Chapter 49

In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.

Now three years old, Qingyao was a little sprite who could run and jump with ease.

Early in the morning, she sprang out of bed and, without waiting for anyone to help, immediately began dressing herself. The clothes laid out on the bedside had already been sorted inside and out by the night before, and she knew the side with the flower on the chest went in front. After pulling on her shorts, she scrambled to the edge of the bed and slid down, sat on the floor to put on her sandals, and then pattered quickly into the living room.

Hu Yuanfei and Lang Xiao were not downstairs yet; they were definitely still sleeping on the terrace.

She climbed the stairs step by step and immediately spotted two large, curled-up balls of fluff on the terrace.

Qingyao dove straight into the fox's big tail, her face entirely buried by the overly fluffy fur.

Hu Yuanfei didn't even need to move to know who had just lunged at him. Without lifting his head, he simply gave a flick of his tail, pulling her into his embrace.

"Awake? A bit early today, aren't you?"

The sun had not yet fully risen, and a warm summer breeze swept across the terrace.

Qingyao crawled over to his head, grabbed his large ears, and shouted right into them, "We're going to school today! Wake up quickly, Dad!"

The shout was so loud that Hu Yuanfei couldn't help twitching his hind leg to scratch his ear, forcibly flattening it to shut out the noise. With his eyes still closed, he answered lazily, "Mom isn't up yet either."

Qingyao turned her head and saw that Lang Xiao was still sprawled out. She instantly changed targets, pattered over to Lang Xiao, and rolled right into her embrace with a single somersault.

"Wake up, Mom! Get up quickly, get up quickly."

Qingyao rolled around in Lang Xiao's arms like a perpetual motion machine until Lang Xiao was forced to get up.

Stretching lazily, Lang Xiao lowered her head and nudged Qingyao onto her back, carrying her downstairs.

"It's still very early. The school isn't open yet."

Qingyao countered, "It is open! I heard the door open."

Today was the first day of kindergarten. The kindergarten Qingyao was attending was right next door to their residential complex, less than a ten-minute walk away, so it was entirely possible she had heard something.

"Has anyone gone to school already?"

"Yes, yes! If I'm late, I'll be tardy."

Downstairs, a small figure was busy preparing a meal in the kitchen. The back looked barely any taller than Qingyao, and since the kitchen stove was a bit high, he had specially brought over a small bench to stand on.

Hearing people come down, the figure turned around. It was a very cleanly featured little boy with exceptionally bright eyes and a soft smile that felt slightly mature for his age—clearly a child with a wonderful temperament.

"You're down. Breakfast is almost ready, just wait a moment."

Lang Xiao thanked him, "Qinglai, thank you."

Qinglai smiled shyly, "You're welcome."

While they were speaking, another little girl of about four or five years old walked out of the bedroom wearing a dress. She had a delicate, oval face, round eyes, and a petite nose, making her look particularly exquisite.

The moment Qingyao saw her, she scrambled off Lang Xiao's back, rushed over to her side, and grabbed her hand to admire her dress.

"Big sister is pretty."

Qing梨 patted Qingyao's head and led her to the dining table to sit down before turning toward the kitchen, from which wafted the savory aroma of meat porridge.

Qingli and Qinglai had taken human form two years ago, exactly one month after Qingyao's first birthday. On the day of the vernal equinox, the two beasts had also received a blessing, sleeping for nearly a month before waking up. Upon waking, their cultivation had surged, allowing them straight away to transform into humans. However, because their cultivation time was still short, both of their human forms were still that of young children. Qingli had cultivated slightly longer, making her look a bit older than Qingyao, while Qinglai was about the same height as Qingyao. If not for their different facial features, anyone would have taken them for twins.

Thinking back to when the cat and dog had remained asleep for so long, Qingyao had wept so bitterly she thought they had died, nearly flooding the two great demons' fur with her tears.

It was only after Hu Yuanfei explained until his throat was dry that the two were merely sleeping and not dead that Qingyao finally quieted her crying. Even so, she refused to sleep in her own bed every night thereafter, instead squeezing onto the floor with the cat and dog for a full month until they woke up and transformed.

To this day, the two demons still had no idea where that sudden drop of spiritual energy had come from. Was it the special natural force of the vernal equinox? They had never noticed anything special about the equinox before, but nowadays, with more and more spirits and monsters appearing, heaven and earth seemed to be quietly changing. Perhaps the vernal equinox really had undergone some special transformation.

Yet in the two years since, they had deliberately stayed up all night on Qingyao's birthday, waiting to see if another miracle would occur.

Naturally, nothing happened. The vernal equinox passed as quietly as ever, and the peach grove in Peach Blossom Park never experienced another overnight full bloom.

The matter remained an unsolved mystery.

Having two human playmates of the same age made Qingyao the happiest of all. She bounced around every day, and even their spacious house barely felt large enough to contain her antics.

Hu Yuanfei felt a million times grateful that they had moved here; their original home would have felt far too confining for three children.

With the cat and dog keeping a constant watch, Lang Xiao didn't have to worry about Qingyao getting into any accidents.

As for Qinglai cooking meals, that was a rather long story.

It mainly stemmed from the fact that Lang Xiao could only prepare raw meat and simple boiled dishes. Once the cub was weaned off milk, Lang Xiao completely abandoned the kitchen. The grand responsibility of cooking for the household fell upon Hu Yuanfei. He loved to eat and was willing to study cooking videos to figure things out; everyone in the house acknowledged that his skills were decent, and since their meals were simple, he was easy to satisfy.

However, as the cub grew older, feeding her required much more thought—it had to be nutritionally balanced and delicious. Hu Yuanfei's browser was soon filled entirely with various toddler supplement recipes. Qingyao wasn't at a picky age yet, so she ate whatever he made.

