09

"Chu Qinghuai."

Zhong Wan called him by his full name.

"Um?"

"Am I too tired and hallucinating? But I just made a cake at the shop this afternoon."

Chu Qinghuai didn't understand what she was talking about. He was still wearing his apron when he came out of the kitchen. Then, he saw the same scene that Zhong Wan had just seen, and he was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

What's going on with all these messy flower petals and little green vegetables slowly rolling by?

The two witnessed Mumu frantically covering the green leaves sprouting from her head and squatting on the ground picking up the lotus petals that Xiaohe had dropped out of thin air.

Their living room was now like a bustling market. The two children were getting more and more heated with their argument, and after their true forms appeared, they even started to fight. Zhong Wan couldn't help but yell, "Stop!"

Then came a silence, eerily so.

"Oh no, Mom and Dad found out."

Mumu slapped the top of her head, successfully making the green leaf disappear. This dynamic scene made Chu Qinghuai and Zhong Wan gasp for breath. The man supported her as she was about to collapse, completely unable to calm down, his brows furrowed so tightly they could kill a mosquito.

"I want to call the police."

These words dealt a heavy blow to the three children.

"Waaaaah, Mom and Dad don't love us."

Tears streamed down Xiaohe's face as she sat bewildered amidst a pile of flower petals. Caicai, moved, patted her shoulder with her little hand, "Don't cry." Even though she herself was on the verge of tears.

Cai Cai quickly picked up the small green vegetables from the ground, ran to Zhong Wanchu and Qing Huai, tilted her head back, stretched out the small green vegetables that were about the same size as his hands, and bravely said, "Can you like us? My little green vegetables are very delicious. We'll give them to Mom and Dad. We're very well-behaved and don't want to leave. There are kittens to help us."

In the three children's minds, if their parents don't like them, it means they want to get rid of them. So, when they were unsure whether their parents liked them or not, they deliberately hid their identities because they were afraid of being disliked and driven away.

But they were still too young to understand how devastating it was for their human parents to witness such a scene. It wasn't a matter of liking or disliking; Zhong Wan was worried that the family of five would be taken away by a special agency.

Chu Qinghuai saw the small green vegetable held by the little one in front of him and felt a strange sense of familiarity. He suddenly realized, "Was that vegetable in the car yesterday when we were shopping at the supermarket also you?"

"ah?"

Cai Cai stared blankly, her eyes wide with confusion and bewilderment.

What do you mean? Does Dad really hate him? Why won't he accept his little green vegetable?

He was extremely frustrated and squatted on the ground, hugging the small green vegetable.

Chu Qinghuai didn't understand what this meant either. He wearily pinched the bridge of his nose, his mind a complete mess.

Returning to the living room, Xiao He was extremely sad, wiping away tears while pinching lotus petals. Mu Mu rubbed her eyes, thinking: It seems our original forms are still not cute enough.

The background noise was the cheerful sound of a puppy laughing in an animated film, which contrasted sharply with the scene at the moment. Zhong Wan looked at the house, which resembled a circus, and turned her head away, still unable to accept it.

The home, which was warm and harmonious just ten minutes ago, suddenly became heavy and subtle.

Zhong Wan wasn't worried that the three babies would cause her and Chu Qinghuai any physical harm, but the deceptive lies were too hurtful to their relationship.

Thinking about the truth that Officer Chen had been hesitant to reveal, it must be this.

Chu Qinghuai was about to call the police with his phone when a sudden knock on the door interrupted him.

"I'll go open the door."

Chu Qinghuai turned the doorknob and met the gazes of several men in suits outside. His eyes flickered, but he remained calm. "Who are you?"

There were three people at the door. The one in the middle spoke in a strange tone: "Is this the place? It's so dilapidated. How can our little one live well here?"

"Brother Eagle, don't worry, I've already investigated. This couple is very kind and will definitely take good care of the babies."

"oh."

Chu Qinghuai patiently asked again, "Did you go to the wrong place?"

"No, aren't you Chu Qinghuai? Your wife's name is Zhong Wan."

"Is there something you need?"

"Let me go in and see the babies."

The burly man walked with an odd gait. With a gentle nudge to Chu Qinghuai, he entered the house on his own. Chu Qinghuai wanted to remind him to change his shoes, but decided against it, as there were more important things to deal with than changing shoes.

"Hello, my little ones, did you miss me?"

The man seemed oblivious to the three babies' sullen mood; he greeted them but received only indifferent looks in return.

Mumu, Caicai, and Xiaohe: They don't really want to talk to you.

The three people remained seated in the same position, not moving an inch, treating the newcomer as if he were invisible.

Zhong Wan looked up and saw three strangers enter the house. She stood up in a panic, her first instinct being to protect the babies, and asked warily, "Who are you?"

Chu Qinghuai slowly walked to her side, a vague answer forming in his mind.

"Didn't Officer Chen tell you? We're here today to register the household registrations for our three children."

Seeing the couple's disbelieving expressions, he shrugged and told the truth: "Okay, actually I'm the assistant to the director of the Bureau of Spirits and Monsters."

The other two standing behind the burly man said in unison, "We are assistants to the assistant director of the Bureau of Spirits and Monsters."

They don't seem very smart.

"A monster-related scheme?"

