Extra Chapter 04
Egg’s identity was unknown to outsiders, but all the children at the Guican Ruge orphanage knew about Egg.
The Hatchling Guide suggested that Egg could interact appropriately with the children, so He Ruge often brought Egg to meet the children. The mischievous Gugu Duo were the most enthusiastic; every time, they flapped their wings eagerly, wanting to incubate the egg.
Egg usually stayed in a small nest. When Egg was just the size of an apple, the Gugu Duo often secretly squatted on the nest to incubate the egg. Perhaps for birds, incubation was instinctual.
The nest-guarding Gugus were very domineering and didn’t allow other children near Egg. Every time another child wanted to see Egg, they would get pecked in the face by the Gugus.
As a result, for a long time, Xi Guican was very worried that Egg would be influenced by the Gugus, and when the egg broke, it would become a Gugu
Later, when Egg grew to the size of a watermelon, the Gugus could no longer incubate the egg. Egg’s size was too large for the Gugus to incubate, and it became not only a problem of nest guarding, but also a problem of high difficulty in maintaining balance.
The children witnessed Egg grow from the size of a fingernail to inflating like a balloon to the size of a watermelon.
Sometimes He Ruge would look at Egg and feel fortunate that this was oviparous, not viviparous. He couldn’t imagine what he would look like with a pregnant belly.
“If you suffer from pregnancy, I won’t want this child.” Xi Guican said.
Hearing Xi Guican’s words, Egg turned blue with sadness, and He Ruge quickly comforted the heavy Egg in his arms. The egg was surprisingly large, and you could hear water sounds when it shook, so the new fathers guessed that there was a good chance that it was a mermaid baby.
When they made this guess, He Ruge could feel that Xi Guican’s behavior became better for the egg.
The day the egg broke, He Ruge was still discussing the baby’s name with Xi Guican.
“If it’s a mermaid baby, then it’s going to have my surname, and if it’s a white tiger baby, then it’s yours.” This is what they agreed on from the beginning.
Xi Guican doesn’t care who he shares a surname with. His current surname was chosen randomly; whether it’s He or Bai made no difference to him.
As for names, one evening, He Ruge held Little Egg on the back of a big white tiger. They watched the stars and moon together.
“He can be named Xi Feixing or He Zhuoyue.”
And so Little Egg’s name was settled.
On a clear spring morning, a “dududu” knocking sound came from inside the eggshell, and colorful colors swirled on its surface. Little Egg sometimes tapped the eggshell, but never with such vigor, exerting great effort and disturbing their peaceful dreams.
Xi Guican woke up immediately. Though he had no experience, he had a strange premonition —
His cub was about to hatch.
Xi Guican woke up He Ruge, carefully placing Little Egg’s nest between them.
The scene of birth and witnessing one’s life had a special appeal, like guarding a bud waiting to bloom, or standing on thin ice watching fish swim below. They held their breath simultaneously, nervous to the point of anxiety.
The colors on the eggshell changed rapidly, yellow and red intermingling. Most of the eggshell facing He Ruge was yellow, while the side facing Xi Guican was more red, as if it was angry at itself for not coming out sooner.
Xi Guican couldn’t help but reach out and touch the eggshell. Originally hard enough to be used as a weapon, it suddenly became very soft the moment he touched it.
Soft enough that it seemed it would break at a touch.
The sudden change in texture left Xi Guican stunned for a moment.
Just as he was about to withdraw his hand a “click” sounded.
A small flesh claw broke through the thin eggshell and reached out, meeting Xi Guican’s finger.
A flesh claw about the size of Xi Guican’s fingertip, pink, with a few sparse white hairs.
Tiger claw?
Xi Guican, feeling somewhat surprised, raised his eyes as if in a trance when he saw the merbaby cradled in He Ruge’s arms, his gaze widening in disbelief.
The merbaby was extraordinarily beautiful from birth, with blue eyes, black hair, and a silver fish tail. He quietly blew bubbles, gazing calmly at his younger brother who had yet to emerge from his shell.
After the merbaby hatched, Xi Guican and He Ruge discovered that this egg had a special structure. In the center was a thin, transparent membrane separating the merbaby and the white tiger cub.
