Chapter 29: Then Strive to Become Yingying’s Legitimate Beastly Consort

"Of course I know what I'm doing. My brother is not only well-behaved, but also incredibly devoted—we tigers are the most devoted of all! Unlike you foxes, who are top-tier playboys! Oh, and my father also mentioned that you indulge in both smoke and drink, whereas my brother has absolutely no bad habits!"

Dael was unaware of Merle’s physical peculiarities; she had always perceived her brother as a quiet, introverted, and shy boy.

Sang Fuying cast a probing look at Merle.

She had guessed that Yuan Feiye was a fox the moment she saw him, and since Xiao Bu often referred to him as the "Fox Man," his species was exactly as she had expected.

But Merle—she hadn't realized his beast-kin species was a tiger. He looked so refined and clean, just as his sister described, and seemed so well-behaved; he didn't fit the stereotypical image of a tiger at all.

If she had to compare him to an animal, he looked more like a beautiful, noble Maine Coon with golden fur and green eyes.

Hearing his sister claim he had no bad habits, Merle felt a flicker of guilt deep in his eyes.

The "bad habits" he exhibited in his abnormal state were far more severe than smoking or drinking.

"Sister, please, stop talking. Your suitors are looking for you." Merle gestured toward a group of men who were dressed like peacocks, jostling and elbowing each other as they approached Dael.

Dael spared them a glance, lifted her puffy skirt, and tilted her chin with the haughtiness of a swan before walking away on her high heels.

"I know, I know. You'd better seize the opportunity and don't lose to this flowery fox. I look forward to you dancing with the pretty girl—don't embarrass our Lesterlin family."

Yuan Feiye and Merle sized each other up, with Sang Fuying caught in the middle.

"You came to the Empress’s birthday ball dressed like this? Is your Lesterlin family so poor that you can't afford a proper evening suit for the young master?" Yuan Feiye sneered at Merle the moment he spoke.

Merle shoved his hands into his pockets. "Uncle Yuan is really something else, isn't he?"

At the title "Uncle Yuan," Yuan Feiye instantly lost his composure. "You brat, don't you know how to address people? Yingying, let's go, stay away from him!"

"Uncle Yuan knows I'm just a kid. Since I'm young, you should be the bigger person and yield to me. I want to apologize to Student Sang alone. Student Sang, would you give me a chance?" Merle said, acting with impunity.

Yuan Feiye stepped forward to block Sang Fuying, his fox-like eyes filled with hostility. "Are you playing the 'I'm just a child' card?"

A naive smile curled the corners of Merle’s lips. "You could always play the 'I'm an elder' card."

To Yuan Feiye, that smile was infuriating—it was pure provocation!

The air pressure between the two seemed to drop, as if they might start a fight at any second.

"Um... I can see it was an accident, there's no need to apologize. Could you two please stop arguing?" Sang Fuying said softly.

Yuan Feiye and Merle each took a step back.

Before the dance officially began, the noble females were already surrounded by groups of males. Many males wanted to approach Sang Fuying, but were warded off by the warning glares of Yuan Feiye and Merle.

Yuan Feiye was extremely reluctant to have Merle around, but the brat was persistent in tailing the little one. What was even more annoying was that they seemed to have more in common than he did!

Sang Yao arrived at the palace with Zhou Ying. The moment he stepped into the banquet hall, a familiar, graceful figure caught his eye and halted his progress.

"Excuse me for a moment," he told Zhou Ying before setting off after the black-haired girl in the pale purple gown.

Seeing the girl dressed in such simple, fresh attire, Sang Yao felt a flicker of surprise. It didn't match her usual style of dressing in loud, eye-catching outfits.

In the past, he wouldn't have brought her to an occasion like this. He felt that a female who possessed nothing but beauty and was considered "defective" would easily become a plaything for noble males in such a hedonistic environment where males far outnumbered females, eventually being chewed up and discarded like trash.

However, it did align with her recent behavior.

Over the past few days, he had checked Yingying’s spending records and discovered that she had been purchasing female suppressants every month since she came of age earlier this year.

He couldn't fathom why Yingying would hide the fact that she was a normal female.

It wasn't until last night, when he went back to the old family estate to organize his eldest brother's belongings and cracked the password to his brother’s communicator, that he found a letter that had never been sent.

"Uncle!"

The girl’s sweet, delicate voice interrupted his thoughts.

Sang Yao quickened his pace to meet Sang Fuying, who was trotting toward him. He stopped two steps away, but the girl collided straight into his arms.

She hit him with a soft, fragrant impact. His wrists trembled involuntarily, and he instinctively placed his palms on her waist to steady her.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Be careful," Sang Yao said, bowing his head to straighten the hem of her dress, which she had just stepped on.

Sang Fuying had been walking too fast, and her dress was a bit long; she hadn't been paying attention and had tripped on the hem. If her uncle hadn't been right in front of her, she would have ended up sprawled on the floor just like Merle had earlier.

From Sang Yao’s perspective, the girl had simply stumbled into his arms by accident. In Sang Fuying’s mind, hugging her uncle was the most natural thing in the world. Neither of them gave it much thought, but the onlookers certainly did.

Especially from the perspective of Merle and Yuan Feiye, it looked exactly like she was throwing herself into his arms.

"Is she always that intimate with her uncle?" Merle’s eyes narrowed, flashing with an unusual emotion.

"It’s not the first time," Yuan Feiye replied, sounding like he was already used to it.

"I recall they aren't blood-related. Being so intimate in front of others seems inappropriate."

He and Dael were biological siblings; aside from her hitting him, she never had any other physical contact with him, and he made sure to avoid her whenever he could.

Due to the scarcity of females in the interstellar era, protection laws were extremely strict. Males were forbidden from doing anything against a female's will. Furthermore, to prevent