Extra Chapter 25
Stellar Calendar 278, September 30, Clear
Today unexpectedly marks the last day of September, time flies so fast.
When I woke up this morning, Baldy was sitting on the bed practicing flying. This time he was a bit better than before, managing to fly a little higher.
I asked Maozi Association about it, and they explained a bunch of professional terms. In simple terms, it’s normal for juveniles to struggle with flying at first; some might take three or four years to learn.
After hearing this, Baldy breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t get up early and stayed up late to practice flying anymore. He used to hear stories about “rising early to dance with the rooster” and “learning in secret,” feeling a strong sense of belonging.
Now, he just flaps a few times or flies around with the Bad Gugu duo during break time.
Maybe I should tell him that while other kids are learning to fly, little Baldy hasn’t quite figured it out yet. It might give him a sense of crisis. But then again, maybe it’s not necessary. These past few days after knowing he can’t fly, he’s been worried and even bumped into tree trunks while walking.
Ruge said, “Even if he never learns to fly, Baldy is still the cutest ground-walking chicken.” I think this makes a lot of sense.
In the afternoon, I picked up Baldy and Bobo from school. We walked past the Purple Tree Forest, where Bobo kept looking at two purple trees near our doorstep. I asked Bobo what’s so interesting about these two purple trees.
Bobo earnestly replied, “Papa, they are the same height, and their branches are distributed similarly, like they’re reflecting each other in a mirror. But if you look closely, there are still some differences…”
Bobo’s words sparked a thought in my mind.
Suddenly, a plan emerged—
I want to prepare a quiet little world for Bobo, a place suitable for contemplation.
Bobo usually sits on the small balcony, behind the bookshelf, on the sofa… various corners where he quietly contemplates life and studies.
His most frequent place is the small balcony, where Bobo would fill the fish tank with water himself, place it next to the flowerpot, and then immerse himself in the bathtub to contemplate life. The warm sunlight shines on him, on the rippling water surface, on the petals and green leaves. While Bobo daydreams, he also scoops a little water with his hand and waters the flowers and vegetables.
Sometimes Bobo lies on the sofa. Autumn has arrived, and the weather is a bit cool. Besides the cushions, there’s also a thin blanket on the sofa. Once, when I returned home, I lifted the blanket on the sofa and discovered Bobo underneath.
He’s so small that the blanket can cover him completely. Holding that blanket, I could still feel Bobo’s residual warmth.
Bobo is like a fish that’s cool in summer and warm in autumn. But Baldy is warmer, as warm as a little stove.
Bobo looked up quietly at me, then glanced at the blanket in my hand. I quickly covered Bobo again with the blanket. Wrapped in a layer of blanket, he might not want to get up for a while, just like a caterpillar slowly moving on the sofa, moving himself to the edge, then softly saying to me, “Papa, you sit.”
Sometimes near the bookshelf, I would find Bobo leaning against it, holding a thick book. I squatted down and asked Bobo, “Do you recognize the words in the book?”
Bobo placed a bookmark in the pages, looked up, and replied, “I don’t recognize many of them. Although I can’t understand a lot, there are some I do understand. Hmm… it feels interesting this way. Papa and the others probably don’t have this feeling when they read.”
Ruge said that Bobo likes the ambiguous feeling of half-concealed when reading, and that symbolic sense of mystery.
I never deliberately search for Bobo. Sometimes on weekends, I only see Bobo during the times of waking up, eating, and sleeping. I have no idea where Bobo goes the rest of the time.
So when I bump into Bobo, it always surprises me pleasantly.
Sometimes if I need to find Bobo, like when Ruge makes desserts, we’ll let Baldy go look for him. Baldy runs around the room, shouting Bobo’s name loudly. Eventually, he always manages to find Bobo.
These little memories of our time together flood back, and I decide to set up a swing in the Purple Tree Forest. This way, Bobo can sit leisurely in his beloved Purple Tree Forest, swinging gently on the swing, and calmly pondering.
Stellar Calendar 278, October 1, Overcast
This morning, when Bobo saw the swing in the Purple Tree Forest, he froze for a moment.
“It… grew a swing?”
Bobo turned to look at me, whispering softly, “Papa, did you make this?”
I asked Bobo, “Do you like it?”
Bobo smiled happily, nodding seriously that he liked it.
This “like” is the best reward for my efforts last night.
When Baldy saw the swing outside, he rushed downstairs, howling excitedly, and dashed towards the swing. However, the swing was too high, and he couldn’t jump onto it at all. Baldy was so anxious that he bounced around in place like a chubby rabbit.
