Extra 2: Dragon Cubs (6)
For a while after the little dragon cubs were born, the human, the dragon, and the chirp were all in a state of extreme nervousness.
Mr. Dragon even set aside all his responsibilities. Apart from the time he absolutely had to spend hunting, he stayed at home with Mu Wanwan to care for the cubs.
Early autumn was still somewhat hot and dry, but the temperature meant nothing to Mu Wanwan, who was already a fifth-tier expert, or Mr. Dragon, who had long since broken through to the seventh tier.
It did not even bother the little princess Tiantian, who had possessed late second-tier strength from birth, or Jiaojiao, the second-tier dragon cub who was slightly weaker than his older sister.
Instead, it was their eldest brother, Mengmeng, who suffered the most. Despite having grown for so many years, he was still only a little taller than Mu Wanwan’s knees. His strength had also increased very slowly after his rebirth, and he had yet to break through to the second tier. With all his thick feathers, the weather was rather hot for him.
For the sake of his eldest son, the considerate Mr. Dragon placed a barrier around the cubs’ room and adjusted it to a perfectly comfortable temperature.
Tiantian, who was now over two months old, wore a soft little dress gifted by Jiu Qing. She sat on the blanket, affectionately rubbing herself against her eldest brother’s feathers.
The other little fellow, Jiaojiao, was only a little over a metre long and still unable to transform. He was also extremely fond of his brother’s belly…
“Chirp…”
Because he adored his younger siblings and enjoyed being loved by them, Mengmeng had remained in his plump little bird form throughout this period. He struggled to roll himself over. These two dragon cubs might have looked tiny, but they were actually quite heavy.
Tiantian in particular was clearly in a half-dragon form, yet she weighed more than both her younger brother and her older brother. She had not been that heavy when she first hatched, but no one knew what Mr. Dragon had been feeding her lately. She was growing heavier by the day. Although she looked about the same height as Jiaojiao, she weighed considerably more than both her brothers.
Tiantian had a pair of brilliant golden eyes and long, curled eyelashes. She resembled Mu Wanwan by about seventy percent. Two small dragon horns grew from her head, accompanied by a pair of fine, fluffy ears. A long, pure-gold tail trailed behind her.
She was also developing very quickly. She was already much taller than her eldest brother, and several of her teeth had grown in.
Unlike Mengmeng, who had taken a very long time to learn how to speak, she could already say a few broken sentences.
When the little angel spoke for the first time, Mu Wanwan was already struggling to carry her.
Tiantian clutched her sleeve and glanced with her large eyes at Mr. Dragon, who was silently standing guard nearby. Then she parted her soft pink lips.
When Mu Wanwan realised that she appeared to be on the verge of speaking, a trace of sourness suddenly rose in her heart.
Could Tiantian’s first word be “Daddy”?
Mr. Dragon’s phoenix eyes flickered. His furry ears even popped out and trembled with anticipation. Mu Wanwan also saw him embarrassingly clench his fists.
In the end, Tiantian looked at her father, stretched out a small, pale hand, and pointed towards the large white ball of fluff beside her.
“Bro… Brother!”
Mu Wanwan, who had been feeling slightly jealous: “…”
Mr. Dragon, whose excitedly trembling ears immediately withdrew again: “…”
The fluffy bird who had suddenly been called out: “?”
Jiaojiao, who was absorbed in rolling around on the floor: “Chirp~”
Mr. Dragon was immediately heartbroken.
However, he did not say anything in front of his daughter. He waited until all the cubs had fallen asleep that night, then aggrievedly rested his head in the hollow of Mu Wanwan’s neck and softly asked whether Tiantian disliked him.
Mu Wanwan could only stroke his fur the right way. She rubbed his ears, which were not quite as soft as the cubs’, and comforted him.
“Tiantian still likes you very much. Look, she hasn’t called me ‘Mother’ either.”
The little wife reluctantly accepted this answer—and then drained Wanwan dry.
However, only a few days later, Tiantian planted several loud kisses on Mu Wanwan’s face and called her “Mama.”
A certain dragon was heartbroken once again.
Boss Wan comforted him once more. She suggested that perhaps it was because their daughter usually spent all her time playing with her and Mengmeng. She encouraged Mr. Dragon, who was always at a loss around the cubs, to play with his daughter more often.
Mr. Dragon worked hard for half a month.
Then Tiantian called out to her younger brother.
Mu Wanwan: “…”
That night, the dragon genuinely cried. He was so aggrieved that he kept wondering why his daughter did not like him, and he sulked for several days.
Mu Wanwan comforted him by saying that, no matter what, Jiaojiao liked him very much.
But the dragon was still not consoled, because Jiaojiao clearly liked his mother even more. As a result, he pestered Mu Wanwan for several nights.
