Chapter 15: The Little Dinosaur
The car slowly came to a stop in the mall’s underground parking garage.
Fei Luo, who often took a car to school, got out skillfully and stood by the car, waiting for his little brother to get down.
Nuonuo shuffled his little bottom, poked his head out to gauge the distance to the ground, stretched out his little feet, and slowly slid down on his stomach.
Fei Luo watched as his brother’s chubby little body dangled in mid-air. He froze for a moment before stepping forward and holding onto his brother’s legs.
For Nuonuo, this height was still a bit much. He kicked his short little legs for a long while before he finally managed to get out of the car with his brother’s help.
The assistant in the front had just turned off the engine. When he turned around, he saw Nuonuo’s amusing way of getting out of the car and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Nuonuo wiped the sweat from his face and looked in confusion at the assistant uncle who had suddenly started laughing.
“Bwo-bwo, un-cle is stwange.”
Fei Luo also thought the assistant’s laugh was a bit silly. He took his little brother’s hand and moved two steps away from him.
Seeing the “you’re an idiot” look in the children’s eyes, the assistant coughed awkwardly, scratched his head as if nothing had happened, and led the little ones to the elevator to go upstairs.
This mall was Yuncheng’s largest luxury shopping center, often jokingly called the “Tycoon Tower.” A walk around inside was enough to make you feel what poverty was. But as a famous landmark in Yuncheng, this mall, which was over ten stories high, still had a considerable amount of foot traffic. Many people would stroll and browse as a way to pass the time. In addition, many tourists from out of town would come here to check in and see what Yuncheng’s most luxurious mall looked like.
Because it was Saturday, the mall was more crowded than usual. The assistant, worried about the two children, planned to wait at the entrance for Mr. Fei to arrive.
But the colorful world had already completely captured Nuonuo’s attention. He pulled his brother’s hand, curious to go inside and have a look.
Fei Luo, of course, followed his little brother closely. In no time, the two of them were far from the mall’s entrance.
The mall had a “回” shaped structure, with a hollow center that allowed you to see the exhibition stands in the first-floor lobby. But the floors from the tenth floor up were completely enclosed and required a VIP card to access.
Nuonuo and the others were on the fifth floor, which was dedicated to children’s clothing.
As if they had perfectly grasped the customers’ psychology, not far from the elevator entrance was a shop selling all kinds of candy. The shop was decorated in a dazzling array of colors, with cute little animals painted on the pink and blue walls. The shelves outside were filled with all sorts of transparent candy jars. The moment Nuonuo saw it, he couldn’t move, chewing on his finger as he stopped at the entrance.
Seeing that his little brother had stopped walking, Fei Luo gave the shop a curious look.
Just then, a shop assistant came out with a box of candy. Seeing the two children standing at the entrance, staring longingly, she couldn’t help but frown.
“Where did these kids come from? Where are your parents? Stop standing here, you’re blocking the door!”
Having worked in this luxury shopping center for so many years, the shop assistant had developed a bit of an eye for things. Children like these, who weren’t accompanied by their parents, were usually from families that didn’t pay much attention to them, let alone come to the shop to buy candy for them.
“The candy here is all imported. Don’t touch it, you’ll get it dirty.”
The shop assistant impatiently waved her hand, telling the two children to leave quickly.
Hearing the shop assistant’s fierce words, Nuonuo couldn’t help but tug at his brother’s clothes and take two steps back in fear.
Fei Luo frowned, his eyes sweeping over the shop assistant. There was no emotion in them, only a dark, gloomy coldness.
The shop assistant was taken aback, then realized she had actually been frightened by a child. Her voice unconsciously rose a few decibels. “What are you looking at, you kid! Who are you trying to scare!”
The shrill shout made one’s head ache. Nuonuo couldn’t help but cover his little ears.
A girl holding a milk tea nearby couldn’t stand it anymore. She frowned and walked over. “Why are you being so mean to a child! It’s not like you built this road. Are you saying they can’t stand here!”
The shop assistant, holding her breath in anger, her face flushed, opened her mouth to argue. But seeing the other people who had been attracted by the commotion, she could only shut her mouth resentfully.
Bullying the weak and fearing the strong, that’s exactly the kind of person she is!
