Clumsy Beast, Keep Your Paws Off - Chapter 192

Chapter 192: Chapter 192: The Pitiful Sleepwalker
Rong Ye, seeing the genuine murderous glint in her eyes, abandoned the Mysterious Sleepwalker act instantly and switched to the Pathetically Pitiful Lover. He scrambled back, his eyes widening, a whimper escaping his lips.

“Lan Lan! Please, it is not my fault!” He pleaded, his voice cracking with well-rehearsed emotion. He didn’t try to dodge her blow; instead, he dramatically presented his own chest, exposed and vulnerable.

“Maybe… maybe I have been starved so long that my body acted out my deepest desires in my dream! My mind knows the rules, Lan Lan, but my beast… he has been hungry for you!”

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a breathy, intimate whisper, his eyes large and swimming with unshed tears. “Lan Lan, I was dreaming about you… dreaming of finally having you to myself, of holding you and marking you, and never in so many years did I think I would do this… in reality…”

He let the sentence hang, his expression full of guilt. He tilted his head slightly, the violet eyes shining with a truly heartbreaking sincerity.

He whispered again, a soft, fearful sound that tugged at her heartstrings. “Lan Lan… do you hate me?”

“You… you mated with Hu Yan,” he said, his voice thick with sorrow, “and Xuan Long… and even Han Jue’s scent is all over you…” He sighed, a deep, shuddering breath that conveyed profound pain.

“Maybe… maybe I got so terribly, intensely jealous in my sleep. Maybe I felt left out, Lan Lan, that I had been pushed aside while everyone else was close to you… and I did something terrible like this in my sleep… Please, forgive me,” he finished, his voice barely audible.

“Lan Lan,” he mumbled, gathering the furs around him, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “If you truly don’t like me… if you are so upset… I will leave. I will go and sleep outside the cave until you feel better.”

He stood up very slowly…so slowly even a snail would have clicked its tongue and said in a voice dripping with sorrow,

“… I will leave.”

He turned away by half an inch.

The saddest half-inch in the world.

But Su Qinglan had eyes.

And she knew this fox was manipulating her.

But also…

He wasn’t wrong.

Rong Ye was the only one who hadn’t been close with her today. The only husband she hadn’t touched, talked to properly, or spent any soft moment with. He was unreliable sometimes, yes. A little chaotic. A little sly. But he was still hers. And she had ignored him completely today.

Still, she was responsible for him, and looking at his face, which was now filled with a deep, crushing, puppy-dog guilt that seemed to emanate from his very soul, she felt her heart hurting for him.

She saw not the cunning fox, but the neglected young beast who was jealous and aching for her touch.

“Her guilt hit her like a rock.

“Rong Ye… wait,” she blurted, before she could stop herself.

He froze mid-snail-step, ears twitching.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “It’s fine. Just… stop pretending to leave. Come back here.”

He turned slowly, lips trembling. “R-Really?”

“I forgive you,” she muttered weakly.

Rong Ye lit up instantly.

“There’s no need to go anywhere. It’s cold outside, you idiot. Lay back down with me.”

She sighed, a sound of weary acceptance.

After all, what crime had he truly committed? He had just been a little greedy, a little jealous, and a little rough.

She was only angry because he bit her (hard!) and because of that absolutely embarrassing dream.

Rong Ye’s violet eyes snapped up, instantly losing their pitiful cloudiness. A flash of smug victory crossed his face, a twitch of his lips that was quickly hidden as he immediately, and with astonishing speed, scrambled back onto the stone bed. He settled beside her, pulling the furs up and completely burying the triumphant expression.

“Thank you, Lan Lan,” he murmured, his voice humble and grateful once more. He didn’t waste a second. “Lan Lan, can… can I hug you? Just to feel safe… I really had a terrible nightmare.”

Su Qinglan nodded, feeling the last vestiges of her anger melt away. “Okay.”

Rong Ye, without any cue and with zero hesitation, immediately pulled her soft, warm body fully against his chest.

It was only then that Su Qinglan realized her mistake. She had completely forgotten that when Han Jue had left, she had fallen asleep after healing herself…all naked!

“Ahhh, damn you!” she cursed under her breath, realizing it was far too late.

The shameless Rong Ye had already secured her. His arms were like steel bands, pulling her up against his hard, warm chest. One hand was wrapped firmly around her waist, while the other was dangerously placed on her lower back, practically cupping one of her buttocks.

She sighed, defeated. There was no point in fighting the cold, warm, clinging beast.

“Rong Ye,” she warned, trying to inject some sternness into her voice. “Just sleep.”

He only chuckled, a low, throaty, cheeky sound against her hair.

“Lan Lan, you are so incredibly soft,” he whispered, his hands tightening slightly to prove his point. He even dared to give her a light, playful slap on her bare bottom, a quick, possessive little pat.

Su Qinglan’s face exploded with heat. Blushing furiously, she kicked his leg under the furs.

“If you don’t stop touching me and go to sleep right now, I will kick you out!” she threatened, her voice a fierce whisper.

Rong Ye’s lips twisted into a small, pleased smirk before he immediately obeyed. He squeezed his eyes shut, let out a ridiculously loud, fake snore—H-HUURRRNKKK!—and then settled, his mischievous hand remaining where it was but staying still.

Su Qinglan felt a helpless, tired smile touch her lips. He was impossible. Utterly, shamelessly impossible.

But as she snuggled against his warm, broad chest, feeling the heat radiate from him, she felt a profound sense of comfort.

The temperature in the cave was slowly dropping, and she had started to feel cold all over her unprotected skin. It was still the middle of the nighttime, and his heat was a welcome shield.

She closed her eyes, her breathing evening out quickly. Rong Ye also fell into a genuine, deep sleep in no time.

His hands, which had been so openly mischievous just moments ago, finally relaxed, his arm curled protectively against her waist, pulling her into the curve of his body.

But none of them knew that aside from them, two more persons were actually awake.

It was Han Jue who was pretending to be deeply asleep on her other side, his large body stretched out on the furs, his back turned to them.

He had heard the entire exchange. He cursed the shameless Rong Ye a hundred times in his mind, his fists clenching beneath the furs. The deceitful little fox! Stealing the warmth and affection that was meant for him!

But as the others finally settled into the rhythm of sleep, the proud Han Jue could resist no longer.

Slowly, inch by agonizing inch, he began to move, inching towards them. He didn’t stop until his back was brushing against Su Qinglan’s back.

Then he also reached out and gently put his hand on her waist, just above Rong Ye’s own. Just this much contact was enough to bring peace to his heart.

On the other side of the stone bed, Hu Yan, in his majestic tiger form, was also wide awake.

He lay at her feet, his head resting on his paws. His large, sensitive ears twitched at every sound… Rong Ye’s fake snore, Han Jue’s slow, inching approach, and the soft sigh of the female. But he didn’t open his eyes.

He would be generous. As the first beast husband, he would show great magnanimity and not steal all the affection of the female for himself. He had had his fill, and the scent of him was already dominant on her.

He lay on the cold stone bed in his tiger form because after the earlier scuffle and the fight, he had sustained many small injuries, and by morning, he would be completely healed, as beastmen heal much faster in their beast form.

And so, Su Qinglan fell asleep utterly surrounded by three beast husbands of hers.

Unknown to the people nestled safely inside the cave, the world outside was beginning to change.

Slowly, softly, a single drop of water fell onto the dry ground just outside the entrance. The soft sound was followed by another, and then another.

One drop became numerous, and soon, a slight, steady shower of rain started outside.