Then one day, the family went out to eat and specially ordered toddler-friendly food for Qingyao. When they returned and ate Hu Yuanfei's home-cooked meal afterward, she casually remarked, "Dad, the food is so hard to eat."

Though Qingyao finished every last bite of that bowl, Hu Yuanfei suffered a severe blow.

The cub had said his cooking was unpalatable. Hu Yuanfei carefully tasted his own toddler food and didn't think it was all that bad; the meat tasted like meat and the vegetables tasted like vegetables. The only flaw was that it was a bit bland—he only ever added a tiny pinch of salt when cooking, using no other seasonings at all.

Yet cubs were supposed to eat lightly so they wouldn't easily internalize heat and stay healthy, right? He had read through numerous parenting guides and genuinely believed his cooking was completely flawless.

Hu Yuanfei moped for several days, losing all passion for cooking. Seeing his dismal state, Qinglai took the initiative to help out in the kitchen.

Despite having never cooked before, Qinglai's very first attempt tasted much better than anything Hu Yuanfei made. Qingyao happily ate an extra bowl of rice, while Lang Xiao and Qingli offered high praise as well.

Hu Yuanfei grew even more heartbroken, realizing that he truly couldn't compare to Qinglai.

Why was it that someone who loved food as much as he did, and knew how to appreciate it, couldn't even cook better than a little demon spirit?

To soothe his wounded ego, Qinglai made him a plate of tender, fragrant braised chicken. Hu Yuanfei ate his fill, and after finishing, he gave up on struggling altogether.

Nowadays, Qinglai did most of the cooking, while Hu Yuanfei handled a small portion. After all, Qinglai looked to be only two or three years old, and having him cook every single day felt a bit like child abuse, which really wasn't right.

Qingyao loved liveliness and had wanted to go to kindergarten since last year, but she was too young then and had only attended a toddler class to experience the environment. This year, she was finally old enough to enroll officially.

Knowing she could finally attend, she had dragged the whole family out early to buy a schoolbag, notebooks, and small gifts to give to her classmates.

Today was enrollment day. Qingyao remembered the time perfectly and urged everyone to set off at dawn, interrupting even their breakfast with constant prompts to hurry.

"I'm done eating! I'm going to wash my hands first, you guys hurry up."

Qingyao quickly finished her food, hopped down from the bench, and ran to the bathroom to wash her face and hands. She did all these little chores conscientiously without needing anyone to nag her.

After wiping dry, she stood in front of the mirror and meticulously tied her hair into two small braids.

Qingyao loved long hair. Every time they tried to drag her to the barbershop, she refused, insisting on keeping her length. The trouble was that neither Lang Xiao nor Hu Yuanfei knew how to braid hair; the most they could manage was gathering everything into a single ponytail.

Consequently, Qingyao wore a ponytail year-round, the only variation being whether it sat on top of her head or by her ear.

Eventually, Qingli couldn't bear it anymore, studied the technique for a long time, and braided her hair into fishtail plaits. Over time, Qingli's skills grew increasingly proficient, evolving from simple braids to intricate, beautiful updos.

Seeing it so often, Qingyao learned how to braid her own hair as well. Her hands were small, so her braids turned out loose and a bit messy, but that didn't matter—once finished, she simply clipped a few small floral hairpins onto them, and it looked perfect.

After finishing her grooming and applying her scented lotion, she shouldered her small schoolbag, radiating a fragrant aura.

Over at the dining table, the others hadn't finished yet.

Qingyao slipped into her favorite sequined shoes, picked up a damp towel, and stood beside the two great demons.

Lang Xiao glanced at her and asked quizzically, "What are you doing with that towel?"

Qingyao raised the towel high in her hands with a bright smile, "For Dad and Mom to wipe your faces. As soon as you finish eating and wipe up, we can leave."

Such a considerate gesture—and yet it was merely a disguised way of rushing them.

Qingli and Qinglai also sped up their eating, quickly finishing their portions before putting on their own schoolbags.

Although the two young spirits were actually several decades old, translated into human years they were equivalent to toddlers. Neither of them knew many characters—even less than the two adult demons—and could barely count up to four. Having suffered the bitter consequences of illiteracy themselves, Lang Xiao and Hu Yuanfei had decisively chosen to send the next generation of spirits to a human school to learn properly. This was called using the enemy's own methods to defeat them—no, rather, it was called thoroughly integrating into society.

Qingyao and Qinglai were in the junior kindergarten class this year, while Qingli was in the middle class, having enrolled early the previous year.

This was the very reason Qingyao had been so fixated on going to school; every time the whole family walked Qingli to the campus gates, Qingyao would wail miserably. This year, she could finally walk through those school gates fair and square.

Wiping their mouths with Qingyao's damp towel, the two demons quickly cleared the table and headed out the door. If they delayed any further, Qingyao might just abandon them and set off alone with her little backpack.

The kindergarten they were attending was called Blossom Kindergarten, a private institution with fairly steep tuition fees. It even employed a foreign teacher who taught English twice a week.

Every time Hu Yuanfei saw that blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign teacher, he couldn't help remarking, "When we eventually go to their country to open a shop—the news said they have a mouse infestation over there—that'll be our chance to make a fortune."

Lang Xiao would shoot him a couple of glances and offhandedly praise his great ambitions, marveling at how he already wanted to go abroad.

Their shop had finally opened last year.

It wasn't a large establishment—just a single small room with a single-panel front door. Inside, apart from a reception desk, the walls were covered with photographs of various mice, snakes, and pets. They were photographs because displaying taxidermy mice and snakes had drawn complaints from people who found them too terrifying, disgusting, and distressing.