What Does It Mean to Be a Man?

Lu Yuan froze at the cat-kin girl's words.

She had extended one pale finger from where her hand rested on her knee, pointing at the grill. "Eating grilled fish."

He opened his mouth. Then closed it. He had absolutely nothing to say to that.

*Is she seriously here just to eat?*

He ran through his options.

*Run?* Definitely not. She'd appeared at his side without him catching so much as a whisper of her approach. Even with a Potent Speed Serum, he was certain she'd still outpace him. One step and he was done.

*Sneak attack?* If it failed, he was done.

*Get close to her, butter her up?* He hesitated. The gap between them had already been proven by her materializing beside him without a sound.

In the end, he chickened out.

Swallowing the urge to say something sarcastic, Lu Yuan tugged his mouth into something that barely qualified as a smile and asked with guarded wariness, "This... cat-kin... Miss — was there something you needed?"

Just then, a curl of smoke caught his eye. He glanced at the grill.

"About to burn," the cat-kin girl said flatly.

"Oh — right, I'll keep going." He hastily flipped the meat.

*Why are YOU the one reminding me to flip it?!*

He resumed grilling in silence, stealing glances at her every few moments. She seemed entirely unaware of his scrutiny, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the golden crocodile flesh. He even caught the subtle movement of her throat as she swallowed.

*She really did just come here to eat.*

He turned his options over one by one and crossed them out one by one. Running was out. Attacking was out. If she'd wanted him dead, she'd have made her move the instant she appeared — he never would have reacted in time.

Looking at her demeanor, there didn't seem to be any particular hostility. Maybe there was a way through this after all.

*Keep her happy. Don't set her off.*

Under her blank, expressionless watch, Lu Yuan forced a stiff smile, took out a plate, loaded the grilled meat onto it, and held it out toward her. "Miss... is this to your satisfaction?"

She accepted the plate without a word. A small knife appeared in her hand; she unhurriedly sliced off a piece and placed it in her mouth.

Her eyes lit up. Her eating speed picked up noticeably.

A little of the tension in Lu Yuan's chest loosened.

*She's really just here for the food.*

He noticed her tail was swaying now — just slightly wider arcs than before, as if her mood weren't entirely settled.

*Maybe she's actually pretty easy to deal with.*

He decided to try something. "What's your name?"

The cat-kin girl glanced at him. "Yeye."

*Yeye.*

He turned that over quietly. *Written with the character for 'night' — falling tone. Thank goodness it's that kind of Yeye. If it had been the other yéyé, he'd start to wonder if she was messing with him.*

"Yeye," he pressed, "how did you get right next to me earlier without me noticing at all?"

She looked at him. "Walked over."

"......"

*Obviously you walked over. What, did I think you'd crawled?*

He had nothing.

He silently retrieved another piece of crocodile meat and set it on the grill.

They settled into quiet — Lu Yuan grilling, Yeye eating, neither speaking.

*Stay adaptable,* he told himself. *Be patient. Keep her fed and comfortable, and maybe walk away with your life.* He'd already made his peace with the long game. He'd endure.

He was still watching for any angle. But he was growing increasingly aware that against this woman, he had essentially no leverage.

Yeye returned to her spot, crouched down, and laid her pale hands on her knees. She watched the grill and swallowed softly. "Is it ready yet?"

"Should be!" Lu Yuan plated the next batch quickly and held it out. "Please eat."

She accepted the plate, knife already in hand, and resumed her measured work on the crocodile flesh. Her eyes brightened with each bite.

He was just about to try another line of questioning when Yeye's cat ears twitched. She turned her head sharply toward the forest.

Lu Yuan noticed and looked over. A moment later, four large silhouettes stepped out from the tree line.

Four gnolls.

*Four of them.*

The gnolls swept their gazes across Lu Yuan and Yeye, then let their eyes linger on the golden-roasted meat on the fire. Cold smirks spread across their faces.

