Seeing her friend's discomfort, although Chen Lan really wanted to match her with the brothers, she also didn't want to put her friend in a difficult position. So, during dinner, she invited Ji Mo Ling to her house without calling the brothers.
When Ji Mo Ling walked into Chen Lan's house with a bag of ingredients, she looked around and, upon not seeing the Chen triplets, let out a sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Chen Lan couldn't help but chuckle while also feeling a bit worried. She pulled her into the house and adopted the older sister role: "Ling, you can't keep doing this! You'll be an adult next year, and you should start considering which beastmen you want to accept! Generally, we decide on one or two candidates by the time we're fourteen or fifteen. Look at Wang Xin; even though she hasn't held a wedding ceremony yet, she already has three candidates lined up, waiting for the joyous day in 120 days. I understand that as a recluse, you may not be used to life in the tribe at first… BALABALA…"
Holding the little white bear dog that snuggled up to her, Ji Mo Ling listened with eyes wide open, until Li and He finished cooking and came out to call them, interrupting Chen Lan's lengthy monologue.
As soon as they heard dinner was ready, Bai jumped down from Ji Mo Ling's lap and dashed into his father's arms.
Ji Mo Ling wore a look of "finally saved," standing up to gratefully bow to her two brothers-in-law.
Chen Lan found this amusing and, with one hand on her hip in a teapot stance and the other stretching out a slender finger to poke her forehead, said, "You! How can you be so unconcerned?"
"Hey!" Ji Mo Ling pretended to be poked and tilted to one side, patting her stomach with a pitiful look. "Lan, please spare your little sister; I'm about to starve. Can we eat first?"
Her playful demeanor made Chen Lan and her two husbands burst into laughter. Although Bai didn't understand the situation, seeing his mother and dad laughing made him join in with his own giggles, making adorable puppy sounds that were particularly funny.
"Hahaha!" Ji Mo Ling saw this and quickly reached out to ruffle the little puppy's fur. "Little thing! You're so funny!"
This playful exchange brought Li and He closer to Ji Mo Ling, seeing her not just as the benefactor of their family but as a good sister-in-law, a younger sister who hadn't reached adulthood yet.
Li took Chen Lan's hand and gestured to Ji Mo Ling, inviting her to eat. "Let's have dinner."
They all sat down at the round dining table, and after placing their son in a high chair, He turned to Ji Mo Ling and said, "Since we didn't know your taste, we made a variety of dishes. Feel free to eat what you like."
"Right! Just treat it like your own home, don't be polite!" Chen Lan echoed, clearly pleased with the dishes prepared by her husbands, which showed they had put in effort.
"I'm not picky. The dinner looks amazing, and I like everything. Thank you, brothers-in-law." There was grilled fish, fish soup, a pot of vegetable stew with meat, grilled meat, a plate of wings, a bowl of mushroom egg soup, and a bucket of rice. It was much more lavish than what Ji Mo Ling usually had by herself.
The dinner was a delightful occasion.
After dinner, Ji Mo Ling spent some time chatting with Chen Lan and playing with Bai before saying goodbye and heading home. As she walked, she suddenly stopped and turned around, but saw nothing.
"Strange," Ji Mo Ling muttered to herself. She clearly felt someone was following her, but turning back revealed no one. By now, she was almost home, and the only sounds she heard were from other families cooking and children laughing, mostly from inside their houses.
Continuing forward while remaining alert to her surroundings, she entered her home without sensing anyone following her and decided to set aside her confusion for the moment.
What Ji Mo Ling didn't know was that shortly after she closed the door, a tall figure arrived at her doorstep, lingering for a while before leaving with his head down.
In the following two days, Ji Mo Ling would go to Chen Lan's house for dinner before heading home. Fortunately, the beastmen couldn't freely enter the hospital, and even the Chen triplets only stayed occasionally. Otherwise, if the "director" got angry, it would be no joke. This provided Ji Mo Ling with considerable breathing room and her admiration for Kong rose steadily.
So, when Kong expressed interest in learning how to make the coma mushroom powder that Ji Mo Ling was helping Wang Xin with, she immediately agreed and generously offered her remaining stock of mushrooms, allowing the finished product to go to the hospital.
This act of generosity significantly boosted Kong's impression of her, making him even kinder and gentler toward her, approaching the affection he had for his eldest daughter, Chen Lan.
One morning, Ji Mo Ling tried to escape the overly enthusiastic beastmen outside by climbing over the wall from the back of her house, intending to meet Wang Xin to pick up her leather armor. Just as she landed, she heard someone call, "Ling!" Thinking she had been discovered, she froze and was about to bolt when a petite figure blocked her path.
After focusing her gaze, she sighed in relief. "Oh, it's you! You scared me. Why didn't you wait for me to come over?"
Wang Xin teasingly looked her over, confused as to why Ji Mo Ling was in such a frantic state, climbing over the wall to leave her own house. "It's just the beastmen pursuing you! They know their limits; why do you look like you're fleeing for your life? You're ruining your image as a recluse, acting like you've never seen the world before."
Ji Mo Ling rolled her eyes: "You forgot, I came out from the corners of the Zhi Mu Forest. I really haven't seen much of the world."
Wang Xin was speechless, as that was indeed the case. "Then you can't keep climbing over the wall every day and eating at Lan's place, right?"
"What do you suggest I do?" She had already turned down the beastmen's offer to take turns cooking for her on the first day, but it didn't seem to have much effect. Ji Mo Ling felt quite helpless; she was struggling to adapt!
"I think you should clarify your position. Choose two suitable candidates to settle on first. Once there's a male head of the house, the beastmen will calm down a lot!" As for the few who were still not giving up… that's no big deal!
"That makes some sense." Ji Mo Ling selectively listened to the first part, ignoring the latter half about "choosing two suitable candidates." "Okay, then you wait for me at the hospital. I've used up the mushroom powder for you, and Kong saved your share for you. I'm just going home for a bit."
Hearing that the mushroom powder she had been thinking about for the past couple of days was ready, Wang Xin didn't care about Ji Mo Ling's troubles anymore and hurried away.
Returning to her doorstep, Ji Mo Ling found a considerable number of beastmen gathered nearby, chatting in small groups. Upon seeing her approach, they quickly crowded around her. Without waiting for them to speak, Ji Mo Ling raised her hand for silence and addressed them.
She first expressed her gratitude for their concern and care, then once again clearly rejected their offers to take turns cooking for her, asking them not to send her food anymore as she couldn't finish it and hated wasting it.
Next, she explained that she had always lived alone and was unaccustomed to the warm enthusiasm from the tribe since it was her first time joining. Additionally, she stated that she had no intention of considering partners before reaching adulthood, encouraging them to pursue adult women instead, wishing them success in finding their own families.
The beastmen exchanged glances after hearing this. They finally realized that their enthusiasm had caused discomfort to the new young recluse, and they hoped she wouldn't dislike them for it or decide to leave the tribe.
They quickly indicated they understood her point. Some were relieved to back off their pursuit, while others were thinking about continuing their courtship in a more discreet manner. As it happened, it was time for the tribe to gather for work outside, so the group of beastmen dispersed quickly.
Ji Mo Ling achieved her goal and let out a sigh of relief. She walked quickly to reunite with Wang Xin, excited that her T. rex leather armor was finally ready!