“…Guican, this might be a double-yolk egg,” speculated He Ruge, holding up one of the merbabies prematurely.
As soon as he said this, the small tiger paw wildly waved a few times, accompanied by a “crack,” completely shattering the eggshell, and the tiny tiger cub inside rolled out of the egg like a kitten, emitting a soft mew, bumping into Xi Guican.
The bald and bare cub, without even a few sparse hairs, was a stark contrast to his brother.
This little tiger cub wriggled in Xi Guican’s arms, eyes still closed, about half the size of the merbaby, looking rather unattractive.
It clumsily paddled its limbs as if swimming, emitting high-pitched cries like a newborn kitten.
With each pitiful cry, there was a sense of helplessness.
“Hurry and hold him,” urged He Ruge.
Xi Guican fell silent for a moment, then placed the wet and bare cub on his hand. The cub was truly tiny; Xi Guican’s large palm could serve as a small bed for him.
Resting its chin on Xi Guican’s wrist, the long tail lay softly over his middle finger, while its four paws continued to flutter in the air.
Xi Guican frowned deeply, solemnly observing the bald cub in his hand, utterly unable to discern any blood relation between himself and this oddly unappealing cub. He couldn’t help but glance again at the little merbaby in He Ruge’s arms.
The little merbaby, with an expressionless face, earnestly blew bubbles in He Ruge’s embrace, the light sound of “bo bo bo” constantly filling the air. Their eyes met, and the merbaby paused his bubble-blowing, offering a smile to Xi Guican.
Despite having no teeth, the merbaby’s smile was exceptionally sweet, enough to melt Xi Guican’s heart.
“Is Zhuoye smiling at you?” remarked He Ruge, smiling to himself.
“He smiled at me right after he hatched.”
Upon hearing his dad’s voice, the merbaby stopped blowing bubbles and instead planted a wet kiss on He Ruge’s face, leaving a dribble of saliva on his chin.
“Little Zhuoye kissed me!”
After kissing He Ruge, the merbaby resumed blowing bubbles, glancing around with his fish tail swaying roundly yet flexibly.
Watching the interaction between father and son, Xi Guican was deeply moved. He lowered his head again to look at the bald cub in his hand. The cub lay belly up in Xi Guican’s palm, its four paws still fluttering aimlessly.
Imagining this cub kissing him, Xi Guican furrowed his brows slightly. He extended a finger, as if suppressing Sun Wukong, to press down on one of the tiger cub’s paws.
“Don’t wiggle around.”
The bald cub whimpered, while its other three paws continued to frolic energetically in the air.
Xi Guican couldn’t bear to watch the cub’s foolish antics. He gently lifted one of the white tiger’s hind legs, glancing between its legs.
“It’s a boy.”
He Ruge, who had prepared a water bed for the merbaby in advance, said, “Zhuoye is also a baby boy.”
With the newborns, the family suddenly became lively. The merbaby could swim underwater, while it was unsure whether the feeble white tiger cub could bathe right after birth. Finally, Xi Guican carefully wiped the bald cub clean with a damp towel.
The white tiger cub had no fur; its pink skin was exposed to the air. Xi Guican exerted minimal force, fearing to rub off the few remaining hairs. He supported the cub’s soft body and gently cleaned its belly.
Perhaps Xi Guican’s touch was just right. The little tiger cub stopped fluttering, tilting its head to one side and fell asleep in Xi Guican’s palm.
Xi Guican looked at the carefree, bald cub and watched it for a long time. When it came time to feed, Xi Guican didn’t wake up this bald cub.
The little white tiger sniffed and then began to cry out, awakened by the scent of milk.
Unlike his merbrother who could hold his own milk bottle, the little white tiger needed someone to hold the bottle for him. He sucked vigorously on the bottle, showing the strength to feed, while the merbaby watched his brother eagerly from the water bed.
After the little white tiger had his fill and lay limp in Xi Guican’s palm, letting out a small burp, which made the merbaby chuckle happily.
Little Theater:
Xi Guican: This bald cub looks nothing like me.
He Ruge: ?
