Xiaoli took the opportunity to look around the cave when Ningning invited her in.
Her eyes lingered on everything, the stone bed, the baskets, the cooking area, the way the space felt lived in despite how bare it was.
"I've always been curious about Weijie.." Xiaoli said casually. "He never spends time with any female. He did not even join the mating season."
She glanced at Ningning, then added, almost incredulous, "And now all of a sudden he has a mate. And you're going to bond."
Her tone wasn't bitter. If anything, it was wistful.
"I want to bond too," Xiaoli continued. "But all the other men are too busy having fun to settle down." She shrugged.
"Most of us never even get to experience bonding or marking. Even if we do, we're marked by several men."
Ningning didn't respond right away.
She simply scooped some potatoes into a bowl, then shredded the meat on top and handed it to Xiaoli.
Xiaoli stared at the food.
She had never seen food prepared this way before.
She took one bite and then another and then she was eating like she was afraid the bowl might disappear.
Only after she'd swallowed a mouthful did Ningning speak.
"So you want to get marked?"
"Yes," Xiaoli said immediately, still chewing.
"And you want to experience bonding?"
"Yes." Xiaoli answered again, just as fast.
Ningning paused, watching her.
"And you want—"
"I want to have lots of children.." Xiaoli added, finally looking up. "I want a bond. I want to be marked properly."
She swallowed the rest of the food, then smiled, completely sincere.
"That is what I want."
Ningning watched her for a long moment.
Then she smiled faintly.
"Come here," she said, standing. "Sit properly."
Xiaoli obeyed immediately.
Because Ningning had her back turned, she could slip into her system space and retrieve the book.
When it appeared in her palm.
She turned around.
Xiaoli's breath caught when she saw it.
The leather-bound pages were thick, heavy, and when Ningning opened it.
Her face immediately reddened.
What was this thing and why were the drawings so—
"What is this?"
Ninging smiled and waved the book gently.. "This my dear. Is your ticket to getting your man or men. I will teach you everything you need to know.."
[Doudou commentary: Host has entered Advanced Instruction Mode. Heart rate elevated. Mild shame detected.]
Ningning ignored him.
She flipped a page.
"Tell me," Ningning said, her voice steady, "when you sleep with a male… who moves first?"
Xiaoli blinked. "He does."
"Who decides when it ends?"
"…He does."
"Who leaves afterward?"
Xiaoli hesitated. "…He does."
Ningning nodded.
"That's why none of them bond."
She pointed at one of the illustrations.
"When a male wants to rut, he rushes. He uses strength. He finishes and leaves."
She flipped another page.
"But when you want a male to stay, you don't have to rush him. What you need is some control.."
Xiaoli leaned forward unconsciously.
Ningning's ears felt hot, but she continued.
"You start from the neck…" she said. "Don't bite. It should be fleeting, or rather gentle, like a feather landing on water. You let your mouth stay there until his breathing changes. Biting is good too, you should gently bite his neck, his earlobe, nipples.. " she touched the places she mentioned and Xiaoli's face got redder each time.
The mammary gland was also a pleasure point too?
-_-
"What if he hits me if I do that?"
Ningning's lips twitched, that was also a thought, she didn't want Xiaoli to get hurt because of her teaching.
"Alright. You tell him or them beforehand. So he isn't surprised when you do it.."
Xiaoli swallowed.
[Doudou commentary: Clarification, prolonged neck stimulation increases oxytocin release in beastmen by 43%. But continue, maybe you already know that.]
Ningning clenched her teeth.
"When he tries to move you.." she went on, "you stop him. You push his chest. You make him wait."
Xiaoli's eyes were huge now.
"They've never been stopped before." Ningning said. "That's why they don't remember you."
She turned another page.
"When you're beneath him, you don't just lie there. You move your hips first. You look at him. You hold his face. You must always maintain eye contact.."
Her voice dropped slightly.
"And when he finishes… you don't let him leave immediately."
Xiaoli whispered, "How?"
"You wrap your legs around him.." Ningning said, her cheeks burning. "You make him stay inside you. And then when you've calmed down, you go for another round."
[Doudou commentary: Dumpling's embarrassment levels are critical. Please hydrate.]
Xiaoli was silent for a long time.
Then she asked, very softly, "If I do this… will he mark me?"
Ningning closed the book.
"No.." she said honestly. "But he'll start thinking about you when you're gone."
Men are greedy, sometimes they are never satisfied.
She met Xiaoli's eyes.
"Once you're already in his head, he will definitely come to find you, he would want to claim you and that's when he will mark. Slow and steady wins the race but sometimes you just have to take a shortcut.."
Xiaoli nodded and smiled, compared to the other females, Weijie's mate was so nice.
"I have not said your name. Am I to call you Weijie's mate.."
Ningning shook her head and patted Xiaoli's hand. "My name is Ningning and you can come to me whenever you want to talk.."
Xiaoli smiled as she stood up, she was eager to put what she had learned into practice.
"Thank you very much. I will put your teachings into practice."
Ningning nodded as she walked Xiaoli out, when she had confirmed that she had left.
Ningning immediately crouched down, burying her face into her thighs.
She scratched her head slightly.
"That was so embarrassing.." she muttered, perhaps Xiaoli couldn't see it but she was so embarrassed during the section it helped her keep a straight face.
[Doudou: You explained it efficiently. Especially when you used none of these techniques on Weijie yet.]
"…Shut up."
[There will be plenty of time during your wedding night. On that not why don't you check page 79? After all you need to keep your end of the bargain]