Chapter 278 – Princess of the Prairie Rules the World – A Step Back, A Long Road to Win Back His Love (03)
Bai Tang had no idea about Tuoba Jingyao’s worries—he was happily sipping goat’s milk.
The milk tasted amazing, purer than any he’d had before.
The sweet, fragrant flavor awakened Qiu’er’s foodie instincts.
Qiu’er stared eagerly at the bowl in Bai Tang’s hands. “Tang Tang, let me have a sip~”
“Won’t goat’s milk give you diarrhea?” Bai Tang remembered hearing that dogs shouldn’t drink dairy.
Qiu’er replied, “That’s cow’s milk! Goat’s milk is fine for dogs.”
But after saying that, Qiu’er felt something wasn’t quite right.
Xiao A said mildly, with a touch of exasperation, “Silly pup.”
Why did you insult yourself? After all, in their current form, they were dogs.
Bai Tang glanced at Tuoba Jingyao. Seeing that he was busy slicing mutton, he seized the moment. While Tuoba wasn’t looking, Bai Tang secretly transferred the milk from his bowl into his spatial storage. Qiu’er caught it with a bowl and took a big gulp, savoring the lingering flavor.
“This is so good! Xiao A, come try it!” Qiu’er called him over to drink, too.
When Tuoba Jingyao turned back, he saw that the boy’s bowl was already empty.
A faint warmth bloomed in his heart. A good appetite is a blessing. As long as the boy had food and drink he enjoyed, winter wouldn’t be so hard to get through.
He refilled Bai Tang’s bowl with more goat’s milk.
“Take your time—there’s plenty more. As much as you want.”
Unknowingly, Tuoba Jingyao was flaunting his wealth. In the tribe, the most effective way to show affection to someone you liked was to show off how many cattle and sheep you had.
The unspoken message: If you stay with me, you’ll never suffer.
After all, in love, roses are important—but so is bread.
Cattle and sheep were essential property on the grasslands, divided into private and communal assets. As the tribe leader, Tuoba Jingyao owned a considerable number of livestock. With his parents deceased, he’d also inherited a large estate, making him one of the wealthier figures among the tribesmen.
After Xiao A and Qiu’er explained the tribal customs to him, Bai Tang finally understood what Tuoba Jingyao was really saying.
Letting an outsider freely share your personal property meant only one thing: You were claiming that person as your own.
He and Tuoba Jingyao weren’t related by blood.
Which left only one other possibility—They were about to make things official.
Bai Tang felt a surge of joy in his heart. A rosy blush crept up his delicate cheeks, making Tuoba Jingyao’s heart race uncontrollably.
Suddenly, someone walked toward them, looking somewhat anxious. When he saw Bai Tang, he came to a stop.
“There you are, Bai Tang.” It was Aqi—the same child Bai Tang had seen when he first woke up.
“Greetings, Chief.” Aqi respectfully saluted Tuoba Jingyao, then turned to Bai Tang. “Bai Tang, my father is looking for you.”
Aqi waved in the distance, signaling Gong Na and letting him know where Bai Tang was.
“Dad! I found Bai Tang—he’s over here!”
Before long, Gong Na arrived. He saluted the chief as well, while Aqi—unable to contain his excitement—urged Bai Tang to follow him.
“Come on, Bai Tang! I want to show you something good.” Aqi waved enthusiastically. Since Bai Tang was an outsider, the chief had given him a few cattle and sheep before the bonfire celebration to help him settle into life in the tribe.
Though Tuoba Jingyao appeared stern on the surface, he didn’t restrict his people. The grassland tribes were free-spirited by nature; as chief, his role was more about coordination and decision-making.
Aqi wasn’t the least bit afraid of Tuoba Jingyao. He rushed to Bai Tang’s side and tried to pull him along.
“Let’s go! The cattle and sheep are super plump!”
Gong Na, unlike his son, wasn’t so casual. Even though Tuoba Jingyao rarely threw his weight around, his authority wasn’t something to be challenged lightly.
Aqi’s current behavior was clearly overstepping.
Gong Na said to both Aqi and Bai Tang, “Those cattle and sheep were a generous gift from the chief, meant to help Tang Tang live independently in the tribe. Tang Tang, you should thank the chief.”
His intention was kind—he wanted Bai Tang to feel more gratitude toward the chief and develop a sense of belonging to the tribe.
