Chapter 37
In the East China Sea, the family of three was completely absorbed in their own world.
Jia'er gazed intently at her younger brother on the bed, her mind replaying the moment her brother opened his eyes.
I am indeed the first person my younger brother has ever seen since he came into this world!
Thinking this, Jia'er felt so happy she was about to faint.
Yinglong and Aoguang gazed at their second child with rapt attention, reveling in the joy of becoming parents again.
This is their second child, their second hard-won child.
How precious!
Thinking back to those anxious days of incubating the eggs... Ao Guang felt that it was all worth it!
His gaze returned to the sleeping child, and the little dragon king's lips never left his mouth; he just kept smiling foolishly like that... When Yinglong saw him like this, he instinctively felt that the idiot was starting to act stupid again.
Jia'er's gaze followed his younger brother's movements. After seeing his brother being held in his father's arms, he rushed over and hugged his father and mother.
"I have a younger brother!"
Yes, yes, you have a younger brother.
Inside the Dragon Palace, the family of three was immersed in the unparalleled joy of the birth of a new life.
Outside the Dragon Palace, the festival continues.
The Spring Festival marks both the end and the beginning of the year's plans, a time when everyone prepares for the coming year. And on this day of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, the entire East China Sea received good news:
On this auspicious day of celebration, the East Sea welcomes a new crown prince, a double blessing. On this day of universal joy, may all under heaven bathe in this celebration and may all spirits find rest.
So the area was granted a three-day amnesty. During those three days, the entire East China Sea was enveloped in a strange atmosphere—without the Dragon King's supervision, all marine life indulged in a quiet, carefree abandon. They forgot the passage of time, only concerned with raising their cups in celebration and singing and dancing to their hearts' content. The luminous plankton also stirred quietly, and during the celebration, the entire deep sea was illuminated in a poetic and dreamlike way, like a fairyland that did not belong to this world.
Everything was so dreamy and intoxicating...
By the time the celebration truly ended, it was unclear when it would be over.
And the young dragon grew bigger day by day.
As time went on, the following conversation began to circulate in the Dragon Palace:
"Father, when will my younger brother be able to cultivate into human form?"
"It will take a long time."
"How long is 'a long time'?"
"That's how long you've been grown up."
Jia'er asked the question earnestly, and his father answered earnestly as well.
But this answer...
"Why is it taking so long?" Jia'er was a little unhappy. He looked at the little dragon curled up in a ball on the bed and was a little anxious.
He desperately wanted his younger brother to cultivate into human form as soon as possible.
Ao Guang was very patient: "You went through the same thing back then."
Thinking back to how he accompanied Jia'er when he was confused and transformed into a human, and how he would soon accompany his second child in the same way, the Little Dragon King felt very much looking forward to it.
Thinking this, he gently woke the little guy who was already curled up in a ball on the bed and prepared to feed him.
Jia'er saw that his younger brother had woken up, and his tail was still unconsciously wrapped around his father's finger, which looked extremely cute.
"This is so much fun."
As he watched his younger brother suckle, he reached out and touched the top of his brother's head.
There are two small, hard things on my younger brother's head.
They are dragon horns!
They were so tiny, blue with slightly white markings, like two hard little stones, just sprouting, exactly like their mother's...
"Little Yi, Little Yi, when will you grow up?"
Touching the two dragon horns, each the size of a bean, Jia'er murmured.
Ao Guang just smiled when he heard this. The cub in his arms seemed to sense something and would occasionally twist its body between nursing.
Later, perhaps because Jia'er's sincerity moved Heaven, his younger brother's time to become a human did indeed come earlier than when he was a child.
Presumably, it had been incubating for too long before, so the little guy had a solid foundation, which made his cultivation journey a natural success.
Looking at his younger brother, who was lying naked on the bed sucking his little hand, Jia'er almost drooled. Later, after being reminded by his father, he closed his mouth.
"Why is it so small?"
Will my little brother hear me?
"Can I hug him?"
After the question was asked, no one spoke, because the family of three didn't know what to say next.
The morning sunlight filtered through the deep blue sea, softly illuminating the bed in the Dragon Palace. The tiny infant on the bed, like a round, plump bun, lay naked on the silk gauze. His chubby cheeks rose and fell with his breath. His eyes were wide open in curiosity as he put his hand in his mouth and sucked on it a few times. Then he looked upwards, as if pondering why he was there.
