Allergic To Furry Things But Can Pet Them Mentally – CH108

Chapter 108

Holding the little snow leopard tight, Tang Rong ran straight into a room at the end of the corridor and hid inside a cabinet.

Because of his past experience hiding on Trash Planet, he was especially practiced at this. His reaction was so fast it hardly seemed like that of an ordinary four-year-old child.

He knew that he was too weak. The best help he could give his family was to keep himself safe. Otherwise, they would have to split their attention to protect him too, and that would make it easy for the enemy to exploit an opening.

The little snow leopard was much stronger than he was, but it was still only a young cub, and on top of that, it was the Empire’s little Crown Prince. Nothing could happen to it.

“Wuwu… Baobao, do you think they’ll be okay?” Tang Rong’s eyes had already reddened with fear.

“Miao wu.” The little snow leopard was worried too. All it could do was quickly rub against his face to comfort him.

Feeling the softness of the cheek pressed against him, Tang Rong finally could not hold back anymore. Tears came pouring down, soaking the fur on the little snow leopard’s head as his voice choked up. “Let’s never fight again.”

If something really happened this time, then this would be the last time he and the little snow leopard ever saw each other. And before that, they had not even spent their last bit of time together properly.

“Miao wuwu…” The little snow leopard was infected by his emotions too, and little pearl-like tears began to fall.

Though it felt that with the Tang family’s strength and the strength of the royal bodyguards, they probably would not lose to those star pirates, it finally found an outlet for the emotions it had been bottling up for so long and let them all burst out.

The system watched the whole thing and did not remind its host that even if something really did go wrong, he still had plenty of points that could be exchanged for useful defensive cards.

Because it had seen the strange smile on Tang Hu’s face after the two little children ran off together, and those “star pirates” did not look at all like people trying to invade the spacecraft. They even seemed to be holding some boxes, more like guests boarding the ship for a visit.

When the Tang family finally found them, what they saw were two little children curled up in the cabinet, hugging each other and crying miserably.

Tang Hu felt terribly guilty and silently left the room, afraid that once his younger brother learned the truth, he and the little Crown Prince would bite him together.

Tang Zheng’en hurriedly pulled the two little ones out of the cabinet, while Yun Jian brought tissues to wipe away their tears.

Seeing that all the family members had arrived and that everyone looked fine, Tang Rong gradually stopped crying. He sniffled and asked in a choked voice, “Did you beat the star pirates?”

The butler gave a light cough and, trying his best to reduce the little nine-tailed fox’s crime, said, “Xiao Rong, actually, Third Brother was joking. Those weren’t real star pirates. They were Third Brother’s friends. He just didn’t expect you two to really misunderstand.”

After all, because of Tang Hu’s joke, the two little children who had been in a cold war for so long had finally made up again. That was a good thing.

Although… they had also been badly frightened and scared into tears.

Tang Rong sniffed and the fear hanging in his heart finally eased. Nestled in his father’s arms, he clutched the little snow leopard in his arms even tighter, its fur soaked into strands by his tears, while the little snow leopard’s tail held fast around his wrist.

Thanks to the butler’s tactful explanation, neither Tang Rong nor the little snow leopard blamed Tang Hu. Not long after, Tang Rong even carried the little snow leopard into the bathroom and gave it a bath.

This was not the first time the little snow leopard’s fur had been soaked through by Tang Rong’s tears, and Tang Rong had gotten more and more skilled at bathing it.

Once he blow-dried its fur, the little snow leopard became extra fluffy and soft all over. Tang Rong hugged it and took an afternoon nap with it.

After being in a cold war for so long, they had both been dying to cuddle with each other again.

They had only just been badly frightened, and mentally they both desperately needed rest, so the two little ones slept deeply.

…

On the other side, Tang Hu also apologized to his fake-star-pirate friends.

After hearing the whole story, the fake pirates laughed so hard they could barely stop, completely unconcerned about his joke.

And since they had known Tang Hu for so long, and knew how hard he had always searched for his precious little brother, being able to help his precious little brother and his friend make up again made it worthwhile. They said that even if he had asked them to really act as evil pirates and storm the spacecraft, they would have done it.

