The Little Green Bird: "Daddy, Daddy."

... But thinking about it carefully, even if the child said so, they wouldn't send him there.

After all, the adults are in the hospital, and a child like him wouldn't be able to help much; his father would have to take care of him as well.

Look at the mess they've made; they've really become big bad guys.

The group scratched their heads awkwardly.

The child was like a piece of water; he cried for a long time, until several adults were exhausted from crying, before he finally stopped sobbing a little.

Lou Yu gently wiped away his tears with a handkerchief and coaxed him softly, "Your father and mother are only doing this because they feel sorry for you. That's why they asked your Uncle John to look after you first. Otherwise, if we took you to the hospital, your father would have to take care of your mother and wouldn't have time to look after you. What if you accidentally got hurt or were taken away by bad people? Your mother would be so heartbroken when she woke up and found out."

Xiao Cong sobbed, "I don't want Mom to be sad."

"Your parents named you Xiao Cong because you're smart and clever. You should know what to do now so as not to make your mother sad, right?"

Xiao Cong looked dejected. "... Stay here? Don't cause trouble for Mom and Dad, wait for Dad to come and take me home."

"By the way, there are many ways to love your mother, it doesn't necessarily have to be to go to the hospital with her right now." Lou Yu patted his head and offered a solution, "If you promise to stay here obediently, I'll have your Uncle John contact your father and ask how your mother is doing. Do you agree?"

Xiao Cong looked at Lou Yu, her wet eyes shining. "Really?"

"Of course." Lou Yu hooked his little finger around his and smiled, "If you do what I ask, I'll immediately fulfill my promise."

"I promise!" Xiao Cong hooked his little finger with Lou Yu's and exclaimed excitedly, "We've made a pinky promise! Anyone who breaks it will be caught by a monster!"

Lou Yu smiled broadly, his eyes crinkling. "Okay? Let's both try our best not to get caught by the monster."

After the child calmed down, Lou Yu asked John to try to contact Xiao Cong's father.

Fortunately, Xiao Cong's father answered the phone.

John didn't tell his colleague Xiao Cong about the vandalism, but he also didn't lie to him or praise him. He simply said that Xiao Cong wanted to know about his mother, so he called to ask.

My colleague said his wife is fine and her condition has stabilized, but he's still dealing with hospital admission procedures and won't be back until later.

John gave the communicator to Xiao Cong so he could talk to his father.

The colleague told his son about his wife's condition in more detail, and also told him not to be naughty and not to cause trouble for John and the others. He said he would arrange things at the hospital and then go pick him up.

Xiao Cong agreed with tears in his eyes, but he didn't let his father know that he was crying.

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Cong returned the communicator to John, then bowed deeply to them at a ninety-degree angle and said loudly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been naughty. Please forgive me, Auntie and Uncle."

Having already learned the reason behind the child's actions, and being adults themselves, John and the others naturally wouldn't hold it against the child, so they all forgave him.

Lou Yu squatted down next to Xiao Cong and said to him, "Now that you've realized your mistake, you have to take responsibility for it. For example, you can clean up the mess you made in the living room. How about it? Do you think you can do it?"

Xiao Cong nodded emphatically. "I can!"

Lou Yu patted him on the back, "Okay? Go ahead, I'll guide you from the side."

Although it was supposed to be guidance, Lou Yu also got involved, and with Huo Lan and the others joining in, the messy living room was quickly restored to its original state.

Not wanting his child to constantly think about the hospital, Lou Yu chatted with him, telling him about his and his teammates' experiences in the wild, to distract him.

The experiences in the wild were always thrilling, and Lou Yu was also a great storyteller, always able to describe an ordinary scene vividly and excitingly, leaving even Liu Qi'an and the others somewhat dazed.

Was it really as dangerous as the captain described? Why don't they remember it?

Okay, that seems to be true. Three out of the five of them were injured, and the captain covered their retreat, almost getting bitten by that mutated monster.

They talked until evening, Chen Lin had even finished cooking dinner before Lou Yu finally stopped.

After a big commotion during the day, and with Chen Lin's excellent cooking skills, Xiao Cong ate two bowls of rice before he was full.

Chen Lin couldn't resist teasing him. "Is the food you made good, you big bad guy? Want some?"

Xiao Cong blushed deeply, but bravely admitted, "Your cooking is delicious, you're not a bad guy."

The others burst into laughter.

After dinner, Lou Yu took Xiao Cong for a walk to digest their food, and they happened to run into Xiao Cong's father who came to pick him up.

Xiao Cong's father naturally recognized Lou Yu and greeted him warmly, then sincerely thanked him and John for taking care of his child.

Lou Yu responded politely.

"Xiao Cong is a good boy; he loves you and your wife very much."

Xiao Cong's father patted his son's head, his eyes filled with relief.

