He stood there for a few seconds, staring back at the other kids, before turning away in confusion and going back to his ball-throwing practice.
He had signed up for several events, one of which involved throwing a heavy ball, where the goal was to throw it as far as possible.
Besides the ball throw, he had signed up for running—one event where he would run alone, and another where his class would run a relay race together.
These were activities they had played during normal lessons, but now, in the sports meet, they were competing against other classes.
There were a few days of training before the meet.
The little one trained hard with the others, often ending up out of breath and drenched in sweat.
“Zai Zai is going to turn into a stinky kid.”
The little one sniffed himself, feeling particularly unhappy about sweating.
He was still small, and while he didn’t smell bad, his little nose imagined a stink.
He felt like he was a smelly little boy now.
Ah Wu brought water for him to bathe, but the little one still didn’t feel clean.
“I want to soak in a hot spring.”
Having experienced a hot spring before, the little one now longed for it.
He was only casually mentioning it, but Ah Wu, who was nearby, seriously started thinking about where to find a hot spring.
Surely, Guan Shan Academy must have at least one hot spring.
“Ah Wu, Jiujiu and the others are working so hard.”
The little one, soaking in the bathtub, shared his training experiences with Ah Wu, and also talked about his classmates: “Jiujiu never used to like running, but now he runs so fast and doesn’t slack off at all.”
The teacher had clearly said that participation was what mattered in the sports meet.
Friendship first, competition second.
But both the kids in his class and those from the neighboring class were working so hard that the little one felt it was a bit over the top.
Ah Wu, unaware of the rivalry between the two classes, didn’t understand why the kids were acting so crazy.
“Let them work hard.”
Ah Wu wasn’t in a hurry to wash clothes this time. He stood nearby, working soap into a lather in his hands, ready to wash the little one’s hair. As he washed, he said, “It’s just a sports meet. You don’t need to push yourself too much.”
The small rewards were just little things.
The little one didn’t need them.
So, Ah Wu thought the little one only needed to enjoy the sports meet and have fun.
“But I want to try hard, too. Everyone really wants to win.”
“No need. The prizes this time are just things the teacher bought. If your class doesn’t win, I’ll buy you the same prizes.”
Ah Wu didn’t care about winning and didn’t want the little one to stress over it.
The little one hesitated, then nodded.
“Close your eyes.”
Ah Wu rubbed the foam into the little one’s hair and made sure he closed his eyes.
Otherwise, if the foam got in his eyes, the little one would cry.
Ah Wu was already quite skilled at washing the little one’s hair.
Back in the World of Mountains and Seas, the little one often got himself dirty, and whenever possible, Ah Wu would clean him up thoroughly.
A freshly cleaned little one was the most beautiful sight in the entire World of Mountains and Seas.
“All done.”
Ah Wu’s hands were quick but gentle. Soon, the little one’s hair was clean. After a good soak, Ah Wu lifted him out of the water and wrapped him in a big towel. “Sit on the chair and wait for me to dry your hair.”
“Okay.”
The little one, wrapped in the big towel, sat on the chair while Ah Wu quickly emptied the bathwater, cleaned up the tub, and then came back to dry his hair.
The little one loved it when Ah Wu dried his hair.
He squinted, watching the flowers and plants in the little courtyard, feeling the breeze blowing in, utterly content.
After a while, Ah Wu had dried his hair halfway.
“Ah Wu, are you going to sign up for any events?”
The little one had signed up for several, but Ah Wu hadn’t signed up for any, nor had he trained.
“I didn’t sign up.”
Ah Wu wasn’t interested in the prizes the teacher had bought. He figured that instead of participating in the sports day, he could spend his time preparing something else.
“Ah Wu, come watch me!”
Hearing that Ah Wu hadn’t signed up, the little one was delighted and asked him to come watch.
Ah Wu replied with a simple “Mm,” and said, “I’ll come watch you.”
The little one was very content, spending some time under the big tree watching ants move, before finally going off to rest.
The next day arrived.
The little one grabbed his big ball and went off for training again.
This time, instead of heading to the training grounds, he went to the chief examiner’s house, which had a large yard where he could throw the ball.
He practiced throwing the ball with great effort in the yard, while the chief examiner sat inside by the window, reading a book and watching the little one train.
After a while, the examiner went to his bedroom, grabbed some clothes, and started altering them with scissors.
Once he finished, he called the little one over.
“Put this on, let me see if it fits.”
The little one looked at the clothes the chief examiner handed him, and was puzzled, “There are holes!”
“You can wear it.”
Since the chief examiner said so, the little one obediently took the clothes and started changing right there.