Zhong Wan scratched her ear, thinking she had misheard. She remembered that it was the 21st century.

"Excuse me, are you guys cosplaying from the Classic of Mountains and Seas?"

Unfortunately, her question went unanswered.

"I presume you have already seen their true forms," ​​the man said to himself.

Zhong Wan bit her lip, wishing she could ignore the flower petals on the ground. If only that scene had been a dream.

"Come here, little ones."

The man's assistants brought the three babies to him and lined them up. The man began, "Let me introduce them. From left to right, these are the Orange Spirit, the Vegetable Spirit, and the Lotus Spirit. They come from Maple Island, Mist Mountain, and Cloud Forest, respectively. Hmm, I don't quite know how they got here. The director told me to entrust them to your care. Don't be afraid; they are kind spirits and don't usually reveal their true forms. As for today, it's probably a misunderstanding. Little Vegetable and Little Lotus, did you two lose control of your emotions?"

Cai Cai and Xiao He nodded guiltily, they didn't understand why they suddenly turned back into their original forms.

Zhong Wan and Chu Qinghuai were stunned. The idea that it didn't conform to socialist values ​​still felt vague and unreal when it came from the person in front of them.

"So, they're not actually human?" Zhong Wan covered her face with her hands, incredulous. How could her son and daughter, whom she spent every day with, be fruits and vegetables?

"Uh, how should I explain this? Theoretically speaking, they are indeed not human, but in reality, they are no different from normal cubs, aren't they?"

Zhong Wanzhen thought about it for a moment and nodded.

Chu Qinghuai: "Then we still have to continue taking care of them?"

"certainly."

The three children all looked at him with expectant eyes, not wanting to be disliked by their father.

Mumu felt that as the older sister, she had a great responsibility to shoulder. She mustered a lot of courage and said, "Mom and Dad, we won't reveal our true forms anymore. We'll behave well, so please don't send us away?"

Cai Cai also said, "I promise to eat vegetables properly."

Xiao He held two petals tightly, her head down: "I won't argue with Xiao Qingcai anymore, I'll be good too."

The oldest of them was only three and a half years old, and the youngest was not even three years old. At this age, they should be carefree, but now they were cautiously making promises to their parents. Zhong Wan felt guilty. What kind of children had she raised them to be? She didn't want her children to become timid and hesitant.

Zhong Wan squatted down, trying to be at eye level with them, and sighed, "I didn't say I didn't want you."

"My dad and I just can't accept it right now."

"..."

Chu Qinghuai asked Brother Ying, "How are they... different from children in real life?"

"There is no difference at all. The little ones have lacked the company of their biological parents since they were young, and they have always differentiated later than other spirits of the same age. Their intelligence is about the same as that of human children. You can raise them as human children."

Chu Qinghuai caught the key phrase and asked, "Lack of companionship? Where are their biological parents?"

"I don't know." He was just the director's assistant; how could he possibly know everything? Brother Ying then explained some things about spirits and monsters to the two of them, gradually gaining their trust.

Chu Qinghuai wasn't paying attention to what the other person was saying; he kept cursing the babies' parents for being irresponsible.

After regaining her senses, Zhong Wan carefully recalled the three children's true forms. Combining this with Eagle Brother's words, she suddenly realized why the medical examination showed that Mu Mu was allergic to oranges and Cai Cai was allergic to green vegetables. It was truly absurd and laughable.

“It’s okay, we will be responsible parents and raise our children.”

...

Today is an important day. The three babies have all gained legal status and have officially become Zhong Wanchu and Qinghuai's children. The staff of the Bureau of Spirits and Monsters took their ID photos and printed their names on their household registration books.

Name: Zhong Limu

Gender: Female

Age: three and a half years old

Name: Zhong Qing

Gender: Male

Age: three and a half years old

Name: Chu He

Gender: Female

Age: Two and a half years old

—

The events of the afternoon did not have much impact on the three children; they even forgot their own names.

Everyone has the memory of a goldfish, only knowing how to eat and sleep. Zhong Wan optimistically thought, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if her child isn't smart.

Dinner was another chaotic affair; we ate stewed chicken with vegetables and fried rice with eggs, which wasn't very good for one of the babies.

"Cai Cai, hurry up and eat the carrot, or you won't have any meat left."

"Hu Bobo is so scared."

He shook his head, pushed away the two carrots on his plate, looking reluctant.

He found the bright red thing very frightening.

All the other food on the plate was eaten, leaving only two pitiful-looking carrot pieces, which little Cai Cai couldn't accept.

Zhong Wan thought for a moment and then compromised: "Alright then, Dad will make some other vegetables tomorrow and see if you like them."

After saying that, Chu Qinghuai consciously prepared to take the carrot from the child's plate, but another hand snatched it away first.

Xiao He has very sharp ears. When she heard that Cai Cai doesn't eat carrots, she got ready to eat it herself. She stood up, stretched out her little hand, and her eyes lit up: "I want to eat it! Sweet carrots!"

Mumu, biting her spoon, generously shared the carrot in her bowl, thoughtfully saying, "If your sister doesn't want it, you can have it."

If Cai Cai's wish is to pull up all the carrots in the world, then Xiao He's wish is to plant carrots all over the world.