Chapter 68.1

With Grandpa Ram’s consent, the little child had to continue being observed and have his data measured. The data collection process was very detailed, and after a few physical measurements were taken, Huo Lin took special note of them.

Time passed, and eventually...

Grandpa Ram finished measuring all the data. He adjusted the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose and asked Caesar, who had brought the child, “Are you sure you want to customize a set of mecha for him? In cases like his, where there is no mental power, mecha is generally not necessary.”

Though not common, there were children without mental power.

In such situations, parents would choose a gentler path for the children’ health and safety during their upbringing, which typically excluded the use of mecha or any tools designed for combat.

“Grandpa Ram, I’m certain.”

Now that the adults were not present, Caesar, as the guardian of the little child, firmly replied, “Please make sure to customize a suitable set of mecha for him.”

Even without mental power, as long as Grandpa Ram was willing, he could definitely create the best mecha!

Ram adjusted his glasses and lowered his head to look at the dejected little child.

At the moment, the child hung his head intentionally and turned away from the man not far away, refusing to be seen.

After a moment of silence, Ram extended his slightly cold hand and gently squeezed the child’s cheek, which was very soft. He spoke, “You two should stay here for the next few days. I will need the child’s cooperation at any time.”

Huo Lin hesitated and asked, “Grandpa Ram, when you say ‘stay here,’ do you mean staying at your house?”

Ram responded with a nod. “Yes, staying here. There are vacant rooms here. You can come and stay for a few days, so you don’t have to keep running back and forth.”

Huo Lin wasn’t strict when it came to living arrangements. Despite being the crown prince of the Empire, he was not demanding in his daily life.

“Ningning and my luggage are both at the hotel, Grandpa Ram. We’ll go back first to the hotel to retrieve our luggage.”

“Alright, let him take you.”

Ram casually pointed to the man who was watching the little child. His eyes, under the bifocals, looked calm. “Anyway, he’s heading the same way as you guys.”

The two children were about to leave, and Ram, who was getting older, wasn’t entirely at ease.

The man pointed out by Ram remained silent for a few seconds after hearing Ram’s words. He seemed to consider refusing, but before he could decline, Ram spoke again, “If you’re not going the same way, then let your attendant—”

“I’m going the same way.”

The man smiled and said, “Let’s go, little chubby.”

Suddenly, being called a ‘little chubby’ caused the chubby-faced child to blush. He angrily complained, “You peeked at my weight!”

The man looked at the pouty child and felt that the chubby cheeks on his face were trembling with anger, like jelly. It was truly tempting to poke.

He rubbed his fingertip and refrained from actually doing so.

Huo Lin knew that the word “chubby” was always a sensitive area for the child. He frowned and reminded the unfamiliar adult, “Uncle, the child is not a chubby. He is healthy, and his weight has never caused any health problems.”

The man’s mouth was truly insatiable. Upon hearing this explanation, he calmly said, “Oh, a healthy little chubby kid.”

Little Chubby kid: “...”

Oh no!

The little child was about to faint from anger!

Huo Lin lifted up the frustrated child and sincerely felt that this adult was not likable to children at all.

Huo Lin didn’t want this adult to accompany them.

He held the little child and bid farewell politely to Grandpa Ram, then walked quickly towards the door.

Ram looked at the two children leaving and then at the man still in the living room. His tone was slightly displeased. “Your Majesty, why do you have to provoke a child? The one holding that child is the Empire’s Crown Prince, Caesar.”

The man addressed as “Your Majesty” had an indifferent expression on his face. He said, “I know he is Caesar.”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have deliberately asked for ten times the price for the meat pie.

He said lightly, “He didn’t recognize me.”

So even he made these two kids angry, there would be no consequences. Ludwig had said that Caesar would not enter his palace, and there was no possibility of his identity being exposed.

Ram looked at the king, who was teasing the children and had a calm expression on his face, and felt a tightness in his chest.

He advised, “If you really like children, then go and have one yourself! When you have your own child, you can tease them however you want!”

“No, I won’t have a child. Even if I do, I won’t be able to support them.”

The man, who was in a good mood just now, seemed to have been touched on some sensitive point and suddenly became upset. He didn’t linger any longer and bid farewell, saying, “I’m going back first. I’ll come over later.”

Ram saw that he was leaving and immediately urged him again, “Go and see off those two children.”

It wasn’t known whether the man agreed or not. He just waved his hand and slowly walked out.

In the alley.

The little child knew that his older brother hadn’t eaten breakfast, so he didn’t let his brother carry him. He held his brother’s hand and tried to keep up with his steps, despite his short legs.

However, after walking for a while, the little child, who was struggling to take steps, couldn’t go any further.

He sat down on his brother’s feet and hugged his brother’s legs with both hands.

“Brother, Ningning can’t walk anymore.”

The little child rubbed his forehead against his brother’s leg, getting his sweat on his brother’s clothes.

Huo Lin lowered his head, preparing to pick him up.

