Ark Simulator, Don't I Have No Physical Form?

"All right, let's go. I'll help dry your tail later." Feeling Su Rui's instinctive reliance on her, as well as the concern born from his inner guilt, Ren Dong couldn't help but smile.

However, she soon couldn't smile anymore.

Though the washing process had been rather pleasant, and they could even fool around with each other a little.

Su Rui only needed to tend to one of Ren Dong's tails, while Ren Dong sat by the bed, having to groom all nine of Su Rui's tails.

Nine whole fluffy tails... For a Wolper, grooming even one tail was already exhausting.

Once our daughter is born, I'll definitely make her help me groom Su Rui's tails.

Ren Dong, who had just been delighted by how smoothly her plans were progressing, couldn't smile now.

She had spent a long time on it, yet she had only finished grooming the fourth tail. There were still five more to deal with.

From being full of enthusiasm at the start to becoming somewhat irritated by the work, Ren Dong still persevered in helping Su Rui groom all nine of his tails.

"Ren Dong? You're tired, right? I'll get a hair dryer and a comb too, then groom them myself."

Even Su Rui was getting irritated from sitting for so long, let alone Ren Dong behind him.

But the moment he stood up, Ren Dong grabbed his shoulders and pressed him back down.

"No. Keep sitting. I'll take care of it."

Though she couldn't dote on Su Rui fiercely in that way, she absolutely wouldn't allow anyone else to groom his tails. This was an intimacy shared between Su Rui and her; not even Su Rui himself could take that right away from her.

Determination flashed in Ren Dong's eyes. She even wanted to overturn her earlier decision now.

Once our daughter is born, her tails will all be mine to handle too.

Though she had made that decision in her heart, Ren Dong didn't say it aloud. Her instincts, her nature of seeking benefit and avoiding harm, left her some room to back out.

And so, the days continued to pass. After some time, Su Rui and Ren Dong's daughter was born.

"How about calling her Lisa?"

"I don't mind." Su Rui had nothing much to say about names. As long as it sounded decent, that was enough.

Ren Dong knocked his arm with some dissatisfaction. "This is our daughter's name. As her father, you need to take it more seriously."

"Mm... Then how about Ali?"

"No."

There was no need to know what Ali meant. Seeing Su Rui's thoughtful expression, Ren Dong directly rejected his suggestion.

"Her name will be Lisa."

"Then why did you ask me? Still, I think we could call her Little Suzuran as a pet name."

"That's not a bad idea."

Ren Dong nodded. Looking at her tiny daughter in her arms, whose nine tails were twitching behind her, she really did resemble a lily of the valley.

Little Suzuran was dearly loved after she was born. Whether it was the fox shrine priestess, the other shrine maidens, Su Rui, Ren Dong, or Texas, they all cherished the child deeply.

So Little Suzuran lived happily, and time seemed to speed by like that.

However, one day, after coaxing Suzuran to sleep, Ren Dong woke Su Rui, who had been teasing their daughter with his large tails and had ended up falling asleep first.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Before Su Rui could finish speaking, Ren Dong covered his mouth.

Under the moonlight, Su Rui could clearly see Ren Dong's eyes. "Suzuran is still asleep. Don't wake her."

"So we're changing rooms."

As she spoke, Ren Dong pulled Su Rui to his feet. "Be quiet. Don't wake Little Suzuran."

"What if Suzuran wakes up in the middle of the night?"

"I'll ask Texas to look after her."

Seeing Su Rui hesitate and fuss over things, seeming even more concerned about their daughter than she was, Ren Dong couldn't help feeling a little jealous. She directly pulled Su Rui into another room.

At the same time, having received Ren Dong's message, Texas came to the room where Little Suzuran was sleeping. She gently lay down beside the girl and brushed a finger over Little Suzuran's soft, smooth cheek.

The more Texas looked at the adorable child, the more she liked her, and she was more than willing to take on the task of caring for her.

As for possessing Su Rui... it was fine. Texas had already reached an agreement with Ren Dong. The two of them would take turns finding chances to have Su Rui for themselves without the other finding out, so there was no need to clash.

