Lin Huahua, who had been waiting for praise, almost choked. "Feet protector?" she repeated, her white rat ears twitching because she did not know whether to laugh or get offended. "That name sounds so ugly."

Feng Yiren looked at her as if she was the unreasonable one. "Then what is it supposed to be called? It protects feet, does it not? Feet protector is already very direct. Do you want me to call it soft ground biting stopper?"

Mu Qingyi, who had been watching from the side with warmth in his brown eyes, could not stop the low laugh that escaped him.

His antlers cast soft shadows against the stone wall as he leaned over to look at the item more closely, and even though the stitches were uneven and the edges were not perfect, his gaze carried real admiration because Lin Huahua had made it herself with her own two hands.

In the past, even if the old Lin Huahua had wanted something like this, she would have shouted for someone else to make it, then complained until every male nearby wanted to bury himself alive.

But this Lin Huahua had sat on the fur, pricked her own fingers, pouted, glared, and stubbornly worked until something real came out, and that alone made Mu Qingyi feel proud in a way he did not even know how to explain.

Hu Baiyu was even more fascinated. The huge white lion beastman leaned closer, his lion ears perked forward and his blue eyes bright with curiosity, then he carefully touched the bottom of the footwear with one large finger.

He pressed the thicker hide, then touched the soft inner fur, then looked at Lin Huahua’s foot as if he was comparing the two in his mind.

After a moment, he lifted both hands and signed slowly, his fingers moving with that careful silent language that Lin Huahua somehow understood better and better every time he used it. What is it for?

Lin Huahua immediately sat up straighter because this was her grand moment of explanation. She picked up one of the footwear pieces and placed it against her foot, though she did not fully wear it yet because the resin still needed time to dry properly.

"It is for walking," she explained, trying very hard to make it sound normal and not too advanced, because if she said words like shoes, sole support, foot protection, friction, and design, these beastmen might start looking at her like Feng Yiren already did half the time.

"The ground outside has too many sharp stones and broken branches. Beastmen have strong feet, but I am a female and my feet hurt easily. If I wear this, the thick hide at the bottom will touch the ground first, and the soft fur inside will keep my feet comfortable. Then I can walk without feeling like the whole tribe is trying to bite me."

Feng Yiren’s eyes sharpened with interest despite himself. "So the ground bites you now?"

"It does," Lin Huahua said without shame. "The ground here is very rude."

Hu Baiyu nodded immediately with a very serious face, as if he had just received important information about an enemy called the ground.

His lion tail swept once behind him, and the way he stared toward the cave entrance made Lin Huahua feel that if he could, he would probably go outside and flatten every sharp stone in the tribe path with his bare hands.

Mu Qingyi smiled and reached out to touch the edge of the footwear, though he was careful not to disturb the resin. "It is useful. If the bottom is made thicker next time, and if the tie goes around the ankle more securely, it will not fall off when you walk."

Lin Huahua’s eyes lit up at once. "Yes, yes, exactly. That is what I was thinking too."

Feng Yiren gave her a look. "You were thinking that? You tried tying it three times and it escaped every time."

Lin Huahua glared at him. "The first time does not count because I was testing it."

"The second time?"

"I was also testing it."

"The third?"

"I was testing my patience with you."

Feng Yiren laughed through his nose, looking unbearably pleased to have annoyed her again, while Hu Baiyu’s gaze moved between them with that soft confused fondness of his. Then the lion looked back at the footwear, and after a moment, he signed another question. His fingers moved slower this time, and his eyes stayed on Lin Huahua’s face as if the answer mattered to him more than the footwear itself. Where did you learn this?

Lin Huahua froze.

Only for one tiny moment.

But unfortunately, she lived in a cave with beastmen who could hear a leaf drop outside and smell when her mood changed, so of course that one tiny moment was enough for all three males to notice.

Mu Qingyi’s smile did not change, but his eyes softened with quiet attention. Feng Yiren’s ears tilted forward immediately, his red eyes narrowing because this was exactly the kind of question he had been waiting to hear answered badly.

Hu Baiyu only looked at her with open curiosity and hope, because he truly wanted to know more about her. He did not look suspicious like Feng Yiren. He did not look carefully gentle like Mu Qingyi. He simply looked like a big white lion who wanted to understand something his female had done.

Lin Huahua swallowed.

Then she gave the dumbest lie her brain could produce under pressure.

"I dreamed it."

Silence.

A very painful silence.

Feng Yiren stared at her.

Mu Qingyi lowered his head slightly as if trying not to smile.

Hu Baiyu blinked.

Lin Huahua quickly added, "Yes. I dreamed it after I hit my head in the forest. Maybe my head got injured and the dream beast god took pity on me, so he showed me many strange useful things."

Feng Yiren’s face became so full of annoyance that Lin Huahua almost wanted to hide behind the footwear.