Chapter 197
The little wolves had big appetites and, in most cases, no limits. Even when full, they could always eat a little more if they found something tasty. Almost all the points they earned were spent on food.
However, they didn’t earn points every day. They earned more when they went out on patrol and less when they stayed in the tribe. If they were feeling lazy and didn’t want to move, they earned nothing at all.
The tribe’s rule was that as long as they worked at least 200 days a year, they would still receive meals on rest days. However, the cafeteria only provided three basic meals a day. Snacks and special foods, which required more effort to prepare, had to be exchanged for points. If all food were offered in unlimited amounts, the tribe wouldn’t be able to sustain the costs.
The little wolves never liked to deprive themselves. They usually spent their earned points immediately. A patrol trip lasted anywhere from ten days to a month, and when they returned, each of them would receive a large sum of points. These newly “rich” little wolves would then spend their days hopping between different cafeterias.
No matter how many points they had, it was never enough for their appetites. The usual pattern was this: for the first two days after receiving their points, they ate as much as they wanted, buying anything that caught their eye.
A few days later, they would start controlling themselves a little, cutting their snack consumption in half. If they stayed in the tribe for about a week without going on patrol, their pockets would soon be empty.
No points left.
And when they had no points but still wanted to eat, their first go-to person was Lang Ze.
Lang Ze, like the other little wolves, also spent his points quickly. However, he had the financial support of Lang Qi and Lang Ya, making him slightly better off than the rest.
In fact, the little wolves had an extra allowance that had been set aside for them. But because of their spending habits, everyone agreed to save it until they were older or had mates. Given their current tendency to spend every point they had, the tribe needed to set aside savings for them. Otherwise, when they could no longer go out as often or had cubs of their own, they might end up with nothing to eat.
Whenever the little wolves begged Lang Ze for help, he would go to Bai Tu or Lang Ya—usually Bai Tu.
Bai Tu knew that if Lang Ze had no points, it meant the whole group was broke. So he would usually transfer some extra points into Lang Ze’s account.
With points in hand, Lang Ze would then buy a massive amount of food and distribute it to the others. However, this food was not free—whoever ate it had to return double the points when they got their next allowance.
The little wolves quickly got used to this system. When they were out of points, they would borrow from everyone they could. When they received their allowance, they would scramble to pay back their debts.
Of course, once Bai Tu discovered this exploitative system, he immediately banned it. Borrowing ten points and repaying twenty? Even high-interest lenders wouldn’t charge that much!
The little wolves had stopped using that method now—but Bai Tu hadn’t expected that his own cubs had secretly learned the trick and started running their own business in school. And not just within their grade—judging by the cubs who had just left, they were even dealing with different grade levels.
In just one week, they had earned nearly 100 extra points.
Bai Tu realized he had underestimated these little troublemakers. And that was with an initial capital of only 100 points. If they had started with more, they definitely would have expanded their “customer base” even further.
Bai Tu tapped the cubs’ heads, exasperated. “If you charge that much interest again, I’ll take away all your points!”
Hearing this, Lang Chu looked devastated. Not just because their scheme had been caught, but also because he still couldn’t talk.
Bai Ye glanced at their father, unsure if he was truly angry. But being the well-behaved one, he never disobeyed their dad. Without hesitation, he handed over all his points.
Lang Chu, however, had a different perspective.
Because… Dad only banned high interest! He didn’t say they couldn’t continue lending!
“Hm.” Lang Yao nodded quickly. “Dad, we’ll lower the interest to one-tenth per week!”
“Yes, and we’ll extend the repayment period! If someone is borrowing points for books, we can lower or remove the interest.” Bai Tu returned the ledger and point cards to Bai Ye. “No bullying classmates. And no targeting students from different grades.”
“Got it!” Lang Yao and Bai Ye responded immediately.
Lang Chu, still unable to talk, nodded vigorously.
Bai Tu didn’t believe in banning everything his cubs did. To him, school was a place for them to learn and grow. If they had already figured out ways to earn money, then they had some talent. Rather than completely stopping them, it was better to guide them in the right direction.
