Chapter 50

Zhan Xi looked at the little child who insisted on going out to play, and his head was throbbing. He looked to Ling Qi for help, but the latter frowned, clearly having no good solution.

Under the teary eyes of the little child, the soft-hearted father began to hesitate.

He wanted to go with him, but his identity as a Star Thief had already been difficult to settle on the White Mist Star. If he were to go to the Federation, it wouldn’t necessarily be easy to pass the checkpoints.

He couldn’t bear to let the little child be taken away by Twain, either.

In the stalemate, the young prince stepped forward.

After consulting with his father, he was granted two days off. During these two days off, he could go out with the little child.

“Caesar, take good care of Ningning.”

Ludwig still trusted his son. Although he was young, he had never caused any trouble. Moreover, his security team was not just for show.

“I will.”

After briefly discussing with his father, Huo Lin took his security team and followed Marshal Twain to the Federation. Before leaving, he also assured Zhan Xi that he would take good care of Ningning.

Zhan Xi was reluctant to let his precious little child leave.

But the little child’s mind was filled with thoughts of the amusement park, and he couldn’t stop him.

Huo Lin bent down, picked up the chubby little child sitting at Twain’s feet, and held him in one hand while skillfully wiping the child’s face with the other.

“Okay, stop crying.”

Huo Lin whispered, “Let’s go together.”

The chubby little child, whose wish was granted, hugged his brother’s neck. The eyes that were filled with tears just now curved up, now showing a smile.

The little children chatted among themselves, while Twain and Ludwig exchanged glances. They didn’t need to speak; just by looking into each other’s eyes, they understood each other’s thoughts.

Soon, the children who were about to embark on their journey boarded the spaceship.

“Wagner, your spaceship is so big!”

Sitting on General Twain’s spaceship, the large ship extremely fascinated Ningning. He wriggled off his brother’s leg and ran around the spaceship with Wagner.

“My house is also very big!”

Perhaps because they were about to go home, Wagner spoke with great confidence. “Ningning, do you want to see lions? Oh, and there are also rolling beasts!”

“What is a rolling beast?” Ningning asked curiously.

Wagner pondered for a few seconds and replied, “It’s a rolling beast that loves to roll around. My dad said that in ancient Earth times, the rolling beast was called a panda!”

Ningning had never seen a rolling beast, so he became more confused as he listened.

Noticing this, Wagner patted his shoulder and said proudly, “When we get home, I’ll take you there. The amusement park and the zoo are not far apart. We’ll go to the amusement park first and then to the zoo.”

It was evident that Wagner had strong feelings for the Federation.

He told Ningning about many delicious and fun things in the Federation. While talking about them, Wagner’s eyes sparkled.

“When I grow up, I’ll protect the Federation just like my dad!”

After talking for a while, Wagner even shared his aspirations for when he grew up. After he finished speaking, he asked Ningning, “Ningning, what do you want to do when you grow up?”

Ningning, who had never considered this question, was suddenly at a loss. Growing up was still a vague concept for a three-year-old child.

After thinking for a while, Ningning counted on his fingers and began to speak, “When I grow up, I want to earn money, be filial to Dad, Uncle Ling Qi, Uncle Lulu, Auntie Ai Wei, Uncle Zhan Rao...”

He was about to finish counting his fingers when he looked up and saw Huo Lin.

Ningning quickly added, “And Ningning also wants to be filial to Brother!”

The little prince, who was not much older than the child, fell silent for a few seconds when he heard the word “filial piety,” and then replied, “No need.”

He accepted the gesture, but it wasn’t necessary to show him such respect.

Wagner listened to the little child’s words and shook his head disapprovingly. “That doesn’t count. I’m asking you what you want to do when you grow up.”

“Like Uncle Zhan who sells buns, and Roy’s dad who runs a store. Do you want to do something like that?”

Prompted by Wagner’s question, the little child fell into thought again. This time, he thought for quite a while before coming up with a new answer.

“Ningning, Ningning wants to sell scrap metals!”

He seemed quite satisfied with his own idea. “Ningning wants to drive a car, pick up bottles, and sell scrap metals!”

Wagner: “......”

Wagner was conflicted.

Selling scrap metals seemed like a legitimate profession, but it didn’t seem very prestigious.

Twain listened to the children’s conversation and sat quietly in his seat with his eyes closed, not interrupting them.

The spaceship flew for a long time.

When they finally arrived, the little child had fallen asleep.

Huo Lin held the little child in his arms without waking him up, “Uncle Twain, will there be anyone taking photos outside later? Should we go directly to your house or land the spaceship somewhere else?”

“No one will take photos.”

Twain picked up the also-sleeping Wagner. “Let’s go straight home. It’s already late today. You guys should rest early and go out to play tomorrow morning.”

Huo Lin nodded. “Okay.”

The place where the Federal Marshal stayed naturally couldn’t be shabby. He had already informed of their return in advance and the other had already arranged supper, as well as their rooms.

Huo Lin glanced at the still sleeping child and didn’t wake him up.

The two of them slept in the same room. Since they had just arrived in an unfamiliar place, Huo Lin was worried that the little child would be frightened upon waking up.

Not long after they entered the room, the little child woke up.

Just as Huo Lin had anticipated, the little child didn’t recognize where they were.

In a dazed state, he cried and whined for a while, saying, “Daddy, Ningning wants Daddy.”

Huo Lin comfortingly patted his back and silently thought to himself that when the little child left, he only remembered the amusement park. Now, at night, he started longing for his father.

Uncle Zhan didn’t come along this time, so the little child couldn’t have his father.

Huo Lin picked up the sobbing little child and took him outside to have supper. The food in the Federation was slightly different from the Empire, but fortunately, it was still delicious.

