Chapter 163

Then the Year Beast opened its little mouth again and viciously bit down on Chen Ran's fingertip.

Why are you licking my fingers?

Chen Ran was overjoyed at this sight.

When you are weak enough, even being angry seems too cute—this statement is actually quite accurate when applied to the current Year Beast.

To the Year Beast, she was incredibly ferocious.

But from Chen Ran's perspective, it was basically no different from saying, "You're so annoying, I'll bite you to death, bite you to death, bite you to death, hmph!"

So Chen Ran chuckled for a while before turning his head to look at the Little Watermelon in his other hand.

Xi's expression was quite subtle at first, after all, that was Year Beast, which in her mind had always been a negative image of being terrifying, horrifying, and frightening. So why was she so impotently furious now?

However, Xi's expression changed again afterward:

After all, it was precisely because the once terrifying Year Beast was now being manipulated and played with like a little toy by Chen Ran...

This gave Xi the illusion that, 'Hmm... this Year Beast doesn't seem so scary after all...'

So the Little Watermelon felt that the sky had cleared up and the rain had stopped, and she felt that she was fine again.

Seeing this, Chen Ran naturally had a wicked idea. "Little Watermelon, look, this Year Beast doesn't seem so scary anymore. Little Watermelon, you don't need to be so frightened that you're trembling, right?"

"Hmph, when have I ever lost my composure like this?" Xi Yi replied, naturally becoming more assertive. "He's only a few years old, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Wow, that's amazing! No wonder you're my Little Watermelon, you're just as capable as any man!"

"Ha, when did I become part of your family? You're shamelessly trying to claim a relationship with me."

Even so, under Chen Ran's praise mode, Little Watermelon naturally raised her neck, like a proud white swan.

It's obvious that Little Watermelon really enjoys the praise mode.

So when Chen Ran placed the Little Watermelon on the table, it looked like it was saying, "You think I'm scared? Humph, nonsense," and was just short of putting its hands on its hips.

But it wasn't until Chen Ran placed the frantically chrysalis-like Year Beast, which had been biting his fingertip and refusing to let go, onto the table that...

The Year Beast looked around in confusion, as if wondering where it was.

But when it looked around and successfully spotted Xi in the distance, the Year Beast paused slightly, then hurriedly ran towards Xi—

Xi, who had been full of confidence, was suddenly frightened and took a step back.

There's no way around it; it has nothing to do with age or size. Even if you're a two-meter-tall, strong man, you'll still shudder when your mom picks up a feather duster.

But:

"Oh, look, Little Watermelon, this Year Beast is so small." Chen Ran spoke up at this moment, "What's so scary about it, right?"

"... self, self is like this..."

Chen Ran's renewed barrage of praise stopped Little Watermelon in her tracks.

After all, this Little Watermelon is more arrogant than anyone else, but also more thin-skinned than anyone else. Since Chen Ran praised her like that, she naturally had to pretend to be tough.

But seeing the Year Beast charging straight at her, Xi's entire body visibly stiffened.

Biting her lip, her body taut and straight,

Until the Year Beast ran up to her, sniffed her with its nose, pawed at her, and even touched Year Beast with its dragon tail, as if trying to see if Xi was real.

Feeling the touch of the Year Beast, Xi's body stiffened, and she felt as if she was about to cry from fright.

Seeing this, Chen Ran naturally reached out and gently touched Xi's little head with his fingertips to comfort her.

But as Chen Ran withdrew his hand after comforting Xi, his fingertips accidentally landed on Xi's back and then gently slid down—

Xi's cheeks immediately turned bright red.

"You, you—!" Xi blushed, feeling more ashamed than afraid, and turned to glare at Chen Ran.

But Chen Ran feigned innocence, looking puzzled. "What's wrong, Little Watermelon? Wasn't I cheering you on? Don't you like it?"

Evening. "..."

Xi bit her lip, stared at Chen Ran asked the question she already knew the answer to, and then turned away without saying a word, muttering under her breath, "Hmph... lecherous man..."

As mentioned before, Xi's power is 'intention', and anything she draws can become real.

Whether it's people, objects, scenery, or even clothing, everything is rendered indistinguishably from reality.

Yes, including clothes, including the blue gauze dress that Xi is wearing now.

Although Xi's powers also have many limitations, for example, if you close your eyes before Xi paints, this ability to create lifelike images will be useless to you, but once you see it, it is lifelike and cannot be more real than lifelike.

Unfortunately, this power is useless against Chen Ran.

Although in Chen Ran's eyes Xi was indeed wearing clothes, when Chen Ran reached out to touch her, Xi felt that Chen Ran was directly touching her skin.

That's why Xi reacted so strongly.

But Xi couldn't explain it. Should she just say, "You touched my body"? That was impossible. Xi was naturally shy, so she could only sulk in silence.

But the Year Beast, who was still touching and stroking, didn't understand what was happening, but when she saw that her little cub had been bullied, she realized...

The Year Beast immediately climbed onto Xi's body, then poked its little head out and stood protectively in front of Xi, starting to bar its teeth and claws at Chen Ran.

Chapter 249: Hand-made Dragon Bubble to Use as a Body for Little Watermelon's Resurrection

Chen Ran was not annoyed by this.

Because no matter how fiercely this Year Beast bares its fangs and claws, it's actually useless.

Chen Ran flicked the Year Beast on the forehead with his finger, and the Year Beast immediately became obedient.

It wasn't that the Year Beast had a good temper; it was just that its head was buzzing.

What about that evening?

Although Xi was indeed terrified when the Year Beast climbed onto her, her face turned pale instantly, and it looked like she was about to cry at any moment,

But when he saw the Year Beast protecting him and baring its fangs at Chen Ran ...

