Little Pink Starfish

For the first time since hatching, Little Pink got spanked—hard. A solid double team from his dads. After Zhang Yushui finished, King Hui of Xiapi followed up. They hit him so hard even Pei Qing felt the pain. The worst part? The kid didn’t even cry. Instead, he stared straight at the green egg.

Pei Qing felt creeped out being stared at like that. Was this kid thinking about revenge?

“It’s fine. Lingdang said there was already movement. He felt a bit uncomfortable holding it in but didn’t want me to stop him from playing on the slide, so he stayed quiet. In the end, he couldn’t hold it anymore, and Little Pink just happened to bump into him at that moment.” Pei Qing found his little sweetie’s explanation kind of funny. Thankfully everything was okay. But Little Pink’s current state really was scary. “Kid, tell Uncle, what are you staring at Little Qinglong for?”

Little Pink gave a smile. Zhang Yushui actually shivered. Son, you better stop smiling like that.

“If you’re reckless like that again, I’ll spank you! Got it?!” King Hui of Xiapi said seriously.

Little Pink nodded obediently. That made Zhang Yushui feel a chill again.

“Daddy, I’ll be good. Can I borrow Little Qingqing to play with?”

Pei Qing’s hair practically stood on end. He firmly refused, “No way, my Little Qinglong isn’t a toy!”

“Uncle, thank you.” Little Pink tried to act cute like Little Jiang, but with his cool face and forced smile, it just looked weird—not at all like Little Jiang’s soft, pitiful chirpiness. Instead, it gave off the evil vibe of someone about to fry up Little Qinglong’s egg for a snack.

Even if Pei Qing and Lingdang agreed, Zhang Yushui and King Hui of Xiapi would’ve flat-out refused.

Little Pink got spanked on his one-month birthday, but he still looked pretty happy. He flapped his wings and followed Lingdang Uncle everywhere. Pei Qing didn’t dare take his eyes off him. The couple kept Little Qinglong well hidden.

Luckily, everything turned out fine—and there was a surprise too. Little Qinglong was born on the same day as Little Pink’s one-month celebration.

Everyone sent congratulations. The gifts originally meant for Little Pink weren’t enough now. Yue Qin Cang gave a Transformers figure, and as soon as it landed in Little Pink’s hands, he stuffed it into Lingdang’s and said coolly, “For Qingqing.”

Zhang Yushui had a headache again.

“Your kid’s got taste,” said Kai Ming nearby, handing his prepared gift directly to Lingdang. “It was meant for Little Pink, but now looks like your Little Qinglong deserves it too.”

Cool, cocky Little Pink looked very noble as he glanced at Kai Ming and called him uncle—clearly, that gift hit the spot.

Pei Qing felt bad accepting it—it was Little Pink’s one-month celebration after all. King Hui of Xiapi smiled and said, “Take it. It counts as a gift for my kid anyway. He’d just end up giving it to Little Qinglong.”

Zhang Yushui thought, Like hell he knows he’s wrong. He’s just obsessed with that egg’s beauty.

Lingdang opened the box—it was a glossy black armor plate. Zhang Qiu remembered it—super healing, practically a divine medicine. Could fix broken bones, even revive the dead.

Kai Ming’s armor plates only shed once every thousand years. And even those aren’t thrown away—they gradually dissolve and nourish the skin, making the armor even stronger. This piece must’ve been pulled fresh from the skin right after a molt.

A once-in-a-millennium treasure—seriously valuable.

Pei Qing hesitated, knowing its weight. But Zhang Yushui didn’t care. “Just take it. If your Little Qinglong were a girl, this could count as a betrothal gift.”

“Why can’t boys get one?” Lingdang asked, confused.

King Hui of Xiapi smiled, “Of course they can.”

That noon, they did hotpot and stir-fried dishes at home. A bunch of big guys brought cold dishes and made some hot ones. They set up a hotpot table, loud and lively. Lin Jiahe was especially thankful for how much help Zhang Qiu and the others gave to Xiao Lin, so he gifted a VIP card to the Lin family’s hotel—presidential suites, free stays, valid at all their nationwide locations.

Li Shu especially liked this gift. He instantly started thinking about ditching the kid and enjoying it with his scaredy-cat.

Honestly, none of the guests who got that card weren’t thinking the same thing.

Pei Qing and Lingdang brought a cake—strawberry-flavored. Little Pink liked it. Even with his cool face, he took a bite and glanced at Lingdang Uncle each time. If the little guy weren’t still bite-sized, Pei Qing might’ve rolled up his sleeves already.

“This is a signed, limited-edition photobook of your beautiful big brother,” Qi Xi said, pulling out a pink-ribbon-wrapped photobook with his dramatic face on the cover.

Zhang Yushui laughed as he accepted it. “Nice, very nice.”

Totally Qi Xi’s style.

“I didn’t know what Little Pink liked, so here’s a Disney annual pass.” Qi Zhirong’s gift was way more reliable.

As they chatted, Hei and Bai showed up. Today, Bai Shengsheng looked much more relaxed. Hei Qian, on the other hand, looked moody—like he was sexually frustrated. The veterans at the table all instantly got what was going on. The couple gave a special access card—for a one-day Underworld tour.

But that gift clearly appealed to the kids. Little Jiang, face still full of cream, didn’t even wipe his mouth. He stared longingly. Bai Shengsheng, soft-hearted despite his cold face, immediately handed out a card to each kid.

