Chapter 57: A Tiger’s Fur Explodes
A tiger’s tongue is covered with dense, sharp barbs. A single lick could very well scrape off a layer of skin. However, tigers can control the extension and rigidity of these barbs using the muscles in their tongues, so Lin Xia wasn’t worried that the big dumpling would hurt him.
“That’s enough.” Lin Xia let the big dumpling lick him for a while before pushing him away. The big dumpling, having tasted some “meat scraps,” lay down beside him with a look of satisfaction.
Since he couldn’t eat the real meat, licking up some scraps was still acceptable. The big dumpling flicked his tail, seemingly in a good mood.
“How long have you been away from home?” Lin Xia shifted his attention from the big dumpling to the little boy.
“One night. Since nine o’clock…” The little boy counted on his fingers. “Past that…”
“A whole night!” Both Lin Xia and Wang Ziyu were surprised. They assumed the little boy had run away that morning; they hadn’t expected it to have been a whole night already.
“Uh-huh… Yesterday Papa scolded me again. I felt so upset that I ran away…” The little boy poked his fingers together, speaking awkwardly.
“Then wouldn’t your papa be very worried about you?” Lin Xia could guess how frantic a father would be waking up to find his child missing. If the white dumpling ran away without a word like this, he would definitely be worried sick.
“I don’t know…” The little boy said weakly. He knew his papa might be worried, but he didn’t want to go back. “Big Brother, can you be my papa instead?”
The little boy was very good-looking, with thick eyebrows and big, dark eyes, delicate as a doll. When he looked at someone with pleading eyes, a person with weak resolve might have just agreed.
“Aowu!” This is An An’s papa!
The white dumpling’s fur instantly exploded. He jumped to Lin Xia’s side, hugging him from the side to declare sovereignty.
“Sorry, I didn’t know Big Brother was your papa. So Big Brother already has a child.” Since Otherkin could communicate with each other, the little boy only realized after hearing the white dumpling that the very young-looking Lin Xia already had a child—and one many times better looking than himself. But Big Brother was truly so gentle; Shu Shu really liked him.
“Aowu?” Then do you still want An An’s papa to be your papa? Seeing the little boy apologize, the white dumpling’s fur smoothed down, but he asked again just to be sure.
“No. I thought Big Brother didn’t have any kids, that’s why I wanted him to be my papa…” The little boy said apologetically.
“Aowu!” Okay then, it’s fine! Seeing that he had given up the idea of making Lin Xia his father, the white dumpling was instantly relieved.
“Be good. Papa will always be Baby’s papa.” Lin Xia lowered his head to kiss the white dumpling. The possessiveness the white dumpling just displayed exceeded Lin Xia’s imagination. He hadn’t expected the white dumpling to get unhappy just because someone mentioned it.
“Aowu~” An An will always be Papa’s baby~ The white dumpling left a sweet kiss on Lin Xia’s cheek.
“Ao!” You will always be my treasures! Unwilling to be left out, the big dumpling leaned in and gave Lin Xia and the cub a big, sloppy kiss.
“…” The single dog Wang Ziyu.
“…” The runaway little boy.
“Let’s call your papa so he doesn’t worry.” After comforting the white dumpling, Lin Xia turned to the little boy.
Lin Xia knew this couldn’t go on. It was best to have the boy’s family come pick him up, allowing the adults and the child to communicate and resolve any issues.
“182…” The little boy hesitated for a long time before reluctantly reciting the mobile number.
“Shu Shu, do you really dislike your papa that much?” Wang Ziyu couldn’t help asking. He honestly felt that with every digit the boy spoke, the expression on his face grew uglier.
The little boy was stunned by Wang Ziyu’s question. He thought for a long time before answering, “I don’t dislike Papa, but I don’t not dislike him either. If Papa just wouldn’t scold me all the time, it would be fine.”
“Eh? Why is no one here?”
It was Big Sister Sui’s voice. Yesterday, she and Lin Xia had agreed she would bring Er Gou over for Lin Xia to check.
“It’s Big Sister Sui.” Lin Xia handed the phone to Wang Ziyu, letting him contact the boy’s family while he went out to greet Big Sister Sui.
“Big Sister Sui, Little Pang!” Lin Xia greeted them. Coming with Big Sister Sui was her son, Little Pang (Little Fatty).
Little Pang lived up to his name; he was truly chubby. He was only ten years old but weighed nearly a hundred jin (approx. 50kg/110lbs). He was fleshy all over, and while he looked cute and honest, just watching him walk made one feel tired.
“Hello, Uncle Lin!” Little Pang loved eating spicy strips (Latiao). He always had a pack in his hand, especially the 50-cent Wei Long brand. Recently, Wei Long had become famous, giving Little Pang even more excuses to eat them.
“Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating! Didn’t I tell you not to eat when talking to others?” Big Sister Sui got angry seeing him eat spicy strips. He knew they weren’t healthy but ate them non-stop, and if she didn’t let him, he would cry. Big Sister Sui and her husband were soft-hearted; as soon as Little Pang cried, they gave in.
“Mom, I’m just eating one pack!” Little Pang said leisurely, pulling out another spicy strip.
“Don’t think I don’t know, this is already the third pack!” Big Sister Sui rapped his knuckles on his head, looking exasperated at his lack of improvement.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch!” Little Pang covered his head and dodged to the side.
“Lin Xia, do you think my dog can still be saved?” Big Sister Sui hadn’t forgotten that she came to the pet shop for Er Gou, not to lecture her son.
