Chapter 54.2

“That’s, then I’ll ask your Uncle Ling Qi to make you a snack?”

“Ningning is already full.”

As the little child spoke, he also lifted his clothes to show his father his round little belly.

Zhan Xi touched his belly, his expression complicated. “When others are sad, they can’t eat, but when you’re sad, you still want to eat more.”

The little child remained silent.

These few days, despite feeling sad, his appetite hadn’t decreased at all.

Zhan Xi held the round-bellied little child in his arms and accompanied him while they read picture books together. “This weekend, Dad will take you for an outing.”

There was a village located on the outskirts of White Mist Star, surrounded by farmland growing crops and plenty of wild vegetables.

When Zhan Xi went there to collect scrap materials before, he thought the scenery was very nice, and the air was fresh. Some people living in the main city would deliberately drive there to enjoy the view and breathe in the fresh air.

“Dad, what does ‘outing’ mean?”

The little child hadn’t heard this word before, so he looked up and asked.

Zhan Xi hesitated for a moment and explained, “Well, it means stepping on the green grass. When we go there, we’ll bring food and have a picnic.” (T/N: Stepping on the green grass could represent a moment of leisure, relaxation, or being in touch with nature. It may imply enjoying a peaceful and calming environment.)

The little child nodded, seeming to understand vaguely.

Without Wagner as his little companion, the little child’s enthusiasm for going to school decreased even more. Although Wagner would call every day after returning to the Federation, chatting online was still very different from meeting in person.

This time, when the little child went to the restroom during class break, there was no little companion accompanying him.

Meanwhile...

In the palace, Huo Lin was sitting in his father’s study, having a conversation with the other.

They first discussed official matters. They had been unable to find the special Zerg king that went missing on the Ouyin Star. Afterward, they had never given up on the search.

That unique Zerg king, without a doubt, posed a potential enormous danger. If this Zerg king was allowed to grow, not only their Empire but other countries as well would be far from safe.

“Father, do countries other than the Federation not believe in the existence of the Zerg king No. 1?”

For the sake of convenience in record-keeping, Ludwig simply and rudely named that special Zerg king as No. 1. The breeding speed of the Zerg king was extremely terrifying. If this Zerg king gave birth to offspring, especially those inheriting its characteristics, the entire interstellar community would undoubtedly face an unprecedented disaster.

Fortunately, this Zerg king was still in its infancy, and it seems to be a male Zerg.

Huo Lin’s question furrowed Ludwig’s brow even more tightly. “The Federation has established a cooperative relationship with us, and they will participate in the operation to eliminate Zerg king No. 1.”

At that time, among the two children who were seen being abducted by the Zerg king, one of them was Wagner.

Twain naturally believed in the existence of Zerg king No. 1, but others simply did not.

“Forget it.”

Ludwig pressed his temple and temporarily did not want to ponder over these matters. He changed the topic to relieve the tension and asked his son, “How is Ningning’s mood?”

“It’s still not good.”

After uttering this sentence, Huo Lin added, “Uncle Zhan plans to take him to the outskirts to play and relax. If his mood doesn’t improve, the physical education teacher might single him out again during next week’s fitness test.”

Ludwig understood the implication in Huo Lin’s words.

The distressed little child had been indulging in eating recently.

Even someone as lenient as Ludwig felt that the little child should at least give the physical education teacher some face before the fitness test.

But the little child would only hold on to his bowl of food, looked up with his soft, pitiful face and pleaded, ‘Ningning doesn’t have any good friends anymore. Can’t I have an extra bowl of food?’

Such a pitiful request would soften the heart of even the most cold-hearted person.

A group of adults who had grown accustomed to pampering the child couldn’t bear to reject him, so they could only find a way to help the little child emerge from the shadow of losing his good friend.

“Father.”

After Huo Lin informed his father about the child’s itinerary, he hesitated for a while before asking, “Can I accompany Ningning outside this week?”

Even on Sundays, Huo Lin still had classes.

If he was to accompany the little child outside, it would mean he would miss his Sunday class.

Ludwig looked at him and said softly, “Complete your coursework in advance, and then you can take the guards with you when the time comes.”

Huo Lin nodded, “Okay.”

With his father’s approval, Huo Lin’s initially tense face relaxed a bit.

Not long after, Saturday arrived.

Early in the morning, Huo Lin went to Zhan Xi’s room.

Next to Zhan Xi’s large bed was a small bed surrounded by exquisite gemstones, which looked very luxurious. However, the little child loved to pick at the gemstones, causing some of them to become loose.

When Huo Lin arrived, the little child was sleeping soundly, with his buttocks sticking up.

Zhan Xi was holding the clothes the child was going to wear, waiting by the side. When he saw Huo Lin coming over, he greeted him, “He just woke up, doesn’t want to get up, and went back to sleep.”

Usually, in this kind of situation, there was no need to rush. It would just take a little more time.

Seeing the little prince come so early, Zhan Xi asked, “Have you had breakfast? Uncle Ling Qi made pastries and cooked porridge for two hours. Go and have some.”

Huo Lin shook his head. “Uncle Zhan, I’ve already eaten.”

Upon hearing this, Zhan Xi wanted to ask him to eat a little more, but before the words came out, he suddenly came to his senses—

Not all children were like his own child, able to eat a little more after having a meal.

He swallowed his words and asked the little prince to sit down and wait.

