Chapter 66

When Xu Jiahang saw the child's face clearly, he felt as if he was struck by lightning outside the window.

This... isn't this the missing young master of the Shen family?

In fact, he didn't have many opportunities to interact with Li Jue. After Shen Jiangxing brought the child back, he basically left him at the Shen family, while Xu Jiahang himself stayed in the hospital most of the time, and they rarely met.

In his impression, Li Jue was a quiet child with a pair of beautiful eyes inherited from Chen Yan, but they were a very special, clear light gold color like glass candy wrappers.

Children will not cry or make a fuss when they are ignored by adults. Their little hands and feet will curl up in the corner and look at them obediently.

Those bright big eyes revealed a desire to be close to adults. Even Xu Jiahang, who was destined to compete with him for the family property, didn't understand how the Shen family could be so heartless as not to hug him.

One time when he went home to get something, he happened to run into Li Jue and Ling Xi - the boy adopted by the old man - playing in the yard.

Li Jue is young, but he knows that the adults here don't like him. He usually moves as quietly as a kitten and is always timid, afraid of being abandoned again.

Only when playing with Ling Xi, who is the same age as him, can he regain the smile that a child should have.

It was a beautiful day, and the flowers in the yard were in full bloom. The children were chasing each other and playing happily in the sunshine. Li Jue's long curly hair seemed to be covered with a layer of flowing light. It was truly a peaceful and quiet time.

Even Xu Jiahang stopped and looked for a while, marveling at this precious innocence.

If he had not been born into such a cramped and ruthless family like the Shen family, and if he had not had an irresponsible father like Chen Yan who abandoned his child and walked away, the little guy would have grown up happier.

——If this child had not become a stumbling block on the road to inheriting the inheritance, I would have had more compassion for him.

Ever since Li Jue was brought back to the Shen family, Xu Jiahang has often had nightmares. He dreams of the little child showing a hideous smile that only an adult would have, looking down at him arrogantly at the inheritance ceremony when he became the new head of the Shen family, and coldly telling him, the outsider who coveted the family property, to get out in front of everyone.

It was not until Li Jue disappeared that the frequency of nightmares decreased.

After traveling to the new world, he hasn't dreamed about these messy things for a long time, and his sleep quality has improved significantly.

As a result, on this stormy night, the nightmare itself appeared before him unexpectedly.

...The panic upon waking up is indeed a sign of misfortune.

Xu Jiahang couldn't understand it. It had been some time since he "traveled through time" and he hadn't seen anyone he knew come here except himself.

He was so happy that he thought this was a brand new dream, where he could completely break away from his past of being inferior to others. But how come there still appeared someone who could best prove his humble status?

He tried his best to act nonchalant: "Where did you pick this up?"

He hoped his voice didn't tremble; at least not to be noticed by Meow Ling.

The maid replied, "On the way home the carriage suddenly stopped halfway. I thought it was a big rock, but it turned out to be a package."

The butler, who was riding in a different car from her, added, "I heard Miss Meowling's plea for help and got out to check. For safety reasons, I asked the driver to open the box. Unexpectedly, there was a child inside."

Xu Jiahang found it weird. In his impression, Young Master Shen was only three years old. How could a child of this age be stuffed into the package?

He glanced at the cub in Miaoling's arms again. It looked much smaller than other cubs of the same age, and still looked like a baby. No wonder the maid was able to hide him completely under the raincoat; but he still looked like he was three or four years old.

Although the cub was soaked, you could still see that its little hands were white and tender, and its face was round, and it didn't look malnourished.

The servants at home also have children, and the body shapes of different age groups in this world are not much different from those in his original world.

Why is this little guy so different?

Xu Jiahang had a hunch that something was wrong. Regardless of whether Li Jue was a bad sign or not, it was definitely not a good thing for him.

He was about to order Tan Ning to send the cub away when he saw Miao Ling's upturned peach blossom eyes looking up at him from bottom to top, and her tone was soft and coquettish: "Master, let's keep him, okay? Master, look, this little baby is so cute..."

