Sanmao pondered for a moment, hesitating whether to feign pitifulness or strength.
Pretending to be pitiful should make your mother feel sorry for you.
Pretending to be strong should put Mom's mind at ease.
After thinking for a while, Sanmao still felt that she should pretend to be strong.
No. That's why they wouldn't dare bully me anymore.
"That's good." Shen Wuqiu kissed her forehead again, sniffing involuntarily. Remembering the restlessness she had felt that day, she couldn't help but hug Sanmao tightly.
Sanmao stretched out her little paws, then pulled them back in, repeating this several times. Only after making sure no paws were sticking out did she extend her little paws and rub them against Shen Wuqiu's face, meowing softly.
[Mom, don't be afraid. I'm sorry for making you worry.]
The sweet meows were so well-behaved that Shen Wuqiu sniffed again. "It's Mom who should apologize. It's Mom's fault for not taking good care of you."
Gu Miaomiao couldn't bear to blame her wife, so she immediately took the blame herself: "It's not your fault, you can only blame me, blame me for not watching the kids properly..."
Only after hearing her speak human language did Shen Wuqiu give her a proper look.
Gu Miaomiao immediately took advantage of the situation and forcibly hugged the boy who was clinging to his partner, saying, "Qiuqiu didn't sleep all night because she was worried about you, so don't disturb her."
Although Sanmao was reluctant to be held by her mother, after hearing the last sentence, she obediently stayed in her mother's arms.
Seeing how well-behaved the little one was, Gu Miaomiao's steely heart finally softened a little, and she unconsciously patted Sanmao's back twice.
It seems the little guy suffered a bit during the day out; his fur doesn't look as soft and smooth as before, which makes me feel even worse.
"Meow~" As if sensing her mother's mood, Sanmao found a more comfortable position to lie down in her arms.
It was rare to see such a tender moment between the mother and daughter. Shen Wuqiu felt not bitterness, but only relief. She moved closer to Gu Miaomiao, leaned her head on her shoulder, and gently rubbed Sanmao's little head, saying softly, "When you disappeared, not only was your mother worried, but your great-grandmother was also very worried."
Gu Miaomiao retorted stubbornly, "I'm not worried at all. It's her fault for running around like that."
"..." The clueless girl, Chen Wuqiu was annoyed but also inexplicably wanted to laugh, so he reached out and pinched her cheek.
When I was halfway through making the sculpture, I saw my daughter staring at me with her big, curious eyes.
A sense of shame welled up inside her, and Shen Wuqiu hurriedly withdrew her hand, pretending to cough, "Baby, you play with your mother for a while, and Mommy will take a nap first, okay?"
Gu Miaomiao didn't miss any opportunity to be attentive to her partner: "You can rest your head on my shoulder for a bit, I'm holding Sanmao, you don't need to worry about him."
Shen Wuqiu covered her lips and yawned. The weight in her heart was lifted, but a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She stopped trying to push herself and leaned on Gu Miaomiao's shoulder, squinting her eyes. She didn't really intend to fall asleep; she just wanted to rest.
The breeze outside the window was so gentle that it easily lulled me into a dream.
Soon, Gu Miaomiao could hear the soft snoring of someone who had fallen into a deep sleep.
Gu Miaomiao tilted her head and gently nuzzled Shen Wuqiu's head, which was resting on her shoulder. Her heart was overflowing with tenderness and love.
Love is a strange thing. It can make people greedy, but it also seems to make people easily satisfied. Just like now, listening to people's breathing, she feels that her life is enough.
However, this heartwarming scene didn't last long and was soon broken by a little rascal.
As if on purpose, Sanmao behaved herself for a short while before turning into a baby on the ground.
A baby is much harder to hold than a kitten.
Gu Miaomiao stared at her daughter, who had turned into a baby, and asked in a low, fierce tone, "What are you doing?"
Sanmao pouted and pretended to cry.
Gu Miaomiao quickly reached out to cover her mouth, "Don't cry, you'll wake Qiuqiu and I'll spank you."
Sanmao didn't say anything, but soon her whole face turned red.
"..." Gu Miaomiao felt completely bewildered and whispered to Gu Lingfei, who was driving them, "Big Brother..."
While the family of three was interacting, Gu Lingfei had been quietly playing the role of a mere prop. Only when she heard Gu Miaomiao call her did she pretend to notice someone behind them, quickly turning around to glance over. "Hmm, what's up?"