And this child before her... Texas looked at the obedient, adorable Little Suzuran sleeping peacefully and couldn't help smiling.

Though Little Suzuran was Ren Dong and Su Rui's daughter, in a sense, Texas could be considered one of Little Suzuran's mothers too.

Texas gathered the sleeping girl into her arms, closed her eyes beside Little Suzuran, and gradually fell asleep.

...Time flew by. Before anyone realized it, Little Suzuran had grown a little. She could run around on the ground and listen to stories.

In the shrine's sunny courtyard, the golden-haired girl with nine tails ran about happily, chasing butterflies and occasionally tripping over clumps of dirt beneath her feet.

"Dad!"

Su Rui was playing games in a somewhat shady corner of the courtyard. Hearing her call, he casually spread out his tails to cover the hard parts of the chair, keeping Little Suzuran from bumping into them.

Then he felt a soft little bundle crash into his arms.

Instinctively wrapping the little bundle in his large tails, Su Rui lifted Suzuran into his arms.

"All right, all right. Did the butterflies bully you? Dad will catch them for you."

"No! Dad is always busy playing games. When would you have time to catch butterflies with me?"

Suzuran pouted as she sat in Su Rui's arms and watched the game on the screen.

Su Rui remembered Ren Dong's request: at the very least, he couldn't let Little Suzuran become a gaming addict like him.

So he picked up Little Suzuran and rose from the chair, walking into the courtyard. Under the sunlight, Texas and Suzuran sat side by side on a bench, enjoying the sun.

"Actually, catching butterflies doesn't need to be that troublesome. You just need to wait a little."

Su Rui carried Suzuran to the middle of the courtyard and sat on the grass. The tails behind him stretched out as though they too were enjoying the sunlight.

"And then?"

Suzuran asked instinctively. Then she saw a butterfly fly before her, only to be smacked down with a soft puff by a large tail and pressed into the grass.

"Then, like this, you slowly pull the butterfly out."

Su Rui smugly lifted his tail bit by bit. Once the butterfly was visible but still trapped beneath his tail and unable to escape, he pinched it up and handed it to Suzuran.

"See? I'm amazing, right?"

"My tails aren't as big as Dad's. I can't do that."

Little Suzuran puffed out her cheeks, but she still accepted the butterfly from Su Rui. Then she climbed down from his arms, sat on the grass beside him, and leaned her little head against his shoulder.

From where Texas and Ren Dong sat, the father and daughter had eighteen fluffy tails between them, swaying back and forth. It looked a little strange, but adorable.

Suzuran played with the butterfly in her hands, trying to catch butterflies with her own tails the way Su Rui had. Meanwhile, Su Rui used his Scanning Vision and electronic abilities to control the computer and play games.

Watching those eighteen fluffy tails sway about, Texas noticed the bits of grass stuck to them. With an amused tone, she looked at Ren Dong.

"Looks like you'll be busy tonight."

"...What are you laughing at? Come help me too!"

"Then how about making Suzuran call me Mom too?"

"No! At most, she can call you Little Mom."

As Suzuran grew up day by day and became more sensible, she noticed that there was increasingly more sorrow in her mother's eyes. Even her usually carefree father often looked melancholy and began staring off into space.

Suzuran cared deeply about this, so during one of her playtimes, she secretly went to Texas's room and threw herself into Texas's arms.

The girl's little face rubbed softly against Texas's chest. Then she raised her head and looked at Texas with adorable eyes that seemed to sparkle like little stars, speaking in a sweet, coaxing voice.

"Texas Mom~ Do you know why Mom always seems unhappy? Dad seems that way too."

Texas Mom loved it when Suzuran called her that. Though Suzuran usually called Texas Little Mom because of Ren Dong's request, the little girl was clever. Whenever she wanted to ask Texas for something, she would sweetly call her Mom.

But this little trick didn't seem to work as well as usual today.

After Suzuran called Texas that, she noticed that Texas Mom's lips first curved upward and gentleness flashed through her eyes. Then, because of Suzuran's question, she began to think.