However, once the cubs had packed up, Lang Sui and Lang Ying were still nowhere to be seen.
Bai Tu turned to Bai Ye. “Where are your two older brothers?”
Bai Ye blinked and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Really?” Bai Tu asked slowly.
Bai Ye glanced at Lang Yao.
Bai Tu also looked at Lang Yao.
Lang Yao sighed and removed his hand from Lang Chu’s mouth.
Lang Chu immediately blurted out: “They climbed over the wall and went home. They haven’t come back yet.”
Bai Tu: “…???”
Bai Tu: “Say that again. Where did your brothers go?”
“…They went home,” Bai Ye whispered.
“To do what?” Bai Tu asked.
“To get more point cards!” Lang Chu blurted out. “The older students borrow more points, and we ran out!”
Bai Tu: “…”
So this was only the territory managed by the three youngest ones? The two older ones were busy expanding their business to the senior grades?!
Lending points to classmates was not a big issue—it could be handled with proper guidance. But climbing over the school wall?
Bai Tu pointed at the cubs. “You three, come home with me.”
As for the two still on their way back… they would deal with them later.
Bai Tu was certain that Lang Qi, who was home, would not let his two sons leave again after finding out what they had done.
The cubs obediently followed Bai Tu out of the school gate.
At that moment, Bai Chi, who had just finished handling some matters outside, walked into the school. As soon as he entered, he saw Bai Tu leaving with the three cubs.
He noticed something odd—Lang Chu was strangely quiet. Unlike before, when he would chatter nonstop even on the way home.
Praising the change, Bai Chi said, “Looks like they’ve been behaving well lately, huh?”
Bai Tu: “…Uh-huh. Yeah. Behaving.”
…Except there were still two more waiting for punishment.
When they arrived home, Lang Sui and Lang Ying were already standing in the hallway—facing the wall in punishment.
The three younger ones immediately lined up behind them, standing still.
And so, the five brothers stood neatly in a row—waiting for their fate.
“Speak up, what mistake did you make?” Bai Tu asked.
As the eldest, Lang Sui was the first to speak: “I shouldn’t have secretly gone home.”
“Hmm?” Bai Tu opened the cubs’ schoolbags and, sure enough, found an identical ledger inside, except that the numbers recorded in it were larger than those in Bai Ye’s.
“I shouldn’t have climbed over the wall to go home,” Lang Ying added.
“And what else?” Bai Tu lowered his head to calculate the numbers. The total was indeed higher than Bai Ye’s. At the same time, he discovered something.
“Where did you get so much capital?” There was no way the cubs had earned this many points on their own. In other words, they had an accomplice.
The cubs looked at each other but remained silent.
If they revealed their last accomplice…
“Or do you want to stay in the dormitory for a few more weeks?” Bai Tu asked. “The last punishment still has two weeks left. If you stay any longer, you’ll be here until the holidays.”
“If you’re still staying in the dormitory during the holidays, your plans to go out and play will be canceled.” With the rainy season approaching, there would be a break. If they were still in school then, even if the plan wasn’t canceled, it would be postponed until after the rainy season. That meant at least two months without going out.
Upon hearing this, Lang Chu was the first to break: “Uncle gave it to us! When he comes back, we’ll give him back half more in points!”
Bai Tu hadn’t expected Lang Ze to be involved. Thinking back, Lang Ze had left on the second day after the cubs started school, meaning he had stored up some points before departing. The little wolf had finally learned to save money—something worth celebrating. But lending his savings to his nephews? Was he not worried that he’d come back to nothing?
“Keep your own points, but all of Uncle’s are confiscated,” Bai Tu said mercilessly. “In the future, if you need points, you can come to me, your father, or your aunt. If that doesn’t work, you can find Uncle Lang Qian. But you are not allowed to go to Uncle Lang Ze!”
