Zhan Rao looked at the happy little child and didn’t mention the news that they had to leave tomorrow. He stood on his toes and lifted the child a bit, who was sitting on his feet.
As he lifted him, he also realized that the child was a bit too heavy.
The little child, being lifted, didn’t seem to care about his weight at all. He hugged Zhan Rao’s leg and giggled.
Huo Lin looked at Zhan Rao and then looked down at his own feet. A trace of seriousness flickered across his usually expressionless face.
It seemed that he also needed to exercise more and try to be able to lift the chubby little child like Uncle Zhan Rao easily.
The lively scene continued until late at night.
Zhan Xi looked at the time and wanted to let Huo Lin and Wagner stay behind for the night. “It’s too late now. You two should stay here tonight. I’ll send you back tomorrow.”
Huo Lin shook his head at the suggestion. “Uncle Zhan, I’ll go back.”
All his clothes and things were in the palace, so it was inconvenient to stay here. Once he left, Wagner also wanted to leave. “Uncle Zhan, I want to find my dad.”
Marshal Twain, who had always been cold towards his son, had finally changed his ways after returning this time. Wagner had been clinging to his father ever since.
Zhan Xi looked at Wagner and had no choice but to send him back as well.
It was a hustle and bustle until the middle of the night.
When Zhan Xi came back, the little child was not in the bedroom but was sleeping with the others. Several adults were sleeping on a large bed, and in the middle of it all was a chubby little child sprawled out on his back.
The little child didn’t sleep well. When he used to sleep with Zhan Xi, he would still be in Zhan Xi’s arms before falling asleep.
Not only did he not sleep well, but the little guy occasionally wet the bed.
In short, this was a not-so-quiet little child.
The little child had a chubby foot on Duo Bi’s face, with their head against Zhan Rao’s waist, and their small hand still grabbing onto Zhan Rao’s arm. Zhan Xi stood at the door and looked, but still didn’t take the child away.
Ling Qi was more particular and didn’t like sleeping with a group of people.
His room was next to Zhan Xi’s, and when he saw Zhan Xi come back, he came out to take a look. The moonlight of the White Mist Star was beautiful.
The two of them stood at the door, only a few steps away.
Ling Qi glanced at the open door and saw the little child who was snuggling with everyone, and his lips twitched as he spoke. “When they leave tomorrow, Ningning will definitely cry.”
Thinking of the scene at that time, Zhan Xi already started to feel a headache.
He looked at Ling Qi for help and said, “Tomorrow, can you please coax him more? I feel like I can’t handle him alone.”
Ling Qi smiled and said, “Then you have to beg me nicely.”
Zhan Xi smiled too. He already had a charming appearance that attracted many, and when he smiled, there was a hint of playfulness that made him even more attractive.
“Okay, Ling Qi, please.”
Ling Qi remained silent.
They talked for a while, and finally, Zhan Xi suddenly asked, “By the way, you came to the White Mist Star, really to accompany Ningning?”
Ling Qi replied with a sound of agreement, “With you taking care of Ningning, I’m afraid he won’t even get a normal meal.”
Zhan Xi cheekily denied it, “It’s not as exaggerated as you say. The food I make is still nutritious. Look, Ningning has gotten plump because of me, right?”
Ling Qi coldly snorted, “It’s only after I came that he started to gain weight.”
The night was too late, and the moonlight was too cold.
Zhan Xi stood at the doorway and noticed that the person in front of him was only wearing thin sleepwear, so he didn’t continue the conversation and said, “Alright, you should go back to sleep.”
“See you tomorrow. Good night,” he added.
After bidding each other goodnight, they returned to their respective rooms.
The most comfortable sleeper that night was Ningning, who was surrounded by adults. Even if he kicked one of them with his chubby feet, he wouldn’t be pushed away.
They slept until the next day.
When Zhan Rao and his team left, Ningning was still asleep, showing his soft white belly.
To avoid waking him up, the group tiptoed out of the room. They had agreed the previous night to leave quietly.
This group of people couldn’t stay on White Mist Star for too long.
