Chapter 78: Bringing Up Dark History Again
Tang Yinlang wasn’t worried about the white dumpling taking a tumble. They were Otherkind with thick skin and rough flesh; a fall was no big deal. Wasn’t there a saying that you only grow up after falling down a lot?
But Lin Xia didn’t see it that way. In his heart, the white dumpling would always be a tiny, fragile baby who needed meticulous care. The white dumpling was only a year and a half old; in human terms, he was just a toddler who had only recently learned to talk and walk.
Although their views differed, they didn’t argue over their different philosophies. Tang Yinlang spoiled Lin Xia, so whatever Lin Xia said, went. Besides, no father wished for his cub to fall constantly; their hearts would ache for the cub too…
Seeing that enough time had passed, Lin Xia walked over to the white dumpling, who was facing the wall reflecting on his mistakes, and cleared his throat lightly.
“Aowu…” Dad, An An knows he was wrong… The white dumpling turned around and tugged at Lin Xia’s pant leg.
“Where were you wrong?” Lin Xia squatted down to look the white dumpling in the eye. The white dumpling’s large eyes were watery, as if huge golden beans would fall with a single poke.
“Aowu…” An An shouldn’t have played with the skateboard… The white dumpling remembered the food but not the pain; the pain of the fall was his own business. He hadn’t realized his true mistake yet, thinking Lin Xia was angry because he played with the skateboard without permission.
“An An, sit properly!” Lin Xia’s expression became serious. He moved the white dumpling aside and made him sit facing him.
Lin Xia rarely called the white dumpling “An An”; usually, he used the sickly-sweet “Baby.” If Lin Xia called him An An, it meant Lin Xia was serious.
“Aowu…” Okay… The white dumpling knew this too, so he tucked his tail and sat obediently.
“An An, look into my eyes. Tell Dad, why is Dad punishing you?” Lin Xia placed his hands on the white dumpling’s shoulders, not a trace of a smile on his face.
“Aowu…” Dad, is it because An An played with the skateboard without your permission? The white dumpling held back his tears and looked at Lin Xia, his little brows furrowed together.
“No, think again.” Lin Xia shook his head, his expression remaining serious. But in his heart, the thought of letting the white dumpling off the hook had already arisen. However, Lin Xia quickly suppressed it.
He couldn’t be soft-hearted; if he was soft-hearted, how could he educate him! Even if the white dumpling’s big watery eyes and furrowed brows were heartbreaking…
The white dumpling sniffled, thinking hard about why Lin Xia was angry. He just played with the skateboard, he didn’t do anything else… Oh right, he also fell down.
“Aowu?…” Is it because An An fell down?…
“Mn.” Lin Xia nodded, his expression softening slightly, looking less severe.
“Aowu?” Dad was worried about An An, right? The white dumpling suddenly understood. Dad must be angry because he was worried.
“That is one aspect, but not the main reason.” Lin Xia paused, then continued, “Dad is angry because you didn’t cherish yourself and didn’t regard your own safety.”
“Aowu…” The white dumpling’s eyes shimmered; his little heart took a hit.
So Dad punished me not because I was greedy for play, but because I didn’t pay attention to safety.
“Dad won’t object if you want to play with the skateboard, but you must pay attention to safety, okay?” Seeing the white dumpling lower his head in thought, Lin Xia felt his goal had been achieved. “Remember when Daddy hurt his head falling off the slide?”
The big white tiger’s dark history became a living example for Lin Xia to educate the white dumpling. (Big White Tiger: Crying to death in the toilet…)
“Aowu…” The white dumpling remembered the painful expression on the big white tiger’s face after falling off the slide. He couldn’t help but blame himself; he remembered feeling very sad back then. If he got hurt, Dad and Daddy would definitely be very sad…
“Aowu…” Dad, An An knows he was wrong. An An won’t do that again… The white dumpling finally understood his mistake clearly and actively admitted it to Lin Xia.
“Good boy, as long as you know.” Lin Xia picked up the white dumpling and touched his cheek against the cub’s.
“Aowu!” The white dumpling reached out his paws to hug Lin Xia, actively nuzzling him, appearing exceptionally well-behaved.
