Chapter 19: Little Iron Head Strikes

As his familiarity with his father continued to grow, their relationship naturally became closer, and his courage began to increase, along with his minor complaints.

Dongri’s well-behaved and quiet appearance was pleasing, and his pouting and complaining appearance was also cute and lively.

Combining these complaints with his physical condition during his hospitalization, it wasn’t difficult to guess what his parents had been doing to him these past few days.

It involved eliminating all snacks and sweets and providing him exclusively with fresh and healthy ingredients.

Then the fresh and healthy went too far, causing Dongri to feel quite uncomfortable.

If it were an ordinary child, there would be no problem with the parents arranging it this way.

But Dongri wasn’t an ordinary child; he was even a little Taotie cub, and snacks and sweets couldn’t harm him at all. The only thing to fear was that his parents were also controlling his food intake.

Could he be starved to death?

Pei Qinglu asked the most crucial question: “Have you been able to eat your fill lately?”

Mentioning this made Dongri even more aggrieved.

Though his parents often said that overeating was bad and would intentionally control his food intake, their control wasn’t strict at the time, and there were plenty of snacks at home, so he could still eat his fill every day.

Now it was fixed times and fixed amounts, and there was no more after that.

He could eat his fill when he was eating, but the difference between being three-tenths full and ten-tenths full was like heaven and earth.

The little cub’s appetite was so large that he was always hungry again very quickly. Now, between meals, he could only nibble on coarse grains and fruits, and he couldn’t eat any food with stimulating flavors at all.

Dongri sadly shook his head.

There were so many things he wanted to say; he only hated that his vocabulary was insufficient and that he couldn’t express himself fluently and happily.

But his sad and silent expression had already answered everything; at that moment, silence was more eloquent than words.

Pei Qinglu remained silent, genuinely starting to worry that Dongri might starve to death—that was definitely not okay.

It was rare to encounter such an interesting thing, and he was curious about what this family would be like in the future.

The parents were one immortal official and one ancient demon.

The child was a little Taotie cub, a divine beast.

The key was that they didn’t know each other’s identities, and were in a state of mutual concealment.

Both parents could be considered beings with great magical power, yet they were unaware that their child was non-human.

The child was quite silly, and a few more questions might have revealed the answer.

If they knew that the child was a little Taotie cub, what would their reaction be?

Of course, if the little Taotie cub knew that the father he was trying to hide from and protect was so powerful and had been hiding himself for so long, what would his reaction be?

It was interesting to think about.

How many times could you encounter such a thing?

Would there even be a second time in a lifetime?

So Pei Qinglu not only chose to keep Dongri’s secret, not telling anyone his true identity, but was also willing to help Dongri cooperate, so that his identity wouldn’t be exposed.

Because the longer the concealment, the more spectacular the scene would be when it finally exploded—before the moment the result was revealed, he didn’t want Dongri to be exposed because he was about to be starved to death.

Although it could be said that it provided him an opportunity to build a good relationship with Dongri and bridge the gap through this matter.

Pei Qinglu paused for a moment: “Then I’ll come see you often in the future. Tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll bring it to you when I come, okay?”

The little guy’s complaints were merely simple complaints, certainly not to the extent that he wanted Pei Qinglu to bring him food.

Moreover, he couldn’t even think of that.

So, after hearing Pei Qinglu say this, those aggrieved and dim eyes instantly flashed with a hopeful light.

Could there be such a good thing in the world?

This wasn’t just a kind and good-hearted gege; this was his savior!

“…Re-really?”

He was so afraid that Pei Qinglu was joking that he had to confirm it again.

Pei Qinglu smiled: “Of course it’s true, you can think about it now, and I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”

“It’s too late for today, so you’ll have to make do with these snacks.”

Dongri didn’t feel wronged at all.

He hadn’t eaten snacks for so many days, and now he could get the maximum satisfaction value from eating anything.

“I want to eat lou-lou! Tender lou-lou!”

Without needing too much time, this was the unchanging original intention of the carnivorous little Taotie cub, and any situation wouldn’t defeat the desire for fatty meat.

“Okay, then I’ll bring you tender meat.”

Although the way he expressed it was somewhat abstract, it wasn’t difficult to infer from the previous conversation.

“My chef is best at making delicious meat, so let’s meet here tomorrow too, and I’ll let you try it.”

As long as you could cater to his tastes, the little Taotie cub was the easiest creature in the world to coax.

With the promise of a meal of meat, plus the feeding of a bag of snacks, Pei Qinglu’s status in his heart rose rapidly.

“By the way, the oatmeal you liked last time, this time it’s still a mixed flavor, try it.”

“Mmm, okay!”

Eating snacks in this state of mind was several times more joyful.

Opening the package, Dongri reached out and grabbed a handful of oatmeal crisps: “Green, Gege, look, there’s black too!”

The last time it was a single, fresh milk chocolate, crispy shell.

The mixed flavor consisted of several varieties, including matcha, strawberry, and dark chocolate.

The colors were rich and diverse, just right for coaxing a child like Dongri.

After eating each flavor once, the little guy opened a large soft chocolate cookie.

Then he began eating potato chips, rice cakes, milk puffs, and banana chips.

After sucking down a bag of jelly, he also ate two packs of milk dates.

After gnawing on a sandwich cookie, he ate a box of crispy cream puff balls.

