Extra 4 : The Cub Turns into a Little Bear (4)
Lu Xi was momentarily confused by the cub’s words.
After a brief pause, she furrowed her brows and asked, “You mean… you also bound with Xie Yizhao?”
So, were the two of them co-parenting this cub?
Xie Heng shook his head blankly, not quite understanding what ‘bound’ meant. He replied, “I only have Mommy. Today was the first time I met Daddy.”
Lu Xi : “…”
Talking to a kid was exhausting.
But she more or less understood now. He hadn’t bound with Xie Yizhao… That was a relief.
Otherwise, it would’ve been way too weird.
Co-parenting a random cub with Xie Yizhao? Just the thought of it sounded bizarre.
Still, something felt off. She asked again, “Then why did you want me to get close to him?”
The cub answered confidently, “Because he’s Daddy.”
“…” Lu Xi frowned, exasperated yet amused. She let out a short laugh, then couldn’t resist reaching out to poke the cub’s head. “You’re just picking based on looks, aren’t you? Whoever looks good, you decide they’re your Dad?”
Xie Heng pouted in grievance, rubbing his head as he countered, “But if Mommy didn’t care about looks, how would she pick Daddy to be my Dad in the future?”
Lu Xi was stunned.
Had she picked? Picked what? The future…?
She didn’t get it.
Just as she was about to press for answers, the cub suddenly transformed back into a little bear, flopping weakly onto her bed.
Lu Xi was speechless.
At least this time he lasted longer than before, long enough for an actual conversation. It seemed like this transformation skill really could be upgraded.
A friend called her for a voice chat, and soon, she forgot all about her earlier confusion.
After playing around for a bit, she finally started half-heartedly doing her homework. She even placed the little bear on her desk, making him watch her work.
Bonding time. Build goodwill. Earn little hearts. That way, she could pick another gift next time.
Even though the cub was sometimes mischievous and caused her trouble, Lu Xi still liked him quite a lot.
Having a virtual pet materialize in real life was unexpectedly fun!
Due to his current form, Xie Heng couldn’t move around easily. He had no choice but to sit obediently and watch Lu Xi do her homework.
Watching her furrow her brows in frustration one moment and scribble furiously the next, even he, a mere cub, felt like sighing.
Right now, he was only in kindergarten, so he barely had any homework—just some arts and crafts, which he couldn’t be bothered to do. He always made the uncles and aunties at home help him.
But when he saw slightly older kids learning piano and English, he thought they had it rough.
The butler uncle told him that once he started elementary school, he would have to do his homework every day, and no one would help him anymore.
The cub felt a little sad about that.
But he wasn’t scared!
Homework wasn’t hard at all. His Dad was so amazing, so surely, he would be just as smart. When the time came, he’d definitely be a top student!
Xie Heng was full of confidence.
However… watching his Mom struggle so much with her homework made him start to wonder, was she… bad at studying?
But Daddy was a genius! If his Mommy didn’t know how to solve a problem, she could just ask Daddy for help. Would Daddy dare refuse?
This thought flickered across the cub’s mind.
But no!
His Mom was mad at him earlier, probably because he caused her trouble today…
His survival instincts kicked in. He decided not to stir up any more mischief tonight.
Lu Xi heard her phone vibrate and picked it up, but there were no new messages or notifications in the app.
Was her crappy phone acting up again?
The math homework was tricky. By the time she finally finished it, it was past nine. She stretched lazily before standing up.
Picking up the little bear, she spun around the room several times in delight.
The cub got dizzy from all the spinning.
His Mom was so different when she was alone.
At school, she was composed and elegant, every move exuding goddess-like grace.
But at home, she would immediately change into loose loungewear, sit cross-legged to do homework, or sprawl on her bed snacking while watching dramas, feet swinging in the air.
And when she got excited, she would squeeze and smother him in a hug.
The cub was utterly resigned.
Now he finally understood how his own teddy bear must have felt when he hugged it to sleep all the time. When he got back, he’d definitely treat it better.
But… when would he go back?
Xie Heng really missed his Dad.
But at the same time, he didn’t want to leave his Mom.
And he still hadn’t gotten her strawberry hair clip…
The cub fell into deep thought.
That night, Lu Xi only washed the little bear’s feet and back—just the parts that had gotten dirty from the milk tea spill earlier.
After she fell asleep, Xie Heng fought off his drowsiness, waiting patiently for her to loosen her grip on him. When she finally turned over, he seized the chance to wriggle free from the blankets.
Luckily, as a little bear, he wasn’t affected by the cold.
But this body was so clumsy! His round paws and feet had no grip. He struggled endlessly, inching his way to the foot of the bed. Then, tilting his round head upward, he looked at the desk.
So high…
He remembered that next to the desk was a vanity table. Before heading out in the morning, Lu Xi would sit there to freshen up. There were quite a few things on it—he wasn’t sure if there was a hair clip among them.
The little bear struggled to lift his arms.
He couldn’t reach the desk… He stretched again!
Still no luck.
The cub let out a sigh, full of disappointment, and glanced toward the other end of the room, which felt impossibly far away. He was so exhausted.
He no longer had the strength to crawl over. Instead, he chose to collapse on the spot. If he was tired, he’d just sleep right there.
That night, Lu Xi had a strange dream.
She dreamed of Xie Yizhao.
The dream was chaotic and fragmented, with no clear beginning or end. By the time she got up the next morning, she had already forgotten most of it after brushing her teeth.
