Chapter 42
Yu An didn’t insist on doing everything himself. After covering Claude in bubbles and popping a small bubble on the octopus’s head, he asked, “Can you wash yourself?”
Claude took a deep breath and squeezed the words out one by one. [Claude: I can.]
Yu An smiled in satisfaction and climbed into the tub to wash himself to be all fragrant. He loved the feeling of being wrapped in warm water; every bath was a treat for him.
However, as happy as Yu An was, Claude was just as miserable. He felt his dignity as an elder had shattered into dust. No, I must never let Yu An know it’s me in this shell.
The one bathing was Soland. What did it have to do with Claude?
Once he rationalized it, Claude felt physically and mentally at ease. He stopped caring about the sweet scent of the body wash and focused on washing off Monday’s drool. It was absolutely disgusting.
While Yu An was washing, he peeked into the small basin. Seeing that the little octopus seemed to enjoy the bath, he felt like he’d found a bath buddy. He happily tossed one of his floating rubber ducks to Claude. With his damp hair clinging to his face, he leaned against the edge of the tub, his eyes curving with a smile. “This duck is really fun. If you squeeze it, it squeaks.”
Claude had no interest in such childish games and pretended not to hear.
The bath took a very long time. Ling Xingcheng came by once, knocking on the door for fear that Yu An had fainted inside.
After his bath, Yu An began applying fragrant lotions and body cream. He ended up smelling like a cake fresh out of the oven. Claude did not escape; Yu An caught him and applied a layer of body cream to him as well. After finishing, Yu An leaned in to sniff him and nuzzled him with satisfaction. “Now it’s a fragrant Soland.”
Yes, it’s Soland, not me.
Claude’s heart was like dead ashes. His small tentacles hung listlessly, allowing Yu An to smear whatever he wanted on him. He had given up struggling. Finally, Yu An had a sudden whim to brush Claude’s teeth, but since there was no suitable miniature toothbrush, he eventually abandoned the idea.
Yu An’s energy was limited. After playing with Claude for a while, he began to yawn non-stop, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Sensing liberation, Claude immediately urged the cub to go to sleep.
Yu An climbed into bed, placed Claude next to his pillow, and tucked him in under his own custom small quilt. He patted the quilt, his voice thick with sleep. “Goodnight.”
Claude’s heart softened slightly. His voice was deep. [Claude: Goodnight.]
The small nightstand lamp cast a warm yellow glow. Claude couldn’t sleep for a long time, staring at Yu An in a daze. It was quite magical; when he first arrived, Yu An was only three—a tiny milk ball. In the blink of an eye, his features had matured quite a bit, looking delicate and lovely, though he still didn’t resemble any specific clansman.
Since no one had come for the child after all this time, it was likely Yu An’s biological parents were dead. Ushatos loved to wander; if they died in some remote corner of the universe, no clansman would ever find them. But since Yu An was in this world, his parents must have stayed here for a while. He’d already had Joshua keep a lookout, but there had been no news for years.
At this thought, Claude looked at the peaceful sleeping face of the little fellow and murmured softly, [Claude: An unlucky yet very lucky cub.]
Though he hadn’t grown up with his biological parents, Yu An had met Wen Xun and Lin Huaichen. These two humans treated Yu An as their own even after knowing his true identity, pampering him in every way. This was evident from Yu An’s increasingly cheerful personality.
Surrounded by love, the little fellow was becoming much bolder.
In the middle of the night, while Yu An was sleeping soundly, his phone suddenly rang. He opened his eyes in a daze, reached for the phone, and saw it was an unknown number. He picked up and asked, “Who is it?”
There was no sound from the other end for a long while. Just as Yu An thought it was a wrong number, Zhou Xia’s voice came through. In the silence of the night, the sobbing in his voice was unmistakable. “An-an…”
Yu An’s sleepiness vanished instantly. “What’s wrong, Brother Zhou Xia? Why aren’t you sleeping? Did someone bully you?”
Zhou Xia didn’t answer for a long time, his sobs only getting louder. He suppressed his crying and managed a choked sentence. “I don’t have a mother anymore…”
Yu An didn’t hear clearly. “Eh? Brother, speak louder, I can’t hear you.”
Zhou Xia: “…It’s nothing. I just wanted to ask, are you in the dorms?”
