Chapter 75: Golden Ball’s Cub-Raising Chronicles (Part 3 & Epilogue)
Recently, to save himself some effort, the Golden Ball had deployed a batch of administrators with system orbs to problematic worlds.
Unexpectedly, several administrators had fallen in love with their systems and started slacking off.
As a diligent Lord God, he could only work overtime to clean up the mess.
This meant that until he was finished, Little Zhixia was entirely under Audrow’s care.
On a weekend morning, a small hand emerged from under the covers, expertly silencing the alarm clock, then, lacking the energy to put it back on the nightstand, hugged it and continued sleeping.
A few system orbs, acting as nannies, could only return to the kitchen and reheat the now-cold breakfast.
Audrow knocked three times, received no response, and opened the door.
“Still in bed.” Audrow looked at the small lump under the covers.
The child who had vowed to wake up early last night had clearly forgotten his promise after watching cartoons. Little Zhixia pulled the blanket over his head: “Five more minutes, just five more minutes.”
The room was silent, and Audrow stood by the bed, watching the time.
Five minutes passed, and just as Little Zhixia thought he had left, a cold hand reached under the covers.
“Waaah… so cold, so cold!”
Little Zhixia, his eyes still closed, squirmed and tried to dodge, his already messy hair becoming even more tangled.
The blanket was pulled away, and the hand, after being pushed away, poked his belly, then pinched his cheek, making Little Zhixia giggle and wake up.
“I’m up… I’m up…” Little Zhixia surrendered, sitting up groggily.
The soft, warm skin felt nice, still carrying the scent of baby lotion from before bed, and Audrow paused, his hand hovering, then he tucked the child back into bed.
Little Zhixia blinked in confusion: “?”
“Sleep a little longer.” Audrow gently kneaded the child’s cheeks, a smile on his face. “I’ll pinch you for five more minutes.”
Little Zhixia, like a ball of dough, was squeezed and kneaded, whimpering pitifully: “Wuwuwu!”
He would never sleep in again!
Without the Golden Ball’s constant nagging, Little Zhixia was ready to indulge himself, hugging his yogurt bottle and grabbing the remote, preparing for a cartoon marathon.
However, before he could even get comfortable, Audrow lifted him up and placed him at the desk.
Audrow put a pen in his hand and said calmly, “Homework first.”
Little Zhixia hated math the most and sighed dramatically, peeking at Audrow from under his eyelids.
Audrow didn’t react, pulling another chair over and sitting down.
Little Zhixia opened his workbook listlessly, struggled through a few questions, then started scratching his head, “Gege, I don’t know how to do this…”
Audrow lowered his gaze and glanced at the problem.
Three puppies on the left, plus the ones in the house, makes five. Four puppies on the right, plus the ones in the house, makes four. How many puppies are there in total?
“First, figure out how many puppies are in the house, then add them all together.” Audrow looked up and asked, “Understand?”
Little Zhixia’s eyes were swimming, and afraid of seeming stupid, he nodded softly, “I understand.”
Audrow stared at him for a while, then raised an eyebrow, “Then try it yourself.”
“Yes… I’ll try it myself…” Little Zhixia blushed, grabbed the pen, and pretended to write diligently, drawing sunglasses on one puppy and hats on another.
Audrow went to get a cupcake, returned, and looked at the problem Little Zhixia was covering with his hand.
The five puppies had new accessories, but the answer space was still blank.
Little Zhixia’s shoulders trembled, his eyes welling up.
Audrow: “Don’t know how to do it?”
Caught lying, Little Zhixia didn’t dare lift his head, mumbling a soft “yes.”
Audrow, as if he had expected this, sat down beside him, took the pencil, and started explaining.
After several explanations, Audrow’s brow furrowed, and he looked at Little Zhixia, “So it’s seven puppies, understand?”
Little Zhixia’s eyes were still confused, and he repeated, “Seven… seven…”
Audrow’s face was expressionless: “Then solve it.”
Little Zhixia counted with his fingers, then his lips trembled, tears threatening to spill.
Audrow’s usually smooth hair was ruffled, and he pursed his lips, thinking that he still didn’t understand.
Little Zhixia was mortified, sniffling, “Sorry, gege… I’m a bit stupid.”
“Why are you crying?”
Audrow’s gaze softened, his brow furrowing even deeper, what kind of evil problem could make a child cry?
He took the pencil from Little Zhixia’s hand, “No more homework.”
Little Zhixia hesitated, “But Mr. Lu will check…”
“He won’t punish you.”
