Chapter 387: Naming the Cub

Chapter 387: Chapter 387: Naming the Cub

"Yes, she’s awake."

Yan Huoshui answered gently, a smile touching his lips.

Perhaps it was because he was a father now. As Jiang Xia and Mu Tangfeng stared at Yan Huoshui, they felt he was exuding a kind of paternal glow.

The sharp glint that used to leak from his eyes seemed to have been silently worn away overnight, leaving only gentleness and affection.

’Affection? I must be seeing things.’

Mu Tangfeng muttered. Jiang Xia also rubbed his eyes, suspecting he was hallucinating from lack of sleep.

Yan Huoshui gently passed the child to Shi Lan. Shi Lan held him in her arms, looking into the little cub’s eyes. Seeing his big, red eyes, her face lit up with pleasant surprise. "Ah, so this is your little cub."

"Red eyes, they’re so beautiful. And his eyelashes are so long."

Shi Lan couldn’t resist reaching out a finger to lightly touch the little guy’s eyelid, her eyes filled with the novelty of being a mother for the first time.

The little cub wasn’t shy at all. Perhaps sensing his mother’s familiar scent, he naturally waved his little hand in front of Shi Lan, then suddenly grabbed her outstretched finger, holding it tightly in his palm.

"Wow, he’s holding my hand!"

Shi Lan’s heart melted from the cuteness. The three men gathered by the bed also nearly got stars in their eyes, watching the two interact without blinking.

Even though he didn’t want to admit it, Jiang Xia had to say the little cub was very cute.

He was so eager he wanted a child of his own right away, but on second thought, he still hadn’t learned any lullabies, so he decided he wasn’t ready.

"Lanlan, is the cub soft?"

Jiang Xia watched with envy. Shi Lan nodded. "Mhm, he’s very soft, like a marshmallow. Go on, feel for yourself."

Hearing this, Jiang Xia finally reached out a finger and gently poked the little cub’s cheek.

His eyes instantly lit up. "He really is."

Yan Huoshui shot him a glance. "Are you done yet? You can take your hand away now. Didn’t you see the little cub’s lip starting to quiver?"

"Huh?"

Jiang Xia looked down and saw it was true. His pout was big enough to hang a kettle on; it looked like he was about to burst into tears any second.

He immediately retracted his hand. The little guy’s pouting mouth instantly returned to normal. And perhaps because he was holding his sweet-smelling mother’s hand, his rosy little lips even curved into a faint, subtle smile.

’So young, and already two-faced.’

Jiang Xia grumbled inwardly, but he didn’t dare actually make the baby cry.

Mu Tangfeng stifled a laugh. Thinking it was just an issue with the person, he also said, "Lanlan, let me try too."

After speaking, he also reached out his hand, touching the little guy’s cheek as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water, giving him no chance to pout.

The little cub’s smile had barely begun to form before the finger on his cheek was gone.

Mu Tangfeng felt the little cub’s eyes dart in his direction.

He pretended not to understand what the baby meant and said with a grin, "See that? The little guy can’t bear for me to leave. He’s still looking at me."

"Hahaha."

He laughed happily. Jiang Xia, not seeing what was so funny, looked annoyed.

"So biased."

He pursed his lips, feeling wronged. ’It’s like the cub hates me.’

Even though it wasn’t his own baby, Jiang Xia had invested a lot of care and attention, and for a moment, his heart felt a little sour.

Shi Lan noticed his mood and took the cub’s hand, placing it in his own large, warm palm.

"There, there. Don’t be upset."

Then, she looked down at the cub. "Little cub, this is your Mr. Jiang."

The little guy’s big eyes darted back and forth, looking from his mother to Jiang Xia. In the end, he didn’t pull his hand back and even gave Jiang Xia a pure, innocent smile.

Jiang Xia’s eyes lit up instantly, his grievances vanishing. "Aww, what a good baby."

Of course, Jiang Xia understood that the little cub was doing this for his wife’s sake, which just proved that his wife was the best.

With his free hand, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but hook his pinky around Shi Lan’s palm. His sparkling eyes gazed at her with deep affection and joy, and just like the little one, his smile was pure and sincere.

Yan Huoshui was starting to find this a bit much. Jiang Xia was flirting with his wife right in front of him and the baby. He immediately cleared his throat and called out to Shi Lan, "Lanlan, what do you think would be a good name for the cub?"

Regarding the name, the group had never properly discussed it all this time, mainly because they hadn’t known whose child it would be. Plus, the one time the topic had come up, they’d nearly started a fight, insisting that Shi Lan choose which name was best.

Shi Lan was notoriously terrible at naming things—she was the one who’d named her spirit bodies Xiao Hei and Xiao Du, after all. She didn’t have much faith in herself. In the end, she had tried to be diplomatic, praising everyone’s suggestions and deciding that the cub would get the name chosen by whoever turned out to be the father.

So now, remembering this, Shi Lan said, "Let’s just go with the one you thought of before. If it’s a boy, he’ll be called Xingli. Yan Xingli."

Yan Huoshui nodded, the corners of his lips curling up. "Okay. Since I came up with his formal name, would you like to give him a nickname, Wife?"

"A nickname?"

Shi Lan tilted her head and thought for a moment. "How about Yi Yi, then? The cub is the first to be born."

"Okay. Yi Yi, Yi Yi. It sounds great."

Yan Huoshui called the cub’s new name several times. The little guy seemed to like it too, tightening his grip on Shi Lan’s finger and unconsciously nuzzling toward her chest.

Shi Lan was currently wearing a pajama top with padded cups, which Yan Huoshui and the others had helped her change into last night. As the little guy wriggled against her chest, it started to feel a bit tight inside.

’She really didn’t want to breastfeed again.’

Yan Huoshui also seemed to realize what was happening. He shot the little cub an exasperated look and immediately took the baby back. "Lanlan, I’ll go feed him some growth liquid."

"Mhm."

Shi Lan nodded vaguely and straightened her clothes. Then she glanced at the men beside her and asked Mu Tangfeng, "Where’s Ye Ming? Why isn’t he here?"

Mu Tangfeng still had dark circles under his eyes. He let out a yawn. "Lanlan, Ye Ming went to make lunch."

Without the baby in her arms, Shi Lan finally took a good look at the two men. Noticing the dark circles under both of their eyes, she paused. "What time did you guys go to sleep last night?"

Jiang Xia, perhaps infected by Mu Tangfeng’s yawn, also stretched drowsily and changed back into his beast form. He instinctively moved closer to Shi Lan, resting his head lightly against her leg, his tail wagging comfortably. His voice was a bit muffled. "About half an hour ago."

"What? You pulled an all-nighter? Don’t tell me it was just to see the cub open his eyes?"

Shi Lan was stunned. She looked at the two of them. Mu Tangfeng had fair skin, so his blush was quite noticeable. Perhaps feeling that he’d acted too unsophisticated last night, he shamefully transformed into his beast form as well, using his fur to hide his red face. He shook his head slightly. "Yeah."

Shi Lan shook her head, feeling both exasperated and amused. She looked down at the two beasts who had unconsciously snuggled up to her again and gently stroked their heads. "Alright, alright. Why don’t you have some lunch first, and then sleep? Did Ye Ming and Yan Huoshui also stay up all night?"