LIGHTNOVELWORLD 66
It was still the familiar three-story villa.
The fully grown young leopard cub, spoiled by He Qin and Rhys, retained its innocence and vitality. This morning, as usual, it sneaked into the backyard to chase birds and catch zergs.
After playing tired, the young leopard opened the door skillfully, turned on the water hose, and stuck its head out to drink.
After finishing the water and the leftovers on the plate, Little Guai swiftly ran up to the third floor. The fleshy pads on its cat-like limbs made no sound.
Little Guai stopped in front of the largest room on the third floor, pressed the red button beside the door, and the lock mechanism clicked open upon detecting the familiar scent through the sensor.
More cautious than hunting, Little Guai lowered its body, its limbs light and agile, and walked to the bunk bed in the room.
In fact, the room was large enough, and He Qin had considered dividing the big room into two separate bedrooms so the children could have their own space. However, when he proposed this idea at a family meeting, the two little ones looked tearful and clung tightly together, as if facing a permanent separation.
At the strong insistence of the children, He Qin replaced the two large beds with handmade wooden bunk beds.
The comforter on the upper bunk stirred first, and then a fuzzy little head poked out from within. “Mm,” it seemed like a child about □□ years old, still drowsy as they sat up, their eyes still a bit bewildered from just waking up.
(T/N: The raws had this symbol only. Not numbers.)
The child woke up without any morning grumpiness, sitting obediently on the bed. “Little Guai, you’re up,” their confident tone indicated they were fully awake.
Climbing down the ladder to the floor, Xiao Milo first gave a big hug to the large-sized leopard cub, then bent down and reached for his tiger slippers under the bed.
“Little brother, are you awake?” Milo climbed down to the lower bunk and kissed the child’s cheek under the blanket, gently trying to wake him up near his small ear.
“Yeah, mm, brother?” The two or three-year-old child mumbled unclearly.
“Good morning, little Guai.”
“Ahoo.”
The leopard was an important member of the family; the first thing the children did upon waking up was to greet the leopard.
“Let’s brush our teeth first. Big brother will help you put on your shoes, be careful not to slip.”
Supporting each other, the kids walked to the bathroom, picked up their matching children’s toothbrush cups, and brushed their little teeth clean. With the help of his older brother, the little one completed his morning cleaning routine.
Compared to the exuberant Milo, the three-year-old Yale resembled Rhys in character: emotionally reserved but deeply loving towards family members, not good at expressing his thoughts, calm in temperament, and mature beyond his years.
This brought great comfort to second-time father He Qin; after all, compared to the mischievous Milo, Yale was truly a little angel sent from above.
Of course, as a father, He Qin loved both children equally, without favoring one over the other.
“Male father, female father? We’re hungry.” The two brothers staggered into the master bedroom on the second floor, accompanied by a diligent “bodyguard” by their side.
Inside the room, clothes and bedsheets were scattered around, the large bed looking messy.
Upon hearing the cries of the children at the door, the man on the left bed withdrew his arm from under the silver-haired female zerg’s head.
Last night had been too late, and at his age, he didn’t have the endless energy of children.
Quietly placing a pillow over his head, he tried to drown out the noisy shouts from outside the door.
“Male Lord, I’ll go prepare breakfast for the children first, you can sleep a bit longer.” Rhys woke up at the male zerg’s significant movement. He picked up the dirty clothes from the bed and saw the male zerg’s cute sleeping face, gently whispering near his ear.
He Qin threw the pillow hard, suddenly sitting up.
“Forget it, let me get dressed, I’ll come down and help too.” He hurriedly found a clean suit in the wardrobe.
Helping out didn’t mean cooking; to this day, He Qin still didn’t quite understand what onions and garlic were, how much oil was appropriate to pour, or what temperature the fire should be set at.
His level of helping was simply watching over the children, so as not to cause too much trouble for Rhys, who was cooking.
The two little ones were probably tired from waiting, one squatting at the door and the other sitting at the door.
The two small hands held tightly, obediently not crying or making a fuss, waiting for the adults to appear.
“Darlings, did you sleep well?” He Qin lifted each of the two little ones in his arms and gave them each a kiss.
“Slept very well.” “Slept very well.”
The little ones answered simultaneously, their voices innocent and pure, instantly giving He Qin, who hadn’t slept enough, renewed strength.
“Male Lord, put Milo down.” Rhys reached out to take the not-so-lightweight Milo, seeing the male zerg’s muscles straining under the weight of nearly thirty kilograms of Milo.
“No, Male Father can still carry you guys. Watch how fast Male Father’s jet is, swoosh…”
“Wow, super fast! Male Father is the best!” Milo exclaimed excitedly, shaking his arms.
“Male Lord, be careful, don’t run so fast, watch your step.”
The living room was filled with Milo’s excited shouts, while Yale made no sound, quietly hooking his arms around He Qin’s neck.
After finishing breakfast made by Rhys, the two brothers began packing their gear to go out.
“This water bottle needs to come along; Male Father won’t let them drink the water outside.”
“This toy needs to come; it can keep little brother entertained on the way when it gets boring.”
“And tissues, snacks, oh, and the Earth wristbands Grandpa sent for us, those too.”
With a large bundle of odds and ends, thankfully there were spatial wristbands on zerg Star for such things; otherwise, they’d be exhausted from the stinky little ones’ backpacks before even leaving the house.
“Is everything packed? Let’s go, off to see the Earth animals.”