“Lift your arms.”
Noticing the little one was struggling to take off his clothes, the chief examiner hesitated for a couple of seconds, then stepped in to help.
With the examiner’s assistance, the little one quickly changed into the new outfit.
The new outfit had two small arms exposed and felt incredibly cool to wear.
“Not bad.”
The chief examiner was satisfied with his handiwork and rubbed the little one’s head, saying, “It’s a vest and shorts, now go on and continue your practice.”
Dressed in a white vest and shorts, the little one resumed his training, huffing and puffing as he worked hard for most of the day.
After a while, with his face flushed red, the little one came over, hugging his ball.
“Zai Zai is so tired.”
The little one looked at the chief examiner with expectant eyes.
The examiner: “…”
The examiner said, “If you’re tired, take a break.”
The little one raised his face again, saying, “Zai Zai is so hungry.”
The examiner’s mouth twitched: “You can’t eat too many noodles. You already had some recently.”
“Zai Zai will only eat a little.”
The little one dropped his ball and went to hug the chief examiner.
But in his rush, he almost hit the examiner’s foot with the ball.
The examiner dodged the ball, his face darkening as he scolded, “You almost hit me, so no noodles for you today.”
The little one: “!”
The little one hurried to explain, “I didn’t do it on purpose!”
“I know you didn’t do it on purpose. You did it on purpose.”
The chief examiner refused to listen to the little one’s explanation and still wouldn’t make noodles for him.
Instead of noodles, he steamed some rice and cooked two dishes, including a meat dish.
The little one, holding his rice bowl, clearly wasn’t as happy eating stir-fried meat as he was when eating noodles.
The chief examiner glanced at him and commented, “This meal is healthier. What’s so special about noodles? They’re not anything rare.”
“They are special. I never had them before.”
The little one’s voice was filled with grievance, but the chief examiner’s heart remained firm. He didn’t cook any extra noodles, and after the little one finished his rice, he sent him off for a nap.
This little one, who always came for food and rest, now had his own small room at the chief examiner’s place.
The small room had been redecorated with lots of cute elements.
After the nap, Ah Wu came to pick up the little one. By the time he arrived, the little one had already changed out of his vest and shorts, which were neatly packed in a bag.
Ah Wu held the little one’s hand, carrying the bag as they walked back.
It was the day before the sports day.
Their lessons were light. The teacher seemed to want them to relax, giving them plenty of free study time.
As evening approached, snacks were laid out on the desks. These had been prepared to take to the sports day, so that after the events, they could sit down to eat and rest.
Dundun even inspected the snacks, ensuring none of them would cause upset stomachs.
“Everyone, tomorrow we can only win, not lose! Do you have confidence?!” Jiujiu stood on the table, shouting at the kids below.
“We’re confident!”
Even Dundun, who was checking the snacks, raised his hand and echoed Jiujiu’s words: “We will win! We will win!”
The group of children chanted their slogans with serious expressions, while the little one sat on his chair, looking slightly confused. After a moment, he raised his small hand and joined in, chanting, “We will win.”
Once the little meeting was over, the little one left the class and went to look for Ah Wu.
Before he could find Ah Wu, he encountered kids from the neighboring class.
He was about to turn away, not wanting to see them, when he overheard them mentioning his name: “That little weakling isn’t as strong as the others. During tomorrow’s competition, we can target him as our weak spot and make him lose to us.”
“But if only he loses, and the others win, we still won’t have enough victories. We need to figure out how to win more. Anyway, we absolutely have to make them lose and become our grandsons.”
“That’s right, we must make them our grandsons!”
“But if we lose, we’ll have to call Little Seven our dad. I don’t want to call that weakling dad.”
“Neither do I.”
The little one heard every word they said.
His little face tensed up bit by bit, and he stepped forward, asking from behind them, “What do you mean by ‘grandsons’ and ‘sons’?”
The entire class had been hiding the bet from the little one until now, but it was finally revealed by the kids from the neighboring class.
Hearing about the bet, the little one was completely stunned.
“I’m telling you, don’t even think about becoming our dad! We’re not that easy to deal with!” After explaining the bet, one of the kids added some tough words.
The little one shook his head to snap himself out of the daze.
He looked at the kids but said nothing and walked away.
Initially, he was planning to find his classmates, but halfway there, he decided to look for Ah Wu instead: “Ah Wu, can you train with me?”
This time, the little one trained with a serious, determined expression on his face.
After observing for a while, Ah Wu asked, “What happened, Zai Zai?”
“I don’t want to be anyone’s grandson!” the little one declared firmly.