The cubs were cunning, and Lang Ze was unreliable. Bai Tu couldn’t trust them together. He was sure that if he hadn’t caught them now, Lang Ze would have collaborated with the other little wolves to fund the cubs’ business. At that point, their operations wouldn’t be limited to the school—they’d be expanding outside as well.
The cubs watched Bai Tu take away the extra points. They didn’t dare complain. Even Lang Chu, who usually talked the most, was completely silent—not because he was occupied with something else, but because he was truly speechless.
So many points… gone.
Bai Ye counted on his fingers, his frown deepening. Cautiously, he said, “Dad, we won’t be able to pay Uncle back now.” Their uncle had lent them too many points. Based on their current earnings, it would take a long time to return them.
“I’ll handle Uncle,” Bai Tu replied. He then examined the ledgers. “The excess interest must be repaid by next week. If not, the rest of your points will be confiscated.”
The cubs quickly nodded. If they returned part of the interest, they would only need to give back half. Otherwise, they’d lose everything.
As for their uncle, they glanced at their father, then at their other father, who had remained silent the whole time. They obediently resumed their punishment.
Let Dad handle Uncle.
They stole glances at Bai Tu, and only after confirming that he wasn’t angry did they quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
Bai Tu didn’t make them stand for too long. He handed them their schoolbags. “Take out your homework. Finish it first.”
Before long, Bai Tu noticed something else—something was off with their homework.
Bai Ye’s assignments were always the neatest, but this week’s work was sloppy. Lang Yao’s wasn’t much better—while he hadn’t made more mistakes than usual, his writing was clearly rushed. Normally, he wrote each stroke carefully, but now, he was scribbling to save time. The cubs still had weak grip strength, and Bai Tu, being familiar with their handwriting, immediately saw the difference.
As for Lang Chu, his homework was worse than ever. Before, he had at least gotten a few questions right—now, there were none. Lang Sui and Lang Ying’s work was also full of mistakes, especially since the older grades had more advanced subjects.
Bai Tu said nothing. He simply placed this week’s homework side by side with last week’s and spread them out on the table for the cubs to compare.
“Dad, I was wrong,” Lang Yao admitted first.
“I was wrong too,” Bai Ye followed.
Lang Sui looked at his error-filled assignments and quickly promised, “Dad, I’ll do my homework properly next time!”
Lang Ying: “Me too!”
Seeing his brothers and younger brother admitting their mistakes, Lang Chu followed suit: “I’ll do my homework properly next time too!”
The first few cubs’ words were still believable, but when Lang Chu spoke, Bai Tu couldn’t help but be skeptical. It wasn’t favoritism—it was just that Lang Chu had already said this dozens of times before.
Bai Tu rubbed his forehead. “Study hard. If you show progress next week, I’ll give you 50 points as capital. If you improve again the following week, I’ll give you another 50.”
From early on, Bai Tu had controlled the cubs’ spending. Each cub could have no more than 30 points on hand at any given time. For instance, if they received 100 points, any excess was recorded in their accounts instead of being given to them on their points card.
This time, it would be no different. The cubs would only be allowed to take back the 100 points and the interest earned from those 100 points. After repaying the excess interest, they would have about 140 points left—still within the average limit.
Bai Tu didn’t mention what would happen when they returned next week, but the cubs understood: they would have to hand over the excess points to their father and then bring 150 points back to school. The extra 50 points would serve as the initial capital to earn even more next time.
The more points they had, the more they could earn—this was something they had already calculated when borrowing points from Uncle Lang Ze.
Since earning points required progress, the cubs nodded frantically, fearing that if they were too slow, their father might change his mind.
Lang Yao hesitated at first, feeling like something was off. But seeing his brothers nodding—along with his father watching him—he hesitated a moment longer before slowly nodding as well.
Only when all the cubs had nodded did Bai Tu continue, “Alright, that’s the reward. Now, let’s talk about the punishment.”
Lang Yao suddenly realized what was wrong—but it was already too late.
No matter how smart they were, they could never outwit their father.
Bai Tu pointed at their homework. “For every wrong answer, one point will be deducted. If you get everything right, you’ll be rewarded with ten points.”