Little Zhixia gestured, looking up at him, “Shiny, pretty…”
“…”
Audrow was silent for a moment, then bent down and… started decorating his nails with the colorful crayons.
Little Zhixia’s eyes lit up, and he jumped off the chair, “Gege, you’re so amazing! Thank you! I’ll give you a shoulder massage.”
Audrow, not looking up, said, “Press harder.”
Little Zhixia replied sweetly, “Okay~”
“Hmm… hiss…”
The Golden Ball was checking Little Zhixia’s workbook in the evening.
Although just a ball, Little Zhixia felt the oppressive aura and nervously hid behind Audrow.
The Golden Ball called Little Zhixia over: “Did you do this yourself?”
Little Zhixia nodded hesitantly: “Kind of…”
The Golden Ball looked at the elegant handwriting, lightly bumped the child’s head, “Lying, go stand in the corner.”
Little Zhixia dejectedly went to stand in the corner.
The Golden Ball floated to Audrow: “Did you do it for him?”
Audrow looked up: “Yes, so?”
The Golden Ball bumped the teenager’s head: “So?! You, go stand in the corner too!”
Audrow didn’t protest and joined Little Zhixia.
“I was working overtime, worried about you two, and you’re being disobedient! Some of you are even unrepentant and defiant!”
Little Zhixia inched closer to Audrow like a sticky rice cake.
“Separate!” A stern voice came from behind them.
Little Zhixia flinched and moved away.
The Golden Ball snorted, lectured them for a while, and left angrily, telling them to reflect on their actions.
Little Zhixia stood in the corner, shamefully fiddling with his fingers, when his head was poked. He looked up and smiled shyly.
Back in his study, the Golden Ball grumbled about how troublesome it was to raise children, flipping through parenting manuals, then gradually becoming anxious.
Had he been too harsh? Did he bump their heads too hard? They must be crying now.
He hesitantly looked at the closed door.
Outside, the corner was empty, but the sound of splashing water came from the pool.
Audrow, floating on his back like a sea otter, was holding Little Zhixia, drifting leisurely.
His beautiful silver tail flicked, sending droplets of water onto the child’s face, making him giggle and splash the water.
Meanwhile, the increasingly guilty Golden Ball deflated into a pancake on his desk, muttering to himself—
Ah! I’m such a bad Ball Ball!
Lu Huai received a notice to lower the difficulty of the homework assignments. This time, Little Zhixia was very motivated, because for every perfect score, he not only received a sticker, but Xiao Ao gege would also give him a pearl.
Not sleeping in earned him one, diligently doing morning exercises earned him another, and soon he had collected many, putting them in a small bag and showing them to Peleg.
“Wow! So pretty!” Peleg plunged his hand into the bag and touched them happily.
Little Zhixia grinned: “I want to make a box, can Pepe teach me how to weave?”
“I can, but we have to drill holes first.” Peleg poked a round pearl.
Little Zhixia hugged Peleg’s spiky tail and chirped, “I’m ready!”
Peleg: “…”
So, after a class of drilling holes, being scolded by the teacher, explaining the situation, and outsourcing the project to Lu Huai, Little Zhixia finally had his pearl box.
He put all his handmade hair clips inside and excitedly brought it home, finding Audrow eating scallops by the pool.
Audrow glanced at the box and hesitated, “Are you sure?”
“Yes… I want to play…” Little Zhixia looked at him expectantly.
Audrow didn’t reply, his chin resting on his hand.
Little Zhixia tried, “Then can I go find Popo’s siren sisters?”
Audrow’s face darkened: “No, come back here.”
The Golden Ball returned home and found the house unusually quiet, not even the sound of cartoons.
He hummed a tune and floated to the pool, where Audrow was leaning against the wall, his elbows on the steps.
His silver-gray hair was braided and piled on top of his head, and with his androgynous features, he looked like a cold and beautiful princess.
The Golden Ball’s cheerful tune stopped, and for the first time, he felt less omniscient: “What are you doing?”
“Playing house!” A small head poked out from behind Audrow. “Xiao Ao gege is the mermaid princess.”
The Golden Ball, not daring to look at Audrow’s icy expression, asked dryly, “…And you?”
Little Zhixia, rummaging through his pearl box for hair clips, puffed out his chest proudly: “I’m the princess’s hair stylist!”
The Golden Ball flickered, then fell to the ground with a thud.
How could someone even turn themselves into a servant, what had gone wrong with his parenting?!
The pearl box became Little Zhixia’s treasure. He put his and his deskmate’s finished crafts inside, and during PE class, he took half of a pearl, carefully drilled a hole in it, and glued it to Peleg’s tail.
