Setting Off for the Zoo

After finishing the stage play script assigned by the teacher, Su Er stretched as he looked at the thick stack of English drafts.

Do not ask why the teacher would assign such an outrageous task, but this was a major event for their class; for this year's primary school graduation ceremony, their entire class had to perform Romeo and Juliet-the toddler edition.

If he ever had the chance to return to his original world, he could probably pass that damned English CET-4 with his eyes closed.

Angel had not come to make trouble all afternoon, as Mrs. Ellison had suppressed her single-handedly.

Under the guise of not being able to disturb a gentleman and lady's date, Mrs. Ellison had stood right at the entrance of the living room when she said those words.

Very loudly!

So much so that Hermione's face had remained flushed all afternoon.

If I get married in the future, it would be pretty nice to be with the little girl in front of me. Su Er smiled as he looked at the fluffy Hermione before him. Predictably, she would definitely be a little beauty when she grew up.

It's just a pity about this pair of prominent front teeth.

"Hmm?" Hermione's little ears twitched, and her gaze narrowed dangerously.

Oh no, how did I say my inner thoughts out loud? Su Er looked in terror at Hermione opposite him; her blush right now was probably not because of shyness.

"Su Er Ellison!!!" Hermione's throat moved, and she squeezed Su Er's name out through clenched teeth.

"Go to hell!"

Even Mr. and Mrs. Granger did not dare to discuss her teeth in front of Hermione, as that was her forbidden zone.

Angel witnessed a scene at the doorway that she would never forget in her lifetime.

The gentle and pretty Granger older sister was currently pinching her Gēge's neck, shaking him back and forth and left and right, looking as terrifying as a demon in a television cartoon.

"Wah... Gēge.." Angel wailed bitterly.

Hermione's movements stiffened instantly, and now it was her turn to be flustered as she looked at Su Er in front of her, who was almost fainting from being straddled and choked.

For some reason, Hermione actually wailed even louder than Angel.

Now it was Angel's turn to be stunned.

Su Er started to comfort the two crying girls, big and small, between laughter and tears.

After a good deal of hustle and bustle, he barely managed to stem the golden beans of both of them by using the following weekend to take Angel and Hermione to the zoo to play.

"Hahahaha, don't you think it's funny?" Mrs. Ellison slapped Mr. Ellison hard with her hand during dinner, her other hand clutching her stomach.

She had been on the sidelines the entire afternoon and had witnessed the whole scene.

As soon as Mr. Ellison came home, she started talking and laughing at the same time.

Su Er's face was plastered with an unmistakable sense of utter speechlessness, while Angel watched her mother laugh from the side, giggling like a little fool as well.

Mr. Ellison looked at the three most important people in his life-one big and two small-and a gentle smile hung on the corners of his mouth.

Early the next morning, Hermione carried her school bag and waited for Su Er by the roadside as if nothing had happened.

Angel waved sweetly at her Gēge and older sister.

"Goodbye, Gēge, Granger older sister, Angel will wait for you at home oh." With that, she blew a flying kiss toward the two of them.

Su Er happily returned a flying kiss to Angel.

The primary school was not far from where they lived, and it could be reached in just a few steps.

Because Hermione was far too earnest, she was not very popular at school.

Her acquaintance with Su Er had started because of a small accident in the first grade, and Su Er, possessing the soul of an adult, naturally could not bear to watch a little girl being surrounded and teased by several people.

Ever since then, Hermione had become Su Er's little follower; and truth be told, having such an honor-student little follower was not bad.

Usually, when Su Er did not want to do his homework, he would amicably negotiate with Hermione to "borrow" it.

School life in the Muggle world was not worth mentioning; in short, Su Er spent most of his time sleeping, and the teachers did not bother him, mostly because Su Er managed to stay at the top of his class on every exam.

Occasionally, he could even keep Hermione pressed beneath him.

That was to say, Hermione nagged him earnestly every day, and while Su Er let it go in one ear and out the other every time, Hermione did not feel discouraged in the slightest.

