Chapter 14
The video call connected, and the little cub sitting primly upright on the sofa instantly appeared on the screen, his small hands resting obediently on his knees.
Suddenly seeing four unfamiliar faces, even though he had already prepared himself mentally, the little cub still tightened his grip on the fabric over his knees, wrinkling the soft cloth a little. His whole body had tensed up too.
The system cheered him on inside his head: [Don’t be nervous, Host. They’re all your family. Just get along with them the same way you did with Grandma. Relax.]
Tang Rong gave a little acknowledgment in his heart, blinked his long lashes a few times, then gathered up his courage and said, “Hello, Grandpa. Hello, Dad. Hello, Sister. Hello, Brother.”
Back when Grandma was still alive, she had always taught him to speak sweetly. In that respect, he was not really a particularly timid little cub.
When he had lived with Grandma, the nearby uncles, aunties, grandpas, grandmas, and grannies had all liked him very much. The reason he had not starved to death after Grandma passed away was also because people would often help him out. It was just that everyone’s lives were hard, and no one could truly afford to adopt him. Feeding him once in a while was nothing much, but adding another mouth to feed three meals a day was too much for anyone to bear.
The little cub’s voice was soft and sweet, greeting them one by one. On the other side of the screen, the hearts of all four people felt as though they had been wrapped in malt sugar, melting together into sweetness.
They had not been there to hear Tang Rong’s first baby calls as he learned to speak. Over these four years, they had missed far too much.
At last, another missing piece of the puzzle had finally fallen into place.
Grandfather Tang Yinsheng’s eyes curved into smiling crescents. As the highest-ranking elder, he was naturally the first to speak. “Has little Rongrong’s body gotten any better? butler Uncle said you threw up this morning. Grandpa was worried sick.”
“I’m much better already. Grandpa, don’t worry.” Tang Rong nodded his little head quickly.
In truth, he still felt a bit unwell. He had not managed to eat anything from morning until now. But because of the kind of life he had grown up with, he was not good at acting spoiled to others. On the contrary, he was very afraid of causing trouble or making other people worry.
A sensible little cub like this only made people’s hearts ache for him even more.
Tang Zheng’en could not help but cut in. “Are you getting used to the new home? If there’s anything you’re missing, just tell Dad. Dad will buy it all for you.”
Tang Rong nodded quickly again. “This place is really nice. I’m not missing anything.”
He had food, clothes, and a place to live. What more could he possibly lack?
Little cubs were very easy to satisfy.
Besides, everyone in the family was seriously ill, and treating illness cost a lot of money. Grandma used to say that medical treatment was a bottomless pit—you could throw endless money into it and never hear a sound. It was for exactly that reason that Grandma had given up on treatment. Even though the family looked very rich, there were so many people who needed treatment that the money must be disappearing fast. He could not spend recklessly and make the burden on the family even heavier.
He had to grow up quickly. Then, when the family’s money ran out in the future, he could go out and earn money to support them.
The system, which could hear its host’s inner thoughts, helplessly pressed a hand to its forehead. It badly wanted to say, Cub, your family’s money is never going to run out, but explaining that would be too troublesome, so in the end it said nothing and simply continued watching in silence.
There were many things it could tell its host, of course. For example, earlier, when the host was eating grass in the garden, it could have stopped him in advance. But the host was still too young. It was better to let him grow naturally in the world he belonged to, and let the people of that world guide his growth. As a system that did not belong to this world, interfering too much would not be a good thing.
For instance, right now, the host felt that the family’s money could easily be used up, so he did not want to spend carelessly and wanted to grow up quickly to earn money and support them—those were very upright values. He could feel his family’s love for him, and he loved them too. Small misunderstandings that did no real harm did not matter. Saying too much might instead negatively affect the host.
Grandpa and Dad had both spoken already. Second Sister Tang Qiu’s lips moved hesitantly, and she forced herself to speak as smoothly as she could. “Hello… little Rong.”
Tang Rong blinked. “Hello, Sister.”