He was holding the cubs’ math exercises, similar to the daily arithmetic drills he used to do as a child. Each page contained dozens of math problems, and the teacher would go over some of them in class to explain the calculations. After five days, there was a final test with 100 questions. Their weekend homework usually consisted of these 100 questions, which most cubs could finish in an hour or two. The faster ones, like Lang Yao, only needed half an hour.
Among them, Lang Chu finished his homework the fastest—but checking his work often took others an hour or two. His handwriting was messy, his answers were full of mistakes, and just deciphering what he had written took forever, let alone checking for accuracy. Every time Bai Tu reviewed Lang Chu’s homework, he felt like a farmer who had worked tirelessly for a year, only to spill his entire harvest of rice onto the ground—now forced to sift through dirt to salvage a few grains.
It was almost the same situation here. After raising this cub for six years, Bai Tu was handed a test sheet full of wrong answers. He tried to find at least a few correct ones, but there were none. He was exasperated.
Bai Tu really couldn’t understand. These cubs had been raised together, educated in the same way, treated the same at home and at school. They even shared a room and had the same schedule for meals and sleep—so why was there such a big difference between them?
He tapped on the worksheet in the middle. This one belonged to Lang Chu.
Only giving rewards wouldn’t work. Otherwise, the cubs could just purposely get everything wrong once, then slowly improve by one correct answer each week, milking the system until graduation.
So, he added a penalty system. Losing one point per mistake would make them much more cautious.
As soon as Bai Tu finished speaking, Lang Chu’s expression changed—his eyes became blank and dazed.
Would he even be able to earn back the points he was going to lose next week?
Lang Chu started counting on his fingers. They could only earn ten points per week, so if he made more than ten mistakes, he would owe his father points?!
That meant…
“Lang Yao, Bai Ye, you two will supervise Lang Chu,” Bai Tu instructed. “The deductions will come from your collective points.”
That meant there was no escape—once Lang Chu’s points were gone, they’d start deducting from the group’s points.
With just one sentence, Bai Tu shattered all of Lang Chu’s little schemes.
Lang Yao’s expression turned serious as he looked at his younger brother. In the end, he nodded solemnly. “I will!”
As soon as they finished, he would start tutoring his foolish little brother.
For the sake of points, they absolutely couldn’t let their foolish younger brother keep making mistakes.
Bai Ye responded, “Dad, I will teach my brother well.”
Bai Tu shifted his gaze to the two older cubs.
“We will too!” Lang Sui promised.
Lang Ying chimed in, “Yes! We’ll definitely teach Lang Chu well!”—They absolutely couldn’t afford to lose their points!
Bai Tu looked at Lang Chu, now surrounded by his older brothers, and sighed silently in his heart. Hopefully, this would work.
After educating the cubs, Lang Qi entered carrying food. The moment Lang Chu caught the scent, he instantly forgot all his previous frustrations.
Food time! Food time!
Bai Tu watched the cubs happily rush to the dining table and shook his head with a smile.
Their personalities were somewhat similar to Lang Ze’s—no matter how big the problem, they’d only be upset for three minutes at most. And if they had something tasty at that moment, they’d recover immediately, as if nothing in the world could trouble them for long.
*
A Week Later
Lang Ze returned with his team from the transit station, and the first thing he did was head to the school to see his nephews. However, this time, he was stopped.
The beastman guarding the school gate blocked his way. “Captain Lang Ze, you can’t enter.”
Lang Ze rubbed his hands together, finally hearing the words he had dreaded. “Why not?!” He wasn’t convinced—he was just here to see his nephews! Why couldn’t he enter?
“Chief Lang Qi’s orders,” the guard said calmly, unfazed by Lang Ze’s attitude. He pointed to a sign beside him. “Chief Lang Qi put this up himself.”
Lang Ze leaned in to take a closer look.
“Lang Ze Forbidden from Entering.”
This sign looked awfully familiar. He examined it carefully and suddenly remembered where he had seen it before—his brother had hung the exact same sign on his door last time he went to visit Bai Tu!
