Chapter 74: Golden Ball’s Cub-Raising Chronicles (Part 2)
The corridor of Coexistence Elementary was filled with cries. Lu Huai, the first-grade homeroom teacher, used his vines to capture the escaping students, tossing them into the classroom like a miner catching piglets.
Another day, another display of skillful herding.
“I want to go home! Wuwuwu, I miss my sister!” A crying fox cub kneaded his tail with his paws, then, seeing that Lu Huai wasn’t budging, a small boy approached and curiously poked his ear.
The fox cub asked, “Aren’t you crying?”
“No, I’m a big boy, I’m seven years old!” Little Zhixia puffed out his chest proudly. “How about you?”
The fox cub sniffled: “Only about two hundred and eighty.”
“…” The two cubs stared at each other silently, then went to their seats.
The new student brought by the Lord God attracted everyone’s attention, even older students peeked through the windows. After all, the last one had been quite a handful, the ice sculptures appearing around the school a testament to his mischief.
“Good morning, Mr. Lu!” The little human, a sweet smile on his face, placed a milk candy in Lu Huai’s hand. “This is for you.”
Lu Huai’s zombie-like office worker face softened: “For me?”
“Yes.” Little Zhixia hopped around like a bunny, his backpack rattling. “I have a lot, Golden Ball said I can have two every day… so these are for everyone!”
A little angel! A little sweetie!
Lu Huai clutched his chest, as if he had pulled a rare prize from a blind box.
His colleagues outside, who had been waiting for a show, froze, then clasped their hands together and prayed—
“Surprise human!”
“Didn’t you hear me? Surprise human!”
Little Zhixia’s assigned deskmate was a gray-skinned elf named Peleg.
He looked different from other elves, sitting quietly, his crayons scratching against the paper.
Suddenly, Peleg’s wings twitched, and he turned his head, puzzled, to see his new deskmate, his head resting on his arm, his fingertip touching the tip of his wing.
Caught red-handed, Little Zhixia quickly retracted his finger and smiled shyly.
Peleg covered his wings and said sternly, “Don’t touch.”
Little Zhixia paused and slowly sat up straight.
As soon as he spoke, Peleg realized his tone had been harsh.
He had actually wanted to say that the feather tips were sharp, and he glanced at his deskmate, who was already busy cutting colorful paper.
Peleg lowered his gaze, rehearsing an apology in his mind, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Here.”
“Huh?” Peleg turned his head, his eyes lighting up.
Two small pink wings, made of paper, were attached to Little Zhixia’s ears. They were crudely made, clearly a rushed job.
“Your wings are so cool, but mine aren’t very good.” Little Zhixia looked at the metal feathers, “Mine look like pig ears… ha ha.”
Peleg stared at him silently, and Little Zhixia chuckled awkwardly, then stopped laughing and reached up to remove the fake wings.
“What’s a pig?”
Little Zhixia perked up at his deskmate’s question: “It’s an animal.”
He wiggled his head and poked his nose, “Oink, oink.”
Peleg chuckled at his silly imitation and took the paper wings, saying softly, “I’ll fix them for you.”
“Okay!” Little Zhixia’s eyes curved into a smile.
The first-grade curriculum was simple, and the morning passed quickly. The soft bell for lunch echoed through the school.
The fox cubs rushed out of the classroom, holding each other’s fluffy tails to avoid getting singed by the pony foals from the next class. The little green dragon, however, simply jumped out the window, flapping his wings.
They each had their own methods of securing lunch.
The elf deskmate had brought his own lunch. As Little Zhixia was preparing to go to the cafeteria, someone knocked on the classroom door.
“Oh, it’s the merman from middle school…”
“What’s he doing here?”
“Shh, be quiet, or you’ll become an ice sculpture.”
Audrow narrowed his eyes, looking towards the window, seemingly looking at the dumbfounded little human, or perhaps somewhere else.
There were no other students around, only his wary deskmate. Little Zhixia looked around, unsure, then, seeing Audrow beckoning, he ran over.
He stopped beside Audrow, tilted his head up, and exclaimed, “Gege, your tail was so long in the water, now you have legs, and you’re so tall!”
Audrow raised an eyebrow slightly: “How did you know?”
Audrow frowned: “What’s that on your ears?”
“Wings, my little wings!” Little Zhixia turned his head excitedly to show them off. “Aren’t they cool?”
They looked like pig ears.
His intuition told him that telling the truth would cause trouble, so Audrow said calmly, “Humans don’t have wings on their ears.”
“But you have legs, and I can’t have wings?”
Little Zhixia pouted and stomped his feet, then, under Audrow’s cold gaze, fell silent and walked away.
Audrow reminded him, “The cafeteria is this way.”
Little Zhixia stopped, turned around, and stomped past him in the other direction.
