Chapter 29

The teacher’s expression momentarily froze, and he coldly shattered his own perception of “soft and squishy” as he lifted the overweight young child.

“You’re not soft and squishy. You’re just chubby. Where is your class teacher?”

Under the physical education teacher’s questioning, the young Teacher Lily stood up. She reached out her hand, preparing to take the little chubby child back to the class: “Ningning is a little friend from my class, he is a very well-behaved and great little child.”

Teacher Lily’s praise did not make the physical education teacher feel any sympathy for the little chubby child.

With a stern face, he handed the little chubby child over and coldly announced, “Within a week, make this little child return to a normal weight.”

Teacher Lily’s face showed her dilemma: “Losing weight is not something that can be done in a week. When I’m trying to lose weight, it takes at least a month.”

The physical education teacher responded, “Then make it a month. If he dares to break my scale again next month, I’ll have to invite his parents.”

Teacher Lily’s expression became even more complicated.

She knew that the little chubby child in her class had been sent by the Crown Prince. Few people knew about this, and the physical education teacher in front of her was clearly unaware.

If they really invited the parents, it was very likely that the Crown Prince or the Emperor himself would come.

Last time on the platform, the Emperor bent down and carried Ningning away.

Everyone else thought the Emperor was just praising the little child, but only Teacher Lily saw that the Emperor’s intimacy towards Ningning was clearly full of love and care.

The little chubby child, whose weight had been discussed by the two teachers, hung his small head in discouragement, his little nose sniffling as he spoke with a heavy voice: “Teacher Lily, am I very fat?”

Teacher Lily’s face showed her dilemma once again.

She genuinely loved young children, and that was why she worked here. For the most part, she was very caring towards the young children, unless they were misbehaving, and then she would be strict.

But the little chubby kid in front of her was not mischievous at all. Not only was he not mischievous, but he looked so pitiful with his drooping little face.

Teacher Lily was speechless.

The physical education teacher who remembered his flattened weight scale looked down at the little child and said, “You flattened the scale. Are you fat or not?”

The chubby baby looked at the broken scale with tears in his eyes and said, “Ningning is fat.”

The physical education teacher was satisfied that he finally corrected his mistake and said, “In the future kindergarten life, you need to exercise more, especially in the children's mech class. It will help you lose weight.”

The physical education teacher then had someone bring a new scale, as the old one was obviously unusable for this little chubby kid.

The person in charge of finding the scale searched for a long time and found an antique scale in a corner of the kitchen. This type of scale was said to be the earliest used for weighing on ancient Earth. A weight was placed on one end of the scale and the object to be weighed was hung on the other end.

The physical education teacher really knew how to use this old scale. He deftly placed the weight on one end and hung the little chubby child on the other.

“Done.”

The weighing was over, and the chubby child was once again taken into Teacher Lily’s arms.

Because of the delay caused by the weighing, many of the children noticed what was going on. In Teacher Lily’s Green Grass Class, the other children all knew that Ningning was overweight.

The Green Grass Class was the bottom class in the kindergarten’s small class. Although they were at the bottom, the children in this class were generally younger, and they were all friendly.

Huo Lin personally picked this class for Ning.

Teacher Lily held the little child and coaxed him gently. After she was done, she put the child among the other children.

“Ningning, play with the other children for a while. After all the children are weighed, we can go back to class.”

Teacher Lily said, rubbing his head, and then went to look at the other children.

The little Ningning, who was placed among the children, still looked dejected. As he lowered his head to look at his small leather shoes, a small hand reached out to him.

“Ningning, this is for you.”

A little girl with braids handed him a beautiful candy wrapper: “This is my favorite candy wrapper, I’m giving it to you.”

The braided little girl started a trend, and the other children also gave gifts to the disheartened Ningning. Some of the children even said, “I don’t think Ningning is fat at all. It must have been a mistake by the teacher.”

The children who wanted to agree with this statement were a little conflicted. After all, Teacher Lily had said that children should not lie.

***

There were teachers taking care of Ningning in the kindergarten, and Huo Lin, who was in the neighboring school building, knew that the teacher would be responsible and at least wouldn’t let Ningning be bullied.

But despite knowing this rationally, Huo Lin couldn’t help but worry emotionally.

His seat was separate from the others, and no one sat with him. At this moment, seeing his tense expression, the others in the class became tense as well.

Small notes began to pass around quietly.

[What’s wrong with him? Is he about to lose control of his powers?]

[I think he’s about to lose his temper. We should stay away from him.]

[I heard he sent two classmates to the hospital last time. It’s so scary. Will he hit us?]

[If he really hits us, we can’t beat him anyway.]

The notes passed around, but Huo Lin was deliberately excluded.

Huo Lin didn’t mind, he was just waiting for school to end. When it did, he would be able to see little Ningning, who had been in class alone all morning.

***

Classes were still going on in the school, while in the palace, the conversation between Zhan Xi and Ludwig was not going very smoothly.

Even though Ludwig has already straightforwardly asked: “When did you find out that Ningning can treat mental power problems?”

