Bai Maomao and the others were like fish in water inside the Xiao Dongtian, devouring every edible animal around them.
After a few days, everyone’s faces had grown noticeably rounder.
Bai Maomao rubbed his little belly and sighed with worry.
Today was the last day of the assessment period.
After midnight, the test would be over.
Bai Maomao lazily sprawled on Xiao Hei, basking in the sun outside while waiting for Xiao Dongtian to teleport them out.
Mo Qin and the other four deliberately kept their distance, feeling that getting too close would blind their titanium alloy dog eyes.
At exactly noon, a deep voice sounded from the sky: “Time’s up. The assessment is over.”
Immediately, everyone felt themselves gently enveloped by an invisible force.
In the blink of an eye, they were back on the school sports field.
The returning students were all in tattered clothes, faces weary, some even seriously injured.
Those who needed urgent care were sent straight from Xiao Dongtian to the infirmary.
Among the crowd, Bai Maomao’s group, relaxed and at ease, stood out all the more.
The teacher in charge of recording the Chengji loudly announced,
“Group leaders, hand in the wooden plaques you obtained.”
Bai Maomao exchanged a look with Xiao Hei, pouting.
“You go.”
Lang Junxian ruffled his hair and went up to hand over the plaques.
They originally had two wooden plaques, and with the Yunyao Mugpai later sent by Huo Hudie, they had three in total.
By the time Lang Junxian went over, there was already a line.
Most groups had managed to find two Yunyao Mugpai, but some unlucky ones hadn’t gotten even one and stood there crestfallen.
When it was Lang Junxian’s turn, the teacher recording the Chengji looked at him in surprise, eyes filled with admiration.
Over the years, not all students coming out of Xiao Dongtian were in a sorry state, but few were as composed as Lang Junxian.
“Wuji Yuan, Lang Junxian. One Fengwen Mugpai, one Longwen Mugpai, one Yunyao Mugpai.”
“Fengwen Mugpai?”
The teacher stared at him, startled, asking uncertainly.
“Fengwen.”
Lang Junxian placed the plaques on the table and reported the names of the others.
The teacher recorded them all, nodded, and smiled.
“Not bad.”
Those behind, hearing that someone had found a Fengwen Mugpai, craned their necks for a look.
When they saw Lang Junxian’s cold face, they shrank back, muttering that it was no wonder this “killer god” got the Fengwen Mugpai.
Lang Junxian returned, and the group waited idly on the field for the Chengji to be announced.
Mo Qin had somehow found a deck of cards, pulled Liu Lei along, and was teaching Yan Miao how to play Dou Dizhu.
It was Yan Miao’s first time playing, and his cheeks were flushed with excitement, looking at Mo Qin with adoration.
Mo Qin, buoyed by Yan Miao’s gaze, taught with even more enthusiasm, while Liu Lei watched him sideways the whole time.
After a bit of playing around on the field, the Chengji were quickly tallied, and the loudspeaker on the sports stage mechanically read out the results,
“First place, Lang Junxian’s group: one Fengwen Mugpai, one Longwen Mugpai, one Yunyao Mugpai, totaling one hundred and twenty points, each member awarded twenty academic credits.”
“Second place, Qin Jun’s group: one Longwen Mugpai, two Yunyao Mugpai, totaling one hundred points, each member awarded ten academic credits.”
“Third place………………”
Having won first place, the others were overjoyed.
Mo Qin picked up Yan Miao and tossed him in the air, scaring Yan Miao into wrapping his arms tightly around Mo Qin’s neck.
“Wait, three wooden plaques?”
Mo Qin, still holding Yan Miao, suddenly realized.
“Didn’t we only have two?”
Bai Maomao grinned,
“That’s all thanks to you.”
Mo Qin was totally confused.
“The third plaque was from the girl we saved……………….”
“When?”
Mo Qin looked baffled,
“And didn’t she leave quietly?”
Bai Maomao grinned mischievously,
“You clearly saw her.”
“She’s the one who saved you………………”
Bai Maomao deliberately stretched out his words, watching Mo Qin’s changing expression, then said slowly,
“Huo Hudie.”