Time quickly arrived at Sunday, which was a very sunny day. Mr. Ellison got up early in the morning and was wiping his car on the lawn.

Suli was busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast for Angel and Su Er, as well as the bento boxes they would need to take with them for the outing later.

Mr. and Mrs. Ellison truly could not rest easy letting two older kids take a very young kid to the zoo alone, even though Su Er was indeed much more mature than his peers.

"Sorry for the trouble today, Mr. Ellison." Mr. Granger held his daughter's hand as he stood on the lawn and greeted Mr. Ellison.

"My wife and I should have gone with you, but we really couldn't get away. The dental clinic has been far too busy lately."

"It's fine, it's the same if we take them," Mr. Ellison said with a hearty laugh. "Hello there, Hermione."

"Good morning, Mr. Ellison." Hermione greeted him shyly.

A drowsy Su Er was woken up by the noises downstairs and checked the time. He wanted to sleep for another five minutes, but a cannonball descended from the sky.

"Gēge!" Angel lay beside Su Er's ear and let out a huge howl.

Thoroughly startled awake, Su Er pulled a stern face, grabbed Angel by the back collar of her shirt, and unceremoniously tossed her out of the bedroom door.

Angel was not angry either; she giggled, jumped on the spot, hung onto the doorknob, and shamelessly re-entered the room to continue harassing her older brother.

Time to get up, we're going to the zoo today.

With no other choice against his little sister, Su Er quickly changed, washed up, and went downstairs, where he saw Hermione Granger at the dining table.

"Morning," he greeted lazily, earning a fierce glare from Hermione.

"Good morning, Sister Granger~" Angel shouted with full of energy, turning her head to urge Su Er, "Bro-ther, eat up, eat up, we'll set off once we're done, Grandfather Sun is already awake."

"Alright, I know, you little taskmaster!"

"What's a taskmaster?" Angel tilted her head cutely.

Perhaps due to Sunday, there were a lot of vehicles on the road today.

The car carrying the Ellison family stopped and went all the way; the zoo that usually took half a hour to reach had already taken a hour and a half today, and Su Er took the opportunity to catch up on a bit of sleep in the car.

He wasn't woken up until they arrived at the zoo, when Hermione pinched his nose.

"Whoa, so many people today?" Mr. Ellison was startled by the dense crowd of heads in front of him when he got out of the car.

"Hermione, Su Er, stick close to us, okay." Suli tightened her grip on Angel's hand and turned back to say to Hermione and the still sleepy-eyed Su Er behind her.

"Okay, Mrs. Ellison," Hermione answered obediently.

"Let's go!" Angel shouted.

Even though there were many people, thanks to the orderly dispatching by the zoo management, the Ellison family didn't miss a single animal, and they also found out the reason why the zoo was exceptionally popular today.

"It's a big bear!" Angel hopped up and down happily across the glass.

"It's a giant panda." After correcting Angel's term, Su Er looked at the black-and-white roly-poly on the other side of the glass with deep emotion; separated by a lifetime, he could actually still see an exclusively Eastern creature in this place.

"Does it not eat meat? Aren't bears meat-eaters? How come it's eating bamboo?" Hermione asked softly.

"Giant pandas are creatures exclusive to the East. It has a name called the iron-eating beast. Don't look at the cat in its name; this guy is a genuine bear, so of course it eats meat." Su Er enthusiastically explained to Hermione, "However, this guy is also notoriously lazy. It's said that it ate meat at the very beginning, but because hunting was too troublesome, it slowly changed to eating bamboo later on."

"Oh, oh." Hermione nodded, glanced at Su Er, and whispered, "Mm, just like you, lazy."

"What?" Su Er didn't hear Hermione's last sentence clearly and asked.

"I know, I know." Angel raised her hand and jumped up. "Sister Granger said brother is just as lazy as this big kitty!"

Because Angel's voice was too loud and too cute, it caused a wave of good-natured laughter from the people around them.

Three black lines fell across Su Er's forehead.

Under Su Er's questioning gaze, Hermione lowered her head, her ears gradually turning a hint of red.