The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 187

Chapter 187

Shen Wen watched Xing Nuo sleep, his heart filled with a tender affection.

He stood up, the long robe rustling softly against the floor.

Leaving a small nightlight on for Xing Nuo, he quietly closed the door.

Outside, Wen Xingxue stood, his hand covering his eyes, his mouth slightly open, as if he had been crying.

He had been standing there for a while, listening, his heart melting.

Shen Wen, his arms crossed, chuckled softly.

“Been crying?”

Wen Xingxue lowered his hand, his eyes slightly red, and nodded, his pale face flushed.

“I feel like I’ve failed Xing Nuo. He knew everything, but he didn’t say anything, just kept it to himself.”

After Xing Nuo grew older, Wen Xingxue had been hesitant to appear, afraid of his questions.

There was so much he couldn’t explain.

“He could see me all along, but he pretended he couldn’t.”

He remembered Xing Nuo’s considerateness and felt a pang of guilt.

“He asked me about the horror world once, but he saw I didn’t want to talk about it, so he dropped the subject.”

He had wanted to protect Xing Nuo, but Xing Nuo had been protecting him.

Shen Wen was silent, then, seeing Wen Xingxue’s distress, he offered him a handkerchief.

“Here.”

Wen Xingxue took it, then pulled Shen Wen into a hug, his arms tightening around him, not letting go despite Shen Wen’s glare.

“I’m lucky too. I’ve survived all these years, and now I have a family. A wife and a son.”

Shen Wen’s ears turned red, and he elbowed Wen Xingxue sharply.

“Get off me! You don’t have a wife or a son.”

Wen Xingxue, used to Shen Wen’s violence, chuckled, unfazed.

“I do.”

He grinned, tilting his head, and took Shen Wen’s hand, placing it on his chest.

“Feel this? My heart races whenever I’m near you. That’s how much I love you.”

He had learned how to flirt, how to make Shen Wen blush, and he leaned closer.

Shen Wen pushed him away, snorted, and went downstairs.

Xing Nuo slept soundly.

The bed the butler had prepared was incredibly soft, and he slept until noon.

He woke up, still sleepy, but feeling safe and content.

He washed up, then went downstairs and saw both his dads in the living room.

Wen Xingxue was leaning against Shen Wen, their posture intimate, and Xing Nuo just smiled.

“Good afternoon.”

He sat down at the dining table, his chin resting on his hand.

Wen Xingxue ruffled his hair.

“Hungry? What do you want to eat?”

Xing Nuo nodded, rubbing his tummy.

“Hungry! Slept so long…tummy rumbling.”

Shen Wen told the butler to serve lunch, and the butler, glaring at Wen Xingxue, sighed and went to the kitchen.

Xing Nuo, seeing the butler’s disgruntled expression, giggled.

“Other Daddy, Butler Uncle doesn’t approve.”

Wen Xingxue, having fought the monster butler before, just snorted, his chin resting on his hand.

“I don’t care. I’m not dating him.”

Shen Wen, hearing his blunt words, glared at him and stepped on his foot.

Xing Nuo, pretending not to notice their interaction, called out mentally:

“Lu Qi, finished absorbing the energy?”

Lu Qi, having reconnected with Xing Nuo, had been constantly absorbing the accumulated energy.

He didn’t want to shut down again.

“Finished. Good afternoon, Xing Nuo.”

He greeted Xing Nuo, his mechanical voice almost shy.

Xing Nuo chuckled mentally.

“Good afternoon. How much more energy you need?”

Lu Qi seemed happy, his mechanical voice almost cheerful.

“Not how much I need…but how much I can absorb. My system is complex. Enough energy…I can do many things.”

Xing Nuo, eating his lunch, continued his mental conversation with Lu Qi.

“Like what? You have a good memory…know all the dungeons.”

Lu Qi replied: “Dungeons are energy fields. I’m more advanced. With enough energy, I can invade any dungeon.”

“I can learn their secrets, destroy their core monsters…with even more energy, I can convert their energy…make it mine.”

Xing Nuo, impressed, took a sip of his soup.

“You’re so powerful! Can you invade Daddy’s dungeon?”

Lu Qi paused, as if calculating.

“With enough energy, yes. But your daddy is high-level. I need more energy than him. A massive amount.”

Xing Nuo, deep in thought, slowly eating his soup, after a moment, said softly:

“Lu Qi, tell me about us. Our past.”

Lu Qi began a long story, so long that even after Xing Nuo returned to reality, it wasn’t finished.

Xing Nuo still had his monthly exams. Even if the world was ending, a student’s duty was to study.

He put on his beige hoodie and jeans, his backpack on, and rode his scooter to school.

An Zimuo, seeing him, called out:

“Xing Nuo!”

He ran over and hopped onto the back of the scooter before Xing Nuo could even stop.

“You’re back! I was so worried!”

Xing Nuo smiled and started the scooter.

“I’m fine.”

An Zimuo also smiled, eager to tell him about the train.

“After you left, we went to the front car…ready to blow up the driver’s cabin, but the train stopped…”

“So many monsters! We couldn’t even open the door!”

“But then, I dodged their attacks with a roll, then a sweeping kick…”

Xing Nuo chuckled, listening to his exaggerated story.

“You’re making that up.”

An Zimuo, scratching his head, his dark face flushing slightly, straightened his back.

“But I really did dodge them! Then I yelled at the players, ‘Don’t you have a key?!’ Then they used a prop…opened the door…and we blew it up!”

They had narrowly escaped.

Xing Nuo parked his scooter and gave him a thumbs-up.

“So cool! You’ve leveled up!”

Xing Nuo’s sincere compliments were always heartwarming.

An Zimuo, embarrassed, giggled, then remembered something.

“I saw your neighbor after! Uncle Qi! He’s a captain in the SIA!”

“I told him everything. He said he wants to thank you!”

Xing Nuo paused, then smiled.

“I see. But first…exams!”

An Zimuo’s face fell.

He followed Xing Nuo, his usual cheerful demeanor replaced by a gloomy resignation.

“Seriously, I feel like I spent a month on that train! I’ve forgotten everything!”

But despite his complaints, in the exam room, their muscle memory kicked in, and they quickly started working on the familiar problems.

Lu Qi, during the two days of exams, remained unusually quiet.

He wanted to help Xing Nuo cheat, but seeing his focused expression, his eyes bright with confidence, he felt a strange tremor in his circuits.

Just like that first time, years ago, captivated by Xing Nuo’s brilliance, he had thought he was malfunctioning.

Although it wasted energy, he still watched over Xing Nuo.

Xing Nuo, also aware of Lu Qi’s presence, after the exams, sipping his boba tea, his eyes sparkling, smiled and asked:

“Why were you watching me? Do you think I’m pretty, even by system standards?”

Lu Qi, not caring about other systems’ aesthetics, nodded instantly.

“Of course!”

He no longer had a physical body, but Xing Nuo could imagine his stiff face attempting a smile.

“Xing Nuo always pretty. I follow you…always watching.”

His mechanical voice, uttering such sentimental words, made Xing Nuo shudder slightly.

He chuckled and walked home with An Zimuo.