Mo Qin was completely dumbfounded.
The news was too much for him to process.
“You mean, that pretty young lady was actually that…”
Mo Qin swallowed nervously, recalling Huo Hudie’s furry insect legs and shivering,
“That Huo Hudie?”
“Yep~”
Bai Maomao replied lazily, looking as if he couldn’t believe Mo Qin didn’t know.
Mo Qin: Liu Lei patted him sympathetically on the shoulder.
“You’re still pretty charming.”
Yan Miao mimicked him, standing on tiptoe to pat Mo Qin’s head,
“She’s really beautiful in human form.”
Just…a bit wild in her original form.
Mo Qin shrank into himself, feeling the world was just too cruel.
Once the school finished tallying the Chengji, it was time for vacation.
With Junxun over and the National Day holiday starting, after a month of grueling training, the students finally escaped their misery, cheering as they rushed out the school gates to go home.
Bai Maomao said goodbye to Mo Qin and the others, and went home with Xiao Hei.
Lang Junxian had already called A Mu in advance.
As soon as they left the school, they saw A Mu waiting at the gate.
Bai Maomao’s eyes widened with delight.
He ran over to A Mu, hugging her and rubbing his face against hers.
Su Yao fondly patted his head, while Lang Junxian quietly waited to the side.
Su Yao let go of Bai Maomao and went to give Lang Junxian a hug.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Lang Junxian’s ears turned a little red.
He pinched his earlobe unconsciously, escaped to the driver’s seat, and urged them to get in.
Bai Maomao clung to A Mu, grinning, while Xiao Hei was shy.
The family drove straight home.
During Bai Maomao’s days at school, Su Yao had bought a house near the campus.
It was a three-bedroom, two-living room apartment, spacious enough for three people.
The house was already nicely decorated.
Su Yao added furniture and appliances, bought warm-colored curtains and tablecloths, and made the whole place feel cozy.
As soon as Bai Maomao walked in, he cheered, happily running through every room, then bouncing around on the sofa.
Lang Junxian sat beside him, looking composed, but his joy was just as obvious.
Bai Maomao climbed onto his lap, grabbed both sides of his face, and pulled.
“Xiao Hei, aren’t you happy?”
Lang Junxian blinked and indulgently patted Bai Maomao’s butt.
Bai Maomao put on a stern face and ordered,
“Don’t move, give me a smile!”
Lang Junxian’s eyes narrowed with pleasure, and the handsome face Bai Maomao was pulling twisted into a weird grin.
Bai Maomao was so amused by the ugly face that he let go and fell onto the sofa, giggling.
Seeing them play so happily, Su Yao tied on her apron and went to cook for the two little ones.
After nearly a month away, Bai Maomao and Lang Junxian finally relaxed at home.
They even turned back into their original forms, waddling their chubby butts slowly to the bathroom for a bath.
Lang Junxian naturally joined him.
The bathtub was huge.
Knowing Bai Maomao loved playing in water, Su Yao had specially installed an extra-large tub, much bigger than the old bath barrels.
Lang Junxian filled it with hot water.
Bai Maomao flapped his wings energetically and jumped right in with a splash, happily playing in the water.
After a while, Bai Maomao perched on the edge of the tub with his wings, craning his neck to watch Lang Junxian undress slowly.
He urged,
“Xiao Hei, hurry up and get in, quack~”
Lang Junxian’s face turned suspiciously red, and his ears popped up, trembling shyly.
Bai Maomao burst out laughing,
“Xiao Hei, your ears are showing!”
Lang Junxian touched them, pursed his lips, and quietly sat in the tub.
Bai Maomao swam over, rubbing his smooth-feathered little head against Lang Junxian’s chest, letting out a satisfied sigh.
Lang Junxian leaned back against the tub, eyes glued to Bai Maomao splashing in the water.
The blush on his face deepened.
Whether it was from the steam or something else unspeakable, it was hard to say.
Tsk.
After they washed up and changed, Su Yao had just finished cooking.
Bai Maomao watched Su Yao’s busy figure with anticipation, swallowing repeatedly.