The one with white fur spoke first: "Smells good, doesn't it? You two sure know how to live — did it even cross your minds that the smell might draw someone like us over? Hand over everything in your Battle-mark Spaces. Now."

The gnoll with black fur laughed alongside him. "Otherwise, we leave your bodies here. You lose your whole haul, and you'd have to recover before you could even enter the Land of Origin again. All four of us brothers have elite genes inscribed. I strongly suggest you know what's good for you."

Something calculating sparked in Lu Yuan's chest.

*Four elite warriors. Four elites should be able to hold Yeye for at least a moment, right? The instant she engages—*

*Outstanding work, gentlemen. Keep drawing that aggro.*

He kept his expression perfectly neutral.

Yeye stood up from her crouch.

Lu Yuan registered, now that she was upright, just how well-proportioned she was — tall and long-limbed, and even through the leather armor her figure was unmistakably striking.

*Who could keep a straight face around this woman—*

He was just about to throw some goading remarks at the gnolls — the more aggro drawn, the better — when Yeye's hand shifted, and a jet-black longsword materialized from thin air. She fixed the four gnolls with a blank look.

"Can't disturb Yeye eating."

The gnolls blinked. Then they burst out laughing.

The white-furred one grinned wide: "Disturbing you eating?! Little cat, I don't think you understand your situation right now!"

The black-furred gnoll was just as amused: "Don't worry — we'll send you right back to your mama's arms!"

*Perfect. The moment she engages, I—*

Just as Lu Yuan braced himself to watch the fight begin, Yeye's body vanished from where she stood.

In the next instant — dark shapes blurring past the four gnolls, black sword-light slashing through in rapid sequence — it was over.

Yeye reappeared behind all four of them at once, her back to them, the black longsword already sheathed at her side.

The four gnolls went rigid.

Then the wounds surfaced: crimson lines rising across their bodies in sequence, blood welling and surging freely. All four corpses dropped to the ground at the same moment.

Silence.

*Four elite gnoll warriors — just like that?!*

Lu Yuan's mind went completely blank.

*I didn't even have time to take a single step.*

Yeye turned and walked back toward the fire. She didn't glance at the four bodies once. Her expression hadn't shifted at all — as if she'd just swatted aside four insects.

A bone-deep chill spread through him. He understood with perfect clarity: if he'd tried to bolt, he would have been the fifth.

*Her real strength is on an entirely different level from anything I imagined.*

He walked quietly back to the fire and continued grilling.

Silence resumed. Lu Yuan grilled. Yeye settled back into her spot. The fire crackled softly between them.

After a while, Yeye crouched back down beside him, pale hands on her knees, watching the grill. She swallowed once. "Is it ready yet?"

"...R-right away, right away — My Lord Yeye, please just wait a moment." He plated it as fast as he could and held it out. "Here, please eat."

She silently accepted the plate, knife already in hand. She ate. Her eyes brightened again.

He had given up on escape. He was still alert — still scanning for any angle — but some deeper part of him had accepted the situation. *Endure. Keep My Lord Yeye comfortable and well-fed, and hope to walk out of here with his life.*

The two of them ate and grilled in silence.

After a while, he noticed her plate was clean.

"I want more."

"......"

He silently took out another piece of crocodile meat and put it on the grill.

Some time passed.

Lu Yuan had been wrestling with something. He was, after all, a responsible young man who had received a full compulsory education. He felt a certain duty to stand on the side of facts.

After a long internal debate, he finally spoke: "Just so you know — this is Ancient Sea crocodile meat. Crocodiles aren't fish. They're amphibians."

Yeye turned and looked at him. She replied with complete sincerity.

"It's fish. Very fragrant."

"......"

*'Very fragrant' therefore it's a fish? What kind of logic is that?!*

He opened his mouth. He had absolutely nothing.

Yeye glanced at the grill, then at him. "I want more."

He looked at her plate. Empty.

Lu Yuan silently took out another piece of crocodile meat and placed it on the fire.

In that moment, he finally understood why men didn't like hearing women say *I want more.*