Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Gu Mengmeng watched as Elvis mimicked the way she slapped Lea and felt like crying even more. Gesturing at Elvis with two slaps in the air, she said, “I should have slapped your damned face to death first.”

Smiling, Elvis carried Gu Mengmeng back in his arms, coaxing her gently, “If hitting me makes you feel better, then hit me. Do you want to hit me on the left side? Or the right side?”

Gu Mengmeng raised her arms, but looking at Elvis’ sincere and gentle expression, she could not bear to hit him in the end. Swinging her arms, she gave him a punch in his chest, turning her head around and ignored him.

Elvis placed Gu Mengmeng’s tiny hand on his palm lightly, carefully caressing every inch of her skin, saying, “Winter is almost over. Once the snow melts, everyone will see Lea walking out from our cave. Then, even if you did not mate with him, he would also be considered a part of our family. So, strictly speaking, he cannot be considered “someone else”.”

Stunned, Gu Mengmeng tilted her head asking Elvis, “What do you mean?”

Elvis had always known Gu Mengmeng never grasped the concept of rules in the beast world, so he explained patiently, “Do you remember Barete’s request before the winter?”

Gu Mengmeng thought for a moment and replied, “I remember, he said he wanted to stay in our cave. Didn’t you reject him on the spot?”

Elvis nodded, “I rejected him, because I knew you didn’t want to mate with him, neither did you feel any certain way towards him, so I could not let him enter our cave. Because once he spends the winter over, it would mean that he has been accepted to become part of the family. However, he has a low status and had no rights to mate, only being able to do labor such as hunting during the wet and dry seasons to provide food for the family, while preparing reserved for the winter. Thus, no female would want to mate with him ever again. If at any point he regrets and would like to shed such an identity, he would then have to leave Saint Nazaire in search of a new tribe. However, there are only a few tribes willing to accept single males. If someone found out that he had eventually left after preparing reserves, then no females would mate with him in the new tribe as well. Even if they had already mated, he stands the chance of being abandoned.”

“So, usually, after people who reserve food join another family, there is basically no turning back. In a better case, they might be accepted by a female, becoming one of their partners, but such cases are far and few between. Most of them only beg for mercy, becoming food in the winter for females to keep nourished for a season. For the worst cases… despite countless seasons, even the females forget they have such a male by their side, then, one day they do not return from their hunting, yet still go unnoticed. It would be as if, no such person ever existed.”

“It is this reason that I do not agree for Barete to come to our cave. If you decide to not accept him eventually, then he would spend his life being a beast pet that you keep by your side. Based on your kind-heartedness, you would either accept him unwillingly or become tormented by your conscience. No matter what, I don’t find any of the outcomes favorable so I rejected him.”

Gu Mengmeng remained silent for a long time after Elvis had finished speaking. Then, she slowly turned to look at the direction of the cave’s entrance, replying faintly, “But… I let Lea stay with us.”