Chapter 6: Change
As soon as the question was raised, the room fell silent again.
In truth, everyone knew that Yan An’s problem ultimately boiled down to whether Hua Mian was willing to comfort him.
If she wasn’t willing, there was nothing they could do.
“We have to prepare both ways.”
Yu Jin rubbed his brow in frustration. “We don’t have the money.”
“I’ll earn it.”
“No.” Yu Jin disagreed immediately, seeing that Chen Xueji didn’t seem swayed.
Yu Jin’s expression grew serious. “Your health is far worse than you think. You barely managed to keep yourself alive, and now you want to risk your life for Yan An?”
Everyone knew that the best solution was for Hua Mian to soothe Yan An.
Thinking of the sweet fragrance of roses from earlier, Yu Jin said, “I’ll go ask her.”
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking interrupted Chen Xueji before he could speak.
“Come in.”
Yu Jin turned and met Yan An’s red, tearful eyes. He couldn’t help but wipe under them with the back of his hand.
“Brother Yu Jin, Brother Xueji, ugh…”
Before he could say anything, he began to sob.
Yu Jin sighed. “Come sit down. You two come over too.”
The five tall, long-legged beastmen squeezed into the small room. Nobody spoke—they quietly listened as Yan An cried, slowly calming himself.
“Brother Yu Jin, I’m sorry,” Yan An choked out.
“It’s alright. We all treat you as a little brother. Protecting a younger brother is what an older brother should do,” Yu Jin said, his eyes gentle.
Yan An felt even more ashamed. How could he be so useless, causing trouble for his brothers?
“You’re sick, so don’t overthink it. Just rest. We’ll handle everything. No one at home will blame you—after all, everyone loves the meals you make.”
Yu Jin teased him lightly.
“Ah, yes! Yan An, we’re waiting for you to get better so you can cook for us again!” Chi Rui said brightly, flashing a pair of small, white tiger-like teeth.
“Beastmen bleed but don’t cry,” Chu Fufeng hesitated slightly, then patted Yan An’s shoulder.
“Okay.”
After crying, Yan An inquired about Chen Xueji’s condition. Not long after, he grew tired, and Chi Rui and Chu Fufeng escorted him out.
…
Hua Mian woke up groggily, her stomach empty and aching with hunger, feeling as if she could eat a whole cow.
Yet, as she got up, she found her energy surprisingly good. The dull pain pressing on her chest seemed to have vanished.
She looked in the mirror, puzzled. The reflection showed black hair and pale skin, with enchanting eyes and lips that had gained a bit more color. She looked healthier, almost like a wild creature that had fully absorbed life energy.
Though strange, she couldn’t figure out why.
Too hungry to think much, she decided to go downstairs and find something to eat.
As soon as she reached the first floor, the sweet aroma of desserts greeted her. Entering the dining room, she saw Yu Jin, focused on making sweets while wearing an apron.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Yu Jin looked up and smiled faintly. His silver hair shone in the backlight, and with his warm, smiling eyes, Hua Mian almost imagined she saw an angel.
“Madam, just two more minutes. It’ll be ready soon.”
His voice was rich and gentle, like the man himself.
Hua Mian nodded and rested her chin on her hand, scrolling through her light computer.
She realized that the memories of her original body were fading. On the first day she woke up, she could still remember a lot, but now she couldn’t recall much of her childhood. Whether that was good or bad, she had no way to change it.
Browsing trending topics online, she felt curious:
“Smith family discovers a planet in the K74 system, recruiting beastmen to clean it.”
“Empire intends to expand conscription; the federal government provokes border planets.”
“The number of comforters has decreased sharply in recent years…”
“Comforter Sophia arrives on Tucamon for vacation today…”
…
Curious, Hua Mian clicked on the trending news about comforters. The first thing she saw was a photo of a female with golden curls, snow-white skin, and beautiful blue eyes—a typical European appearance.
“So pretty!” Hua Mian exclaimed.
Below the photo was a detailed tourist guide for Tucamon, clearly a paid promotion. Judging by the comments calling her a goddess and talking about taking a starship to Tucamon, it seemed the planet’s tourism campaign had succeeded.
“Madam, try your favorite little cake.”
On two small white porcelain plates lay perfectly presented little cakes, topped with ruby-red berries. Nearby were a cup of fruit tea and a small plate of pink flower-shaped cookies. The presentation was exquisite and very appetizing.
“Thank you.”
“As long as you like it,” Yu Jin said, pausing as he set down the fork. Hua Mian noticed that her original personality was very proud and likely wouldn’t have bothered to say thanks.
Should she maintain her persona? Or just go with the flow? Since her sudden transmigration wasn’t her choice, she decided to take it easy.
With that, Hua Mian quietly enjoyed the dessert.
Eating a sweet cake while starving truly felt like happiness.
Watching her, eyes like a content little cat, Yu Jin was momentarily stunned. She really did seem different.
After finishing the cake, she tried a bite of a cookie but couldn’t eat more.
“Do you have something to say?”
Hua Mian pushed the remaining cookie toward Yu Jin, who had been lost in thought.
“No…” Yu Jin answered absentmindedly.
“Then I’ll go back to my room to rest.” Hua Mian quickly got up, her blue-and-white skirt flowing like ocean waves as she left the dining room.
Yu Jin snapped out of his daze, clenching his fists in frustration. He had missed such a perfect chance!
But seeing Hua Mian’s back, he had no opportunity to speak again. If he tried to bring up Yan An now, she’d surely be displeased.
Rarely did Yu Jin feel regret, but today, Hua Mian’s unusual behavior had caught him off guard.
“Only the evening remains,” he muttered, rubbing his knuckles.
Unexpectedly, Hua Mian didn’t come down again; dinner was eaten by the five of them together.
…
Midnight.
Hua Mian suddenly woke up, feeling breathless and a sharp pain in her chest.
Sitting up and pressing her heart, she gasped for air.
What was happening? She hadn’t experienced this during the day, so why now?
Her energy felt worse than it had two days ago. Her body seemed to be deteriorating.
Thinking of how light and relaxed she felt yesterday, she couldn’t accept her current state.
She hadn’t eaten any miraculous medicine yesterday… the only difference was being with Chen Xueji…
Could it be that her body improved yesterday because of him?
The thought left Hua Mian silent.
If that were true, she was in big trouble. After all, among the five legal beast husbands, probably not one of them would want her to survive. That was not good news.
While lost in thought, she suddenly heard a sound at the door.
This time she was smarter: she turned on the lights and flung open the door.
She came face-to-face with a pair of wide, wet, panicked eyes.
She looked up and down, puzzled. “Yan An?”