Since he had not seen these friends in a long time, Tang Hu promptly brought out a guitar and started playing music together with a few of the fake pirates who also liked music.

The fake pirates even asked him for autographs, joking that once he became the hottest singer in the whole galaxy, if they ever could not afford food, they could trade his signature for lots and lots of star coins.

After all the handwriting practice Tang Hu had done recently, his signature was now very beautiful. Hearing their joke, he grinned and said, “If one day you guys don’t want to be fake pirates anymore, you can come join me.”

One of the fake pirates lifted a fist and lightly bumped his shoulder. “Sure. Not even a year, and you’ve grown up a lot.”

Tang Hu gave a sheepish little laugh.

Now that he had a younger brother, he was no longer the youngest one in the family. Naturally, he had to grow into a proper, dependable big brother.

…

To solve the problem that Tang Rong’s arms were only big enough to hold one fluffy creature at a time, that night Tang Zheng’en turned into his big lion form and let Tang Rong, holding the little snow leopard, sleep in his embrace.

A big fluffy creature holding a little child, and the little child holding a small fluffy creature—they all slept sweetly.

And so, the big fluffy ones started taking turns sleeping with him.

A few days later, the spacecraft finally reached Trash Planet.

Trash Planet was only a nickname. It had been called that so often that it gradually became the most common way to refer to the planet.

Every planet in the galaxy had its own number and name. Trash Planet’s number was “227,” and its true name was “Yinsu,” which was actually very beautiful.

Trash Planet was too underdeveloped. It only had two spaceports. Their spacecraft landed at the one closest to the little town where Tang Rong used to live. Some of their subordinates stayed behind at the port to guard the ship, while the rest took hovercars carried aboard the spacecraft and traveled with them toward the little town where Tang Rong had once lived.

Because Trash Planet was so cold, everyone changed into thick clothing before stepping out of the spacecraft.

Shen Muhan did not turn back into human form. Little snow leopards liked low temperatures, and he wanted to experience the planet where Xiao Rong had once lived in his snow leopard form.

The moment he stepped out of the spacecraft, the little snow leopard narrowed its eyes in comfort, its tail standing high.

It loved this temperature!

Its tail hooked around the little child’s hand, and the group all got into the hovercars together.

Trash Planet’s scenery was bleak. Ruined buildings were everywhere, making anyone who looked feel a painful tightening in their chest.

It was only afternoon, yet the sky was already dim and heavy, with hardly any light at all. Warm sunlight was even rarer.

It was hard to imagine how the little child had managed to live here alone for so long after his grandmother died.

Tang Rong stared out the window in a daze. Though he had lived on Trash Planet for several years, his range of activity had only ever extended around the town. He had not gone to many places.

After the bustling prosperity of the main planet, returning all at once to shabby Trash Planet left Tang Rong with feelings he could not quite put into words.

If possible, he hoped Trash Planet could become a better place.

But for all these years, the Empire had not actually ignored Trash Planet. Its soil resources and spiritual-energy resources were too meager, and any investment here would not even break even.

And besides, though Trash Planet was backward, it still gave many people a place to live. If it were transformed into some paradise for the rich, those ordinary people’s lives would probably only become even harder.

Every planet had its own meaning for existing. So did every living being.

The little town where Tang Rong used to live was not far from the spaceport at all. That was also why his grandmother had been able to find him in the first place. Before long, the hovercar arrived.

The town’s name was “Hele.” Place names on Trash Planet were all gentle and hopeful. Life there was already bitter enough—people needed a little bit of light cast down from the sky.

The moment they got out of the hovercar, a voice suddenly rang out. “…Xiao Rong?”

It was a middle-aged man.

He was holding an old hunting rifle. There was a scar on his face, but his eyes were kind.

There was uncertainty in his voice, as if he could not tell whether the name he had spoken really belonged to this beautifully dressed child. At the same time, his gaze lingered for quite a while on the little snow leopard Tang Rong was holding by the tail.

“Uncle Li.” Tang Rong’s eyes lit up as he called him by the familiar title.

