Dad, It Hurts So Much (continued)

It's as if it's saying: I'm so cute, Daddy definitely won't punish me.

Tao Qiu raised an eyebrow. "So you know how to beg for mercy now?"

The Second Cub said in a soft, coquettish voice, "Papa is good, baby, I love Papa the most."

After saying that, it snuggled up and rubbed against me, just like when it was still a little bird.

Tao Qiu, as expected, fell for this act. She beamed like a flower, then leaned down and gave Erzai a quick kiss on his Second Cub cheek. "Say a few more words, your dad loves to hear them."

The Second Cub was always responsive to requests, immediately waving his little hand and shouting "Papa, hello!" several times, just like cheering at a concert.

Tao Qiu rinsed the foam off Eldest Cub's body, thanked Third Cub, took the towel she handed her, dried Eldest Cub, and then put his homemade little underwear on him.

The so-called underpants are actually just a piece of cloth covering the buttocks and crotch, with the ends of the cloth tied in a knot at the waist.

Ugly, but practical?

After letting the Eldest Cub's hair dry, Tao Qiu then washed the Second Cub, repeating the previous steps.

Second Cub is a girl, in addition to her underwear, Tao Qiu also dressed her in a little dress that could be made simply by cutting and sewing, similar to a sleeveless dress.

Her clothes fit her perfectly.

It's all thanks to Tao Qiu's past life, where she loved watching craft videos in her spare time; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to put together this outfit.

The underwear and the little skirt were both made from that unused bed sheet; the fabric is light and breathable, perfect for summer.

The main issue is that it's not convenient to reveal the children's existence to Lou Yu right now. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so much trouble; we could just ask him to bring some of the children's clothes from the base.

Second Cub had always envied humans for having different clothes to wear. After Tao Qiu changed her into a dress, she kept looking down and twisting her body to look left and right, her smile growing wider and wider.

"Porridge!" Second Cub jumped into Tao Qiu's arms, hugging his neck and showering him with kisses, "I love Papa!"

Tao Qiu hugged her, "As long as our Xuexue is happy."

Summer nights aren't cold, and with the night breeze, the two kids' hair was already dry by the time the family of four sat on the grass eating a bowl of strawberries.

Tao Qiu combed their hair neatly with a small comb, making it look like feathers; the cubs' hair was also very thick.

Fortunately, Tao Qiu has a lot of hair and isn't old enough to go bald, otherwise he would be extremely jealous.

Second Cub grabbed his hair and said to Tao Qiu, "Hair? Hair? Beautiful."

He knew his own daughter, Tao Qiu, well, so he nodded and agreed, "Okay, I'll braid your hair tomorrow morning with Huahua hair clips."

"Hehe." The Second Cub was satisfied.

Tao Qiu took the children back to the cave after they finished washing up. He carried one child in each arm and a basket of toiletries. The Third Cub followed obediently behind him, with the bowl of strawberries that she had asked Tao Qiu for in her mouth.

Tao Qiu put the Second Cub Eldest Cub the bed, then turned around and patted the Third Cub's head, saying, "Thank you for your hard work Yuanyuan."

"Chirp, chirp."

--It wasn't hard work, I ate the most strawberries.

All four of them love strawberries, but the Third Cub loves them the most.

It started raining in the middle of the night, and it hadn't stopped by the next morning, so Tao Qiu could only wait for the rain to stop before he could go on patrol and hunt.

After getting up and having breakfast, Tao Qiu started to dress up Second Cub, braiding his hair into two pigtails with brightly colored hair ties, and adorning his head with hair clips.

Everything was done according to Second Cub's instructions; not a single card could be missing.

After getting dressed up, Second Cub even had her dad take dozens of beautiful photos of her, and she loved every single one of them.

The Eldest Cub's hair was simply tied into a short ponytail, with a hair clip reluctantly fastened to keep his forehead cool.

However, the Eldest Cub insisted on wearing the gold necklace; it was his favorite piece of jewelry.

Tao Qiu also took a photo of him as a memento.

After tinkering with the two kids, Tao Qiu wanted to ask the Third Cub, who was watching cartoons nearby, if he wanted to wear her beloved amethyst bracelet too. But when she turned around, she found the Third Cub listlessly looking down, his eyes not even on the screen.

"Yuanyuan?" Tao Qiu walked over and picked up the Third Cub.

"Chirp..." The Third Cub's purple eyes were filled with pain. She buried her face in Tao Qiu, and even her cries were extremely weak.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Tao Qiu was a little flustered.

Just now, when Tao Qiu was playing cartoons for Third Cub, she was still jumping around, saying that after Daddy finished dressing up her older brother and sister, she wanted Daddy to read to her.

How did it become like this in less than half an hour?

"Chirp... chirp..."

--It hurts... it hurts so much...

The Third Cub began to tremble in Tao Qiu, his voice trembling with sobs.

"Where does it hurt? Yuanyuan, please tell Daddy, okay?" Tao Qiu's throat tightened, and her voice trembled.

