Chapter 412 - 411: Extra 7: Cub Hide-and-Seek 3

Chapter 412: Chapter 411: Extra 7: Cub Hide-and-Seek 3

When Fofu learned he was the very first one caught, the tears he’d been holding back started to flow again. He still couldn’t chirp clearly and beautifully like his dad. His calls sounded like his throat was stuffed with cotton, or like a newborn duckling’s indistinct quacks and chirps.

Because the sound was so awful, Fofu clammed up again.

San San’s heart didn’t soften one bit. She knew Fofu was being deliberate. He always pulled this trick during hide-and-seek; if she ignored him, he’d cry for a moment and then go quiet.

Sure enough, Fofu flew onto his mother’s bed, changed into his human form, used his mother’s pillowcase to wipe away his tears, and quieted down, though a ring of red still circled his soft, pale eyelids.

San San tossed him a finger-length teething biscuit. Fofu gripped the biscuit with his little hands and furiously ground it with his baby teeth, as if venting all his anger from being caught on it.

San San glanced at him. "You eat that for now, Fofu. I’m going to find the others."

"Oh."

Remembering his sorrow, Fofu raised his small, crumb-dusted hands and rubbed his red eyes.

Yi Yi, hiding in the closet, heard the whole story of Fofu’s capture and snickered to himself.

San San ran back up to the second floor. She decided to find Wu Wu next.

She headed straight for Wu Wu’s nursery, her target clear. She first checked the crib and the blankets, and once she confirmed he wasn’t in the bed, she began searching the room’s cabinets and every other possible hiding spot.

Wu Wu gulped. The strawberry fragrance filling his mouth made him instinctively lick his lips.

Just then, San San stopped.

She happened to be passing the little playhouse where Wu Wu was hiding when she caught the faint scent of strawberries.

As San San crouched down, the strawberry scent grew stronger.

Her nose twitched. Following the fragrance, she slowly crept toward the playhouse’s entrance.

The top of the playhouse had a chimney-like decorative vent. San San peered down through it. Wu Wu was curled up contentedly on a white cushion, clutching a strawberry with his front paws and licking it every so often. His gaze was fixed on the little door, utterly oblivious to the pair of eyes that had already found him from above.

San San’s voice floated down from above. "Still eating, Wu Wu?"

Wu Wu jumped, terrified. His fur and ears puffed up in fright. He shot his gaze upward, defensively clutching the half-eaten strawberry, his whiskers trembling. "S-San San... is... is that you?"

San San pushed open the little door. "Of course! Who else would it be?"

"Come on out. I found you."

"Oh."

Regretfully, Wu Wu emerged with the strawberry in his mouth. San San gave him a resigned look. "Look at you. The fur on your chin is covered in strawberry juice."

Not only that, but the little paws that had just been holding the strawberry were also stained red. He was now a patchwork of red and white, suddenly looking like a little calico Pallas’s cat.

Wu Wu changed into his human form and sighed as well, no longer in the mood to eat his strawberry. "San San, am I the first?"

Not until San San shook her head did his smile return. His plump lips, shiny with strawberry juice, curled up, revealing a few baby teeth. "Yay! I knew my luck was good."

San San didn’t have the heart to burst his bubble. "Well, keep eating then. Just don’t get the floor all messy."

Wu Wu nodded obediently.

As San San left the room, she noticed the strawberry stains on the floor she’d seen earlier were gone. A housekeeping robot was bustling about. She silently congratulated herself; good thing she’d spotted the marks when she did, as it had cut down her search time.

San San checked the time on her chip. Ten minutes had passed, and she still hadn’t found her two older brothers and Liu Liu.

After searching Wu Wu’s nursery, San San began to search the other nurseries one by one.

She was very thorough with each one. And since she had a habit of going through the cabinets, she soon found Er Er hiding among the clothes in his own nursery.

Er Er’s hiding spot was rather obvious. The pile of clothes he was under had a suspicious-looking bulge.

She lifted the clothes to find a little White Lion lying there, staring up at her with wide, round blue eyes.

Upon being found, Er Er reverted to his human form, straightened his wrinkled clothes, and smiled gently at his younger sister. "You’re amazing, San San. You found me so quickly. Am I the first?"

San San shook her head. "Nope, Er Er. I already found Fofu and Wu Wu. Fofu’s in Mom’s bedroom, and Wu Wu is in his nursery eating a strawberry."

"Mhm."

Er Er nodded and immediately went to find his little brother.

He went to their mother’s room upstairs first. He was worried Fofu would cause a ruckus and make a mess of the room.

He was his little brother, after all, and Er Er figured he’d have to go clean up the inevitable mess.

While San San continued her search, Er Er arrived in Shi Lan’s bedroom.

Fofu was still sitting on their mom’s bed, nibbling on the teething biscuit. Er Er walked over and saw that the bed was covered in cookie crumbs.

He arched an eyebrow, frowning despite his young age. Still, he patiently lifted his little brother down. "Fofu, you’ve made a mess of Mom’s bed. She needs to sleep here tonight."

It belatedly dawned on Fofu that he had made a mess. He glanced back at the bed and guiltily tried to pat the crumbs away, but only succeeded in smearing more crumbs from his hands onto the sheets.

Fofu’s eyes welled up. "I’m done for, Er Er! It’s even dirtier now. Is Mom going to be mad?"

"No, no, don’t worry."

Er Er patted his shoulder to comfort him. "Mom is so good-natured, she won’t be angry."

Besides, it wasn’t the first time. Mom hadn’t even said anything when their big brother accidentally ripped the sheets with his claws.

To be fair, every one of the little cubs had gotten into trouble before. A messy bed was a trivial offense.

When it came to her little cubs, the thought that they were her own children filled Shi Lan with endless tolerance. What’s more, she didn’t have to worry about housework, since robots took care of all the chores. Her life was too comfortable, her family and career both perfect; there was really nothing to get angry about.

Er Er called the housekeeping robot to clean up. Seeing this, Fofu stopped munching on his biscuit. He tucked it into his pocket for now and went to wash his hands.

After wandering around the second floor and finding no one, San San went up to the third floor. She passed her mother’s bedroom and, feeling a hunch, went back inside to search.

’She just had a feeling someone else was hiding in here.’

Fofu and Er Er were sitting on the sofa. The two little cubs watched her busy search with their big, beautiful eyes.

San San’s gaze landed on Fofu. "Fofu, is anyone else hiding in this room?"

Fofu had indeed heard other sounds. His eyes darted about guiltily, and he weakly protested, "No cheating, Sis. You have to find them yourself."

"Alright."

That’s what San San said, but his reaction was all the confirmation she needed.

She went through Shi Lan’s room with even greater care this time, not even overlooking the clothes hanging in the closet.

This time, she found Yi Yi.

Yi Yi saw her and a smirk played on his lips. "Not bad, San San. I’m impressed you knew to double back."

As he spoke, his tail, which was draped over a rack, swayed. He executed a graceful leap to the floor, but stumbled unexpectedly on the landing, almost rolling over in an embarrassing display.

His tail had been dangling for too long, and his body was a bit numb. Thankfully, he managed to catch his balance, preserving his dignity as an older brother.

Yi Yi reverted to his human form and patted his little chest, still shaken from the near-fall.