The desire that had been forcibly suppressed for many days was finally satisfied.

Eating too healthy was not okay.

His body also needed these non-natural, purely added packaged foods.

“Hoo—burp—”

After eating the last seaweed roll, Dongri sprawled on the seat, stretching his whole body comfortably, burping as he stretched.

He was comfortable, so comfortable.

Now both his body and heart felt full. Touching his bulging little belly, Dongri smiled at Pei Qinglu.

“…I’m full, thank you, Little Lu-gege!”

Although you couldn’t tell during his voracious eating period, he felt a little embarrassed each time before and after eating.

Pei Qinglu rested his chin on his hand and looked at him: “This bag was originally all for you, but you can’t eat it at home… then I’ll keep it here and we’ll eat it again tomorrow.”

“Mmm!”

The embarrassment that had only appeared for a few seconds immediately disappeared. Dongri nodded in agreement, and didn’t forget to urge: “…Come tomorrow, come tomorrow!”

“Mmm, I’ll definitely come.”

Pei Qinglu responded, feeling regretful that they couldn’t live closer.

It would be so great if they lived nearby; the time they could spend together every day would be longer, and he wouldn’t have to drive back and forth.

“Then let’s get out of the car now, if we stay too long, the adults might come over, and they’ll catch me feeding you food.”

Other aspects were difficult to articulate, but Dongri exhibited the highest comprehension when it came to sneaking food.

Pei Qinglu only needed to say it once, and he understood what it meant.

“…Mmm, okay! Tomorrow, get in the car again!”

He also had a clear goal: to eat tender meat tomorrow.

“Little Lu-gege, my mouth, needs wiping!”

He was also a little cleaner and more meticulous than Pei Qinglu, remembering to wipe his mouth.

Pei Qinglu took out two tissues and wiped the food crumbs from the corners of his mouth.

He inexplicably wanted to laugh.

It seemed that this little guy often sneaked food, and remembered to wipe his mouth.

“Okay, it’s clean.”

“Mmm, thank you, Gege!”

Full and satisfied, destroying the evidence.

Dongri was in a good mood when he got out of the car; his steps were light, and he was finally able to show the whole world a cheerful side.

Beep beep beep—

Unexpectedly, a sharp, piercing horn sounded from behind, followed by a black car coming to a stop behind theirs.

It was a sudden stop closely linked to the rear of the car, with the distance between the two cars not exceeding one centimeter.

Even if it was just a frightening display, Dongri had just gotten out of the car and had only taken a few steps, so he would naturally be startled.

Yin Tian and Pei Jing were staring at each other in the shop.

They heard this loud noise, but didn’t know what had happened, and looked outside at the same time.

Dongri was so frightened that he stuck close to Pei Qinglu, and after Pei Qinglu saw the license plate number of this car, his gentle expression instantly became extremely cold.

The back door of the car opened, and a boy who looked about the same age and build as Pei Qinglu jumped out.

“I knew it was your car, I didn’t recognize it wrong.”

The boy had regular features, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, but his attitude was somewhat nonchalant, not very serious.

And facing this boy, Pei Qinglu, who always gave the impression of being gentle and soft, seemed like a different person.

He frowned, his eyes were indifferent, and the corners of his mouth were slightly turned down.

Everything about him showed disgust, and he was very unwilling to pay attention to him.

“Why are you here? Are you here to buy bread too?”

The boy continued to speak on his own: “The internet says that the bread in this shop has a bizarre shape. I thought you wouldn’t be interested in this kind of thing, I didn’t expect you—”

He didn’t finish speaking.

Because Pei Qinglu didn’t intend to pay attention at all, he just took Dongri’s hand, not even giving him a glance: “Baobao, let’s go inside.”

“…”

The ignored boy looked displeased, and his gaze shifted to Dongri.

He paused briefly, then frowned and sneered, his tone with obvious sarcasm: “What Baobao, so disgusting.”

“Where did this little dwarf come from? He’s also an ugly freak. When did you like playing with this kind of ugly freak?”

Yin Tian didn’t go out of the shop, but he had already turned on listening mode and heard all the conversations outside.

Hearing with his own ears that this kid actually had the audacity to say that Dongri was an ugly freak, anger surged from his heart on the spot, and he prepared to beat him up and send him back to be reborn.

Although he often thought Dongri was troublesome, he still hadn’t dispelled the idea of simply swallowing him one day.

But at least he was a cub they had raised for more than two months, and it wasn’t up to outsiders to criticize him.

A dead brat who hadn’t been taught a lesson.

He would let him know how powerful he was in a moment.

Yin Tian stood up directly and strode towards the shop door.

But just as he raised his hand to touch the doorknob, he saw Dongri launch himself from Pei Qinglu’s side like a small missile, quickly rushing to the boy’s front.

Thud—

With a jump in place, his head hit the other person’s chin.

No matter how tough a chin was, it couldn’t be tougher than a head.

A very decisive and effective way to shut someone up, directly closing the person’s mouth from below.

The boy hadn’t expected Dongri to be so fierce.

What a little iron head, coming as soon as he was called.

On the spot, his steps became chaotic, and he retreated wildly for several meters, finally falling to the ground.

Dongri also lost his balance and fell on top of him.

But after getting up, he immediately clenched his little fists, saying very unconvinced: “…You’re the, ugly freak! You big ugly freak! Big big ugly ugly freak!”