The girl’s brow was tightly furrowed. She was about to say something more, but her arm was pulled by the girl she was with. “Xiao Li, don’t get so involved. They’re just two kids.”
Xiao Li seemed to be in disbelief. Her eyes widened, and she pulled her arm out of her friend’s grasp. “Dan Ran, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t you used to hate this kind of bullying the most?”
She didn’t know what was going on. It seemed that, starting a few months ago, Dan Ran had become strange. The once simple and unpretentious girl had started to curl her hair, get pink rhinestone nails, and occasionally act nervously.
That was one thing, but before, Dan Ran was full of righteousness, determined to become a police officer to eliminate evil in the world. But now, faced with this kind of bullying, she was actually acting indifferent?
A hint of confusion and doubt appeared in Xiao Li’s eyes.
Seeing Xiao Li’s expression, Dan Ran’s heart tightened, and she quickly said, “I just really have to go to the bathroom, so I was in a hurry. You know me, Xiao Li, I’m just a straightforward person.”
Xiao Li reluctantly accepted her excuse and nodded. “Then you go ahead. I’ll stay here with the kids and wait for their parents. It’s not safe for two little kids to be alone.”
A flicker of impatience crossed Dan Ran’s face before she forced a smile. “Then I’ll wait with you. I wouldn’t feel at ease otherwise.”
Xiao Li smiled and hugged her. “That’s right, this is the Dan Ran I know!”
With that, Xiao Li turned her head, crouched down, and asked Nuonuo in a gentle voice, “Little one, where are your mommy and daddy? Did you get separated?”
Nuonuo looked at this pretty big sister, tugged at his brother’s clothes even more tightly, and hid behind Fei Luo.
Seeing Nuonuo’s cute action, Xiao Li cupped her face and let out a little “oh my.” “Where did this little cutie come from? Why are you so shy?”
Nuonuo’s little face turned even redder, and he answered in a tiny voice, “No, ya—”
Xiao Li was internally squealing from the cuteness, but she managed to maintain a serious expression. She coughed a couple of times before turning her attention to the slightly older Fei Luo, intending to ask for some information so she could take the children to find their parents.
Fei Luo’s eyes, however, showed a hint of defensiveness. He held his little brother’s hand tightly and, faced with Xiao Li’s questioning, remained silent.
Just as Xiao Li was getting frustrated, Dan Ran, behind her, stomped her foot in annoyance. What’s the big deal? It’s not like the mall doesn’t have security. Are they going to lose the kids?
At this thought, Dan Ran glared at the two children in annoyance.
Nuonuo looked up and saw this big sister’s glare. He was startled and, pulling his brother’s hand, wanted to leave. “Bwo-bwo, go, ya!”
Fei Luo, holding Nuonuo’s hand, glanced at the girl before running off with Nuonuo.
Xiao Li was still puzzled. She anxiously reached out, wanting to stop Nuonuo, afraid the two children would get lost. But the two children were small and nimble, like fish diving into the sea. In a flash, they were gone.
Xiao Li stood up, frowning, still wanting to find the children’s parents. But when she turned and saw Dan Ran’s dazed expression, she quickly reached out and poked her. “Dan Ran, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare me.”
Dan Ran clenched her fingers, her nails digging into her flesh. It took her a long while to come back to her senses and say it was nothing.
Looking in the direction Nuonuo had left, Dan Ran thought of Fei Luo’s glance before he left, and a slight panic rose in her heart.
It couldn’t be… right?
Nuonuo pulled Fei Luo and ran for a little while before he stopped, panting.
Patting his little chest, Nuonuo even stood on his tiptoes to pat Fei Luo’s. “Bwo-bwo, no scawed, ya—”
Fei Luo wanted to say he wasn’t scared, but seeing his little brother’s serious face, he still nodded. “Thank you, Nuonuo.”
Nuonuo was a little happy, feeling as if he had protected his brother. He couldn’t help but puff out his little chest.
Fei Zhiyan’s assistant also found them. Seeing that the two were unharmed, he let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Thank goodness I put a tracking bracelet on Nuonuo beforehand. If he had really gotten lost, Mr. Fei would have skinned me alive, the assistant thought, his face pale.
