She finally got a good look at his face. He was nothing like she had imagined. He looked incredibly young, more like an older brother than an uncle. In reality, Felix wasn't even fifty years old yet. Compared to the average lifespan of five hundred years, he was right in his absolute prime.
After a brief pause, Felix bowed respectfully. "Greetings. I am Felix Ryan. Please forgive my earlier offensive remarks. I will handwrite a three-thousand-word apology letter and send it to you along with a gift."
Nian Yan was stunned, hastily bowing back at him. "Oh no, you really don't have to do that."
She quickly took the chance to defend herself. "And I'm not the kind of person who just tosses people aside for something new. I will absolutely take responsibility for my future partners. I'd never abandon them."
Long after the video call had ended, Felix still couldn't snap out of his daze. Suddenly, he understood exactly why Leon had fallen for her at first sight.
Meanwhile, hearing Felix mention it, Nian Yan finally realized that someone had recorded her soothing the black snake beastman and posted it on the Star Network. She opened her terminal to check, only to find that her follower count had already surpassed the total population of Earth.
After hesitating for days, she finally dragged herself out of bed bright and early one morning. She told Lu Zan and Leon that she wanted to do a quick live stream to thank her fans, because the tips in her account alone were enough to last her several lifetimes.
Since Leon hadn't started breakfast yet, Nian Yan decided to live stream herself cooking. She was going to make classic meat buns from her home planet, Earth.
Even though it was a spur-of-the-moment stream, and so early in the morning, the moment she went live, Nian Yan took one look at the screen and realized her fans were actually reporting Lu Zan and Leon just because she was about to cook.
Shocked, she quickly threw her hands up and frantically explained that she wasn't doing the actual cooking. Leon was. Lu Zan was just moderating the stream.
Her flustered reaction was so cute that the audience flooded the chat with compliments again. Even Lu Zan couldn't resist ruffling her hair.
Seeing the cozy vibe between those two and feeling completely left out, Leon suddenly let out a sharp hiss. Looking over, she saw that he had actually cut his finger.
Nian Yan dashed over in a heartbeat. She grabbed his bleeding hand, her face full of absolute worry.
The chat instantly filled with question marks. The fans could instantly tell this was just one of Major General Leon's sneaky little tricks. But Nian Yan was completely clueless. Her heart aching, she dragged him over to wash the wound, scrambled for the medical kit, and even gently blew on the bandage after wrapping it.
Leon was stunned. He really hadn't expected this little trick to work so perfectly. If he had known, he would have cut himself deeper.
Meanwhile, the chat was losing its absolute mind. After all, a female doting on a male like this was something they had never, ever seen before. By the way, that tiny cut was already healing.
But the audience weren't the only ones annoyed. Lu Zan, watching from the side, had finally had enough. He told Leon to go rest, saying he would keep Nian Yan company on the stream instead.
Like hell was Leon going to let him win. The two of them immediately started bickering back and forth.
Seeing that they didn't need her, Nian Yan turned her attention back to the holographic screen. She couldn't help but laugh, telling everyone they were overthinking things.
"They're not my mates. They're just my guardians. Like Lu Zan said, he just wants to be my family."
But the fans weren't fooled for a second. They practically exposed Lu Zan's entire search history to prove his motives were anything but innocent.
Nian Yan stared at the screen, totally dumbfounded. It finally clicked. That was true, wasn't it? Then Lu Zan's little strategy was working perfectly. She had definitely been distancing herself from Leon and getting way closer to him.
She immediately decided to be fair and keep a strict distance from both of them. After showing everyone how to wrap the buns, she ignored the two men completely and focused purely on her audience.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Zan shifted into a giant wolf. He balanced a tray of buns on his head, trotting over to Nian Yan for praise.
The viewers were absolutely stunned. They thought he had lost his mind, shifting into his beast form like that. He was definitely going to get kicked out by the female.
But the moment Nian Yan saw this giant snow-white ball of fluff bounding toward her, her brain short-circuited and she instinctively threw her arms around him for a huge hug.
Viewers' jaws practically dropped to the floor. On the Empire's list of the most hated male beast forms among females, wolves were always right at the top. Females only ever chose fierce predator males to gain their power and status. Deep down, they heavily preferred gentle or herbivorous males. That was why lions, wolves, and leopards only held high status before marriage, and lower status at home. Highly respected outside, the classic example of having zero power at home.
But Nian Yan completely shattered that stereotype. She buried herself entirely in the snow wolf's thick, fluffy fur, absolutely intoxicated by happiness.
Leon's eyes were practically burning red with jealousy. Having known Lu Zan for years, this was the very first time he'd seen him act so utterly shameless. But if doing that meant he could get closer to Nian Yan, he didn't hesitate for a second. Transforming into a majestic, golden-maned lion, he desperately nuzzled his big head right into the little female's palms.
A wolf right in front of her and a lion right behind her. Nian Yan was completely, utterly captivated. She even forgot she was still live streaming. She was so lost in this fluffy paradise that she couldn't pull herself out.
Meanwhile, the live chat was absolutely losing its mind. The jealousy was literally spilling through the screen. Nobody would have ever dreamed that their beast forms could actually get this kind of royal treatment.
And while Nian Yan wasn't paying attention, the stream turned into a massive matchmaking frenzy. Countless males were flooding her private messages, sending her all their personal details.