Under the soothing effect of the food, the little child stopped fussing, as expected.

Seeing him awake, Huo Lin took the opportunity to bathe him, put on new pajamas, and coaxed him to continue sleeping, saying, “We can go out to play tomorrow. If you sleep a little more today, you’ll have more energy tomorrow.”

The freshly bathed little child still carried a pleasant scent all over his body. He wiggled his chubby feet in his brother’s arms, and his childish voice couldn’t conceal his lack of sleepiness.

He said, “Ningning doesn’t want to sleep.”

“If you close your eyes, I’ll tell you a story.”

“No, no.”

Telling a story meant coaxing Ningning to sleep, but the stubborn Ningning covered his ears and refused to listen to his brother’s story.

“Will Uncle Twain accompany Ningning tomorrow?”

For the young child who went out, he always relied on adults. Ningning, with his head resting on his brother’s arm, asked his brother.

Huo Lin pondered for a moment and replied, “Uncle Twain probably doesn’t have time.”

Uncle Twain had a high position in the Federation, comparable to his father’s position in the Empire.

In comparison to his own father, Huo Lin felt that Uncle Twain was unlikely to have time to go out and play with them.

Upon hearing this response, the little child’s face showed some regret.

Sigh.

Uncle Twain must be very busy.

If Uncle Twain went out with them and he got tired of playing with Wagner, he could ask Uncle Twain to carry them.

Although his older brother could also carry Ningning, his brother’s arms couldn’t reach as high as Uncle Twain’s when carrying him.

Listening to the little child’s sigh, Huo Lin couldn’t help but pinch his chubby face and said, “It’ll be fine. I will go out with you tomorrow. Don’t think too much about it.”

“Alright, go to sleep quickly. If you don’t sleep, I won’t take you out.”

With Huo Lin’s patient coaxing, the little child played for a while longer before finally closing his eyes. Once he felt sleepy, he would fall asleep quickly.

Not even two minutes passed.

Huo Lin could already hear the little child’s steady breathing.

That night, the young children slept peacefully, with only the adults worrying about them.

***

Inside the Imperial Palace.

Ai Wei thought about Twain’s situation and the chubby little child who had left with him.

She rubbed her forehead and whispered to her husband, “Are you really at ease letting Ningning go to the Federation?”

Ludwig embraced her and softly said, “Isn’t Caesar with them? Trust Twain, he can take care of those children.”

Twain had ruled the Federation for many years; he was not someone to be taken lightly.

The two of them talked about the little children for a while before finally talking about themselves.

***

The night was long.

Nestled in the embrace of his older brother, the little child dreamed of an amusement park, as well as the fluffy black-and-white rolling creature Wagner showed him.

The next morning, Huo Lin scolded the little child for being grumpy before getting him ready and taking him out.

“Wagner, good morning.”

“Uncle Twain, good morning.”

The little child, led by his brother, politely greeted Twain and Wagner. After the greetings, he arrived at the dining table.

As Twain passed by him, he picked him up and placed him in a chair.

“Go ahead, try the breakfast here.”

“Mmm!”

The Federation’s breakfast was delicious, especially their specialty meat porridge, with tender and flavorful meat. The little child reluctantly put down his bowl after eating two servings.

“No more. Your little belly is already full.”

Huo Lin touched his round little belly and took off his bib. Twain had prepared the bib hanging around his neck in advance.

Wagner had been trained to be independent and didn’t need a bib.

After eating their fill, Twain indeed didn’t have time to accompany them to play: “Caesar, take them out, I will send people to follow you.”

Huo Lin replied, “No need to send too many people. I have my own team.”

His security team had come with him this time.

Twain had too many matters to attend to. After giving them a few simple instructions, he turned around and left with his accompanying secretary.

Wagner wasn’t disappointed that his father couldn’t accompany him. He happily reached out his hand to Ningning, saying, “Ningning, let’s go!”

The Federation’s amusement park was indeed very large.

They came on Saturday, and the amusement park was filled with children and their parents. With so many children around, the noise naturally became louder, and Ningning was overwhelmed by the clamor, feeling as if his little head was buzzing.

“Ningning, let’s go on the pirate ship first!”

Wagner dragged Ningning and rushed towards the ride he wanted to play.

He excitedly shouted, “After we ride the pirate ship, let’s go on the Ferris wheel! The bumper cars are also fun. Let’s try them all!”

Ningning, who had always lived on a remote planet and had never been to an amusement park before, had only seen such places in star machine videos.

Now, for the first time, although Ningning was a little bothered by the noise, he was still very happy.

Huo Lin followed them and bought tickets for them.

After finishing the first water ride on the pirate ship, Ningning was all soaked. Looking at his new clothes that he deliberately wore, he wrinkled his chubby face.

“Ningning, wasn’t it fun?” Wagner asked him about his experience while they were still on the ride.

Ningning tugged at his clothes and reluctantly nodded.

His head was spinning a bit.

Wagner pulled him along for the second ride, and they went on several consecutive rides. Ningning’s face became increasingly pale.

The last ride was an aerial spinning car. They sat in the car, which would be lifted into the air and then spin in circles.

Ningning sat in the safety seat for young children. Just as the ride was about to ascend, he turned his head and said to his brother, “Brother, Ningning feels a bit nauseous.”

Huo Lin: “...”

Huo Lin was about to stop the ride, but their car had already been lifted up.

And then.

The car got stuck in mid-air.

Ningning kicked his legs and realized that the car wasn’t coming down. He choked up and said, “Brother, give Ningning a bag.”

***

The author has something to say:

Ningning: I want to get off QAQ.

 

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