CHAPTER 379: CHAPTER 369: THIS IS YOUR UNCLE

"As autumn leaves turned golden and hair quietly grayed, we promised to meet at the old place~"

Music filled the car as Qin Guanglin and Xiao Yu’s vehicles—one in front of the other—slowly made their way toward the zoo.

Humming to the tune, Qin Guanglin drummed his index finger on the steering wheel and then mused, "This song..."

"Hmm?"

"It sounds familiar, like I’ve heard you hum it before."

"When will your memory get worse? You even remember this."

He Fang chuckled and shook her head. Looking back, it wasn’t an accident he found out; it was inevitable. She had been careful initially, but these little details couldn’t all be avoided. Even if the phone call hadn’t given her away to Qin Guanglin at that moment, he would’ve gradually uncovered the truth over time.

"You’re too careless." Pride flickered across Qin Guanglin’s brow. "If I were in your position, I would never let you find out."

"Oh? That confident?"

"Of course."

Qin Guanglin’s expression shifted, "All this time, and you haven’t discovered anything, have you?"

"..."

"..."

Stunned for a moment, He Fang tensed as she caught on to what he meant. Before she could ponder the possibilities, Qin Guanglin could no longer hold back his laughter.

"You really fell for the ’three years of silliness from one pregnancy’... Hahaha!", he chuckled, shaking his head. As the traffic light turned red, he stopped the car and turned to her, "Just kidding."

"What does it have to do with silliness? There’s already one of me; it’s not impossible there’s another." He Fang pursed her lips, freed a hand to grab and squeeze his face, "Let me see if you’re faking..."

"Stop messing around, stop messing around, I need to drive."

...

Near Luo City Zoo, they were constructing a subway, so they had to take a detour. Following Xiao Yu’s car for a couple of turns, they finally found a parking spot. Qin Guanglin got out of the car, opened an umbrella over He Fang’s head, and then turned to see Xiao Yu’s empty hands.

Zhou Nan glanced at the umbrella in Qin Guanglin’s hand and then back at Xiao Yu, who nonchalantly turned away, "Cough... I’ll go buy the tickets first. You two wait here."

They weren’t in the habit of carrying umbrellas and couldn’t just buy one on the spot, so they pretended as if nothing had happened.

Qin Guanglin, with his thick-skinned disposition, held a bag and waited for Xiao Yu to return with tickets. He then fished a smaller umbrella from the bag, beaming, "Here, you can use this."

Xiao Yu was startled, "Why do you have two umbrellas?"

"One for sun protection in the car, another for rain in my bag."

"...Sleek."

No comeback for that.

"My daughter can’t be sunburnt to a crisp." Qin Guanglin said matter-of-factly. Although he occasionally took his daughter to bask in the sun on the balcony, he always made sure she was well-protected outdoors.

All he did at home these days besides painting was playing with his daughter, focusing only on such trivial things.

"Piggy! Piggy!"

Xiao Yu’s son, held in Zhou Nan’s arms, pointed excitedly at the distant hippopotamus.

"That’s not a pig, that’s a hippopotamus, hip-po-pot-a-mus." Zhou Nan corrected him.

"Potamus... Mommy..."

"..."

"You look a lot like it." He Fang handed her daughter to Qin Guanglin, took out her phone to zoom in for a photo, and compared it to his face, struggling to keep from laughing.

It wasn’t that they looked alike; it was their similar foolish appearance. The plump Qin Guanglin looked quite silly, a far cry from his formerly sharp appearance.

Qin Guanglin didn’t bother responding, instead looking around. Seeing Xiao Yu staring intently at something nearby, he walked over, preferring not to stay with two silly women.

"What are you looking at?"

"So cool..." Xiao Yu said, awestruck.

Below the viewing platform were alligators, their tails swishing as they rested.

Their glossy black scales were chilling, covering their bodies. Symmetrical rows of bumps extended all the way to the tips of their tails, like an armored warrior, exuding an odd sense of beauty.

