The little dragon cub didnât even eat dinner, showing just how angry he was, on the way back, he kept sniffling in Bai Huoâs arms.
âDad was the one who got hurt, what areyou crying for?â Bai Huo was amused, patting his back while coaxing him.
The little dragon cub put his little handon Bai Huoâs bandaged chin, his tears raining down.
âIt doesnât hurt.â Bai Huo didnâtknow whether to laugh or cry, afraid that he wouldnât believe it, he simplypeeled off the gauze and raised his chin. âLook, itâs really alright.â
The wound had already stopped bleeding,forming a thin red scab, from a distance, it looked like a stroke from a redpen. A humanâs strength was limited, when the knife flew out, Bai Huodeliberately tilted his head at a certain angle, the visual impact in that split-secondwas amazing, but in fact, the cut wasnât that big. Moreover, this injury wasnothing for a dragon.
The little dragon cub finally stoppedcrying, his little hand was carefully stroking around Bai Huoâs wound, as if hewanted to confirm something.
Looking at his sonâs cautious movements, BaiHuo felt his heart warm. In the end, he didnât get hurt in vain. Missing out onbeer and mahjong time, and destroying his plants, all of these could beignored. Thatâs just what it meant to raise a child, no matter how much they madeyou grit your teeth in anger, just one cute action rejuvenated you.
On the way back, the little dragon cub had tiredhimself out from crying, and had fallen asleep on Bai Huoâs shoulders. Bai Huoheld him all the way home, his shoulders heavy.
The next morning, Bai Huo roused the littledragon cub out of bed, unexpectedly discovering a trace of blood on the cornerof his mouth. Bai Huo jumped in fright, but he thought that the cub had justeaten something that shouldnât be eaten in the middle of the night. Later, afterinspecting, he found that the blood was from the cub himself.
âAhhh-open your mouth.â Bai Huohad a solemn face, ordering the dragon cub to open his mouth as he pointed aflashlight.
The little dragon cub hadnât fully woken upyet, he was dazed, opening his mouth purely mechanically.
The position of the two little canines werebloody, and there was redness on the back molars. It seems that the boy really despisedXiao Shu last night. While Bai Huo was shocked, he also couldnât help but feela little worried. The child was naturally aggressive, he had known that since heâdhatched. Bai Huo had been deliberately making corrections and educating him,such as banning him from killing live animals and reducing his dependence onraw food.
Currently, it seems that the corrections wereholding on. The little dragon cub wouldnât attack human beings for no reason. Judgingby appearance, he could be regarded as civilized, polite, and even quiteharmonious with human beings. But now, this âharmonyâ needed to bequestioned. Last night, if Bai Huo wasnât holding back the cub, Xiao Shu probablywouldâve lost his life.
One day, if the cub was angered while he wasnât around, what would happen?
The little dragonâs head drowsily rockedfrom side to side, then he fell into Bai Huoâs arms. Bai Huo picked him up andfelt his forehead, his temperature was a bit high.
With the experience gained from the indigestionepisode, Bai Huo didnât panic this time. He helped the little dragon cub rinseout his mouth, and fed him some warm water before putting him back to bed, thenhe called Shan Hu.
âAs long as the high fever doesnâtpersist, thereâs no need to take medicine,â Shan Hu said. âItâsnormal for children to get fevers. Did he catch a cold last night?â
âItâs not a cold.â Bai Huothought it over. He needed to explain the childâs reaction last night, so, hehid the inside story, and focused on the part where the dragon cub was so angry,he wanted to attack a person.
âItâs a fever caused by surging rageand large emotional fluctuations.â
After speaking, Shan Hu hesitated:âBut ⊠this phenomenon mostly appears in adolescent dragons. This is thefirst time Iâve seen it in such a small child. What kind of child has such deephatred, are you sure he wasnât just scared?â
Bai Huo looked at the sleepy little dragoncub, saying in his heart, this child doesnât seem to be scare-able.
âIâll keep observing, Iâll call you ifsomething comes up.â Bai Huo didnât want to say any more, hanging up thephone.
Although he knew that he shouldnât spoilthe boy too much, Bai Huo felt uneasy. Later that night, he called thekindergarten and asked for leave, wanting to let the little dragon cub rest athome for a few days.
After receiving the call, the homeroom teacher gladly consented, enthusiastically expressing her sympathies, but she didnât forget to remind Bai Huo that âPeople should live to sufferâ, meaning the homework still needed to be completed.
Bai Huo was talking on the phone while thelittle dragon cub watched, both exposed a âGot found outâ expression.
âIf nothing else, the small whiteflower assignment must be completed. Next week, our kindergarten will be takingthe children on a trip to sweep the graves in the cemetery. Everyone has tomake their own small white flowers, which will help deepen the childrenâspatriotism.â
Bai Huo didnât understand. How can smallchildren handcraft such intricate flowers, isnât it all the parentsâ work? Whybeat around the bush, he might as well deduct some of the cubâs allowance moneyfor fish, and buy a little white flower to help him make an impression. Butthese criticisms were all said in his heart, Bai Huo didnât have the nerve tosay them out loud. After all, his son still had to survive in the kindergarten.
