20 Grilled Rabbit

Liu Xue tried to recall if foxes had a good nose or not because it seemed that Xiao Bai had a nose better than any hound.

The second he opened the cover of the grill and smoky fragrance of barbeque wafted in the air, the little fox had somehow snapped itself out of its nap and scampered like a drunk man across the beach to atop his shoulders. Its pupils were not pupils no more, but a delicable and tantalizing picture of grilled rabbit thigh as if made by an established food designer. The amount of drool that leaked from its little carnivorous mouth could have given him a shower.

"Okay, okay. I won't stop you from drooling, but get off of me first," Liu Xue said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Your saliva is all over me and it smells."

The little fox did not move. His words did not seem to register in her ears even, so he took to himself to remove it from his shoulders and onto the sand. He followed the trail of its gaze all throughout, but found that it had not changed the slightest, still lazer-sharp onto the grill-top.

Liu Xue had to give it a warning. "Don't try anything funny, okay? The rabbit still needs a little longer to get the sear right. Why don't you wake up Mengmeng while I check the temperature, so we can all eat quickly?"

"Mi! Mi!" the little fox called, giving an angry snort after.

He understood that the fox was retorting himself and could not help but give a wry sigh.

"Yes, yes. You are right, it doesn't matter if you wake Mengmeng up, I still need to be there to pick her up and move her here. No, I won't try and send you away next time," he explained, a little pampering in his tone.

His words seemed to satisfy the little fox, much to his relief. It gave an affirmative call and quickly turned around, waving its front paw, urging him forwards. He could only smack his lips and follow.

When he arrived at the wooden house and gently pushed the front door open all the way backwards, he found the little girl already awake. Her thin and frail arms were reached out, flimsily waving towards the window. He thought he could not be at more of a loss for words seeing Xiao Bai lose her sanity at any sight or smell of food, but here he was being proven wrong. Liu Meng had the same response as the little fox: she laid on rocking chair, her dripping drool almost making a necklace around her neck.

Liu Xue wanted to greet her warmly, but found himself utterly defeated with speechlessness. Hearing the little girls incoherent muttering and Xiao Bai's urging, he could only drag himself across the wooden floorboards to the little girl and carry her silently across the beach.

"Papa, it's good … that smell … what is it? It smells good … really very good … Mengmeng wants to eat that smell," she chattered. "It's a new smell … Mengmeng smells new things!"

He could clearly catch her words at the distance, but hearing so, he quickened his pace and forgot about the gaffe. Her stumbling and inarticulate speech was because of her inability to describe the world around her, which made his heart go sore all over like a cold fever.

"The smell is a bunny rabbit, which Papa cooked for you to eat," he began explaining.

"What is a bunny rabbit? Well, a bunny rabbit is an animal that is typically soft and furry to the touch. Its fur comes in various colors, such as white, brown, gray, or even a mix of these colors. When you touch a rabbit, you might feel its fur is very gentle and fluffy, like a cloud."

"Bunny rabbits have long ears that stick up on top of their head! These ears are very sensitive, helping them hear sounds around them. They are are very tall, sometimes even being able to stand upwards."

"Bunny rabbits have a small and twitchy nose. The nose moves all the time, sniffing the air and sensing different smells. Their noses are also quite sensitive, allowing them to find food and avoid any potential dangers."

"They also have a small body with four legs, like yourself. They use these legs to hop and jump and move around quickly. Very unique and special."

"In the front, bunny rabbits have two very big teeth. These teeth are used for nibbling on plants and vegetables. Bunny rabbits like to eat greens. You should learn from them!"

"Finally, rabbits have a cute little fluffy tail that looks like cotton. The tail might remind you of a small puffball. They are lovely animals known for their softness, twitchy noses, long ears, and ability to hop around!" Liu Xue concluded, retrieving the rocking chair he had stored in [Storage]. He set the little girl gently and meticulously made sure she was comfortable. "Do you understand?"

The little girl shook her head and flailed both her arms and legs in excitement. "Papa, you talk funny! Mengmeng does not know your words … but Mengmeng think … think bunny rabbit is very good to eat!"

Her words struck his heart like an arrow to Achilles heel. The little fox's patience had long reduced to zero by the end of his explanation. It wanted meat and now. Seeing his dumbfounded state, it tried all the tactics up its alley: acting cute coy, cuddling his neck, crying out coyly, before resorting to sinking its fangs into his calf when nothing worked.

Liu Xue snapped out of it immediately, feeling the pain shoot up his left thigh. He glared at the little fox with cold eyes and ruthlessly threw its prized grilled rabbit leg into the air. "Xiao Bai, how could you do that? That's your share. Catch it and eat it, if you can't, you're sitting out hungry as punishment."

Seeing the glint and gleam in the little foxes eyes, he fully expected it succeed, so he ignored it. He instead focused on breaking down the other grilled rabbit pieces into bite-sized chunks, small enough for Mengmeng to enjoy and not choke on.

"Open wide," he said gently, taking a knee onto the sand and carefully sliding the rabbit chunk off the fork. "Papa will feed you."