Aunt Xiao looked at him with an even more pained expression. "You poor little baby."
"AWOO~" Shi Tou cooperatively licked her hand.
Bai Jiao’s mouth twitched. ’A puppy-baby half as tall as a person?’
"No, no, Aunt Xiao. What I mean is, Shi Tou is a new breed developed in a lab. He can eat anything—whatever humans can eat, he can eat too!"
She couldn’t tell anyone about the Jade Pendant Space just yet, so she had to make something up.
Aunt Xiao looked at Shi Tou with wonder. "Looking closely, he really does look different from a normal dog. Better, and sturdier. I thought he was just well-fed, but I didn’t expect him to be a different breed."
"Is this dog okay?" she asked again, hesitating.
"He’s fine!" Bai Jiao shook her head. "He’s even healthier and will live longer than a regular puppy."
Among everyone in the family who had drunk the Spiritual Spring Water, he was the one who had grown the best and benefited the most.
Aunt Xiao adored this "puppy-baby" and wanted to feed the cake to him herself.
Everyone was eating cake while simultaneously watching two live eating broadcasts, their eyes darting back and forth.
Aunt Xiao placed a tiny, bite-sized piece of cake into Shi Tou’s wide-open mouth. With every chew, Shi Tou began to question his canine existence, wondering why the portion was so small.
On the other side, Ye Yunyun was holding a fork and accidentally knocked her cake over. She simply leaned her chubby little face forward, shoveling it into her mouth with a spoon. In the process, she smeared cream all over the lower half of her face, and half the cake was already gone.
So cute it should be illegal! But...
Mrs. Bai sent a message in the family group chat: "Isn’t this piece of cake too big? Xiao Yunduo is still too little, she can’t finish it all by herself, can she?"
The piece of cake was indeed as big as Xiao Yunduo’s face.
Bai Jiao rubbed her nose in embarrassment. She had cut pieces of cake in various sizes, but she never expected Ye Yunyun to zero in on the biggest one right away.
’Why didn’t my sister stop her?’
She walked over and squatted down. "Xiao Yunduo, can you let Auntie have a little bite of your cake?"
’Huh? My cake? Auntie likes my cake too.’
She generously pushed the plate forward and even offered her own spoon to Bai Jiao.
Bai Jiao said with a wide smile, "Thank you, Xiao Yunduo. Auntie will only have one bite~"
Ye Yunyun nodded vigorously.
’It’s okay, Auntie can have a few bites. I still have lots left, hehe.’
Bai Jiao stabbed her fork down, spearing the entire piece of cake, and in a flash, swallowed it in one gulp.
’Is... is Auntie very hungry?’
Ye Yunyun looked down at her empty plate, then picked it up and held it close to her eyes in disbelief.
Yes, all that was left was a tiny smear of cream stuck to the plate.
As Bai Jiao struggled to swallow, she felt an urge to dig a hole and hide in it. "Ahem, ahem."
’Oh no, I’m choking!’
Ye Yunyun paused for a moment, then handed her milk bottle to Bai Jiao.
Bai Jiao twisted off the nipple and chugged the entire bottle in one go.
’Looks like Auntie is really hungry.’
’Maybe cutting the cake was too tiring.’
Facing the stares of all the guests, Bai Jiao was now experiencing true social death.
"Bai Jiao, give me the bottle. I’ll go wash it." Fang Meiqing shot Bai Jiao a harsh glare. ’Her idiotic roommate actually stole milk from Bao Bao!’
Bai Jiao found it hard to defend herself, a thousand words turning into a single sentence: "Xiao Yunduo, you’re the best to me~"
"SOB, SOB, SOB, you’re the only one who cares about me."
’Ah, r-really?’
’Auntie is so pitiful.’
Ye Yunyun took the only piece of candy from her pocket and offered it to Bai Jiao.