“Pretty?” Peleg swayed his tail and asked shyly.
Little Zhixia pushed him out from under the tree, watched his shimmering tail, and clapped enthusiastically, “Super pretty!”
His cheers attracted the attention of the pony foals from the next class.
The red-haired centaur had been wanting to play with the little human. He looked so soft and fragrant, more appealing than clouds.
He and his brothers trotted over and nudged him with their hips, “Human, let’s play ball!”
“I don’t know how to…”
The centaurs, spoiled by the Lord of the Barrenlands, ignored his protests and nudged him repeatedly, “Come on, come on, we’ll teach you!”
Little Zhixia, surrounded by the ponies who were half a head taller than him, shook his head nervously, “No, no…”
The centaurs pretended not to hear, their small hands petting his face and ruffling his hair as they pulled him along. Little Zhixia hugged his pearl box tightly, his eyes welling up.
“Leave him alone, don’t bully Zhixia.” Peleg tried to help, pushing a centaur, but he didn’t budge, and Peleg fell on his butt.
“Pepe, are you okay?”
Little Zhixia rushed towards him, tripped, and the pearl box in his hand fell to the ground, the contents scattering, a few crushed under hooves.
“Crack.”
Mili lifted his hoof, and broken shards fell onto the grass.
Little Zhixia blinked, large tears rolling down his cheeks.
The centaurs froze, their manes bristling.
PE was the last class of the day, and the usually cheerful bell now sounded like a death knell.
Audrow, arriving to pick him up, saw a dirty, disheveled mess.
Little Zhixia’s hair was tangled, his clothes covered in grass stains, his face smudged with dirt.
Audrow squatted down and asked, “Did first grade PE involve mountain survival training?”
Little Zhixia, having just punched the bad ponies, didn’t reply, holding the broken pieces and trying to put them back together, but it was hopeless.
His elf deskmate haltingly explained what had happened, the culprits standing beside him, nervously huddling together under Audrow’s cold gaze.
“Wait for me at the school gate.” Audrow gave Peleg some money and told him to buy cotton candy.
The cotton candy was sweet and fluffy. As Little Zhixia sniffled and shared it with Peleg, Peleg’s siblings arrived to pick him up, and they said goodbye, promising to see each other next week.
After they left, Little Zhixia bought another cotton candy and waited at the school gate.
He kicked a few pebbles and greeted the birds in the tree, then finally saw a tall, slender figure emerge.
“Xiao Ao gege!”
Little Zhixia held up the cotton candy.
Audrow, brushing some soot off his singed collar, took the cotton candy and asked, “Where’s the box?”
“Here.” Little Zhixia took out his pearl box from his backpack.
Audrow conjured a delicate, non-melting ice flower and placed it in the box.
A smile appeared on the dirty little face.
Little Zhixia looked up and asked, “Where are the bad ponies?”
“Getting their butts kicked, they’re crying.” Audrow replied casually, munching on his cotton candy, then took his hand, and they walked home together.
The Golden Ball, having heard about the incident at school, finished his work early, visited the Barrenlands, then returned home.
Little Zhixia’s bedroom was empty, the bed neatly made, untouched.
A light flashed, and a letter of apology and the repaired glass pieces appeared on the nightstand.
The Golden Ball bounced twice with satisfaction and floated towards the pool upstairs.
A clam shell floated on the water’s surface, a small figure wrapped in a blanket, drowsy from the soft singing.
Audrow stopped singing and gently nudged Little Zhixia as he sensed the warm light.
“Ball Ball?” Little Zhixia rubbed his eyes and muttered, “The essay assignment is so hard, can I do it tomorrow?”
The Golden Ball floated closer: “What essay?”
“My Future Self.” Little Zhixia grumbled, “Why did Mr. Lu assign this? I don’t know what I want to do in the future, or what this world needs me to do…”
The Golden Ball bounced into his arms, offering a suggestion, “It’s simple, in the future, I can give you a plane connection point to manage, you can run any kind of shop there.”
“Any kind?”
“Of course.”
“Even a nail salon?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Wow…”
Soft light filled his eyes, and Little Zhixia yawned, hugging the Golden Ball, “Then I want to grow up quickly.”
A low, gentle melody, filled with warmth, echoed in the quiet night.
The child in the clam shell murmured, “Good night, Xiao Ao gege,” then, “Good night, Ball Ball,” and drifted off to sleep.
They all knew that after many sweet dreams, that day would come.
