[Su Huaiming was covered from head to toe. His fans didn't have X-ray vision, so how could they possibly have recognized him?]
[Su Huaiming must have hired them. He's best at pulling petty tricks like this.]
The comments were full of sneers and sarcasm, but they soon changed.
[I remember now! That's Cocky Bear's signature pose!!]
[Cocky Bear folds his arms and leans against something in every episode. When the villain comes over, he knocks them down with one little punch.]
[I even have Cocky Bear reaction stickers. I have to say, the pose is simple, but Su Huaiming is the only one who's captured its essence.]
[I'm a huge Cocky Bear fan. I really want to go take a picture too!]
[I'm dying. Su Huaiming has turned himself into a photo attraction. Is the price of a picture one flyer?]
People loved a spectacle. The more people took pictures with Su Huaiming, the more passersby came over of their own accord.
Even those who weren't Cocky Bear fans couldn't resist joining in for a photo when they saw everyone else clamoring to take one.
It was much more efficient than handing out flyers. In just half an hour, half the flyers were gone, and more and more people were crowding around. At this rate, they would probably be done in less than another half hour.
[I've learned something new: a new way to hand out flyers.]
[Su Huaiming is pretty clever to come up with an idea like that.]
[We'll get to hear Fu Xiaoxiao bark like a dog soon! Gentlemen, I'm so excited!].
[...The person above sounds a little perverted.]
After handing out the flyers, Su Huaiming continued posing for pictures. Only when the crowd gradually dispersed did he and Fu Xiaoxiao step aside.
Fu Xiaoxiao wore an awkward little expression. His eyes darted around, but he didn't dare look at Su Huaiming.
"Hurry up and bark like a dog." Su Huaiming wasn't letting him off.
Fu Xiaoxiao grew anxious and tried to back out. "I'm a child. You can't bully me."
Su Huaiming thought that was strange. "Does being a child mean you can break your word?"
"You should go easy on me," Fu Xiaoxiao said indignantly. "No stepdad would make his son bark like a dog!"
"I don't mind being the first." Su Huaiming folded his arms and remarked, "Youyou and Xuanxuan are children too. I'll be sure to ask them later if children are allowed to go back on their word."
Seeing that Su Huaiming was going to tell on him, Fu Xiaoxiao worried that his image in his friends' eyes would suffer. He jumped up and down in anger. "No, you can't tell them!"
Su Huaiming planted his hands on his hips. His costume jiggled slightly with the movement, looking delightfully soft and bouncy. "As long as you keep your promise and bark like a dog, I won't tell them about this."
"You..." Fu Xiaoxiao puffed up with anger, his face turning into a little steamed bun. He panted and huffed, looking ready to pounce on Su Huaiming and hit him.
Thinking about how his stepfather was bullying him, Fu Xiaoxiao felt so aggrieved he was on the verge of tears. But for the sake of his pride, he chose to swallow the humiliation and bark like a dog.
"Woof, woof woof." His barking sounded so soft and childlike that it was pitiful.
As soon as Fu Xiaoxiao finished, a fiercer, louder bark rang out behind him.
Fu Xiaoxiao jumped in fright and instinctively ran to Su Huaiming, hiding behind him for protection.
Through his costume, Su Huaiming looked at the husky wagging its tail. He couldn't turn his head to see Fu Xiaoxiao's expression, so he could only ask, "Are you afraid of dogs?"
Fu Xiaoxiao cowered behind Su Huaiming, clutching the costume's tail tightly, but he still stubbornly insisted, "I'm not afraid of dogs! This dog is just too big and fierce!"
Su Huaiming smiled and kindly refrained from exposing him.
"Y-you, hurry up and make him go away." Fu Xiaoxiao anxiously tugged at Su Huaiming's little tail.
"Call me Dad." Su Huaiming took the opportunity to set a condition.
Fu Xiaoxiao had no choice but to give in. "Daddy, help me."
Only then did Su Huaiming wave his hand and say to the husky in front of him, "Go away."
The husky held its tail high and tilted its head in confusion at the costumed figure before it. Its little eyes gleamed with intelligence, and, as if it had understood something, it immediately took a few steps forward.
"Don't come over!" Fu Xiaoxiao buried himself entirely in the soft costume, clutching its fur tightly.
Su Huaiming sighed and said, "Xiao Xiao, step back a little."
Fu Xiaoxiao hesitated for a few seconds before letting go of the costume's fur and carefully taking a few steps back.
Fu Xiaoxiao tipped his head up, but all he could see was the plump costume in front of him. The husky that frightened him was completely blocked from view.
Su Huaiming stood with his back to the light, the brilliant sunshine gilding him in gold.
At that moment, Su Huaiming's costumed figure became incomparably tall and imposing, as though it could hold up the whole world.
Fu Xiaoxiao's pupils trembled slightly. He felt something in his heart stir, warm and cozy, as though he were being held in someone's arms.
He had hardly ever been close to Fu Jingfan. This was the first time someone had sheltered him behind their back.
Was... was this what having a father felt like?
It feels so safe, so warm.
