This was the first time Feng You heard the child speak while fully awake. A strong wave of joy made the corners of his mouth curve upward, though it pulled at his injuries and caused him to let out a soft gasp.
He finally understood why parents felt so excited upon hearing their little ones speak for the first time, and he felt deeply moved right now.
“Yes, Little Pup, it is me. It is Mommy. I am coming right back. Do not cry, be a good boy.”
His gentle voice coaxed the child, completely shedding the sharp edge he had just used while confronting someone earlier, his tone carefully softened to the point of melting.
Mu Jingyi looked at this Golden Retriever Mommy Omega with renewed shock.
Oh my goodness, a live voice changer.
On the other end came the muffled sounds of the child holding back his sobs, falling completely silent from speech.
Then came the old man’s vague voice, saying, “Come on out, Little Yubai,” and “Stop crying, little one.”
However, Lu Yubai did not answer. He merely hid inside the dark wardrobe, staring at the phone screen and crying.
Mu Jingyi finally understood that this little fellow simply could not function without his Golden Retriever Mommy.
“Uncle Chen, just park the car outside. The two of us will go in first. You can go park it. Here are the car keys.”
The Mu family’s old residence villa was massive, featuring a private front courtyard with landscaping designed like a small park and a working fountain right in the center.
Feng You had no time to marvel at the economic strength of a wealthy corporate family; he kept his eyes straight ahead and hurried behind the butler toward the inner courtyard.
The injury on his shoulder pulled slightly and hurt, but he could no longer afford to care about such things.
The wardrobe door was open a tiny crack, and from inside came the sound of the child crying, along with the vague, repetitive murmuring of “Mommy,” sounding almost like some sort of incantation.
The old man had said that the child started crying the moment he woke up, before running into the wardrobe to hide and refusing to come out.
A small white cat sat curiously in front of the wardrobe, tapping the door with its paw, staring with round blue eyes as it tried to peer through the crack to see what was going on inside.
It caught the scent of a large canine that differed from human smells, and turned its head in confusion to look at Feng You, the stranger in the estate.
Feng You instinctively gave the little cat’s head a quick pat, then crouched down by the wardrobe door and gave it a few gentle knocks.
“Yubai, it is me. I have returned in triumph from my hunt. Are you not going to come out and welcome Mommy?”
The crying inside stopped abruptly.
The wardrobe cracked open a bit wider, and Feng You met the child’s red, swollen, tear-filled eyes for a few seconds.
Moving faster than his brain, his body reacted first as Lu Yubai reached a small hand out from the wardrobe, trembling as he tried to grab hold of Feng You.
He felt as though he had suffered through a terrifying nightmare, dreaming that Mommy had been hurt and left, while he himself had been bound by the hands and locked inside a pitch-dark cage.
The familiar human voice outside the cage made Lu Yubai feel as if his blood had frozen and his limbs had turned ice-cold.
He did not understand why he felt such pain and misery, but the physical aches and the dizziness in his head filled him with utter terror.
When he woke up, Lu Yubai was on a strange yet comfortable large bed, and an unfamiliar but kind old grandfather was asking him if he felt unwell.
He did not know if he had just had a nightmare, or if meeting a Mommy with golden retriever ears and a tail had merely been a dream all along.
The child, who could not speak, searched frantically around the room, crying so hard his vision blurred.
Lu Yubai called out “Mommy,” remembering what Mommy had said: as long as he called “Mommy,” no matter what danger he faced, she would appear by his side.
Yet nobody came. He hid in the wardrobe and mechanically repeated “Mommy,” until Old Master Mu slipped a phone with a lit screen inside.
Once again, he heard Mommy’s voice.
His cold little hand was tightly grasped by a warm, large hand, and then both of the child’s hands came up, tightly clutching and kneading Feng You’s big hand.
The tangible touch made him deeply realize that Feng You’s existence was not a dream, and the familiar, warm scent gave him immense peace of mind. As emotions welled up inside him, he broke down and began sobbing out loud again.
Feng You yanked the wardrobe door open, lunged into the pile of expensive clothing, and pulled the sobbing, breathless child tightly into his arms.
“Do not cry, Little Treasure, do not cry. It is Mommy. I came back a bit late.”
He pressed the child against his chest. The firm, powerful chest muscles that had been hardened against the Beta bodyguards transformed into a soft, warm embrace.