Zhan Xi watched them leave with a worried expression on his face, but he wasn’t sad about their departure. Adults didn’t have that much attachment to one another.
His worry was purely about how to take care of Ningning when he woke up.
“Boss.”
Zhan Xi looked at Zhan Rao, and his numerous concerns boiled down to one sentence: “I will do my best, and you guys... let’s work together to make sure you can all move here before Ningning starts elementary school.”
Although they were space thieves, they had never killed civilians. Most of the people who died by their hands were their peers, a practice called “black eating black” in the industry.
When they practiced “black eating black,” their methods were not merciful. Over time, they became notorious.
In the past, they didn’t care about their profession or reputation, since they lived simple lives and didn’t have to think too much. Now it was different.
They had to at least establish a household registration and accompany Ningning as he went to school.
Kindergarten, primary school, middle school...
The little child still had a long way to go with his studies, and they couldn’t always stay on the barren planet.
Even the farewells between adults were brief, and not long after, Zhan Xi watched Zhan Rao and the others board the spaceship and leave.
The little child who played wildly last night slept until the sun burned his butt, his stomach growling with hunger. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
He reached out his little hand to the side, but didn’t feel his uncle or his father.
He was a bit confused, with a blank expression.
“Uncle Zan Rao?”
“Uncle Duo Bi?”
“Uncle Amy?”
“Daddy?”
When he called for his father, Zhan Xi happened to walk in. Seeing that he had woken up, Zhan Xi bent down and picked him up, with a smile in his tone: “Our Ningning is awake. Uncle Ling Qi has cooked a meal for you, with a stewed pork chop. Shall we go eat together?”
In the interstellar era, most people buy a large amount of nutritional supplements to save time and effort.
Zhan Xi used to eat a lot of nutritional supplements as well.
But since he had a son, he had basically stopped touching nutritional supplements.
The little child hugged his father’s neck, silent. It would take a while for him to snap out of this state.
Zhan Xi took advantage of this time to carry him to the dining table.
When the two of them arrived, Ling Qi had just brought out the egg custard, the tender custard drizzled with a spoonful of fragrant oil, its aroma tantalizing.
The little child sat in his chair, his food bowl in front of him.
Zhan Xi placed the spoon into his chubby little hands and coaxed him to eat, saying, “Ningning, give it a try. Today’s egg soup is delicious.”
The little child, whose stomach had long been empty, held onto the round spoon and sluggishly took two bites of the egg soup.
Perhaps eating brought clarity to one’s mind.
As the little child continued eating, his gaze became clear.
With traces of egg soup on the corners of his mouth, he looked at his father with his round, big, shining eyes and asked, “Daddy, will Uncle Zhan Rao and the others come for the next meal?”
He was asking his father if Uncle Zhan Rao and the others would come to eat.
Zhan Xi remained unfazed and said, “Uncle Zhan Rao has definitely eaten already. Just eat by yourself. Don’t worry about Uncle Zhan Rao. After you finish eating, I’ll take you to play with Wagner.”
The little child initially didn’t react to these words.
But halfway through the meal, the little child held the spoon and asked his father, “Why do the uncles not come to see Ningning? They should come to see Ningning during the meal.”
Indeed, adults used to gather around to watch the little child eat.
However, this time, there was no one at all. How could they not gather around?
Zhan Xi’s attempt to make up a story failed, so he could only watch as the little child, still wearing a bib around his neck, ran out while holding the spoon and calling for someone.
The room wasn’t big.
After searching around without finding anyone, the little child realized it belatedly.
His eyes welled up with tears, and his voice trembled as he said, “The spaceship is gone, and the uncles are gone too.”
Except for Uncle Ling Qi, everyone else was gone!
The saddened little child sat down abruptly, his chubby little bottom resting on the scattered wooden shelf on the floor. He didn’t sit firmly and ended up falling backward.
Zhan Xi: “...”
Damn.
Why was this little guy so pitiful?