Watching the little guy sucking his fingers, Jia'er gently stroked his brother's body—soft, bouncy, and smooth—such an adorable little dumpling.
The mother was the happiest, because, according to her, she had finally given birth to a child who looked exactly like her, not the father.
So, who is the child who looks just like the king?
"Me?" Jia'er asked, pointing to himself.
He and his father looked at each other and both saw the same red lines at the corners of each other's eyes...
Ao Guang looked at his wife and smiled somewhat embarrassedly. Fortunately, their second child looked a lot like her.
"I wonder who the little one will call out to first?"
"It must be my brother!"
Jia'er did not hesitate.
"Not necessarily," Yinglong and Aoguang said in unison.
then……
"Little Yi, Little Yi, can you call me 'brother'?"
"Little Yi, Little Yi, quickly call your brother so I can hear it."
"Little Yi, Little Yi..."
Xiao Yi is still too young. He doesn't listen to what his older brother asks him to do; all he does is suck his thumb.
*
Raising children is a very important matter, which is why the Dragon King of the East Sea has always treated it with great care.
When his first child was born, he was completely clueless and struggled with many things as a newcomer to the field. But as he got to know his child's nature, he gradually became more comfortable and adept at being a good father.
Because Jia'er was very mischievous in his early years—he was a lively child.
So when Jia'er was born, the Little Dragon King devoted himself to him tirelessly, never letting up for a moment, thinking that his second child would need the same...
However, his second child didn't seem to be as mischievous as his first.
Because of Xiao Yi, as long as he is fed and watered every day, he can sit quietly and watch the little fish for a long time without crying or making a fuss. He is very well-behaved.
This is true. To verify this, he and his wife stayed home for many days straight, just with Xiao Yi. And Xiao Yi, it's true too; every day after waking up, he would lie there obediently with his eyes open, watching the little fish.
"Wow, this child not only looks like me, but also has the same personality as me."
Extremely stable and reliable!
Yinglong sighed, and the child's character could be seen even when he was still an egg—Xiao Yi was very calm and composed in the eggshell, and his foolish father waited a long time for him to come out.
Upon hearing his wife's words, Ao Guang glanced at her thoughtfully.
In short, their second child was like an angel baby. He would eat his fill every day without crying or fussing. He just loved to observe his surroundings, especially watching the little fish dance.
"Ah, what an easy baby to take care of."
Yinglong praised him again and again, saying that he was indeed the child who most resembled her.
When it was time for the baby to go to sleep, after seeing his father, mother, and brother, he slept peacefully without causing them any worry.
He behaved this way until Xiao Yi was learning to speak, and he was incredibly well-behaved.
Jia'er had been eagerly anticipating the day her younger brother would finally be able to speak. Although he could only babble incoherently, the day when Xiao Yi would call him "brother" was not far off.
He only needed to wait patiently, and during the waiting period, he didn't have any free time.
One day, he was sent by his father to the border of the East Sea to deal with a disturbance caused by foreign tribes. That morning, he got up early, bid farewell to his father, mother and younger brother and prepared to leave.
Now that his father is busy spending time with his younger brother, Jia'er has been handling many small matters in the East Sea. He has gained considerable experience and is more than capable of helping his father with some of the burden.
The border is very far away, and I don't know if I can make it back and forth in one day...
Clearly, he won't be coming back today. Since things have come to this, he said goodbye to his brother before leaving.
He thinks about his younger brother every day. The last thing he does before leaving home is to see his brother, and the first thing he does when he gets home is to see his brother.
"Little Yi, Little Yi." The guards at the gate heard their eldest prince calling out the second prince's name all day long.
"Little Yi, Little Yi, I'm going out today, I'll come back to see you tomorrow."
Xiao Yi looked at his older brother, put his hand in his mouth and made two "ya ya ya" sounds in response. Jia'er then gave his younger brother a kiss, and set off with his guards.
Holding his infant child in his arms, Ao Guang looked at the two children who were beginning to show their talents. One child was well-behaved and the other was sensible. Standing by the window, he felt very gratified.
The toddler in his arms stared intently at his departing brother's back, his eyes unblinking.
The whole day was quiet, but when night fell, Xiao Yi, who had been well-behaved and quiet during the day, became restless and refused to go to sleep.
Yinglong and Aoguang thought the child had slept too much during the day and couldn't sleep at night, so they picked him up and comforted him.