Fu Xiaoxiao instinctively took a step forward, wanting to get closer to Su Huaiming.
Just then, the costume's chubby butt wiggled twice. One leg lifted, and its hands smacked together before moving up and down.
Su Huaiming was still yelling wildly, "Hwah-yah-yah-yah! Don't chicken out! Let's fight!"
Husky: "..."
Fu Xiaoxiao: "..."
Seeing the husky retreat a step in fright, Su Huaiming twisted his butt, the chubby costume swaying along as he lunged at it like a colossal beast.
The husky whimpered twice, then turned and ran away with its tail tucked in fright.
Su Huaiming gave a smug snort and swayed with his hands on his hips, looking as if he had Parkinson's. "Now you know how powerful I am!"
Fu Xiaoxiao: o(≧口≦)o
Remembering what he had just thought, he flushed red with embarrassment and anger.
Hmph! He would never acknowledge that childish, embarrassing bad guy as his dad!!
The viewers in the livestream were also at a loss for words when they saw this.
[I feel like a joke for thinking Su Huaiming looked cool just now.]
[When I remember it's my sickly wife inside that costume, I feel completely disillusioned.]
[Su Huaiming, please make your words and actions worthy of that face!]
[Some people seem perfectly respectable, but stop acting human as soon as they put on a mascot costume.]
Chapter 16: 016
Only after the husky had been scared away did Su Huaiming take off the costume head.
After wearing the heavy costume, Su Huaiming's entire face was covered in sweat. Soft wisps of hair clung to his forehead, the corners of his eyes were tinged a faint pink, and he was damp all over, as though he had stepped out of a crimson dream.
[Ahhhhh, my beautiful wife!]
[Who was it that said Su Huaiming looked ordinary before? Does this look ordinary to you?!]
[How does Su Huaiming manage to look so innocently boyish and so alluring at the same time?!]
Su Huaiming blinked, droplets clinging to his thick, curled eyelashes. As everyone watched in anticipation, he opened his mouth to speak.
"Stupid dog, you dare pick a fight with me!" Su Huaiming gave a wicked, charming smile. "Now you know to be scared."
[Su Huaiming, what flavor of muting potion would you like?]
[This is the first time I've wanted a celebrity to be nothing but a pretty face.]
[He really can't stay cool for three seconds.]
Su Huaiming was too hot, so he simply set the costume head aside and turned to look at Fu Xiaoxiao.
"...What's with that expression?"
Fu Xiaoxiao pursed his little lips, leaned away in the opposite direction, and glanced sideways, unwilling to look at him. His whole body expressed his disdain.
Su Huaiming was so annoyed he laughed. "I protected you. Why are you looking down on me?"
Hearing Su Huaiming ask that, Fu Xiaoxiao instead felt aggrieved. He gave a little huff, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and turned to walk away, looking as though he had suffered a terrible injustice.
Completely bewildered, Su Huaiming picked up the costume head and chased after him, trying to find out what was wrong. But Fu Xiaoxiao kept dodging him, his two short little legs moving so fast they were almost a blur.
[Sigh, Su Huaiming doesn't understand a child's tender feelings at all.]
[Do you know how much it hurts when your image of your father is shattered?!]
[Su Huaiming, how are you going to repay what you owe me?!]
[Although I don't like bratty kids, I'm on Xiao Xiao's side this time. Su Huaiming is the most detestable stepdad in the world! doge.jpg]
By the time the other two groups finished handing out their flyers, it was already dark. Everyone rode back together.
After dinner, Yu Xuanxuan found a Rubik's Cube somewhere and sat on the couch playing with it.
Ji Youyou squatted beside him, her round eyes blinking as she watched Brother Xuanxuan curiously. He twisted the cube this way and that, turning the colors into all sorts of combinations.
Yu Xuanxuan had wanted to put the matching colors together, but after he turned the cube, the colors ended up farther and farther apart.
He scratched his soft hair, his young face full of confusion, and continued twisting the cube this way and that until his head was covered in sweat from the effort.
Fu Xiaoxiao pattered over and asked in his childish voice, "Xuanxuan, are you playing with a Rubik's Cube?"
Yu Xuanxuan saw his savior and looked at Fu Xiaoxiao expectantly. "Xiao Xiao, can you help me put the green squares back together?"
Fu Xiaoxiao puffed out his chest confidently and gave a little snort. "Leave it to me!"
With that, he took the cube and laboriously turned it with his chubby little hands. Half a minute later, the two green squares were next to each other.
"Wow, Xiao Xiao, you're amazing!"
Yu Xuanxuan gazed at the cube with shining eyes, his little face full of amazement. Ji Youyou looked at Fu Xiaoxiao with admiration and clapped nonstop, her cheeks flushed with excitement.
Fu Xiaoxiao looked immensely proud, his tail practically pointing at the sky as he turned the cube this way and that to show off his achievement.
Hearing the commotion, Sun Siyuan casually asked, "What are you doing?"
Yu Xuanxuan immediately ran over to Sun Siyuan and held up the cube with his little hands, excitedly showing him. "Xiao Xiao is so amazing! He put two squares together!"