The next morning, the two little glutinous rice dumplings started crying, squashed flat by their father.
Yesterday they had fought to the death, and now they were as good as one, united against the enemy.
Little Beiyue: "With such a big bed, what are you squeezing for!"
Little Beishang: "Exactly, squeezing children, do you even know how to be a father."
Xiao Shan looked at Xue Niang again, "You'll have to ask your mother."
It was she who wouldn't let him hold them, insisting on placing the children between them, under the guise of fostering father-son affection.
What was there to foster? Their bloodline was there, affection was innate.
The two little ones were fiercely adorable.
"My mother is lying there properly, don't blame her."
"No backbone."
They spoke in unison again: "Why don't we just switch?"
He had been mistaken earlier; perhaps there was no affection, but he didn't want to foster it either.
Xiao Shan was already considering whether to let Qing He take the two cubs away.
After several days, Xiao Shan couldn't take it anymore. He felt these two were much more difficult to deal with than his third brother. If this continued, his status in the family would be completely gone.
Xue Niang's gaze always drifted to them. She slept hugging them at night. In the middle of the night, he crept over, wanting to do something, when Little Beishang suddenly opened his eyes.
"You squeezed us, and now you want to squeeze Mother, come here quickly, don't hurt Mother."
Xiao Shan really wanted to curse.
Were these even his offspring?
Qing He was returning to Yingzhou after a few days' stay. The two children were very attached and cried a lot.
Xiao Shan really wanted to say: "Take them away quickly."
Turning his head, he saw Xue Niang with teary eyes. Indeed, the mother and sons looked very similar, one large and two small. His heart softened again.
"Don't cry, it's good that Qing He is leaving. Look how spoiled these two little things are, they've become lawless."
His casual comfort was met with a sharp glance from Xue Niang.
"How dare you say that! You don't raise your own children, and you blame the person who is raising them for you?"
"I... I didn't mean that." Xiao Shan dared not speak.
Little Beiyue and Little Beishang stopped crying, their eyes rolling.
Father didn't seem that formidable, quite timid.
While the children were being taken out to play by Yu Liu and Yu Shan, Xiao Shan seized the opportunity to drag Xue Niang into the room.
"You said they could sleep on the kang for two days, but it's been several days. Don't you want to sleep separately anymore!"
It was precisely because she said this that he tolerated them squeezing between them. If she broke her promise, he wouldn't be held responsible for abandoning martial ethics.
Xue Niang bit her lip. She indeed hadn't had enough time with the children, but she also wanted to be with Xiao Shan.
So conflicted.
"If you can't bear it, then don't blame me."
"What do you want to do?"
"Hmph, what else can I do? Then don't blame me for doing it in front of the children..."
"Pervert!"
"Ah..." Xiao Shan's tone suddenly deepened, "Actually, I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday and haven't slept since..."
"Alright, we'll sleep separately." Xue Niang couldn't stand him acting like this.
"I've thought about it. Third brother's house is big. Let Yu Liu and Yu Shan take the children to stay there. Don't be angry, it's just for sleeping at night. We're together during the day, aren't we? We're newlyweds, and it wouldn't be good if someone heard us making a fuss. Yu Liu's martial arts are not bad; she can't miss even the slightest sound within 30 meters."
Xue Niang was speechless.
The matter was settled. Xiao Shan asked Yu Liu to make the arrangements.
Little Beiyue, with a stern little face, asked Yu Liu: "Does Mother not like us anymore?"
Was it because they treated Father badly and made her unhappy?
Yu Liu explained: "Of course not. Your mother is not feeling well, and your father is afraid of tiring her. We are together at other times. It's just that at night we sleep at Third Uncle's place. Don't you like Third Uncle too?"
They liked Third Uncle, but it was different for them to ask to go there themselves versus being sent there by their father.
He only half-listened to the adults' words, and he would observe the rest himself. They shouldn't think he was too young to be deceived.
Little Beishang lay by the large water vat for a long time, then sighed, "I really wish I could turn into a fish!"
Although the siblings fought every day, their affection was also genuine.
When Yu Liu and Yu Shan first saw that Golden Fire, they were greatly shocked and became even more respectful of Third Brother.
Moreover, according to Little Beiyue's "careful" observation.
Aunt Liu really didn't lie to him. Mother's health was indeed not very good. Sometimes in the morning, she could only get up very late. Once, Father even brought the food to the kang to feed her.
Mother didn't dislike them either. When she had time, she would teach them to draw and sit on the kang to make clothes for them.
It was so hard.
Father also took them to the mountains to find bird nests, fished in the water, and carried them on his shoulders, one on each side, without getting tired even after walking for a long time. He was so strong; these aunties couldn't do that.
Father wasn't so bad after all.
One day, Little Beiyue and Little Beishang were playing with ants at the village entrance.
According to Xiao Shan's requirement to train their independence, Yu Liu and Yu Shan could only watch from afar and would not intervene unless there was danger.
The two sprinkled sugar water and painstakingly used an army of ants to form the character "山" (mountain). They wanted to flatter their father, hoping he would take them into the mountains to hunt a fierce beast.
Who knew a pair of large feet would blindly step on it, crushing a patch of ants.
"Oh my heavens, where did two little celestial beings descend from Bozi Village? Whose children are you?"
Why did they look a little familiar?
This person was wearing dark clothes, had a dark complexion, and was leading a black dog.
Truly dark all over!
If not for his thick eyebrows and big eyes, making him look like a good person, he would have called for help.
Little Beiyue: "Is that a wolf or a dog?"
Hey! The little ones had guts. Little Tiger looked so imposing, yet they weren't afraid. They had courage!
Yutou said with interest: "It's a wolfdog."
At this moment, Yu Liu and Yu Shan had moved closer. Hearing the conversation, they didn't come forward.
Yutou didn't pay much attention, only looking at the two adorable children.
Little Beishang: "A wolf is a wolf, and a dog is a dog. What is a wolfdog?"
Her little mouth babbled, her voice so cute and childlike, it was very amusing.
"Its father is a wolf, and its mother is a dog. When it was born, it became a wolfdog."
Little Beiyue and Little Beishang were astonished, their watery eyes wide open, their expressions identical.
Could this be Da Bai's son?
Why was it black?
Was its mother a black dog?
Yutou said proudly: "Amazing, isn't it? Its name is Little Tiger, and it's very protective of its master."
"Protects whom?"
"Protects its owner, that is, me. If others try to hurt me, it will protect me."
"Then what if its father hurts you?"
"Its father?" Yutou stifled a laugh. The childish talk was so funny.
"Even if its father and mother came, it wouldn't matter. It only listens to me."
Little Beiyue: "Awooo—"