The Protagonist is Always Intimidating Me - Chapter 8

Under the intense gazes of two people, Bai Meng remained unfazed as he picked up peanuts and stuffed them into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like little pouches, and his small, black-bead eyes squinting slightly.

—So well-behaved.

This was the shared thought of the two Mo-surnamed men watching him.

Before long, the entire plate of peanuts had disappeared into Bai Meng’s cheeks. Noticing the empty plate, he sluggishly dragged his soft little body toward another plate.

Mo Hankui’s brow twitched, and after a moment, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He reached out, pinching Bai Meng’s cheeks, and with two fingers, he extracted the peanuts from his overstuffed mouth.

“How many times have I told you not to store peanuts in your mouth?”

“……”

Where’s your obsession with cleanliness now?! And forcing a hamster not to hoard food—what kind of person does that?!

Bai Meng’s tiny legs flailed in protest, his black-bead eyes filled with disdain for such worldly rules: “How could you be so bad at managing life!”

Mo Hankui: “……”

Mo Jiuge: “……”

“Hmph!”

The white hamster huffed in indignation, curling himself into a ball and turning his plump backside toward them.

“But on another note…” Mo Jiuge gently poked Bai Meng’s soft little bottom, his eyes amused. “This is the first time I’ve seen a beastman whose original form is so small.”

“!!!”

“Pervert! That’s only because you haven’t seen enough!” Bai Meng cried, covering his tail in embarrassment and jumping into Mo Hankui’s hand.

Mo Hankui’s palm felt warm, the soft white fur brushing against his skin. Mo Hankui lowered his gaze, his gray pupils focusing on the tiny white ball in his hand.

The little creature seemed to notice his gaze and looked up at him innocently. His long, dark lashes framed his clear, shining eyes, making them stand out. It reminded Mo Hankui of the same innocent expression the little beastman had shown when he’d been caught making trouble a while back—so pure and obedient.

—And then he’d gone and repeated the same mistake the next time.

Mo Hankui thought this with an emotionless face.

With the Day of the Eclipse only half a year away, Xingge Hall was gearing up for its annual guard recruitment.

Mo Hankui and Mo Jiuge became increasingly busy, barely having any time to accompany Bai Meng, leaving the poor little white fluffball alone in the sleeping quarters.

Mo Jiuge had considered taking Bai Meng outside, but the recent increase in assassination attempts, coupled with the ongoing guard selection tournament, meant beastmen were constantly challenging each other. If Bai Meng got hurt in the chaos, what would they do?

Given the circumstances, keeping Bai Meng confined to the sleeping quarters seemed like the safest option.

And so, without asking for Bai Meng’s opinion, Mo Hankui locked him up in the room, even assigning guards to watch the doors.

Bai Meng: Wait!!! Does no one care about my opinion?! What about my rights?!

Mo Hankui: Heh.

Mo Jiuge: Be good.

“……”

Be good, my foot.

Bai Meng coldly and ruthlessly dug a tunnel out of the corner of the room.

You’re joking! Unless it willingly stays by your side, you’ll never be able to confine a hamster that longs for freedom!

His small form scurried out of the courtyard, wandering around freely. Whenever he heard footsteps, he quickly dove into the nearest bushes, avoiding being caught and turned into someone’s pet (crossed out).

Bai Meng continued to wander aimlessly, darting through the grass for what felt like hours, until he arrived outside a dilapidated, small building within the palace grounds.

The building looked rundown, even worse than the servants’ quarters. The area around it was desolate, but a faint light glowing from the window suggested someone still lived there.

Bai Meng blinked his tiny black eyes, glancing up at the sky. It was getting late, and Mo Hankui’s earlier warning not to run around aimlessly flashed through his mind. The thought made his fur ball up, and he instinctively wanted to scurry back.

But before he could move, a pair of slender hands suddenly grabbed him, lifting him into the air. A large face appeared in front of Bai Meng’s startled eyes.

“…What’s this?”

“…But it smells good…”

The person leaned in closer, sniffing Bai Meng all over. The small hamster squirmed helplessly, watching in horror as his soft fur was completely flattened in one direction. In that moment, he fully understood the emotional trauma that “cat-sniffing” inflicted on actual cats.

