Chapter 162: The Dragon Egg That Grew in Secret

Ba Ke Er watched Zhang Fan walk toward him, the corners of his mouth gradually curling into a tender, indulgent smile. As soon as Zhang Fan reached Ba Ke Er's side, Ba Ke Er grabbed him in a hug.

Zhang Fan never expected Ba Ke Er to do this, especially in front of everyone, with so many teammates around! What would it look like if everyone saw this!

Thinking this, the smile originally on Zhang Fan's face gradually faded, replaced by the icy expression he wore as an instructor. After being held by Ba Ke Er for about a minute, Zhang Fan finally acted, using both hands to break free from the embrace.

Suddenly pushed away, Ba Ke Er's face filled with confusion, even his brows knitting. Zhang Fan had already eased his expression somewhat, and taking advantage of Ba Ke Er not yet speaking.

He first took Ba Ke Er's hand, pulling him from the tribe's central square where the crowd was relatively concentrated. After walking about five minutes, Zhang Fan and Ba Ke Er reached a secluded corner.

Without thinking, Zhang Fan stopped, turned, and planted a fierce kiss on Ba Ke Er's lips. Seeing this, Ba Ke Er quickly reached out to steady Zhang Fan, then lowered his head and began returning the kiss.

At this moment, Ba Ke Er was breaking out in a cold sweat, wanting to get closer to Zhang Fan while also attending to the dragon egg on his back, fearing he might neglect either.

Zhang Fan naturally knew there was a dragon egg between him and Ba Ke Er, so he didn't prolong the kiss and let go. Ba Ke Er could guess Zhang Fan was being considerate of him and the egg, so he didn't insist further.

After the kiss, they smiled at each other, neither mentioning what had just happened in the square, silently clasping hands and continuing on the unfinished path.

Once home, Zhang Fan dropped his reservations, clinging to Ba Ke Er from the moment he entered, letting Ba Ke Er carry him back to the room.

After sending Zhang Fan and the dragon egg back to the room, Ba Ke Er turned and left for the kitchen to get busy. Zhang Fan sat on the bed to rest a while, then tucked the dragon egg into theirs bed and covered it with a blanket.

Having done that, Zhang Fan got up, walked to the wardrobe, opened it, took out his pajamas and held them. After a moment's thought, he decided to first go to the kitchen to see how Ba Ke Er's preparations were going.

But unexpectedly, before Zhang Fan could go to the kitchen, Ba Ke Er had already returned to the bedroom.

"Fan Fan, I've already prepared your bathwater—go take a bath! Afterward we can eat."

Ba Ke Er pushed open the bedroom door, poked his head in, and said to Zhang Fan with a smile.

Hearing the door open, Zhang Fan turned around; seeing Ba Ke Er's face, he also smiled. Upon hearing Ba Ke Er say the bathwater was ready, his smile deepened, he nodded at Ba Ke Er, and walked over holding his pajamas.

As Zhang Fan approached, Ba Ke Er turned back to the kitchen to get busy. When Zhang Fan passed by the kitchen, he glanced curiously; seeing Ba Ke Er frantically stir-frying, he couldn't help but let out a "pfft" laugh.

Hearing the laughter from the doorway, Ba Ke Er lifted his head, saw Zhang Fan, and broke into a grin, flashing his big white teeth.

Entering the bathroom, Zhang Fan saw the bathtub already filled with hot water. Outside the tub sat two buckets of water, one cold and hot, with a ladle inside the buckets.

The ladle floated in the bucket, swaying with the ripples until it drifted into Zhang Fan's view. Feeling Ba Ke Er's attentiveness and care, ripples began to spread in Zhang Fan's heart.

After a slight stir of emotion, Zhang Fan draped his pajamas on a nearby rack, then gradually removed his clothing, barefoot stepped into the tub, and began washing.

At this moment, Ba Ke Er in the kitchen had finished stir-frying the vegetables and was busy plating. Both were occupied with their own tasks, and no one noticed the dragon egg Zhang Fan had placed under the blanket quietly growing larger.

When Zhang Fan finished bathing, tidied the bathroom, and dried his hair with a towel, stepping out he happened to meet Ba Ke Er emerging from the kitchen carrying a tray of food.

They smiled at each other; such coincidence is called tacit understanding. Indeed love is this marvelous: just as I turned around, I happened to meet you also turning, and we coincidentally locked eyes.

Ba Ke Er set the food on the table, strode over to Zhang Fan, took the towel from his hand, and began to rub Zhang Fan's hair.

At this moment, Zhang Fan's hair was no longer the short cut he had when he first arrived on Beastmen Planet; it had quietly grown to reach his neck. Feeling Ba Ke Er's hands kneading his hair, he comfortably closed his eyes.

"Ba Ke Er, do you think my hair is too long? I feel it would be more convenient to cut it short! Look, my hair now takes ages to dry with a towel after washing—it's really inconvenient!"

Zhang Fan thought it over and still voiced his complaint about his hair to Ba Ke Er.

Upon hearing Zhang Fan's complaint, Ba Ke Er gave a light laugh, then began to comfort him.

