Chapter 34: The Mocking Smile Part 1

The fantasy creatures were crying as they wrote their self-criticism essays. They were only at a junior high level, barely able to scrape together eight hundred words for a composition.

A ten-thousand-word essay… How could the Commander-in-Chief be so cruel?

Huangfu Yuan wiped away a tear and looked up at the Tyrannosaurus Rex holding a small teaching whip. The Commander-in-Chief had just passed by his seat. Huangfu Yuan made a funny face at him, and the moment he saw Tao Fangyi about to turn around, he quickly lowered his head and pretended to be writing furiously.

Feeling a bit guilty, he cautiously raised his head again to observe Tao Fangyi’s expression. That one look terrified him.

Tao Fangyi was fine; he was just checking their handwriting. But Wang was facing his direction.

Wang’s entire face had only a mouth as a sensory organ, and he mouthed at him: “I saw you~”

Huangfu Yuan was scared stiff.

Wang walked over to Huangfu Yuan.

Tao Fangyi turned his head to look at Wang, not understanding what he was up to.

“I’ll help you watch them,” Wang said.

“Thank you!” Tao Fangyi’s two front claws simultaneously grasped the teaching whip. He felt Wang was becoming more and more like a good child.

Wang shrank his body down and came to Huangfu Yuan’s side.

Huangfu Yuan was trembling, afraid that Wang would report him.

“I can understand you,” Wang said to him.

Huangfu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief at those words. Wang could understand his dislike for the Dean of Students. After all, Wang was a kid Tao Fangyi had picked up; he might have been punished by Tao Fangyi too.

“Sometimes, I don’t know why, but as soon as I see Tao Fangyi looking all serious, I just want to provoke him.” Wang himself was also troubled.

Huangfu Yuan: ?

Why provoke the Dean of Students? Wasn’t that just asking for trouble? Normally, shouldn’t you just steer clear of Tao Fangyi when you see him?

“Hey, I don’t mind if he makes me write a self-criticism essay,” Wang said quietly, propping his head on his hand.

Wang’s handwriting was quite beautiful, though of course it couldn’t compare to Tao Fangyi, a Senior who had been practicing for who knows how many years.

If Tao Fangyi made him write a ten-thousand-word essay, he’d be more than happy to tease Tao Fangyi in it, and he wouldn’t care even if Tao Fangyi punished him by making him write another ten thousand words.

Huangfu Yuan was so shocked his mouth fell slightly open.

“Your handwriting isn’t good.” Wang tapped the paper in front of him.

Their writing was very, very small; only by shrinking themselves could they see it clearly.

These fantasy creatures weren’t large to begin with, and their paper and pens were miniature, taken out by Tao Fangyi from his briefcase.

Wang always felt that Tao Fangyi’s briefcase contained everything.

He took Huangfu Yuan’s paper and examined it: “You always link your strokes, and the linking is ugly, crooked and twisted. It’s ugly in a rather distinctive way.”

Huangfu Yuan: …

He was the fantasy of a junior high student. That student already had a lot of homework back then, and at the time, his creator hadn’t started practicing calligraphy. His handwriting was exactly the same as Liu Wen’s at that age.

“What’s the matter?” Tao Fangyi noticed Wang’s movement and came over to ask.

“The handwriting isn’t good,” Wang said. “Can’t compare to kids from our time.”

“Not really.” Tao Fangyi thought it was understandable for kids this age to have poor handwriting. “Back in my day, including your childhood, few people could read. Families who could afford a tutor to educate their children were extraordinary. You can’t compare them to today’s kids.”

“Fair enough,” Wang nodded.

Tao Fangyi was relieved. Wang had finally stopped casually belittling modern kids. Tao Fangyi felt Wang’s hostility had lessened a lot.

Wang looked at the ugly handwriting again and said, “How about I teach them calligraphy?”

The fantasy creatures gnawing on their pens looked up at Wang, desperation in their eyes.

A ten-thousand-word essay, and now calligraphy practice?

Tao Fangyi thought that wasn’t a good idea; it would give Wang too much work.

Hardly any of these fantasy creatures had good handwriting. Their character structures were all crooked and twisted. If Wang had to correct each one individually, how could that be manageable?

But Wang still wanted to help: “These words mean nothing to me. I’ll copy out everything they write, and then have them rewrite it following my copy.”

The fantasy creatures were terrified, some hands trembling.

Wang continued, “Give me a few pieces of scratch paper. They might not be able to write nicely in one go. For characters they’re unsure of, they’ll practice on scratch paper.”

So how long would it take to finish this ten-thousand-word essay?

If one character took that long to practice, how long would ten thousand take?

The fantasy creatures’ expressions grew even more despairing.

The resentment born from their creators’ growth vanished completely, leaving only fear for their own future.

Tao Fangyi didn’t see any problem. He thought calligraphy practice was a good thing, calming the mind and cultivating the spirit.

Besides, Wang definitely wanted to help him.

“You’re such a good kid!” Tao Fangyi’s front claws gripped the teaching whip tightly.

“Is that so~” Wang tilted his head.