Maybe it was because of her pretty makeup, or maybe it was because of her personality, but Xu Jiahang would occasionally feel that Miao Ling's pupils reflected pink under the light, like the colored contact lenses that girls in the old world would wear.

The young ladies of the branch family dressed fashionably and wore different colored contact lenses. When he saw the fiery red eyes for the first time, he was shocked and thought the young ladies were sick. He was even laughed at.

To support her words, Miaoling reached out and poked the cub's face. The crimson-purple nail polish contrasted sharply with the cub's snow-white skin.

The child was still asleep (or perhaps fainted), and unconsciously raised his little fist to hold her fingers; the posture was particularly like that of an ignorant baby.

Xu Jiahang was speechless for a moment.

He doted on Miaoling too much and could never refuse her requests.

However, this is not someone else, not an insignificant cat or dog, but Chen Lijue who always cuts across his path to happiness...

"Master, please~" Miao Ling grabbed his sleeve with one free hand and shook it gently, saying in a very coquettish tone, "I promise I won't forget to feed him and give him water every day, and I'll take him for a walk too."

Xu Jiahang: “…”

It sounds like having a pet.

However, in this world, there is a clear hierarchy, and there are no strictly enforced laws to guarantee survival. People without power are no better than stray dogs on the roadside, and their lives are far worse than those of the nobles' beloved pets.

When Xu Jiahang thought that Young Master Shen had to rely on him to survive and could only beg for food after his consent, he felt inexplicably satisfied.

Bullying children is not a good thing. But so what?

He has long tasted the taste of power and wealth, and can call the wind and rain, and can do anything.

Xu Jiahang raised his chin proudly: "It's yours."

Miao Ling curled her eyes, gently tapped his arm with her slender fingers, and smiled sweetly: "Thank you, Master, you are the best~!"

See, Xu Jiahang thought, as long as one has money and power, even if a tiny bit of kindness slips through his fingers, it will be enough to make others grateful.

While the master was immersed in self-indulgence, the maid secretly flirted with the butler - but her expression was much more genuine than her flirting with the master.

The always gentle butler pretended not to see it, turned his head away and covered his chest, feeling a little nauseous.

Before Xu Jiahang came to his senses, the two returned to their original state and pretended nothing had happened.

Tan Ning took the initiative to say: "My Lord Earl, please go and rest. Leave this to us."

Miaoling also nodded: "Zizi got caught in the rain, I have to give him a bath."

Seeing the child sleeping so soundly, Xu Jiahang, out of habit as a babysitter, asked, "Are you okay? Do you want to call Carlos?"

Miao Ling and Tan Ning exchanged a glance, and the latter replied, "I'll give him a preliminary examination later. I have a junior medical qualification certificate. If necessary, I'll contact Dr. Carlos. You just need to rest assured. It's getting late, sir."

His tone was as polite as ever, but Xu Jiahang heard a subtle implication in his words: "Don't get in the way here, get out of here."

However, the butler's eyes were respectful and his posture was humble, and there seemed to be no problem.

Xu Jiahang swallowed the strange discomfort and nodded.

Just as he was about to turn around, he looked at Miao Ling hesitantly: "You..."

The maid blinked, then quickly reacted and smiled at him: "Master, I will be with you soon."

Her smile was so contagious and soothing. Xu Jiahang's previous worries disappeared and he went upstairs with anticipation for the second half of the night.

*

After the footsteps completely disappeared, the maid who had just looked at him affectionately changed her expression and made a vomiting gesture: "This old man is really disgusting."

The butler said calmly, "I think so too."

Maid: "Do you think he is?"

Butler: "You."

He hasn't forgotten that seductive look just now.

Maid: “…”

The maid was extremely gentle, her tone so sweet it could make you sick: "How can this be compared? I'm sincere to you, my dear."

The butler took off his glasses, wiped them, lowered his head and put them back on: "You should leave your acting skills to Xu Jiahang."

He "snatched" the cub from the maid's arms with a rough action, totally unlike his usual graceful demeanor; but when he picked up the cub, he was very careful: "I'm going to give him a bath. You should hurry up and accompany your master."