Once the dishes were ready, the two little ones dug in, their chopsticks moving at lightning speed, eating without even looking up.
Su Yao smiled as she watched, occasionally adding food to their bowls.
They polished off everything on the table.
Bai Maomao looked at the empty bowls and plates and let out a satisfied burp.
He patted his round little belly, grinning at A Mu.
“A Mu, your cooking just gets tastier and tastier!”
Su Yao tapped his forehead.
“Go walk off your meal, or you’ll get indigestion.”
Bai Maomao chuckled, dragging Lang Junxian to spin in circles around the living room.
After tidying up the kitchen, Su Yao sat on the sofa knitting, while the two cubs walked in circles to digest and told her funny stories from Junxun.
After being so happy all day at home, the cubs weren’t so cheerful at bedtime.
As mentioned before, Su Yao had bought a three-bedroom, two-living room house, just enough for one room each.
So the two senior-junior brothers, who thought they could share a bed, were not pleased.
Bai Maomao was unhappy: he wanted to share a bed with Xiao Hei and whisper secrets.
Xiao Hei was unhappy too: he just wanted to sleep with Bai Maomao.
The two cubs squeezed together, dejected.
Su Yao had a headache as she reasoned with them,
“Human children sleep alone when they grow up. You two are in university now, how can you still sleep together?”
“We’re not human children!”
Bai Maomao retorted quickly.
Su Yao: Lang Junxian hugged Bai Maomao and joined the protest,
“Maomao is right!!”
“……”
There was no way to deal with these two cubs.
Since it wasn’t a big deal, Su Yao gave up, waving her hand with a weary expression and went back to her room.
“Quack quack~”
Bai Maomao immediately perked up, stretching his neck to call out twice, then rubbed his head against Xiao Hei’s chin.
Xiao Hei’s furry ears twitched, and he happily carried Bai Maomao off to bed.
Bai Maomao couldn’t sit still after just one day at home.
He pestered Lang Junxian to take him out to play.
After a month, Su Yao had already gotten used to the rules of the human world and had a good understanding of Guangshi Shi, so she took the two cubs out with her.
Lang Junxian hugged Bai Maomao in his arms, joining the protest,
“Maomao is right!”
Su Yao: There was no way to deal with these two cubs.
Since it wasn’t a big deal, Su Yao gave up, waving her hand with a weary expression and went back to her room.
“Quack quack~”
After playing outside for a while, they came back.
“Foolish,”
Su Yao tapped his head.
“What would you do if I left?”
Bai Maomao snuggled into A Mu’s arms.
“We still have Xiao Hei. We’ll be fine.”
Su Yao shook her head with a smile, not taking his childish words to heart.
She simply turned into her original form, using her fluffy tail to cover Bai Maomao, and gently said,
“Sleep.”
The night passed without incident.
Bai Maomao’s little talk didn’t make a difference.
Su Yao still busied herself every day preparing food for them, and in her spare time, knitted sweaters for each of them.
The seven-day holiday was over in the blink of an eye.
On the day they had to return to school, Bai Maomao’s eyes were red as he said goodbye to A Mu.
Su Yao looked at him helplessly.
“We live so close. You can come home anytime. Why are you so upset?”
Bai Maomao sniffled, hugging A Mu tightly, and said with a nasal voice,
“A Mu, we’re going back to school. You should go find A Fu.”
“You child,”
Su Yao peeled him off and wiped his tears,
“I already told you I wouldn’t…”
“A Mu,”
Lang Junxian cut her off, looking serious.
“Shixiong and I can take care of ourselves.”
Su Yao opened her mouth but didn’t know how to argue.
She could only sigh.
“Of course I’ll go find him, but I won’t be gone for long. I’ll come home regularly.”
After agreeing on how to keep in touch and when to come home, Bai Maomao finally followed Lang Junxian back to school, looking back every few steps.
Mo Qin and the others were already in the dorm, enthusiastically playing Dou Dizhu.
When Bai Maomao arrived, they barely looked up to greet him.
Bai Maomao was feeling low, lying listlessly on the bed.
Lang Junxian sat beside him, absentmindedly patting his back.
