The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 125

Chapter 125

Xing Nuo, surrounded by the players, his little cape fluttering in the breeze, his bumblebee antennae bobbing, tilted his head, his eyes filled with confusion.

“Why not? Defeating monsters…hard?”

Xing Nuo had defeated many monsters: the lizard monster and the bubble monsters at home when he was three or four, and the shadow monster that stole things from the kindergarten lockers.

He had always considered himself quite strong. If he fought a monster, he would definitely win!

The players, stunned by his nonchalant attitude, exchanged glances, then exclaimed:

“No way! You’re that powerful?!”

Defeating an SSS+ level monster with a toy wooden sword?!

How was that even possible?!

Lu Qi, Xing Nuo’s biggest fan, squeezed through the crowd, his eyes, flashing with blue light, filled with pride.

“You’re just too weak. Xing Nuo is very strong!”

The players, coughing up blood, questioned their own existence.

A system notification sounded:

[Congratulations! You have successfully avoided the SSS+ level monster’s attack and defeated the core dungeon monster! Dungeon cleared!]

The players realized that the slippery shadow monster had been the core monster of the auditorium dungeon!

But the system hadn’t identified the arsonist. With the core monster dead, the dungeon would be permanently closed.

They would never know the truth about the fire.

The players, each swallowing a healing pill, their forms becoming translucent, waved at the small, unassuming child in the bumblebee costume, whose power was clearly beyond their comprehension.

“Bye, Little Bumblebee!”

“Hope to see you again someday!”

Xing Nuo, watching them disappear, ran towards the spot where they had been standing, reaching out, but his hand grasped only air.

“They disappeared? Where they go?”

He turned to Lu Qi, who seemed to know everything.

Lu Qi patiently explained:

“They’re ‘players.’ They come to this world to complete missions. Now that core monster dead…they returned to Central City.”

This short explanation contained too many words Xing Nuo didn’t understand.

He repeated the sentence, but it still didn’t make sense.

Lu Qi’s blue eyes faded, his dark pupils now dull and lifeless, and he touched Xing Nuo’s antenna.

“It’s okay. Xing Nuo still small. When you grow up…you’ll understand.”

Xing Nuo hummed and nodded.

“Okay. Lu Qi, we find way back…”

Before he could finish, a man in a long trench coat walked towards them from the direction the black monster had disappeared.

Shen Yan, his gray eyes usually cold and distant, now filled with warmth, his voice low and serious, said:

“Xing Nuo.”

Xing Nuo turned, his eyes widening in surprise, then filling with tears, and he ran towards his brother.

“Big Brother!”

He threw himself into Shen Yan’s arms, his dirty face smearing soot on his brother’s white shirt collar.

Shen Yan didn’t mind. He gently wiped Xing Nuo’s face, his voice soft.

“Did you wait long? Big Brother was a bit late.”

Xing Nuo sniffled, burying his face in his brother’s chest, and shook his head, his voice thick with relief.

“No. I just scared…Big Brother really died.”

Although he had tried to convince himself that the fire was fake, just an illusion,

he had still been worried and scared, the fear lingering in the back of his mind.

Now, seeing his brother alive and well, his worry vanished, replaced by pure joy.

Shen Yan ruffled Xing Nuo’s bumblebee hood, flicking his antennae playfully, and chuckled.

“Let’s go home.”

He then glanced at Lu Qi, who was standing motionless in the distance.

Lu Qi, looking at Xing Nuo in Shen Yan’s arms, didn’t say anything, just turned and walked away.

Shen Yan, not bothering with the weak little thing, covered Xing Nuo’s eyes and, with a surge of power, broke through the dimensional barrier, returning to the backstage area of the school auditorium.

Xing Nuo’s mind went blank for a moment, then he looked up and saw his teacher hurrying towards him.

“Xing Nuo? Why did you go to the restroom all the way over there?”

The teacher, holding a bottle of medicine, took Xing Nuo’s hand and led him back to the waiting area.

“Let’s go. I got the medicine. I’ll put some on your forehead.”

Xing Nuo remembered bumping heads with another child during the performance, leaving a red mark on his forehead.

He touched his forehead, which didn’t hurt anymore, looked at the teacher, and said:

“Teacher, I no owie!”

He then grabbed his wooden sword and, ignoring the teacher calling his name, ran back to the backstage area.

The cheerful singing of the children performing could be heard from the other side of the curtain.

Xing Nuo crawled under the curtain and peeked out, looking at the audience.

The parents were laughing and clapping, their cameras flashing.

Near the front, he saw Shen Yan, wiping his camera lens.

Shen Yan, as if sensing his gaze, looked up and saw the little bumblebee head peeking out from under the curtain.

He smiled and took a picture of Xing Nuo.

Xing Nuo’s eyes sparkled, and he smiled shyly, his antennae twitching.

Seeing that his brother had seen him, the strange unease that had been plaguing him vanished.

The teacher arrived and pulled him away.

Xing Nuo changed out of his bumblebee costume, put on his thick winter coat and hat,

and, his appearance back to normal, followed the teacher to the seating area and sat down quietly to watch the rest of the performances.

An Zimuo, sitting next to him, not having participated in any performances, offered him a bag of chips.

“Xing Nuo, eat! I didn’t share these with anyone!”

Xing Nuo thanked him, took a couple of chips, and mumbled, “Yummy.”

An Zimuo, beaming, practically shoved the bag into Xing Nuo’s arms.

“My daddy bwought these! I saved them for today!”

He then excitedly praised Xing Nuo’s performance.

“Your bumblebee was the cutest! The others just looked like fat, yellow bees!”

Xing Nuo smiled shyly and, swinging his little legs, occasionally glanced towards the parents’ section.

Seeing Shen Yan, taller than the other parents, he smiled, feeling a sense of peace and security.

By the end of the party, Xing Nuo and the other younger children were asleep in their seats.

Shen Yan walked over, took off his jacket, wrapped the sleeping Xing Nuo in it, and carried him out.

Xing Nuo woke up briefly,

saw his brother’s familiar face, giggled, and then fell asleep again, not knowing when they reached home.

He woke up the next morning to the sound of his alarm clock.

He sat up and quickly climbed out of bed.

“Late!”

He ran out of his room in his slippers and bumped into Shen Baizhou.

Shen Baizhou caught him before he could fall, his eyelids lifting slightly, and carried him to the balcony, where snowflakes were falling.

“What’s the rush? Forgot it’s a holiday today?”

Xing Nuo, his sleepy mind slowly catching up, realized his mistake.

“Oh, wight. Today holiday!”

No school! He cheered up, jumped down from his brother’s arms, and tried to catch the snowflakes.

“Snow so pwetty…and cold.”

Shen Wen, in his pajamas, brought Xing Nuo his gloves.

“Forgot what happened last year? Your hands got so swollen. No touching snow this year.”

Last year, Xing Nuo’s hands had swollen up like little steamed buns, itchy and uncomfortable, and he had kept scratching them.

Shen Wen, unable to bear it, had had him soak his hands in the blood pool in the castle basement to heal them.

This year, they had to take precautions.

Xing Nuo’s eyes crinkled into a smile, and he clapped his gloved hands together, the fluffy mittens making a soft poof sound.

“I know!”

He then ran downstairs with the other children from the complex to build a snowman in the garden.

The snow had fallen all night, covering the complex in a thick, white blanket, the bare tree branches coated in ice.

Xing Nuo’s shoes weren’t very good for walking on snow and ice, and he slipped with every step.

He carefully made his way to the garden, then, relieved to have reached the snow-covered playground, ran to join the other children.