Translator: Mukyuu
Editor: Mokyuu
QC: Mukyuu
It had been a while since Xiao Lei returned to the Windy Plains. Lei Jue remembered that when they first brought Xiao Lei back, the grass hadn’t dried out yet. But in their recent video chats with Xiao Lei, he discovered that the grass had wilted already.
Lei Jue would get in touch with Xiao Lei whenever he wasn’t busy. He couldn’t always catch it, but if he timed it right with Xiao Lei’s breaktime, such as dusk, then he’d catch it about half the time. Sometimes, he could even see some of its mates. Several of them were pregnant already.
Recently, Lei Jue planned to find the time to visit Xiao Lei since it was quickly approaching the lionesses’ due dates. He wasn’t sure if those lionesses would need emergency care.
It had already started to snow in Bulacca City. Xiao Lingyu took the three children out to stomp around in the snow during playtime in the yard. The children were pretty good at walking already. Pipi wore a bear onesie and stomped out a lollipop, Kangkang was dressed up like a polar bear and stomped out a fish while Qiuqiu wore a beautiful butterfly one-piece and stomped out a flower shape.
Lei Jue stood by the door and watched for a long time before calling you, “Lingyu, do you have time tomorrow?”
Xiao Lingyu saw the children were having fun and walked over to Lei Jue with a smile, “My time is your time. You decide. What’s up?”
“I’d like to visit Xiao Lei.”
“Oh, that’d be nice. We haven’t been there in a while. There should be baby lions now, right?” Xiao Lingyu did miss Xiao Lei. “Then how about we go tomorrow and we can even ask Zuo Feng, and Uncle if they want to come too.”
“You finished the new job you took?” Since Pipi and the kids were still young, Xiao Lingyu couldn’t go work for the military on a regular basis. But someone with his abilities would shine even if he was stuck at home.
Xiao Lingyu had accepted some new jobs recently, which was to upgrade the internet defense system for the major military districts. Some of the higher-ups now know that he was Mr. Single and Mr. Single was him.
But in order to keep Mr. Single’s past hidden from the public, Mr. Single didn’t use the name Mr. Single when he was working with the military departments but instead called himself “Mr. Happy.” Someone who didn’t need to be single; a happy man who had a lover and children.
“That’s a huge task, and a day or two won’t make a difference.” Xiao Lingyu said and then, without warning, threw the fist-sized snowball in his hands towards Lei Jue!
In that instant, Lei Jue moved away like a flash, and the snowball landed audibly against Xiao Zhicheng’s face as he walked out.
Xiao Lingyu: “…”
Lei Jue: “…”
Pipi giggled happily, “Grandpa, hit!”
Xiao Zhichng wiped his face, “Little Pipi, you’re happy at seeing grandpa get hit. Grandpa is sad now.”
“Pipi heard that and hurriedly rushed over to look up at Xiao Zhicheng. He hooked his “bear claws” and his grandfather bent down. Then he softly blew twice against his grandfather’s cheeks, “Owie fly!”
Xiao Zhicheng hauled his eldest grandson into the air and kissed those soft cheeks, “Okay, Pipi is the best.”
Qiuqiu had been having fun playing but then turned around and said softly, “Qiuqiu is good.”
Xiao Zhicheng said with a laugh, “Yes, Qiuqiu is good too.”
Upon hearing that, Kangkang scootched closer to his grandfather and shamelessly hugged his grandfather’s leg. Xiao Zhicheng had no choice but to praise all three of them.
“Dad, are you heading out again?” He was finally back home for a rest, but Xiao Zhicheng was clearly heading out again based on what he was wearing. Lei Jue took Pipi back and offhandedly sent their patriarch a bit of healing energy.
“Kuning City has experienced a large-scale blizzard. I’m heading over with your mom.”
“Dad, do you need Jue and me to accompany you?” Xiao Lingyu asked.