The little one didn’t have a grandpa, nor had he ever been anyone’s grandson, so being made to become the grandson of the kids from the neighboring class was something he definitely didn’t want.
But it was clear the bet had been made to protect him.
Determined not to hold his team back, the little one wanted to train hard to avoid being a weak link.
After hearing the reason, Ah Wu’s eyes flickered slightly.
The little one noticed right away: “Ah Wu, don’t go looking for the other kids.”
“We’re going to compete fairly.”
After saying this, the little one waited, but Ah Wu neither nodded nor responded.
“Ah Wu, say something,” the little one insisted, knowing that his silence meant he wasn’t planning to listen.
After a bit more coaxing from the little one, Ah Wu finally spoke: “Alright, I won’t go looking for them.”
True to his word, Ah Wu didn’t seek out the other kids. After a bit more training, he took the little one away.
“Stay calm. You’ll win even without extra training,” Ah Wu reassured him.
“I’m scared of losing,” the little one admitted.
“Don’t worry, you’re amazing,” Ah Wu encouraged.
Ah Wu’s compliments always gave the little one confidence, and soon, he was feeling much better as they walked hand in hand.
Ah Wu then took him for a stroll.
In the evening, the streets of Guan Shan Residence were brightly lit, with stalls lining both sides of the road, many staying open until the early hours. Some stalls would even remain open until morning.
“Pick whatever you want, and we’ll take it home.”
Ah Wu gently squeezed the little one’s hand, encouraging him to pick something from the stalls, though he didn’t allow him to buy any food.
The little one wanted to win, and eating street food that might upset his stomach would certainly make him cry.
So, the little one only bought toys, avoiding any food. While waiting for the stall owner to make him a little straw toy, the owner of a neighboring stall, who was selling candy gourds, noticed how cute he was and offered him a piece.
Candy gourds are a sticky, sweet treat, and if eaten too much, they can become cloying.
The little one loved sweets, so when he smelled the candy, his cravings kicked in.
He stared unblinkingly at the candy in the owner’s hands, but Ah Wu, without missing a beat, pressed down on his small shoulders and said, “Thank the owner, but we won’t eat that.”
The little one licked his lips and said, “Thank you, sir, I want to eat it.”
Ah Wu: “…”
The owner burst into laughter, then broke off a large piece of the candy gourd and stuffed it into the little one’s hands.
Covered in a light coating of sesame seeds, the candy gourd was fragrant, sweet, and sticky—delicious.
The little one ate happily, grinning from ear to ear.
Seeing him about to finish both pieces, Ah Wu frowned and bit off the remaining bit from the little one’s hand.
The little one didn’t get mad that his candy was taken away. Instead, he cheerfully said, “I want more!”
The owner had already given them two pieces for free, so Ah Wu thought it wouldn’t be right to keep taking them without paying.
With no other option, Ah Wu bought a bag of candy gourds, paying extra to cover the cost of the ones they’d already eaten.
The owner tried to refuse the money but couldn’t.
“You’re such a polite young man. My family specializes in making candy; we have all kinds,” said the owner with a smile.
“Little one, if you like candy, come back to my stall anytime. It doesn’t matter if you pay or not.”
The owner was so fond of the little one that he grinned widely and added, “My wife is pregnant too, little one. Next time, come and touch her belly, alright?”
The little one, who had been busy rummaging through the bag of candy, paused at the strange request: “Touch her belly?”
“Yeah, I hope the baby in my wife’s belly will be half as cute as you. No, even just a little bit as cute as you would be enough.”
His wife loved looking good, but she was constantly worried about how the baby might turn out. She was afraid their child might not be as attractive as she hoped. She was good-looking, but the owner admitted he wasn’t much to look at. He had heard from the elders that if a pretty child touched a pregnant woman’s belly, it could help ensure that the baby would be born looking nice.
After hearing the explanation, the little one nodded seriously: “Okay, I’ll come and touch her belly.”
While they were chatting, the little straw toy the little one had ordered was finally finished.
Ah Wu paid for the toy and took the little one along with it.
They found a clean noodle shop and sat down for a meal.
Ah Wu carefully examined the menu, and though there was a selection of noodles, none of them were the wavy kind.
“I’ll have the pork rib noodles, a serving of meat sauce noodles, and a braised chicken leg. Add an extra egg to the pork rib noodles.”
After Ah Wu placed the order, the little one peeked at the menu but had no objections.
Soon enough, the noodles and meat were served.
The little one wasn’t picky and eagerly slurped his noodles. But, as usual, he couldn’t help mentioning the noodles cooked by his eldest brother.
