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Anyway, once you've passed through the door, there's no way to hide it anymore, so why not just be open about it and let those guys who hate Lou Yu be jealous?

Tao Qiu rushed back to his territory as quickly as possible and entered the valley. Everything inside was safe and sound, and he silently breathed a sigh of relief.

After calling out "I'm back!" from outside the cave, Tao Qiu went to the pond to bathe and wash away the blood and grime.

Returning to the cave entrance with wet hair, Tao Qiu suddenly noticed that the house was eerily quiet. Not only did the baby birds not come out to greet him, but there wasn't a sound coming from inside the cave either.

Is this the peace that a family of Third Cub can have?

If Tao Qiu hadn't missed the scent of other mutated monsters, he would have thought the three chicks had met with misfortune.

Since the kids are safe, but remain silent, there's only one possibility.

Tao Qiu walked in slowly, his eyes immediately fixed on the two large bags that he had dragged in earlier.

Sure enough, the bags and boxes containing bedding, clothes, shoes, and books were all opened, but everything was still inside, neither dirty nor pulled out.

Boxes for small items like soap and combs, and phone cases, are in the same situation.

Not only was the food box open, but the lids of the individual snack containers inside were also removed, and some of the food was missing.

Tao Qiu looked around, but couldn't find any trace of the three baby birds.

"Momo, Xuexue, Yuanyuan?" Tao Qiu called the children's names as she walked inside, but there was still no response.

"Oh no!" Tao Qiu exclaimed in alarm, "Could they have been captured by other monsters? It's all my fault! I wish they had come back sooner. If the kids are gone, I don't want to live anymore, sob sob sob..."

Tao Qiu started faking her tears.

The next second, three little heads poked out from behind the bird's nest. Seeing that Tao Qiu was really wiping away "tears," they quickly ran over.

"Chirp! Chirp!" The Second Cub flew onto the table.

--Daddy, don't cry! We weren't taken away!

"Chirp chirp!" The Third Cub panicked too.

--We're here, Dad.

Eldest Cub: "Chirp, chirp."

--Dad, I'm sorry, we shouldn't have hidden away.

"Then why are you hiding from your father?" Tao Qiu lowered her hand from her eyes, staring intently at the three baby birds. They weren't crying at all, not even a hint of redness in their eyes.

The baby birds then realized they had been tricked by their father.

They froze for a moment, then quickly lowered their heads, trying to bluff their way out.

The Eldest Cub tried to make amends. "Chirp, chirp."

--No? You didn't hide, Dad, you must have misheard.

"No, you weren't hiding." Tao Qiu lifted each of the cubs' faces, pointing to the food scraps around their mouths, and asked, "Then tell Daddy, where did the oil, sugar, and chili peppers stuck to your feathers get?"

The Second Cub's eyes darted around. "Chirp chirp."

--We don't know.

"Hmph, you've been caught red-handed by your dad and you still want to deny it?" Tao Qiu's expression was a half-smile. "Is it delicious? Do you want some more?"

The three baby birds remained silent.

Tao Qiu feigned regret. "It seems you didn't like it after trying it. Oh well, let Dad eat the rest himself. From now on, just tell that human to only send me the portion; you don't need to worry about yours."

"Chirp chirp!" the Second Cub cried anxiously, "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp!"

--No, no, we liked it after trying it, so we want to send our share too.

"Oh~~~" Tao Qiu teased, "Finally? Admitting to stealing food!"

The baby birds. "..."

Waaah, I got tricked again.

Tao Qiu sat down at the table, gestured to the children in front of him, and told them to line up and be interrogated.

"Tell me, how did you open the food container?"

The kids were probably curious, so they opened all the bags and boxes to look inside.

The bags and regular boxes were fine, but the food containers had clasps, and they managed to open them too.

Seeing that none of the three spoke, Tao Qiu said to the Eldest Cub, "Momo, you're the eldest, you speak."

The Eldest Cub was the most embarrassed. Just like his father said, he's the eldest, but he couldn't resist the temptation of the food either. Not only did he not stop his sisters from eating, he also secretly ate some himself.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp," the Eldest Cub said very quietly.

--We tried a few times and found that if you pry it open with the tip of your tongue, that spot will pop open with a "click," and the lid can be lifted.

Tao Qiu raised an eyebrow. "That's quite clever. You managed to find the opening mechanism on your first try?"

Hearing Tao Qiu praise them, without even noticing his tone, Second Cub instinctively became happy, chirping, "Chirp, chirp."

Those little things are no match for us.

Tao Qiu, resting her chin on her hand, looked at them and exclaimed, "Wow, my darlings are amazing!"

The Second Cub snuggled up and nuzzled against me, "Mwah~"

--It's all thanks to Dad's good teaching~

Tao Qiu reached out and scratched Second Cub's head. Second Cub squinted his eyes comfortably and said in a soft voice, "It's one thing to use your cleverness to steal food, but to try and hide it from Daddy is quite another. What a naughty little bird! Xuexue, do you think we should punish him?"

