“Second brother, he… he's been busy these past few days and couldn't come, so he asked me to come and visit you,” Sang Luo said, finding a rather ashamed excuse for her second son.
You Huai looked at her, then suddenly smiled, “Thank you for Madam's kindness, but you may be disappointed. The child in my belly isn't his; it's a child between me and another male.”
“But didn't you say…”
“I was temporarily blinded by greed, wanting to get some benefits from you, so I deliberately deceived you.”
Sang Luo was speechless, “Are you telling the truth?”
“I know very well who the father beast of this child is. I'm sorry for making Madam come all this way for nothing. If Madam and the City Lord want to blame me, I will accept it.” You Huai looked anxious.
Sang Luo looked at her with a complicated expression, “Since that's the case, I won't ask any further. Take these supplements and use them.”
“Thank you, Madam. I have other things to attend to, so I won't keep you company.”
“Well, if you have any other difficulties, you can send someone to notify the City Lord's Mansion of Icebreak City.”
…
After returning to the city, Sang Luo told her second son about this matter.
Zhui Zhui visibly breathed a sigh of relief, “I knew it. How could it possibly be my child?”
“In the future, stay away from those cronies. If something like this happens again, you can expect your father to kick you out of the house.”
“Mother, I told you, that day was really just an accident. I was drunk and mistook the person. If she hadn't insisted on appearing in front of me, and there was no one else around at the time, I wouldn't have…”
“Who did you mistake her for?”
Zhui Zhui's face turned grim, “The granddaughter of the Great Elder of the city, Fu Rao.”
Sang Luo thought for a moment, “I know that child. She pursued Little Stone back then, but Little Stone had no interest in her.”
Zhui Zhui's face looked even worse, “Yes, she likes Big Brother. When she slept with me that year, she was calling out Big Brother's name… I gave her my first time, and she only wanted me to be the second concubine! Why? In what way am I inferior to Big Brother!”
Sang Luo smiled wryly, “There are too many ways you are inferior to Stone. From a young age, your studies have been inferior to his, and you don't have his talent, nor his diligence and perseverance.”
“Mother—you!” Zhui Zhui's face flushed with anger. He didn't expect that even his mother always thought this way.
“And most importantly, if Stone encountered this matter today, he would definitely take on the responsibility of a father beast, instead of shirking and avoiding it.” Sang Luo looked at her son with a complicated heart, not knowing what to say, “…Mother always feels like you haven't grown up yet, like a child.”
The young man wasn't stupid and naturally understood the hidden meaning in his mother's words. His face flushed with shame, and he clenched his fists, “If it really was my child, I would definitely raise it, but she herself admitted that it wasn't mine! Let's just let this matter pass. In the future, I won't be so casual again.”
“Remember what you said today. If you are so casual again in the future, Mother won't be able to help you.”
…
She originally thought this matter had come to an end, but unexpectedly, a few months later, Sang Luo received a piece of news.
—You Huai committed suicide by drowning herself in the lake.
She committed suicide a few days after giving birth. Rumor had it that she was abandoned by a male and killed herself out of heartbreak.
After hearing the news, Zhui Zhui seemed to have lost his soul, “I… I didn't want her to…”
He didn't want to hurt her.
He rushed to the Mutta tribe that day but didn't see You Huai's body. It was said that the body was so badly bitten by the lake fish that the tribesmen only hastily salvaged some severed limbs and cremated them.
She only left behind a child.
The child was found by the lake. She probably wanted to take the child to die with her, but in the end, she couldn't bear to and left the child behind.
You Huai was an orphan and had no family or relatives to take care of the child, so the old village chief took pity on the child and fed him some of the remaining meat from his home. However, the energy needed for this child's growth far exceeded that of ordinary cubs in the tribe, and he simply couldn't be fed enough, resulting in malnutrition.
The first time Zhui Zhui saw this child, a tremor rose from the depths of his soul. This was the feeling of blood inheritance! He was absolutely certain that this was his own child!
A wave of dizziness washed over him, his blood flowed backward, and his whole body was ice-cold. A booming sound seemed to explode in his brain, and he suddenly lost strength and knelt on the ground.
“Young Master, is this… your child?” The old village chief walked over with the swaddling clothes and looked at him hesitantly.
Zhui Zhui took the child with a trembling hand.
The pitiful little wolf cub looked at him blankly with those unusually large eyes, as if curious about who he was.
“I… I am your father beast, I'm sorry.”
…
That day, freezing rain fell. Zhui Zhui returned dejectedly, holding the child in his arms.
Sang Luo waited for him outside the door, her clothes also soaked with ice and snow.
“Mother, I brought the child back. It's my own child… It's a, a little female…,” his throat choked, as if he would cry out in the next second, “I'm sorry to this child. It's so hungry that it's just skin and bones. If only I had seen her sooner, and brought this child back…”
He couldn't imagine that if he really didn't acknowledge this child, his own child would probably starve to death.
“Bring it over and let me see.” Sang Luo opened her arms.
Zhui Zhui staggered forward and handed the child to her, looking forlorn.
“This poor child, so thin that it's almost shapeless. When I gave birth to you, each of you was chubby and fair.”
Sang Luo looked lovingly at the weak little wolf cub in the swaddling clothes, her sad tone making Zhui Zhui even more frightened.
He asked fearfully, “Will the child be alright?”
“It won't be life-threatening, this child's physical quality is much stronger than ordinary cubs, it's just too thin from hunger, it needs more supplements in the future.” Sang Luo looked at this wolf cub, recalling when her children were young. This little wolf cub's eyes are very similar to Zhui Zhui's, “It's a pity that its talent and strength are not very strong, but its future achievements will not be low either. Take good care of it.”
“Yeah.” Zhui Zhui took the child, looked at the little wolf cub's round eyes, and made up his mind to look at Sang Luo, “Mother, I plan to move out. You're right, I'm too far behind Big Brother, staying at home all day doing nothing but messing around. I should also go out and find my own life like Big Brother and Third Sister.”
He seemed to have grown up overnight.
Sang Luo was both gratified and emotional, “You are also going to move out. There will really only be your father left at home.”
Zhui Zhui's eyes showed confusion, “I… my mind is a mess right now, I don't know what to do, I want to go out and have some peace and quiet, to figure out what I really want to do in the future.”
“Well, go ahead. Mother and Father are here, you can come back whenever you want.” Sang Luo looked into the house, “Your father scolds you, but he also hates that you don't live up to his expectations.”
“I'm sorry, Father, Mother.” Zhui Zhui looked at the child in his arms, his throat choked, “I'm also sorry to her.”
“Look forward in everything. The child is still here, so take on the responsibility of a father beast.”
Lan Cang warmed up a milk bottle and walked out, taking the crying little wolf cub from Zhui Zhui's arms and skillfully feeding the child.
As soon as the little wolf cub smelled the fragrance of the milk, it instinctively bit the nipple, “Glug, glug~” and quickly drank a large cup of milk powder.
Zhui Zhui watched breathlessly, feeling somewhat at a loss.
Lan Cang looked at the little wolf cub smacking its lips, still wanting more, her eyes were surprisingly gentle, “Don't rush to leave. You don't have experience taking care of children, let this child stay at home first, and I'll help you take care of it.”