He knew this was his second sister. Second Sister was really beautiful—the prettiest girl he had ever seen, much, much prettier than the older sister of the child next door.
Tang Qiu got nervous. Her mind locked up, and she subconsciously replied again, “Hello, little Rong.”
Tang Rong blinked again. “Hello, Sister.”
“Hello, little Rong.”
“Hello, Sister.”
“Hello, little Rong.”
“Hello, Sister.”
…
Although Tang Rong did not understand why Sister kept repeating the same words to him, he thought this kind of absurd conversation was quite fun, so he obediently went along with it the whole time. His body relaxed a little too.
The others in the video silently watched the exchange, all with expressions that clearly showed they were trying not to laugh.
In the end, it was Tang Hu who could not bear watching anymore. He coughed lightly and interrupted the repetitive exchange. “I heard little Rong really likes listening to the little fox sing.”
Tang Qiu looked as though she had just been granted amnesty. She hurriedly picked up the cup beside her and gulped down several mouthfuls of water. The ceramic cup was large enough to cover most of her cheeks, which had flushed red in an instant.
…What on earth had she just been doing?
Tang Rong paused, his attention drawn to Tang Hu on the screen, and nodded. He knew that Xiao Hu-brother was the little fox raised by Third Brother. butler Uncle had told him so.
“Xiao Hu-brother sings the best.” The little cub’s eyes sparkled brightly.
For some reason, Tang Hu in human form suddenly found himself oddly competing with his fox-form self. He admitted that the melodies of his fox-form humming and ying-ying noises sounded quite nice, but they were still just melodies, and they were also little fox sounds, which were a bit silly. In human form, his pronunciation would sound much better. If little brother heard him sing in human form, he would definitely admire him even more.
So Tang Hu continued, “Third Brother can sing too.”
Tang Rong’s eyes lit up even more.
Third Brother could sing too!
Seeing this, Tang Hu added, “The opening theme song of The Fluffy Big Family was sung by me when I was little.”
Tang Rong’s eyes widened slightly, and his mouth parted as though saying wow.
The Fluffy Big Family was the cartoon he watched every day. Every time, he listened to the full opening song and ending song without skipping them, and the opening song was his favorite.
He had always been able to tell that the opening song was sung by a child, but he had never imagined it was Third Brother when he was younger.
His Third Brother was actually this amazing!!
No one could remain emotionally unmoved under that kind of adoring gaze from a little cub. Tang Hu’s vanity swelled to an unprecedented level in that moment.
Before Tang Rong arrived, Tang Hu had always been the youngest child in the family. He had never once experienced what it felt like to be an older brother.
Now, he finally had.
It was simply… insanely satisfying.
Tang Hu said, “Do you want to hear it? Brother can sing a little for you.”
“Yes!” Tang Rong was so excited that his little hands clenched together.
So, several optical brains at once were filled with the clear, clean singing voice of a sixteen-year-old boy.
When he sang the children’s song now at sixteen, it carried a somewhat different feeling from before, as though he were remembering a distant childhood.
And as he sang, he himself gradually became immersed in it.
Along with the song, many sweet but distant scenes surfaced before his eyes.
It sounded so good!
The little cub could not hear too much emotion hidden in it. He simply thought it sounded especially good. His little feet unconsciously swayed along to the tune, the little tiger slippers rocking back and forth, and his body relaxed even more.
When the song ended, Tang Rong instinctively started clapping with his little hands.
There were wandering musicians on the garbage planet who would perform for money beside broken, dried-up stone fountains. Hardly anyone ever tipped them. Only during weddings and funerals would people invite them to come and play a few songs. They themselves did not really care, simply immersing themselves in their own world.
Whenever little Tang Rong had nothing to do, he would go listen to them sing. He had no money, so after listening, he would copy what other people did and clap to show support.
So after hearing Tang Hu sing, Tang Rong naturally did the same thing.
The other people on the video call were stunned for two seconds when they saw it, then followed his lead and started clapping as well, including the butler sitting beside Tang Rong.
The applause went on for dozens of seconds.