Zhan Xi didn’t know how Ningning was exposed, but he insisted on one thing: “Your Majesty, Ningning is just a little ordinary child. How could he possibly treat mental power?”

Zhan Xi denied it, but seeing this, Ludwig sat down in front of him and said, “Your mental power was in disorder, and Ningning pacified it in front of me.”

“Your Majesty might have misunderstood. It wasn’t Ningning who pacified my mental power. I did it unconsciously and adjusted it myself.”

“Marshal Twain has also seen it.”

Ludwig’s words abruptly interrupted Zhan Xi’s explanation. His hand clenched the blanket beneath him, and his eyes suddenly grew cold.

He was no stranger to the Federal Marshal Twain. He had heard of this gentleman’s frequent mental power issues, and since there was no way to treat them, he could only wait to die.

If he also saw it...

Then Ningning would become very dangerous.

At this moment, the strongest thought in Zhan Xi’s mind was to take Ningning away. He couldn’t trust anyone, whether it was Ludwig or anyone else.

Ludwig seemed to have read his mind. “I advise you not to think about taking Ningning away. He is safest here.”

“Outside the empire, there is no shortage of unstable lunatics with mental power. Without my protection, you and Ningning will be eaten up without a trace.”

Ludwig’s words were not an exaggeration.

Twain did not choose to take Ningning away after seeing him, not because of kindness. Anyone who could sit in the position of Marshal was unlikely to be soft-hearted and benevolent.

Twain gave up Ningning because Ludwig was there.

Zhan Xi listened to Ludwig’s words, his fists clenched tightly. He knew that Ludwig was telling the truth, but he didn’t dare to believe him.

The atmosphere was silent and tense.

Ludwig sat in front of Zhan Xi, with no trace of impatience on his face. He knew that Zhan Xi would eventually give him an answer.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Zhan Xi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he had made a decision: “Your Majesty, Ningning is still very young. Please protect him.”

Ludwig said calmly, “I will.”

With Ludwig’s assurance, Zhan Xi finally spoke about his own child. He started from the first spaceship and continued to the outbreak of the Zerg race on the barren planet, and even the Poison Spider member he encountered a few days ago. He told Ludwig everything.

Ludwig listened quietly to everything he said.

“Ningning cannot use his healing ability frequently, otherwise, his body will be in danger.”

“Your Majesty, I cannot trade my child’s safety for others’ safety. Now I only hope that you can keep our secret. I want Ningning to grow up safely, like an ordinary child.”

“I promise you.”

Zhan Xi did not expect Ludwig to be so easy to talk to, and he took the opportunity to make a few requests. For example, it would be too conspicuous for Ningning to live in the palace, and he wanted to take him to live outside the palace.

Now, with the relationship with the royal family, Zhan Xi had a legal status to reside here. Since he could live here, he naturally could not bring his child to freeload in the palace and be two royal parasites.

Ludwig was silent for a moment this time, but still nodded.

His nod made a smile appear on Zhan Xi’s handsome face.

After talking about these things, Ludwig spoke up, “I’ll send a trusted person to investigate the spaceship where Ningning was at that year. If there is any news, I will let you know.”

“Okay,” Zhan Xi agreed.

He had said he wanted to move out of the palace, so he naturally had to choose a place to live. Ai Wei was very reluctant when she learned that he wanted to take Ning away.

She tried to persuade him, but she couldn’t stop him. Zhan Xi wasn’t the type to take advantage of others, and he also had his own motives.

He wanted to settle down here and then figure out a way to bring the other people on the barren planet here.

Seeing the situation, Ai Wei had to compromise. “I heard that you also want to open a shop? What kind of shop do you want to open?”

Zhan Xi also had plans to open a shop, but he hadn’t gone to the site to investigate yet, so he wasn’t sure what kind of business would be the most stable.

He hesitated before revealing his ideal entrepreneurial project. “I want to open a steamed bun shop. I’ve checked the prices of goods on White Mist Star, and flour is very cheaphere. I can also grow some vegetables myself, so the cost will be low. When I sell steamed buns, I can also give some to Ningning to eat. He loves steamed buns.”

“Okay, I’ll help you find a suitable shop.”

Ai Wei was very efficient, and she quickly found several houses for Zhan Xi to look at. Because she wasn’t sure which one Zhan Xi would choose, she directly found several options.

All of these houses were close to the palace. Zhan Xi had nothing to do but recover from his injury, so after looking at several pictures and videos of the houses, he chose one carefully.

Ai Wei asked him, “Do you think this house is the most satisfactory?”

Zhan Xi nodded on the surface, but in his heart, he was thinking that this was the cheapest one. He didn’t have much money in his hand, and he still needed to do business and take care of Ningning.

There were many places where he needed to spend money, so he had to be frugal.

***

At noon, Ningning and Wagner stood in line at the entrance waiting for the adults to pick them up.

The kindergarten’s dismissal time was earlier than the neighboring elementary school, and by the time Huo Lin came out, the two little children had already been picked up by Auben and taken to the car.