“You two little rascals, you can’t just run off like that anymore. You almost gave me a heart attack.”
The assistant crouched down and rubbed Nuonuo’s little head.
Nuonuo also remembered the scary big sister from before and nodded with a little shiver. “I… I no wun, ya.”
Only then did the assistant feel a little relieved. He stood up and saw a children’s clothing store next to them. Remembering that they were here to buy clothes for the two children, he took Nuonuo’s hand and walked in.
“Nuonuo, Little Luo, do you see anything you like?”
The shop assistant was a pretty young lady. Seeing customers arrive, she walked over enthusiastically to introduce the items. “Is there anything you need? These are all new styles, and the fabric is the best cotton silk, very suitable for children to wear.”
Hearing the shop assistant’s words, Nuonuo poked his head out from behind Fei Luo, tilted his little face up, and looked at the clothes hanging in the shop. A dazzling array of children’s clothes was neatly arranged on both sides—cool and handsome styles, cute and adorable styles, traditional styles, and so on. Nuonuo’s little eyes were wide with wonder.
Hanging in the very center of the left side was a sparkling mermaid princess dress. It was sewn with translucent blue rhinestones, and the fishtail, woven from fine gauze, was as thin as a cicada’s wing, so beautiful it was as if wearing it would turn you into a real mermaid.
Nuonuo’s eyes were glued to this mermaid dress. After looking at it for a long while, he pointed his little finger at it. “Taiw-taiw… Nuonuo, ya!”
Nuonuo was trying to say that this dress, like him, had a beautiful blue tail. But Nuonuo couldn’t express it clearly, and the assistant next to him thought Nuonuo liked the mermaid dress and smiled helplessly. “Nuonuo, this is a dress for girls. You’re a little boy, you can’t wear it,” the assistant tried his best to explain.
Nuonuo didn’t understand the difference between boys and girls. Hearing the assistant’s words, his pointing little hand still didn’t come down. “Is Nuonuo, ya!”
It’s a tail just like Nuonuo’s!
The assistant had no experience with coaxing children. Seeing how much Nuonuo liked this dress, he had no choice but to look at the shop assistant for help.
The shop assistant smiled gently, took out a little green dinosaur costume, and dangled it in front of Nuonuo. “Here comes the little dinosaur! Let’s see which little one is lucky enough to wear it.”
Nuonuo was indeed attracted. Being a little shy in front of strangers, Nuonuo said in a tiny voice, “Nuonuo wear—”
The shop assistant smiled and handed the little dinosaur costume to Nuonuo. “Then how about big sister takes Nuonuo to change clothes?”
Faced with the young lady’s outstretched hand, Nuonuo dodged to the side and clutched his brother’s clothes even tighter. “No, ya, with Bwo-bwo.”
Nuonuo was the type to easily become dependent on people, especially when there were close people around. He was like a little sticky bean bun, soft and clingy, afraid of getting lost.
The assistant glanced at Fei Luo next to him and had to admit he was a little jealous. If Nuonuo also obediently clutched the corner of his clothes and looked at him with complete trust, the assistant felt he could buy out the entire shop’s collection of little dinosaur costumes.
Fei Luo also held his little brother’s hand tightly, clearly intending to stay with him.
The shop assistant looked at the assistant, thinking he was the children’s father, and simply handed the clothes to him.
The assistant led the two little ones to the fitting room. After closing the door and giving some careful instructions, he stood outside and waited.
The fitting rooms in the mall were individual rooms, each with a two-meter-long fabric sofa and a small coffee table. On the table was a candy jar with the shop’s name printed on it, specially prepared for the little customers. In addition, there was a separate children’s restroom inside in case customers needed it.
Nuonuo first stood there and looked at the small sofa for a while before happily taking the little dinosaur costume and running to the mirror.
“Brother! So pwetty, ya—”
Fei Luo didn’t quite understand what was so pretty about this costume, but since his little brother said so, he nodded along. “Little brother is pretty.”
Hearing this, Nuonuo’s little face flushed. He hugged the clothes, climbed onto the sofa, and was ready to change into the little dinosaur costume.
Fei Luo went over, picked up the dinosaur tail that was dragging on the floor and placed it on the sofa. After a moment’s thought, he even helped his little brother pull off his pants.