I hugged Baldy and Bobo in my arms, and we sat on the swing together. At first, the swing swung low, but Baldy kept saying to me, “Higher! Higher!”
I asked Bobo if he was afraid, and Bobo shook his head.
So I swung the swing higher and higher, until it swung past the branches.
“Woo hoo hoo—I can fly!” Baldy spread his arms, flapping his little wings, happily exclaiming.
Bobo held onto my clothes, quietly asking me, “Papa, will the rope break?”
I said, “Daddy will fly. Even if the rope breaks, I will hold onto you and Baldy, and won’t let you fall.”
Bobo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He hesitated a bit, then, imitating Baldy, spread his arms and closed his eyes gently singing softly:
“Let’s row our oars~ Push the small boat through the waves~ The sea reflects the beautiful white pagoda~ Surrounded by green trees and red walls~”
Stellar Calendar 278, October 2, Clear
Ruge resumed his livestream today. He said he’ll livestream two or three times a month from now on, as frequently as when I teach at the Federal Military Academy.
Baldy is the type who’s always drawn to lively places. When he saw Ruge livestreaming, he pestered me to get a closer look.
To avoid revealing Baldy and Bobo’s appearances, they control their own mini mechs. Watching the two mini mechs walk hand in hand, I used to think Baldy had an extraordinary talent for piloting mechs, but now I realize Bobo does too.
Bobo can easily keep up with Baldy’s pace, both in step frequency and when Baldy and I played games in the virtual arena.
This game laid a solid foundation for Baldy’s mech piloting skills, but what about Bobo?
Bobo usually plays singing games with Ruge. He’s operated a mech only a handful of times, perhaps this being the second or third time, yet his learning progress surprisingly matches Baldy’s.
Bobo is smarter than I imagined.
Maybe I’ve been presumptuous before, assuming Baldy is like me and Bobo is like Ruge. So I’ve had no reason to believe Bobo isn’t good at piloting mechs.
I asked Bobo if he wants to learn how to pilot a mech.
Bobo seriously replied, “Compared to piloting mechs, I prefer other things. But learning to pilot mechs can protect others, so—”
Bobo looked up at me seriously, “Papa, next time you play games with Baldy, call me too.”
Baldy looked at me and then at Bobo, cheering excitedly, “Okay okay!”
He’s undoubtedly a little silly, wanting to be as good as Bobo in mech piloting, yet Baldy hasn’t even learned how to fly.”
Watching Baldy and Bobo pilot their mini mechs next to Ruge, sometimes they exchange a few words. The bullet screen kept flooding with requests to “steal the kids.”
Once I sat next to Ruge, the bullet screen quieted down a bit, starting to eagerly say they’re willing to wait twenty years for the little ones.
Dream on. Even if it’s twenty years, this lifetime, or the next, I won’t give up Baldy and Bobo to them.
“Perspective from Ruge’s livestream”
He Ruge posted the latest update of “I’m Getting Stronger,” and in the comments section, viewers were eagerly anticipating his live stream.
“Ah He Ruge, when will you livestream? I’ve been rewatching your previous recordings over and over.”
“I’ve decided not to mention the cubs during the livestream! Determined to protect their privacy, so… Handsome, can you start the stream pleaseeee!!!”
“I’m so humble, I just want to watch the livestream.”
“Want a livestream +1.”
Previously, He Ruge was afraid that viewers would constantly ask about the cubs during the livestreams, so he decided to stop streaming altogether. He briefly explained the reason on his personal page—deciding to stop in order to protect the cubs’ privacy.
The stellar masses, who were originally full of energy and eager to dig up information about the cubs, were stunned. No matter how cute the cubs were, they couldn’t attract their attention anymore. He Ruge, who could once attract a school of fish, ran off again, and this was a true reflection of losing everything for nothing.
The fans, who had their spiritual sustenance cut off, were left crying without tears. They wanted to blame the nurse sister for leaking the photos, but she had already deleted the post and apologized long ago.
She didn’t expect such consequences. The excitement of seeing Marshal for the first time and discovering he had cubs made her post such a flaunting revelation without thinking.
When she posted, she specifically chose a photo that didn’t reveal the cubs’ appearances, only their little paws. Yet, it was this photo that sparked a series of trending topics, leading to He Ruge stopping his updates, Marshal Xi, moving houses due to the continuous interviews by fans and paparazzi at the hospital…
The nurse sister, feeling the pressure of public opinion for the first time, voluntarily resigned and posted a lengthy apology on her personal page.