Down below, Mo Qin and the others were noisily playing cards.
After moping for a while, Bai Maomao suddenly cheered up.
He decided to treat it as if A Mu was just out traveling—she’d be back when they were on break.
With that thought, Bai Maomao brightened, jumped off the bed, and joined Mo Qin’s game.
The Yaoli Yuan courses were dull, all about studying plants and herbs, which left Bai Maomao bored and unhappy, always wearing a stern face.
The teachers thought he was just being serious about his studies and even praised him a few times.
Good-looking, with excellent Chengji, and strong enough to beat up the most arrogant Wuji Yuan bullies, Bai Maomao quickly became popular in Yaoli Yuan, almost unanimously elected as their Yuan Cao.
At the moment, the Yuan Cao was waiting at the entrance of Wuji Yuan for Xiao Hei to finish class.
The training at Wuji Yuan was intense, with a much busier schedule than Yaoli Yuan, so Bai Maomao was used to waiting outside for Xiao Hei.
There were still ten minutes left before class ended.
Bai Maomao leaned against the railing, bored, counting the blades of grass by the roadside to pass the time.
At the back door of the classroom, a few students slipped out sneakily, a tall group surrounding a thin boy as they headed for the restroom.
Bai Maomao stared at the small figure for a moment, then decisively hopped the fence to follow.
The one being dragged along was, sure enough, Yan Miao.
Ever since the Xiao Dongtian assessment, some people had been looking for trouble with him.
But over National Day, he’d always been with Mo Qin, so they hadn’t gotten the chance—now, with everyone in class, they seized the opportunity.
Yan Miao was scared and anxious, desperate to find a way out, but his mind was a mess.
The more anxious he got, the more frightened he became, and the less he could think.
Yan Miao’s eyes were red, looking just like a little bunny caught by a pack of wolves, sandwiched between a bunch of big guys on their way to the restroom.
Bai Maomao clicked his tongue in sympathy.
If he didn’t step in soon, the little bunny would burst into tears.
“What are you doing?”
Just as Bai Maomao was about to jump out, he saw Mo Qin swaggering up to block the group’s path.
Bai Maomao immediately withdrew his foot, crouching at the wall to watch the show.
The bullies, emboldened by their numbers, were even more arrogant seeing Mo Qin was unfamiliar and obviously not from Wuji Yuan.
The guy in the black shirt stepped forward.
“Good dogs don’t block the road.”
“Pfft,”
Mo Qin looked him up and down, too lazy to argue, rolled up his sleeves, and with a quick step, threw the black-shirted guy over his shoulder.
Yan Miao was both shocked and delighted, tears sparkling in his eyes.
Mo Qin shot him a reassuring look, then grinned provocatively at the other three.
The leader cracked his knuckles and charged, landing a heavy punch on Mo Qin’s stomach.
Mo Qin’s face twisted for a second, but he quickly retaliated—elbowing the guy in the back and then kneeing him in the gut.
Caught off guard by the double attack, the guy was stunned.
Mo Qin seized the chance to grab Yan Miao and run, shouting as he went,
“Bai Maomao, are you really my bro? Hiding there and watching the fun at a time like this!”
Bai Maomao rolled his eyes and stepped out from the shadows, blocking the four who tried to give chase.
“Oh? One ran away, but another good-looking one showed up.”
The black-shirted guy leered, eyeing Bai Maomao up and down.
Bai Maomao flexed his fingers, narrowed his eyes, and instantly rushed up, grabbing the guy and slamming him headfirst into the ground.
Face-first.
The others: …………………
Bai Maomao cracked his knuckles, baring his teeth coldly.
The remaining three turned and bolted.
Bai Maomao quickly caught the last one, flipped him upside down, and slammed him onto the ground too.
The first two looked back as they ran, and, seeing this, ran even faster.
But obviously, they still weren’t as fast as Bai Maomao.
He easily caught another, giving him a creepy smile that made the poor guy beg for mercy.
Unmoved, Bai Maomao picked him up and slammed him down as well.
The just-dismissed teacher & classmates: ………………
What the heck, where did this terror come from???