Huo Lin was still worried about the gymnastics event of the child, but the child himself was not worried at all.
“Brother.”
The child who sat back on his brother’s lap leaned against him and leisurely swung his short legs. He gave Huo Lin some snacks from his pocket and said, “Here you go. It’s the cookies that Uncle Ling Qi baked.”
Ling Qi was good at making all kinds of delicious food, and every time before the child went out, he would fill the child’s pockets with snacks.
Huo Lin looked down at the milky fat on the child’s cheeks and sighed in his heart. Then he took all the child’s cookies and ate it all.
These cookies smelled sweet and delicious, but they were clearly calorie bombs.
The little chubby kid really couldn’t eat any more.
Originally, he only wanted to give his brother a little, but when the child saw that all the cookies were gone, he pouted and looked at his brother with a pitiful expression.
Huo Lin remained unfazed and asked, “Does Ningning not want to give his brother any cookies?”
The child shook his head.
He loved his brother the most, so of course he wanted to give him the cookies.
But the child said dejectedly, “Ningning also wanted a cookie.”
Huo Lin reached out and touched his little belly. His belly was soft and wavy, with a bit more fat than before. Although the touch was better, if the kindergarten PE teacher also touched it, they would probably be unhappy.
“Brother is hungry.”
Huo Lin continued to coax the child with the cookies, “Brother has to eat all the cookies to not be hungry.”
When he said this, the sad child sniffled and didn’t want the cookies anymore. He even took out all his snacks from his school bag and handed them to Huo Lin.
“Brother, have these!”
“Thank you, Ningning.”
Huo Lin didn’t feel embarrassed at all for taking all the child’s snacks and then checking his homework after. He took the snacks and then took the child’s homework to check.
“Ningning, you didn’t do your homework carefully yesterday.”
Huo Lin furrowed his brow slightly and asked in confusion, “Hasn’t Uncle Ling been tutoring you these past few days? I remember he’s been tutoring you well.”
Zhan Xi didn’t have much education and didn’t have a method for tutoring the child, so his tutoring was useless.
But Ling Qi was different.
Huo Lin had only met Ling Qi a few times, but he sensitively perceived that Ling Qi’s background was probably very good. At the very least, he had received a high level of education.
When he tutored the child, he was patient and had a method, and the child’s homework had been noticeably better in these past few days.
But this time, it looked like a mess.
“Uncle Ling Qi didn’t look at my homework.”
The child anxiously snatched his notebook back. His chubby little hand tried to reach for it, but he just couldn’t reach it.
Under his brother’s gaze, the child reluctantly withdrew his hand and continued to explain, “Uncle Ling Qi went out because someone was looking for him, and Dad went with him.”
The child sometimes didn’t organize his thoughts well when he spoke.
But Huo Lin understood his meaning: “Someone was looking for Uncle Ling, your dad went out with him, and you did your homework by yourself.”
The child nodded his head.
Huo Lin: “...”
Huo Lin fell silent.
Letting this child do his homework on his own was like letting a little mouse guard the rice bin. It’s unlikely that he had any self-discipline."
“Rewrite it.”
Huo Lin found a piece of cardboard for him to put under his workbook and rewrote his messy homework.
Fortunately, they came out early, so it didn’t matter if they were delayed a little on the way. With his older brother watching, the little child could only reluctantly rewrite his work with tears in his eyes.
On the car, the little child stayed with his brother.
***
Meanwhile, the adults in the courtyard took a brief break and gathered together to discuss the little child’s studies.
Zhan Rao came with some money this time. “We checked the tuition fees for the Imperial Military Kindergarten, and they are very high. You might not be able to afford it.”
“This is the tuition for one semester that we’ve gathered for Ningning. You keep it.”
The tuition for one semester at the Imperial Military Kindergarten was not cheap. Zhan Xi looked at the money and shook his head without hesitation. “Boss, this is too much money. I can’t take it.”
Life on the barren planet was not easy for everyone, and it was hard to save up money. They couldn’t keep giving money to him.
Zhan Rao heard his intention to refuse, but still gave him the money. “There’s no use in saving money. Ningning needs it now, so keep it for him.”
With a thick stack of money in his hand, Zhan Xi’s lips moved, but he still told everyone some news.
“Boss, remember when we brought Ningning back and hoped that he would be a little genius child? He’s been in school for a while now, and I won’t hide it from you.”
“Our child is not a genius child in kindergarten. He’s near the bottom in a few subjects...”
When Zhan Xi said this, he felt a bit of pressure. He would never dislike his own child, and he loved him no matter what.
But everyone on the barren planet used to see the child as a little genius. Now that the little genius had become a poor student, he didn’t know if everyone would feel a psychological drop.
Zhan Xi nervously fidgeted with his hands, and after hearing his words, those around him, those around him looked at him for a few seconds in silence.
After a few seconds, Duo Bi couldn’t resist and asked, “Zhan Xi, you don’t still think we all see Ningning as a child prodigy, do you? When he was learning to count, he couldn’t even count the five chickens in my house.”
Zhan Xi remained silent.
Duo Bi patted him on the shoulder and spoke with a serious tone, “Don’t worry, our expectations of Ningning are not for him to become a prodigy. We just want him to be healthy and safe.”
Zhan Rao nodded in agreement.
They had all seen the little guy grow from a clumsy child who couldn’t even crawl properly to a child who could go to kindergarten. Unconsciously, their expectations for this child had become simply to hope for his safety and well-being.
Zhan Xi clenched the money and remained silent for a while.
***
Time passed slowly.
Zhan Rao and his group stayed for several more days. They stayed not only to spend more time with the child but also to discuss the matter of the Poison Spider.
“The members of the Poison Spider are all very cunning. It’s not an easy task to completely wipe out their nest.”