“Not right now. There’ve been no reported deaths or injuries, so if we can get the resources there in time and start rebuilding in a timely fashion, it shouldn’t be a problem.” As Xiao Zhicheng finished the sentence, his aircraft landed close by, and Luo Yuling walked out of the house.
Luo Yuling pinched her grandson’s tiny face. “Your cheeks are red from the cold. Play outside a bit more and then head in, okay?”
Pipi nodded, “Mmhmm!”
Luo Yuling couldn’t resist ruffling her grandson’s hair and then followed Xiao Zhicheng into the aircraft and left.
Pipi and Kangkang watched the aircraft fly further and further away and then went back to playing with their sister.
Lei Jue sent Di Lin a message telling him that they would see Xiao Lei tomorrow on the Windy Plains. Di Lin was probably up to something since he didn’t reply back.
Zuo Feng and Di Lin were preparing for their wedding and had lots of things they needed to do. Lei Jue wasn’t sure if the two of them could make it, but after about fifteen minutes or so, Di Lin sent a VR voice request.
“Jue, I was trying on clothes just then. How do I look? Handsome?” Di Lin showed off the new white suit he was wearing.
“Handsome, so handsome. But you definitely don’t have just this one, right?” Lei Jue smiled, his meaning clear.
“Psh! I do! I just have this one!” He seemed to have struck a nerve, and Di Lin jumped up like a cat with exploding fur.
“You guessed right, he has several outfits,” Zuo Feng walked over and held Di Lin. He continued with a smile, “We’ll go tomorrow. We can use the opportunity to take some photos.”
“You wish!” Di Lin said, “We can go see Xiao Lei, but I refuse to take photos!”
“Why do I feel like there’s a surprise?” Xiao Lingyu’s eyebrow twitch.
“You’ll find out tomorrow,” After Zuo Feng set a time, he cut off the communicator. He held the puffy white wedding dress in his hands up in the air, along with the little tiara with the colorful jewels, and a pair of high heels from the same series, “My dear, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime wedding shoot. Just give in.”
“You sure you want me to wear this?” Di Lin thought of all those doll clothing and just… Zuo Feng, that bastard, had even a dudou for him! One of those backless halter top shift things! In red! Supposedly that was something humans, from some planet on the other side of the galaxy, had worn thousands of years ago as underwear?
Zuo Feng had thought this through already. After all, it didn’t matter if he screwed Di Lin over or not; Di Lin was always misbehaving recently and screwed him at night. He might as well take advantage while he could.
His mood lightened as soon as he thought about Di Lin wearing all kinds of miniature gowns and sexy underwear while sitting on top of his shoulder with a stormy expression.
Di Lin could tell from Zuo Feng’s determined expression that Zuo Feng really wanted him to take photos while wearing miniature gowns. He thought about it and decided that it wasn’t out of the question, but it was too embarrassing to do so in front of Lei Jue and Xiao Lingyu!
“How about I don’t wear it?”
“Wear it.”
“Let’s not,” The more he thought, the more upset he was. Di Lin once again lost control of himself and turned into a tree human. This time, he was about the size of a palm and rushed to grab hold of Zuo Feng’s pant leg as he howled, “Wahhhhhhhhh…. Daddy! Daddy, don’t be like this…. I really don’t want to be embarrassed in front of my nephew! Wahhhh!!!”
Zuo Feng’s mouth twitched, and he hauled Di Lin up by the legs as Di Lin hung upside down, “Even if you call me grandfather, it won’t work. Think about what you did last night…” He thought of the craziness that had gone on last night and paused unnaturally, “In short, you either take the photos, take the photos, or take the photos.”
Di Lin: “…”
He kept having the feeling that after his darling learned some bad habits after he got closer to his nephew.
Di Lin stroked his chin, and his tears trickled down as he crawled onto the bed and thought of a plan.
The next day, Lei Jue and Xiao Lingyu took the children to the Zuo’s as scheduled. Then they’d go with Zuo Feng and Di Lin to Huainan District. It was still bright and early, but Huainan’s climate was a bit warmer than Northern Ling District’s, and the slightly cool air was quite comfortable.