But he didn’t realize that Tuoba Jingyao had just said something that sounded like a confession, and now his words had unintentionally caused a misunderstanding.
So that’s what Tuoba Jingyao meant by “as much as you want”—he wasn’t being romantic, just saying Bai Tang could help himself to the milk whenever he wanted, since the livestock were his now.
Tuoba Jingyao met the boy’s clear, shining eyes and suddenly panicked for no reason.
“Thank you, Chief.” Bai Tang gave Tuoba Jingyao a bow, then turned to follow Aqi to inspect the livestock.
But before they could take a step, a gust of wind seemed to sweep by—Tuoba Jingyao had already appeared in front of them.
He took the boy’s hand and stammered out, “That’s not what I meant. I meant…” But he couldn’t find the right words. After all, it was true he’d offered the livestock… “If you’re willing, from now on all my cattle and sheep will be yours. Eat whatever you want, whenever you want.”
Gong Na and Aqi were stunned.
Was Bai Tang about to become the chief’s mate?
Bai Tang had never seen such a shy and clumsy gong before—it was strangely refreshing. He was just about to reply, but Tuoba Jingyao misread his silence.
He thought Bai Tang’s delay meant… rejection.
That’s true—after all, they had only just met tonight. The boy needed more time to get to know him.
“Tang Tang, there’s no need to answer me right away. Take your time—I’ll wait for you. My cattle and sheep, you can eat whatever you like. From now on, all your needs will come from my property.”
The first part was spoken to Bai Tang. The last two sentences, however, were directed at Gong Na and Aqi. As long as they weren’t completely dense, they’d understand clearly what Tuoba Jingyao’s attitude toward the boy was.
Too much, too fast, can ruin things. Now that her usually shy squirrel had already backed off in front of everyone, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Bai Tang to rush into a public agreement either.
Bai Tang simply nodded.
“Then I’ll go check out my cattle and sheep~”
Since Tuoba Jingyao had taken a step back, and they hadn’t officially confirmed their relationship, it was better to continue living separately for now.
“I’ll take you!” Aqi grabbed Bai Tang and ran off with him.
That left Tuoba Jingyao and Gong Na standing there, exchanging glances. After a long silence, Gong Na let out a sigh at his wooden-headed chief.
As the tribe’s number one warrior, Tuoba Jingyao had always been undefeated in battle—but when it came to romance, why was he so hopeless?
He even backed off? He should’ve pressed the advantage!
And so, what could’ve been a first-day victory in winning his future wife turned into the start of Tuoba Jingyao’s long road to courtship.
..
After Bai Tang and Aqi finished inspecting the livestock, they ran into Rong Ningjing on the way back.
“Cutie!” Rong Ningjing lit up with delight when she saw him. But under Aqi’s confused gaze, she suddenly realized—terms like “cutie” weren’t really a thing in this era.
She cleared her throat awkwardly and tried to compose herself.
“Bai Tang, did you eat enough? They’re still roasting whole lambs over there. Let’s go join them~”
Even though Rong Ningjing tried her best to act serious and proper, the moment she saw the boy’s dimpled smile, all her cells seemed to melt into a puddle of affection.
Aqi instinctively took a step back behind Bai Tang, feeling that something was… off about Sister Ningjing since she woke up.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something had definitely changed.
Bai Tang and Aqi followed Rong Ningjing and joined the crowd gathered around the roast lamb.
With Tuoba Jingyao watching him closely, Bai Tang didn’t dare share his lamb with Qiu’er and Xiao A. But now was the perfect opportunity—everyone was gathered, enjoying lamb together, and in the lively crowd, no one would pay special attention to him. Seizing the moment, Bai Tang quietly transferred his portion of lamb into his spatial storage. That way, he wouldn’t waste the others’ kindness or have to eat too much meat—a win-win. Bai Tang was very pleased, and Qiu’er ate happily as well.
Later that night, with help from Gong Na and Aqi, Bai Tang set up a tent of his own.
Aside from the four cattle and sheep tethered outside, he didn’t have anything else.
The inside of the tent was completely bare. Aqi looked around at the empty space and said to Bai Tang,
“I’ll go get you a blanket.”
How could anyone sleep without one? Surely he couldn’t just lie on the ground.
Though they had done that in the past when blankets were scarce… Aqi sneaked a glance at Bai Tang. The boy’s exposed skin was soft and pale—if he slept on the hard ground and got scraped, what then?