But two scenes remained crystal clear.
Because they were simply too shocking!
She dreamt that she was dressed in a pure white wedding gown, running toward a man and throwing herself into his arms.
The next moment, she was holding a baby in her arms, and beside her was the same man.
That face… No matter how she looked at it, it was Xie Yizhao.
Lu Xi was utterly speechless. Even after stepping out of the bathroom, she couldn’t help but glare at the little bear several times.
When she woke up that morning, the cub wasn’t by her side. She lifted the blanket completely and finally found him curled up at the foot of the bed, looking pitiful.
At first, she felt a little guilty, thinking that she must have kicked the poor thing in her sleep.
But now… Even if she had, he deserved it.
It was all his fault for stirring up so much trouble yesterday! Otherwise, why would she have dreamed of Xie Yizhao?
Lu Xi scooped up the little bear and ruffled him vigorously, even flipping his soft ears back.
The sleepy cub, confused about why his Mom was upset, felt terribly aggrieved.
He couldn’t help but kick his legs in protest.
Seeing how soft and easy to bully he looked, Lu Xi finally let go, half-annoyed and half-amused. “Alright, little bear, what’s your plan to torment me today?”
The cub’s eyes sparkled.
The next second, the notification sound from the app rang out.
Little Bear : [Mommy, can you give me your strawberry hair clip?]
[Mission countdown: 5 minutes.]
Lu Xi chuckled. “That’s easy! It’s just a hair clip, I can give you ten if you want. But with your short fur, are you sure you can even wear one?”
Xie Heng : …It’s not for him! He’s a boy!
Lu Xi liked collecting small accessories and had a jewelry box just for them.
She had bought so many that some were worn only once before being stored away. She had no recollection of whether she had a strawberry hair clip.
Sure enough, she didn’t find one in the jewelry box.
Frowning, she shook her head at the little bear. “I don’t have a strawberry hair clip.”
The little bear tilted his head.
Impossible. The voice had clearly told him he had to get a strawberry hair clip from his Mom.
But Lu Xi was worried about something else.
If she didn’t have one and couldn’t buy one within five minutes, wouldn’t that mean she’d fail the mission?
Would the little bear disappear? Or would something happen to him?
Her heart clenched.
[Countdown : 3 minutes 21 seconds.]
Lu Xi frowned and instinctively glanced at the door.
No… The only ones in the house who might use hair clips were her and her aunt, and her aunt definitely wouldn’t wear a strawberry one. No need to ask, she wouldn’t have it.
The neighbors had a six-year-old girl, though!
But it wasn’t even 7:30 yet. Wouldn’t it be weird to ask?
As she was worrying, her eyes caught a small glow from the shopping mall icon.
Only then did she notice she had earned two new red hearts. Could she exchange them for gifts?
Though it wasn’t the best time, she couldn’t resist the temptation and tapped in.
Two rows, six gift boxes.
The first row contained:
[A lottery ticket that guaranteed a 5,000-yuan win]
[A one-time chance to improve an exam ranking by 50 places]
[A pearl necklace you would receive in the future]
Lu Xi wasn’t short on money.
Besides, she was great at answering test questions. The second option only applied to one test, meaning she’d go back to her usual ranking next time, what was the point?
The third option, however, sounded interesting.
Something she would receive in the future? That was exciting.
She picked it without hesitation.
As for the second row, one phrase immediately caught her eye.
[Within a week, someone will give you a strawberry hair clip.]
Lu Xi’s eyes lit up, and she pointed at the text. “Does this count?” she asked Xie Heng.
The little bear hesitated, suddenly wanting to scratch his head.
He was still little, he couldn’t read that many words yet.
Seeing his blank face, Lu Xi knew she wouldn’t get an answer from him. She simply decided to take the gamble and selected it. The other options didn’t interest her anyway.
As soon as she tapped the button, two gifts expanded with a burst of confetti effects, shimmered for a moment on the screen, and then automatically exited the shop.
At this moment, Lu Xi saw that the task box had disappeared, and the countdown was no longer visible.
Did this mean she had just muddled through this task?
She quickly slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed to school, not forgetting to shrink the little bear and bring it with her.
All the way there, she kept wondering, who would give her the strawberry hair clip?
When she arrived at school, Lu Xi found a gift inside her desk.
The packaging was exquisite. The gift box was small and felt almost weightless in her hand.
Could it be the hair clip someone had sent her?
Lu Xi smiled. Without caring that the homeroom teacher was still on the podium, she eagerly unwrapped the gift inside her desk.
Her deskmate was stunned.
She often saw Lu Xi receiving gifts, but it was the first time she had seen Lu Xi so impatient to open one. Which boy was lucky enough to give it to her?
However, as soon as Lu Xi unwrapped the box, the smile on her face quickly faded.
It wasn’t a hair clip.
It was a necklace.
Lu Xi couldn’t help feeling disappointed—so it wasn’t what she had hoped for…
Inside her desk, Xie Heng, who was in his bear form, saw her expression and froze for a moment. He hesitated and shrank back slightly, curling his little bear paws.
Uh-oh.
Had he just made things harder for Mom again?
That person, seriously, why give such a useless necklace? If you’re going to give something, give a strawberry hair clip!
No wonder he couldn’t win over his Mom, he had no sense at all! Hmph.
If only his Dad could step up right now… Wait, that’s right! Why was his Dad so clueless? How did his Dad not know to give his Mom a gift?