Zhan Xi quickly walked over, picked up the even sadder little guy and checked him over, saying, “Let Daddy take a look, where did you fall? Does it hurt?”
The little child was holding his head and crying so hard he almost passed out.
Zhan Xi checked him for a while and found a lump under his hair.
The poor little guy made even the old father feel heartbroken. He called Ling Qi over and continued to comfort him for a while before he finally managed to calm down.
“Uncle and them went back to plant vegetables for Ningning to eat. When Ningning misses them, they’ll come back to see him.”
“Wah, I miss the Uncles now!”
Zhan Xi: “...”
He choked up.
He had opened a video call with Zhan Rao and the others, and everyone in the video call saw the little child with a tearful face, and they all wished they could come back right away.
But now they couldn’t.
They weren’t prepared for anything.
Because the departure of several people from the barren planet had affected the little child’s appetite, and before Zhan Xi and Ling Qi fed him lunch, the little guy only ate one bowl of rice.
If it had been before, their Ningning could have eaten another bowl!
Seeing the little child’s decreasing appetite, both Zhan Xi and Ling Qi frowned. Just then, Huo Lin arrived, and came at a good time.
“There’s a banquet tonight, and Father wants me to take Ningning to the party to eat good food.”
Once the little prince spoke, the two adults who were worried that Ningning hadn’t eaten properly glanced at each other and then handed the child over together.
Zhan Xi quietly whispered to the little prince, “He only had a little food for lunch. I don’t think he ate enough. Please make sure to feed him more tonight.”
Huo Lin nodded solemnly and replied, “Alright.”
The child, who was handed over by his father, lay limp in his older brother’s arms, his chubby face looking listless.
Huo Lin politely bid farewell to the adults before taking the child away.
On the way.
Huo Lin, fearing that the child would get hungry, deliberately lifted the hem of the child’s clothes and felt his stomach.
“How strange.”
Huo Lin furrowed his brow, as the soft belly he touched didn’t feel like that of someone who hadn’t eaten enough.
He continued to feel the little belly and asked the child, “Ningning, how much food did you eat for lunch?”
The child, still lacking energy, picked at the decorations on his brother’s clothes and replied, “One bowl of rice, one bowl of eggs.”
Huo Lin: “?”
And this was considered not eating enough?
Huo Lin withdrew his hand and decided not to blindly listen to Uncle Zhan’s words in the future.
The car raced all the way.
Half an hour later, Huo Lin arrived at their destination with the little child.
Before coming, Huo Lin had changed the child into a suit he had brought with him in the car. In the palace, there were many clothes for the little child in the rooms of the little prince, and the Emperor and Empress.
“Does Ningning look handsome?”
Although feeling a bit low-spirited, after putting on his clothes, the little child still asked his older brother as usual.
Huo Lin nodded, “You look good.”
Ningning was good-looking, no matter what he wore.
In Huo Lin’s heart, Ningning had always been the most handsome little child from a baby to now.
Upon receiving this response, the little child was quite satisfied.
When they got off the car...
The little child held his brother’s hand, but as soon as they came out, his eyes were almost blinded by the flashing lights not far away.
Many cameras were pointing towards them and taking pictures.
Huo Lin glanced at the cameras, then looked at the little child by his side, and his face instantly darkened.
He forgot to tell the little child beforehand that there would usually be cameras in such big occasions.
It’s just that he had a bad temper and didn’t like taking photos. Before, these cameras didn’t dare to blatantly take pictures of him like this.
He didn’t know what happened this time, but they suddenly started taking pictures of him. Maybe they saw him holding a kid and thought it was an interesting topic?
At this moment, Huo Lin couldn’t care about those cameras. He lowered his head and asked the little child beside him softly, “Ningning, are you scared?”
“Our Ningning definitely isn’t afraid, right? They are just taking pictures of you because you look good.”
Huo Lin comforted him for a few words, and the frightened little child tightly held his brother’s hand.
His chubby face was full of courage. “Ningning isn’t afraid! Ningning is good-looking, so they can take pictures!”
***
The author has something to say:
Ningning: Not afraid!
