Free Web NovelChapter 16: Chapter 16: Kids Don’t Lie, but They Talk Nonsense
Gu Zhao flopped onto the ground. "I don’t feel so good."
Zhong Mingrui immediately raised his hand, but before he could speak, a little chubby boy dragged a man and dashed out.
"Sister Zhao! We’ll do it! You rest!" Song Yi yelled, pulling Song Zhe as he charged out.
’Hehe, if we do the work, they’ll have to let us eat!’
Zhong Mingrui: ???!!!
"Brother, are they trying to steal my spot?" Zhong Mingrui asked, his face a mask of anguish.
"No way! Sister Zhao still has to provide for me! All the delicious food is mine!" Zhong Mingrui shouted and ran after them.
Zhong Siqi: ...
’Bowing down for the sake of good food... Fine, I guess.’
Zhong Siqi looked around. "Brother Lin doesn’t have a pot, so let’s just have a barbecue. I’ll go gather some mushrooms. It just so happens that it rained yesterday."
Ye Zuiyi felt her chance had come! This was her moment to act considerate, obedient, and caring!
"It’s easy to pick poisonous mushrooms... Brother Qi, how about we share some of our wild vegetables with you?"
Zhong Siqi’s expression nearly cracked. ’Is this really about whether they’re poisonous or not?! The point is that if I work, I get to eat!!!’
’Damn it! She’s trying to smash my rice bowl!’
"Brother Lin! I’m going! I’ll ask Gu Zhao whether they’re poisonous or not!" He took off running as he spoke, afraid Ye Zuiyi would try to stop him again.
[Isn’t he being a little ungrateful? Ye Zuiyi was just giving a kind reminder. I’m on her side this time. You should never try mushrooms if you’re not familiar with them. One try and you could die!]
[Ask Gu Zhao? Isn’t that a bit much? What would a little kid like her know! This is just absurd!!]
[You guys can argue all you want. I’m just here to enjoy the sight of two kids fighting for favor!]
Meanwhile, Ye Zexi was so angry he could spit fire.
’He had just finished arguing with them, so why was his own sister rushing to meddle in their business!’
If it were Gu Zhao...
He froze. ’If it were Gu Zhao...’
He remembered a time when his father was scolding him, and Gu Zhao had shielded him like a little kitten with its fur standing on end...
How old was Gu Zhao then... only three, it seemed.
"Brother, what’s wrong?" Ye Zuiyi noticed something was off with Ye Zexi and immediately showed her concern.
Ye Zexi snapped out of his memories. Looking into Ye Zuiyi’s eyes, which were filled with concern, he once again felt like a real jerk.
’Yibao is just too kind. How could I think of her that way?’
"I’m fine. I just think they probably don’t care about these wild vegetables. Let’s not bother with them and just start cooking."
Ye Zuiyi nodded, but she couldn’t shake a feeling of unease.
She glanced at Gu Zhao, who was still lying on the ground. Her gaze was like a poisoned dagger, filled with a hidden, vicious ruthlessness.
Gu Xulin seemed to sense something and looked over, and Ye Zuiyi immediately lowered her eyes.
"Scoot over. If you sleep here, someone might step on you and crush you flat. Don’t you know there are still people plotting against you?" Gu Xulin nudged Gu Zhao’s butt with his foot. When she was too lazy to move, he just picked her up and placed her within his line of sight.
He continued to nag her, "You’ll catch a chill in your stomach like this."
"If Second Brother and the others saw you like this, they’d definitely give you a piece of their mind. But that’s okay. I’ll reluctantly take you in."
While his mouth ran on and on, his hands were busy cutting the meat into small pieces.
Gu Zhao slept peacefully.
...
"I saw it first! Don’t even think about snatching it to bribe Big King! Our Big King is a wise ruler!"
"Big King and I saw through your disgusting schemes long ago!"
Zhong Mingrui clutched the tiny kitten in his arms. It was so small and skinny, it looked like it hadn’t eaten in ages.
Song Yi stared at the kitten. "My brother and I saw it first! You’re the one who stole it!"
Song Zhe didn’t step forward. He hid in the back, his handsome face filled with reluctance.
Zhong Siqi stayed far away, bent over with his butt in the air as he picked mushrooms.