After receiving news from Zhan Xi earlier, Zhan Rao immediately took his men to find the surviving members of the Poison Spider.
However, the Poison Spider ranked second on the leaderboard of the Star Thief organization, and their strength was not to be underestimated.
They were very good at hiding, just like poisonous spiders hiding in corners, making it difficult to discover them.
Zhan Rao’s plan to eliminate them also could not guarantee that they would be able to kill all the spiders.
“Zhan Xi, the Poison Spider is hiding and hasn’t surfaced yet. But you don’t have to worry, we’ll immediately kill them all if they dare to appear.”
“Alright, I’ll leave the matter of the Poison Spider to you.”
After discussing the Poison Spider, Zhan Rao hesitated for a moment before bringing up the little child and Ludwig. “Zhan Xi, are you really planning to let Ningning take care of the Emperor’s mental power issue?”
Zhan Xi pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.
Zhan Rao looked at him and continued, “I know the Emperor treats Ningning well, but giving the burden of treating the Emperor’s mental power to a child is too heavy.”
“Ningning is only three years old. What he needs is to grow up properly, not to treat an Emperor with 3S+ mental power. Before coming here, I have emphasized many times that Ningning’s healing ability is not like eating and drinking, it consumes his own life force!”
Zhan Rao didn’t intend to make his words so heavy. He knew that Zhan Xi was more concerned about Ningning than he was. In this world, no one loved Ningning more than Zhan Xi.
It was just that after seeing Ningning saved Ludwig, he felt uneasy.
There were too many people like Ludwig who had power and status and were tormented by their mental power.
If Ningning treated the Empire’s Emperor this time, then who would it be next time?
And who would it be after that?
Zhan Rao’s words rang in Zhan Xi’s ears, and the latter lowered his head slightly, not saying a word.
In fact, Zhan Xi didn’t need to be reminded. He had never forgotten these things. He wasn’t a saintly person, in fact, his heart was quite ruthless.
He only cared about his Ningning.
As for the life and death of others, it had nothing to do with him.
But he had no way of forcing his Ningning to be indifferent to Ludwig and not save him.
“Big Brother, I’ve remembered everything you said.”
Zhan Xi replied softly, “I’ll talk to Ningning again.”
He had told his child many times not to use his healing ability lightly and not to expose his ability outside. The child was very obedient and always covered himself with a little vest when he was outside.
However, the child was too kind-hearted. Once someone he was close to lost control of their mental power, he would instinctively and recklessly try to save them.
***
They stayed at Whist Mist Star for another day.
After Zhan Rao and his group left, only Ling Qi remained.
When everyone planned to leave the next day, Ningning didn’t have to go to school then. They had a lively dinner at home, with Huo Lin and Wagner also present.
Ling Qi cooked himself and made a very sumptuous dinner.
A group of people gathered together to eat, and Ningning was overjoyed. His uncles would occasionally feed him or kiss his little face, keeping him busy.
Wagner was not much older than Ningning, so everyone followed suit and fed him a few bites.
Laughter and joy continued at the table in front of them.
Behind them, Huo Lin was helping Ling Qi. “Uncle Ling, the cookies you baked are really delicious. Can you teach me?”
Ling Qi was a little surprised that the little prince had come to help. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do you want to learn how to make them so you can feed Ningning, or do you want to eat them yourself?”
Huo Lin replied honestly, “To feed Ningning, and I’ll wait until he gets skinny again.”
Ling Qi said disapprovingly, “He’s not that fat now, have you never seen a real chubby baby? Does Ningning look like the kind of baby who can’t even walk on the road? He looks soft and cute.”
Ling Qi thought that their child could eat a little more.
Huo Lin remained silent, unsure of how to respond.
The two were busy making small cookies when Zhang Xi walked in. “Ling Qi, you go eat in front, I’ll watch the cookies here.”
Ling Qi didn’t go. “No need, you go eat, I’ll be done in a bit.”
During the meal, an unexpected guest arrived. It was General Mans, who was supposed to be on Ouyun Star.
When the child heard the knocking, he volunteered to open the door. Zhang Xi saw this and took him over.
The child was happy to see General Mans and handed him the small cookie in his hand. With a sweet voice, he said, “Please have a cookie!”
Although the child had not eaten the cookie in his hand, he had previously eaten a chicken leg, and his chubby hand was greasy.
General Mans lowered his eyes and looked at the cookie that was gripped by the oily little hand. His eyelids twitched, and he refused, “No thanks, I don’t like cookies.”
The child’s outstretched hand returned disappointedly.
Zhan Xi saw this and bent down to bite off the cookie in the child’s hand. “Ningning’s cookie is really delicious.”
The child’s eyes brightened, and he became happy again. “Uncle Ling Qi baked it really well!”
The interaction between the adult and the child made General Mans silent.
He handed the item in his hand to Zhan Xi and said in a flat tone, “I just went to the palace, and Queen Ai Wei knew I was passing by here, so she had me bring something for this child.”
After handing the item to Zhan Xi, he turned and left.
Zhan Xi watched his back and then led the child back.
Ai Wei had sent a specialty wine from White Mist Star, and with the wine, the group’s meal became more lively.
Ningning looked at everyone around him, holding a bottle of warm water that had only been partially drunk, and drank most of it with “dun dun dun” sounds.
After he finished drinking, he cleared his throat and shamelessly performed for the adults, pulling Wagner to join him.
They played crazily for who knew how long.
The child sat down on the foot of Zhan Rao when he was tired, squinted his eyes, and said with satisfaction, “Ningning likes having meals with everyone!”
He wanted to eat with everyone every day!
Zhan Rao, whose foot was being sat on: “...”
But, they were about to leave tomorrow.
