Inside the An family restaurant, Yanmei pushed past her initial wariness and ordered a feast to show her goodwill towards the other two women.
At fifth the topmost floor, a private room reserved only for the An family was now the venue for the gathering of Xiao's harem. Expensive vases, the furnitures made from high quality varnished woods, the pleasant smell of the daisy incense all blended for a rich ambience. Xiao told Yanmei these girls in front of her were rich, and if how she got destroyed earlier in the auction wasn't enough proof, this restaurant they owned solidified it.
Laid in the table were mouth watering dishes, eel steamed in black beans, pan roasted chicken cutlets with grapes, red braised pork belly, and more importantly, the wine.
As all four sat together, Yanmei would open this night of celebration by grabbing the small jar of wine and pouring a cup for Lin, a gesture of respect for not only agreeing to their invitation, but also hosting it.
"Thank you." Lin grabbed the cup with a smile. Already she liked how pleasant mannered Yanmei is. One that she could internally admit when jealousy over Xiao was not in play. Lin would love to learn more about this green-eyed woman. Lin initiated the conversation. "If my guess is correct, it is Xiao that brings you into Jiangshian?"
Taking a sip of her wine, Yanmei answered, "Partly, my mate and I are on a vacation. And since Xiao is here, why not rope her in to this getaway of ours?"
"Mate? Has Xiao concocted some absurd plan to marry you both as well?" To Lin, it was not out of the realm of possibility with how crazy that lover of hers can get sometimes.
There was no grand ceremony for Yanmei and Luqing, in a way, it was a primal connection reserved for spirit beasts that wed them both. A spirit beast can extend this connection to a human by means of marking.
Yanmei giggled, "Come to think of it, we are sort of married now through our own special circumstance."
"Oh, and what kind of special circumstance is that?"
There it was, this topic was bound to be touched eventually since they are connected by a common thread, Xiao. Should Yanmei lie, or avoid the question altogether?
"Has Xiao never told you before?"
Since it was not her secret to tell, Xiao made sure to omit in her tales about Yanmei and Luqing both being spirit beasts. For that, Yanmei was grateful since she can divulge it by herself.
"Told me what?" Lin's head tilted in a quizzing manner.
Meanwhile, sitting right next to Yanmei and Lin are their respective other halves.
Liuming offered Luqing a cup, the brazen display of power Luqing showed on that night at the forest was still fresh on her mind. The gesture was skittish, likely done out of fear for the woman with a hair bun fashioned like a cat ear. Yet, this dread sparked something inside of Liuming. A strange feeling that allows her to trudge through the terror.
Luqing grabbed the cup. No words, instead of gratitude, Luqing repaid the redhead with a scrutinizing gaze, almost predatory even. Liuming panicked, heart about to leap in her chest. Had Liuming done something wrong? Is she going to be in trouble!? With her wife by her side, it was highly unlikely, and it was a good thing Miss Yanmei was there, for Liuming knew that she had control over Luqing, Liuming banked on the fact that Miss Yanmei was kind enough to rein her in if her overthinking became a reality.
The reality is that Luqing found the redhead enthralling. Liuming's skittishness activated her protective instinct while at the same time, it made her want to tease the redhead. To Luqing's eyes, Liuming was like a frightened rabbit, one this hellcat could keep as a pet, or outright devour.
Her sharp eyes still locked on Liuming, Luqing sipped her wine as she said, "I can hear your heartbeat. You are afraid, are you not?"
Without the shadow of a doubt, Liuming was petrified of the spirit beast before her. Was she acting like this because Liuming knew of her true identity? That maybe the case, but Liuming cannot let Luqing press her any longer, her dignity is in line!
"Hmph. I-I am not afraid of you!"
Oh? Now this redhead had a sudden burst of courage. A devilish grin appeared on Luqing's lips. What an amusing woman.
"You should be afraid, I've devoured plenty of fine maidens like you before." Luqing threatened with a smirk. The memory of their juicy flesh flooded back in, making her lick her lips in front of Liuming. Luqing wondered if the redhead would taste just as delicious.
Hearing this exchange, Lin became livid, slamming her hand to the table as lightning coursed into it. A warning of what will happen
"We all might be under Xiao's harem but I will not let you make my wife uncomfortable. Back off or suffer my lightning." Lin warned.
The chuckle from Luqing grated Lin's ears. Luqing simply could not take her threat seriously.
"Ahahaha! A weakling like you dares to threaten me?" In the blink of an eye, her murderous intent spread into a shockwave. Lost in the thrill of issuing her challenge, Luqing unveiled her spirit beast form without thinking. Her laughter faded but her condescending grin remained with fangs slipping through. "Attack me, go ahead and dare, I beg of you. For Xiao's sake, I'll try to avoid breaking your bones."
Lin gasped. On top of Luqing's head, her cat buns unfaded, giving way to real cat ears. From Luqing's back, her long tail swayed. Lin was at a loss for words, she would never have guessed that this Luqing was a spirit beast, and not just any ordinary spirit beast, one that had achieved human form!
Just when Yanmei and Lin were starting to form a connection, her mate's stupidity ruins everything for them. Now she has to start from the beginning again!
In order to deter Luqing from antagonizing the two, Luqing had revealed her spirit beast form. After manifesting her fox ears, 6 pale, lustrous tails appears on her back. The fox was ready to throwdown against the hellcat for her rudeness.
"If you do not behave yourself, I am going to call off our vacation. I will return to Xiulan and leave you here on your own!"
The wrathful glare of Yanmei's green, slit eyes was enough to kill Luqing's lust for trouble.
"Don't be like that, Yan Yan, I was only teaching our sisters a lesson." From Yanmei, Luqing's glanced went to Lin. "It is unwise to start a fight you cannot win."
"They treat us with a feast and even shared cups of wine with us, this is how you repay their hospitality!? You are my mate, you are supposed to act with more dignity than this! If you do not apologize, I swear I will make good on my threat. Or are you going to dare me too?"
Luqing had never seen Yanmei this livid before. A part of her wanted to call he bluff, would she really leave Luqing behind if she refused to apologize?
"I...I apologize." Brief and straight to the point. That was all they were going to get from Luqing as she went on to resume her drink.
Yanmei wanted more but as her mate, she knew how hard it must have been for Luqing to spit out those simple words. Yanmei flashed as smile at Lin.
"If you accept her apology then we can continue drinking, if you do not, Luqing and I shall leave." It was Luqing that made a blunder but she was still Yanmei's mate, Yanmei would stick through Luqing's side no matter how much of a pain in the ass the hellcat could be at times.
"As long as she doesn't antagonize my wife. We're good. So, you're a spirit beast, no wonder Xiao's tales had holes in them, she was trying to avoid exposing you."
While Yanmei and Lin's conversation deepened, Lin quietly poured wine in one of the cups, sliding it towards Liuming.
Looking down at the cup that slid in front of her, Liuming's mouth hung agape, where was this sudden gesture of hospitality coming from?
As the redhead looked up towards Luqing, she was even more puzzled. Wearing a coy smile, Luqing just winked at her!