A smile spread in Lin Xia’s eyes, the corners of his mouth lifted, and his mood instantly relaxed.
After being educated, the white dumpling became very concerned about his safety. He walked with mincing little steps and stopped jumping.
Lin Xia found the white dumpling’s “soldiers in every bush” paranoia hilarious and had to tell him not to be so dramatic—just act as usual, as long as he didn’t do dangerous things. With Lin Xia’s reassurance, the white dumpling finally returned to normal.
“Is An An okay?” Tang Yinlang messaged, concerned about how the white dumpling was doing.
“He’s fine. I just gave him a lecture,” Lin Xia replied.
“Oh? How did you educate him?” Tang Yinlang was quite curious about how Lin Xia disciplined the white dumpling. Could the cub understand?
“I told him to pay attention to safety, otherwise he’d get hurt like you did when you fell off the slide.” Lin Xia snickered as he replied.
“…Mn.” It took a long time for Tang Yinlang to reply because he didn’t know what to say…
You Hai felt that today was very surreal. Not only did the eternal iceberg Boss Tang use Kaomojis, but today his expression cracked! Tang Yinlang’s signature look was expressionless, but just now, a petrified look appeared on his face—mixed with humiliation?!
You Hai really wanted to crane his neck to see what was on the boss’s phone to make him show such an expression. What a pity, he didn’t dare…
“Boss, are we getting off work early today?” You Hai coughed and asked.
“Go ahead,” Tang Yinlang said coldly, recovering his expression but radiating a terrifying aura from head to toe.
“Then… I’ll be going first?!” You Hai finished speaking and skedaddled, leaving Tang Yinlang alone looking up at the ceiling.
Can dark history be deleted?!!
However, as a mature man, no matter how depressed Tang Yinlang felt inside, he still had to go home to his wife and cub. Since his wife and cub were at the pet shop, he drove there. Passing a cake shop, he picked up afternoon tea for them.
Arriving at the pet shop, Tang Yinlang received a warm welcome from the white dumpling.
“Aowu!” Daddy! The white dumpling ran toward him, jumped into his arms, and wagged his tail.
“An An.” Seeing the cub, Tang Yinlang’s heart softened completely, and he couldn’t resist raising a broad hand to stroke his head.
Lin Xia followed closely behind, looking at the father and son with a smile. “How come you have time to come over today?”
“We were looking at office spaces today, and we finished.” Tang Yinlang held the white dumpling with one arm and handed the cake and milk tea he bought to Lin Xia with the other.
“Smells good!” Lin Xia took it and opened it to find it was from “Grandma’s House” bakery. Grandma’s House was a reputable bakery in their area; their cakes tasted good, though their milk tea was average, slightly inferior to specialized milk tea shops.
“Aowu!” Cake! The white dumpling stared at the cake, drool almost dripping out.
“Little greedy cat.” Lin Xia sighed lightly, uncontrollably worried about the white dumpling. He loved eating too much; Lin Xia really worried he would run off with anyone who had food…
“Aowu!” An An isn’t a little greedy cat, An An is a little… greedy tiger! The white dumpling wanted to say he was a little tiger, not a greedy cat, but even he didn’t believe it.
“Alright, An An is a little greedy tiger.” Lin Xia laughed so hard he couldn’t close his mouth, and even Tang Yinlang smiled.
After afternoon tea, another two hours passed. Lin Xia got off work early today; it was the scheduled pet shop staff gathering. Since Meng Zheng and the others were back, he was going to make a big meal to reward them.
Lin Xia told Chen Mingzong that Chen Zhong was coming to find the Little Hamster tonight, so Chen Mingzong set the dinner at Lin Xia’s house. Lin Xia felt inexplicably moved because the Little Hamster hadn’t eaten dinner at home in a long time; he had been having Western food one day and Chinese food the next with Chen Mingzong… With Chen Zhong and the Little Hamster present, Chen Yaoguang was also coming over. Lin Xia’s house would definitely be lively tonight.
The group marched mightily toward Lin Xia’s house. Tang Yinlang drove Lin Xia and the white dumpling to the market to buy groceries. Once back home, everyone got busy.