“I’m not in the dorms, but Brother Yunshu and the others are. Brother, are your roommates bullying you? You can sleep in my bed.”
Yu An knit his small brows in worry. Zhou Xia had a reserved and introverted personality; for him to call this late, something must have happened. Yu An couldn’t get to him, so he could only try his best to offer solutions.
Zhou Xia’s emotions gradually stabilized. He didn’t say exactly what had happened. “Okay, then I’ll go stay in your room for the night.”
Standing at the public phone in the school dorm building, Zhou Xia was soaked to the bone. At his feet lay a soaking wet quilt. He had been in a daze since learning of his mother’s death from his homeroom teacher that afternoon. Perhaps out of a sense of escapism, or some other thought, Zhou Xia hadn’t chosen to go home immediately.
By nightfall, he couldn’t help but cry, which resulted in him and his quilt being kicked out of the dorm by his roommates. He had planned to make do in the corridor for the night, but a passing student had “accidentally” knocked over a bucket of water, soaking his quilt completely.
The dorm matron who came out at the noise didn’t dare say anything; she couldn’t afford to offend those rich children. She could only tell Zhou Xia to call his family, or just go home for the night.
But she didn’t know that Zhou Xia no longer had a home.
Standing at the phone, Zhou Xia’s eyes were brimming with tears. He stared blankly at the receiver as a boundless despair surged up, like a tide drowning him from within.
Driven by some unknown impulse, Zhou Xia had called Yu An. He had specifically memorized the number, and not a single digit was wrong. He had successfully heard Yu An’s voice.
“An-an, thank you.”
With tears streaming down his face, Zhou Xia managed a small smile. “You really are the best child in the whole world.”
Hearing such sudden praise, Yu An’s face turned red. “Brother is great too! My Papa often praises your grades, and Papa rarely praises anyone.”
Zhou Xia smiled through his tears. He covered his mouth to stifle his sobs so Yu An wouldn’t hear anything wrong. Once his intense emotions calmed slightly, he spoke in a normal volume. “Then thank your Papa for me too.”
Before Yu An could say anything else, Zhou Xia spoke quickly. “It’s late. An-an, you should rest. I won’t bother you anymore.”
With that, he hung up.
Yu An stared blankly at the dark phone screen. A lingering sense of unease haunted his heart, refusing to dissipate and making it impossible for him to fall back asleep.
Claude crawled out from under the small quilt and patted Yu An’s head. [Claude: It’s nearly two. Hurry and sleep.]
Yu An lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He rolled over to look at Claude. “Brother Zhou Xia was bullied again. He sounded so sad.”
Claude had a slight impression of Zhou Xia—a timid and weak rabbit. [Claude: Even a cornered rabbit will bite. And he happens to be a meat-eating rabbit. Don’t worry, he can settle this himself…]
For a moment, Yu An wasn’t sure if he was talking about Zhou Xia or the Giant-eared Rabbit.
Soon after, Yu An fell asleep under Claude’s soothing. A small tentacle moved the phone to the side.
On the other side, Fu Yunshu and the others took Zhou Xia in. Gu Yixing was startled by Zhou Xia’s wretched appearance and went searching for clothes in the middle of the night. “Wear this. It’s one I haven’t worn.”
Zhou Xia said thank you. Holding the clothes, his gaze remained fixed on the caged Giant-eared Rabbit. He lowered his eyelashes and, without a word, took the clothes to the bathroom to bathe.
Fu Yunshu and the twins exchanged looks. Gu Yixing shook his head and sighed with sympathy. “He’s such a poor little thing. If not for us, he’d definitely be bullied to death in this school.”
Gu Ersheng chimed in, “Exactly. Good Samaritans like you, Brother, are truly rare. An endangered species, worth national protection. People should have to buy tickets just to see you next time.”
“Alright you, Gu Ersheng! You dare talk to your brother like that?” Gu Yixing jumped onto Ersheng’s bed and sat on him to tickle him. “Let’s see how I teach you a lesson today.”
Gu Ersheng laughed and pushed him away, reaching for his armpits. “Brother, you know I’ve never been ticklish.”
Gu Yixing burst into a fit of laughter, struggling to breathe as he tried to escape Ersheng’s grip. Ersheng held him down tight.