Next, Suzuran saw confusion and contemplation in Texas Mom's eyes as well.

In the end, Texas gently rubbed Suzuran's little head and said softly.

"I don't know either. Ren Dong only told me something uncertain, and I can't tell you. If Little Suzuran wants to know, you can ask Dad or Mom directly."

Thinking back on Ren Dong's vague words, Texas truly wasn't sure either. At the same time, she had some selfish thoughts of her own.

Lowering her head, Texas gently kissed Suzuran's tender little cheek and reminded her.

"If Little Suzuran can find out the answer, make sure you come share it with Texas Mom, okay~"

"Mm, I understand. Then I'm going!"

Suzuran lowered her head in Texas's arms. Encouraged by Texas, she turned around, swayed her nine fluffy little tails, and ran outside.

Texas picked up her controller again and resumed playing, but she was distracted. She died several times in a short span.

She couldn't keep playing. Casually tossing the controller aside, Texas took out her phone and waited for Little Suzuran to return.

Though Suzuran might not be able to get an answer, just the possibility of learning it made Texas feel restless.

Meanwhile, Suzuran ran through the shrine corridors with a patter of footsteps. Whenever she passed a shrine maiden, she would stop and greet her with a smile. "Hello, Shrine Maiden Sister~"

"Mm, Little Suzuran is so cute. Do you want some candy?"

"No thank you, Shrine Maiden Sister. I have something urgent to do!"

After saying that, Suzuran politely declined the candy offered by the shrine maiden, then started running again toward Ren Dong's room.

Dad should be playing games right now, while Mom was probably reading.

Suzuran planned to ask Mom directly, because Dad probably didn't know, and even if he did, he likely wouldn't be able to explain it clearly.

It was a little prejudiced, but from Suzuran's perspective, Dad was kind of silly. Mom could always distract him with just a few words, and even Little Suzuran had gradually learned that trick.

Arriving at Su Rui and Ren Dong's room, Suzuran flung the door open with a swish.

The scene in the room was more or less what Suzuran had expected. Su Rui was playing games, while Ren Dong lay on the chair where he sat, resting her chin on Su Rui's shoulder and snuggling against him.

"Mom!"

Suzuran quietly approached Ren Dong, then burrowed into her arms. Ren Dong naturally hugged her daughter close, rubbed Suzuran's little cheeks, and asked with a smile.

"What's wrong, my adorable little Lisa~?"

"Mom, come over here."

Suzuran whispered into Ren Dong's ear and pulled her away, wanting to avoid Su Rui's line of sight. Ren Dong looked at her daughter with amusement, then followed her to the space behind Su Rui and sat down with Suzuran to whisper.

"All right, Dad can't hear you now. Can Suzuran tell me what you wanted to say?"

Ren Dong smiled at her daughter, her eyes nearly curving shut. Having such a wonderful child, how could that not be a happy thing?

"I-I want to ask... Mom seems to always be thinking about unhappy things?"

Suzuran looked uneasy as she asked that question. After all, she didn't want to bring up unhappy things when Mom was happy, but when Ren Dong seemed unhappy, Suzuran didn't dare go ask her.

Whenever she went to find Mom at times like that, her tails would get rubbed into a mess.

Though Mom would help groom them afterward, when Ren Dong was angry, Suzuran would usually only prepare some snacks she liked, tiptoe over to place them beside her, rub her mother with her tails, and then quickly run away.

If she didn't run fast enough, Mom would grab her tails again and rub them into a mess.

Sure enough, after Suzuran asked that question, the smile on Ren Dong's face gradually disappeared, replaced by helplessness and melancholy.

Suzuran couldn't help shrinking back a little and said timidly.

"If Mom doesn't want to say it, then I won't ask."

As she spoke, Suzuran shifted her little feet slightly, wanting to take the chance to slip away from Ren Dong.

But how could Ren Dong let her escape? She grabbed her daughter and pulled her into her arms, then took a deep breath of her daughter's tail.