Chapter 63: Head Wolf

Time was a bird, flapping its wings and flying through early summer. In the blink of an eye, it had been nearly a month since Li Ao started school.

“After work today, I’m going to a gathering, so someone else will pick you up from kindergarten,” the robot said as it slung the backpack onto the cat’s back, then reminded him, “If your classmates offer you candy, what should you do?”

The bucktoothed little cat, who had ultimately failed to protect his teeth, nodded obediently. This time, he truly knew to behave. “I can’t eat it. It’ll knock out my teeth.”

The robot, which had always enforced strict education, felt a little unaccustomed seeing this stubborn little cat so compliant. It paused for a second before saying, “One or two pieces should be fine.”

“Then I still won’t eat it,” the little cat replied. Upon hearing this, he showed no joy on his face. Instead, he looked troubled as he tugged at Xun’s hand and swayed into the kindergarten.

“?” The robot was puzzled. It didn’t think the short-legged cat was being bullied. But after a moment’s thought, it still felt something was off, so it went to ask Li Ao’s class teacher.

Yang Liuyi had originally thought this job would be tricky.

After all, these were Delphi children’s cubs. The rumors said they were all born warriors with fierce personalities, explosive combat power—one cry could shake down the ceiling, and when they fought, it was like calves charging at each other.

But after spending some real time with them, she discovered that not only were these Delphi cubs easy to manage, they were ridiculously easy.

To be precise, as long as she managed that one little cat well, she could manage the whole group.

As long as that little cat behaved, the other kids turned into perfectly tuned clones, automatically switching to execution mode—lining up, staying quiet, raising hands to speak, neat as a military parade.

The classic head wolf effect.

With her rich professional experience, Yang Liuyi wasn’t unfamiliar with this phenomenon. After all, in human society—from kindergartens to universities, from small teams to large organizations—the leader’s influence in shaping and driving group dynamics was everywhere.

But the leaders she’d encountered were all proactive. They craved control, attention; some even subconsciously vied for authority to gain a sense of existence and followers.

She had never met a child like Li Ao.

He didn’t issue commands, didn’t rush ahead, didn’t deliberately draw eyes to himself. He just sat there quietly, focused on his own tasks.

Yet magically, the children watched him, waited for him, orbited him.

Yang Liuyi looked at the robot before her, still feeling a bit uneasy. She was well-educated and knew a great deal about the history of mechanical wars. The more she knew, the harder it was for her to treat it calmly.

“There are too many kids who want to give Li Ao candy. If he doesn’t eat any, that’s fine. But if he picks and chooses a few, the ones not selected will immediately start fighting.”

“…” The robot fell silent upon hearing the teacher’s answer. This short-legged kitten was a cat—how was he acting like some kingdom-toppling vixen?

The short-legged vixen kitten was studying.

Though he had started school late, he had been taught by the robot after all. Among a group of kids who favored martial over literary pursuits, he was already top-notch.

“The weather today is so good.” → This was the bucktoothed little cat.

“The weather today is so good.” → This was the bucktoothed one’s little followers echoing him.

Li Ao was clearly reading to himself, but every time he recited a line, the others followed suit. The little cat turned back in confusion to look, and the kids who had been staring intently at him now knew to duck their heads and pretend they weren’t.

Li Ao didn’t notice anything amiss and turned back, resting his paws on his book as he continued, “Of the south sky.”

“Of the south sky.”

Yang Liuyi, who had just walked in, nearly got so startled by this gaggle of l-and-n-mangling cubs that she backed right out.

“Kids, we’re playing games today~” Yang Liuyi smiled and closed the little cat’s book.

These Delphi folks who didn’t understand proper education—this was kindergarten, not some elementary prep class. Why learn so early!

The little cat realized his classmates were following him as he read. He didn’t feel embarrassed or offended; instead, he inexplicably felt a sense of responsibility, thinking he had to read properly and not lead them astray.

Especially when he focused on speaking clearly, his pace naturally slowed. Li Ao enunciated carefully, word by word: “Today, no, class?”

Yang Liuyi was an outsider; she couldn’t understand the Delphi people’s mindless fanaticism for the royal Regalis. But setting that aside, she still found this little guy adorable.

Who could resist a fragrant, soft, fluffy little cat? Not her, anyway. She wanted to pet him, but this was Delphi’s Highness—she wouldn’t dare even if given the courage.

“Yes~ Today we’ll learn movement and sensory integration development, okay?”

What was that? Fierce Cat didn’t understand, but Fierce Cat respected his teacher and nodded obediently. “Okay, Little Yang Mouse.”

“Okay, Little Yang Mouse!” came the neat, unified response.

Having lived this many years and successfully demoted from human to mouse, Little Yang Teacher smiled and led the oblivious little head wolf to the playground.

This group of kids was easy to manage but hard to teach.

Teaching life habits? They were more disciplined than adults.

Teaching social skills? Apart from “vying for favor,” they were of one mind.

Teaching logical thinking? None had clearer cognition than them.

At this rate, Yang Liuyi might really lose her job. Fortunately, this group’s artistic talent was practically zero—and their little head wolf was a kid who absolutely loved art.

After twisting their butts on the playground for a bit and chasing balls up and down for a good while, Li Ao got tired. He lay on the ground panting, tongue out, and casually scribbled with a crayon.