As the twins bickered, Fu Yunshu glanced at them and tossed the Snow Snake over. It immediately scared Ersheng into a corner of the bed. “Fu Yunshu!!!”
Gu Yixing regained the upper hand, proudly lifting his chin and using the Snow Snake to keep Ersheng in line. “Hahahaha, you still dare to make a move on your brother? Look at you now.”
Zhou Xia stepped out of the bathroom and stared at their playful bickering, a trace of envy appearing in his eyes.
He lowered his head and walked slowly over to the Giant-eared Rabbit’s cage. With tears still in his eyes, he looked at Fu Yunshu. “Can the rabbit sleep with me tonight? I’m very scared alone.”
He looked so piteous that Fu Yunshu thought for a moment and then nodded. “This rabbit has a bit of a temper. Be careful it doesn’t hurt you.”
Zhou Xia let the rabbit out. The Giant-eared Rabbit flicked its large ears and groomed its fur with two small paws. With a hop and a skip, it lunged into Zhou Xia’s arms, whimpering affectionately. It nuzzled its furry head against his chin and used its large ears to wipe away his tears. [Giant-eared Rabbit: Don’t be sad. Did someone bully you?]
The rabbit loved Zhou Xia. That was why, once it caught his scent, it had bitten through space without a second thought to come to this world and find him.
Zhou Xia held the rabbit and lay down in Yu An’s bed. Burying his face in its soft fur, he let out a barely audible “Mhm.”
[Giant-eared Rabbit: It’s okay. I’ll protect you.]
The Snow Snake listened to their conversation and flicked its tail in boredom. Not taking it seriously, it crawled onto Fu Yunshu’s pillow and coiled up to sleep.
The next morning, Yu An arrived at school with his backpack, yawning from exhaustion. On the way, he ran into Xu Yening.
Xu Yening was wearing a formal suit and sunglasses. He didn’t look like a school principal; he looked more like a runway model. As usual, he was followed by a large group of teachers.
When he looked over, every other teacher also turned their gaze toward Yu An.
Finding himself the center of attention, Yu An awkwardly gripped his backpack straps. He really wanted to pretend he didn’t recognize the man and just walk away, but Xu Yening didn’t give him the chance.
“Big nephew, why aren’t you calling me ‘Uncle’ today?” Xu Yening intentionally called out to Yu An, acting as if they were the closest relatives in the world. “Being so distant… your Uncle would be very sad, you know.”
This man was clearly getting revenge for being called “Uncle” before. He really was a petty person.
Yu An had his grievances but couldn’t speak them. He glanced at the smirking Xu Yening and reluctantly called him “Uncle” once more.
Who knows if Xu Yening had been too traumatized the day Wen Xun visited, but he actually accepted the title of “Uncle” quite gracefully. He proceeded to tell the teachers behind him, “This is my only nephew. I’ll have to trouble you all to look after him.”
Just as Yu An was breathing a sigh of relief, the man continued.
“Be strict with his studies. He likes to zone out and doesn’t pay attention. If you catch him, just smack his palm. Children need proper discipline.”
Yu An: “…!!”
He glared huffily at Xu Yening. He knew it! This bad “Uncle” was intentionally getting revenge!
Hearing Xu Yening’s words, the teachers laughed it off, realizing he was just teasing Yu An.
Of course, they wouldn’t actually do anything to Yu An. After all, the little fellow was still the young master of the Lin family. If they didn’t do it for the “monk,” they had to do it for the “Buddha”—and the Patriarch of the Lin family was not someone with a pleasant temper.
Translator’s Note:
- Pipsqueak (蘿蔔頭 – Luóbotóu): Literally “radish head.” A common, slightly condescending but often affectionate term for a small child. Ling Xingcheng uses it here to assert his “adult” status despite his broken leg.
- Liars are Puppies (說謊的人是小狗): A very common Chinese nursery rhyme saying. Being called a “puppy” is the standard “penalty” for lying among kids.
- “If you don’t do it for the monk, do it for the Buddha” (不看僧面看佛面): An idiom meaning that even if you don’t care about one person, you should show them respect for the sake of the powerful person behind them. In this case, the teachers are respecting Yu An because of Lin Huaichen.
- Meat-eating Rabbit: Claude’s comment about the Giant-eared Rabbit being a carnivore is quite the reveal! It seems Zhou Xia’s “rabbit” side is more dangerous than it looks.
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