After Lei Jue got off the flightcraft, he took the kids out to play for a bit. When Di Lin and Zuo Feng packed their things, they went off together into the Windy Plains.
At that time, Xiao Lei didn’t know that Lei Jue was coming to see him. He was anxiously circling one of his pregnant wives who was about to give birth. Perhaps because he had spent a lot of time with Lei Jue, his intelligence differed from the other lions. Usually, the male lions don’t participate when the lionesses are giving birth, but Xiao Lei had been careful to stay around and protect his wives and their future unborn children.
One of the lionesses had an especially big belly, and Xiao Lei had spent a lot of time guarding it over the last few days. This lioness seems to have given birth a few times and delivered much faster than the other lionesses. It lay on the grass and kept licking its lower half, but there was no sign of the lion cubs being born. Instead, it seemed to have expended all of its energy.
Xiao Lei heard the weakening sounds and paced frantically, occasionally letting out a roar until it heard a familiar sound.
Lei Jue and the others arrived at Xiao Lei’s territory. After they disembarked, Lei Jue whistled, and Xiao Lei rushed out from a huge hole in the trees. It rushed towards Lei Jue like a hurricane and rubbed its giant head against Lei Jue.
Maybe because it had lived in the wilderness for a while, but its fur was no longer as sparkling clean as before. Still, Lei Jue was very happy to see that it greeted them so warmly.
“At least you know who’s good to you,” Lei Jue patted Xiao Lei’s back, but Xiao Lei gently bit down on his clothes and dragged him toward the hole in the tree.
“What’s going on?” Lei Jue was pulled alongside the lion and almost stumbled. He only had to walk a little bit to smell the scent of blood in the air, so he hurried until Xiao Lei pulled him up next to the lioness about to give birth.
Pregnant lionesses were very prone to going on the offensive, much less those about to give birth. As soon as Lei Jue and the others got close to the tree hole, the lioness roared out defensively. Though the roar didn’t sound like it had much strength behind it, they could still feel the desire of a mother to protect its child. Only when Xiao Lei rushed in to offer comfort did the female lion stop roaring.
Lei Jue walked into the tree hole, and Xiao Lingyu and the others stayed outside. But this made the lioness anxious. It was already having a difficult birth and now there were so many people that it couldn’t be sure whether they were here to hurt its children. Lei Jue decided this wouldn’t do and straight-up told Xiao Lingyu and the others to scram. Uncle and Zuo Feng were going to take photos anyways, so he sent Xiao Lingyu over to take photos with them.
Xiao Lei had spent a long time with Lei Jue and knew the human had healing abilities, so it wasn’t as worried now. It simply stayed outside to guard. Lei Jue sent the lioness a bit of healing energy. The lioness had probably fretted because it had been in pain for a long time, exhausted itself, and still hadn’t given birth to its first cub. Lei Jue helped it recover its stamina and, after a while, it tried again and its first cub was finally born.
The little cub was wet and had its eyes shut. The mom kept licking its first child with its tongue. Lei Jue then sent it a bit more healing energy, which should make giving birth much easier. After sending along some energy, Lei Jue felt the situation was in hand and left first. Lions usually gave birth to two or three cubs at a time and, on the extremely rare occasion, there would be five or six in a litter. Lei Jue could feel that there were another four cubs in the lioness’ belly. He didn’t know how long it would take to give birth to all of them, but it was unrealistic for him to stay around until it finished.
Xiao Lei was still pacing around the tree hole. Lei Jue greeted it and told it to roar if it needed something. Then he set off to find Xiao Lingyu.
Di Lin had turned into a tree human by then. He changed into an extremely attention-grabbing red halter top dress that trailed behind him, and his long hair was pinned up by two bright red ribbons shaped into flowers.
This was…
This couldn’t even be called an eyesore; it was practically a drain on the soul!
Xiao Lingyu and Lei Jue held hands as they laughed non-stop. Di Lin huffed out, “Stop laughing, you two! Hurry and take the photos!”
