“Brother!”
As soon as the little child saw his brother, he immediately moved away from Ludwig and opened his arms, saying, “Hold me, big brother!”
Huo Lin walked over and picked him up in his arms.
Zhan Xi arrived early because there were troublesome creatures at home that he was worried about. So even before the sun rose, he got up and started tinkering with the tricycle.
Ling Qi wasn’t feeling well last night and couldn’t get up to cook in the morning. Today’s breakfast was prepared by Zhan Xi himself.
The chubby little child used to eat anything on the barren planet, but now that they were on the White Mist Star, he had become a bit pickier and didn’t enjoy the meals he cooked as much as before.
But no matter how unappetizing the food was, he still had a round belly.
Zhan Xi watched as the little child finished talking to Ludwig and then turned to Huo Lin. He didn’t intervene but instead said to the person next to him, which was Ai Wei, “Please let Ningning stay here today. I have brought his school bag and would greatly appreciate it if he could be given the opportunity to complete his homework. It is important for him to catch up on his assignments every Monday.”
Ai Wei nodded and added, “Bring Ling Qi with you for lunch. You can eat here.”
Zhan Xi shook his head and smiled, saying, “I still have unfinished work. Please take care of Ningning. It’s a good opportunity for me to have some free time to do my tasks.”
Since arriving on White Mist Star, Zhan Xi had never been idle.
In the morning, he made buns, and during the day, he collected scrap materials. In the spare time between collecting scrap, if there happened to be a shortage of workers at a construction site, he would also work as a casual laborer.
In short, from morning till night, Zhan Xi was constantly earning money.
Ai Wei knew about his schedule and had once tried to find him some easier jobs, but Zhan Xi refused.
Zhan Xi had a clear understanding of himself. He said, “I have no education, no higher learning, and no experience in proper jobs. It would be difficult to find a proper job for me.”
The imperial family wasn’t lacking in money, and Ludwig wasn’t an incompetent ruler. Under his reign, the empire’s prosperity and strength were visible to everyone.
If Zhan Xi could let go of his pride and face, he could easily send the little child to be fostered directly in the palace, where he would have all his needs provided for.
But he was unwilling to do so.
He may not have money, but he had his dignity.
Ai Wei looked at Zhan Xi’s handsome and resolute face and didn’t linger any longer. She only advised, “There’s always more work to be done. Take care of your health and don’t exhaust yourself.”
One might see Ningning relying on her and Ludwig, but everyone knew that in Ningning’s heart, his beloved father always came first.
Zhan Xi left the little child, as well as the two creatures they brought with them to the palace, and went out alone.
Inside the palace.
Between his brother and Uncle Lulu, the little child firmly chose his brother. However, before telling his brother about Fatty and Rolling, the little child first affectionately touched his brother’s face and asked, “Brother, are you feeling unwell?”
Huo Lin shook his head.
He had dealt with this topic before and only said to the little child, “What were you saying just now?”
The little child turned his head and pointed to the black and white Rolling he brought along. In a sweet voice, he said, “Brother, Ningning wants to keep Rolling.”
After a night of fermentation and two unsuccessful attempts to call Wagner, the little child was now extremely excited.
He was so excited that he wanted to touch Rolling every day!
Huo Lin sat down on the nearest sofa, holding the little child in his arms, and followed his gaze to Rolling not far away. He said, “Rolling is the one who went missing from the Federation Zoo.”
The little child’s ears perked up, but when he heard the word “federation,” he deflated a little.
He sat on his brother’s lap, and his chubby face went from being puffed up to being uncertain. He held onto his brother’s clothes button, speaking in a soft voice, “Brother, Ningning is not a bad egg.”
Fatty and Rolling weren’t things he stole.
If the Federation wanted to catch bad eggs, they shouldn’t catch Ningning, right?
Huo Lin sensed his nervousness, so he followed his words and said, “Hmm, Ningning is not a bad egg.”
Ludwig looked at the little child who had just clung to him but was now clinging to his son. He raised an eyebrow and said softly, “A fickle little child.”
If you want to latch onto a powerful figure, you should focus a bit more and latch onto one thigh properly.
This little child even brought backup options.
Ai Wei, seeing him still lingering here, told him, “Stop talking nonsense. Haven’t you finished your tasks? Go and continue with your work. Oh, and don’t forget to contact the Federation.”
Ludwig glanced at the two children on the sofa and nonchalantly said, “I don’t feel like talking to the Federation today. Let Caesar handle the negotiations.”
Ai Wei: “?”
Did he owe her a beating again?
The couple moved to the study, leaving the space outside for the children.
