The little child said this, feeling a bit sad.
On his way back, he even complained to Roy, who hadn’t arrived yet.
When he told Roy that his aunt was a king, Roy was initially surprised with a “wow.” However, when he mentioned that the aunt was the king of the 12th Planet, Roy just dryly said, “Oh.”
Even the kids knew that the aunt was very stingy.
Raphael loved teasing the child, but he could still tell whether the other was truly sad or just faking it. Seeing the little child really upset, he quickly picked him up.
“Ningning, are you really sad?”
“Ningning must be the most pathetic child right now.”
Having embarrassed himself on the Star Network and in front of the kids, the little child felt like his life was coming to an end.
Raphael rubbed his head. To prevent the child from crying, he hesitated for a few minutes and reluctantly made a decision.
“Ningning, what do you think this is?”
Raphael took out a small golden lock, bright yellow, looking like it was made of gold.
But the little child no longer believed. Sitting on Raphael’s lap, he sniffled. “It’s fake again. Kids touch it, and it would fade.”
Raphael: “...”
Even Raphael, with his thick skin, didn’t expect the mask that the chubby child brought over to fade when touched by the other kids.
Thinking of the embarrassing scene, Raphael’s conscience felt a rare pang.
“Cough, you can touch this freely; it won’t fade.”
Raphael said, placing the small golden lock in his palm. “Give it a try.”
The child still had a shadow because of the fake gold mask. He held the small golden lock, his eyes filled with teardrops, and looked at Raphael.
Raphael touched his nose. “This gold lock has a meaning of peace on ancient Earth. I originally wanted to give it to your uncle.”
As soon as he heard it was for his uncle, the child finally clenched the golden lock. He sniffed, his voice a bit hoarse, “If it’s for uncle, then it must be real.”
Aunt would give him fake gold, but what he planned to give to uncle must be real.
Having been tricked by his aunt more than once, the little child, although he felt it was real, still bit the golden lock to make sure.
This time, the little gold lock didn’t fade.
Raphael strung a red string through the little gold lock and put it around the neck of the little child, saying, “Ningning, should I take this off for you? This child is not valuable.”
Raphael saw the red gemstone necklace hanging around the little child’s neck and wanted to take it off.
But the little child shook his head, not allowing it.
Seeing this, Raphael didn’t insist. He put the little gold lock on the little child and then poked his soft flesh, saying, “You chubby little kid, you look healthier than the other kids. Even without the little gold lock, you will surely grow up safe and sound.”
The chubby little child touched the gold lock, and after a night of sadness, a smile finally appeared on the small face.
An Nuo was still asleep.
Raphael looked at the chubby little child and decided to keep him, saying, “Come, I’ll give you a bath, and you can sleep here tonight.”
“You should give Ningning a back rub!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll give you a rub.”
Sitting in the bathtub, the little child directed his naughty aunt to scrub his back.
After taking a bath, Raphael lifted the little child onto the bed. As soon as the little child got on the bed, he instinctively crawled into his uncle’s arms and snuggled up.
Raphael, watching the two of them being close, felt a bit sour. “Ningning, give me some space; I want to hug my wife, too.”
“No.”
The little child clung to his uncle like an octopus, his chubby face contented: "Ningning wants to hug uncle."
Raphael, annoyed, pinched his little buttocks: “You should grow up, find a wife, and hug them.”
The little child shook his head vigorously: “Ningning doesn’t want a wife.”
With the little chubby child in bed, Raphael found sleeping exhausting.
The little chubby child’s sleeping posture was quite peculiar; he changed positions frequently. In the middle of the night, Raphael felt a plump little foot on his face.
He squeezed the little chubby foot and, in the dim light by the bedside, discovered that a certain chubby little child was sleeping on top of his head.
Raphael: “...”
Raphael took a deep breath and captured the chubby little child in his embrace.
It was a relatively calm and quiet night, passing by silently.
The next day.
When Ningning woke up, before even opening his eyes, he reached out with his chubby little hand. After feeling the cheek on the other side, thinking it was Uncle, the chubby little kid affectionately gave a sticky kiss.
After a few kisses, the little child felt that his uncle’s face was a bit hard, not as soft as before.
He opened his eyes in a daze and saw his aunt, who was watching him.
Ningning: “...”
The little child widened his eyes in surprise.
Raphael waited for quite a while until he woke up, and now that he saw this reaction from him, the corner of his mouth hooked up. “Ningning, so you like your aunt this much.”
