Don't Bully My Dad (continued)

Second Cub slammed her head against the door, covered in bruises and tears streaming down her face. But her father kept shouting for help. Even though she was in so much pain that she couldn't fly, she still managed to stand up and rush over.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

--You big bad guy! Don't you dare bully my dad!

The Second Cub yelled and headbutted it.

And this time, she finally succeeded in passing through the door.

Before the Second Cub could react, he saw his father standing not far away, bending down and reaching out to him, smiling and saying, "Xuexue, come here, Daddy will hug you."

"Papa!"

Second Cub's grievances surged forth at this moment, turning into large tears that rolled down her cheeks.

She couldn't wait to tell Tao Qiu about her heartbreak, so she forced herself to stand up despite the pain, stretched out her two small, white, lotus-root-like hands, and toddled towards Tao Qiu.

Just as she was about to touch Tao Qiu suddenly disappeared, leaving her alone in the empty space.

The Second Cub pouted and burst into tears.

Tao Qiu woke up in the middle of the night to a sobbing sound. He got up and found that the Second Cub sleeping next to him had turned into a chubby little baby.

Before he could even feel a surge of joy, he saw his Second Cub crying uncontrollably, his tiny little hands flailing in the air as if trying to grab something.

Tao Qiu quickly picked up Second Cub.

She woke up as soon as I put her in my arms.

The Second Cub opened his sleepy eyes and saw his father's familiar face.

Tao Qiu frowned as she looked at Second Cub, who had suddenly turned into human form in the middle of the night and was crying incessantly. She asked worriedly, "What's wrong with Xuexue? Is she feeling unwell?"

Second Cub's eyes welled with tears, and he stopped crying instantly. His green eyes stared straight at Tao Qiu, as if trying to confirm something.

"Ah ah..." Second Cub choked out, trying to call out for her father, but only meaningless syllables came out.

Tao Qiu hugged her and gently wiped away the tears on her face. "Good girl Xuexue, if you feel unwell, just nod and tell Daddy, okay?"

Now the Second Cub was finally sure that she was awake, and that her real father hadn't been bullied by the bad guys or disappeared; he was holding her steadily.

After thinking it through, a surge of sadness overwhelmed him, Second Cub burst into tears once again.

"Waaaaah..." Second Cub threw himself into Tao Qiu, crying and loudly complaining, "Aiya ah ya, pfft pfft pfft, ah ya ya ya!"

Even though Tao Qiu was proficient in various animal and human languages, he was still helpless against this infantile language.

However, he could at least tell that his Second Cub was probably healthy; he was most likely having a nightmare and was telling him about it.

Tao Qiu smiled wryly, only able to coax the child with nonsense, "Oh, I see. They really went too far. Dad will teach them a lesson later, they'll definitely get what's coming to them."

His lies inadvertently corresponded to Second Cub's nightmare. Hearing that his father would avenge him, Second Cub gradually calmed down, but tears still fell as usual.

Summer is hot enough, Second Cub had just cried again, his face and neck covered in tears and sweat.

Tao Qiu put Second Cub on the bed, and asked Eldest Cub and Third Cub, who were already awake, to stay with Second Cub while he went to get a towel.

The Eldest Cub gently grasped his younger sister's soft little hand and said softly, "Little sister, don't cry, we're here."

"Chirp chirp." The Third Cub gently nuzzled against the Second Cub.

Second Cub's eyes, and he sobbed hoarsely, "Ah... ya ya..."

Although they were both children, the Eldest Cub couldn't understand the Second Cub's words and could only silently hold her hand tightly.

Tao Qiu acted quickly. He returned with a towel dampened with cold water and wiped Second Cub's face, neck, back, and little hands. He then tied Second Cub's somewhat long hair into a small bun with a hair tie so that the back of her neck would stay cool.

Second Cub also came to his senses at this moment and realized that he had turned into a human. However, because of the dream and because he had cried too much, he had no energy to celebrate even if he was happy.

Tao Qiu used a piece of cloth cut from the bed sheet to wrap Second Cub's body. Second Cub lazily leaned on his shoulder, dozing off. His chubby cheeks were squeezed together, his eyelashes, still wet with tears, trembled, and his eyelids were about to droop.

After turning on the small fans, Tao Qiu lay down on her side, gathered the three children in front of her, and said gently, "Are you all sleepy? Go to sleep, and Daddy will make you some cold radish salad tomorrow."

The Second Cub, resting her head on Tao Qiu's arm, had already drifted off to sleep again. However, knowing that her father was by her side, she wouldn't have any more nightmares tonight.

The Eldest Cub and Third Cub yawned sleepily, said goodnight to Tao Qiu, and then closed their eyes to sleep peacefully.

Tao Qiu was the first to wake up the next morning. He got up to make breakfast, including cold shredded radish salad, pancakes, and fried pork chops.

The aroma of meat woke the three little ones from their sleep.

After a good night's sleep, the Second Cub was full of energy. Looking at his tiny hands and feet, which were about the same size as his older brother's, his round eyes were filled with joy and excitement.

