The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 50

Chapter 50

Xing Nuo, having thoroughly enjoyed the slide after five or six rides, his light-colored curls tousled by the wind, looked quite disheveled.

He noticed his third-floor uncle, the one who always made him cry, still surrounded by the children, and, giggling, ran over.

The children were still chattering and yelling, “Bad Uncle!”

“Hiya! Take this!”

The neighbor, unable to move, his forehead covered in sweat, pleaded with them.

“Hey, I’m really not a bad guy!”

“He not bad man,” Xing Nuo’s soft voice sounded, rescuing Qi Yao.

“He my neighbor uncle,” Xing Nuo explained obediently.

The chubby boy, who had been hitting Qi Yao the hardest, stopped and glared at Xing Nuo.

“Your neighbor uncle is a big bad guy!”

A brave little girl stepped forward, shielding Xing Nuo, and patted her chest.

“Don’t worry, Xing Nuo! Don’t be afraid of the bad uncle! Big sister will protect you!”

She took Xing Nuo’s arm and made him an offer.

“I’ll protect you today, so come home with me tonight, okay?”

She adored the cute and delicate Xing Nuo and wanted to take him home, sneak him into her mommy’s tummy, and make him her real little brother!

Xing Nuo shook his head vigorously and ran away.

“No. Zaizai go home with Daddy.”

The chubby boy added fuel to the fire. “Ooh! Xing Nuo ignoring you! He doesn’t like you! Hahaha!”

The little girl, her hands on her hips, her little brow furrowed, her face red with anger, yelled:

“Xing Nuo hates you the most! Chubby, bleh!”

As the little girl and the chubby boy argued, Xing Nuo, caught in the middle, got sprayed with their saliva.

He wiped his face, turned to tell the little girl not to be angry, then quickly interrupted the chubby boy, telling him not to say such things, his curls bouncing, his forehead covered in sweat.

The other children joined in the commotion, circling the arguing pair, yelling and cheering.

Qi Yao, finally free, watched Xing Nuo, busy trying to mediate, and chuckled.

The little neighbor is quite popular with the kids!

He hadn’t forgotten his mission. Seeing no one paying attention to him, he quickly made his way to the classroom with his detector.

A faint residual energy from the dungeon lingered in Xing Nuo’s classroom.

The detector beeped continuously as Qi Yao carefully circled the room.

There’s no anomaly here?

Did I arrive too late?

As he was pondering this, Teacher Xiao Song arrived, carrying a stack of books. Seeing Qi Yao snooping around, she screamed.

“Security! Someone call security! There’s a thief!”

Under the scorching summer sun, the asphalt shimmered in the heat.

Shen Wen, holding a star-printed parasol, waited for Xing Nuo at the kindergarten gate.

Xing Nuo emerged, looking listless, followed by two crying children.

Shen Wen paused, crouched down, and shielded Xing Nuo from the sun with the parasol.

“What happened?”

Xing Nuo, his face smudged with dirt, scratched his cheek.

“I don’t know.”

The two children, who had been arguing by the slide, had somehow started crying and were now following Xing Nuo, refusing to leave.

The little girl even tried to pull Xing Nuo’s arm, wiping her tears.

“Mommy, I want Xing Nuo to be my little brother! Can he come home with us?”

She wailed, and the chubby boy, seeing the adults’ attention on the little girl, started crying even louder.

The little girl’s mother hurried over, embarrassed, and pulled her daughter away.

“I’m so sorry for the trouble.”

She smacked her daughter’s head.

“Be quiet! How can someone else’s child be your brother?!”

The little girl, still crying, sat down on the ground, her legs crossed, hiccuping.

“No! I want Xing Nuo to be my brother!”

Her mother, exasperated, said, “Don’t we already have a little brother at home?”

The little girl cried even louder.

“My brother is ugly! And he poops all the time! He’s stinky!”

Her mother’s face turned red with embarrassment. She smiled apologetically at the others and pulled her daughter aside.

“Stop embarrassing yourself! Your brother is only a few months old! He hasn’t grown into his looks yet. He’ll be handsome when he’s older.”

The little girl looked up, her face still tear-streaked.

“Really? He’ll be as handsome as Xing Nuo?”

Her mother, exasperated by her daughter’s obsession with looks, gritted her teeth and nodded, lying through her teeth.

“Of course!”

Of course not!

Xing Nuo looked like a doll, his hair not even the usual black, but a light, unusual golden color, curly, making him look like a real-life doll.

