Bai Su was about to fight again, but Lu Tingyan, who was standing beside her, let out a cold "Tsk!" and she immediately backed down.
She was still indignant. "They're the ones who came looking for trouble! If you've got the guts to start something, you should be prepared to get hit."
Lu Tingyan shot her a cold glance. 'She threw the first punch, and she thinks she's justified.'
'Her hair was a total mess, like a bird's nest from where they'd grabbed it, and her face was all scratched up. She looked like a little madwoman.'
Xiao Mi looked at Lu Tingyan. The moment she saw the insignia on his uniform, she burst into tears. "Major General, you have to get justice for us! It was clearly her kid who stole our rice! Now they won't admit it, and they're hitting people!"
"We will investigate exactly what happened," Lu Tingyan said in a cold voice.
He signaled to the security officers nearby, ordering them to detain both the troublemaker, Xiao Mi, and Bai Su.
Bai Xiaolang grew anxious. "Hey! Why are you arresting people indiscriminately? I didn't steal anything! They're framing us!"
The people in the crowd began to whisper. "This Bai Su sure has her ways."
"Seducing men, and now teaching a child to steal."
"Why would the Federation suddenly incorporate the orphanage into its territory? Won't this woman be even more brazen now?"
Hidden in the crowd, Bai Xue watched the farce unfold, a new plan slowly forming in her mind.
'Lu Tingyan never gets involved in things like this. I really underestimated that bitch Bai Su!'
'I have to drive that woman out of the Federation's territory!'
'She was exiled for a reason. And she thinks she can just come back?'
'In her dreams!'
Lu Tingyan's men were highly efficient. Federation officers soon arrived with detection equipment.
They first searched the mountaintop orphanage but didn't find the stolen rice that Xiao Mi had mentioned.
The officers then conducted a swift and thorough search of the scene, found a clue in the piles of rice there, and ultimately discovered that the person who stole the rice was actually Xiao Mi's own child.
When the results were announced, everyone was gathered in the village at the foot of the mountain.
Xiao Mi stared at the results in shock. "How is that possible? Why would our kid steal rice? It's our own rice!"
"And besides, why would he slash the bags open? Is he an idiot?"
Bai Su rolled her eyes. "I don't care why your kid stole the rice. The truth is out. You came here looking for a fight and framed my child. Now, apologize! Right this instant!"
A guilty look flashed across Xiao Mi's face. "Apologize for what? So he didn't steal it. It's not like I was wrong. Just because he didn't steal anything today doesn't mean he hasn't stolen before!"
"Besides... besides, you hit me! I haven't even settled that score with you yet!"
Bai Su looked to Lu Tingyan. "Major General Lu, what's the verdict? They came to our door to cause trouble, slandered both my and Bai Xiaolang's reputations, and caused us severe emotional distress. Doesn't hitting her count as self-defense?"
Xiao Mi also looked at Lu Tingyan.
Lu Tingyan looked at the two of them, his face expressionless. "Xiao Mi initiated this by bringing people here to cause trouble. The party at fault will bear all consequences."
Bai Su raised her hand like a grade-schooler. "They also have to apologize to my kid! And they have to compensate me for damages to my reputation and for emotional distress!"
The moment Xiao Mi heard about paying money, she spat, "Pah! Why should I pay you for reputational damages? A wanton female like you even has a reputation to begin with?"
"If you weren't seducing our Beast Husbands, who would even bother with you?"
Hearing this, the other females also grew indignant. "That's right! This female is indecent! She's seducing our Beast Husbands!"
"We demand she be kicked out of the Federation!"
"Yes! Uphold her original sentence of exile!"
Bai Su's gaze swept over the ones shouting in the crowd. 'Why haven't I seen those females in the village before?'
When those females met her gaze, they were startled and quickly shrank back into the crowd.
But Bai Su had no time for them right now. She focused on Xiao Mi. "Anyone can make baseless accusations. You need proof when you say things like that. On what grounds do you claim I'm seducing people?"
'It was true, she had forgotten that a female's scent could trigger arousal.'
'But her running route didn't go through the village at all. She would just go from the summit to the foot of the mountain and turn back.'
'The only time she'd entered the village was to buy water as a treat for the workers.'