So small, yet such a big temper.
Audrow followed him leisurely.
In the bustling cafeteria, the area around Audrow and Little Zhixia’s table was deserted.
There were many dishes to choose from. The administrator at the window, seeing how cute Little Zhixia was, piled his plate high.
Little Zhixia, sitting on a chair that was a bit too tall for him, finished his sweet and sour pork ribs and stared at the untouched vegetables.
He inched closer to Audrow and glanced at his plate.
“Xiao Ao gege, what’s that white thing?”
“Fish.”
“And that red thing?”
“Another kind of fish.”
Audrow pushed his head away slightly and continued eating.
“Oh…”
Little Zhixia’s eyes darted around, and he slyly picked up the carrots and broccoli from his plate. “Teacher said we have to eat a balanced diet, no picky eaters, so…”
“Throwing your vegetables at others will get you a spanking.” Audrow interrupted calmly, and the vegetables in Little Zhixia’s chopsticks froze in mid-air.
Little Zhixia retorted softly, “Teacher didn’t say that…”
Audrow smiled faintly: “I did.”
“G-gege is right.” Little Zhixia shivered, quickly stuffed the broccoli into his mouth, and muttered, “Mmm, delicious, delicious, vegetables are so yummy…”
“Finish your soup too.”
“O-okay…”
“Burp.”
Little Zhixia patted his round belly and followed Audrow out of the cafeteria.
Audrow’s strides were twice as long as his, and he quickly pulled ahead.
Hearing the fading burps, he stopped and said impassively, “So slow.”
“I can’t walk anymore, I’m so tired.” Little Zhixia, his head drooping, shuffled over.
The cafeteria wasn’t far from the dormitory, but his room was on the third floor, and the thought of climbing so many stairs made his legs ache.
Audrow stared at him silently.
Anyone else, seeing his impatient expression, would have retreated, but the little boy simply spread his arms and asked, “Xiao Ao gege, can you carry me?”
Puzzled by the child’s straightforward request, Audrow lowered his gaze, paused, then turned and walked away without a word.
Little Zhixia pouted and lowered his arms dejectedly.
Suddenly, the footsteps returned, and he was lifted into the air and held securely.
Little Zhixia tilted his head, rested it on the teenager’s still-thin shoulder, and closed his eyes contentedly, nuzzling against him, “Xiao Ao gege, you’re so nice, I’ll carry you when I grow up.”
The soft cheek and warm breath tickled, and Audrow nuzzled his head in return, chuckling softly.
As if you could even lift me.
Checking off his to-do list, the Golden Ball looked up at the clock and bounced: “Oh dear, it’s time!”
He rushed to the classroom but didn’t see Little Zhixia. Lu Huai pointed towards the window, and the Golden Ball floated towards the playground slide.
Little Zhixia poked his head out of the highest castle playhouse and slid down.
The Golden Ball sped up, landing just before hitting the slide, leaving a dent in the sandbox.
The child’s laughter echoed, a cold wind blowing, and Little Zhixia slid to the bottom, catching the sand-covered Golden Ball.
“Ball Ball, you came to pick me up!” Little Zhixia cheered.
“Why are you here alone? It’s dangerous!”
Humans weren’t as resilient as other creatures. The Golden Ball nervously circled the child, and seeing that he wasn’t injured, relaxed, almost collapsing into a golden pancake in the sand.
Little Zhixia squatted down and poked the deflated Golden Ball: “I wanted to play on the swings and the slide, the other kids are playing during PE class this afternoon, it’s my and Pepe’s turn when it’s time to go home…”
Golden Ball: “Who’s Pepe?”
Little Zhixia said excitedly, “My deskmate, he’s a special elf, with a tail and wings, and he makes amazing dolls!”
He chattered about his day at school.
“The flower sprites are treating me to fairy nectar tomorrow, it’s supposed to be sweet, I’ll save some for you.”
“The magic teacher’s crystal cup exploded and turned the foxes’ fur into black coal!”
“Popo’s head is so comfortable, it’s the best pillow for naps!”
Hmm?
Enjoying his parent-child time after school, the Golden Ball suddenly froze and bounced frantically, “Don’t use your classmates’ heads as pillows!”
“Oh, okay.” Little Zhixia turned his head and sighed regretfully.
They reached the school gate, and a silver-haired teenager, his backpack slung over his shoulder, was waiting.
The Golden Ball, surprised, floated over and nuzzled his forehead.
“You’re filthy, where did you roll around?” Audrow wiped the sand off his forehead.
“Hee…”
Little Zhixia and the Golden Ball chuckled nervously.
The Golden Ball didn’t ask why he was waiting at the school gate today, but it didn’t matter.
The great Lord God floated between them and cheered, “Let’s go home!”