With reddened eyes, Mr. Dragon analysed the matter for a very long time. Mu Wanwan had no choice but to analyse it with him.
Although Tiantian and Jiaojiao were only a few months old, their personalities were already quite distinct.
Tiantian was rather aloof. Apart from being extremely affectionate towards her mother, her favourite person in the family was Mengmeng. She usually maintained the dignified bearing of a little fairy around both her younger brother and her father. The sight of her occasionally smiling while otherwise keeping a solemn little face was unbelievably adorable!
Jiaojiao, on the other hand, still could not transform. His pair of white ears were even slightly softer than his sister’s. His body was covered in mottled patches of gold and white. He was entirely worthy of the name “Jiaojiao”—a tiny, delicate milk-dragon and an absolute crybaby.
He was much clingier than his sister and especially fond of shedding tears. His heart was extremely fragile.
Although he had started growing teeth, he only had a single tooth. He could not bear to be left alone and, unless he was asleep, absolutely had to be able to see someone.
When Jiaojiao saw Tiantian, he could go one hour without crying.
When he saw his older brother, he could last three hours.
When he saw Mr. Dragon, he could manage half a day.
But if he went most of the day without seeing his mother, his tears would practically flood the entire mountain.
Mengmeng was fine. He was already a big child, and whenever Mu Wanwan became too busy, he would help her—even though he still had short little arms and legs.
Looking at it this way, Mr. Dragon, who for some unknown reason was not particularly favoured by his dragon cubs, truly was rather pitiful.
It was not as though he rarely interacted with the dragon cubs. After all, the dragon hardly ever went out anymore and spent every day with them.
Mu Wanwan thought about it for a long time before something suddenly occurred to her. Meeting Mr. Dragon’s dark eyes, she studied his long, curled eyelashes for a moment.
“Could it be because of your ears?”
The dragon froze slightly and instinctively touched his smooth forehead.
Tiantian and Jiaojiao both had dragon horns and ears, but Mr. Dragon never revealed his own horns or ears in front of the cubs.
Could that really be the reason?
And so, the following day, Mr. Dragon—who usually exercised great restraint around the cubs in an effort to preserve his powerful and mysterious image as their father—stood somewhat nervously in his usual corner. This time, he made no attempt to conceal the dragon horns and ears he had never shown them before.
“…Mm?” Tiantian had just finished eating a fruit her mother had cultivated. Juice still covered her little hands, and she narrowed her large eyes. “Wipe… wipe!”
Hearing his older sister, Jiaojiao obediently stretched out his short little claws and tried to grab the handkerchief lying nearby.
The tiny dragon cub happened to pass by the corner. Blinking his large eyes, he casually glanced at his father, who was always just as quiet.
Huh?
Why did Father look a little different?
“Chirp~”
Jiaojiao called out in his milky voice, successfully attracting Tiantian’s attention.
Dragging her slightly long golden tail behind her, she toddled towards her younger brother on her short legs.
“Jiao… Jiaojiao.”
“Wu~”
Jiaojiao skilfully supported himself on the ground with his two lower paws, lifted his body, and bumped his face against Tiantian’s.
Tiantian kissed her younger brother’s ugly little scales. Only then did she finally glance at Mr. Dragon, whose lips were tightly pressed together.
She seemed startled by his appearance. Her eyes widened considerably as she stood before him, craning her neck to look up. Her little mouth opened and closed several times as though she were about to speak.
When Mu Wanwan saw Mr. Dragon’s large ears trembling repeatedly, she became nervous as well.
Little angel, hurry up and call Mr. Dragon “Daddy.” Otherwise, she really could not endure this dragon holding her every night while shedding tears of grievance.
Tiantian took a deep breath. She pointed a small finger at Mr. Dragon, lowered it again, and struggled for a long time until her face turned red.
“Da… Daddy…”
Mu Wanwan watched the dragon seemingly turn to stone.
Only after a long while did he bend down, pick up the handkerchief beside him, and carefully wipe Tiantian’s little hands. His eyes were completely rimmed with red.
Mu Wanwan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then she watched Tiantian, whose hands were now clean, climb onto her father’s shoulder and reach out to tug at his ears.
Mu Wanwan: “…”
She suddenly understood something.
Could Tiantian be obsessed with fluffy things?
Had she learned to say “Brother” first solely because she wanted to touch his soft feathers?
Her affection for Mu Wanwan was apparently the exception. She liked her older brother because he was fluffy, while she liked her younger brother because he had furry ears and a fluffy tail-tip.
Come to think of it, she also seemed to enjoy playing with the tip of her own tail…
Mu Wanwan silently kept Tiantian’s little preference as a secret between the two of them. She did not tell Mr. Dragon, who had finally been accepted by his daughter only because of his fluffy ears.
Leave a Reply