Recalling how he had managed to sneak in for a meal back then, Lang Ze snorted. “Fine! I won’t go in!”
Then he turned around and left. But as soon as he reached the corner, he swiftly changed course, heading towards the back of the school.
After all, the school didn’t have just one gate. Even if all the gates were guarded, he could still climb over the wall!
However, when he arrived at the low wall, he was stunned.
The wall was still the same height as before, but something had been added to the top—a dense layer of broken glass.
Lang Ze looked at the sharp glass shards, then at his hands. Slowly, he took two steps back.
There was no way in.
In truth, Bai Tu hadn’t installed the glass to keep Lang Ze out. After all, Lang Ze was a full-grown beastman—if he did manage to climb the wall, the teachers inside would catch him immediately. Bai Tu only needed to inform the school, and they would prevent Lang Ze from seeing the cubs.
The real reason for the glass was to stop the cubs.
Bai Tu knew their personalities all too well. If one cub figured out how to climb the wall, the others would learn it in no time.
He didn’t mind them playing outside on weekends, but sneaking out? Absolutely not. Climbing the wall was completely forbidden.
Simply telling them not to wouldn’t work—out in the open, they might obey, but in secret, they’d still try.
So Bai Tu took action.
He reinforced the school walls with a layer of shattered glass.
Back when the tribe had started using glass on a large scale, Bai Tu had already emphasized its dangers. He had even demonstrated its sharpness by using raw meat to simulate human flesh, showing how easily glass could cut through it.
Not all the cubs had seen the demonstration, so after finishing the wall, Bai Tu repeated the experiment for them.
The result?
Now, not a single cub dared to climb the wall.
This glass barrier not only stopped the cubs from sneaking out but also prevented unwanted visitors—like Lang Ze—from sneaking in.
Lang Ze scratched his chin as he stared at the glass-covered wall. In his mind, he recalled the scene of the raw meat being sliced apart—the cuts were as clean as a knife wound, even sharper than the stone blades they had used years ago.
Looking down at his own hands, Lang Ze decisively abandoned the idea of climbing over.
Instead, he went to the back gate of the school. Sure enough, the same sign was posted there.
His brother wasn’t just blocking one entrance—he had made sure to block all of them.
There was only one option left—going directly to Bai Tu’s house.
But before heading over, he had to find out whether his brother was home.
Bai Tu and Lang Qi lived on a street where everyone knew each other. Lang Ze walked up to the first house, knocked on the door, and waited.
The door opened to reveal Bai An.
In previous years, Bai An had been busiest during the rainy season. But ever since the transit stations started operating smoothly, things had changed. People could now trade goods year-round, and the cost of shipping was much lower during the off-season than right before the rains. Because of this, many had started stocking up on essentials like salt two months before the rainy season instead of scrambling at the last minute.
Plus, the reputation of the transit stations had grown—other tribes were now coming to them to seek partnerships instead of the other way around.
As a result, Bai An, who handled diplomatic affairs, had far less work to do.
Although he didn’t like to admit it, he had to acknowledge the effects of aging. Old injuries from past years ached slightly whenever the rainy season approached.
So, during this period, Bai An had been staying home to rest.
Hearing the knock at the door, he was a little surprised—not many beastmen came looking for him at this time of year.
When Bai An opened the door and saw Lang Ze standing outside, he instantly understood what was going on. After all, that sign outside the school gate hadn’t just been there for a day or two—everyone knew that Lang Ze had once again offended his brother. The only mystery was why he had done so this time.
“An, is my brother home?” Lang Ze lowered his voice to ask.
If this had been any other matter, he would have asked Bai An directly. But when it came to whether his brother was home or not, he only dared to ask once the door had already been opened.
Bai An looked at Lang Ze, with his thick brows and big eyes. Only he would have the audacity to ask a neighbor about Lang Qi’s whereabouts. If it were anyone else, they would have gotten beaten up on the spot.
