Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
The chaos in the Second Ministry of War came to an end, and in no time, the entire Second Ministry of War was completely subdued by the young man.
Su Xi’s side quest “Winning over the hearts of the Second Department of War” had also been completed, and 2 more points had been added.
Su Xi hadn’t decided which area to unlock with the new points yet, so she was excitedly saving them for now.
In addition to his position in the Second Ministry of War, the cub also had to continue his studies at the Imperial Academy.
Scholar Shangguan had been imprisoned, and the cub continued to leisurely study at the Imperial Academy.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the child, who was very eager for knowledge, read a lot of books in the library, reading day and night.
Several times, before Su Xi logged off, she would tug at his sleeve and urge him to go back to sleep, and he would agree. But after Su Xi disappeared, he would turn around and go back.
And when Su Xi logged back in the next day, she would find that her son was asleep in the library again.
Seeing her son hastily laid out a mat on the ground, asleep in his casual clothes, with a book still in his hand, she was furious.
What to do when your child loves studying too much?! Even their chubby cheeks have gotten thinner from studying so much!
Su Xi couldn’t bear to disturb the cub. Anyway, the cub was already the second-in-command at the government office, so being a little late wouldn’t matter. So she exchanged a sheepskin blanket from the mall and quietly prepared to cover the small clump on the ground.
After closing the book, Su Xi painstakingly took the copy of “The Way to Govern a Country” from the cub’s hands.
Just then, another book fell from under the cover of “The Way to Govern a Country,” almost hitting the ground with a “thud” and waking the child. Su Xi quickly caught it with her hand.
She found it somewhat amusing off-screen. Was her little one like them in class, with a novel hidden under the cover of a book during Chinese or math lessons? How adorable!
But then, Su Xi fell silent after seeing what book was under the cover.
….
It was a well-worn copy of “Summoning Spirits”.
….
Su Xi, who was outside the screen, placed the phone screen on the table, rubbed her temples, and looked out the window.
The moon hung high outside the window, surrounded by towering buildings, one after another. Since they hadn’t moved into their new home yet, she could still faintly hear the sounds of traffic from the Third Ring Road below. Looking back into the room, the air conditioner, electric blanket, and computer were all humming softly as they were turned on.
All of this reminded her that even though the cub wasn’t a character in the game, she and the cub were from two different worlds.
Since they lived in two different worlds, how could they possibly stand together?
The little one seemed to harbor a deep, almost obsessive, desire to see her, yet didn’t want her to know, so he secretly researched various methods. But this was utterly impossible; she couldn’t possibly enter the screen. The little one’s belief in ghosts and spirits possessing his body was also completely out of the question.
The more hopeful the child was now, the more disappointed he would be when he discovered one day that everything he expected was just a mirage.
On the first day Su Xi opened the game, when she saw the little game character carrying firewood back to the dilapidated house, covered in wounds, she felt no emotion. She just found it funny and pitiful. She never thought that as she spent every day with him, she would gradually develop an inseparable feeling for him. Now, just thinking about how sad he would be in the future made her heart clench.
The cub had already suffered enough since he was a child, and Su Xi didn’t want to become one of the things that caused him suffering.
….
Therefore, when Yun Xiupang came to find the cub again at the Imperial Academy, Su Xi looked at the chubby little boy and felt even more determined to make sure that the cub had friends and family in that world.
That way, she’ll feel much more at ease knowing someone was with her baby.
In that case, even if one day the cub finally discovered that she was from another world, separated from him by a distance from which he could never cross, and was not some ghost or god that he could contact, he should not be so upset.
But thinking about it this way, Su Xi felt a little bittersweet.
If that day truly came, and she saw her beloved settle down, start a family, and have someone close to him, such that she was no longer the most important person to him, and he spent his time with others, no longer eagerly waiting for her to appear every day, no longer sending her off to log off alone every time… would she really be happy?
Whether she would feel happy or not was not important, Su Xi thought to herself, as long as her baby was doing well in that world.
Yun Xiupang wanted to leave with the cub, but the cub was annoyed to see the boy following them again. So he quickly packed his bag and slipped away through the side gate of the Imperial Academy.
But he had been gone for several days, and Yun Xiupang wasn’t that stupid. Today, he actually followed them through the side gate, panting heavily as he ran: “Lu Huan, wait for me! Why are you walking so fast?! My father told me to stay with you as much as possible!”
The baby on the screen who had a string of ellipses above its head: …
Just as Lu Huan was about to quicken his pace and shake him off, she suddenly jumped out from the side, tugged at his sleeve, and held him firmly, preventing him from leaving.
Lu Huan: “…”
He stopped walking as Su Xi had wished, but his expression was somewhat unhappy.
He glanced coldly at Yun Xiupang in the distance, kicked the stones under his feet with his boot, and said in a muffled voice, “You want to play with that fat kid again?”