"Sanmao suddenly turned into a little baby, his face flushed red, as if he was holding back something, could it be..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was overwhelmed by the smell of pickled cabbage, followed by a sudden surge of heat on her thigh.
The strange smell was impossible to ignore, and Gu Lingfei couldn't help but frown.
Now, Gu Miaomiao didn't need to ask anymore; she knew what mischief her daughter was up to.
"..."
After a silence of more than ten seconds, Gu Lingfei spoke first, "It seems we should feed the kids less meat in the future."
Gu Miaomiao pinched her nose, tilted her head and stared at her sleeping partner. Seeing that her partner was frowning because of the smell, she nodded seriously and earnestly, "I think so too."
Gu Lingfei silently turned on the external air circulation and glanced at Gu Miaomiao, who was stiffly holding Sanmao, in the rearview mirror. "So what do we do now?"
Gu Miaomiao looked down at her daughter, who was still straining to unleash her biological weapon. She focused intently on her daughter's lips, because that was the most similar feature to her partner. Only in this way could she dissuade her from throwing away the baby she was holding. "How much longer until we get home?"
Gu Lingfei glanced out the window. "About ten minutes."
Gu Miaomiao took a deep breath. "Let's leave it at that for now."
Gu Lingfei nodded, and after two minutes, he touched his nose. "By the way, your sister-in-law has cultivated a new batch of lilies. She added some fruit pollen, and the blooming lilies are fragrant and sweet. Should we airfreight a batch over to you?"
Gu Miaomiao asked, "After eating it, can you guarantee that your poop will also taste sweet?"
Gu Lingfei was silent for two seconds, then said, "It shouldn't smell that bad."
Gu Miaomiao nodded, and with Sanmao's loud "Mmm" again, the strange smell of pickled cabbage hit her again. Gu Miaomiao almost vomited. She quickly fanned her nose with her hand, and after feeling that it had a little effect, she stretched it out in front of Shen Wuqiu's nose and fanned it again.
Gu Lingfei, unable to bear it any longer, stepped on the gas pedal. "I'm going to speed up. Hold Wuqiu steady."
Fortunately, not many people were going to the village at that time, so they had no trouble getting through. Gu Lingfei stepped on the gas and went straight to Huashan.
Upon hearing the commotion, several elders who were waiting at home immediately came out to greet them:
"Oh, I'm finally back."
"We have three babies now?"
"How are you? Are the three babies alright?"
...
Amidst everyone's warm greetings, Shen Wuqiu slowly awoke.
Still a little groggy from being woken from my sleep, my hazy eyes scanned the surroundings before slowly focusing. As my vision cleared, my sense of smell returned. "What's that smells so bad?"
Gu Miaomiao, who was already feeling utterly hopeless from her daughter's stench, nodded her chin at the smelly girl in her arms, "Ask her."
Shen Wuqiu stared at Sanmao in her hand for a few seconds before realizing, "Sanmao pooped?"
Gu Miaomiao didn't want to talk. Looking at the elders gathered outside the car door, she asked, "Who's going to hold this brat?"
Su Yunzhi was straightforward: "What did Sanmao eat? Why does it smell so bad?"
Seeing her elders' enthusiasm waning, Shen Wuqiu felt incredibly awkward. She quickly got out of the car from the other side, walked around to Gu Miaomiao's side, and reached out to hug Sanmao from her arms.
Gu Miaomiao wouldn't let her carry her anymore, saying, "Fine, I'll carry her down myself."
Su Yunzhi said, "That's fine then. Since it's all on you now, I'll go get you some water."
As soon as Su Yunzhi spoke, the elders immediately found something to do and all rushed into the house.
After pouring the water, Gu Miaomiao didn't let anyone else in the family help. She directly carried the naked Sanmao into the bathroom, threw her into the bathtub, and let Sanmao splash around in the large, low wooden tub while she turned on the shower and sprayed herself with water.
After scrubbing herself three times with a bath brush, she squatted down, scooped her daughter out of the tub, and slapped her daughter's soft, white bottom a few times.
Sanmao was about to cry when Gu Miaomiao immediately turned all the faucets in the bathroom on full blast. "Go ahead and cry, cry your lungs out, but no one outside can hear you."
Sanmao pouted, swallowed back her sobs, and sat obediently in the low wooden tub.