The little girl’s mother knew her own genes weren’t that good, judging by her daughter’s ordinary appearance, but to avoid further embarrassment, she had to lie.

“Just wait and see. Your brother is getting more and more handsome every day.”

The little girl, still slightly doubtful, was dragged away by her mother. She looked back at Xing Nuo and waved.

“Bye, Xing Nuo! See you tomorrow!”

Xing Nuo, wiping his face with his dad’s handkerchief, looked up and hummed, his eyes curving into a sweet smile.

Shen Baizhou, having finished school early, arrived, his brow furrowed, and picked up Xing Nuo.

“What is she talking about? How can Xing Nuo be her brother?”

He snorted, his face filled with displeasure.

Looking down at the sweet, obedient Xing Nuo in his arms, his expression softened, and he pinched his cheek.

“Xing Nuo is my little brother.”

Shen Wen, ignoring Shen Baizhou’s smug grin, took Xing Nuo and said:

“No need to buy takeout today. I’ll cook you a delicious meal.”

Shen Baizhou froze, then slowly turned to Shen Wen.

“Um, that’s not necessary…”

He thought of his 11-point physics test. Did Shen Wen already know? Is that why he’s offering to cook a dark cuisine lunch to poison me?

That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?

Shen Baizhou, feeling guilty, followed Shen Wen, his head down, trying to figure out how to avoid this lunch.

Xing Nuo, being carried by his dad, fidgeted, his head bobbing like a little sunflower.

“Yay! Daddy make yummy food!”

Shen Wen’s lips curved into a gentle smile, and he pinched Xing Nuo’s nose.

“It’ll be delicious. I watched a tutorial video and practiced all morning.”

Xing Nuo nuzzled his dad’s neck with his curls, his little legs swinging happily.

“Yay! Zaizai eat all!”

Shen Baizhou, looking at his cheerful little brother, his lips dry, imagined Xing Nuo pale and sick in a hospital bed, poisoned by the food.

And he himself would be a cold, dead octopus.

He shuddered, his mind racing, a sudden spark of intelligence igniting, and quickly sent a text message to Shen Yan.

The three of them reached their apartment building.

Xing Nuo, seeing his third-floor neighbor, waved.

“Uncle, Zaizai finished school~”

No more kindergarten this afternoon! Zaizai stay home with Daddy!

Qi Yao, who had almost been arrested at the kindergarten as a thief, his clothes wrinkled and dirty, having found no trace of the anomaly after discussing it with his team, had returned home, defeated.

Hearing the little neighbor bragging about not having to go to school in the afternoon, Qi Yao grinned, revealing his white teeth.

“You think you’re happy now, little guy? You have twenty more years of school ahead of you! You’ll be attending cram school even on weekends, and you won’t even see your dad!”

Xing Nuo’s smile faltered, his eyes widening in shock.

What scary thing did Uncle just say?

Doesn’t Zaizai graduate after kindergarten and become a grown-up?

The thought of having to go to school every day made his eyes well up with tears.

“Waaah, Daddy, is Uncle telling the twuth?”

He turned to his dad, his face tear-streaked, seeking confirmation.

Shen Wen glared at Qi Yao and patted Xing Nuo’s head, his voice soothing.

“Don’t cry. Daddy will make you some steamed egg custard later, okay?”

Qi Yao, embarrassed for making the little one cry, quickly slipped away.

Xing Nuo, distracted by the promise of egg custard, wiped his tears and nodded.

“Okay. Zaizai wuv egg custard.”

Shen Wen chuckled. There’s nothing you don’t like to eat.

Raising a child who wasn’t a picky eater, watching him enjoy his food, brought a strange sense of satisfaction and pride.

He carried Xing Nuo, who was still slightly upset, upstairs, continuing to distract him.

“The storybook Daddy promised to buy for Xing Nuo is already on your nightstand. Daddy will read it to you after dinner, okay?”

Xing Nuo’s eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.

“Okay! Teacher told stowy today too! ‘Bout Little Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf!”

Before he could start retelling the story, the door opened, and Shen Yan emerged.

“Father, Xing Nuo,” he greeted them.

Seeing Shen Yan, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, Xing Nuo, his earlier excitement replaced by shyness, mumbled:

“Big Brother?”

Shen Yan smiled and ruffled Xing Nuo’s hair, then took the basket of vegetables from Shen Wen.

Looking at the vegetables, he said, his expression slightly regretful:

“You bought groceries? What a coincidence. I’ve already had the chef prepare lunch.”