The maid held her chin and looked at him with a smile: "You know, your tone sounds like you are jealous."

"I don't know." The butler's voice was calm, and he turned and left. "I don't have any either. You're overthinking it."

"I want to go too!" The maid immediately followed. "Giving the baby a bath is such a fun thing, how can you not take me with you?"

The housekeeper moved aside to avoid her and touched the little boy's hand: "You don't have to serve Xu Jiahang anymore?"

"Who wants to sleep with that old man?" The maid crossed her arms and shook them exaggeratedly. "I get goosebumps just thinking about it, okay? I always cast an illusion on him, and I see he's quite absorbed in it."

The housekeeper had seen Xu Jiahang touching the air before, which was really creepy.

The maid rolled her eyes, then leaned close to him and said in a coquettish voice, "I still prefer to sleep with a handsome guy like you."

"Thank you for the compliment." The butler pushed her away unmoved. "But I have to repeat, I have no interest in men. It's useless even if you pester me a hundred times."

"Who said I'm a man?" The busty, slim maid took his arm and rubbed it maliciously. "I'm obviously a girl, why don't you touch it and see if it's genuine~"

Veins throbbed on the butler's forehead, but he didn't dare move too much and disturb the little cub in his arms: "Stay away from me, I don't want to beat you up."

The maid laughed and said, "Baby, you can't beat me."

The housekeeper's face darkened.

Of course he didn't forget, but he didn't want to recall it either.

He ignored the annoying guy and headed towards the bathroom.

Normally, with the level of technology in this world, it takes a long time to prepare for a hot bath.

Fortunately, they didn't need to follow the rules. After filling the bottle with cold water, Miaoling opened her five fingers and gently shook them on the water surface, and warm white mist immediately came out.

Tan Ning looked at the hem of her skirt and the curve of her thighs when she bent over by the bathtub. It was indeed very exciting.

Fortunately, I am not a human being anymore.

More importantly, this guy is not human at all.

The little cub was still asleep, so Tan Ning handed him to Miao Ling and took off his clothes first.

The shirt beneath the vest was close fitting, and was blurred by the dampness, outlining a hazy flesh color.

Tan Ning paused while unbuttoning his shirt, and looked up to meet Miao Ling's gaze, which was staring at him as if she wanted to eat him alive.

He was upset for a moment: "You'd better leave first. The bathroom is too small."

Miao Ling raised the corners of her lips: "But the bathtub is very big, it can fit the two of us - no, the three of us."

He also shook the little cub in his arms to signal.

"Stop it." Tan Ning frowned, "He'll catch a cold like this."

"I'm not letting you bathe him," Miaoling said as she took off the child's wet clothes. "How's the water temperature?"

Tan Ning touched it and said, "Just right."

Miao Ling raised an eyebrow: "Why don't you go in quickly?"

Tan Ning: "...I told you to get out."

Miao Ling still smiled: "I don't want to listen."

Tan Ning: “…”

The three or four-year-old child was as small as a baby, and even a frail maid could hold him in one hand; of course, "she" had nothing to do with the word frail.

Miao Ling held the child in her left hand and took a step forward. The bathroom was not big to begin with, and now the distance between her and Tan Ning was almost zero.

"She" raised her hand and touched the second button of Tan Ning's shirt, her forearm brushing across the latter's chest. The shirt, which was almost translucent, not only lost its concealing effect, but became more inviting to explore.

Tan Ning's Adam's apple slid up and down with difficulty.

He was nervous because of Miaoling's actions, and even more because of Miaoling's tail that was wrapped around his calves and slowly rubbing upwards.

"Nervous?"

Miao Ling asked. Her voice had the clearness of a young girl, yet also carried an unusual hoarseness.

"……No."

The girl was much shorter than him, and if he lowered his head he could see her white skin exposed by her low-cut top; even if this was not true, he still didn't know where to look.

"You're so funny."

Miao Ling giggled, and her nail-polished fingers moved up along Tan Ning's open collar, across her collarbone, throat, and jaw, causing tiny tremors and sparks along the way, and finally stopped on her lips.