The Golden Retriever Mommy cooed softly, gently patting the child’s back.
The dog tail behind him wagged rapidly, amusing the little white cat so much that it bounced after him, trying to pounce on the golden retriever tail.
Tiptoeing carefully, Mu Jingyi walked into the room on light feet.
He crept up behind Feng You, scooped up the eagerly playing Yingshuang, and dashed away.
The little cat let out a displeased “meow,” but before it could finish its squeak, Mu Jingyi covered its head and carried it off.
Kindly closing his bedroom door behind him, Mu Jingyi left the space entirely to the two of them.
Lu Yubai buried himself in Feng You’s arms and cried uncontrollably, refusing to stop no matter how he was coaxed, wiping his tears right against Feng You’s chest.
His nose was filled with Mommy’s scent, and his cheeks were kept warm by Mommy’s soft chest.
“Ma, wuwu, Mommy, said, after calling, you would, wuwu, would come, why?”
The child already had trouble speaking, and he was completely unaccustomed to using a throat that had remained silent for so long. Even when he tried his hardest to talk through his tears, his words came out as blurred syllables.
“It is Mommy’s fault. Mommy should have come back earlier, and stayed by Little Treasure’s side sooner.”
Feng You stroked his head, patiently coaxing him in a soft voice.
“However, Mommy defeated a very strong bad guy. Won’t Little Treasure praise me?”
Though Lu Yubai was crying too hard to stand steadily, he still forced himself up against Feng You’s chest, propping his upper body back.
“Mommy, Mommy, so great, amazing, the best.”
He searched his mind for words of praise, blurting them all out at once to cheer Mommy up.
A mix of heartache and profound tenderness washed over Feng You as he pinched the child’s cheek and smiled.
“Thank you, Little Treasure. Mommy is very happy.”
“Are you still blaming Mommy for coming back too late?”
Lu Yubai shook his head hurriedly, only then snapping out of it enough to look at Feng You’s appearance.
He saw the injuries on Feng You’s face, the bruised cheek and the striking cut at the corner of his mouth, where dark red dried blood looked deeply painful.
He finally understood what “a very strong bad guy” meant, and the lingering petty grievances from his nightmare turned entirely into overwhelming admiration and heartbreak.
Mommy is hurt.
In Lu Yubai’s memory, the omnipotent Golden Retriever Mommy had never suffered such severe injuries.
He carefully used his small hand to stroke Feng You’s face, the scabbed areas feeling prickly against his fingertips.
“Mommy, hurt, does it hurt, does it hurt?”
“When facing a very powerful enemy, getting hurt is quite normal.”
Feng You glossed over all the details, speaking in a light, breezy tone.
“Even Ultraman gets hurt when fighting monsters.”
Lu Yubai shook his head again.
“But, Mommy hurts, no, I do not want Mommy to hurt.”
Seeing how obedient and sensible the child was, Feng You’s smile deepened.
He could always feel pure goodwill from Lu Yubai, which melted his heart completely and made any effort he put in entirely worth it.
“Mommy does not hurt, Little Treasure. Mommy has a high pain tolerance.”
Refusing to listen, Lu Yubai just shook his head.
“No, let Little Treasure hurt.”
He leaned closer and blew gently on the wound, a cool breeze brushing past that took away a large part of the scorching pain on the injury.
“Pain-pain, fly away. Mommy, pain-pain fly away.”
The child mimicked the tone Feng You usually used to comfort him, chanting it with exaggerated emphasis.
Remembering Feng You telling him before that “Mommy’s kisses make it stop hurting,” he leaned in closer and kissed Feng You’s face.
Knowing nothing else, the child treated this like a ritual, a magical remedy, meticulously kissing Feng You’s face and making sure not to miss a single spot with utmost craftsmanship.
When he got close to the corner of Mommy’s mouth, Feng You still sensitively leaned back a little.
“Little Treasure, that is enough. Mommy does not hurt.”
“But, hurt, here.”
Unfamiliar with speech, Lu Yubai forced the words out one by one, persistently pointing at the obvious injury on the corner of Feng You’s mouth.
“Mommy does not hurt. Little Treasure kiss, then it will not hurt.”
Lu Yubai tried his hardest to imitate Feng You’s tone, matching the phrasing and pauses almost identically.