"Aiya, ahiya!" The Second Cub rattled off a string of baby talk to the Eldest Cub and Third Cub, waving its little hands wildly, its excitement overflowing.

"Chirp chirp."

Good morning.

The Third Cub nuzzled against the Second Cub, also happy that its sister could transform into human form.

"Yay!" The Second Cub hugged the Third Cub and rubbed his face against him.

The Eldest Cub also said, "Xuexue, Yuanyuan, good morning."

Tao Qiu placed the dishes on the table, saw the three siblings huddled together, smiled, walked over, and picked up Second Cub.

"Daddy will carry you to wash up and eat first, and then Xuexue can learn to walk by herself, okay?"

"Ah!" Second Cub hugged Tao Qiu's neck and rubbed against her wildly, giggling happily.

She finally got to cuddle with her dad!

Tao Qiu was also infected by her joy, and her eyes almost squinted into slits with laughter.

After washing up the three kids, the family of four started eating breakfast.

Besides the Third Cub, the Eldest Cub Second Cub can sit on the stone benches now, but they need to put a few books under their bottoms to reach the tabletop.

Tao Qiu cut the pork chops and pancakes and divided them among her three children.

There was only one small spoon, which was given to the Eldest Cub, so Tao Qiu planned to feed the Second Cub herself.

But as he turned his back to get the chopsticks, he heard the exclamations of the Eldest Cub and Third Cub from behind him.

"Chirp chirp!"

--Don't want to? Like this!

"No!"

Tao Qiu turned his head sharply, and after seeing the scene before him clearly, he helplessly rubbed his forehead and let out a bitter laugh.

For Second Cub reason, Erzai didn't use her hands to grab food when Tao Qiu didn't offer her chopsticks or a spoon. Instead, like a little bird, she buried her head in the bowl and ate.

He did manage to bite into the food, but half his face was also covered in oil and pancake crumbs.

Seeing Tao Qiu approach, Second Cub proudly raised his chin and babbled something unintelligible. Tao Qiu guessed it was something like, "I found a way to eat it myself, Daddy, wasn't I great?"

Tao Qiu wiped her face with a tissue and laughed, "Silly girl, your skin is so delicate. What if the food is too hot and burns you? Even if the food isn't hot, you'll still get your face dirty eating like this, and then you'll have to wash it clean. That's such a hassle."

"Hmm..." Second Cub pouted, looking a little dejected.

She thought this method was particularly great.

"Okay, Dad will feed you this meal first. Later, Dad will cut out some forks, and then you can eat by yourself."

"Aww!" The Second Cub smiled again.

Although being fed by Dad is a happy thing, Second Cub doesn't want to bother Dad all the time.

She became human to keep up with her father, not to be a burden to him.

After the meal, Tao Qiu had Second Cub try walking.

Second Cub has always been gifted in sports. After walking around a few times while holding onto tables and chairs, he could run around the cave unsteadily, without Tao Qiu having to worry about him at all.

However, the Second Cub still hasn't learned to transform back into bird form, so it seems this matter will have to be handled slowly.

Tao Qiu let the three children play together while she went to whittle bamboo forks and small chopsticks, making three sets in total, so the Third Cub could use them when they grew into humans.

At dinner, both the Eldest Cub Second Cub used chopsticks and forks, but they weren't used to it yet and ate rather slowly.

Before bedtime, Tao Qiu would tell stories with his Eldest Cub lying on his left leg Second Cub on his right, and even his Third Cub sitting in his lap.

All three of them were quite heavy; someone with a weaker constitution would have been crushed by their weight.

In the following days, the Second Cub began to learn to speak from the Eldest Cub, but the Third Cub still showed no signs of transforming into human form.

Tao Qiu originally wanted to say a few words to comfort Third Cub, but Third Cub didn't seem to be in a hurry. Tao Qiu was afraid that if she said anything, it would make Third Cub overthink, so she didn't bring it up.

On this rare cloudy day, Tao Qiu decided to expand his strawberry planting. He had only planted a dozen or so before, and the ripe fruit wasn't even enough for him and his kids to eat.

The kids were playing on the grass, while Tao Qiu was urging strawberry seedlings to grow nearby.

He was busy promoting seedlings and propagating strawberry plants from runners at the same time, but the results were very obvious; the number of strawberry seedlings increased rapidly.

Now that there are enough large-fruited crops to feed them, Tao Qiu has started to pursue better taste, and even though growing strawberries is troublesome, he is happy to do it.

Having just finished tending to a strawberry seedling with runners, Tao Qiu heard the sound of wings flapping. He turned around and saw Third Cub bringing him water with a bamboo tube in its mouth.

Tao Qiu patted the mud off his hands, took the bamboo tube, sat down, and let the Third Cub stand on his lap.

The Third Cub chirped, "Chirp, chirp."

"Since it's inconvenient for my older brother and sister to come over, I've come to deliver it."

Tao Qiu turned around and saw that Eldest Cub and Second Cub were also looking this way. Tao Qiu smiled and waved to them.

"Ah!" Second Cub waved his hands excitedly, like a little fan seeing his idol.

Tao Qiu's smile widened even more.