This attempt to soothe the child backfired. The already agitated child became increasingly agitated, and eventually started crying.
The crying started as a soft sob, then grew a little louder, and eventually turned into a wail.
Seeing that it was past bedtime and the child was still crying uncontrollably, Yinglong and Aoguang realized that the situation was serious.
"Did you eat something during the day that made you feel unwell?" Yinglong asked worriedly.
The Little Dragon King of the East Sea became extremely nervous upon hearing this: "No, no, I fed the child myself, he didn't eat anything..."
But after he finished speaking, he felt a chill, fearing that his memory might be wrong.
Regardless, he and Yinglong are trying their best to find out why the child is crying.
First, they called a pharmacist from Donghai to examine the child. After a diagnosis, they found nothing wrong with the child's body. Then they examined all the food the child had eaten that day and found nothing unusual there either. This was bad news; they couldn't find the cause. And with all this delay, Xiao Yi was crying uncontrollably.
Although Jia'er was mischievous before, he had never been in such a critical situation. Xiao Yi, who was always well-behaved, was acting so strangely tonight, which made Yinglong Aoguang, who was a parent for the first time, very flustered.
"My child, what's wrong?" Ao Guang asked, holding the child with heartache. He felt that the child's tears were almost all gone.
Xiao Yi, though struggling to breathe, kept sobbing and crying.
It's so late and they're not sleeping, they're just crying.
Yinglong was extremely anxious. Even though she was quite old, seeing her child like this still made her panic.
Seeing that she had tried everything and the crying still hadn't stopped, she forced herself to calm down and began to think about what was wrong.
She started by recalling her child's daily routine from morning to night, trying not to miss any details.
There's no physical reason, no dietary reason, and I'm well-behaved during the day, but I won't sleep at night. So, what's the routine before bedtime...?
Yinglong was frantic with worry, his voice almost hoarse, while the child was crying his heart out.
"What should we do?"
Just when the two were at their wits' end and Xiao Yi was crying bitterly, a voice suddenly came from outside the bedchamber:
"Xiao Yi!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Jia'er appeared at the door, looking travel-worn.
His appearance immediately caught everyone's attention.
Ao Guang and his wife exchanged a glance, their hearts first filled with joy, then with fear—they thought Jia'er had gotten into trouble again, so why had he suddenly returned?
But Jia'er didn't seem to be in any trouble. He was just trying to calm his breathing, and it looked like he had a hard time traveling.
"Xiao Yi!"
Before anyone could react, Jia'er burst through the door and hugged her younger brother tightly.
"Xiao Yi! Why are you crying?"
He asked in shock, "I was thinking about my younger brother the whole way back, but when I got back I saw him crying?"
Jia'er turned his gaze to his father and mother.
Seeing the child's questioning gaze, Yinglong Aoguang had no choice but to honestly answer:
"My brother cried very sadly tonight for some reason. Your father and I are still trying to figure out what to do," Yinglong explained succinctly. She was extremely anxious and her mind was racing with ideas.
However, she didn't notice that the baby's cries in Jia'er's arms were gradually subsiding...
"Really?" Jia'er turned to look at her younger brother after hearing her mother's words, only to see him still sobbing.
But slowly, something magical happened: the little guy, held in his brother's arms, gradually stopped sobbing...
Why?
Yinglong and Aoguang noticed this at that moment. They looked at each other and their eyes flashed with surprise.
Has the little one stopped crying?
What happened?
At this moment, only the four of them were inside. So Yinglong and Aoguang looked at their eldest son, then at their youngest son, then back at their eldest son, then back at their youngest son...
As I watched...
Ah, they suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"
The answer lies with Koji!
The little guy is most likely crying because he can't see his older brother.
This conjecture was immediately confirmed once it emerged.
The little guy in his brother's arms was slowly stopping crying. Although he was still sobbing, he was no longer crying as heartbrokenly as before.
Ah, I see, I see!
Yinglong and Aoguang understood!
In the past, Xiao Yi would only go to sleep after seeing his older brother and hearing him say goodnight. Tonight, his brother wasn't there, so his bedtime routine was shorter, and he started to make a fuss.
Once she started crying, it was completely out of control; she wouldn't even sleep and just kept crying...
It's hard to believe that this seemingly well-behaved little guy is actually so principled.
