Chapter 411 - 410: Extra 6: Cub Hide-and-Seek 2

Chapter 411: Chapter 410: Extra 6: Cub Hide-and-Seek 2

As the family’s little princess, Shi Lan loved to pet her sons’ fluffy fur, but her greatest joy was dressing her daughter up like a doll.

Only after having a daughter of her own did she finally understand how Jiang Yan had felt when she used to insist on dressing her up.

San San had a whole wardrobe of pretty little dresses and many other cute outfits.

To make it easier for her to play, today she was wearing a cream-colored long-sleeved shirt and lime green pants. The shirt had a fuzzy green teddy bear on the left chest. The collar was a green tie, like a little scarf, that Shi Lan had tied into a bow for her.

On top of that, her deft-handed father had put her hair up in two little buns, and Shi Lan had clipped a green teddy bear barrette on each side.

Today, her daughter was a fresh, sweet, and gentle little darling.

But that sweet exterior was just a deceptive front. San San’s personality was more like that of a complete tyrant—bold, yet meticulous.

Just then, San San scrambled up from the sofa. Her hearing was sharp, and she heard several sets of footsteps going upstairs. She immediately gave up on the first floor, her short little legs thumping as she ran toward the second.

Beastmen have very strong senses. Hearing her loud footsteps on the stairs, the little cubs, who were already well hidden, all held perfectly still, not daring to move an inch.

A moment ago, Yi Yi had been in the mood to swing by his tail. Now, his claws were gripping the inside pocket of his mother’s coat, and his tail, which was hanging down, was wrapped tightly around the hanger to keep him as quiet as possible.

Er Er’s little pink nose had just been sniffing the scent of his mom’s detergent on his own clothes, his short white tail wagging happily without him even noticing. Now, afraid he couldn’t keep his tail under control, he secretly tucked it under his round little tummy and held it in place with his paws.

Fofu was hiding in a vase. His beak, which had been diligently preening his feathers, trembled. He instinctively hid himself deeper among the dark branches of the floral arrangement.

Even Wu Wu slowed down his munching on the strawberry. He only dared to sneak a little lick with his tongue, his eyes glued to the small door.

Liu Liu was another story. He had become much braver from following his sister all over the palace, and he was absolutely passionate about this hiding game. He was so excited his fur was starting to stand on end.

He licked his little paws to calm his excitement and shuffled even deeper into the darkness.

San San was actually doing it on purpose, deliberately making her footsteps louder as she went upstairs. As if that wasn’t enough, she started calling out as she searched. "Oh, Fofu, are you in this room?"

"Hehe, Wu Wu, I see you~"

"Liu Liu, don’t leave your tail sticking out, okay~?"

"Er Er, Yi Yi, you’d better quiet your breathing so I don’t hear you~"

San San’s taunts made the little ones even more fearful and excited. The thrill of hiding sent their hearts racing.

Fofu was so scared he buried his head under his wing. ’I can’t be the first one found! The first one found has to be the next seeker, and I hate being the seeker. It’s so much comfier to be a hider. You get to rest for so long.’

It just goes to show they were littermates; Wu Wu had the exact same thought as Fofu on this matter.

He pawed at the strawberry in his grasp and gave it another slow lick, praying his sister would take her sweet time finding him.

Yi Yi and Er Er knew perfectly well that San San was a girl and that her senses weren’t as sharp as a boy’s. Even so, the two of them were startled by their little sister’s words and silently held their breath.

They got so into it that they nearly forgot their original plan: to let their sister find them quickly so the game wouldn’t drag on and make her mad.

Liu Liu covered his mouth with a paw to stifle a snicker. ’My hiding spot is too good. There’s no way she found me. She must be trying to trick me.’

’I’m not dumb enough to fall for that.’

That’s what he thought, anyway. Still, Liu Liu tilted his head to check his tail, only relaxing completely when he confirmed it wasn’t sticking out.

Hide-and-seek wasn’t a difficult game for San San. After the first round, which was always a little tricky, she had pretty much figured out her brothers’ hiding patterns. It all came down to who left the most clues.

For instance, the strange trail of drips on the floor.

San San lowered her head and sniffed. A strong strawberry scent filled the air. She didn’t even have to guess; she knew it was Wu Wu.

She followed the trail of drips until the last one, which vanished at the door to Fofu’s nursery. Wu Wu’s nursery was right next door.

’Wu Wu must be hiding in his room,’ San San figured. But she didn’t want to find him first. ’He’s too much of a dawdler. If he has to be the seeker, it’ll take him forever to find anyone.’

She immediately turned and went to another room—her mother’s master bedroom. Typically, at least one of them would be hiding in there.

The moment San San walked in, she let out a villainous laugh. "My dear brothers, you’d better watch out."

Fofu and Yi Yi, who had both, as if by unspoken agreement, hidden in their mother’s room, froze in terror at the sound of San San’s voice. They didn’t dare to move a muscle.

Once in her mom’s room, the first thing San San did was check the bed. Er Er and Wu Wu had both hidden under the pillows and blankets before.

After confirming the bed was empty, she didn’t even bother looking underneath it.

’It gets dusty under the bed,’ she thought. ’Yi Yi and Er Er are clean freaks, so they wouldn’t hide there. Wu Wu and Fofu like to be comfortable, and Liu Liu likes small corners.’

You had to hand it to her; San San knew her brothers very well.

After searching the bed, she checked her mother’s vanity. Then she moved on to the walk-in closet, opening each wardrobe one by one to inspect the clothes inside.

The clothes in her mother’s closets were folded very neatly. Her fathers often helped their mother organize her clothes. At a glance, there seemed to be no room to hide at all.

San San quickly finished checking the closets. She closed the doors with a hint of disappointment and muttered, "Huh, not in here."

Hearing the closet door shut, Yi Yi silently breathed a sigh of relief. ’When she opened the door to my spot, I didn’t even dare to breathe. Good thing she didn’t rummage through the clothes.’

After checking the closets, San San started searching the vases in the room. ’Everyone knows Fofu loves to hide in vases in his beast form,’ she reasoned. Her mother’s room had lots of them. ’Some have fresh flowers, which means they have water, so he won’t be in those. Some are on high shelves that I can’t reach, but I bet he wouldn’t fly up that high.’

She searched through the waterless vases within her reach. Finally, inside the emerald green vase on her mother’s nightstand, she found Fofu, staring back at her with his little beady eyes.

The moment the dried flowers were lifted out, Fofu knew it was over. He looked up, and sure enough, there they were, staring at each other. Bright light streamed through the mouth of the vase, illuminating San San’s delighted smile, right in front of his face.

"Fofu, congrats! I found you!!"

The corner of Fofu’s beak trembled, and he almost started crying again. San San, well-practiced in this, tossed him a little treat. Fofu instinctively caught it in his beak, chewed on it a few times, and managed to hold back his tears.

He flew pitifully out of the vase, his claws hooking the rim as he asked in disbelief, "I’m the first one??"

San San excitedly adjusted her hair buns. "Yup!"