The Second Cub Eldest Cub, who were admiring themselves in the mirror, heard the noise and rushed over.

"Papa, little sister..."

Tao Qiu was standing, but Second Cub wasn't even as tall as his legs, so he could only try to jump up.

Tao Qiu's attention was focused on Third Cub, so she didn't see her or sit down.

The Eldest Cub grabbed the Second Cub's hand and shook his head at her, "Wait, Daddy's busy."

The Second Cub pursed his lips, no longer speaking, only silently looking up at his father and the Third Cub with teary eyes.

"Chirp chirp... Chirp chirp..."

--It hurts so much... it all hurts...

The Third Cub was speechless. Her trembling quickly turned into convulsions, every bone and every inch of skin screaming in pain, as if torn into countless pieces from the inside out.

"Chirp--"

The Third Cub let out a hoarse scream. To relieve her pain, she kept rolling around in Tao Qiu, flapping her wings wildly and scratching frantically with her claws.

Tao Qiu was afraid that she would hurt herself, so she could only use force to control her.

Given Third Cub's current condition, there was no way to get anything out of him. Without any hesitation, Tao Qiu carried Third Cub to the knife and immediately cut her finger to bleed him.

Just as Tao Qiu's hand touched the knife, the Third Cub in her arms suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream. Then their bodies stiffened, their eyes closed, and they fell silent.

Tao Qiu's head buzzed, and her face turned pale instantly.

He cut his hand, but the Third Cub's mouth was tightly shut, so he couldn't feed him at all.

He was bleeding profusely, but there was nothing that could be done.

Honestly, Tao Qiu was completely stunned. For a moment, he almost felt that everything in front of him was a fake dream. His mind couldn't process such a drastic change, and his heart felt like it had stopped beating.

Finally, the Third Cub in her arms stirred again, and their body temperature remained the same, indicating that they were still alive. Otherwise, Tao Qiu felt that she might have really fainted.

What happened next was something Tao Qiu would never forget.

He lowered his eyes and watched as the Third Cub's body convulsed and stretched in his arms at an accelerated pace, gradually transforming from a fluffy little bird into a round and adorable human doll.

However, this little baby also has a pair of snow-white wings on her back, just like a little angel in a fairy tale. The bloodstains on her body do not affect her pure and innocent temperament.

The little child bit his finger, his brow furrowed, as if he were enduring pain even in his dream.

"Hmm..." After a moment, the little baby seemed to smell a familiar scent, his brows slowly relaxed, he smacked his lips a few times, instinctively snuggled closer to Tao Qiu, and then peacefully fell asleep.

"Call..."

Tao Qiu let out a long breath, her legs went weak, and she knelt down on the ground with a thud.

The Second Cub Eldest Cub over and surrounded their father and sister, but the sister was unconscious. The father, with his head down, cried silently, tears and blood from his hands streaming down his face like raindrops.

"Yuanyuan..." Tao Qiu's voice sounded strained, hoarse and unpleasant, as if it had been ground by sand and gravel.

He held Third Cub tightly, as if trying to merge her back into his own body, never to be separated again, sacrificing his own life to protect her from illness and ensure her safety.

Three days later, on the day to collect the materials for the second time, Lou Yu set off early in the morning and arrived at Tao Qiu's territory before noon.

As soon as he stopped the car and opened the door, Tao Qiu rushed in, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his chest, like a drowning person grasping at a lifeline.

Lou Yu didn't notice Tao Qiu's unusual mood at first. While reaching to close the car door, he joked with her, "Qiuqiu, you miss me so much? Well, actually, I miss you too."

Normally, Tao Qiu would have already been teasing Lou Yu with a smile, and then... shamelessly touching and rubbing against him.

After Lou Yu finished speaking, Tao Qiu remained silent and didn't even move.

Lou Yu then realized something was wrong.

"Qiuqiu, what's wrong?" Lou Yu gently stroked Tao Qiu's long hair and asked softly.

Tao Qiu shook her head and said in a muffled voice, "Can I hold you for a little while?"

"Sure, you can hold me for as long as you want." Tao Qiu didn't want to talk about it, and Lou Yu didn't ask any more questions. He just gently hugged him, silently giving him a sense of security.

Tao Qiu wrapped her arms around Lou Yu's waist, pressed her forehead against his chest, smelled his scent, and listened to his heartbeat, finally letting down the mask of strength she had been putting on for the past few days.

The process of Third Cub transforming into human form that day truly terrified him. In just a few minutes, he deeply understood what it meant to be helpless.

If Third Cub hadn't been trying to transform into human form, but had instead fallen ill, Tao Qiu couldn't even imagine how desperate she would have felt.

It turns out that his blood isn't omnipotent; there are times when he's too late.

Afterwards, the Third Cub slept for a day. When it woke up, it felt fine, except for having an extra pair of wings. Its appearance was similar to the first and Second Cub Eldest Cub.

But the Third Cub had one advantage over the Eldest Cub Second Cub: the first time Tao Qiu taught her, she learned to switch between bird and human forms.