âNot good.â The little dragon cubsat on the sofa and suddenly sighed.
Bai Huo was struck by the adorableness ofhis earnest âItâs the end of the worldâ expression: âHey, isnât your Dadright here, what are you worried about?â
After saying this, Bai Huo immediately movedto call Officer Ji, but then he thought, asking a police officer to deliver a whiteflower from so far away, wasnât that strange?
âWe shouldnât bother Uncle Luo forsuch a trivial thing ⊠uh, I mean Uncle Ji,â Bai Huo discussed with thelittle dragon cub, âHow about we make it ourselves?â
The little dragon cub looked at him doubtfully.
Bai Huo was good on his word, immediately runningto the bathroom and coming out with a dozen sheets of paper: âCome on, ofcourse we can do it ourselves, isnât it just a little white flower?â
The little dragon cub looked at the folded wetwipes in his hand: ââŠâ
Half an hour later, Bai Huo leaned back onthe sofa and took a swig of beer, shaking the two randomly bound âlittle whiteflowersâ in his hand, tossing them to the little dragon cub: âLook, Imade two flowers, you can give the extra flower to a cute girl in your class.â
The little dragon cub silently hid away hisneatly folded handmade flowers, getting up to accept his Dadâs little whiteflowers, which didnât look much better than used toilet paper.
Bai Huo was never one to stay idle, thelittle dragon cub had barely started his impromptu vacation when he excitedlytook the child to go crustacean fishing.
This was the season for the smell of friedprawns filling the street, thin crayfish shells, and tender meat, chewy anddelicious, you canât stop at one. There was a crustacean farm near the forestrystation, the owner was old friends with Bai Huo. When he heard that Bai Huowanted to fish with his child, he opened the most beautiful lobster pond forhim without demur.
âGo fish, go fish, I donât need your money.âThe bossâs first financial investment to start the farm was won from Bai Huo, sohe was very generous.
âThatâs very kind of you.â BaiHuo was sitting under a large parasol, using it to block the sun while watchingthis farce. When he heard this, he chuckled, tossing away his fishing rod and pullingout a fishing net.
The farm owner choked.
It was the busy season, the amount of peoplecoming over to buy shrimp was wearing out the welcome mat. Although the farmowner felt pain, he couldnât stand around all day staring at Bai Huo. Besides,this guy was so shameless, even having a chaperon wouldnât make him behave, theowner had no choice but to leave him be.
âThen you go fish, Iâll bring over a smallbucket later.â The boss gritted his teeth and said, deliberately emphasizingthe word âsmall bucketâ. Meaning, you get a small bucket worth offree food, nothing more!
âThank you so much, I was worried abouthow weâd carry it back.â Bai Huo grinned.
When the boss went away, the little dragoncub poked his head out from beside Bai Huo, his eyes sparkling and tail wagging,making Bai Huoâs heart itch. This was a common occurrence, as soon as thelittle dragon cub started acting cute, Bai Huo immediately relented.
âFine, but only for five minutes, youjust had a fever, remember?â Bai Huo warned.
The little dragon cub noddedenthusiastically.
Bai Huo looked around, confirming thatthere were no security cameras around, then waved his hand: âOK, go.â
The little dragon cub was in high spirits, hetransformed instantly, diving into the water. His body was very flexible, assoon as he entered water, he was more unrestrained than a fish. A few momentslater, the water exploded, lobsters frantically climbed ashore like theyâd justseen a ghost. The scene of tens of lobsters fleeing for their lives would makea normal human scream and faint.
But Bai Huo was different, he wasnât evenhuman.
Bai Huo cheerfully tried capturing them allin the net at first, but soon found that they couldnât all fit. Thinkingquickly, his eyes fell on the three-meter-wide large outdoor parasol by the pond.
In the evening, the owner of the farmfinally finished his dayâs work, with his hands clasped behind his back and asmile on his face, he surveyed the ponds, reviewing the results of his owncultivation.
The first odd thing he discovered was thebare parasol stand by one of the ponds, the large parasol had disappeared.
âWhat ⊠whatâs going on?â Theboss was stupefied, he ran over to the pond to observe, shockingly, the surfaceof the pond was calm like still water. Where did all his lobsters go?
Looking around again, there was a small plasticbucket by the umbrella stand, the same one the boss had sent to Bai Huo. Thebucket was filled with half-dead lobsters, foaming at the mouth.
âWhat the hell âŠâ The farmowner reached out tremblingly, pulling off the post-it note stuck to the red plasticbucket.
âBorrowed your parasol, Iâll return itlater. The lobsters were carefully selected, the best of the best.â
The farm owner looked up at the sky and roared:âBai Huo, wait till I get my hands on you-â
At the same time, Bai Huo the scoundrel wasrelaxing in his courtyard.
