Chapter 854: The Babysitter’s Dilemma

Chapter 854: Chapter 854: The Babysitter’s Dilemma

After finally filling her stomach, Su Qinglan felt like she had truly come back to life. Just a moment ago, she had been so ravenously hungry she felt capable of swallowing an entire cow whole.

Now, with her belly full and warm, she felt energetic enough to run three laps around Dragon Beast City!

"Much better," Su Qinglan muttered, happily patting her stomach as she strolled out of the kitchen.

The moment she stepped back into the spacious main living area, she saw a cluster of cubs rolling around and playing together.

Everything looked like an ordinary, chaotic day... until her eyes landed on two extremely familiar little figures right in the middle of the pile.

Su Qinglan stopped dead in her tracks. She blinked once. Then blinked again.

"Mo Xiaoli?"

The chubby little boy was sitting comfortably among her own cubs, happily playing with a carved wooden toy. Right beside him was the tiny, fluffy fox baby.

Su Qinglan’s eyebrows twitched violently.

A sudden realization hit her...at breakfast this morning, neither of these two had been here! So when on earth were they dropped off again?!

She stared at the two suspiciously. It had been an entire week!

For eight straight days, Mo Xiaoli and the little fox baby had been dropped off at her house first thing every morning, staying the whole day, only for her brothers to pick them up at night just to repeat the entire cycle the next morning!

Su Qinglan narrowed her eyes. This was getting beyond suspicious.

She didn’t mind having the little ones around; in fact, the house was wonderfully lively, but this was definitely not normal.

Where were their parents?! What could they possibly be doing?!

Su Qinglan’s eyes widened as a terrifying thought struck her. "Don’t tell me..." She marched over to Mo Xiaoli. "Did mother and father actually run away and abandon you two?!"

Mo Xiaoli immediately looked up, his big, round eyes blinking at her.

Su Qinglan squatted down and gently poked his soft, squishy cheek. "Tell me the truth. Where are mother and father?"

Mo Xiaoli cupped his poked cheek with both hands, his little brain working hard. After a long moment of intense concentration, he shook his head. "I don’t know."

Su Qinglan was completely speechless. "You don’t know?!"

Mo Xiaoli nodded with extreme seriousness. "I don’t know."

"Then what do you know?"

Mo Xiaoli thought about it again, his gaze slowly drifting toward the kitchen. He pointed a chubby finger. "Food."

Su Qinglan’s mouth twitched. Of course! She should have known! This little brat’s brain only housed three sacred concepts: food, more food, and even more food!

She leaned closer. "Aren’t you afraid Mother and Father will abandon you for real?"

Mo Xiaoli’s round cheeks puffed up, and he looked up at his elder sister with a deeply pitiful, mist-filled expression.

Then, he suddenly said, "Sister, if I am going to be abandoned, then you will be abandoned too!"

Su Qinglan froze. "What?"

Mo Xiaoli immediately grabbed her hand in a tight grip. "Then we can stay here together forever!" He flashed a sweet, toothy smile. "Isn’t that good?"

Before Su Qinglan could process his bizarre logic, the little fellow scrambled straight onto her lap, burying his face against her waist like a needy little puppy, looking completely helpless and endearing.

Su Qinglan stared down at him, her mind going completely blank. This little brat... he was utterly shameless!

"Don’t act pitiful with me," she deadpanned.

Mo Xiaoli blinked innocently. "I am not."

Su Qinglan poked his forehead. "You’re only acting cute because you want to eat the snacks in my kitchen!"

Mo Xiaoli’s eyes darted away instantly, his cheeks flushing a suspicious shade of pink.

Su Qinglan snorted in victory. "See? I guessed right!"

Refusing to admit defeat, Mo Xiaoli simply wrapped his arms tighter around her waist. "Sister is the absolute best!"

"Why?"

"Because Sister has food."

Su Qinglan was rendered completely speechless once again. There it was: the cold, hard truth. There wasn’t a single drop of genuine sisterly affection in this child’s heart; food was his one true love!

She let out a long sigh, yet couldn’t stop herself from fondly rubbing his fluffy, chubby head.

As shameless as this little guy was, he was still her younger brother.

"Still," she muttered, "you should at least know where Mother and Father went."

Mo Xiaoli shook his head again. "I don’t know."

"Then what have they been doing for an entire week?!"

"I don’t know."

"Do you even care?"

Mo Xiaoli considered this deeply for two seconds, then shook his head. "No."

Su Qinglan nearly choked on her own laughter. "What a truly filial son you are."

Mo Xiaoli proudly nodded his head. "I am!"

Su Qinglan rolled her eyes in amusement, then shifted her gaze to the little fox baby. The tiny fellow had been quietly trailing Mo Xiaoli like a fluffy little shadow.

Wherever Mo Xiaoli went, he went; if Mo Xiaoli sat, he sat; if Mo Xiaoli crawled, he scrambled right behind him.

Su Qinglan gently scooped the tiny fox up into her arms. The little fox immediately nestled snugly against her chest, letting out a soft sound and smiling sweetly up at her.

Su Qinglan’s heart instantly melted into a puddle. This little guy was still so tiny! Would his mother really keep dumping him here every day?!

Mo Xiaoli was at least old enough to walk, talk, and feed himself, but this little fox was practically a newborn who needed constant care!

"What about you?" Su Qinglan cooed gently, stroking the little fox’s silky fur. "Where is Mother?"

The little fox just blinked his big, shiny eyes at her, obviously not understanding a word. He happily reached out his tiny paws and grabbed her finger.

Su Qinglan sighed softly, kissing his little furry forehead. "Never mind. Even if your mother keeps abandoning you here, I won’t throw you out."

The little fox beamed even brighter.

Su Qinglan looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you smiling so happily?"

The little fox let out a cute squeak and hugged her finger tighter.

At this rate, Su Qinglan thought helplessly, her home was going to turn into a full-fledged daycare!

She looked around her living room; her own cubs were tumbling around, Mo Xiaoli was glued to her waist, the little fox was purring in her arms, and somewhere deeper in the house, a few more cubs were probably trying to raid her snack stash.

A sudden headache began to throb behind her temples.

"What on earth are your parents up to?" she muttered to herself. "Could it be that they really decided to enjoy some peace and quiet while dumping all their kids on me?!"

The thought made her eyes twitch. If that was truly the case... then she had to give them credit.

Their parents were clever...far too clever! They had managed to find the ultimate, free, high-quality babysitter, and unfortunately for her, that babysitter happened to be their own daughter!

Just as Su Qinglan was pondering her plan of action, the front door opened, and Xuan Long walked inside.

He had just returned from the newly built house right beside their large family house...a house constructed specifically for his father, Tang Yunxiao.

Unfortunately, his father still hadn’t woken up, resting in a deep, peaceful sleep. Xuan Long checked on him multiple times every day, making sure his father was comfortable before returning to the main house.