Seeing the wailing comments section, He Ruge couldn’t bear it and couldn’t help but consider resuming his livestream.
He sat on the swing in the Purple Tree Forest and started the DJ livestream.
In the livestream room appeared a misty purple forest, with the faint morning light shining through the leaves and branches, falling on the youth on the swing.
It was all so beautiful, like a painting.
“Ah ah ah ah ah, what did I find?! The livestream is on!!!”
“I finally waited for you, fortunately I didn’t give up 〒▽〒”
“Where is this? It’s so beautiful!”
“On this day, the anchor finally remembered his account password.”
“Grandpa, the anchor you follow has updated!”
“Gorgeous beauty! Absorb absorb absorb! Ah Wei died Ah Wei resurrected!”
Millions of rewards appeared once again, and a brilliant nebula surrounded He Ruge.
He was about to say a few opening words when he heard Little Baldy excitedly shout, “Wow—Brother, look! There are stars around Dad!”
Pouting and stepping on a small stool, Little Baldy stood in front of the window on the second floor, dancing with joy and calling Bobo to come and see.
He Ruge instinctively looked towards the livestream room. Only after confirming that Little Baldy and Bobo were not within the livestream’s scope did his lifted heart settle.
Inside the livestream room, there was only the Purple Tree Forest and him.
He Ruge put his index finger to his lips, making a hushing gesture towards the two cubs on the second floor. Little Baldy and Bobo looked at each other, obediently covering their mouths.
He Ruge withdrew his gaze and looked back at the barrage. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly because the tone of the barrage was like this at this moment:
“I’m deaf, I didn’t hear anything! (Covering ears in horror)”
“I really didn’t hear Little Baldy calling Dad! So He Ruge, please don’t stop the stream!!!”
“Ah ah ah, did I hear something I shouldn’t have heard?!”
“Covering ears upstairs!”
“Little Baldy’s little voice is so cute! Ah ah ah, so adorable”
“Shut up upstairs! We didn’t hear anything!”
“Did He Ruge’s just make us shut up? Shivering in fear”
These fans were like being bitten by a snake once, and fearing the well rope for ten years. They were afraid that if they knew a little more about the cubs, He Ruge would stop updating without a word.
“Long time no see, everyone.”
He Ruge smiled, “I stopped updating for a month because of the issue of protecting the cubs’ privacy. Well, you guys don’t need to be so nervous. Just listening to Little Baldy’s voice won’t be a reason for me to stop. Otherwise, wouldn’t I have an excuse to skip every day? If I want to stop, I’ll just let Little Baldy come out and scream.”
He Ruge made a joke to ease the tense atmosphere in the barrage.
The barrage responded:
“Our reasons for skipping can actually be like this?!”
“It’s possible, this reason is so strong!”
“Long time no see!!! You also know it’s been a long time no see! I missed you so much! I couldn’t think of anything but you! Couldn’t eat or sleep at night!”
“Was that Little Baldy calling just now? Ah ah ah, Little Baldy’s voice calling Dad is so cute, he calls Dad ‘Papa’, so adorable~”
“Before, Guican’s serialization on the Star Network was exposed.”
He Ruge made a silent mourning expression in his heart, “After this incident, we held an emergency family meeting. Both Guican and I thought we should try not to let the outside world disturb Baldy and Bobo’s lives.”
“We hope Baldy and Bobo can grow up carefree like normal cubs. We hope everyone can understand, thank you.”
As He Ruge and the barrage had a friendly exchange and mutual understanding, Little Baldy and Bobo were also whispering quietly.
“What are those little stars around Dad?!”
Little Baldy’s blue eyes shimmered, “So beautiful, but why did Dad tell us not to talk? Does he not want us to see him either? I still want to continue watching those little stars~”
“Those are the rewards Dad received during the livestream, those little stars are all from people who like Dad.”
Bobo was not as carefree as Little Baldy, and he understood.
When they moved, Bobo heard two dads talking about trending topics and privacy leaks, so they had to move. At that time, Little Baldy was still sick and pitifully refused to take medicine, complaining that the medicine was bitter, so he didn’t care about these things.
Why did Dad start livestreaming again?
Bobo closed the window and took Little Baldy to find Xi Guican.
“Because many people like Ruge, they want to hear Ruge’s voice and see Ruge’s face.”
Xi Guican said here, couldn’t help but frown, he always felt like he was describing a group of idiots.
No, he was describing a group of idiots.