Just as he was thinking that, Tuoba Jingyao arrived, holding a thick blanket in his arms.
“Ch-Chief…” Aqi stammered. After Gong Na’s repeated reminders, he didn’t dare speak as casually as before.
Tuoba Jingyao gave a quiet “Mm.” Aqi stuck out his tongue at Bai Tang and scurried away.
Tuoba Jingyao laid the blanket on the ground and spread it out.
“Tang Tang, come try it. See if it’s comfortable. If it’s not soft enough, I’ll bring you another one.”
Looking at the simple tent, Tuoba Jingyao actually wanted to say, “Why not sleep in my tent instead?”
But he was afraid of startling the boy. So he held back his urge and forced himself to say those measured words instead.
“This is more than enough.” Bai Tang reached out and touched the blanket—it was surprisingly soft, comparable to the high-quality ones in his space. For a tribal setting, this was an incredible luxury.
Could it be that he gave me the best blanket he owns? Bai Tang wondered.
And indeed, Tuoba Jingyao had brought out the very best he had.
He watched the boy’s reaction closely. When he saw Bai Tang furrow his brows, he panicked slightly, assuming he didn’t like it.
Trying to calm himself, he said, “This isn’t anything special. There will be better ones in the future.”
He had already brought out the best he owned, but he didn’t want Bai Tang to think it wasn’t good enough and leave the tribe because of that.
“It’s great~” Bai Tang beamed, dimples showing.
“I really like it. Thank you.”
Tuoba Jingyao let out a silent breath of relief, though his expression remained stern.
“As long as you like it, that’s good. I won’t disturb your rest, then—I’ll be going.”
“Good night~” Bai Tang waved at him.
After Tuoba Jingyao left, Bai Tang took off his outer robe, getting ready for bed. Qiu’er looked with slight distaste at the several layers of blankets on the ground.
“How can blankets be comfortable to sleep on? There’s a Simmons mattress in the space—it’s super comfy. I’ll bring it out for you.”
“No!” Bai Tang quickly refused. He glanced at the silhouettes of people passing outside the tent.
“That mattress is too big. It’d be hard to explain.”
The main issue was that this wasn’t like ancient or modern times, where people knock before entering. Here, people would just call from outside the tent, and once the owner gave permission, they’d lift the flap and come right in. Some, like the overly enthusiastic Aqi, might barge in directly—if the Simmons mattress was still out, there’d be no time to hide it, and that would be a real problem.
“Okay, then…” Qiu’er sounded disappointed.
Lately, across the past few worlds, he’d been feeling more and more like Tang Tang didn’t need him anymore. He just wanted to do something for him… but ended up almost making trouble instead.
Qiu’er’s dejected mood didn’t go unnoticed—both Bai Tang and Xiao A could see it.
“Qiu’er, what’s wrong?” Bai Tang asked with concern.
“Nothing… I just feel so useless.”
“Don’t say that.” Bai Tang pulled Qiu’er’s manifested spirit form into a hug.
“If it weren’t for you, I would never have been exposed to human civilization, never learned so much, never met people who treat me so well… All of that happened because of you. It was because you bound yourself to me as a system.”
Held and comforted like that, Qiu’er burst into tears.
“Tang Tang, you’re the best…”
“Nope—it’s you who’s amazing~”
Qiu’er wriggled around in Bai Tang’s arms for a good while, enjoying the kind of affection even the female lead, Rong Ningjing, couldn’t get. He was finally satisfied.
Xiao A mentally noted the time: Rong Ningjing had chatted alone with the host for fifteen minutes, while Qiu’er had clung to him for sixteen.
That was longer than the female lead—mission accomplished.
Xiao A gently pulled Qiu’er out of Bai Tang’s embrace.
“It’s late. Don’t disturb the host’s rest—you should get some sleep too.”
Qiu’er looked apologetically at Bai Tang’s tired face.
“Then rest well, Tang Tang. We’ll head back now.”
“Good night, Qiu’er, Xiao A~”
“Good night, Tang Tang / Good night, host.”
Author’s Note:
Take one step forward, and you get to hug the little uke.
Take one step back, and you’re on a long road to win your wife.
Congratulations to the male lead for achieving the ultimate move: tormenting himself. Perfect!
Rong Ningjing: I ran into my little cutie twice in one day. Must be fate!