The little dragon and the fat bird weresitting side by side on the bench, attentively watching the red crayfishturn over in Lin Keâs pot, drooling.
In the distance, the sun was setting, thesky a fiery red. The sky seemed to paint the earth with a generous layer of red-goldpaint. Xi Cityâs sunsets were as spectacular as always. After so many years, itwas still breathtaking.
Bai Huo laid down under a tree, drinking hisbeer. He narrowed his eyes serenely, sighing. His back was against the light, hisbody bathed in the light of the setting sun, the contours of his face clearlydefined. When he closed his eyes, the thin hairs of his eyelashes were all distinct.
âPangâ, Chef Lin put down the pot, thecrayfish were red and plump, glossy and fragrant, neatly contained by the largepot.
The little dragon cub and the fat bird impatientlypounced on it.
âBe careful, itâs hot.â Bai Huo warnedthe children with a smile.
Lin Ke wiped the sweat off his brow, and draggedthe parasol of unknown origins towards Bai Huo: âThereâs still so much left.â
âThey wonât be able to finish it all,take it down to He Lingâs bar.â Bai Huo instructed.
âThen Iâll help myself!â Lin Ke liftedthe lobsters to his back and dashed away, fearing Bai Huo would change his mind.
âHold on, itâs just a bag of lobsters.âBai Huo pulled him back. âI need to ask you something.â
Lin Ke rubbed his nose, smiling sheepishly.The two were facing each other, Lin Keâs eyes unconsciously turned towards theunhealed cut on Bai Huoâs chin, and his imagination started running wild:âWhat ⊠What is it? â
Bai Huo noticed that his expression wasstrange, but he didnât bother with it: âHas the association made anyrecent movements?â
âMovements?â Lin Ke scratched hishead, saying âOh, Patriarch Zhou has officially taken office. But handovershave been taking place all over the world recently, it doesnât seem like amajor event.â
âWhat about Ding Ping?â Bai Huoasked.
Lin Ke finally understood what Bai Huowanted to ask, he looked back at the little dragon cub, who was chowing downlike heâd never eaten anything in his life, then said in a quiet voice: âThelast time I saw Ding Ping was when she came to deliver the notice about theappointment of the new patriarch. She muttered something about Little Lin Xiâs privateadoption not being in accordance with the rules and what not, but she didnât sayanything more useful. Now, Chong Wen-dage is the patriarch, as long as thepatriarch doesnât say anything about it, it counts as acquiescence. I think PatriarchZhou is quite fair and reasonable. You can relax Director Bai, with PatriarchZhouâs support, the association wonât come after Little Lin Xi.â
When Bai Huo heard this, not only did henot heave a sigh of relief, instead, his doubts deepened.
âWhat are you worried about, DirectorBai?â Lin Ke was puzzled.
âNothing.â Bai Huo shook hishead. âRight, whatâs the gossip, have you seen our patriarchâs wife?â
âThe patriarchâs wife?â Lin Kewas instantly excited. âOh man, Iâve heard some things.â
âOh?â
âI heard that sheâs an ordinary waterdragon, but no one knows what she looks like. The official explanation is thatshe has poor health, so she rarely goes outside. All the responsibilities thatshould be taken care of by the patriarchâs wife, like managing allies and soon, is being performed by Ding Ping.â Lin Ke said excitedly, âBut I think,maybe Patriarch Zhou is just overprotective of his wife, so he doesnât let hermake public appearances. Heâs just taken office after all, thereâs so manythings to handle, who would willingly let their wife run around doing all thathard work. â
âA water dragon?â Bai Huo waseven more baffled. âIsnât Zhou Chong Wen a fire dragon? Itâs aninterracial marriage?â
âUh, yeah.â Lin Ke was embarrassed,âDonât you know the current situation of us dragons? Itâs a blessing tojust be able to find a wife ⊠unlucky ones like me have to look for wivesamong humans. â
âUnlucky? Cross your heart and tell meyouâre dissatisfied with your multi-millionaire mother-in-law.â
âIâm not!â Lin Ke saidimmediately.
âThought so, get out.â Bai Huowaved him away.
Lin Keâs words were not all correct. Zhou ChongWen was only five or six years older than Bai Huo. When Bai Huo left the dragonclan at the age of thirteen, Zhou Chong Wen was almost an adult. Although the dragonrace was on a downward spiral at that time, it wasnât so bad that he couldnâtfind a spouse. Even though Zhou Chong Wen wasnât well liked at that time, to securethe next generation, the elders wouldnât pick a wife from a different race forhim. So, there was only one explanation, Zhou Chong Wen had insisted on ithimself.
Well, perhaps it was as Lin Ke said, and hetruly loved his wife.
Thinking of this, Bai Huo felt bored. He wasan eternal bachelor; how could he understand these things? So, he shook hishead and smiled, holding the beer bottle, he walked over to lecture his son,âLi Lin Xi! Didnât Dad just say that you canât eat so much at night âŠNo! I wonât fall for the cute act again!â