He had gotten into the habit of bringing it up whenever he ate. Ah Wu, however, silently made a note of his comments.
That night, before going to bed, the little one transformed back into a small fluffy ball and gave Ah Wu a full-body massage.
Yes, that’s right, it was the little one giving Ah Wu the massage, not the other way around.
In fact, baby beasts have a habit of kneading, and the little one loved using his tiny paws to step all over Ah Wu.
For him, this was a way to relax.
Ah Wu turned back into his original form, exposing his belly, letting the little one step on him however he liked.
The furry little ball spread out his soft paw pads and stepped from Ah Wu’s stomach to his back. Eventually, when he got tired, he flopped over, belly-up, and fell asleep.
Ah Wu watched him drift off, then gently pulled him into his embrace with his paw, falling asleep together.
The next morning, bright and early.
The little one didn’t linger in bed. As soon as he woke up, he was wide awake: “Ah Wu, hurry up! After breakfast, we’re going to the sports meet.”
“Mm, got it.”
The little one was in a rush, but Ah Wu wasn’t.
Once they were both ready, they headed to the event. They arrived not too early, not too late. The field was crowded, but not overwhelmingly so.
“Little Seven, just run at your own pace later.”
Dun Dun came over and spoke to the little one, who was about to compete in the race. “Don’t be nervous. It doesn’t matter what place you come in.”
Though they told the little one not to worry and just run casually, Dun Dun and the others were gearing up to go all out and aim for first place.
The little one glanced at them but didn’t mention that he already knew about the bet. He just nodded obediently. “Okay.”
Before the little one’s race, Ah Wu, Zhai Bai, Teng Liang, and Ye Xiaoxiao had all arrived nearby.
The little one didn’t have time to look at Ah Wu. He was busy warming up his short arms and legs, a serious expression on his round face.
“Why do I feel like Little Seven is a little nervous?”
“He’s fine. He just looks like he really wants to win.”
The first event was the sprint. The little one stood on the track marked by the teacher, completely focused, eyes straight ahead.
“Bang—”
With the sound of the bell and the teacher’s shout of “Start!”, the children shot forward like arrows, each one running faster than the last.
The little one’s face turned red, his tiny fists clenched tight.
He pushed himself as hard as he could, sprinting forward with all his might.
As they neared the finish line, only the little one and a kid from the neighboring class were running side by side at the front. One didn’t want to become a grandson, and the other didn’t want to be a son, so they were both giving it their all.
The little one from the neighboring class seemed even more determined not to become a “son.” He gritted his teeth and made a sudden burst forward, trying to overtake the little one.
But he pushed too hard and ended up falling to the ground.
The little one clearly heard the sound of an ankle twisting—a painful crunch. The fallen kid’s face contorted in pain as he clutched his foot, holding back tears, still trying to get up.
The little one: “…”
The little one thought that if the kid actually managed to stand up and continue, his foot would surely break.
The other kid stubbornly tried to get back up.
Frowning, the little one helped him up and then supported him all the way to the finish line a few meters away.
The injured kid didn’t even have time to feel touched before the little one made sure to cross the finish line first, then brought him across: “There, I’m first.”
“I’m the daddy now.”
The other kid’s face twisted even more.
The little one handed the injured child over to the teacher, then ran off, excited: “I got first place! Did you see? I came in first!”
Ah Wu watched the joyful little one from his seat, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
The sports meet was lively and full of energy.
The little one ran all over the place, never seeming to tire, enthusiastically participating in every event. During competitions, he even managed to help his teammates without it affecting his own performance.
From afar, Zhai Bai couldn’t help but ask Ah Wu, “Qin Wu, what kind of personality does Little Seven have? Is it because so many people love him that he turned out so sweet and kind?”
“No.”
Qin Wu replied coolly, “Even before anyone loved him, he was already this sweet.”
In the world of mountains and seas, the little one had been unwanted at first.
Even without anyone to care for him, he had always been the cutest cub in the world.
“Why is he so close to you?”
Zhai Bai asked, curious and a bit probing: “Do you think if I treated him even better than you, much better, he would become closer to me?”
As soon as Zhai Bai finished speaking, Ah Wu’s expression turned cold. “You can try.”
The lively sports meet lasted for two and a half days.
During those two and a half days, the little one was incredibly busy.
He would often count on his fingers, tallying up how many first-place finishes his class had. By the end, he was beaming with pride: “We’re going to win.”
If the little one could figure out they were going to win, the kids from the neighboring class could too.
They huddled together to discuss a strategy.
After a moment of silence, one of the kids finally spoke: “If we keep going like this, we’ll all end up being the little one’s sons. What do we do?”
