Python Panic

Hermione uncomfortably shifted her body under Su Er's resentful gaze.

She raised her head and looked around.

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Ellison?" she asked.

Su Er glared at her, then turned his head to search through the crowd.

"Over there."

Not far away, Mr. Ellison and Suli were chatting with a family. Seeing Mr. Ellison's reserved smile, yep, confirmed, it was someone trying to butter up Mr. Ellison.

However, that guy was really burly. At first glance, he looked just like a pig wearing clothes talking. Today's weather was extremely hot, and that big guy had to wipe his forehead from time to time.

The slightly fatter Pigwidgeon beside him seemed to be his son, pulling impatiently and hard on the big guy.

They didn't chat for long before Mr. Ellison smiled and said a few words. The big guy smiled cheerfully, shook hands with Mr. Ellison, squeezed through the crowd, and vanished.

"Sorry, are you done looking?" Mr. Ellison said.

"Done looking!" Angel tugged at the hem of Mr. Ellison's clothes, using both hands and feet. "I'm hungry, Daddy."

"Alright then, we-" Mr. Ellison smiled, bent down to pick up Angel in his arms, and turned to look around. "There's a restaurant over there, let's head over and grab a bite."

Su Er naturally had no objections, and Hermione of course had no right to speak.

Mrs. Ellison kept a beaming smile the entire time, playing the role of a virtuous wife and loving mother to perfection.

After the meal, the gluttonous Angel caught sight of an ice cream stall with sharp eyes and pestered Su Er to buy her one.

Left with no choice by Angel's pestering, Su Er could only get up and fetch Angel a strawberry and cantaloupe double-scoop ice cream.

He bought himself two cheaper lemon popsicles, one of which was for Hermione.

"Thank you." Hermione took it reservedly and whispered her thanks.

"Where are we going next?"

"Over there!" Angel took the lead in pointing the way. Su Er followed the direction of her finger and saw a reptile house.

Hermione saw it too, a look of disgust appearing on her face.

She didn't want to go, but Su Er tugged her along with a wicked grin.

Su Er knew that Hermione, just like other girls, didn't have a very good impression of such slimy reptiles.

Serves her right for teasing him just a moment ago.

Perhaps because the restaurant was too cool, or perhaps because it was mealtime, there weren't as many people in the zoo now, so Mr. and Mrs. Ellison chose to wait in the restaurant instead of joining in the hustle and bustle.

Just right to enjoy some rare couple time.

Su Er and Hermione each held one of Angel's hands. The little girl even deliberately let her feet dangle, making herself swing back and forth while letting out giggling laughs.

The reptile house was very cool, but not damp. The only lighting sources here were the fluorescent tubes hidden inside the glass.

In the hot weather, this was the most comfortable place to be, so there were quite a few people in the reptile house.

Su Er carefully protected the big one and the small one, looking around step by step along the path indicated by the signs.

Before reaching the largest exhibition area in the middle, a series of screams came from ahead.

Faintly, it was "Snake... A snake got out!"

Then came a wave of chaos. Countless people retreated backward from the front, squeezing toward the exit.

Panic was contagious. Even if people didn't understand what was going on, they would still run along with the first batch of panicked crowds.

Su Er made a decisive call, pulling the two girls into his arms and squeezing toward the front left. In case a stampede occurred here, something bad was bound to happen in the confined space.

When he came to the zoo with Angel before, he remembered that to the front left of this reticulated python exhibit, there was a corner that could protect them from being squeezed and injured by the surging crowd.

Hermione's eyes were full of panic, nervously huddling in Su Er's arms while she tightly grabbed onto Angel.

The three of them barged left and right through the crowded mob, searching for gaps. By the time Su Er led them squeezing into the corner, the shoe on Su Er's right foot was nowhere to be found, and his bare arm was covered in bruises.

Fortunately, though, they were safe.

Su Er panted heavily, dense beads of sweat covering his head.

"Are you alright?" Hermione also let out a breath of relief, raising her head to look at Su Er.