Tao Fangyi nodded repeatedly: “A very, very good child!” The speed at which Wang was learning goodness exceeded his imagination.

Wang squatted down and pointed to the top of his head.

Tao Fangyi didn’t understand: “Do you want me to stand on it?” He thought Wang wanted him to stand at a higher vantage point to supervise the fantasy creatures, but his current dinosaur body was inconvenient for climbing.

“No…” Even though he was used to Tao Fangyi’s train of thought, Wang was often exasperated by his words. “Since you praised me as a good child, you have to give me a reward.”

“Allowance? Sure. I have quite a lot in savings. How much do you want?” Tao Fangyi was generous.

“It’s not about money!” Wang continued pointing at his head.

Sometimes Tao Fangyi’s response strategy was especially pragmatic.

Tao Fangyi took two seconds to react, then suddenly understood: “You want to be patted on the head?”

Wang had already squatted down. This time, he knelt on one knee, tilting his head slightly in Tao Fangyi’s direction.

He really liked Tao Fangyi’s touch, so every day he insisted on pretending to be asleep, waiting for Tao Fangyi to carry him onto the mattress.

Right now, Tao Fangyi only had two short claws. Wang was a bit dissatisfied, but he could accept it if the other petted him longer.

Suddenly, Wang felt a brief palpitation.

Before he could react, two slender hands stroked the top of his head.

Wang could feel the texture of leather.

Tao Fangyi had activated a barrier just to pet him?!

Wang froze, and those two slender hands scratched at his head, almost scratching his soul out.

Wang subconsciously tilted his head back, and the two hands then slid down his cheeks to his chin.

Tao Fangyi kept scratching.

“Mm!” Wang staggered.

He was already kneeling on one knee, leaning forward with an unsteady center of gravity. Tao Fangyi’s petting made him fall completely.

But he didn’t hit the ground; Tao Fangyi caught him swiftly, then let Wang rest his head on his lap.

Sitting on the ground, Tao Fangyi was now a bit afraid to continue petting. Wang’s reaction was so exaggerated; he seemed to still be trembling.

But after lying on his lap for a while, Wang looked up at him and asked, “Is it over?”

Could it continue?

Tao Fangyi tentatively extended his hand again, and Wang naturally leaned his face in, slowly placing it in Tao Fangyi’s palm.

It was somewhat inexplicable.

Tao Fangyi found this child increasingly cute. He vaguely realized Wang was very abnormal, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was strange.

He felt that even if he choked Wang now, Wang would just laugh merrily.

This child was inexplicably clingy to him. Clearly, Wang had been forcibly bound to his side, yet Wang always liked to stare at him.

This dependency might not be normal.

As he thought this, Tao Fangyi stroked Wang’s smooth face, one hand ruffling his hair while the other slid down his cheek, following the muscle texture, finally reaching his belly.

Wang’s belly was flat. The moment Tao Fangyi touched it, he felt Wang’s rectus abdominis contract, then after a tense moment, Wang slowly relaxed.

He spread his body out into a starfish pose, letting Tao Fangyi touch him freely, seemingly quite happy himself.

Wang’s face had long since turned red, and he kept emitting inexplicable gasping sounds from his throat.

In his spare time, Tao Fangyi would scroll through videos. He’d seen people raising cats; cats liked being scratched under the chin.

Some cats could also accept belly rubs; when you slid your hand down, the cat’s legs would tuck up.

Tao Fangyi sneakily slid his hand down, and sure enough, Wang’s legs drew together and lifted slightly.

Huh?!

Tao Fangyi withdrew his hand.

He continued scratching Wang’s head and belly.

As he scratched, Tao Fangyi suddenly thought of his teaching whip and his old little stick.

In the past, Tao Fangyi liked to stuff everything into his cauldron.

Now he kind of wanted to stuff Wang into his briefcase.

Was it normal to have such a thought?

Tao Fangyi knew he wasn’t human, and his thoughts could sometimes seem strange or even scary to humans.

So Tao Fangyi directly asked Wang, “Do you think my thought of stuffing you into my briefcase is normal?”

Wang, whose long tongue was almost lolling out, thought hard for a moment: “It’s a bit weird, but probably normal.”

“Is that so?” Tao Fangyi breathed a sigh of relief.

When Tao Fangyi was a wooden cauldron, he would sneak out at night into the wild to pick up little stones and such. He didn’t know why he picked them up, but whenever he saw them, he’d stash them in the cauldron.

Later, when he was a wooden doll, he also loved picking up things by the roadside.

Although the successive Puppet Masters always told him that what he’d picked belonged to others—that he’d have to compensate them.

Back then, Tao Fangyi didn’t understand why chickens, ducks, and big winter melons found by the road belonged to others when they weren’t inside anyone’s house.

But those Puppet Masters never really held it against him; they’d usually buy whatever he’d picked up with money.

The Puppet Master couples married cousins for many generations, which meant Tao Fangyi had watched them grow up, and he had appeared when they were very young.

So no one ever restricted Tao Fangyi’s picking-up habit.

In fact, they wouldn’t eat the live creatures he picked up; they’d help him raise them.