Yun Chenxi patted him. "If you’re so great, why don’t you try regaining your youth?"
Yun Xiaowu grumbled, "I’m not the one who’s old. You’re the one who needs to regain your youth."
Yun Jiao and Yun Xiaojiu went to the edge of the beach and skillfully used small shovels to dig for surf clams, prying little snails off the reefs.
This was Cat Boss’s first time here, and it was curious about everything.
Although it was a bit annoyed by the damp environment that got its paws all wet.
But as a self-sufficient tabby cat, its personality was exceptionally strong and resilient, so this was bearable.
While Yun Jiao and Yun Xiaojiu were looking for food for the little fluffballs, it ran off on its own to explore its surroundings.
"Meow..."
Before long, Yun Jiao heard it making a strange sound.
She followed the sound and found that in just that short time, Cat Boss had actually caught a fish.
And it was a hairtail.
The hairtail wasn’t big—only about three fingers wide and long and slender. It had been washed ashore by the waves and was still alive.
A live hairtail is a beautiful silver color, like a metal object, and it even shimmered in the sunlight.
The translucent dorsal fin running along its back rippled like a wave.
But soon, the hairtail died.
The color of its body faded, no longer shimmering, and turned a grayish-white.
"Meow."
Cat Boss placed the fish at her feet.
"I’m not going to eat it. You eat it."
Yun Jiao stroked its head. "Next time, I can go into the sea and catch a hairtail even bigger than this one. This one’s too small."
The tabby cat tilted its head and licked its paws.
’This one fish is enough to fill my stomach.’
’I can’t believe the prey here is so easy to catch. They just wash right up onto the shore.’
’I don’t like getting my fur wet, but other than that, everything is great.’
"It’s you."
Yun Jiao was panting and puffing with her little butt in the air, searching for food for the fluffballs, when an unfamiliar voice sounded by her ear.
She looked up.
He looked a little familiar. She took another look.
He was a handsome little boy, but not as good-looking as her.
’Hmm... about as handsome as Brother Nine, I guess.’
"You don’t remember me."
The little boy, wearing overalls and a small white shirt, walked up to Yun Jiao with his lips pressed together.
Yun Jiao said, "Hold on, let me think."
He looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite remember.
"I’m the kid you saved from the human traffickers."
Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up. "I remember now! You’re that unlucky fellow."
’Getting caught by traffickers to threaten the navy... yep, definitely an unlucky fellow.’
Fu Mingyu: "..."
"You’re still here? Haven’t your parents come to get you?"
Fu Mingyu crouched down beside her. "They came. My grandpa came, but I got sick, so I’m staying here to see a doctor and be hospitalized for a while."
’This was what he had hoped for, too.’
"Can you tell me your name?"
"My name is Yun Jiao."
"My name is Fu Mingyu."
He introduced himself to Yun Jiao very seriously.
"Thank you for before. Is there anything you want?"
Yun Jiao looked at him. "Are you going to give me a thank-you gift?"
"Yes, I want to thank you."
Yun Jiao thought for two seconds. "I want canned food. My family and I all like to eat it."
It had been a long time since she last had canned food, and she kind of missed it.
"If your family isn’t short on money, you can buy me a few cans of fruit. If you are short on money, then don’t buy them. Just give me anything to eat; I’m not picky."
Fu Mingyu looked at the bright, sunny smile on her face, which seemed capable of dispelling any gloom.
"Okay."
After agreeing, Fu Mingyu didn’t leave. He patiently crouched to the side, watching her dig.
He had been in the hospital for a few days and was bored out of his mind. He had come out for a walk on the beach today and hadn’t expected to run into his savior.
"What are you doing?"
Yun Jiao held up her small shovel. "Digging for surf clams. There are a lot of them here."
"Can you eat these? They don’t look like they have much meat."
"They’re not for me."
She cracked open the surf clams she had dug up, then made a TSK TSK TSK sound toward a spot not far away...
Fu Mingyu then saw the little chicks, ducklings, and goslings from over there come running toward them.
They all started eating the surf clams with exceptional liveliness.
Fu Mingyu: ’So magical!’
"How do you make them obey you?"
He asked curiously, "And those killer whales from before."
Yun Jiao lifted her chin slightly. "The killer whales are my little buddies."
"I’m raising them."
"Want to try?"
Fu Mingyu: "Okay."
He took the small shovel from Yun Jiao, crouched on the beach, and started digging.
"Over there, over there."
"There’s too much sand. After you dig them up, you have to rinse them in the seawater."
Yun Jiao gave the task to Fu Mingyu and just gave random directions from the side.
But Fu Mingyu was exceptionally obedient, doing whatever he was told.
Not only did he not feel tired, but the corners of his mouth even turned up slightly, and he looked a little happy.
Yun Jiao suddenly leaned in close to him and poked his cheek with her finger.
Fu Mingyu’s long, curled eyelashes fluttered slightly, his dark eyes staring at the little person in front of him.
’This was the best-looking kid he had ever seen.’
"Your face... how come it seems like you have no expression?"
"It’s weird."
’Everyone she had ever seen in her family had very lively expressions on their faces.’
’But this kid... after all this time, even when he smiled, it was just a tiny, barely noticeable upturn of his lips.’
’Such a nice face, but why is it so wooden?’
’Wooden and a little cold, too.’
’Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was unhappy or angry.’
Fu Mingyu paused, then lowered his gaze. "Do I not have any expression on my face?"
"I don’t know."
Yun Jiao looked at him with a sympathetic gaze. "Is your face sick or something?"
She used two fingers to push the corners of his mouth upward.
"Nope, that doesn’t look good."
"Are you ticklish?"
Fu Mingyu: "I don’t know."
Yun Jiao: "Then should I poke your armpits?"
Fu Mingyu blinked but didn’t answer.
"I’m doing it now."
She leaned over and tickled Fu Mingyu.
Fu Mingyu instantly pressed his lips together, his body tensing slightly.
"Ah... you’re still not laughing!"
’That’s impossible. When her brothers tickled her armpits, she couldn’t control her laughter at all.’
’Her brothers were the same way.’
"Jiaojiao, what are you doing?"
Yun Xiaojiu ran over with a handful of small snails.
"Who is he?"
Yun Xiaojiu stared at Fu Mingyu, questioning him with a raised eyebrow.
"Jiaojiao, you can’t go finding other brothers outside. You already have nine, you know?"
Yun Jiao: "I’m not finding other brothers."
"He’s Fu Mingyu. Before..."
Yun Jiao stopped halfway through her sentence. She realized she hadn’t told her family about saving someone with the killer whales.
"Hm?" Yun Xiaojiu was confused. ’Why did she stop talking?’
Yun Jiao looked at Brother Nine, her smile perfectly behaved.
"I forgot to tell you guys! I ran into some human traffickers trying to escape on a boat at sea, and the navy was chasing them. I saved Fu Mingyu with the killer whales, and he’s here to thank me."
Yun Xiaojiu’s eyes widened. "You didn’t say a thing about something so huge!"
Yun Jiao guiltily touched her nose. "I forgot."