"You did it on purpose." Gu Miaomiao grabbed a foam ball and gave her a fierce bath. After rubbing her a couple of times, she noticed patches of red on the little brat's fair skin, so she softened her movements. "You're a stinky brat now."
Sanmao splashed her little hand on the water's surface and saw the water droplets land on Gu Miaomiao's face. She immediately burst into laughter.
"You little rascal..." Gu Miaomiao was furious. She got up and pulled her up, not caring about the force she used. She quickly wiped her whole body with a foam ball, then took a bath towel from the shelf, wrapped Sanmao in it, and threw it into the sink. She only took Sanmao out after she had changed her clothes.
Su Yunzhi had already found clothes for Sanmao. She looked the naked baby over and, after confirming that the little one who had been missing for a day was unharmed, she felt relieved. Then she quickly changed Sanmao's clothes, held him in her arms and weighed him in her hands. "Oh my, it's only been a few days since I held him, and Sanmao has gotten so heavy. It's good that our kids grow up so fast without us having to hold them much. Otherwise, Wuqiu and Lingyu would be difficult to take care of."
"Aren't you guys here too?" Shen Wuqiu took out a hairdryer and saw that Sanmao's hair had been almost dried by Su Yunzhi, so he took it directly to Gu Lingyu. Seeing that Gu Lingyu's face was still sour, he leaned over and whispered, "Alright, it's no big deal. Take off the hair drying cap and I'll dry your hair for you."
"She did it on purpose, I was almost overwhelmed by her stench." When she was in front of her partner, Gu Miaomiao couldn't stay angry, and her fierce tone turned aggrieved.
Speaking of this, Shen Wuqiu thought of Gu Lingfei's face, which was covered in an unspeakable stench, after getting out of the car, and felt a little embarrassed. "I never noticed before that the kids' poop smelled so bad. Is it because their stomachs have been acting up lately..."
"No, that's not it." Gu Miaomiao snorted. "They've just been eating too much meat lately. I've been telling them to eat more flowers, but you and Mom thought I was joking and that I was just reluctant to give them meat."
“I really didn’t expect this…” Shen Wuqiu had genuinely thought that the cat was joking. A few days ago, the cat excitedly picked some rosebuds and said it would be the kittens’ dinner. She and Su Yunzhi both thought she was just teasing the kittens.
"Now you know, right?" Gu Miaomiao said, sounding a little aggrieved. "When I was little, my mother rarely gave me milk to drink, let alone any kind of meat, just to save me trouble."
Shen Wuqiu blurted out, "Then what will you eat?"
"Dew and moonlight."
"..." Shen Wuqiu didn't quite understand.
"Don't the fairies in your human legends all talk about sleeping with dew?"
"...You said it yourself, it's just a legend."
"Oh, that's just a legend of your human race. Fairies drink dew."
"...Then why do you still like eating dried anchovies so much?"
"That's because I'm greedy for food."
"..." Shen Wuqiu's lips twitched. This cat is really honest.
While the couple was discussing the babies' food, Su Yunzhi had already prepared a large pot of fish and meat paste for the babies.
Upon smelling the aroma of fish paste, Sanmao, who had been starving all day, immediately transformed into a nimble little cub, cuddling around Su Yunzhi's feet and acting coquettishly.
As for the other kittens, when Sanmao returned, Damao, Ashu, and Simao all gave her a warm welcome. But Ermao, the little kitten, was incredibly aloof. When she saw her sister return, she sat on the top of the cat tree like a queen, looking down at everyone.
Unfortunately, everyone's attention was focused on Sanmao, and no one paid any attention to her.
Er Mao remained remarkably calm. No one paid her any attention, and she just sat there until Su Yunzhi's fish paste was ready. When Su Yunzhi was distributing the bowls, she didn't see Er Mao. After searching around, Su Yunzhi called out to her on the cat tree, "Er Mao, come down and eat your fish paste."
Er Mao was very proud. She hummed in agreement before stepping down with the gait of a lion queen.
"Meow~" After scanning around and seeing that no one paid attention to him, Er Mao meowed again to get his attention.
Apart from Da Mao and A Shu glancing at her from their bowls, the foodies Simao and San Mao completely ignored her, focusing only on their rice.
Er Mao felt a little hurt, so she just squatted in front of her bowl and watched her sisters eat.