“…” Seeing the chubby Er Gou panting heavily on the ground, Lin Xia couldn’t understand how the dog had gained so much weight not long after the last check-up. “He needs a forced diet.”
“I think so too. How do you help dogs lose weight here?” Big Sister Sui asked.
“For weight loss, we need a two-pronged approach: first, diet control; second, exercise. For exercise, running and swimming work well.” Lin Xia spoke while leading Big Sister Sui to see the pet treadmill.
“Oh my, everyone’s here!” Walking further in, Big Sister Sui saw Wang Ziyu and the white dumpling. No wonder she didn’t see anyone when she entered; they were all back here. “Why are there two big white cats? They look exactly the same!”
“They belong to a friend. From the same litter as Baby,” Lin Xia fudged an explanation.
“Oh, from the same litter, no wonder they look so alike.” Big Sister Sui didn’t think much of it. Soon, her gaze landed on the little boy.
“Whose child is this? He’s so cute!” The little boy’s appearance easily triggered maternal instincts in women. Big Sister Sui, having looked at her own greasy son too much, couldn’t take her eyes off the handsome little boy.
“Wow, what a cute kid!” Little Pang came in with his spicy strips and spotted the pretty child immediately.
“Quiet down, don’t scare him.” Big Sister Sui turned back and glared at Little Pang. “Look at you, then look at him. Isn’t it frustrating for me? If only you were half as good-looking as this kid…” Big Sister Sui was used to scolding Little Pang and didn’t mind the presence of outsiders, criticizing him directly.
“Isn’t what I look like determined by you and Dad’s genes?” Little Pang spread his hands, feigning helplessness.
“You’ve got an answer for everything!” Big Sister Sui wanted to knock his head again.
“Big Sister Sui, we were talking about weight loss…” Lin Xia quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Right, right, right, I almost forgot. Once Little Pang interrupted, it slipped my mind.” Big Sister Sui slapped her forehead. “Whatever you say works, as long as Er Gou slims down. I still have to go set up my stall, so I’ll leave Little Pang and Er Gou to you.”
Big Sister Sui had to open her stall, so after lingering a bit at the pet shop and instructing Little Pang and Er Gou not to cause trouble, she left.
“See, I told you, every mom is the same,” Wang Ziyu couldn’t help saying after Big Sister Sui left.
“Brother Little Pang, your mom is really like my papa!” The little boy looked at Little Pang with sympathy. From the moment Big Sister Sui entered, the little boy had been observing her. It turned out other people’s mothers were just like his father—liking to praise other children’s virtues while criticizing their own.
“Really? How are they alike?” Little Pang found a seat and sat down.
“My papa loves scolding me, and your mom loves scolding you.”
“It’s fine, you get used to it. Let her say what she wants; I’m still the same me. It won’t peel a layer of skin off me.” Little Pang looked indifferent, as if he had experienced too much and seen through it all.
“But whenever Papa scolds me, I feel so sad.” The little boy had been scolded into an inferiority complex; he envied Little Pang for being able not to care.
“What’s there to be sad about? There’s nothing sad that a pack of spicy strips can’t solve.” Saying this, Little Pang tossed another strip into his mouth. “If one pack can’t solve it, then two!”
“Tch, stop tricking kids. Here, give me one.” Wang Ziyu got along well with Little Pang; they often ate spicy strips together.
“Really?” The little boy was innocent and almost believed it.
“You can’t eat too many spicy strips,” Lin Xia said, patting the little boy’s head.
“Speaking of which, both of you are kids who get scolded by your parents. Why is the difference between you so big?” Wang Ziyu chewed on a spicy strip, voicing his confusion. Two children constantly criticized by their parents, living in the shadow of others, yet their mindsets were vastly different. The little boy was scolded until he became insecure, sensitive, and negative. Little Pang, on the other hand, didn’t care and even liked to retort.
“Probably different personalities,” Lin Xia answered. The two children had different natures—the little boy was introverted, Little Pang was extroverted. It was normal to have different mindsets regarding the same issue.
“By the way, did you call Shu Shu’s family?” Lin Xia remembered the phone call.
“I got through. His dad said he’ll come over soon. Do you know where Shu Shu came from? Tai’an District! That’s so far from here!” Wang Ziyu gestured the distance as he spoke.
“Tai’an District!” Lin Xia was also startled. Tai’an District was separated from them by Yuanyang District. He hadn’t expected the little boy to have run so far away from home.
“I crawled into a car, and then I ended up here…” The little boy felt embarrassed about his “feat.”
“It’s okay. When your papa comes, tell him your thoughts and communicate with him properly.” Lin Xia bent down to instruct him.
“Okay!” The little boy responded to Lin Xia with a sweet smile.
“Ziyu, you watch Shu Shu for now. I’ll take Er Gou to weigh him.” Lin Xia hadn’t forgotten the fat dog panting on the floor outside.
“Aowu!” Papa, An An will go with you! The white dumpling jumped into Lin Xia’s arms, wagging his tail.
“Okay.” Lin Xia went to work carrying the white dumpling. With his wife and cub gone, the big dumpling felt bored as a lone tiger, so he followed them. Only the little boy, Wang Ziyu, and Little Pang—who was happily eating spicy strips—remained by the sofa.
Author’s Note:
Big Dumpling: “What? I’m from the same litter as the White Dumpling?”
Lin Xia: “Same bedspread (litter), nothing wrong with that!”
The Big Dumpling is preparing to recover…
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