"Fan Fan, I actually think your hair looks great now! And with me around, you don't need to worry about the hassle—I'll take care of it; you just need to sit quietly and wait."

"Besides, look—the cold season has arrived; though it's not obvious yet, it won't be long before it snows. Your hair, just reaching your neck, happens to block a lot of the cold wind!"

Hearing Ba Ke Er say that, Zhang Fan's complaining ceased, and he muttered:

"I'm just saying—cutting hair requires scissors, which we don't have; if I wanted to cut it, I'd have to use my kitchen or fruit knife. But if I actually used those to cut my hair, I'd probably never want to use those knives again."

By the time Zhang Fan finished speaking, Ba Ke Er had already dried his hair, taken a horn comb to tidy it, then set down his things, took Zhang Fan's hand, and walked together to the dining table to sit.

After dinner, Zhang Fan cleared the dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash, while Ba Ke Er brought a wooden bucket from the bathroom, went to the courtyard to draw well water, and took a combat shower.

When Zhang Fan finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen, he saw Ba Ke Er walking in from the courtyard, steaming all over. Seeing Ba Ke Er's bare upper body, Zhang Fan frowned.

He hurried forward, pulled Ba Ke Er into the room, took a blanket from the bed and draped it over him. Sensing Zhang Fan's concern, Ba Ke Er gradually broke into a goofy smile.

And while hearing Zhang Fan begin to complain that he didn't cherish his own body, although Ba Ke Er apologized verbally, the amusement in his eyes deepened gradually.

Seeing that Zhang Fan's casual complaints always earned a sincere apology from Ba Ke Er, he gradually stopped complaining, for such a blow to one's youth truly feels awful.

After lingering together a while, they finally took off their shoes and got into bed. Zhang Fan then realized he hadn't checked the dragon egg tonight; as he was about to get up, he felt the large, multicolored dragon egg lying still in the center of the bed.

He pulled back the blanket and saw; Zhang Fan's brows instantly knit. He called Ba Ke Er, who was beside him, over.

"Ba Ke Er! Come quick—look! Is the dragon egg different?"

Facing Zhang Fan's doubt, Ba Ke Er dismissed it, merely glancing casually and replying, "No! I think the dragon egg is fine; it's still beautiful."

Zhang Fan hearing this strongly disagreed.

"No! Ba Ke Er! Take a good look! The dragon egg really is different! How to put it… it seems… it's gotten bigger!" Saying this, Zhang Fan simply grabbed the dragon egg with his hands and lifted it to Ba Ke Er's eye level, saying:

"Don't believe me? Look! I feel its weight has also changed a bit! It's really strange! When I put it on the bed today, it definitely wasn't like this!"

At this, hearing Zhang Fan's firm claim that something was off with the dragon egg, Ba Ke Er immediately set aside his skepticism, took the egg from Zhang Fan's hands, and examined it carefully.

Upon looking, he also gradually noticed the oddities Zhang Fan mentioned. Furrowing his brow slightly, he turned his head to Zhang Fan and said:

"Fan Fan! As you say, I've noticed too! I've been carrying this dragon egg in my bosom all afternoon, yet I didn't detect any issue! Could it be… that this happened… after we returned home?"

Saying this, Ba Ke Er's brows knotted into a large tangle.

Upon hearing Ba Ke Er's speculation, Zhang Fan suddenly felt a chill down his spine, trembling as he lunged into Ba Ke Er's embrace, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Ba Ke Er, do you think… someone broke into our house? Could it be that someone came in and swapped our child?"

As Zhang Fan's words fell, Ba Ke Er's hand lightly landed on his head, giving a gentle stroke. After soothing Zhang Fan's trembling body, Ba Ke Er began to soothe his heart. Only Ba Ke Er's very soft tone could be heard saying to Zhang Fan:

"Rest assured! No one has entered our home, let alone a thief. Our Heaven Lion Tribe, since its founding, has never experienced a theft. Moreover, my sense of smell as your partner Ba Ke Er is fine; I can still tell if anyone has been in our home."

Hearing Ba Ke Er say that, Zhang Fan's heart gradually lowered its guard, he lifted his head and asked Ba Ke Er: "Then what do you say happened to our child? How did it suddenly grow a circle? Do you think it's abnormal? Could it be bad for the child?"

After Zhang Fan rattled on at length, still seeming unfinished, Ba Ke Er hurriedly interjected, then helplessly said to Zhang Fan:

"All right! Fan Fan! You suddenly asked me so many things, I don't even know which to answer first. Moreover, I truly cannot answer your questions. After all, this is my first time incubating a dragon egg, just like you—we both lack experience."

"So my idea is, we first jot down these questions, then tomorrow morning we go ask Am to see if he can give us some hints. Do you think that's okay?"

Although Ba Ke Er's answer was somewhat perfunctory, Zhang Fan, though reluctant, after thinking it over agreed. As Ba Ke Er said, they are both first-time dragon egg incubators, first-time parents, and indeed know nothing about these matters.

Since that's the case, why not ask those elders who might know something? Learning from them would also be good.