“These people want to hear Ruge tell stories, just like you listen to Ruge’s bedtime stories every night.”
Little Baldy nodded somewhat understandingly, pulling Xi Guican’s clothes and asking, “Can I go and watch Dad’s livestream?”
“Sure, but you can’t just go like this directly. You need to disguise yourself and not expose your face in front of the live broadcast camera, okay?” Xi Guican rubbed Baldy’s little head.
“Just like when we went to the Federal Military Academy before, we had to put on mech suits as disguises, right?” Quick-witted Bobo interjected.
So the two little iron lumps appeared hand in hand again.
“Ba ba ba ba~” The calls of the young ones were particularly clear in the quiet purple bamboo forest.
Although the barrage couldn’t see anything, they could imagine the adorable appearance of the young ones just by listening to their voices.
“Papa, I’ve come to play with you!”
When Baldy’s childish voice shouted this sentence, the barrage strangely fell silent for a second or two.
“How did you guys come over? Walk slowly, don’t fall.”
The young man in the live room was surprised as he got off the swing, reaching out as if to hold the little hands of the young ones.
At that moment, the previously silent barrage was like the calm before the storm. All the viewers before the live broadcast couldn’t help but hold their breath, waiting for the small paws of the young ones to appear in the frame—would it be Baldy’s little chubby paws, or Bobo’s small hands?
Mechanical hands with a metallic luster forcefully appeared in the frame, followed by two small iron heads, mini mech suits on either side of He Ruge. The angles and movements of the two mini mechs were exactly the same.
He Ruge touched the smooth heads of the two little mechs and said softly, “Come, say hello to everyone.”
The barrage appeared densely in midair, like celestial writing to Baldy, with most of the characters he didn’t recognize.
Gifts and rewards flowed like water, each one with beautiful special effects. Just then, a colorful firework silently bloomed in front of Baldy’s eyes, startling him, prompting him to quickly hide behind He Ruge.
The virtual fireworks bloomed silently and disappeared just as quietly. Baldy, hiding behind He Ruge, quietly peeked out his little head again, tentatively greeting the audience in the live room, “Ah? Hello, everyone~”
The barrage exploded:
“Ah ah ah, is this Baldy? This bald little one is too cute! Just now, he was scared and quickly shrunk behind He Ruge. It’s so cute!”
“One wave is as fierce as a tiger, but at a glance, he’s timid as a mouse. Baldy, come to mommy’s arms quickly~ Mommy will hug you!”
“Am I the only one who noticed that the young ones operate the mechs so well? At Baldy’s age, I could only play with mud, and he’s already taking small steps in his mech! The running posture is so cute… I’m crying…”
“The voice of Baldy’s ah-ah is so cute, it melts my heart.”
“Hello hello!”
“As soon as I think that there’s a mini version of Marshal hidden in the mech, oh no, it should be someone who looks like Marshal but has a personality much softer than the Marshal— I want to steal a child!”
“Want to steal a child +1!”
Bobo, unable to take his eyes off the barrage flying by, although he knew more characters than Baldy recognized, the barrage flew by too quickly, and Bobo hadn’t finished reading the entire sentence yet before the barrage flew away like that.
Bobo couldn’t help but tilt his head and think of his dad’s words about saying hello to everyone.
Bobo obediently raised his hand and waved toward the camera and said, “Hello~”
The voice of the little mermaid is sweet and soft, turning a hundred steels into soft fingers.
The barrage burst into fireworks in the sky:
“Oh my god, it’s Bobo! Bobo’s voice is so nice! Ah, I’m dead!!!”
“This audiophile leaves some happy tears! This is the cutest voice I’ve ever heard!”
“I originally wanted to hear the voice and imagine a little cutie, but I couldn’t figure out what kind of peerless cutie could match this cute voice.”
“Did Bobo grow up eating marshmallows?”
“What does Bobo look like?! Does he look like He Ruge? I want to see a mini version of He Ruge, can I take a look!”
“Bring my smelly little one up, let him hear Bobo’s voice, and my smelly little one is blushing shyly.”
“Child, listen, this is Bobo’s voice. If you grow up, you can marry Bobo home. Your old mother can smile.”
“Quick! Let’s go steal the kid!”
As the group quickly grew, the father of the child, Xi Guican, appeared expressionless, his oppressive eyes staring directly at the barrage, and the man’s voice was low and cold, “Who wants to steal the child?”
Barrage: “……”
Sob, this dad is too fierce, let’s go to another family to steal!