"I'm fine, we'll just stay here and wait for the staff," Su Er said softly, and the two little girls nodded.

"Big brother, wipe your sweat." Angel sensibly grabbed a piece of clothing and dabbed at Su Er.

The sudden crisis came abruptly, but the zoo management's reaction could be considered swift, and the crowded crowd orderly left the venue.

"Big brother, big snake." While in the corner, Angel suddenly pointed to an empty patch of ground not far from the crowd.

Su Er looked over and saw a large python slithering across the floor with its forked tongue flickering. Reptile house staff members with panicked expressions were following alongside with a forked three-pronged spear.

Soon, people in uniforms walked in from the entrance and began directing people to leave the venue.

"Whew." Su Er only let out a breath of relief after leading the two girls out of the pavilion. During a fleeting glimpse just now, he saw a skinny boy with a bowl cut standing beside that big snake. He wondered if he had made it out safely.

"What happened inside?" Mr. and Mrs. Ellison anxiously rushed forward.

Angel burst into loud tears upon seeing her parents. Seeing their daughter crying with full lung power, Mr. and Mrs. Ellison instead breathed a sigh of relief, which showed that Angel hadn't suffered any harm.

Suli held Angel in her arms and offered comforting words, while Mr. Ellison looked toward Su Er.

"Hiss..." Su Er drew in a sharp breath. Mr. Ellison's large hand happened to grip Su Er's bruised arm, and he finally felt a piercing pain wash over him.

"You're hurt!" Hermione exclaimed, her eyes instantly turning red.

"What happened?" Mr. Ellison asked in a deep voice, his face filled with anger.

"It's nothing, Dad. I accidentally bumped into something inside," Su Er said with a grin.

Mr. Ellison glared at Su Er, then turned to ask Hermione, who was on the verge of tears.

Hermione choked back her sobs and recounted the entire incident in meticulous detail. Even Su Er had to admire her memory, as she even described in detail which display stands they had been at during that time.

Upon hearing that Su Er had protected the two girls alone and hid in a corner with them, Mr. Ellison raised a hand and gently patted Su Er's shoulder.

"Good lad," he said.

With such an incident having occurred, the Ellison family clearly had no mood to continue strolling. Although Su Er repeatedly insisted he was fine, just to be safe, Mr. Ellison and Mrs. Ellison drove to find a nearby clinic.

"The child's skin is relatively tender and rich in capillaries, so it's easy for bruises to appear after being squeezed. It looks scary, but it's nothing serious."

The doctor's words allowed Mr. Ellison and Mrs. Ellison to breathe sighs of relief.

On the way back, Mr. Ellison was in a better mood, frequently bringing up Su Er's performance and offering high praise. Words like a real man, good lad, and responsible appeared with high frequency.

Mrs. Ellison and Angel kissed Su Er repeatedly.

"Su Er is truly our family's angel!" Mrs. Ellison repeated her old refrain once more.

Seeing that Hermione still looked somewhat sad and shaken, Su Er chuckled and patted the young girl's fluffy head.

"Look, I got hurt just to protect you."

When Hermione saw that large expanse of scary bruising, her eyes welled up with tears all over again.

"I'm afraid this hand won't be able to exert any force for a short time, so it's only fair that I ask for a little reward, right?" Su Er said matter-of-factly.

"What do you want?"

"I want..." Su Er broke into a mischievous smile, looking meaningfully at Hermione's delicate face.

Hermione looked at the mischievous smile on Su Er's face, inexplicably glanced up at Mrs. Ellison, and then lowered her head.

"I want you to help me write my homework these past few days."

Hermione was stunned for a moment, and then her face turned bright red all at once.

"You... are... dreaming!" she gritted her teeth, squeezing the words out one by one.

She turned her head away to pout, and after a moment, she seemed unable to let the anger go.

"Smack!" She turned around and gave Su Er a forceful slap.

"Ah..." A miserable cry rang out from inside the car.

Mixed in with it was Hermione's voice, shouting even louder than the cry: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."