Before leaving, Xiao Cong asked if he could come back to Lou Yu to hear stories again.

Lou Yu smiled and said, "Sure, you're welcome to come anytime as long as we're home."

Xiao Cong left happily.

When John and the others got home, they saw that Lou Yu was alone, and they knew that Xiao Cong had been taken away by his father.

John breathed a sigh of relief, "In the future, I shouldn't take this kind of job anymore. The little money I earn can't make up for the emotional damage I've suffered."

The other three laughed, and Lou Yu also curled his lips into a smile.

Huo Lan looked at Lou Yu and exclaimed, "How come I never noticed before? Boss, you actually have a talent for taking care of kids. Your partner and your child are in for a treat!"

Lou Yu didn't mention that he most likely wouldn't have children, but instead said, "Having trained so many new recruits, even if they don't know how, they've trained them."

Liu Qi'an exposed him without hesitation, "Captain is lying. How can you be as gentle with new recruits as you are with children?"

Lou Yu his eyebrows. "I treat everyone equally."

The teammates exclaimed in unison, "Ew~~~"

That evening, back in his room, Lou Yu lay on his bed and flipped through a few pages of a book when he suddenly remembered his conversation with his teammates earlier.

He did lie. His ability to soothe children wasn't due to experience training new recruits, but rather because he himself had been soothed like that as a child; he was simply following her methods.

Even after so many years, Lou Yu still remembers her face and voice from that time.

She said, "Xiao Yu, are you sad? Then cry as much as you want. Don't be afraid, Mommy's here."

A mother's embrace is always the warmest; nestled inside, one can ignore all the storms of life and sleep peacefully with a sweet heart.

As a child, he was ignorant and would only use tears and tantrums to stop his mother from leaving. And each time, his mother would soften and turn back to hug him, soothing all his sadness and pain.

It wasn't until later that Lou Yu realized that he was like a chain, firmly binding his mother's freedom.

His mother was forced to marry his father, forced to give birth to him, and forced to love him.

He was an accomplice in his father's harm to his mother. If it weren't for him, his mother might have escaped her prison and started a new life long ago.

He had felt remorse and blamed himself for this, but his mother gently forgave him.

She said, "I don't love your father, and giving birth to you wasn't my choice, but loving you is my own choice, because you are my child. Don't feel guilty for wanting my love or accepting my love, because you love your mother just as your mother loves you—it's natural and only right."

Later, after much negotiation, the mother finally left the Lou Family and returned to her own world.

She returned to being the free and independent researcher Bai Yan; she was still his mother, but... she was no longer just his mother.

He had gotten into trouble before and had no choice but to leave the Central Base. His mother did her best to help him through the situation.

Unable to see him off in person, she asked someone to pass on a message to him.

She said, "Xiao Yu, you did nothing wrong, Mom believes in you."

"Chirp, chirp?"

--Dad, what's wrong?

Inside the cave, Third Cub saw Tao Qiu suddenly space out while telling a story, his eyes glazed over, seemingly lost in thought. So Sanzai went up and patted his hand.

"Oh, I forgot we were telling a story." Tao Qiu chuckled, then said apologetically, "The story mentioned barbecue, so I was thinking, how about we get some barbecue tomorrow?"

The kids get excited when it comes to food.

"Chirp chirp!"

I want to eat it too!

"Chirp chirp!"

--Roast lots of them!

"Chirp chirp!"

--Eat your fill!

So bedtime stories turned into a barbecue preview session, with the kids chattering and offering suggestions until they finally quieted down late at night when sleepiness overwhelmed them.

Chapter 34 The Green Bird "Daddy, Daddy."

"Daddy, Daddy."

A childish voice rang out, and in a daze, Lou Yu seemed to see several children standing in front of him, but his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he couldn't open them no matter what he did, nor could he see their faces clearly.

"Daddy, I want some candy." The child shook his hand.

"I want to eat too! I want to eat too!" Another child squeezed in.

"Daddy, why aren't you saying anything?" A little hand touched his forehead, and he hummed, "It's not hot, I'm not sick."

Lou Yu wanted to speak in response, but for some reason he couldn't open his mouth.

Seeing that he didn't respond, the children held hands and ran away, muttering to themselves as they went.

"Dad might be in a bad mood. Let's not bother him."

"Let's go find Daddy, and let him comfort Daddy."

"Okay? Oh, okay? Oh!"

The three figures walked further and further away. Lou Yu felt a pang of reluctance; he wanted them to stay, since he hadn't even gotten a good look at them yet.

Perhaps because his desire was too strong, Lou Yu gritted his teeth and struggled, and finally his body was able to move.

But before he could even feel joy, the scene before him distorted, and then he opened his eyes in his bed in reality.

Staring at the familiar ceiling, Lou Yu took three seconds to realize that what he had just experienced was a dream.