“Thanks, Uncle Bai Shengsheng.”

Kai Tian went back. Yue Qin Cang took over the family business. Lin Jiahe was now doing his own thing—everyone was busy. But with the little Qinglong egg around, Little Pink naturally didn’t want to leave.

Xi’an’s summer was blazing hot, so they stayed home. Between Little Pink and the egg, one morning Pei Qing woke up to find the egg missing from his arms. The couple nearly lost it—only to find Little Pink sitting cross-legged outside, on the egg.

Pei Qing swore he saw Little Pink drooling at his Little Qinglong.

For the egg’s safety, Pei Qing and Lingdang firmly decided to go back to Beijing. Little Pink looked gloomy every day, face like rainy weather. Zhang Qiu started to worry. With the egg leaving, Little Pink looked devastated. Zhang Qiu thought he might as well make some chicken soup and randomly said, “Short separations make for better reunions.”

He had no idea who said that—he read it on Weibo. Thought it sounded cheesy. But after he said it, Little Pink looked at him, nodded, like he suddenly understood. Zhang Qiu felt like he could totally become a motivational quote guru.

The once-busy house turned quiet again. Little Jiang started school. Not long after, Qi Xi got a movie deal, filming overseas. Qi Zhirong happened to have a business collaboration abroad too and went with him.

What a coincidence… yeah, right!

“Feels like Qi Zhirong’s always keeping tabs on Qi Xi. After all, Qi Xi never shuts up and flirts with everyone.”

His flirty style was unconscious, like an innate ability. Qi Xi probably meant nothing by it, but Qi Zhirong would definitely get mad. Qi Xi never noticed and kept pushing the limit every day.

Little Pink returned with his dads to the countryside in Jiangsu to visit Grandpa. Every day, he asked when they’d go back to Uncle’s house in Xi’an. Zhang Yushui knew exactly what was on his son’s mind—it wasn’t about Uncle, it was about Little Qinglong. Who knows why his son was so obsessed with that egg.

Three years later, Little Pink was already seven.

One morning, Zhang Yushui woke up and found his son missing. King Hui of Xiapi calmly said, “He flew off in the middle of the night.”

“Where to?”

“To find Little Qinglong.”

Zhang Yushui found that odd. Usually, Ah Yan was the one more worried. But today, he was so chill—eating his porridge, he glanced at Zhang Yushui and said, “You think you could stop him?”

Truth was—nope. Once his son set his mind to something, even if you blocked him once, he’d just do it again more secretly the next time. That kid had a backbone you couldn’t beat out of him.

“There’s always Thousand-Mile Tracking.” King Hui of Xiapi took out a paper crane. After being together this long, he could use it too.

Zhang Yushui realized why Ah Yan was so calm—he’d already used tracking magic. Sure enough, after burning the paper crane, it flew north.

They were about to go look for him, but seeing the map pointing to Beijing, and then looking at King Hui of Xiapi calmly eating breakfast, Zhang Yushui gave up. Why chase him? Kid’s grown up now—go cause trouble somewhere else. He pulled out the presidential suite card Lin Jiahe had given him. “Let’s go have some fun!”

King Hui of Xiapi raised an eyebrow, smiling. Zhang Yushui happily added, “I’ll go pack. Let’s go somewhere farther—Sanya sounds great.”

Forget Lin’s hotel—what if the brat comes back? Might as well go far away.

That winter, Beijing was freezing and shrouded in smog. You couldn’t see livestock from five meters away.

Little Qinglong munched on steaming soup dumplings made by his big dad. His little mouth was greasy, and his feet swung happily. Nearby, Lingdang packed his schoolbag, looked outside, and said, “Longlong, the smog is really bad today. How about we skip kindergarten?”

“No! I wanna go to school.” Little Qinglong was not okay with Daddy letting him skip. He had promised Xiao Pang they’d duel the Big Fatty from Class 2 today.

Pei Qing’s happiest moments were when his kid was in class. He righteously said, “How can we let some weather beat us?! You’re too soft, my love. Boys should be tough, right, son?”

“Right.” Little Qinglong slid off his chair, backpack on his back. “Daddy, hurry, I’m gonna be late.”

Pei Qing, bun in mouth, hoisted his son up and told Lingdang, “Don’t clean up, I’ll do it when I get back. I’m not full yet.” If he didn’t say it, Lingdang would’ve cleaned everything already.

Lingdang obediently nodded and saw them off.

Pei Qing dropped his son at kindergarten, only turning back once he was safely inside.

Little Qinglong was in Class 2 now—not tall, but definitely the boss of both Class 1 and Class 2. He looked a lot like Lingdang—soft and sweet like a little girl, well-behaved and pretty. All the kindergarten teachers adored him. Other kids often gave him chocolate and candy. Little Qinglong loved going to school.

Yesterday, he’d made plans to duel Big Fatty from Class 1. That guy had dared ask for chocolate from one of his underlings—how dare he?! His chocolate wasn’t for sharing!

Little Qinglong snorted. Don’t underestimate my bean bun!

He didn’t know a golden-winged seven-year-old had snuck onto the roof of the kindergarten, perfectly hidden in the thick smog. Seeing that little dumpling, dark shadows flickered in his eyes and a smile crept onto his lips.

Little Qingqing, finally caught you.

Still looks delicious as ever.