Long Yao, being slow to react, hadn’t noticed that Hu Jiaojiao had already woken up. He continued licking her hand, mistaking it for her head.

Looking at the little guy, Hu Jiaojiao felt her heart soften. Little Long Yao was the most considerate, always caring for her.

Long Yao: Slurp! Blood… it tastes just like meat, so delicious!

Hu Jiaojiao smiled warmly and patted Long Yao’s small head.

Thankfully, beastmen were naturally strong, so even though her head was injured, it didn’t hinder her movements. Knowing she had no medicine in her space and didn’t recognize herbs, she resigned herself to waiting for the wound to heal on its own.

Recalling the nightmare she had just experienced, Hu Jiaojiao knew she couldn’t sit idly by and wait for death, so she got up and walked outside.

She remembered making lean meat porridge before passing out. The cubs should have eaten it by now, and she needed to clean up the dishes.

However, upon stepping outside, she was stunned.

The pot of porridge was still full, untouched, with the water having evaporated and the contents becoming thick and sticky.

The sun was already high in the sky.

An entire morning had passed, and the cubs hadn’t eaten a single bite.

Turning back, she saw the little ones standing obediently inside, watching her warily.

“Why didn’t you eat the meal I made?” Hu Jiaojiao rubbed her forehead and asked softly.

“You didn’t tell us to eat,” Long Yu said seriously, his face solemn.

They weren’t about to give her an excuse to hit them.

Hu Jiaojiao was momentarily speechless.

In the past, the original body wouldn’t even give the cubs food, let alone prepare it for them. They were lucky if she didn’t steal theirs. Now, without her explicit permission, they didn’t dare touch anything that was hers.

“It was wrong of me before. From now on, whatever I cook is for all of you too. You don’t need my permission to eat,” Hu Jiaojiao apologized sincerely, her eyes soft.

The cubs pursed their lips and said nothing, unclear if they believed her or not.

Sighing, Hu Jiaojiao added some water to the pot, rekindled the fire, and reheated the porridge. She then beckoned to the cubs.

“Come, it’s time to eat.”

No sooner had she spoken than a black shadow darted out from the door.

In a blink, a little black dragon holding a white porcelain bowl appeared in front of her.

“Yao’er, you can fly?” she exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

The book didn’t mention much about the detailed abilities of the little villains, and before, Long Yao was either carried or crawling on the ground. She had assumed he couldn’t fly!

Long Yao blinked his red beast eyes, the tip of his black tail curling in excitement as he pointed eagerly to the white bowl.

He hadn’t flown before because he was too hungry, with no energy to do so. Now that he was fed, he had the strength to fly.

Looking at Long Yao’s adorable begging-for-food gesture, Hu Jiaojiao couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, let me serve you some porridge.”

The white bowl was larger than Long Yao’s head.

Hu Jiaojiao filled the bowl to the brim and placed it on the ground. Long Yao coiled half of his body around the bowl, burying his head inside, devouring the food with gusto.

Seeing this, the other children also stepped out of the house.

The fragrant lean meat porridge was refreshing and delicious, and soon enough, they had each finished a bowl.

Ling’er, holding her empty bowl, looked longingly at the pot, licking her lips but too afraid to ask for more.

“Go ahead and eat. If it’s not enough, just tell me. From now on, you won’t go hungry,” Hu Jiaojiao smiled warmly, giving each of them another serving.

Apart from Long Yao, the children all had complicated expressions on their faces, staring at her in disbelief.

This vicious female was acting way too strange! How could she promise not to let them starve when she couldn’t even hunt?

A wave of fear flickered through the children’s eyes.

“What are you really planning? If you have some plot, just say it! Stop pretending!” Long Zhong glared at her with hatred, gripping his white porcelain bowl tightly in his thin, yellowish hands.

“You’re not thinking of selling Ling’er to the Stray beastmen, are you?” Long Yu asked coldly, his face impassive.

Hearing this, Ling’er looked at her mother with fear.

“Mother, please don’t sell me. I can work. I can pick fruits for you…”

She feared this might be her last meal.

“Sell her to Stray beastmen?” Hu Jiaojiao was dumbfounded. What was going on?

All she did was try to get them to eat more, and now they were talking about selling Ling’er? Had she said something wrong again?

The original character was only a minor cannon fodder in the story, so there wasn’t much written about her. Hu Jiaojiao had no idea what the original had said to the kids before she arrived.

Long Zhong, as if realizing something, suddenly stood up and smashed his bowl to the ground.

“I knew you were up to no good!”

“You think you can bribe us with food? I’m not eating anything from you! If you dare sell Ling’er to those Stray beastmen, I swear I’ll kill you!”

His deeply sunken eyes were full of hatred and murder.

The other kids were glaring at her with the same fierce intensity, as though she had done something unforgivable.

Hu Jiaojiao’s heart tightened, and she quickly explained, “Ling’er is my child. How can I sell her to Stray beastmen?”

“I heard you say you’d trade Ling’er for animal skin and meat from the Stray beastmen,” Long Yu revealed, his face expressionless.

If he hadn’t secretly followed her a few days ago, they’d still be in the dark.

Seeing the disbelief on their faces, Hu Jiaojiao wanted to cry. The original character really had a death wish!

The Stray beastmen were notorious for torturing and killing females, and she had planned to trade Ling’er for a few animal skin and some meat?

Patiently, she clarified, “I’ve been hiding food all along. We have enough to last for a while, so you don’t have to worry about going hungry. And I would never sell Ling’er.”

Hearing this, the children’s guarded expressions softened a little.

“Really?” Long Yu asked, frowning. “Why didn’t you take it out before?”

“It’s true!” Hu Jiaojiao nodded earnestly. “I was confused before and treated you badly, but I’ve realized my mistakes. I’ll change.”

The kids were smart, and she didn’t intend to hide the original body’s past wrongdoings.

As expected, their faces became a bit dazed after hearing her words.

She had realized her mistakes? Would she really treat them like this from now on?

Seeing that the children were no longer as agitated, Hu Jiaojiao breathed a sigh of relief.

Raising kids was tough.

“Alright, go ahead and eat before it gets cold,” Hu Jiaojiao said gently, handing another bowl to Long Zhong. Jokingly, she added, “These bowls were gifts from Grandma and your uncles. If you keep breaking them, we’ll run out.”

Without waiting for their reactions, she bent down to clean the spilled porridge from the ground.

The little ones looked to Long Yu, and after he gave a slight nod, they resumed eating in silence.

Only Long Xiu held the white porcelain bowl, stroking it gently with his fingers, feeling the unprecedented touch from his fingertips.

His expression was complicated, as if he was thinking about something…