Su Xi, who was watching from outside the screen, was afraid that he would misunderstand that she cared more about the chubby boy. She quickly tugged at his right sleeve and pushed him on the back, pushing him towards the chubby boy, and anxiously conveyed a series of meanings.
The little one was very clever and immediately understood, saying, “You want me to play with that chubby boy?”
Su Xi, watching from outside the screen, wanted to give her baby a thumbs up. Baby, you’re practically a machine that can read your mother’s mind!
But the cub still didn’t seem very happy. He lowered his eyelashes and after a long while, said sullenly, “I know.”
Yun Xiupang finally caught up, wiping sweat from his forehead and panting, “Why, why are you walking so fast? I also need to go to the government office today. Can I come with you?”
Lu Huan glanced at him, and surprisingly did not turn around and leave, but said, “Whatever.”
Yun Xiupang immediately became excited and walked side by side with Lu Huan in the market.
Because of his timid nature, he had few friends in the Imperial Academy and was often bullied. Now, walking beside Lu Huan, he felt that he had finally become friends with this person, and he felt a sense of relief and excitement. So he kept asking Lu Huan the questions that the scholar had talked about today.
Lu Huan answered all the questions one by one, without showing any impatience.
Yun Xiupang was overjoyed and also felt somewhat moved.
Watching from outside the screen, Su Xi felt a sense of comfort, like that of a loving mother.
After seeing Yun Xiupang off, the cub returned to the official residence.
He sat down, brewed a pot of tea, and gulped down two mouthfuls, as if he had been too exhausted from talking to Yun Xiupang and his mouth was dry.
Su Xi suddenly felt a little guilty. “Kid, it’s tough on you to take care of a poor student.”
Then, the little one didn’t say anything for a long time.
He sat there silently, his head constantly filled with “…”, as if he was pondering something, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
As evening fell, the light in the game gradually dimmed, and the setting sun shone through the thin paper window of the official residence, falling on his brows. He looked somewhat bitter in his eyes.
Su Xi patted his head, indicating—what’s wrong?
The cub lowered his chubby face, pursed his lips, and remained silent for a long time before finally asking the question.
“You…do you feel pity for Yun Xiupang because you think he’s in a similar situation to me, and see him as a second me? That’s why I…do you…”
He couldn’t continue speaking, as if he was somewhat embarrassed. His eyelashes trembled, and he stood up and walked into the courtyard.
The setting sun shone on the baby in the courtyard. The baby was tiny, and its shadow was also a tiny blob.
…Su Xi was stunned, never expecting her little one to think that way.
He had thought that she had been asking Yun Xiupang to take better care of him because she saw the chubby boy as a second version of himself and felt sorry for him. What a misunderstanding!
Su Xi quickly switched the interface to the courtyard and tried to explain that this game was too unfair! The little one could talk to her in a dialogue box, but she had to reach 100 points before she could talk to him! After playing this game, Su Xi felt like she was becoming a mute who could only gesture!
The little dumpling was still grieving in the yard. She scratched her head and saw a pile of firewood in the corner. She immediately pulled the little one to the pile of firewood.
A sad question mark appeared above the little one’s head: ?
Su Xi pulled a piece of firewood from the fire and threw it in front of the child, meaning— see, there’s so much firewood, but Mom only needs one piece.
The little one seemed not to understand what she meant; her face remained expressionless, and there was still a hint of sadness between his brows.
Su Xi got anxious, put the previous piece of firewood back, and pulled out two more pieces from the pile of firewood, one tall and thin and the other thick and fat, and stood them in front of the cub.
Then, with a “pia,” the fat one was slapped away, meaning— see, Mom doesn’t want the chubby little boy, she only wants the skinny bun.
The corners of the cub’s mouth seemed to turn up briefly, but the next second, he frowned, stood there with his hands behind his back, and asked with a sad expression, “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Su Xi, watching from outside the screen, was about to go crazy: “Aaaaaah!”
She scratched her head, then placed a piece of firewood to the left of the baby and two pieces to the right. Then, she made the left piece of firewood stand on one leg and threw the two pieces of firewood on the right out of the yard.
This time, the little one’s eyebrows twitched, as if he understood. After pondering for a moment, he slowly asked, “You mean, I’m unique?”
Su Xi frantically pulled his left hand.
The boy on the screen stood still, but the corners of his mouth remained turned up in a smile. His ears turned slightly red, and his eyes were brighter than the setting sun. He said calmly, “Oh, really?”
He said it so casually, but a white bubble filled with happy little hearts popped out from above his head—”I knew it.”
Su Xi: ……………………
Kid, aren’t you being a little too dramatic?
The author has something to say:
Baby: I’m so unique! (Ears turned red all night)
Su Xi: This child has gone mad.
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron and access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next