If they kept competing fairly, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
But even though they were discussing possible tricks, none of the kids directly suggested cheating. After a long pause, a boy in the corner grumbled, “That Little Seven isn’t such a pushover. At least he runs pretty fast. When we raced, he even helped me get to the finish line.”
“He gave me water too, but I didn’t care for it.”
“When I was feeling dizzy from the heat, he gave me some cooling oil. Hmph, he must’ve been trying to humiliate me, thinking I’m weaker than him.”
As they continued talking, the kids even started bad-mouthing Little Seven.
But after talking badly for a long time, no one came up with any ideas on how to win.
It was unclear how much time had passed.
A child eventually realized that sitting together complaining wasn’t helping, so they stood up, muttering, “There’s still a competition tomorrow. Who says they’ll keep winning? We’ll see after tomorrow’s event.”
“I haven’t eaten yet. I’m going to eat now.”
“I’m so tired today, and none of you even helped me up when I was about to faint. Honestly, I’m done. I’m going to eat too.”
“I’m going to train a bit more. You never know, I might be our only hope tomorrow.”
Grumbling, one by one, the kids dispersed.
When the last half-day of the competition came around, the little one brought a bunch of candy. He planned to hand it out to everyone to celebrate after the race.
“Ah Wu, sit here and eat some candy. I’ll be busy!”
“Mhm.”
After arranging a spot for Ah Wu, he dashed off.
By the end of the half-day, the outcome was already clear, and the rankings couldn’t be overturned.
Finally, the teacher announced the standings, revealing that the little one’s class had won the most awards.
The little one was ecstatic. After the announcement, he eagerly handed out candy to everyone.
Even the kids from the neighboring class got some candy.
When the little one handed out candy, his expression was so proud.
These kids had wanted him to be their “grandson,” but now they were all his “children”!
Though the little one didn’t say anything, the children from the neighboring class felt like they had just gained a new “dad.”
The teacher was still present.
Dundun, who was helping the little one pass out candy, cupped his hands around his mouth like a little megaphone and whispered to the kids, “Hey, sons, take some candy!”
The “sons” looked like they were grinding their teeth in frustration.
After the sports day ended, the kids from the neighboring class barely came out of their rooms anymore. They avoided wandering around and stayed holed up in their classroom.
Dundun couldn’t help himself—whenever someone passed by, he’d teasingly shout, “Little Seven, your son’s here!”
Sitting in the classroom, the little one would turn around to see which “son” had come by.
Just like that, the little one became a “father,” and at such a young age, he already had a bunch of “children.”
When Ah Wu heard about this, he didn’t have much of a reaction, but Zhai Bai laughed so hard he bent over. “Little Seven, I swear, you’re the kid most suited for Guan Shan Residence. With so many kids there, you’re definitely the toughest one.”
The little one felt a bit bashful from Zhai Bai’s praise.
With his entire class and the backing of Ah Wu and Zhai Bai, the little one’s “dad” life went unchallenged—no one dared to mess with him.
At first, the neighboring class kids weren’t used to being “sons.” They would hide or avoid the situation.
But after being called “son” repeatedly, they started to get used to it.
One day, Dundun teasingly called out to a passing “son,” and instead of getting angry, the kid swiped Dundun’s roasted sweet potato.
Dundun was furious and yelled, “That’s for Little Seven!”
The little one loved these sweet, soft, roasted sweet potatoes the most!
The little child, with a blank expression, retorted, “Isn’t he supposed to be my dad? What kind of dad wouldn’t share a sweet potato with his son?”
Dundun was speechless.
He was so mad he almost started a fight.
After that, the other kids from the neighboring class followed suit, completely shameless.
They no longer dodged or avoided passing by the little one’s classroom. When they saw him, they would even call him “Dad.”
The little one was left utterly bewildered.
Not only was he being called “Dad,” but the snacks in his hands kept getting taken.
“Son’s hungry. Shouldn’t you feed him something?”
The child in front of him demanded food with complete confidence.
The little one was speechless.
After being forced to hand over snacks to a bunch of “sons,” the little one’s lips began to quiver.
His classmates couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted, “We don’t want these freeloading sons anymore!”
Even if they didn’t want them, the “sons” refused to go away.
The teachers knew all about the kids’ antics, but none of them intervened.
They just chuckled, watching one little one play the role of “dad” to a group of kids. They found this batch of kids quite entertaining.
“It’s not fun at all!”
In the room, the little one tilted his small face up, complaining to Ah Wu, “Being a dad isn’t fun at all!”
