Ruan Chanchan was unaware of Xie Daiyu's thoughts. And even if she knew what he was thinking, she would simply roll her eyes and ignore him. That mer was as sane as she was crazy. It was better to go on with her usual day-to-day activities than worry about someone like Xie Daiyu.
When Ruan Chanchan returned to the cave, Ruan Zeqiu had already left. She was quite glad that Ruan Zeqiu was not brooding over the worms that he pulled in the morning, or else Ruan Chanchan was worried she would have spent the entire morning convincing the little mer that he was not going to die.
Such tasks were better left in the hands of others rather than in her own.
Seeing that Ruan Zeqiu was gone, Ruan Chanchan arched her arms above her head and decided to take another nap. Anyway, she was still playing the role of the fool. What could she even do other than eat and sleep? She hurriedly went inside her space and brushed her teeth before taking out a pack of chips and shrimp crackers and having a hearty breakfast.
Once she had finished a few packs, Ruan Chanchan stepped out of her space and then went to sleep on the animal skins.
Xiao Xi, who watched Ruan Chanchan going to sleep: "..." He had never met with such a carefree host. The world was getting destroyed, and she was still sleeping without any worries. He had to admit that Ruan Chanchan was really strong-willed.
Xiao Xi was not the only one who was filled with a surge of helplessness. At that moment, Ruan Zeqiu, who had joined the hunting team, was feeling just as helpless; he looked at Xie Daiyu, who was staring at Shao Xia with a hint of anger on his face while Shao Xia wiped the blood off her mouth.
"Just what is wrong with you!?" Xie Daiyu angrily questioned the woman. "Why did you suddenly charge ahead? Do you even see the monster that you are facing? Even if you are confident that you can take it down, you should have at least told the hunting team about your plan."
"I would have been fine if that brat hadn't come in between!" snapped Shao Xia as she got to her feet and shot a rather fierce look at Shen Meng, who lowered her head. She looked quite terrified because of the current situation, as they not only ended up losing the feathered theropod but also ended up in this fiasco.
With half of the team supporting Xie Daiyu and the other half supporting Shao Xia, Shen Meng had no idea what was going to happen now.
Xie Daiyu flared his nostrils. He snapped back at Shao Xia, "Don't blame Shen Meng! She did what I asked her to do; she was supposed to act as bait, and you, along with Xia Jinghao, Ah Man and Xie Suicheng, were supposed to surround the theropod before attacking it."
"You are very lucky that I reached Shen Meng before the theropod could bite her neck." Though Xie Daiyu was also surprised by how fast he ran earlier, he didn't have the time to worry about that at the moment. He glared at Shao Xia and said to her, "Shao Xia, I understand that you are upset with me leading the team, but you need to understand that you are still a fifth-level beast woman, while I am a third rank. I am stronger than you and have proven my strength many times. You need to listen to me when I am leading the team! You cannot just ignore my commands."
Shao Xia shrugged and then said to Xia Daiyu, "I didn't ignore your command. I just mistook the timings and ran a few seconds earlier. It's not a big deal. Why are you yelling as if the world is coming to an end? As a mer, how can you yell so loud? If you act like this, will any woman even dare to take you as her partner?"
"You…" Xie Daiyu took a step toward the woman, but before he could do anything to her, Ruan Zeqiu stepped in between. He raised his hands and pushed the two of them away from one another and said, "Alright, that's enough."
He looked at the two of them before saying, "I think we have wasted enough time quarrelling here. It doesn't matter who was in the wrong this time around, but we need to hunt that theropod; if not, I am afraid we will go hungry tonight and not just us; the entire tribe will go hungry because of a foolish quarrel."
Xie Daiyu looked down at Ruan Zeqiu; for two seconds, he wanted to push the mer away because he couldn't accept anyone causing trouble for him, but when he looked down at Ruan Zeqiu, he couldn't help but be reminded of Ruan Chanchan.
The two siblings were as different as they could have been, but at the same time, they were similar in some ways. Especially their eyes. The two of them had the same upturned eyes, and when they glared, they looked really charming. No wonder many women were vouching to make Ruan Zeqiu to be their mate.
With Ruan Zeqiu glaring at him, Xie Daiyu couldn't help but remember how Ruan Chanchan had glared at him earlier in the morning. Something inside of him stirred at the mere mention of Ruan Chanchan. He suppressed that sudden urge and turned to look away. He was worried that if he did something to hurt Ruan Zeqiu, Ruan Chanchan would get angry with him.
Thus, even though he was furious, he turned to walk in the direction of Shen Meng, who was trembling under the care of her sister.
He said to her, "There is no need for you to feel guilty. You did nothing wrong. If anything, you were very brave while acting as the bait."
Shen Meng nodded. However, she was still terrified. Thus, Xie Daiyu asked her to go back, but just as he finished speaking —
"AHHH! Ah Man collapsed!"