Chapter 475: Unfamiliarity

When Xia Yueke heard the plain word "mother beast", her heart suddenly tightened and the smile on her face froze.

She never imagined that An An and Dun Dun, who were once so close to her, would become so distant now.

Even if they haven't seen each other for half a year, she shouldn't have this attitude. I heard Qian Jingyao say that these two kids miss her a lot, right?

"An An, Dun Dun, what's wrong? Don't you recognize the female beast?"

Xia Yueke tried hard to force a smile, with a hint of caution in her voice. She stared at the two children, trying to find a hint of familiar intimacy on their faces.

An An and Dun Dun looked at each other, lowered their heads slightly, and remained silent. After a moment, An An whispered:

"Mother beast, we have grown up and are no longer children."

There was a hint of stubbornness in his tone, as if he was deliberately emphasizing something.

Xia Yueke's heart felt like it was pricked by a needle, and her eyes were slightly red. She took a deep breath and said slowly:

"Even when you grow up, you are still my children. In the heart of the mother beast, you will always be the most important."

As she spoke, she reached out to hold Dun Dun's hand, but Dun Dun subconsciously shrank back.

Xia Yueke's hand missed again, and she pulled it back awkwardly, her fingers unconsciously clenching the corner of her clothes.

Qing Yan watched from the side, also with a look of helplessness and heartache. He walked forward, patted Xia Yueke on the shoulder, and comforted her softly:

"The children may need time to adapt, so don't be too anxious."

Xia Yueke bit her lip, held back her tears, and nodded.

She tried to calm herself down and said, "Are you tired? Come into the house, the mother beast has prepared delicious food for you."

The two children followed Xia Yueke into the house silently, putting the prey aside. Xia Yueke bustled around, bringing the washed fruits and prepared snacks to them, but Anan and Dundun just politely said "thank you" and said no more.

Xia Yueke sat aside, watching them eat snacks, feeling mixed emotions. She tried to find a topic:

"You must have encountered a lot of interesting things during your trip, right? Tell the mother beast about them, okay?"

Dun Dun raised his head, hesitated for a moment, and said, "It's just playing Warcraft and learning skills, nothing special."

His answer was so brief and cold that Xia Yueke didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Xia Yue was not giving up and asked again: "Do you miss the female beast?"

An An stopped what he was doing and was silent for a long time before saying:

"We thought about it, but we know the mother beast has important things to do."

His voice was calm, without much emotion.

Xia Yueke could no longer hold back her tears, which slid down her cheeks.

She stood up, walked to the two children, hugged them gently, and said with a sob:

"I'm sorry, it's my fault for leaving you for so long. From now on, I'll never leave you again. Our family will be together forever, okay?"

An An and Dun Dun were both silent and did not answer.

Xia Yueke felt very upset. She felt that she was so incompetent. She actually missed the childhood of her two children. She shouldn't have done that.

Qing Yan was watching anxiously from behind, and quickly tried to smooth things over, "Keke, they just came back and are so tired that they can't react for a while. They'll be fine after a couple of days once they get used to it!"

Xia Yueke nodded slightly, let go of the two cubs, and became worried. Although she was eating the delicious food made by Qingyan, it tasted like chewing wax and she couldn't concentrate at all.

Xia Yueke, Dundun, and An'an finished their meal. Afterward, An'an and Dundun cleared the dishes in perfect harmony, their movements expert and swift. Without relying on anyone else's help, they cleaned the dishes and went about their business.

An An took his animal skin coat stained with dirt and blood and walked towards the stream.

He squatted down, skillfully dipped the animal skin into the water, and rubbed it hard.

He carefully cleaned every stain, and used his experience to judge which areas needed to be washed again, without any need for anyone else's guidance.

After cleaning, he wrung out the leather jacket, found a clean stone to spread it out to dry, and did not forget to use stones to press down the corners of the jacket to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

Dun Dun was cleaning their new house at this time.

These two rooms were newly built by Qian Jingyao specifically for them, now grown up. While not spacious, they were simply furnished yet cozy. Dun Dun picked up a broom made of hay and began to sweep the floor carefully.

He started from the corner and swept little by little, not missing any place where dust gathered. The dust raised made him sneeze a few times, but he just wiped his nose casually with the back of his hand and continued to clean carefully.

After sweeping the floor, Dundun began to make the bed, folding the quilt neatly and smoothing the sheets carefully, not missing a single wrinkle.

He also sorted and arranged the items he and An An used on a daily basis, placed the hunting tools in a convenient location, and folded the clothes and put them in the wooden cabinet.

During this process, Xia Yueke wanted to step forward to help several times, but was rejected by them with brief words.

"Mother beast, I can do it myself."

An An said, her tone calm but unquestionable.

Dun Dun also nodded, his eyes focused on the work in his hands without any hesitation.

Xia Yueke tried to help them several times, but was rejected by the two. Qingyan, a big and strong man, didn't notice anything was wrong and came over to stop her, "Keke, let them handle these little things themselves. You should go eat some fruit and bask in the sun outside."

Qingyan had already prepared fruits and dried fish, and Xiyuan also brought out a rocking chair. They both invited Xia Yuke to come over and enjoy it.

Xiyuan seemed to have noticed something, and seeing that Xia Yue was unwilling to leave, he came over to pull her and whispered:

"Keke, An'an and Dundun are both filial sons, so don't worry. Resting is the most important thing right now."

Xia Yueke was unable to overcome Xiyuan's strength. Unexpectedly, Xiyuan, who looked weak, was actually very strong. Xia Yueke had no way to resist and could only bask in the sun in the yard, but her eyes were always on Anan and Dundun.

I don’t know how long it took, the sky was getting darker and darker, Qian Jingyao, Luo Cihe, and the others came back one by one.

As soon as Qian Jingyao entered the room, he rushed to Xia Yueke and gave her a deep kiss.

"Keke, I miss you so much..."

Ever since Xia Yueke came back, they have all changed. Even Qian Jingyao, who was usually very reserved, now often makes bold advances without any scruples, and what he says often scare Xia Yueke.

Xia Yueke immediately pushed the person away, "An An and the others are here, what are you doing? Why are you so unrestrained?"

Qian Jingyao nodded, not very interested, and said "oh" lightly, and that was all.

Xia Yue was dissatisfied, "The kid is back, and you don't even care about it. What does an 'oh' mean?"