Chapter 421 - 420: Extra 16: Giving Him a Teddy Bear 3 (Mu Tangfeng)

Chapter 421: Chapter 420: Extra 16: Giving Him a Teddy Bear 3 (Mu Tangfeng)

Mr. Mu relaxed a little. His gaze fell to where Shi Lan and his son were holding hands, and his feelings grew complicated again.

He always wondered if he was just overthinking things. His son’s married life was clearly going well, and Shi Lan was a good person. Even if their feelings faded in the future, his son probably wouldn’t be mistreated.

But it was hard not to worry when you were a parent.

Fofu was indeed getting a little sleepy, so Shi Lan carried the child back upstairs to Mu Tangfeng’s room, her hand still holding his tightly.

Back in his bedroom, Shi Lan laid Fofu on the bed and gently soothed him.

It was indeed the children’s usual naptime. Fofu was drowsy and soon closed his eyes.

Once the child was asleep, Shi Lan led Mu Tangfeng out onto the balcony. She looked at him, exasperatedly pressing a finger to his eyelid. "Don’t lie to me. Were you crying?"

Mu Tangfeng stubbornly shook his head, unwilling to show his vulnerable side. ’He was a proud male; how could he be a sobbing mess? He wasn’t a little kid like Fofu.’

Shi Lan had her own ways of coaxing her little bird.

She cupped his face in her hands, rising onto her toes to kiss him. As she did, she gently nibbled the center of his upper lip, her voice a muffled command. "If you don’t tell me, I’ll just keep biting you."

Mu Tangfeng’s lips parted unconsciously, his pink tongue tracing the edge of his pearly teeth. He swallowed the soft whimper in his throat and shook his head again.

"Fine, I get it. You just want me to kiss you more."

Shi Lan’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she pressed her body closer to his, her tongue slowly deepening the kiss.

They had been partners for so long and had shared many even more intimate moments, but a kiss still made their bodies flush with heat and their hearts race for one another.

Mu Tangfeng’s breathing grew ragged, his large hands instinctively tightening on Shi Lan’s waist. There was a considerable height difference between them, so to keep her from getting tired of craning her neck, he lifted her to stand on his shoes, making it easier for her.

It was an unspoken understanding among all her Beast Husbands.

After they kissed for a while, Mu Tangfeng’s stubbornness began to melt. Shi Lan murmured the question several times between kisses until he finally surrendered. He broke away from her lips, rested his chin on the top of her head, and hugged her tightly, not wanting her to see his insecure expression—or perhaps, not daring to see any hesitation in hers.

"Lanlan, will you always love me?"

To be honest, it had been a long time since Shi Lan had heard him ask that.

When they first got together, none of her Beast Husbands had much sense of security and would always subtly test her feelings for them.

Mu Tangfeng was the same. He rarely voiced his fears so directly. Instead, he would simply watch her with his silently wounded eyes. To the outside world, he was the narcissistic and proud Bird of Paradise, but when it came to matters of the heart, he was often so uncertain that he lacked the courage to even speak his worries aloud.

Perhaps it was because he was so used to looking down on everyone, never caring about anyone else’s opinion.

But Shi Lan was different. Because he loved her, he became insecure, constantly afraid of rejection.

Shi Lan thought for a moment, then asked, "Did Dad say something? Why the sudden question?"

Hearing that she hadn’t answered directly, the rims of Mu Tangfeng’s eyes reddened again. The confidence he had managed to build up in his heart began to crumble.

Thankfully, Shi Lan quickly added, "Your parents are different from us. Every couple has their own dynamic, and every family gets along differently. I believe only the two people in a relationship truly know what it’s like. I don’t know what Dad said to you, but I want to tell you that you are my Beast Husband, my deliberate choice, the man I love, and the partner I intend to spend the rest of my life with. So, I hope you can have a little more confidence in our relationship."

"Okay?"

She wasn’t chiding him or blaming Mr. Mu, just gently stating how she truly felt.

Shi Lan had always been cautious when it came to relationships, never entering into one lightly. Her decision to be with Mu Tangfeng and the others was the result of much deep deliberation.

The light returned to Mu Tangfeng’s downcast, red-rimmed eyes, though they were still misty with unshed tears. He didn’t dare let Shi Lan see them. Fighting back the joy blooming in his chest, he just continued to hold her, careful not to betray the fact that he was secretly crying. "Mm, I know."

Downstairs in the back garden, Mrs. Mu was scolding Mr. Mu. "Those two were so upset. You must have been too harsh with him again."

Mr. Mu felt completely wronged, but in the end, he didn’t dare say much to defend himself.

...

After having dinner at the Mu family home, the three of them returned to their own house.

It was Mu Tangfeng’s designated day with her, so that night, the two once again shared a deep and intimate exchange.

Perhaps because of the day’s events, Mu Tangfeng was particularly impassioned that night, his movements a little rough and reckless. But such occasional bursts of passion between a couple could actually make them more harmonious, and they passed a thoroughly satisfying and wonderful night together.

—

Shi Lan didn’t say much aloud, but she took to heart what Mrs. Mu had told her about Mu Tangfeng’s past.