The two little children sat side by side in the back seat, but maybe the car seat was a bit high, and after Ningning sat down, his little feet couldn’t reach the floor mat.

When Huo Lin came in, Ningning, who loved to stick to his older brother the most, was still looking at his own shoes and didn’t even lift his eyes, let alone call him “Brother”.

Huo Lin felt that something was not right.

He went over and skillfully picked up the little child who was ignoring him, and asked Wagner with his eyes, “What’s wrong with him?”

Wagner looked at the curly-haired little kid with red eyes and said honestly, “Ningning might be a little sad.”

“Huh?” Huo Lin was confused. “Why is he sad?”

Could it be that he was bullied on the first day of school?

Wagner explained what happened in the morning from the beginning: “He broke the weighing scale, and when they were measuring his mental power, they couldn’t measure it at first. Later, they only measured a bit after a long time. The other kids in the kindergarten laughed at him and said he was the fattest and weakest one in the kindergarten. Our Green Grass class didn’t laugh at him, but there were too many people laughing at him that I couldn’t fight them all.”

Huo Lin: “......”

Huo Lin could feel that as Wagner recounted these things again, the little kid on his lap drooped his head even lower.

“Ningning.”

Huo Lin held the little child in his arms and comforted him, “It’s their fault for laughing at you. Don’t be so sad. They are not worth making you sad.”

Huo Lin coaxed all the way, and finally even Wagner said, “If I hear anyone say you’re fat again, I’ll punch their face and make them as fat as you!”

Ningning, who was comforted: “?” Something seemed off.

They coaxed all the way and returned to the palace. Ai Wei and Zhan Xi took turns to hold him. The two adults were experienced in coaxing children.

During dinner, the little Ningning, wearing a bib, had already been completely comforted.

The little Ningning held a round spoon and asked Ai Wei cautiously before eating, “Auntie, I’m not fat, right? Is it because the kindergarten scale is too fragile?”

Ai Wei nodded without blinking, “Yes, didn’t we just test it? We weighed you with our scale at home, and you weren’t heavy at all.”

Although Ai Wei was coaxing the young Ningning with her words, when she was preparing lunch, she privately told the head chef, “Ningning was overweight when he weighed today, and he was teased by other children in the kindergarten. The next meals should be slightly lower in fat, but not too light, otherwise he won’t like it.”

The head chef and Ningning had already established a deep relationship between them.

Now hearing that Ningning was being laughed at, the head chef’s face tightened, “Don’t worry, Your Majesty, I will make something delicious that will also help with weight loss!”

At present, Ningning, who had to eat a diet meal, asked Zhan Xi after asking Ai Wei.

Zhan Xi was a doting father to his young son. When asked, he calmly said, ignoring his hand that was injured by his son yesterday, “Our Ningning is not fat at all. I think our Ningning’s weight is not too heavy, but rather, he’s too cute.”

After asking his father, Ningning continued to look at Ludwig.

In the eyes of Ningning, Ludwig was someone who never lied. He looked at Ludwig eagerly, and Ludwig fell silent when he saw the little fat on Ningning’s face.

The little child saw that he wasn’t speaking and even had his brother help him down from the chair.

Wearing a bib, he ran up to Ludwig and hugged his leg. “Uncle, pick me up,” he said, wanting Ludwig to lift him to see if he was heavy.

Ludwig remained silent for a moment. When Ai Wei glanced at him, he reluctantly picked up the child with one hand and said, “Not heavy.”

With everyone in the family confirming that the child was not heavy, he sat back down in his seat, satisfied. He gripped his round spoon and began to eat rice.

***

Life in kindergarten was not as easy as before when he wasn’t going to school.

Ningning struggled to adapt to school, and at the same time, Zhan Xi’s injury had almost healed.

After telling the people in the palace, he took his own child and went to their newly purchased house.

The house wasn’t large, with a storefront in front and a backyard for him and his son to live in.

Jian Ning wasn’t picky about where he lived. Whether it was on a barren planet or in a magnificent palace, as long as he could live with his father, he would be content.

“Ningning, once Daddy sets up the storefront, we can start doing business. Daddy will make a lot of money, and we can live a good life!”

Zhan Xi was full of plans for the future.

Being held by his father, Jian Ning suddenly realized something and asked, “Daddy, are you going to cook for me in the future?”

Zhan Xi kissed his soft, chubby face and replied, “Of course! Daddy has been reading a lot of recipes lately and can definitely make you many delicious dishes.”

Jian Ning: “...”

Sigh.

I have to eat my father’s cooking again.

The father and son had lived together for a few days. At noon that day, Wagner brought in a little child to the palace with a milk bottle hanging around his neck.

Huo Lin followed behind the cub.

As soon as the child entered, he looked at Ai Wei and Ludwig, and then ran over and plopped himself down at Ai Wei’s feet.

He looked up with his chubby little face and begged in a pitiful voice, “Auntie, can you give Ningning some food to eat?”

Ai Wei: “???”

 

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