Nuonuo took off his shirt and pants, standing naked on the sofa with only his little underwear on. He shyly dived into the little dinosaur costume. With great effort, he finally poked his little head out of the clothes.
After finally getting dressed with his brother’s help, the bangs on Nuonuo’s forehead were all messy.
Seeing this, Fei Luo called out to his little brother, who was running out, and brushed his hair back, revealing his bright, dark eyes.
“Thank you, brother!” Nuonuo’s speech was becoming more and more fluent. He ran out, pulling his brother’s hand.
The assistant was standing outside the door, replying to a message from Fei Zhiyan, when the hem of his clothes was suddenly tugged. He looked down and saw Nuonuo, dressed in a little green dinosaur costume, tilting his little face up, his eyes sparkling as he looked at him.
“Uncle, I’m weady.”
His heart trembling from the cute milky voice, the assistant clutched his chest, took a moment to recover, and then crouched down to praise him. “Nuonuo can even dress himself now. So amazing!”
Nuonuo shook his head, his face red. “Brother help, ya.”
The assistant’s hand itched to poke Nuonuo’s little cheek. “Little Luo is also amazing. How about I reward each of you with a little dinosaur costume?”
“Okay, ya!”
Nuonuo raised his little arms happily, dragged his dinosaur tail, and toddled over to another identical dinosaur costume. “For brother, ya!”
Thinking about wearing matching clothes with his brother, Nuonuo was so happy his eyes narrowed into little slits.
The assistant smiled, signaled the shop assistant to bring the clothes over, and handed them to Fei Luo.
Fei Luo looked at the clothes in his hands and his little brother standing to the side, looking at him expectantly. His usually vacant eyes now showed a hint of a struggle.
“No… no, thank you.” Fei Luo’s words even stuttered as he waved his hand in refusal.
It was cute when his little brother wore it, but the thought of himself wearing it… Fei Luo couldn’t help but fall silent.
The assistant had previously thought Fei Luo had a sullen personality, but now, seeing his troubled little expression, he couldn’t help but chuckle. He really is still a child.
Seeing that Fei Luo really didn’t like it, the assistant had no choice but to take the clothes back and hand them to the shop assistant.
Nuonuo ran over in confusion, pointing his little finger at the clothes that the shop assistant was hanging back up. “No… no wear, ya?”
Fei Luo nodded. “It’s fine if little brother wears it.”
Unable to wear matching clothes with his brother, the expectant light in Nuonuo’s little eyes dimmed.
Fei Luo saw his little brother’s head droop, and for some reason, his heart tightened.
“Little brother…”
Please don’t ignore me…
In the past, Fei Luo had always been alone. He had even once thought that it would be better if there weren’t so many noisy humans, so the world would be quiet. But once a person has experienced the warmth of being surrounded by others, looking back at the days of living alone, it seems a bit dazing and uninteresting.
Fei Luo felt that perhaps he didn’t really like that kind of life after all. After all, from the moment he was thrown into a trash can, his life had been a repetition of silence and loneliness.
But now, there was always a lively little tail trailing behind him, who liked to be close to him, who would hold his hand even when his palm was sweaty… He had never thought that having a little brother would be such a happy thing.
So, he didn’t know when it started, but Fei Luo had also begun to worry, afraid that his little brother would dislike him, would distance himself from him like others… He was afraid that his life would fall back into the quiet abyss.
Nuonuo saw his brother’s helpless look, his little mouth agape in confusion. Then, thinking of something, he turned his little body and showed his dinosaur tail to his brother. “For brother, ya—”
Thinking that his brother was unhappy because he didn’t get to wear clothes with a tail, Nuonuo generously offered his own tail to his brother.
After all, Nuonuo was a little merman with two tails!
Fei Luo, in his panic, was handed a green tail. He blinked, and then understood what his little brother meant.
A smile suddenly appeared on his lips, and a glimmer of light appeared in his dark eyes. “Little brother’s tail is pretty.”
Thinking his brother was praising his blue fishtail, Nuonuo nodded foolishly along. “Pwetty, ya—”
006 said that Nuonuo will be the prettiest merman king in the sea!