A bunch of little human-shaped guys mimicked His Highness, sprawling on the ground around the cat, not even out of breath or flushed, as they doodled on white paper.

“Everyone pair up and draw your partner~” The teachers offered some drawing tips, but not much—mostly letting the kids develop freely.

“Xun!” The little cat drew a pitch-black fluffy ball with little wings and excitedly handed it to the little dog to see.

“Nice.” Xun genuinely thought it looked great—very much like himself.

“Let me see yours.” He craned his neck to peek at Xun’s paper. When he saw the colorful, lively little cat on it, he froze.

Fierce Cat looked down at his own drawing, then up at Xun’s. He compared his paws to Xun’s…

Something was wrong…

They were clearly the same length, so why did Xun’s look so much better? Even if the little cat’s aesthetics weren’t fully formed, he could clearly tell the difference in skill.

Fierce Cat eyed it suspiciously… then picked up the crayon and drew a twisty, mangled person. “I also drew Xixi.”

After finishing, he looked again and saw that Xun had this time half-assed a matchstick figure with a golden line for hair. The little cat regained his confidence and solemnly told him, “No, Xixi’s hair is very long.”

The little monster couldn’t be bothered to draw Isiris, but he was clearly happy to be instructed by the little cat, so he naturally stuck to Li Ao’s side and handed over his drawing like submitting homework for the teacher to grade, letting him modify it.

Li Ao didn’t mind the trouble. He picked up the crayon and earnestly added wings, a cape, and sparkling eyes to the matchstick figure.

As Yang Liuyi passed by, she was first drawn to Xun’s little cat—those lines, that expression, even the light and shadow handled vividly, nothing like a child’s work.

Then her gaze shifted to the “matchstick masterpiece” beside it.

“…” The contrast was like a fully furnished luxury show unit next to a bunch of raw concrete pillars still wet from the pour.

“Little Yang Teacher.” Li Ao handed his two drawings to her. “I’m done.”

His blue eyes sparkled. Yang Liuyi already knew what he was waiting for. She crouched down and praised, “Li Ao drew so well—you get a little red flower.”

She didn’t need to coax many kids because they didn’t need it. She just needed to coax this one, and the others would beam with pride as if it were their own achievement.

This was a magical country. Its people were loyal to their leaders to the point of fanatic devotion, nearly like believers.

She sometimes worried if this little cat would be crushed by such near-oppressive following. Even in kindergarten, many activities had winners, and the little cat wasn’t first most of the time.

Like running. You couldn’t expect a little guy under 30 cm standing height to compete with a bunch of superhumanly fit kids.

But he tried hard. Even if he fell, he’d get right back up and keep running behind everyone.

He was clever too—spreading his wings and flapping hard for thrust.

And he never felt the slightest discouragement or loss of face from defeat. This was incredibly rare, almost impossible.

Head wolves were supposed to be competitive, eager for victory—that came with the territory.

But this little cat was different. He accepted his shortcomings calmly and excelled in his strengths.

He was the empire’s future monarch, yet unlike any past leader. Even at such a young age, Yang Liuyi had been conquered by his personal charm.

Polite, knowing boundaries, generous and magnanimous, treating people and lives equally.

“I’m poisoned…” Watching the little cat’s back, she couldn’t help muttering, “How is he so tiny but already so cool in everything he does?”

The little cat had no idea that he had already captured Teacher Xiao Yang’s heart. He pulled the little dog along—it was time to head home after school.

“I don’ know who’s coming to pick me up.” When alone with Xun, he stopped holding back his speech, chattering freely and casually. “Xixi went out—is it Bunana coming?”

“Baby.” The voice was gorgeous and retro in tone, low and magnetic, laced with a lazy hint of amusement.

The little cat’s eyes lit up in an instant. His round cat pupils reflected the figure at the door, as if he couldn’t quite believe it, his big tail freezing in place.

Golden, tousled short hair shimmered brilliantly in the light. His brows and eyes were sharply defined, his azure blue eyes as clear as the sea—handsome like a noble straight out of a classical oil painting.

“Susu~” Li Ao’s big tail shot straight up as he pounced toward Zane. “Your leggies—they’re better now?”

Zane strode forward on those long legs, bent down, and scooped the cat into his arms, planting a fierce kiss. “Yes, all thanks to our little cat. Does baby miss Susu?”

Zane was the picture of noble grace—affectionate and flirtatious. A few sweet words from him were enough to leave the cat all muddled, babbling nonstop in his arms while showing off his little red flower.

“Didn’t baby draw Susu?” Zane smiled as he hoisted that black furball into his arms too. Compared to his cold older brother, his attitude toward Xun was clearly much warmer.

“I-I forgot.” The little cat scratched his head. Before he could say he’d draw Susu next time, another clear voice rang out, tinged with indignation. “Zane, you didn’t wait for me! We agreed to pick up the cat together!”

Li Ao looked up to see that the person stepping down from the starship was little uncle Lian, someone he’d met a few times before.

“Good afternoon, Leo. Wanna go for a big feast? All the vegetables you planted have ripened.” There was also Aunt Reniya, cradling a little white lion cub and smiling with gentle beauty.

The little cat’s aunt and uncles had finally returned home on the eve of the tomato bumper harvest.