Having figured out the reason for the child's incessant crying, Yinglong and Aoguang breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Jia'er was coming back tonight; otherwise, the night would certainly have been anything but peaceful...
Thinking of this, they couldn't help but turn their attention to their eldest son.
As for Jia'er, he was still focused on comforting his younger brother. He didn't know that his brother had been crying all night because he had been waiting for him. He only knew that his brother had cried very sadly tonight, and he wanted to comfort him.
He lifted his younger brother in his arms and sang some nursery rhymes to him. The little dumpling stopped crying and just stared at him with its red eyes.
"Don't cry, little brother, your big brother is here," he whispered, trying to comfort him.
As if he understood his brother's words, Xiao Yi stopped crying immediately.
Ao Guang and Ying Long, who were standing to the side, were dumbfounded at the scene... This brat had actually put his father and mother after his brother.
However, they breathed a sigh of relief; thank goodness, it was all a false alarm tonight.
"But Jia'er, why did you suddenly come back?" Yinglong asked the child with surprise after he felt relieved. Logically speaking, the boy was not expected to return until tomorrow.
"I missed my brother so much, I couldn't bear not seeing him, so I rushed back!" Jia'er said honestly. The waters he went to were thousands of miles away from the Dragon Palace. After finishing his business, he hurried as fast as he could, wanting to get home the very next night...
He couldn't go a day without seeing his younger brother.
Thinking that their child had traveled all day and was only coming home so late, Yinglong and Aoguang felt a pang of sadness.
Seeing that his father and mother's eyes were wet with tears, Jia'er added:
"Father and Mother, rest assured, I returned only after resolving the disturbance caused by the foreign tribes." He meant that they shouldn't worry!
"Don't worry about me," Yinglong said, laughing and crying at the same time. "You can come back even if you didn't handle it well. Mother won't blame you. Thank goodness you're back tonight."
The thought of their young son rushing on the road still made them feel a little sad.
Jia'er was overjoyed to have been forgiven. Looking down at her younger brother, she saw him still gazing at her with his big, watery eyes.
"Xiao Yi, stop crying. Did you miss me too?" Jia'er said cheerfully.
Perhaps his high spirits infected the little dumpling in his arms, because the little dumpling actually grinned when it saw its brother so excited.
Ah, he actually stopped crying and started laughing. Yinglong Aoguang was surprised again.
"Hehe, Xiao Yi smiled." Jia'er muttered.
Oh my god.
“My little brother still misses you too much.” Yinglong said with a hint of jealousy. She had been coaxing him for so long, but the little guy hadn’t even smiled at her once… But then she thought, the silly boy had also been coaxing her for so long, and the child hadn’t smiled at him either.
Thinking about it this way, Yinglong felt much better.
"Father and Mother, I'll take my little brother to bed now."
It was already so late, well past Xiao Yi's bedtime. Seeing his younger brother's sleepy appearance, Jia'er prepared to carry him back to his bedroom.
Since her younger brother was crying so sadly tonight, Jia'er decided to sleep with him.
"Um……"
Yinglong Aoguang hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
Xiao Yi usually sleeps with them, but tonight is a special case. Oh well, let the two brothers sleep together. As long as we can have a peaceful night.
Jia'er then happily carried her younger brother back to her own bedroom.
The Dragon Palace fell silent instantly. After a long, long time, Yinglong and Aoguang lay on the bed, feeling increasingly uneasy.
Is it okay for the two little ones to sleep together?
Unable to put their minds at ease, they secretly approached Jia'er's bedroom and quietly opened the window.
The deep sea is as still as ink, everything is asleep, and the entire ocean enters a state of ultimate peace and tranquility.
In this atmosphere, Yinglong and Aoguang quietly opened the window and saw that on the soft and large seashell bed inside, the two children were fast asleep.
Jia'er was always unrestrained, and he lay on the bed with his arms and legs spread out, sleeping in a crooked and twisted position.
Beside him lay a baby—the baby who had been crying incessantly earlier was now lying quietly next to his brother, sleeping in a crooked position as well.
The two brothers slept in increasingly unrestrained postures, yet they nestled together, sleeping soundly.
Ah, so that's how it's supposed to be.
So that's how it is!
Yinglong and Aoguang exchanged glances, a surge of indescribable tenderness and sweetness rising in their hearts. The little guy was still the kind of child who couldn't sleep without his older brother.
That's really strange.
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