Huo Lin felt that it wasn’t good to just wait around, so he went to the courtyard and helped Zhan Xi organize the scrap materials he had recently collected. The unsorted scrap materials were piled up in a corner of the courtyard.

After Zhan Xi managed to wake up the lazy little child, they went outside and saw the neatly organized scrap materials.

He looked at the little prince, who didn’t mind getting dirty, and even if he was picky, he couldn’t find anything wrong at the moment. “This kind of work isn’t suitable for you kids. If you have nothing else to do, you can water the vegetables in the yard.”

Huo Lin wiped his hands and went to fetch water. “Hmm, I’ll go water them now.”

Zhan Xi: “...”

Zhan Xi watched as the little prince picked up the water bucket, feeling a bit guilty.

After breakfast and packing their bags, the tricycle was fully charged.

Huo Lin sat in the cargo bed with the little child while Zhan Xi drove in the front. They didn’t bring Ling Qi with them today because Ling Qi had other things to do and couldn’t come along.

“Brother.”

The little child sat cross-legged on the laid-out blanket, taking out the toys from his backpack and playing with his brother. “This one is you, and this one is me.”

The toys he took out were merchandise he bought from the Federation Zoo last time.

His favorite was the rolling beast plush toy!

Originally, he wanted to buy a plush toy of the short mouse, but the people at the zoo said that the short mouse wasn’t popular, and it usually ate a lot and moved very little. Its business wasn’t active, so they didn’t make merchandise for it.

“Wow, brother, I’m going to crash into you!”

The little child held his toy and bumped into his brother’s toy. After being bumped, his brother’s toy immediately fell to the ground in a coordinated manner.

They played this childish game of bumping back and forth until Zhan Xi stopped the car, and then they stopped.

“Ningning, we’ve arrived.”

Zhan Xi skillfully parked the car, and after parking, people he had seen before came over to talk to him.

An elderly grandmother approached, calling out to Zhan Xi, “Why did you park the car here? Aren’t you going into the village? I’ve accumulated a pile of junk at home, so why don’t you take it away?”

Zhan Xi smiled and replied, “Ah, Grandma, I can’t go today. I brought my child out to play.”

Upon hearing this, the grandmother’s gaze fell upon the child in his arms. She asked, “Is your child this baby you’re holding?”

Zhan Xi responded, “Yes, his name is Ningning, and he’s over three years old.”

After Zhan Xi introduced the child, the sociable Ningning in his arms immediately waved at the elderly grandmother and spoke in a sweet, childish voice, “Hello, Grandma! I’m Ningning.”

The grandmother, looking at the tender little child, expressed delight through her cloudy eyes, saying, “Oh, this little baby is so beautiful, even more attractive than the children in TV commercials.”

As Zhan Xi listened to the praise, a smile appeared in his eyes as well.

After complimenting the baby, the grandmother turned her attention to the child’s father and her expression became somewhat regretful, “Ah, you’re so young and already have a child. A few days ago, I was thinking about finding a match for you.”

Zhan Xi feeling confused: “?”

Zhan Xi was taken aback and asked, “What match?”

After hesitating for a moment, the grandmother decided to tell him the truth. “There’s a young widow at the east end of our village. Her husband passed away, and now she lives alone in a big house with a grocery store. She has money in her hands. Last time when you came to collect scrap, she took a liking to you. She even wanted me to talk to you about it.”

The grandmother thought about the wealthy young widow and then looked at the handsome father in front of her, feeling regretful about her failed matchmaking attempt.

Zhan Xi never expected that he would encounter such a situation while collecting scrap.

He cleared his throat and somewhat uncomfortably brushed off the topic, saying, “I have to take care of my child, and I’m not considering anything else.”

“Grandma, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take Ningning to play. He’s been in school for a week, and I want him to relax here.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

After saying goodbye to Grandma, Zhan Xi carried his little child and went for a stroll on the ridge.

The little child didn’t let his father carry him. He stepped on the muddy soil of the ridge while asking his father, “Daddy, what does ‘little widow’ mean?”

The long sentence Grandma just said was not fully understood by the little child. He only caught a few intriguing words.

Zhan Xi fell silent for a moment and explained to him, “A person who has lost their husband is called a widow.”

The little child didn’t understand, “What is a husband?”

Zhan Xi replied, “It means a companion, like how your Uncle Lulu’s companion is your Auntie Ai Wei, and Ella’s companion is the big prince...”

He explained for a while, but as the little child listened, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Daddy.”

With dirty shoes, the little child raised his chubby face and earnestly said to his father, “Ningning doesn’t have a companion either!”

Wagner was gone, and Ningning now goes to school alone, feeling very lonely.

The more he thought about it, the more serious he became. If the child had a companion, they could always be together like Uncle Lulu and Auntie Ai Wei!

Zhan Xi looked at the little child and felt that this topic was not suitable for discussion with a young child.

He crouched down, intending to pick up the little child who was burying his shoes in the mud, and said, “You will have a companion when you grow up. Alright, let’s not talk about this. Daddy will take you to change your shoes. Didn’t I tell you not to step on the mud?”

As the little child was lifted up by his father, he was still thinking about the issue of a companion.

His chubby little hands clung to his father’s neck as they walked out. After a while, he suddenly said, “Daddy, if the child doesn’t have a companion, is the child a little widow?”

Zhan Xi: “...”

Before Zhan Xi could finish speaking, Huo Lin, who was startled by the little child’s words from behind, accidentally fell off the ridge.

The author has something to say:

Little Prince: Don’t want to talk = =

 

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