Uncle Li was the neighbor who had owned an old dog that had grown too weak to walk. He had made the dog a little cart and took it out every day for fresh air. He lived in the alley.

Everyone called him Old Li. He also had a child at home, slightly older than Tang Rong, but that child had been born frail and was even weaker than Tang Rong had once been when malnourished, so he rarely came outside.

The family mainly survived on Uncle Li hunting in the mountains, while his wife and the old folks stayed home tending a little vegetable garden for their own use. When they had a particularly good harvest, they would sometimes give some food to Tang Rong when he was hungry.

But because they had elders above and children below and had to support a whole household, they could not help Tang Rong often.

“It really is Xiao Rong.” Old Li was stunned.

There was no helping it—Tang Rong had changed far too much. He looked nothing like that homeless little orphan anymore. He looked like a young master from a rich family.

And all these people around him… it was obvious at a glance that they were no ordinary people.

Tang Rong nodded and introduced them. “These are my family.”

Of course Old Li knew about the incident nearly a year ago when Xiao Rong had been taken away. Back then, everyone had speculated for ages. Some said his family had found him. Others said he was pretty enough that someone had bought him.

During the time Tang Rong had been back home, the Tang family had always monitored the star network and kept Tang Rong’s photos and information from spreading too early and becoming fodder for gossip. So even though some people on Trash Planet had light-brains, they had no idea Tang Rong was Xiao Rong.

Old Li gave two awkward little “ah, ahs,” looking a bit nervous and restrained.

Tang Rong did not really know how to introduce Uncle Li to his family. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Uncle Li used to give me food. He’s very kind.”

In Tang Rong’s heart, anyone who had given him food was a good person.

Tang Zheng’en immediately said, “Thank you for looking after Xiao Rong. I’m his biological father.”

“It’s nothing, really… I didn’t take care of him that much.” Old Li scratched his head, embarrassed.

He was an honest, down-to-earth man. Though he understood that Xiao Rong’s background was extraordinary, he had no intention of currying favor, nor did he exaggerate what he had done. He truly had only given Xiao Rong food a few times, because life at home had already been tight for his own family, and he really could not afford to support one more mouth.

“Why did you suddenly come back?” Old Li asked curiously.

“Xiao Rong said he wanted to come back and have a look,” Tang Zheng’en replied.

“Would you… like to come sit at my place?”

The moment he said it, he regretted it a little. There were too many of Xiao Rong’s family members. His little courtyard really was not much for entertaining guests, and his family had nothing much to serve them either—at most some homemade tea from leaves they had dried themselves.

“Okay!” Tang Rong agreed immediately.

Old Li had no choice but to bring the whole group home.

The butler quietly instructed one of the accompanying subordinates to go into town and buy some food to bring over.

Tang Rong knew this alley very well. The whole way, he kept introducing things to his family and even saw many familiar faces.

It was just a pity that the place where he and Grandma had once lived had already been sold by Grandma before she died. The few star coins she got from it had all been left to Xiao Rong, because she knew that if only one small child lived in a house, it would actually be dangerous. Someone could easily move in and take it over. Besides, there were many broken, ownerless empty houses here that could be used for a short stay, and some kind neighbors did not mind if Xiao Rong curled up in a corner for a night.

After she died, the biggest problem Tang Rong had to solve was filling his stomach. Star coins were more useful to him than a house.

She had even taught Xiao Rong how to hide star coins. And precisely because of those not-so-many star coins, Xiao Rong had lasted quite a long time.

Finally, the group reached Old Li’s house safely.

The moment the courtyard door opened, a child’s voice suddenly rang out. “Xuexue! Don’t run!”

As the words fell, a small black-and-white figure shot out through the gap in the door.

“Meow?” Seeing the little snow leopard before it, another little creature of similar size blinked its eyes rapidly.

“Meow?” The unfamiliar little snow leopard looked at it in confusion too.

Tang Rong could not help letting out a “Wow!” of surprise. “A little snow leopard exactly like Baobao!”

Allergic To Furry Things But Can Pet Them Mentally