Ningning: “......”
The little child, displeased, pushed his aunt away and refused to be held. He looked around but couldn’t find Uncle anywhere.
Raphael had long been dressed. This time he stayed in bed purely to accompany the little child.
Seeing that the little child was looking for his uncle, Raphael coaxed the little child, “Come here and kiss your auntie again, and auntie will take you to look for your uncle.”
“Not a kiss!”
The little child, dressed in pajamas, swiftly climbed down from the bed and went outside to find Uncle.
In the kitchen, An Nuo was with Ling Qi, studying pastry making. An Nuo was currently shaping small animals with dough, a subject that had captured his interest lately, and Ling Qi was patiently teaching him.
“What do you think of this dough I just molded?”
An Nuo showed Ling Qi the phoenix he had just crafted.
Their family’s treasured heirloom was the Phoenix Feather Stone, with the “Feng” in Phoenix Feather representing the phoenix. Legend had it that there was once been a real phoenix in their clan.
Ling Qi, usually not someone to indulge in jokes, was quite gentle towards a beauty of An Nuo’s caliber.
“I recognized your kneaded sculpture at a glance.”
Ling Qi smiled and confidently said, “It’s definitely a chicken. You’ve sculpted it with distinctive features...”
Ling Qi praised for a while, but An Nuo’s expression didn’t seem too proud.
After Ling Qi finished praising, An Nuo pursed his lips and said, “It’s not a chicken; it’s a phoenix.”
Ling Qi: “...”
The smile on Ling Qi’s face froze.
Was it?
Was this a phoenix?
The kitchen fell into a strange and silent stillness for a while, and the child finally broke the deadlock in pajamas.
“Uncle, Uncle Ling Qi, what are you guys doing here?”
“Making buns and flower rolls, both of which you like.”
Ling Qi took over the conversation from the little child and looked him up and down. “Why hasn’t anyone changed your clothes? Go find your dad to change your clothes.”
An Nuo also frowned slightly. “Didn’t Raphael change your clothes for you?”
The little child was originally going to complain instinctively, but he suddenly remembered the small gold lock his aunt gave him.
“Uncle.”
The little child showed the small gold lock to his uncle and looked at him expectantly. “Uncle, guess what the little lock is made of?”
The smartened-up little child didn’t claim it was made of gold this time.
An Nuo recognized the small gold lock; Raphael originally gave it to him, but he didn’t like it much, so he never wore it.
Unexpectedly, Raphael gave it to Ningning.
An Nuo looked at the chubby face of the little child with a smile and said, “This is made of gold.”
With his uncle’s answer, the little child pinched the small gold lock and showed it to Uncle Ling Qi. Before breakfast started, the whole family had seen the little child’s gold lock.
Not only did the family see it, but after eating, the little child with the gold lock even strolled around the palace.
“Hey, Ningning’s neck seems heavy.”
The little child sighed directly in front of his brother.
When Huo Lin heard his words, he really thought something was wrong, so he anxiously crouched down to check his neck.
The little child took advantage of the situation to show the exposed small gold lock to his brother. “Brother, look, isn’t this heavy?”
Huo Lin: “...”
After a while, Huo Lin reacted and realized that the little child was showing off his gold lock.
After showing off in the palace, the little child went to look at the hanging calendar.
“Why are you looking at the calendar?”
Huo Lin wanted to know what this chubby little child was up to.
The chubby little child looked at the calendar, furrowing his brows, “Why hasn’t Ningning celebrated his birthday yet? Ningning wants to celebrate his birthday.”
If he celebrated his birthday, he could invite all the little friends from yesterday. By then, they would be able to see his new golden lock!
Huo Lin didn’t know what to say.
It’s impossible to celebrate a birthday right now. Huo Lin picked up the little child, walked outside, and asked him, “By the way, your Uncle Lulu said he would continue to arrange private tutoring for you during the winter vacation. When do you have time? Let’s start winter break classes.”
It’s not easy for the little child, who had been looking forward to the holidays. He struggled and tried to run away. “Ningning doesn’t want to go to class, Ningning doesn’t want to stay here!”
Huo Lin held him back and didn’t let him run. “Your final exam results will be out soon. Before they come out, attend private tutoring for a couple of days. Even if you don’t do well, everyone will think you’ve been obedient these past two days and won’t bear to scold you.”