"Indeed, much better looking than the silly hippopotamus." Qin Guanglin nodded in agreement. Men always fancied something a bit more ferocious, and though they might also like those cute and silly animals... okay, he liked them too.

As a fierce creature that lived alongside dinosaurs and survived to this day, their whole being radiated an air of ferocity and aggressiveness. This brutal beauty struck Xiao Yu right in the heart.

"Hey, wait a sec, I’m gonna buy a couple of pork ribs."

Xiao Yu had noticed the feed for sale nearby and eagerly headed over to grab a pair of pork ribs to share some fun with Qin Guanglin.

No helping it, alligators are just too cool.

"There’s not even a live one, like a chicken or something."

Xiao Yu came back fuming with the ribs in hand, then got excited again as he saw the alligator, "Lin, get ready, take a vid... Not of me, film the alligator!"

"Isn’t that a waste?"

Qin Guanglin scoffed, eyeing the bloody chunk of meat in his hand, "Couldn’t we just stew it and eat it when we get back?"

"...Hurry up, as if it wouldn’t be wasted if I gave it to you to eat. Get ready, one, two, three!"

Xiao Yu hurled the meat with all his might, tracing an arc through the air and plopping next to the largest alligator, which only lazily glanced at it, showing no interest in eating.

"..."

"..."

"Damn, this is a scam!"

By the time they left Alligator Garden, Xiao Yu was still seething; the alligators were overfed and had no interest in the meat, taking forever before even tentatively trying a bite.

Whatever happened to being ferocious? Where was the excitement?

It was as if they were being too polite to each other.

"Alright, alright, I told you it was a waste... If you like, why not buy one and raise it at home?"

"Do they even sell these things?" Xiao Yu was skeptical.

"Maybe?" Qin Guanglin wasn’t sure either. He vaguely remembered hearing about people keeping them, though they were very small... just a temporary thrill.

"What are you raising?" He Fang asked curiously on the side.

"Alligators."

"What?!"

Zhou Nan turned around with her child in her arms, peering at Xiao Yu, "What are you going to raise?"

"Nothing—just a child."

Xiao Yu shrugged innocently; he was just talking with Qin Guanglin—normal people don’t raise those creatures.

Luo City Zoo was large, divided into several sections, and mostly had what you’d expect, offering good value for the price of admission. It was nicer for the two families to stroll around together than just one—especially for the two women, as they didn’t need to struggle with selfie sticks. Pictures were easily snapped when family posed together with the help of others.

"Slide down, hurry, slide!"

After visiting the Lion Garden, they headed towards the tiger area, where Xiao Yu suddenly got excited again and tugged at Qin Guanglin.

"I’m too big to slide through; you should try."

Qin Guanglin laughed, the two thirty-year-old men acting like kids, far more eager than Zhou Nan and the others.

While they visited the zoo to look, the women came to take photos... Whether it was lions or tigers, they were all just backdrop.

"Nope, I’m too frail; it’s gotta be you..." Xiao Yu demurred.

"Watch the kids, we’re going to the restroom."

Zhou Nan and He Fang handed the children to the men and linked arms to wander off, leaving the two guys behind without a second glance.

The tiger in the cage lay on the artificial hill, basking lazily in the sun, looking plump and well-fed. Unlike before with the alligators, Xiao Yu didn’t bother buying anything to feed them, instead, leaning on the side and chatting idly with Qin Guanglin.

"Ever heard Tiger Bone Wine is really strengthening?"

"I wouldn’t know, I’m strong enough as it is. But with your skinny self, maybe you need to give it some thought..."

"Cut it out, I’m tough enough as it is."

The two continued to boast while Xiao Yu’s son, not understanding their banter, leaned on his shoulder, looking around.

"Brain ax, big brain ax..."

"No, that’s Uncle," Xiao Yu corrected his son, pointing at a group of tigers perched on the hill.

"..."

Qin Guanglin facepalmed.

Xiao Yu would have absolutely no grounds for complaint if he got beaten up.