Xi's expression gradually became subtle.

Could it be true, as that lecherous man said... that he's treating her like his own little brat now?

"Maybe."

Chen Ran took some nuts from the fruit plate and placed them in front of the Year Beast:

"'Before he died, he split himself into twelve parts'—is that really how history records it?"

"Is it okay to describe it as 'those twelve fragments were originally part of Sui's body'?"

"When the Year Beast awakens and loses its senses, it will only feel that you, Little Watermelon, have her scent on you, and in some unseen way, it will also feel that you have an extremely close relationship with her,"

"Coincidentally, in the Higashi, there is a saying that 'a child is a piece of flesh that fell from the mother's body.'"

"So, thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with the Year Beast mistaking Little Watermelon for her cub, right?"

Chen Ran was talking eloquently, while Xi... looked at the Year Beast sitting next to her with a subtle expression.

This Year Beast was long and slender, and when it sat up, it coiled up like a snake, while its outstretched little paws were rummaging through the nuts that Chen Ran had fed it earlier.

The nut was half the size of her body. It took the Year Beast a long time to finally manage to hold the nut in its arms. Then it looked at it from left to right and tried to take a bite.

This isn't the Year Beast deliberately acting cute, nor does it have any gluttonous or other attributes.

However, being someone who acts purely on instinct, she would naturally prioritize the three essential elements of survival: she needs to fill her stomach.

"If you don't believe me, why don't we do a small experiment?"

Chen Ran said, "Judging from the way the Year Beast is acting, she's clearly more concerned with what's in front of her right now, but if—"

If what?

Before Xi could figure out what was going on, Chen Ran suddenly stretched out a large hand and grabbed at her.

So fast was it that Xi only had time to let out a brief gasp before Chen Ran grabbed her and dragged her away.

The Year Beast, who had been holding a nut, staring at it for a long time wondering "what is this thing?", took a bite and thought "hey... it tastes pretty good," and was about to devour it, turned its head and found that its little cub was gone.

The Year Beast was stunned for a moment, then dropped the nut in its hand and roared at Chen Ran, trying to rush forward and fight him.

In the end, Chen Ran put the Little Watermelon back on the table, and only then did the Year Beast calm down.

Even so, the Year Beast seemed unwilling to let its guard down any longer. It used its tail to curl Xi up behind her, protecting her while slipping a nut into her hand.

Then the Year Beast ate while glancing at Chen Ran with its little eyes.

"Look," Chen Ran said, not annoyed at all, and even laughed, "The Year Beast's reaction is quite obvious."

Evening. "..."

Indeed... it is quite obvious.

Although Xi actually wanted to ask, since this Sui treated her as his own little cub, why was the first thing this Sui did when he woke up that was to swallow her whole?

You know, Xi is now dead beyond any doubt, and Sui is the culprit who caused all of this.

However, Xi ultimately didn't ask this question.

Even though the Year Beast was protecting Xi behind it while remaining vigilant, it still seemed uneasy.

So the Year Beast turned around, opened her little mouth, and bit Xi's cheek.

Xi was initially startled, thinking that Sui wanted to eat her.

But after being terrified for a long time, Xi realized that Sui did want to eat her, but it was more like... he wanted to swallow her whole and then run away with her...?

"It's a very common thing."

Chen Ran smiled and withdrew his hand.

The reason why the Year Beast now wants to "eat" Xi is because Chen Ran teased her with his hands, which made her angry.

So Chen Ran smiled as he walked toward the workbench and said, "Kangaroos have pouches, and felines also bite the necks of their young when transferring them. But because of their size difference, it looks to outsiders like a big cat trying to eat a kitten."

"After all, Little Watermelon, although you are dead, your mind is still intact, isn't it?"

After sitting down, Chen Ran continued, "But the prototype of the Year Beast should be a dragon, right? When a dragon moves its cubs, does it swallow them whole and then spit them out in a safe place? Little Watermelon, do you know that?"

"How would I know..." Xi blushed slightly. "I've never given birth to any life. How would I know..."

"Oh, a lifelong spinster."

Evening. "?"

Xi's face turned even redder, but this time it was a warm, gentle red.

However, Xi was timid, so when she got angry, it was only for a moment.

But then he saw Chen Ran sitting in a chair, amused by himself, and then reaching out and pulling out something that looked like mud...? clay...? modeling clay...? or something else, and starting to mold little things into them.

Xi didn't want to get involved, after all, she preferred quiet to crowds.

But the Year Beast was on top of her, its small mouth open, biting her cheek, relentlessly trying to swallow her whole.

Xi dared not say anything, especially since Chen Ran suspected that the Year Beast was actually acting like a protective mother to her cub. Xi was even less inclined to say anything then.

But over time, it can become quite annoying.

So Xi had no choice but to drag Sui's body to the table in front of Chen Ran and say, "Ran? You brought Sui here, have you thought about what to do with her?"

Xi's unspoken message was: Although I don't know what you're up to, have you forgotten about this Sui? Can you please take this Sui off me first?

But Chen Ran didn't respond immediately. Instead, he first kneaded, shaped, and sculpted the clay in his hands.

Then he showed the finished little thing to Xi Kan: "Look, Dragon Bubble, oh right, it should be Xi Bubble, how is it, right?"

Dragon Bubble is a spherical creature with cute limbs.

If you don't understand, just think of it as the glutinous rice ball coming to life.

When Dragon Bubble incorporates features of its original character, it becomes something like Xi Bubble, Nian Bubble, Ling Bubble.

"I know what this is, but..." Xi asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why are you doing this?"

"Give it to Little Watermelon so you can use it as a body for resurrection," Chen Ran said.

Chapter 250 Zofia: Did the gods forget about us here?

A body for resurrection?