The Second Cub, so comfortable that his IQ seemed to drop offline, instinctively chirped, "Chirp, chirp."

--They must be punished, they must be punished.

As soon as she finished speaking, the little bird, realizing what it had said, suddenly opened its eyes and met Tao Qiu's smiling face.

Second Cub could write a book? The title could be "Three Times Entering the Domineering Dad's Sweet Trap: Where Can the Silly Bird Escape?"

The Second Cub, realizing he had been tricked yet again, was on the verge of tears.

The Eldest Cub and Third Cub simultaneously turned their faces away. "No? You can't see it! You can't see it!"

"It was Xuexue who said you wanted to punish them. Let Daddy think about what kind of punishment to give them?" Tao Qiu drawled out the last syllable, his eyes looking at the baby birds with a mischievous glint in them, making them appear pitiful.

"Chirp chirp..." The Third Cub stepped forward, sobbing with tears in his eyes.

--Daddy, I stole food. I'm not a good little bird. Punish me severely! Don't let me eat. I'll starve myself until I'm so thin and weak that I'll faint when I walk.

Hearing his younger sister's words, the Eldest Cub understood immediately and stepped forward, chirping, "Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

--As the older brother, I failed in my responsibilities; my mistakes are greater. Dad, kick me out; I don't deserve to be your child.

Did the Second Cub realize that her brother and sister were putting on a show of suffering? Hearing them say that, she felt even worse than if she had been punished herself, and she started to sob while holding Tao Qiu's hand.

--It's all my fault. I smelled the delicious aroma and coaxed my brother and sister to open it with me. Waaah! Daddy, don't let my sister go hungry! Don't chase my brother away! Hit me! I'm the one who deserves the punishment the most.

The Eldest Cub and Third Cub secretly glanced at each other, and seeing that the Second Cub was truly sincere, they were both at a loss for what to do.

However, to be fair, Second Cub's genuine emotional outpouring, coupled with the acting skills of Eldest Cub and Third Cub, actually worked in the right direction, making Tao Qiu relent.

Tao Qiu didn't really intend to punish the children severely; she just wanted to scare them.

Seeing Second Cub crying so sadly, he immediately softened.

"Alright, alright, all three of you fathers will be punished, but I won't hit you, I won't starve you, and I certainly won't kick you out."

"Look at you three, so strong and burly, yet you're as timid as berries. I haven't even said how I'm going to punish you, and you're already crying."

He wiped away Second Cub's tears, feeling both helpless and amused.

The Second Cub sobbed, "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

--Dad, we were wrong. We shouldn't have stolen the food, and we shouldn't have kept it from you.

"Okay, Dad understands, but if you make a mistake, you have to be punished."

Under the anxious gazes of her three children, Tao Qiu deliberately paused for a few seconds before saying, "The punishment is... yes, I won't tell you bedtime stories for three days. Is that acceptable?"

The kids love listening to Tao Qiu tell bedtime stories. This punishment doesn't hurt their bodies, but it hurts their hearts.

The kids seemed to want to say something, but Tao Qiu immediately added, "You have to accept it whether you like it or not, because I'm punishing you, not the other way around."

The baby birds lowered their heads in dejection.

"Alright, now let's take stock of the items, including all the snacks you've tried."

The baby birds seemed a little guilty after hearing the second half of the sentence, but they were also curious about what these new things were for, as they had never seen many of them before.

Tao Qiu took out the quilt and mattress. The quilt was made of cotton, but it wasn't too heavy. The mattress was also made of cotton, but it was thicker.

The bird's nest is huge; there's more than enough room for a mattress.

The bed sheets and duvet covers were all light-colored with simple prints, giving them a very plain look.

Tao Qiu explained to the baby birds, "These two things are similar to hay; they're both for sleeping, but one is for padding and the other is for covering."

The children were amazed; humans even make such beautiful things to sleep on.

As for clothes, Tao Qiu doesn't need to explain further, and the kids understand the purpose of shoes just by mentioning it casually.

Four sets of clothes, including short-sleeved and long-sleeved jackets, trousers, and shorts; the shoes are casual, somewhat similar to the canvas shoes Tao Qiu had seen in her previous life.

There was even a pair of slippers inside.

Tao Qiu really liked them, thinking that given his circumstances, these would probably be the pair of shoes he would wear the most in the future.

It's convenient to take off and transform at any time, and it's also comfortable to wear when you're at home.

Tao Qiu looked at the slippers with delight, completely unaware that the three baby birds beside her were staring at a corner of the pile of clothes.

The Eldest Cub jumped over, picked up a transparent bag from the corner, and inside was a piece of "clothes" with very little fabric.

The three baby birds' eyes simultaneously lit up with joy.

"Chirp chirp." The Eldest Cub called to Tao Qiu, "Chirp chirp?"

--Dad, look, are these our clothes?