Chapter 5: Something Dirty? Enter Hu Niu: Jiang Liuli.
“Who is it?! Is it some kind of ghostly creature?!”
Startled, the mother instinctively shouted and then sat upright.
Hearing her voice, Xu Ran was taken aback.
He swiftly slid down from the ceiling, and in the blink of an eye, he was by the baby crib, sitting on the floor facing the big bed, clapping his hands and letting out an innocent giggle.
“Ah-woo~”
Activating the cuteness charm! That should help him get through this!
“Click…”
The soft lights came on. The mother’s eyes immediately darted to the crib.
There, Xu Ran sat beneath the crib, looking up at her with a beaming smile.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she hurriedly scooped him up, her face full of worry as she checked him over from head to toe, left and right.
“Ah? Baby, you climbed out of the crib? Did you fall? Why are you all dirty?”
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she anxiously called Dr. Chen and then rushed downstairs holding Xu Ran.
It was half past ten at night.
In the pediatric emergency room.
After a half-hour of worrying examinations,
Dr. Chen, with a gentle smile, reassured her, “Mrs. Lin, children this light and only half a meter tall won’t get seriously hurt from a fall like that. You can rest easy.”
“Moreover, your little one was born with better-than-average stats.”
“Now at nine months, he’s already ninety centimeters tall and weighs fourteen kilograms, which is comparable to a one-and-a-half-year-old.”
“At this stage, his energy will be especially abundant. Teach him to walk, then bring him to a nearby childcare center so he can be active there.”
“That way, he’ll burn off his energy and also improve his social skills—two birds with one stone.”
Lin Qian was stunned. “My baby is comparable to a one-and-a-half-year-old?”
Dr. Chen nodded. “Yes, his development is very fast, and he’s very intelligent.”
Lin Qian’s face clouded with concern. “There won’t be any problems, right?”
“No, no. This is a new era. Some babies are born with extraordinary talents. Don’t worry too much. Just avoid over-exercising him.”
Lin Qian pondered and said, “Understood. I’ll take him home.”
Her anxious heart finally settled as she picked up Xu Ran and returned to their place.
Along the way,
Xu Ran rested his cheek against his mother’s, occasionally nuzzling her as if to comfort her.
As a single mother, Lin Qian struggled greatly. She had no parenting experience and no one to help her, so she cared for the baby alone.
Even the slightest mishap made her worry terribly.
Like now—though it was nearly eleven at night, she fought off exhaustion to bring Xu Ran to the hospital, terrified he might have gotten hurt.
Though she never once mentioned how tired she was in front of Xu Ran, he sensed her bitter hardships.
‘I should stop getting all dirty and messy so she won’t have to worry anymore...’
Xu Ran thought.
However,
He could never neglect his self-discipline mission. He had to be fully prepared to face two abduction attempts.
Because if traffickers succeeded, his mother wouldn’t just worry—she would be reduced to tears every day, suffer an unbearable blow, and might even lose the will to live.
“Yes. I must crush those abduction cases.”
Xu Ran’s gaze was resolute.
...
Back at their home,
Lin Qian gave Xu Ran a bath and changed him into fresh clothes.
She prepared a bottle of milk.
Xu Ran held the bottle with his small hands, clinking it proudly.
After eating his fill, he fell into a deep sleep.
Four hours later,
A pair of large, bright eyes suddenly opened.
It was time to practice the gecko wall-crawling technique!
With a thought, Xu Ran became a shadow, gliding across the walls and ceiling.
【You have practiced the gecko wall-crawling technique for one hour. Progress +50 points, current progress: 100/10000...】
“As expected, the daily progress is still 100 points…”
“Reaching initial proficiency only takes 100 days—perfect.”
Though aware of the pattern, Xu Ran wasn’t satisfied and stubbornly tried more than a dozen times, but the progress no longer increased...
Suddenly,
His mother, groggy, sensed something amiss again.
“What’s that?”
Hearing the noise, Xu Ran instantly slid lightly from the ceiling to the baby crib, flipped over, and lay down inside, pulling the thin blanket over himself.
All in one fluid motion.
This time, Lin Qian did not turn on the light but cautiously approached the crib and peered inside.
“Is there something dirty in the new house?”
“Or am I just under too much stress... experiencing hallucinations?”
“Hopefully nothing dirty.”
“The baby’s sleeping soundly. If he were uncomfortable, he’d cry out…”
She paced around the room, quietly muttering protective incantations.
Xu Ran: “...”
As the culprit, he said nothing, closed his eyes, and slipped into a deep sleep.
...
The next day,
After Xu Ran finished a bottle of milk and a small bowl of solid food,
Lin Qian carried him to the childcare center.
The center was spacious, walls adorned with children’s story murals, floors covered with crawling mats.
About twenty mothers were there, playing with their children.
When Lin Qian and Xu Ran arrived,
Mother and son instantly became the center of attention—the golden aura of the achievement “Heavenly Grace” was dazzlingly brilliant.
“Wow, whose baby is that? So beautiful!”
“So cute! I want to hold him.”
All the mothers turned to look.
“This is Lin Qian, who just moved here, with her baby Xu Ran. I think he’s 266 days old.”
“Lin Qian, come over here~”
“Nine months old and already this tall? Unbelievable!”
“And such big, bright eyes. Like black gemstones, sparkling!”
“So pretty and adorable. He’s going to be a handsome boy.”
Amid the admiring gazes, Xu Ran was placed among the other mothers.
Each of them took turns kissing him.
A dozen babies were brought close to him.
“Come on, baby, make friends with the new baby.”
However,
The dozen babies showed no special fondness toward Xu Ran; instead, they instinctively kept their distance.
Xu Ran was delighted—he had no intention of playing with these little babies.
Seeing this, Lin Qian couldn’t help but feel nervous as a mother.
“Sweetheart, crawl with them. Why aren’t you moving?”
She adjusted his position, gently nudging his diaper-covered bottom.
Xu Ran: ‘...’
Childish... He didn’t want to play.
He leisurely crawled to the wall’s edge.
Suddenly,
He shuddered.
Still unsettled, he stared at the wall.
Just moments ago, when he touched it, he had an uncontrollable urge to crawl straight up to the ceiling! Luckily, he restrained himself and suppressed the impulse.
Otherwise, with his back against the wall, he’d be looming overhead like a vengeful spirit baby.
All the mothers present would scream in terror.
He moved away from the wall and quickly crawled back.
Xu Ran sat beside Lin Qian.
The other mothers, seeing that Xu Ran didn’t quite fit in, gently tried a few times to encourage him, but to no avail. They gave up and turned their attention back to their own children, dispersing to play elsewhere.
Concern flickered in Lin Qian’s eyes.
She silently watched Xu Ran sitting still and leaned over to coax a smile from him.
“Baby, you have to make friends. Making friends is fun.”
“If you don’t try, there’s no story to tell.”
Just as Lin Qian finished speaking,
Behind Xu Ran, without anyone noticing, a small porcelain-doll-like baby girl stealthily crawled over.
Tiny but with features as delicate as a painted doll, her eyes bright and wide, her chubby infant cheeks stretched into a big smile, radiating a robust tiger-like spirit.
Like a little tiger, she crept behind Xu Ran and suddenly pounced, tackling him to the ground...