’This is the milk candy Mama gave Bao Bao as a reward today. It’s for Auntie~’
Bai Jiao froze for a moment, then unwrapped the candy and popped it into Ye Yunyun’s mouth.
"Bao Bao, you eat it. Auntie is full."
’Okay, Bao Bao will... will... fine, Bao Bao still wants to eat cake.’
Ye Yunyun turned her gaze toward her mother.
Bai Xi said with a smile, "Bao Bao and the puppy can only have one piece of cake each. Giving it away doesn’t count."
Ye Yunyun turned her head to look at Shi Tou. Because Aunt Xiao was feeding him so slowly, Shi Tou was still savoring his cake.
’Bao Bao is worse off than a dog, WAHHH.’
Mrs. Bai smiled kindly. "Don’t be anxious, Xiao Yunduo, there’s still dinner. For dinner, we’re having cute little bear-shaped rice balls."
Ye Yunyun nodded obediently.
’One for Bao Bao, one for Auntie.’
The Bai family could sense that ever since her last fever, Ye Yunyun’s temperament had been growing more childlike and lively.
Ruling out the possibility of brain damage from the fever, it was likely that her soul was merging with her body and being assimilated by it.
Lately, the Bai family had all been diligently studying various subjects. In the past, they were too caught up in their careers or studies to have the time to settle down and delve deep into academics, but now they had the leisure to do so.
Small hailstones had begun to fall outside. A quick look online revealed that it was a global phenomenon.
The Bai Group had already approved paid leave for all its employees, giving everyone two extra months’ salary.
At this rate, even with the major temperature drop still five days away, getting around was already very inconvenient.
On the local forums, people were not only buying grain at high prices but also looking for errand runners.
Half a kilogram of rice was already going for the high price of one thousand yuan, and home delivery fees started at five hundred yuan, increasing with distance.
Bai Chen picked up a steel umbrella and turned to Wu Chen. "Let’s go. We’ll take a walk outside."
The weather outside would only get worse, and accidents were bound to happen. The chances of staying cooped up safely for a whole year were too slim. It was better to go out and train now.
Bai Jiao raised her hand. "Wait, I’m going too!"
"Me too," Hong Xue said softly.
Mr. Bai sighed. "Bai Chen can’t watch over three kids by himself. I’ll go along too."
The four of them put on protective suits and slowly began to scout the area outside.
Aunt Xiao was a little worried. "Aren’t you afraid something might happen, going out at a time like this?"
She didn’t voice her objection then and there, as she also knew the "children" needed to train. After arriving at the Bai family home, the Bai family had told them the severe weather would last for at least a year and would continue to worsen.
Bai Xi smiled. "It’s nothing, Aunt Xiao. My older brother could defeat a grown bodyguard when he was ten, and by fifteen, he could take on ten at once. My younger sister’s progress was a bit weaker, but she caught up to him by the time she was fifteen. Me too."
Xiao Yunduo was the family’s exception. She was weak and pitiful and had suffered immense trauma, so she hadn’t received the Bai family’s elite education. Bai Xi’s only hope for her was that she would grow up healthy and live a normal life.
"Bao Bao, look. If the puppy ran into the hailstorm, he’d get pelted and start yelping."
’No way! Back then, I was thrown into a pit of snakes and didn’t shed a single tear. I didn’t even scream when I was hit by big rocks. I’m not afraid of little ice cubes like this!’
Bai Xi silently hugged the little one in her arms tighter.
’However, if the hailstones that fall later are as big as houses, then it’s a different story. Hopefully, Bao Bao will have enough time to say her last words before she dies.’
’Hailstones as big as houses?!’
’Thank goodness we dug a fallout shelter,’ Bai Xi thought.
While Ye Yunyun was eating her little bear-shaped rice ball, Bai Xi went to the side and turned on the household security monitor.
Ye Jun was already living with Su Mian and Su Yan.
They were lying on the marriage bed she had bought, their expressions uninhibited.