So, she asked Mrs. Mu to draw a picture of the teddy bear Mu Tangfeng had liked as a child. Then, she personally made an identical replica by hand and ordered a dazzling, iridescent vase crafted from minerals online.

She hid the little bear inside the vase.

Then, a week later, when it was Mu Tangfeng’s day again, she said to him and their son, "Want to play hide-and-seek? The three of us. But you can only hide in three designated rooms."

Fofu’s nursery, her bedroom, and Mu Tangfeng’s bedroom.

Mu Tangfeng looked a little embarrassed. "I’m a grown-up..."

Fofu had never played hide-and-seek with his parents before. Afraid his father wouldn’t play, he immediately tugged on his sleeve. "Play! Daddy, play with me."

"Alright, alright."

In truth, Mu Tangfeng was itching to play, but couldn’t get past his adult pride. Now that his son had spoken up, he had the perfect excuse. As Shi Lan began to count, he forgot all about his son and immediately dashed off to find a hiding spot.

Being a grown-up was certainly inconvenient for hide-and-seek. Fofu, a tiny little bird, had plenty of places to hide. He once again hid in the same place as last time—the vase next to Shi Lan’s nightstand.

Meanwhile, Mu Tangfeng went into Shi Lan’s room, looked around for a spot, and entered her walk-in closet.

’He wasn’t sure when her closet had gotten so full of new things.’ In the corner, against the wall, stood a colorful vase that seemed to be glowing.

Mu Tangfeng was captivated at first glance. The opening of the vase was quite large; it seemed that if he shifted into his smallest beast form, he could hide inside it perfectly.

After all these years, Mu Tangfeng’s habit of hiding in vases remained.

Unfortunately, he could no longer fit inside his cuddlebee. Shi Lan’s vase, on the other hand, had a wide opening and was deceptively spacious inside, like a world of its own. Mu Tangfeng settled in comfortably to hide.

The vase looked crystalline from the outside, but it was actually opaque. Mu Tangfeng felt his claw touch something in the corner. Worried he might break one of Shi Lan’s things, he couldn’t resist nudging it over with his wing, using the light from the vase’s opening to get a better look.

He froze at the very first glance.

It was a rose-pink teddy bear wearing a flower wreath and carrying a small, blue-plaid backpack. It looked just like the one he had lost when he was little.

He hesitantly checked the little bag on the bear. The bag was tiny; as a child, he had loved to hide a few nuts inside it to pull out and eat when he got bored.

He prodded it with his sharp beak, and sure enough, there really were a few nuts inside.

Mu Tangfeng’s eyes immediately stung. There was no way the bear he’d lost could have been found after so long.

Shi Lan knew Mu Tangfeng well. She didn’t rush to find their little one, but went straight to her walk-in closet. As expected, she saw him inside the new vase she had bought.

A shrunken-down Bird of Paradise was curled up inside the beautiful, iridescent vase. He glowed like a golden treasure in a cornucopia, adding his own dazzling light to the vessel’s interior.

Except, the little bird’s body was hitching with tiny shudders.

Shi Lan was about to ask what was wrong when Mu Tangfeng flew out, instantly shifting back into his human form to wrap her in a tight hug. His voice was choked with emotion. "Lanlan, you... the teddy bear inside..."

Shi Lan knew he’d discovered it. She summoned a vine to lift the teddy bear out of the vase, dangling it gently. "Yes, it’s a gift for you. A certain someone lost his favorite childhood toy, so I had to make him a new one. This bear is quite special, though; it even needs nuts stuffed in its little backpack."

Mu Tangfeng’s traitorous tears immediately began to stream down his face.

His parents loved him, of course, but they weren’t like Shi Lan. They would never have put in the effort to make him an identical replica.

"Lanlan, how can you be so good to me?"

His voice was hoarse, and his tears quickly dampened Shi Lan’s clothes, with a few drops trickling onto her neck.

Shi Lan knew he was crying out of sheer emotion and gave a wry smile. "What can I do? You’re my partner, after all."

She paused, then added softly, "Mu Tangfeng, you may have been unhappy as a child, but I hope that from now on, you can be happy every single day."

"If you want to go for a joyride, you can ask the teddy bear and me to go with you. Of course, we can bring our little one along, too."

Mu Tangfeng desperately tried not to cry, but he couldn’t hold back his tears. Hearing Shi Lan’s words, he ended up crying for a long time.

Thankfully, the house was fairly soundproof. No one had come to find Fofu for so long that he had dozed off while hiding in his vase.

After he finished crying, he glanced at the vase on the floor, his eyes still red. "And... and this vase..."

Shi Lan guessed his thoughts from his tone and immediately grinned. "Mm-hmm, that’s for you, too."

Teardrops still clung to Mu Tangfeng’s eyelashes, but the corners of his full, rosy lips curled up in delight.

’His wife is so wonderful,’ he thought. ’He would make her happy forever, too.’

He lowered his head slightly, looking at the smiling teddy bear in her hand. It was a simple little surprise, but one he would savor for many years to come, often taking it out to show off to his son, completely unconcerned about being called childish.

Fofu’s accusation: No wonder Mom took so long to find me that day!!