Neither of the two kids would back down. Finally, Zhong Mingrui proposed, "Let’s go have Big King decide!"
"Fine, let’s go!" Song Yi marched straight into the cave.
Zhong Mingrui followed him in, holding the kitten. The moment they entered the cave, both of them started wailing.
"Big King! You have to grant us justice, WAAAHHH!"
Gu Zhao covered her ears, wanting to escape.
But the two were just too much. They knelt beside Gu Zhao and bawled, acting as if Gu Zhao had already passed away.
Gu Xulin couldn’t stand it anymore. He manually pried Gu Zhao’s eyelids open. "Hurry up and deal with this. If they keep crying, the bullet comments will start flaming you, if not them."
It had to be said, Gu Xulin understood the psyche of netizens.
The bullet comments were already filled with people blaming the two brats for being noisy and rude.
[So annoying. Can’t Gu Zhao do something? These two kids are fighting because of her, and she’s just pretending not to hear! So selfish! The other guests are in there too, it’s not just them. Their crying is driving me crazy.]
[OMG, why are they so loud all of a sudden? I just thought the two kids were cute, but how did they start crying a duet just like that?]
[Can the bullet comments be a little nicer? They’re just kids...]
[To the person above, don’t be a moral police. This is a variety show, who wants to watch them cry? Just solve the problem already.]
[Gu Zhao looks kind of dead inside.]
Gu Zhao looked like she had lost all will to live. Her big pork knuckle had flown away! She had been so close to eating it!
She shot Gu Xulin a resentful glare, then turned to the two still-wailing boys.
"If you have a memorial to present, do so. If not, court is dismissed."
Zhong Mingrui and Song Yi dropped to one knee in perfect sync. "We, your humble servants, have a report!"
Song Yi: "Your servant wishes to report Zhong Mingrui for stealing!"
"Liar! It was Song Yi who stole my cat! I saw the kitty first!"
"You’re the liar! The kitty fell out of a tree and landed on my brother!"
"I made it fall down!" Zhong Mingrui declared with a serious face.
"Stop! I’m the one who made it fall. You both remembered wrong. We decree that it belongs to Us. Court is dismissed," Gu Zhao said, pulling the cat into her arms.
The two boys were confused. "Is that what happened?"
"Who is the Big King? Can the Big King be wrong?" Gu Zhao retorted.
The two "dismissed court" and went back to gathering firewood. "Big King is wise and brilliant!"
[Hahahahahaha, how could Gu Zhao lie to little kids! And the key is, they actually believed her!! I now believe that kids don’t lie, but they do spout utter nonsense, hahaha.]
[This cat... something’s a little weird about it...]
[That’s a lynx!! Oh my god, its ears are pointed and have two tufts of black fur!]
[Public Service Announcement: The lynx is a Class II protected species in this country. They have a cautious temperament and generally don’t attack people unless provoked, but they will fight back if angered. Everyone relax, the guests just need to keep their distance.]
[What if it insists on cuddling?]
It was curled up into a small, furry ball. Its ears twitched, and it looked at Gu Zhao, tilting its head.
"Mraow~ Mama! Hungry~"
Its babyish voice was soft and milky, tinged with a hint of dependence.
When Gu Zhao ignored it, its eyes instantly grew moist, and it rubbed its head against her hand.
"Holy crap! This kitten’s meow is a little weird," Gu Xulin said, peeking over while keeping his body far away.
"Fourth Brother, it’s a lynx."
Gu Zhao explained, then turned to the little lynx that was fawningly rubbing against her hand. "I am not your mother."
The little lynx, in the middle of a rub, suddenly froze. Its ears instantly flattened back like airplane wings.
It slowly curled itself into a ball of fur, peeking out from between its paws.
"...Then can you be my temporary mama?"
The little lynx carefully touched Gu Zhao’s wrist with the tip of its tail and said in its babyish voice, "Mama~ I’m hungry."
Who could possibly refuse?!
"That’s a lynx? How cute!" Tong Jianfeng said in surprise. "But you can’t keep a lynx as a pet. We should probably let it go."
Tong Yunxin was also secretly watching the little lynx, but when she heard what her father said, she lowered her head again.
’Dad definitely won’t let me pet it...’
Gu Zhao glanced at him. "Can’t you see it’s the one that won’t leave?"
