Chapter 242

Taier and the other two could not bear to see their younger sister being bullied, so they stepped up and scooped up the little meatball, pushing him aside.

The three of Hawisi had always disliked their arrogance, and since Wanisha had been the one to mock Liliya first, the three lion youths joined this "dispute."

Soon, the room became noisy and chaotic.

Qiao Suisui was completely unable to handle this group of children, especially since they were in the beastman restlessness phase, which was somewhat similar to human puberty.

She sighed, took Liliya's hand, and led her aside to avoid accidental injury, then waved at Beilini to signal him to come over; he was small and certainly couldn't beat his older brothers and sisters.

Luka's expression turned cold, his presence imposing without anger. He didn't say a single word, but as his gaze swept over everyone, the youths who had just been arguing fell silent as if struck dumb, not daring to make a sound.

"Is this how you have been taught all these years?"

The children all lowered their heads one after another.

Because of the war, Luka had not sent the children to school, but instead invited teachers to the Huangting to instruct them. Since there were many children, they just happened to make up a class. The four little snow leopards were separately assigned teachers for basics, while the ten older ones spent more time together, yet they still didn't get along when they were supposed to. Only Luka could keep these children in check.

Qiao Suisui knew she had been derelict in this regard and had nothing to explain; after all, it was truly out of necessity for points at the time. She didn't have particularly deep feelings for these children, and plus, her own life had only just begun, so naturally, she wouldn't be tied down by them. The men were all very clear about this and had never blamed her. After all, they already felt very grateful and guilty in their hearts that she had been able to endure the hardship of bearing their young.

But seeing the grown children express their dissatisfaction with her directly, her feelings were somewhat complicated.

Ka'er noticed her mood and stopped messing around with the three little ones. He walked over quickly, pulled her into his arms, and coaxed her softly: "They are all just little debt collectors, saying nothing but unpleasant things, and they are at that age where even dogs dislike them; they are very annoying. Darling, you play with these four; these four are obedient. Look, if you tell them to go east, they wouldn't dare go west."

As he spoke, he kicked Tata on the butt and said: "Transform for Mom."

Tata rubbed his butt, his eyeballs rolling around, and in the next second, he turned into a little snow leopard, walking over with his tail held high and rubbing his head against Qiao Suisui's calf.

The other three followed suit, and then Qiao Suisui saw four snow leopards at her feet, milky and fluffy, extremely cute.

She had no resistance to this and reached out to stroke their fur. Klein was the best at this; he lay directly on the ground, rolled over, exposed his belly, and dangled his little paws, his round, dark eyes seeming to say: "Mom, pet me."

It would be impossible to say she wasn't biased.

She was biased when the four little lions were small, and now that she had four little snow leopards, she was even more biased.

Hawisi watched with some envy, his face full of jealousy, and muttered: "Mom petted me like this when I was little too..."

Taier felt a bitter taste in his heart; the six deer cubs hadn't seen their mother many times when they were little, let alone had such intimate interactions. It was no wonder Wanisha would say such sharp things; in fact, she had hidden under her covers and cried secretly many times, saying she missed Mom.

Luka knew what these children were thinking and understood that their longing for Qiao Suisui was no less than his own, but regardless of the reason, speaking to her in that tone was simply not right.

"Each of you, go back and copy the classics thirty times. You are not allowed to sleep until you finish."

Wanisha widened her eyes. A classic weighing a jin, so thick, with so many characters, copied thirty times? They wouldn't finish even if they copied until dawn.

She was about to talk back, but was glared at by Taier, and she pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Any objections?" Luka's voice turned a few degrees colder.

Everyone said dejectedly: "No."

Qiao Suisui hesitated about whether to intervene while Luka was disciplining them. It was well known that couples easily had disputes over child-rearing, especially when one side was painstakingly disciplining while the other acted as the "good guy" to suggest letting it go. She fully respected Luka, and regardless of his intentions, she had to at least maintain a united front with him.

But thirty times was indeed a bit too much. "Um... how about we give them an extra choice?" Qiao Suisui asked for Luka's consent and said: "I have some things that need help. If they are willing, helping me do one thing can offset one copy. Luka, what do you think?" Luka naturally had no objections, but Ka'er interjected idly: "What things? I'll do them all for you."

Qiao Suisui glared at him crossly.

What an unreliable father.

Ka'er's back stiffened, and receiving her warning, the look meant for him to shut up. He pouted aggrievedly, picked up a child from the ground like a tragic widow, and without even seeing which child it was, he just started acting pretentiously.

"Sigh, fine, I have no status in this family anyway, right Klein?"

Beilini in his arms glanced at him, his speechlessness practically written on his face: "Dad, would you mind seeing who I am before you act?"

Qiao Suisui held her forehead in amusement and looked at Luka, who nodded at her with a smile.

"Then, who among you is willing..."

Before she could finish, Hawisi was the first to stand out, his expression as determined as if he were joining the army, saying: "Me! I can!"

Then Taier, Diqun, and the others also stood out, and Liliya raised her hand too. Leian followed his big brother and took a step forward, indicating he was also willing.

Wanisha and her two sisters saw that everyone else was eager to help Mom, and although they had wanted to stand out in their hearts, they couldn't get past their pride, so they stood there struggling, wanting to stomp their feet in anxiety.

Qiao Suisui knew that girls were thin-skinned and had been spoiled into little princesses by Laiboli when they were young, so she took the initiative to offer them a way out.

She said: "But I have quite a lot to do. Why don't you all help me together?"

The children nodded in unison.

And so, for the time that followed, she had the girls help her organize her jewelry and dresses, tidy up her vanity, and pick out clothes to wear tomorrow, while she had the boys help her buy flower seeds and fertilizer to redo the abandoned garden in the Huangting.

In truth, none of these were urgent matters, but feelings are cultivated bit by bit through such small things.

Just like when she discovered Wanisha showing an envious expression while organizing her jewelry box, she took the initiative to put a necklace on her.

"Ashi gave this to me." As she fastened the necklace for Wanisha, she said: "At that time, your father said he was very much looking forward to your arrival, so he had people collect the most lustrous pearls and string them into this necklace. I don't have any particular preference for these, but I thought I could wait until you grew up to give them to you."

Wanisha's little face was already full of tears.

She suddenly hugged Qiao Suisui and sobbed: "Mom, we and Dad miss you so, so much."

"I know, don't worry, I will make Dad come back."

Wanisha didn't understand how Dad could come back; he had clearly already passed away.

Then, Qiao Suisui picked out suitable jewelry for the other three girls, and the atmosphere became very harmonious for a moment.

But things weren't looking so good on the boys' side.

Next chapter is a bit... you know? (End of chapter)