Before going to the study, Ai Wei specifically checked on their son’s condition. “Xiao Lin, did you stay up late last night, or is there something wrong with your mental power?”
Huo Lin’s voice was steady as he replied, “I’ve been staying up late these past few days. I just need to rest more today.”
Upon hearing this, Ai Wei was still worried. She was about to approach him for a closer examination when her son slightly turned his head and made an evasive gesture.
“Mom, I’m already a big kid.”
Her son’s words caught Ai Wei off guard, and she didn’t know if she should cry or laugh. “Alright, alright, you’re a big kid now. Mom just wanted to check your mental power, but never mind, as long as you’re fine.”
Huo Lin nodded at his mother while holding the child on his leg.
Once Ai Wei left, the little child looked up at his older brother. Just as he was about to speak, his brother beat him to it and started talking about the rolling beast. “Ningning, do you really want to raise this chubby mouse and fluffy rolling beast?”
The little child hesitated for a moment, but then nodded.
He liked both Fatty and Rolling.
Huo Lin looked at his expression, raised his hand, and rubbed his head gently, softly coaxing him, “Go play with Fatty and Rolling. Big brother needs to make a phone call.”
The chubby little child climbed down from his brother’s leg and went to play with Fatty.
Fatty was a well-behaved mouse. When the adults were present, he would obediently hold fruits with his paws and quietly nibble on them without causing any trouble.
It was only when the little child came over that he would reveal his lively side.
“Fatty, Rolling, I’ll start collecting junk from now on, and I’ll spend all my pocket money on you!”
They enjoyed each other’s company for a while, when his star device started ringing.
He glanced at the caller ID: Wagner.
The little child hesitated for a moment, but decided to answer the call.
Wagner, on the other end, had just woken up from a nap, and his voice was still groggy. “Ningning, why did you call me so many times? One was in the middle of the night, and now it’s in the morning. Is there something urgent?”
Caught off guard by the question, Ningning, upon hearing Wagner’s voice, felt the same fear he had experienced last night, as if he was about to be arrested and thrown in jail.
He tightened his chubby face, thinking he appeared composed but actually stuttering, he asked, “Wagner, does the Federation arrest little kids and put them in jail?”
He quickly added, “I mean, a three-year-old little kid.”
Wagner: “...”
Wagner became slightly more awake and asked, “Ningning, what did you do? Why would you be arrested?”
Ning: “...”
Ningning’s face turned red, and he finally blurted out the truth, “It’s because Ningning wants to keep Rolling.”
Two little children, one timid and one bewildered.
Timid Ningning heard Wagner’s silence and thought that Wagner was implicitly agreeing to what he asked about the Federation capturing children. He was frightened, his childish voice trembling. “Wagner, save me, please.”
Ningning didn’t want to go to jail!
Wagner was taken aback by such a big shock early in the morning, and it took him a while to recover his senses. He could hear that Ningning was on the verge of tears, so he immediately defended him without principles, “Ningning, don’t be afraid. I won’t let them take you away.”
He wanted to be Ningning’s lifelong good friend!
Good friends should enjoy good times and endure hardships together. If Ningning was to be captured, he would accompany him willingly!
The two law-ignorant little children were still here, making an appointment to go to jail together, while on the other side, Huo Lin had already settled matters with the director of the Federation Zoo.
After experiencing the rebellion, the upper echelons of the Federation were undergoing a major reshuffle.
Currently, the Federation’s situation appeared unstable on the surface, so in this situation, a small mouse and a rolling beast were no longer as difficult to negotiate with as before.
Huo Lin spent almost all of his pocket money this time.
Just as he finished settling things, he was about to get up from his chair when his head suddenly felt dizzy. The next moment, he fell heavily back into the chair.
“Hiss—”
He took a shallow breath and pressed his hand against his head, rubbing his temples.
His mental power had never received the soothing of Ningning. Although he felt a little better when he was by Ningning’s side, his mental power, which had a history of losing control, seemed to be getting stronger again, and another bout of losing control seemed to be starting.
He didn’t tell his parents, and before seeing Ningning, he deliberately let his mental power completely calm down.
Other people would eagerly seek Ningning’s healing ability, but he didn’t want to use it even once.
After standing still for a while, Huo Lin slowly stood up, his thick black eyelashes trembling gently, and his pale cheeks clearly indicating something was not quite right.
His breaths were accompanied by the rise and fall of his chest.
Huo Lin stood in place, inexplicably reminded of the childish words the little child said yesterday, the innocent phrase “little widow” that stabbed his heart several times.
It wasn’t just his heart that ached; since his return to the castle, his mental powers had also gone out of control once.
He simply couldn’t accept the scene that unfolded with that term applied to Ningning.