“Qi isn’t home. Only Tu is there,” Bai An replied. Then, he smacked his lips. Why does that sentence sound so strange?
Lang Ze didn’t think anything of it. After getting the answer he wanted, he headed straight for the third courtyard in the middle.
He would wait at home for the cubs to return!
When he arrived at the entrance, he saw the same sign again. He completely ignored it and climbed over the wall from the side.
This again? As if such a thing could keep him out! His brother was dreaming!
However, the moment he landed, he froze.
Inside the house, there were two people. His breath caught for a second.
But when he saw that the person talking to Bai Tu was Lang Qian, he let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness it wasn’t my brother.
Still, when Lang Qian turned to look at him, Lang Ze felt a little guilty, though he couldn’t quite say why.
Lang Qian, having heard movement outside, turned around and saw Lang Ze. He felt a strange emotion stir in his heart and asked, “Ze, what are you doing here?”
He didn’t realize that his tone sounded different from usual.
“I came to see Tu—no, the cubs.” If anyone else had asked, or if it had been Lang Qi, Lang Ze would have directly said he was looking for Bai Tu. After all, every time he returned, Bai Tu would always prepare a feast for them.
But for some reason, seeing Lang Qian made Lang Ze instinctively change his wording.
Bai Tu had already guessed why Lang Ze was here. Without waiting for him to explain, he said directly, “You were caught teaching the cubs how to lend at high interest. All your earnings have been confiscated.”
“What?!” Lang Ze was stunned. Confiscated? The points he had worked so hard to earn—gone?!
Everyone familiar with Bai Tu knew exactly what the word confiscated meant. In the tribe, if someone gained goods through dishonest means or tricked others out of their points, the punishment was always the same: all their earnings were seized, and sometimes they even had to pay a fine.
Thinking about the points he had lent to the cubs before leaving, Lang Ze’s heart ached. That was enough to trade for a whole pile of food!
“By the way, there’s one more thing,” Bai Tu continued. He had something to ask Lang Ze, and with Lang Qian here, it was the perfect opportunity.
“Where did you get so many points?”
The cubs couldn’t possibly have several hundred points. Bai Tu and Lang Qi had always controlled their spending, and even if they secretly saved some, it wouldn’t be that much.
Likewise, before leaving the tribe, Lang Ze shouldn’t have had so many points either. The young wolves had been relying on borrowed points to get by, and Lang Ze not only had to spend for himself but also had to give some to the cubs. He was in constant debt—there was no way he could have saved up that many points.
Not just Lang Ze—the entire team put together wouldn’t have been able to save that much.
They simply didn’t have the patience.
Asking this question while Lang Qian was present meant Lang Qian could help keep an eye on Lang Ze and the other cubs. He knew more about Lang Ze’s affairs than most.
With just one question, the room fell silent.
Lang Qian looked down at the report in his hands, then handed it directly to Bai Tu. “Tu, I just remembered I have something to take care of. I’ll be heading back now.”
If Lang Qian hadn’t looked so guilty, Bai Tu would have let him leave. But Bai Tu had just asked about the source of the points, and before Lang Ze could even answer, Lang Qian had already excused himself. There’s definitely something fishy going on.
“You lent him a few hundred points?” Bai Tu looked at Lang Qian, momentarily unsure how to describe his feelings. Of all people, I never expected it to be Lang Qian!
“Do you know how long it takes to save up that many points? They’ll eat through it in a single meal!”
For most people in the tribe, a few hundred points took at least a month—sometimes longer—to save. But for the young wolves, it was just one day’s worth of food. It didn’t even matter that the points had been given to Lang Ze rather than the whole group; the result was the same.
Lang Qian grew even more flustered. “He said he was starving, so I just…”
The young wolves had enormous appetites, and Bai Tu had been deliberately limiting their access to snacks. Partly, he wanted them to save some points for the future, and partly, some foods just weren’t healthy in excess.
But their self-control was terrible. Even though Bai Tu distributed their points in installments, they always managed to splurge in the first few days and starve for the rest of the cycle. If it weren’t for the canteen providing three meals a day, they’d probably be going hungry three times a day.