But the little child shook his head like a tambourine, saying, “Brother, don’t carry me. Brother is tired!”

The little child refused to let his older brother carry him, but he couldn’t walk on his own either. Just as the standoff between the two continued, a man who had walked over from Ram’s house approached them, swaying unsteadily.

“Oh, the chubby little one can’t walk?”

The man looked at the chubby little child and wasn’t sure if it was because such a child was rarely seen on the Sixth Planet, or if there was another reason, but he felt a sense of familiarity with this young child.

The chubby little child looked up at the man and remained silent.

The temperature was a bit hot.

Although the little child had changed into thinner clothes, he still felt hot and tired from the sun. Suddenly, a thought occurred to his little head. He let go of his grip on his brother’s thigh and extended his hands towards the man, saying, “Carry Ningning!”

The little child’s baby voice sounded fierce.

The man: “...”

The man began to doubt his own ears for a moment.

Requesting to be carried with such fierceness?

Since the man didn’t move, the little child deliberately moved his chubby little bottom from his brother’s foot and placed it on the man’s foot.

“Carry Ningning!” the little child continued fiercely.

The man: “?”

Such an audacious little creature.

He lowered his head and indeed lifted the audacious little child. In the instant he carried him, the man once again confirmed that he hadn’t mistaken anything.

This little child was indeed a genuine, chubby little kid.

After being carried, the chubby little child silently exerted his strength. He wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and sat on his arm with his little bottom.

Seeing his serious and solemn expression, the man couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?”

The little child might have been too focused, so when questioned, he blurted out: “Ningning wants to crush you!”

The man: “...”

Huo Lin next to him: “...”

Huo Lin clearly saw a hint of amusement in the man’s eyes, as if he was genuinely amused by the little child.

Upon realizing that he had spoken his mind, the little child quickly covered his mouth and denied it, trying to conceal the truth: “Ningning didn’t say anything!”

The man’s arms securely held the young child, and it seemed impossible for any harm to befall him.

However, the man didn’t burst the little brat’s bubble of wishful thinking. He carried the little child and continued walking forward, saying, “Caesar, lead the way. I’ll take you back.”

The man called the name Caesar without a hint of respect.

Huo Lin looked at the man with some curiosity.

He didn’t delve into the matter of the man calling him by his name, but instead walked ahead and asked, “Didn’t Grandpa Ram mean for you to drive us when he said he wanted you to take us back?”

Without hesitation, the man responded, “Driving isn’t environmentally friendly. We can walk back.”

Huo Lin fell silent.

He looked at the shops on both sides of the road and thought that they weren’t exactly environmentally friendly either.

This man was pretending to care about the environment; his reluctance to spend money was the truth. After all, driving also consumed electricity or fuel.

The man, with the chubby little child in his arms still eager to crush him, walked through the streets and made his way back to the hotel where Huo Lin had led the way.

They arrived at the hotel entrance.

The little child hadn’t managed to crush anyone.

Huo Lin took the defeated little child in the man’s arms and whispered softly, “Ningning is an obedient child, and he doesn’t have to care about bad grown-ups, right?”

Although Huo Lin’s soothing voice was very low, the man heard it loud and clear.

He thought to himself, ‘These two little children have no conscience.’

“Uncle, thank you for taking us back,” Huo Lin said, turning his face and politely expressing his gratitude to the man.

After the man left, Huo Lin, holding the young child’s hand, had another meal at the third-floor restaurant of the hotel.

The little child, who hadn’t eaten enough meat pie, sat in front of the dining table, not needing his brother to feed him. He held a large bowl by himself and ate heartily, taking big mouthfuls.

Huo Lin watched the child eating with gusto, and his own appetite was stimulated as well.

Perhaps it was Zhan Xi who was good at raising children, as the child was not picky and loved to eat. Even Huo Lin himself, not to mention the disciplined Ludwig or the figure-conscious Ai Wei, would often be tempted to have an extra bowl of rice when the little child was eating in the palace.

Huo Lin quickly got full.

He was full, but the little child was not.

Huo Lin reached out and touched the child’s little belly. Seeing that it wasn’t particularly bulging, he didn’t stop him from eating.

“Ningning, I think you should become a food broadcaster. You’ll definitely have many fans,” Huo Lin said.

Huo Lin wasn’t just saying it casually; he genuinely believed that this little child was well-suited for being a food broadcaster. The way the child enjoyed eating was very appetizing.

The little child had heard the term “food broadcasting” more than once before.

But he was a little confused. “Brother, what is a food broadcaster?”

Huo Lin explained, “It’s when they record you eating, and a lot of people enjoy watching it. They see how delicious your food looks, and it makes them hungry too.”

The little child: “...”

The little child felt even more puzzled.

He didn’t quite understand, “Why would watching someone else eat make them hungry? If food is so good, would anyone not like watching it?”

 

<Prev> <ToC> <Next>

Follow @wyrdtl