Zuo Feng kept laughing as well. He put Di Lin, dressed in a red peony theme, onto his shoulder and looked over in Xiao Lingyu’s direction. Xiao Lingyu kept clicking the shutter and directed Carerra to record the entire process.
After this group of photos, Di Lin changed into another outfit. He wore the red halter top shift embroidered with a little yellow duck and a pleated skirt.
Lei Jue: “…”
What kind of hobby does Zuo Feng have?! What freaking sense of style was this?
Thankfully the next set was a bit more normal. It was a very pretty pure white wedding gown. Lei Jue watched as Di Lin put that on and said, “It’s boring to keep taking photos of you on the shoulder. Get on the flightcraft, and we’ll take photos of different poses.”
They boarded the flightcraft, and Lei Jue had Zuo Feng sit by the small dining table. Afterward, he used his wisdom energy to make a golden flower about the size of a soccer ball and had Di Lin lie on the flower petals. Then Zuo Feng closed his eyes and bent down to sniff the flower.
Of course, the flower didn’t have any fragrance to it, but it looked nice on camera.
Di Lin’s anger was washed away by the sight. He jumped up from the table and kissed Zuo Feng, “So handsome! So sexy I could die!”
Xiao Lingyu snapped the shutters at the right moment, and the image of Di Lin jumping up to kiss Zuo Feng was also captured.
Zuo Feng discovered the joy of taking photos like this and did a million poses with Di Lin. He put Di Lin on his palm, put Di Lin on his head, or had Di Lin sit on a tree while he looked up.
Every scene, every photo, they were all made vibrant and alive by Di Lin’s presence.
The relaxing times flew by fast. Before they knew it, their stomachs growled. Lei Jue took out the food they brought with them, and they ate together. Then he went to settle the children into naptime while Xiao Lingyu continued taking photos.
Xiao Lingyu shot for a long time before finally getting through all of Di Lin’s costumes. Xiao Lingyu walked over to Lei Jue, who stood next to the flightcraft and kept looking in Xiao Lei’s direction. He hugged Lei Jue from behind and, with a snap, took a selfie of the two of them.
In the photo, Lei Jue was smiling. His smile was its usual mix of arrogance and seduction.
Xiao Lingyu couldn’t help but press a kiss against Lei Jue’s cheek. “Want to check out the lion cubs?”
Lei Jue nodded. He saw that Uncle was changing back into his human form in the flightcraft and called out for them to help watch out for the young ones. He and Xiao Lingyu walked over to the tree hole. The number of cubs had gone from one to five. All the little cubs were born without a problem, and their mother had piled them together.
The little things didn’t have their eyes open and kept wriggling around as if trying to find milk. Lei Jue thought it was fun and gently stroked two of them. Then he supplied the mom with some more healing energy.
“Very cute.” Xiao Lingyu said, “This brings me back to when Pipi and the others were born.”
“Yup, but Pipi hadn’t been this fragile,” He had disappeared as soon as he was born. There was no possible way he could be more of a troublemaker.
“Let’s go back,” Xiao Lingyu said as he looked at the time.
“Okay,” Lei Jue patted Xiao Lei, “Xiao Lei, we’re leaving now. We’ll come see you again when we have time. If you need something, you can contact us at any time. You still remember how to do it?”
Xiao Lei howled! Still, remember!
“That’s great then. Take care of your kids and be a good dad,” Though male lions, aside from having sex, usually stayed behing to guard their territory, eat meat, and sleep…
Lei Jue laughed and turned around to leave.
It was dark and time to go home.
Xiao Lei watched his two humans leave from the entrance to the tree. It could almost catch what the two humans were talking about as they left.
“Lingyu, don’t you think that you’d never get tired of living like this?”
“That I can’t promise. But I do know that as long as I have you, I won’t be tired no matter what.”
Xiao Lingyu habitually held Lei Jue’s shoulder with one hand. The couple’s shadows lengthened and lengthened…
As they walked into the distance, the shadow seemed to merge into one.