Because of the applause, Tang Hu snapped out of his emotions. He scratched his head and let out a silly little laugh, looking slightly embarrassed.
“If little Rong likes hearing Third Brother sing, then from now on, Third Brother will sing for you every single day.”
“I like it!”
Tang Hu smiled so widely that his eyes almost disappeared.
He already had upturned fox-like eyes to begin with, and every time he smiled especially happily, his eyes nearly vanished entirely. If he had nine fluffy white tails behind him right now, they would definitely be wagging rapidly.
Tang Rong’s gaze swept quickly across the four people on the screen, and then he suddenly thought of something and asked, “Where is Eldest Brother?”
He remembered that Butler Uncle had said he had three siblings: Eldest Brother, Second Sister, and Third Brother. He had already seen Second Sister and Third Brother, but Eldest Brother was nowhere to be seen.
Tang Zheng’en immediately used the excuse they had discussed beforehand. “Eldest Brother’s illness got worse recently, so he had surgery. It’ll be a while before he can call little Rong.”
After hearing that, Tang Rong’s smile faded a little, and concern appeared on his face.
Tang Zheng’en quickly added, “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine after the surgery. When the time comes, I’ll have him call little Rong right away.”
Tang Rong nodded.
At the exact same time, far away in a remote star system, Eldest Brother Tang Yao suddenly sneezed violently.
…
As the call went on, Tang Rong gradually relaxed completely. He was no longer as stiff as he had been at the beginning. His posture changed too—from sitting prim and proper at first, to hugging a little cushion on the sofa and giggling.
Family really was family. Even though they had not been there to raise him, Tang Rong still closed the distance with them very quickly and very naturally.
The video call ended because of a phone call coming through on Father Tang Zheng’en’s side, and because Tang Rong’s little stomach started growling.
They really had been talking for a very long time. Without anyone noticing, the sun had climbed overhead, and it was already almost lunchtime. Yet Tang Rong had not eaten anything at all up to now.
The butler had the kitchen prepare some light food, planning to let Tang Rong try eating a little.
Tang Rong was a little reluctant to hang up.
Still, they had agreed to video call every morning for a while. They had also added Tang Rong into the family group chat, so whenever he missed them, he could send voice messages in the chat and talk to them anytime.
Obediently following butler Uncle to the dining table, Tang Rong picked up his little spoon and ate a bit.
This time, he did not throw up again.
…
“Tang Rong is my grandson. He was lost for so many years and has finally been found. It’s not too much for me to want to see him, is it?”
An old man’s voice came through the optical brain.
The veins on Tang Zheng’en’s forehead throbbed violently. He very much wanted to curse this hypocritical old fox out and hang up immediately, but he could not do that.
Topics about Tang Rong were constantly appearing on StarNet. If this old thing stirred things up through public opinion, the one who would ultimately be affected was still Tang Rong.
Tang Zheng’en said, “He just changed environments and isn’t adjusting well. He even threw up today. Let him rest and recover for a while before meeting anyone.”
“Not adjusting well? Recover?” The old man let out a cold laugh. “Could it be that his spiritual power is rampaging, and he can’t change back from a monster?”
The other side did not believe that Tang Rong was just an ordinary person. They suspected that, like the other children of the Tang family, Tang Rong also had powerful but unstable spiritual power, or even… the same healing ability as his mother.
If it was the former, he would be of no use to them. After the first three children were born, this maternal grandfather had almost no contact with them at all. No one had ever seen him care even once as their grandfather.
But if it was the latter, the Yun family would definitely do everything they could to seize custody of Tang Rong.
After all, healers were rare. Even those with only mediocre ability could still receive very good educational resources and favorable treatment.
Before Yun Jian died, she had been a famous SS-rank healer. The old man had always wanted to marry her off to a carefully selected political match in order to continue the so-called healer bloodline. After Yun Jian freely fell in love with Tang Zheng’en, he had obstructed them in every way and had never shown them the slightest kindness.
What a pity for them.
Tang Zheng’en let out a cold laugh. “Little Rong is just an ordinary person.”
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