Miaoling stood on tiptoe and slowly approached, her light voice scattered in the white mist.

"More than any I've ever encountered..."

“—Don’t do that.”

Just when the two of them were almost touching each other, Tan Ning stretched out his hand to block "her" movements.

In fact, Miaoling was not surprised by his backing out, but she still pretended to be surprised and blinked: "What's wrong?"

"I don't like men." Tan Ning's voice was a little weak the first time, but it was much louder the second time, as if to reassure herself, "I really don't like men. I know this is your nature and a basic necessity for your survival, but I-"

He took a breath, his eyes showing a hint of fatigue and disappointment, and the second half of the sentence turned into other words when it came to his lips.

"...I beg you, please let me go."

Tan Ning fled in panic.

Miaoling looked at the direction he left, and her pupils, which had turned pink due to stimulation, slowly turned back to pure black.

"She" touched her own lip with the finger that had just touched Tan Ning's lower lip. Thinking of something, her smile deepened.

*

Li Jue woke up in a dry and comfortable little bed.

After following the little devil into the Bokanger crater, he lost consciousness for a long time.

When he came to his senses, he was standing alone in the heavy rain. There was no Ayaka, no Mephistopheles, only him.

This was the third instance that the small system had entered. Every time, he would start out alone, transforming into a cat, a jellyfish, and then...

Eh?

The cub looked at himself in confusion. His hands and feet were still human, and he had not turned into a completely new species.

He was a little disappointed; before jumping into the volcano, he was still imagining what he could transform into, but he didn't expect to remain the same.

Hi.

Fortunately, children are very good at comforting themselves: It doesn’t matter if they are not little animals, because babies are cute no matter what.

Thinking this way, I cheered myself up again.

Li Jue wiped the rain off his face and encouraged himself: he had to meet up with Xixi and find Brother Meimei.

Today is also a small system that works hard!

He was in the forest, surrounded by towering ancient trees, and the rainy, lightless night was terrifying.

Li Jue walked while recalling happy memories. In the past, when his father was not at home, he always relied on memories to resist his timidity.

In the first sub-world, he is a long-haired golden tabby kitten, who is captured by Lin Wang from a planet where humans gather. On the starship, he meets Ling Xi, a human servant serving the dragon clan, and Finks, the captain of the golden dragon ship.

In the second sub-world, he is a transparent little jellyfish with bow-shaped tentacles. After being caught by a fishing boat, he met the captain's adopted son Ling Xi, and together they waited for the arrival of the Siren King Qian Xing.

For system cubs, different settings and experiences are as fun as playing house.

In this world, I currently appear to be human, so what is Xixi? And how will Brother Meimei make a brilliant appearance?

He is full of anticipation.

However, despite their anticipation, the young child was exhausted and fainted in the heavy rain before they had taken a few steps.

When I woke up again, I found myself in a room I had never seen before.

The small system had a nap and was fully charged again, so it jumped out of the bed.

He is a baby with good habits. He always folds his own quilt after getting up, and he will do the same today.

But why are the quilt and pillow so big?

When in Dragon World and Ocean World, Li Jue was used to sleeping in adults' rooms. The adults' bedding was also big for children, but never so huge.

The light in the forest was dim, and Li Jue could only make out that he still had a human body, but he couldn't tell if it was the same as before.

Now in the brightly lit room, he was surprised to find that his hands and feet had shrunk.

The child looked for reflections everywhere in disbelief, and finally saw his own reflection in the window glass.

Oh, how come he has regressed into a baby!

The baby is about to turn four years old. He eats a lot of food, drinks milk, and goes to bed early every day. He has grown taller and heavier than a three-year-old, which are all signs of growing up.

However, all efforts were in vain in this sub-world: he was now only the size of a one-year-old baby.

The little cub was very sad. He wanted to grow up so badly, how could this happen?

He remembered that babies couldn't walk, but he had just found a mirror and was walking very skillfully, and his hands and feet were very flexible.