Chen Mingzong, the Little Hamster, and Chen Yaoguang hadn’t arrived yet. No matter how anxious Chen Zhong was, he could only suppress his restlessness and help Lin Xia prepare dinner. Both Chen Zhong and Lu Mou were good cooks. With them helping Lin Xia make dinner, Tang Yinlang, Wang Ziyu, and the others kept the white dumpling company.
However…
“Aowu!” Brother Meng Zheng, let’s take a selfie! Watching the white dumpling enthusiastically seek out Meng Zheng for selfies, Tang Yinlang abruptly changed the direction of his outstretched hand and awkwardly ran it through his hair.
Life as a tiger is truly lonely. The kitchen doesn’t need him, and the cub doesn’t want his company. Heh, what should he do…
“Aowu!” Daddy, let’s take a selfie! The white dumpling ran over da-da-da, a phone on a lanyard hanging around his neck.
“Okay.” Looking at the expectant white dumpling, the corners of Tang Yinlang’s mouth hooked up in a faint arc, his mood instantly joyous.
Tang Yinlang picked up the white dumpling, took the phone off his neck, and opened the camera app. “What made you think of taking a selfie with Daddy?”
“Aowu!” Because An An doesn’t have a selfie with Daddy! As soon as he saw the lens, the white dumpling wagged his tail and struck a pose.
Tang Yinlang couldn’t help but marvel; the white dumpling had a strong sense for the camera!
“Aowu!” Daddy, let’s use the ‘moe-moe-da’ decorations! at the white dumpling’s instigation, Tang Yinlang took many cute photos. When Lin Xia saw them later, he almost laughed himself crazy. But that is a story for later. At this moment, President Tang was still striking cute poses under the guidance of his own cub.
“Aowu!” Daddy, pout your lips!
“Aowu!” Daddy, do finger hearts!
…
In the kitchen, Chen Zhong was somewhat distracted, glancing out the door from time to time.
“They won’t be here that soon; we probably have to wait until we’re almost done.” Lin Xia knew Chen Zhong was nervous, even though he had told Chen Zhong when the Little Hamster would return.
“I know, but I just can’t help it.” Chen Zhong smiled helplessly. Even knowing the exact time, his eyes couldn’t help but drift toward the door.
Lu Mou gently patted his shoulder, giving him silent support. Chen Zhong didn’t speak but reached back to cover Lu Mou’s hand. Their hands intertwined, creating a faintly heartwarming atmosphere.
“…” Lin Xia turned around; out of sight, out of mind. The feeling of being force-fed dog food really wasn’t pleasant. Looks like I’ll have to… spread more dog food myself in the future!
…
Chen Mingzong was a patient with top-tier OCD. If he said he would arrive at a certain time, he would arrive exactly at that time, incredibly punctual. He came by car, and he had picked up Chen Yaoguang as well.
Thinking of the scene where the three brothers would meet, Lin Xia prepared extra tissues, because there would likely be many people moved to tears.
After learning from Chen Mingzong that he had a big brother, the Little Hamster had been looking forward to seeing him. He had a vague impression that his big brother was a good person who treated him very well.
Ever since meeting Chen Yaoguang last time, memories would occasionally surface in the Little Hamster’s mind, giving him impressions of certain things…
Chen Zhong was on pins and needles, and the Little Hamster and Chen Yaoguang were the same. As soon as the car door opened, the two couldn’t wait to get out.
“…” Chen Mingzong, who needed to close the car door, stood in the wind feeling nothing but desolation in his heart. It was rare to see the Little Hamster this excited.
“Big Brother!” Chen Yaoguang recognized Chen Zhong quickly after entering the door and called out excitedly.
“Big Brother…” The Little Hamster followed Chen Yaoguang’s gaze and saw the overwhelmed Chen Zhong.
“Ah Yi, Yaoguang!” Chen Zhong couldn’t hold back his tears; they poured down like rain. He ran over with large strides and hugged the Little Hamster and Chen Yaoguang.
After twists and turns, the three brothers met again. Watching the three brothers hugging in a bundle, everyone present was moved.
Even more excited than them were Wang Ziyu and the white dumpling. They had a low threshold for tears; Lin Xia’s tissues were prepared for them.
“Ao!” “So touching!”
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