Protect your fur, stay away from perverts.

After the person finished sniffing, they placed Bai Meng back into their hand. Bai Meng, dazed and tossed around like a toy, finally saw his captor clearly.

The person appeared to be at the awkward age between adolescence and adulthood, with no visible beastman features, indicating his strength was likely formidable.

He had a strikingly handsome face, with well-defined, chiseled features. However, beneath his sharp brows, his tea-colored eyes were oddly childlike and pure—completely at odds with his otherwise mature and imposing appearance.

It was as if he were a fool…

Wait,

A fool??

Bai Meng, lost in his memories, suddenly recalled something. While skimming through the book, he vaguely remembered a character with the strength to rival Mo Hankui—someone named Mo Feng.

Mo Feng was strong enough that others later tried to exploit his power to overthrow the hall master. However, as a child, he had suffered a head injury, leaving his mind permanently stuck at the age of three…

Bai Meng was still lost in his own memories when the other person seized the opportunity to tightly grab him, forcefully prying apart his short legs, and began feeling around the bulge in the middle, muttering, “Is it male or female…?”

By the time Bai Meng came to his senses, he found himself suddenly lying on his back, his legs splayed apart by force, and the other person’s hand was still probing his sensitive area…

Ahhhhh!!!

Even someone as shameless as Bai Meng was rendered helpless in this situation, nearly letting out a scream akin to a violated damsel.

After a brief moment of chaos, he managed to calm himself and lashed out with his claws, leaving a bleeding wound on the person’s hand. However, the person merely smiled, undeterred, and continued groping Bai Meng’s lower body, leveraging the power disparity between man and hamster.

“What are you doing?!”

“…Checking for, uh, balls,” the person responded absentmindedly, then resumed the same action.

…Balls… Surely not what I think, right?!

“Hey!!”

“QAQ!!! Stop it!!”

“Help! Somebody!!”

“…You scoundrel! Let me go! Just wait until I revert to my true form, you’ll regret this!!!”

“QAQ waaaah waaaah…”

The sobbing was pitifully miserable, a cry so heartrending that anyone hearing it would be moved to tears.

“Male…”

The fool finally kissed Bai Meng with a look of satisfaction, while Bai Meng’s fluffy little head bore a completely defeated expression.

With dead-fish eyes, Bai Meng lay still, not moving. The person, still chuckling idiotically, noticed the small, furry creature in his hand had become motionless. He poked it a few more times, still no response. He shook it, but it remained limp…

Could it have died?

A look of sadness appeared on his handsome face. He tearfully looked at Bai Meng and whispered, “…Dead…”

Finally, can you let me go now?

Bai Meng silently rolled his eyes. Ever since being drugged, he had been stuck in this hamster form for a month. Now, his only escape was playing dead. Fortunately, the poison had recently been purged, and once its effects wore off, he would be able to transform back.

Hmph! When I return to my human form, all those who poked me, especially this idiot, will… huh?

Ahhhhh!!!

Bai Meng thought pretending to be dead would get him released… but reality rudely shattered that hope. He realized how naive he still was…

Who would’ve thought this guy would start sobbing while trying to stuff him into his mouth!!

Stop!!!

Feeling the struggling object in his mouth, the person’s tea-colored eyes lit up in surprise, and he hurriedly spat it out with a series of ptooey sounds…

“……”

Great. I’m remembering this, you big idiot!

The soaking-wet little hamster rolled around a few times on the ground before sprawling out in an undignified heap. Then, the white furball began to expand, growing larger and larger, until it transformed back into the young man he once was.

The youth wore a thin, ancient-style robe, its wide sleeves fluttering in the wind, while beneath he had on white lantern pants, exposing his long, slender, pale legs—the very image Mo Han Kui had glimpsed one night.

At this moment, the starlight flickered in Bai Meng’s jet-black eyes, making them shine even brighter, with a touch of arrogant defiance. A cold smile played on his lips as he spoke icily, “I told you, once I transformed, you’d be done for!”

“Now tell me your name, because in a moment, I’m going to beat you to death!”