Recently, another batch of Earth animals had been transported over. Chief Barton ordered the establishment of the Empire’s first zoo, hoping to help these small animals adapt to zerg Star’s environment sooner and, of course, to allow the zerg race to learn more about Earth knowledge.
He Qin carried the unsteady Yale in his arms, Rhys held onto Milo, who was bursting out like a cannonball, and the family of four once again attracted a lot of attention at the Empire’s first zoo on zerg Star.
“Lord Milo has grown so tall, totally unlike a young male zerg.”
“Lord Yale is so cute too, I want to pat his little face.”
“Don’t joke around; if you get too close to Lord Green, the guards will probably take you away.”
He Qin didn’t want to cause a commotion, so he specially sprayed a suppressive scent on all three male zergs, but they were still surrounded three layers deep at the zoo entrance, making it impossible to enjoy a normal visit.
The female zergs meant no harm; they were simply too curious about the little ones.
He Qin rarely divulged information about the little ones, which excited the female zergs present, eager not to miss this rare opportunity.
“Rhys, what should we do?” He Qin tried to reason with them a few times, but the female zergs around remained enthusiastic and only grew in number, leaving him at a loss.
The room was noisy.
Rhys raised his hand into a fist, and dozens of armed soldiers appeared from all directions, their eyes filled with killing intent, forcefully making way for the civilians.
“Everyone, it’s better to disperse now.”
Despite their curiosity, they had to protect their lives. The civilians dispersed one after another.
For the rest of the journey, these dozens of female soldiers formed a wall, separating the ordinary civilians.
It wasn’t because they were afraid of being crowded. Rhys was afraid that there might be malicious intent to harm the master and the young ones, so he had prepared this escort.
“Male Father, what’s that? Why does it look like us but has a lot of fur?” Milo was quite carefree. He didn’t mind whether the soldiers surrounding him had guns or were ordinary females, as long as they didn’t disturb his playfulness.
“Oh, that? That’s called a monkey, a kind of primate. Humans are also primates.” Since becoming a father, He Qin had become more patient.
“Are the zerg race also primates?” Milo asked a deadly question.
He Qin really couldn’t understand this question.
He hadn’t thought about it.
“Uh, primates are a term for Earth’s humans. Zerg race are not primates.”
Were the young of the zerg tribe hatched from eggs, belonging to oviparous creatures?
“So why do monkeys and zerg tribes look so similar?”
“Darling, the universe is very mysterious. These questions will have to be studied by you in the future.”
“Father, this one looks like Little Guai, but why is it black?”
“It’s called a black panther. Little Guai is a spotted leopard, also known as a clouded leopard. They are different.”
“Father, why can that bird talk? But what language is it speaking? Why can’t I understand?”
“That’s Mandarin, the common language on Earth. It’s greeting you.”
“Father!”
“Milo, can’t you be quiet for a while? Look at Yale, he’s so well-behaved.” Qin, whose head was about to explode from Milo’s questions, reluctantly took the clever Yale from Rhys and complained while hiding behind him.
“But Father…”
At this age, young ones were curious and inquisitive, encountering so many new species for the first time. Milo’s reactions were understandable.
“Milo, if you have any questions, ask me. Let Father rest for a while.” Rhys pulled his eldest son’s hand.
He didn’t want to embarrass the master, nor did he want Milo to be upset.
When asked the two hundredth question, Rhys silently wondered if his Milo had a tendency to talk too much? Could it be because he spent too much time with Jack?
“Yale, are you feeling uncomfortable?” He Qin touched the child’s forehead and then used his lips to check the warmth of his palm.
Nothing.
Yale is usually very quiet, but he also experiences emotional fluctuations. Today, he has been quietly lying on himself, not speaking or even mentioning drinking water, which is unusual.
“It’s not it Father, it’s just…” The little boy with flaxen hair lowered his head, and golden eyes unexpectedly welled up with tears. “Grandpa sent us videos of these animals last time, and Yale misses Grandpa.”
The little one had been holding back for a long time, but now emotions burst out, sobbing and telling Father what was on his mind.
“Be good, don’t cry. Grandpa will come to visit us on Zerg Star next week. Are you happy?” Taking out a tissue, He Qin gently wiped away the tears from the tender little child.
“Yeah, I’m happy.” Children’s emotions are so changeable; one moment crying due to missing someone, the next moment able to cheer up. “Brother, Grandpa will come to see us next week.” Yale bounced out of He Qin’s arms, eager to share this good news with his brother, finally showing a smile on his face.
“Yale, have you been crying?”
The little brother’s eyes were red, was he made to cry?
“No.” Yale, at three years old, already had a strong sense of pride, clenching his teeth and unwilling to admit it.
“Who bullied you? Tell Brother, don’t be afraid.”
“Okay.”
Like a little adult, Milo learned to comfort Yale just like Female Father comforting Male Father.
In the distance, the sunlight happened to pass through the toughened glass, casting shadows on the two little guys. He Qin stood behind the children, embracing the shoulders of the female zerg.
The shadows of the little cubs overlapped with their shadows, gradually elongating with the changing sunlight.
Who would have thought that, many years later, Milo, who was neurotic, would become a biologist, and from a young age, Yale would inherit his father’s title and become the new Empire’s hero, assuming the important duty of protecting his entire family and the Empire.
The author has something to say: Yale: (cries) Missing Grandpa, brother, do you miss Grandpa?
Milo: (neurotic and focused on teasing birds) What? How does a kindergartner think of Grandpa when he comes on a trip?
Yale: (disappointed) Brother doesn’t understand my heart.
(T/N: Merry Christmas Everyone!!)