Lang Qian was familiar with Bai Tu’s approach and knew the wolves’ habits well. So when Lang Ze said he was hungry, Lang Qian didn’t hesitate—he handed over all his saved points.
Since the tribe had started using point cards, Lang Qian had been saving a portion of his earnings every month. He always kept a little for emergencies, but the rest went into savings. Before leaving for the transfer station, he should have deposited more, but when Lang Ze said he was hungry, Lang Qian couldn’t bear to refuse and lent him everything.
He never imagined that Lang Ze would turn around and loan those points to the cubs. Even less did he expect that the cubs would use them for high-interest lending—and then get caught by Bai Tu. This entire chain of events had completely blindsided him.
It wasn’t exactly a mistake, but it didn’t feel quite right either.
For the first time, Lang Qian felt like a guilty cub, worried that Bai Tu would be angry.
Bai Tu sighed. “Next time they say they’re hungry, let them be hungry!” The food provided by the tribe was more than enough, but these little wolves weren’t satisfied with just three meals a day. They wanted six, with endless snacks in between.
“Okay,” Lang Qian agreed, glancing at Lang Ze before quickly looking away.
Lang Ze had been sulking ever since realizing that all his points for the month were gone. No points meant no food. Life had lost all meaning.
Lang Qian looked between Bai Tu and Lang Ze, hesitating. Then, for the first time, he actively spoke up on someone else’s behalf. “Tu, Ze didn’t know the cubs would use the points for high-interest loans. How about letting him off just this once?”
Bai Tu: “…?”
This was unusual. Normally, Lang Qian avoided getting involved in anything. Because of his past experiences, he preferred to stay far away from trouble. Bai Tu was certain—if it had been anyone else making this mistake, Lang Qian wouldn’t have said a word.
Sure enough, spending too much time with the young wolves had softened him.
Bai Tu looked at Lang Ze and said, “That depends on how you behave. If you don’t cause any more trouble before the rainy season, I’ll return the confiscated points.”
“Hand over the points you received today and give them back to Qian,” Bai Tu instructed. Lang Ze had to bear the punishment himself, and any borrowed points needed to be repaid promptly.
“I don’t mind,” Lang Qian said, shaking his head. “I don’t need the points.”
Bai Tu sighed. Great. Now Lang Ze can just wait until he gets his confiscated points back before paying Lang Qian. That’s not a punishment—it’s just making Lang Qian suffer instead.
Just as Bai Tu was wondering how to handle this, Lang Ze suddenly spoke up.
“No way!”
He pulled a stack of point cards from his pocket. “Here’s your points.”
He was an adult! He wasn’t going to act like a helpless cub who needed others to clean up his mess.
Bai Tu was a little surprised—he hadn’t expected Lang Ze to be so decisive. But now, before leaving, Lang Ze was left with nothing for himself.
Lang Qian was thinking the same thing. He asked, “How will you manage?”
Lang Ze responded seriously, “I can go without snacks!”
Bai Tu looked at Lang Ze’s determined face and nodded. “Alright. If you behave well, you’ll get your points back before the rainy season.”
Lang Qian glanced at the point cards in his hand, then slipped them into his pocket. Forget it. I won’t deposit them for now.
Lang Ze had risked sneaking in, hoping to get back the points he had loaned to the cubs. Instead, he had lost all his points for the month. He had given them up decisively, but as he walked out, his heart ached.
No more snacks.
Until he left the tribe, no more snacks at all.
And just when he was trying to accept this cruel reality, the other young wolves started showing off.
“Boss! The canteen has new snacks again!”
“Mochi balls! They’re delicious! Boss, you gotta try one!”
“They even have red bean filling! Freshly made in the canteen!”
“I got one with extra red bean paste! Still warm! Only two points!”
“There’s cake, too! Super sweet! Only five points! Boss, hurry up and buy some before they’re gone!”
Lang Ze patted his completely empty pockets.
He couldn’t afford any of it. Not a single bite.