It seems that the whole person has just shrunk in size, but it does not really return to childhood.

I was wondering why I didn’t turn into the corresponding small animal in this sub-world. Could it be that becoming smaller is the change here?

How strange.

But then again, infinite space is a strange and irrational place.

While Li Jue was struggling with himself, someone pushed open the door and walked in.

She was an elderly maid, her face covered with kind wrinkles, reminding Li Jue of Elder Bailong Qiao whom he had met in the first sub-world.

As soon as she entered the room, she met Li Jue's puzzled gaze and said in surprise, "Little guy, you're awake. Come with me to see the master."

Master...who is it?

Li Jue blinked blankly, and was suddenly picked up. The maid half-reproached and half-heartedly said, "It's already autumn. You can't walk barefoot on the ground in such cold weather. It's easy to get sick. Oh, such a small child, and I don't know where his parents are. It's really a sin..."

She muttered to herself as she put Li Jue on the bed, then picked up the clothes she had prepared earlier from the chair and changed them for him skillfully.

The little cub opened his arms and stood still like a doll, letting her dress him up.

The clothes are a bit old, but they are kept clean.

The top is a beige shirt and a light blue vest, with a mini dress jacket embroidered with the iconic raven and obsidian family crest of the Custer family.

Below are cream-colored stockings and dark blue bloomers, paired with a pair of dark brown leather shoes.

Li Jue has delicate facial features and an innate holy temperament. Although the little dress is a little big, it still makes him look like a noble little prince.

The maid tied a silk bow tie on him, held the child's shoulders, looked him over, and said with a smile, "Oh, it fits him well."

Zizi had never worn such solemn and complicated classical costumes, so he looked at it curiously.

Then, she thanked him in a baby voice: "Thank you, grandma!"

"Just call me Gwen." The maid combed his hair, tying his long, soft, curly hair into two symmetrical ponytails, each tied with a bow using a light blue ribbon that matched his vest. "Master has always wanted to have a little lady, and he even had me buy these decorations at the market. They're finally coming in handy."

Li Jue shook her head in front of the bronze mirror, and her ponytail and bow swayed along with it.

This is not the first time he has had this hairstyle, but I have to admit that Grandma Gwen's hairstyle looks much better than others.

Gwen brought her cub to the reception room, where the Earl was standing by the window with his hands behind his back, looking outside.

Gwen clasped her hands in front of her and bowed respectfully: "Master, I have brought the child here."

Li Jue also bowed obediently, then raised his little face and watched the Earl turn around.

After entering each copy, the small system will first spend some time with some players or NPCs, with random probability.

The players were easy to distinguish; they were either flustered newbies or wary, suspicious veterans; he wondered why the NPCs couldn't spot them.

As for the differences between high-level NPCs and small bosses, they were relatively small, and he was still learning to identify them.

The Earl came over and the child looked at him. He felt that he looked very familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he could not remember anything more.

The Count reached out and poked his cheek, quite forcefully, as if teasing a kitten: "What's your name?"

Li Jue answered that his name was Baobaozai, just like before.

However, the man laughed heartily, completely lacking the affection other parents showed him. The mockery in his tone made even the young child uncomfortable. "Abandoned children don't have the privilege of such a cute name. Do you have any other names?"

The cub was a little afraid of him and whispered: "Pear..."

The Count seemed to be waiting for an answer, and a clear look of disgust flashed in his eyes, which made the child swallow the second half of the word.

Li Jue was timid, not knowing what he had done wrong; it was the first time he met this uncle, and he didn't even have a chance to make a mistake, but he was already disliked.

In the past... It was the same when he was in the Shen residence. Even though he tried his best to be a good boy, no one still disliked him.

The Earl stood up and said, "Gwen, this child will work for you. He can't just eat and drink for free here."

The maid was a little surprised. The master had always been kind and generous to others, and he never bossed people around even to the servants who had been passed down from generation to generation in the family.

Why today...

"My child, remember, it is your honor to be a servant of the Custer family." The Earl looked at the cub with a cold and condescending look. "Dedicate your life to this glorious family name."