Chapter 410 - 409: Extra 5: The Cubs’ Hide-and-Seek 1

Chapter 410: Chapter 409: Extra 5: The Cubs’ Hide-and-Seek 1

The cubs lived in a large, loving family.

Their mother was gentle and always smiling. She had a wonderful temper and would often reward them with pats, hugs, and kisses. In the cubs’ hearts, their mother was an angel, a goddess, and the person they loved most in the world.

As for their fathers, they each had different personalities and showed their affection in unique ways. Although they could be a little fierce when it came to their lessons, the cubs still loved their dads.

They were strong and tall, like mighty trees, which made the cubs feel safe and secure.

From Monday to Friday, the cubs would take turns, each staying with their mother along with one of their fathers. Of course, if they missed their mother on other days, she would let them come see her. Weekends were family days, when everyone would gather at their mother’s house.

On this day, none of the cubs wanted to sleep in. They woke up bright and early to go with their dads to their mother’s house.

In the morning, the fathers would be busy in the kitchen cooking up a feast, while the cubs would scramble to claim their mother’s loving hugs, snuggling close to her.

Their mother always had a pleasant, comforting scent. Her kisses on their cheeks were warm, and her hand was soft as it stroked their heads. In short, the cubs loved being close to their mother.

After lunch, the adults would relax in the yard, enjoying the breeze, chatting, and having afternoon tea. It was a cozy family gathering where they shared amusing stories with one another.

In the afternoon, their mother’s house became the cubs’ little kingdom, where they were free to run wild.

It was a rare occasion for so many of the children to be gathered together, so their favorite game to play was hide-and-seek.

San San was in her humanoid form. Having always been rather opinionated and bold, she preferred being the seeker to being a hider. Every time they played, she would insist on being "it" and demanded that everyone else change into their beast forms to make finding them more of a challenge.

Yi Yi couldn’t help but ask, "Are you sure? Our beast forms are so small. We won’t be as easy to find as we are in our humanoid forms, you know."

San San nodded confidently. "Of course."

Yi Yi looked at her, words on the tip of his tongue, but he thought better of it and kept quiet.

’He was already thinking about how he would comfort his little sister later.’

Er Er didn’t underestimate San San, but he was worried she might get anxious and upset if she had to search for too long. His eyes scanned the area for a hiding spot that wasn’t too concealed but also wasn’t so obvious that it looked like he was throwing the game.

Fofu was in a daze. He let out a bored yawn. Having just eaten, his tummy was full. He rubbed his little belly, still lost in the memory of the delicious food Mr. Ye had made. He was in no mood to cry.

Not like the stuff his other dad made. ’That was truly disgusting.’

Sometimes, when Fofu cried, it was genuinely because the food was bad enough to make him cry.

Wu Wu was sitting on the floor, his golden eyes darting back and forth. He was holding a huge strawberry, bigger than his fist, and was slowly nibbling on it with his baby teeth. His hands were covered in pink juice, and his clothes were a mess.

Fortunately, with housekeeping robots to handle the laundry, Jiang Xia didn’t need to worry about her son’s daily messes.

Of everyone there, only Liu Liu was fully focused. He happily played along, "Okay, Big Sis! Liu Liu will definitely hide in the best spot, so you’ll never find me."

"Do your best, Liu Liu! Big Sis will definitely find all of you."

"The game is forty minutes long, just like last time. You have ten minutes to hide. Go!"

San San was buzzing with excitement, already imagining how she was going to catch her brothers.

Liu Liu was the youngest, so he wasted no time and was the first to move.

Er Er tugged on Wu Wu’s bib. "Wu Wu, get up! We have to hide."

Wu Wu nodded obediently, flashing a smile that revealed his tiny baby teeth. With his mouth full of strawberry, he mumbled, "Okay, Ew-bro~"

Yi Yi poked Fofu’s little head. "Fofu, don’t doze off. It’s time for hide-and-seek."

"Mmm-hmm."

Fofu opened his drowsy eyes and perked up a little.

Children are always interested in games, after all. Fofu’s sleepiness vanished in the blink of an eye, and he immediately scampered after his brothers.

San San flopped onto the sofa on the first floor and began to count. She usually counted down by the minute. "First sixty seconds... 59... 58..."

Hearing her voice, Wu Wu finally felt a sense of urgency. He temporarily stopped gnawing on his big strawberry. However, he failed to notice that drops of strawberry juice were dripping onto the floor, leaving a trail behind him.

Wu Wu was too lazy to run far. After a moment of consideration, he picked the closest and most familiar room: his nursery.

He had to change into his beast form, so he picked the strawberry up with his mouth, found a miniature toy house in the room, slipped inside, and closed the little door.

This little toy house was a gift from Mr. Jiang to his little grandson. It was the perfect size for a small cub in beast form. Inside, Shi Lan had even laid down a soft blanket to keep the cub from getting hurt.

The white blanket and the little white cub blended together almost perfectly. The only problem was the bright red strawberry, which was far too conspicuous.

Wu Wu found a comfortable spot to sit, held the big strawberry with his paws, and began to happily munch on it again.

’Mmm, yummy.’

Fofu’s beast form was a Bird of Paradise, and the advantage of being a bird was flight. He was much faster than his brothers. He zipped into his mother’s room, a path he knew well, and dove into a vase that held a few dried flowers.

The mouth of the vase was quite wide, so even with the flower stems in the way, Fofu’s small body allowed him to hide inside successfully. The only issue was that his once-neat feathers were now a total mess.

Fofu glanced down at his disheveled form with his beady eyes and, finding it unbearable, began to preen his feathers with his beak.

He did this exactly the same way his father did, because Mu Tangfeng was the one who had taught him.

Because Yi Yi was a Red Fox, his red fur was very conspicuous. He found one of his mother’s red coats. Hooking the hanger with his tail, he hid inside the coat. With his tail supporting him, hanging like this was relatively easy.

Every time they played hide-and-seek, Yi Yi felt a swell of pride for his tail.

’Mommy was right. I am an auspicious omen. It’s great to have so many tails.’

And so, two cubs were now hidden in Shi Lan’s master bedroom.

Er Er, worried his sister wouldn’t be able to find him, gave it some serious thought before hiding in the wardrobe in his own nursery.

Each of their nurseries was filled with clothes carefully chosen by their parents, and everything smelled of the same laundry detergent their mother used.

Er Er loved that scent. Worried his hiding spot was too obvious, he purposely found a sweet-smelling white garment to cover himself with. The little White Lion hid beneath the white clothes, carefully tucking his tail in as well.

’Hmm, my sister is smart,’ he thought. ’I can’t make it too obvious.’

As for Liu Liu, he was the fastest. Being a little Black Panther, he sought out the darkest nooks and crannies to hide in. However, he was completely unaware that his wide, cautious, and alert green eyes were giving his position away.

The minutes ticked by, and soon San San finished her ten-minute countdown.

The little girl rubbed her hands together and let out a mischievous laugh. "Hehehe, big brothers and little brothers, I’m coming! You’d better be hidden well~"