaves straightened.

Its petals regained color within seconds.

The tiny plant even shook slightly as if stretching after a long nap.

Stove gasped dramatically.

"See?! See?! Only you understand us!"

He tightened around her wrist again.

"Do not leave me behind again. I have thoroughly understood. Following Master has more benefits. There is food. There is energy. There is warmth. There is no sun-drying torture."

Su Qinglan laughed softly. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Alright. I won’t abandon you again."

Stove immediately rubbed against her skin happily.

Behind her, Han Jue spoke lazily, "So now we are competing with a weed for favor?"

Rong Ye crossed his arms. "Apparently we lost."

Xuan Long glanced at the vine wrapped around her wrist.

His dark eyes narrowed slightly.

Stove felt the gaze.

He slowly froze and then started trembling. Now which Buddha had he offended?

Then he carefully hid behind Su Qinglan’s sleeve.

"I only insulted them a little..." he muttered quietly.

Su Qinglan smiled helplessly.

Her family was truly getting more and more chaotic.

Two tiger cubs.

One tiny snake.

Several powerful males.

And now a dramatic married weed with motion sickness. She sighed. Life was... very lively.

On the other hand, Xuan Long’s expression remained stony, his gaze fixated on the thin, shivering weed as if he were contemplating whether to turn it into compost.

He hadn’t even realized the stove had hitched a ride on Han Jue across the vast ocean; had he known, he would have shaken the vine off into the deepest trench of the sea days ago.

Now, this dramatic weed was not only back but shamelessly monopolizing his mate’s attention.

Without a word, Xuan Long reached out, his movements blurringly fast. He plucked Stove from Su Qinglan’s wrist like a pesky insect and tossed the squawking vine directly at Han Jue’s chest.

"Take it," Xuan Long commanded, his voice vibrating with a low, territorial rumble. "Let’s go. You shouldn’t stay in the water for this long."

Before Su Qinglan could protest the "eviction" of her favorite plant, Xuan Long’s powerful arms hooked under her knees and back, lifting her effortlessly from the surf.

As the water cascaded off her body, the sunlight hit her fully and Xuan Long’s entire body went rigid.

His gaze dropped to her waist and stomach. The tribal clothing, damp and clinging, was barely bound at her chest and hips, leaving a tantalizing expanse of her sun-kissed, glowing skin exposed.

The air suddenly felt thick.

Behind him, the atmosphere shifted instantly. Hu Yan, Rong Ye, Han Jue, and even the usually stoic Shi Feng all went silent, their pupils blown wide.

The "lazy" teasing vanished, replaced by a row of predatory gazes that made the hair on Su Qinglan’s neck stand up.

Su Qinglan blinked, feeling the sudden heat of their collective focus. "Why are you all looking at me like..."

Xuan Long’s lips curled into a dark, slow smile that didn’t reach his burning eyes. "My Lan Lan... did you wear this just for us?"

His large hand roamed deliberately over her waist, his thumb grazing the curve of her hip before he playfully pinched the soft flesh there.

"Hiss! What—what are you doing?!" Su Qinglan gasped, her face turning a vivid shade of crimson. "It’s broad daylight! And stop talking nonsense! This is just what this tribe wears!"

She looked at the four of them, their eyes practically glowing with hunger, and she felt a wave of flustered panic.