Xiao Mi said furiously, "What do you mean, no seduction? Our Beast Husbands have been completely out of it, running up the mountain every day at mealtime! If that's not your doing, what is?"
"Yes! Our Beast Husband too!"
"And mine! Lately, he won't even eat his meals! He just runs up the mountain at dinnertime. If he's not being seduced, what is it? And every time he comes back down, he looks like he's in a trance! You claim to be innocent, but who's going to believe you?"
'So that's what this was all about?'
Bai Su was so speechless she wanted to roll her eyes.
Lu Tingyan also had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
He glanced at his adjutant, Yodel.
Yodel had no choice but to step forward and explain resignedly to the crowd, "Everyone, you've misunderstood. Your Beast Husbands have been going up the mountain, but it's likely they were just attracted by the food Miss Bai Su has been cooking. It's not an affair like you're imagining."
The crowd was clearly skeptical. "What kind of food could make a person lose their appetite for everything else?"
"Exactly! You think we've never had food before?"
"There are plenty of nutrient packs and canned goods at home, and I can't even get him to take an extra bite of those!"
"And you're still covering for her!"
Bai Su rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not. Just because you're incapable doesn't mean everyone else is."
'Truth be told, these females didn't seem to pay much attention to their Beast Husbands on a daily basis.'
'But such was human nature. Take something unremarkable, and as soon as someone else wants it, it suddenly becomes irresistibly attractive.'
The crowd remained unconvinced and relentless.
Lu Tingyan frowned. "The matter has been clarified. This ends now. Xiao Mi gathered a mob, caused a disturbance, and damaged the reputations of Bai Su and Bai Xiaolang. She is ordered to pay them three thousand in compensation for emotional distress. Anyone else who objects will be found guilty of the same offense and sentenced accordingly."
The matter was thus set in stone.
Bai Su shot Xiao Mi one last eye-roll before leading Bai Xiaolang home.
On the way back, Bai Xiaolang was silent, his head hung low, clearly in low spirits.
Bai Su patted his shoulder. "Come on, none of this was your fault. And we didn't exactly lose, did we? Don't be so down about it."
Bai Xiaolang looked up at her. "Don't get into fights for me anymore."
Bai Su raised an eyebrow. "Why not? You think I'm embarrassing you?"
Bai Xiaolang grew flustered. "Of course not! I just... I just..."
He had a very stubborn and awkward personality. Deep down, he was worried Bai Su would get hurt, but he just couldn't bring himself to say the words.
After struggling for a moment, he couldn't hold back his frustration. "Argh, just... don't fight for me anymore!"
Bai Su suddenly let out a laugh and pulled him into a hug. "Alright, alright. I know you're worried about me."
"If you're worried, then just say you're worried. That mouth of yours isn't just for eating; it's for talking and expressing your feelings, too. If you keep everything bottled up, how is anyone supposed to know what you're thinking?"
Bai Xiaolang had never been held so tightly in such a soft, warm embrace before.
The sensation was completely new and special to him.
His face grew redder and redder, and his body went stiff, not daring to move. Part of him wanted Bai Su to hold him a little longer, but another part felt deeply awkward and debated whether to push her away.
Bai Su ruffled his hair. "Come on, repeat after me: 'It's because I'm worried about you and afraid you'll get hurt because of me.'"
His innermost thoughts exposed, Bai Xiaolang's face flushed crimson. "No!" he said stiffly.
Bai Su swayed him in her arms. "Come on, say it. It's such a simple sentence."
"No!"
"Then how about another one? Just say, 'Mama Director, I'm afraid it would hurt if you got injured.'"
"Ah, that's so cheesy! No way!" The little wolf cub was mortified. He struggled out of her embrace and scampered up the mountain.
Bai Su roared with laughter behind him. As she chased after him, she shamelessly continued to voice his inner thoughts: "Mama Director, you stood up for me today, and I'm so happy!"
"Aaaah, stop it!"
"Mama Director, I love you so much! When I grow up, I'll be sure to protect you!"
"Bai Su, shut up!"
Lu Tingyan stood under a tree around a bend in the path. He had intended to escort the two of them back from the shadows, but he hadn't expected to overhear such a heartwarming conversation.
He didn't even realize when the corners of his own lips had curled into a smile.
'This woman, Bai Su... she seems to have changed a lot.'