CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: XU MEIYAN’S PERFORMANCE

Su Qinglan sat down in front of her designated place, still fuming, still muttering curses at Xuyu in her heart.

But before she could even properly sulk...a man sat beside her, Hu Yan.

Su Qinglan blinked.

And then another beastman followed.

Rong Ye.

The sly fox. He came over with slow, hesitant steps and sat down too. Not right beside them—he was smart enough to keep some distance—but close enough to show he wasn’t leaving either.

Su Qinglan’s lips twitched.

...And just when she thought it was over.

A third presence appeared.

Han Jue.

The aloof, quiet one. He lowered himself down gracefully, not too close, not too far...sitting in that awkward position where he looked like part of the group but also looked like he was sitting alone.

Su Qinglan stared at them.

One by one, they had followed her. Like well-trained beasts.

Her eyes roamed around the square, her brain trying to process this sudden gathering.

And then, her gaze froze.

Around a small stone table nearby sat another female...surrounded by her beast-husbands.

Oh.

Ohhh.

Her eyes widened in realization.

So that was the pattern. Every little stone table here was set up for females and their husbands.

And behind them, in a huge group, were all the single beastmen, standing together like a wall of testosterone.

Her mouth twitched.

...So basically, she was stuck at a husband-table too.

Before she could even sigh about her tragic life, the true feast started.

And it was to go on stage and perform.

Any female or male who wanted to show off could step forward and perform...sing, dance, display skills.

Females did it to attract powerful beastmen. Males did it to impress females.

The first person to step onto the stage was none other than her cheap half-sister...Xu Meiyan.

Su Qinglan immediately sat upright.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Ohhh, she had a very, very good feeling about this.

A strange smile spread across her face.

In Hu Yan’s eyes, it looked more like an evil smile. He shuddered slightly.

Xu Meiyan walked gracefully to the stage, dressed in soft furs, her expression pure and gentle, as if she was the kindest flower in the whole forest.

Then she opened her mouth and began to sing.

Her voice was sweet, soft, and carried a melody that echoed beautifully in the night air.

Even Su Qinglan was impressed.

She never thought these beastmen and females could actually...sing like this. And the lyrics...so beautiful, so poetic, and full of longing.

For a moment, she forgot herself and leaned forward, enchanted.

Who had written this? Who had composed it?

It was truly good.

But then again, Su Qinglan’s sharp ears noticed something was off. The tone could’ve been better. The emotion could’ve been deeper. The song was good, but it could’ve been sung far, far better.

Noticing her focused look, Hu Yan leaned close and explained in his calm, low voice.

"This is a famous song from Beast City. It was first sung by the Priestess of the Beast City herself. It became popular after that, and many females began to sing it."

Su Qinglan’s eyes widened.

Beast City. So is this Beast City really that advanced? Maybe they have already invented many good things.

So...they weren’t that backward after all.

She nodded thoughtfully. The priestess must’ve been a talented woman to create such moving words.

And as soon as the song ended, applause burst out.

The crowd clapped loudly, beastmen whistling and cheering. Several males even stood up boldly, openly courting Xu Meiyan.

But...something was wrong.

Xu Meiyan wasn’t smiling at them.

Her gaze was fixed somewhere else, Su Qinglan noticed it immediately.

That girl’s eyes were staring directly beside her.

Her heart sank. Slowly, stiffly, she turned her head to follow the gaze. And her expression soured instantly.

Xu Meiyan’s smile was directed at Hu Yan.

Her half-sister’s entire body language screamed look at me. She was posing subtly, tilting her chin, swaying her body just slightly, her eyes filled with charm.

Su Qinglan’s face turned black.

All her good thoughts about the song evaporated in a puff of smoke.

Her patience snapped.

Without thinking, she scooted closer to Hu Yan, raised her hand, and pointed her middle finger. Right in front of Xu Meiyan’s line of sight.

Su Qinglan smirked. Heh. Take that, you plastic swan. You think you’re seducing my beast-husband with that fake shy smile?

Xu Meiyan froze mid-pose as Su Qinglan squeezed herself into her view of Hu Yan.

What?!

What the hell was this fat bitch doing?!

Why was she pointing that ugly finger at her face?!

Her smile stiffened. She didn’t understand the gesture, but one thing was clear...this bitch was mocking her.

Meanwhile, Hu Yan hadn’t even looked at Xu Meiyan once. Not once. His gaze stayed calmly forward, completely oblivious to the desperate little poses she was making.

Su Qinglan’s grin widened. Ah, the ultimate humiliation: performing your one-woman cabaret, and your crush doesn’t even blink at you. But I notice. And I’m giving you the finger review. One star out of five. Needs improvement. Boo.

Xu Meiyan’s face twisted, as she also noticed that Hu Yan had not looked at her once and his eyes were focused on that fat bitch and the worst thing was that now the bitch was making faces at her.

She felt like hacking this fat bitch into pieces and feeding her to evil ferocious beasts, but she knew she couldn’t do anything. So she clutched her skirt, spun on her heel, and stomped back to her seat with the grace of a cow stepping in mud.

Her steps were stiff, her face red, her eyes burning with humiliation as her mind spun with countless questions.

She had sung so beautifully.

She had poured her heart into it.

And yet Hu Yan didn’t even look at her once.

Not once.

His eyes were only fixed on...that fat bitch.

Her teeth ground audibly as she sat down with a huff.

And when a bold male tried to stop her on the way, wanting to court her, she shoved him away like he was trash.

None of them were good. They weren’t even as good as Hu Yan’s toes, and they dared to court her? She was disgusted as she looked at them. Someone beautiful like her deserved so much better and not that fat bitch.