Chapter 2: If you want a child, you must ask for it, not give birth to it
Durian Lifeng is a middle-aged man of about forty years old, with slightly dark skin and a pair of bright eyes. He wears a bright yellow durian pendant on his waist, which begins to sway as he walks.
He strode towards Pingguo Xinshan, and when he saw Xu Rener, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"I never thought that such a cute dog could exist in our fruit country."
Durian Lifeng circled around Xu Ren'er and sighed.
"Master Durian, please be serious." Apple Xinshan had a cold face, and exuded a cold air that kept strangers away:
"This dog's origins are unknown, and it doesn't have a pendant that symbolizes its identity. It's very likely a spy sent by the Vegetable Kingdom. I hope you won't be misled by its appearance."
Today, the relationship between the Fruit Kingdom and the Vegetable Kingdom is extremely tense. A single move could affect the entire body, and war could break out suddenly at any time for some inexplicable reasons. They have to be careful to guard against it.
Hearing this, Durian Lifeng shook his head and said helplessly:
"Xinshan, I know you're a cautious person, but if it really was a spy sent by the Vegetable Kingdom, why wouldn't you have given it an extra pendant? You know, the Egg Clan of the Vegetable Kingdom are naturally skilled at counterfeiting.
Besides, if they really wanted to send a spy, why would they send a dog that can't even speak?"
Apple Xinshan was silent, as if she had heard what Durian Lifeng said, but Durian Lifeng could tell from her facial expression that she was always skeptical about Xu Rener's arrival.
Seeing this, Durian Lifeng thought for a moment, and suddenly an idea struck him. With a sly look in his eyes, he said:
"We don't know who the dog's owner is yet, so we can only wait for someone to claim it. As officials who care about the people, we can't just leave it alone until someone claims it.
How about this, since you have concerns about the dog's origin, you might not feel comfortable letting someone else take care of the dog.
So you will be in charge of taking care of this dog for the time being, what do you think?"
"No!" Apple Xinshan refused firmly. "I already have enough things to deal with. I don't have the energy to take care of it."
Durian Lifeng had been with her for more than ten years, so how could he not hear the subtext in her words? She was implicitly asking her to reduce some of her workload.
With a turn of his eyes, Durian Lifeng thought of simply using some joking words to directly blurt out the needs raised by Apple Xinshan and ignore them.
However, just as he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed the dark circles under Apple Xinshan's eyes that she tried hard to cover with foundation, and his heart softened.
"I heard from Xueli Yaoyao that the cases that Qingti Yaoming has been in charge of recently have all come to a close. If you have something that you can't handle right away, you can temporarily hand it over to Qingti Yaoming."
Hearing this, a hint of joy flashed across Pingguo Xinshan's eyes, but her expression remained unchanged: "Okay, this way I will have more time to supervise this suspected spy dog."
You're still acting like a good boy after getting an advantage! Durian Lifeng sneered in his heart.
The dog in front of me looks so cute. Whether it is its furry skin or its chubby little paws, each one is enough to make people love it.
If she gets the word out, there's going to be a ton of people clamoring to adopt her! And she has to act so reluctant?!
"Since you've decided to take care of it, why don't you go get it a pendant?! Be careful someone doesn't steal it along the way!"
After saying that, Durian Lifeng drove Apple Xinshan out.
——
The next day, Apple Xinshan took Xu Rener on a long journey to her hometown - the Apple Capital.
The Apple Capital is the base of the apple tribe. Here, the buildings are mostly oval in shape, with the flesh as building material, the peel as paint, and the core as doors. The overall design tends to resemble apple patterns.
Xu Rener noticed that every item here would automatically have an apple pattern appear at the corner, indicating that the item came from the Apple family.
On the streets, since there are no restrictions on appearance, everyone releases their nature.
Different from what we saw yesterday, adults would lead the fruits of small children who did not know how to transform yet, and most of the time you could see human figures.
Here, Xu Ren'er could hardly see any human figures. Everywhere were large and small red apples, green apples, green apples, yellow apples...
Xu Ren'er was dazzled and felt as if he had entered the Apple world.
The only thing that made her feel somewhat relieved was that the birds and beasts here were still what she understood them to be, and were not completely beyond her cognition.
Xu Ren'er has a sensitive nose. Even if his eyes can't see clearly, he can usually identify people by their body odor. Unfortunately, it is completely ineffective here.
The scent of apples was everywhere, and the smell was essentially the same, which made her feel very embarrassed.
"Just a few more steps, we'll be there soon."
Apple Xinshan looked down and saw Xu Ren'er looking a little listless. After thinking for a moment, she comforted him with a cold face.
As soon as she opened her mouth, she realized belatedly that a dog couldn't possibly understand their language. She was truly delusional.
As she was thinking about it, the puppy next to her nodded the moment she finished speaking, indicating that she understood.
Apple Xinshan: It can actually understand human nature?!
Apple Xinshan had no experience in raising dogs, and she was not sure whether her guess was correct, so she decided to do some experiments to prove it.
She squatted down, took out a handkerchief with a small red apple on it, and suddenly started wiping Xu Ren'er's mouth.
"Look at you, there are still some leftovers from breakfast this morning around your mouth. Luckily I brought a handkerchief with me, even though I mainly used it to wipe my feet and it hasn't been washed in days.
But when you're out and about, I guess there's nothing much to be particular about."
Her tone was gentle, but every word she uttered was heart-wrenching. As she spoke, she kept an eye on Xu Ren'er's expression.
Xu Ren'er seemed unaware of anything. Pingguo Xinshan's sudden change made her feel close to her. Human tenderness was irresistible to dogs. She even followed the clues and went up to her, and the dog rubbed its face against her hand.
This action clearly showed that she didn't understand what Apple Xinshan was saying, and Apple Xinshan frowned subconsciously.
Was it just an illusion? Was she just being overly suspicious?
Seeing that she did not achieve the expected result, she rubbed Xu Ren'er's head helplessly, restored her original cold expression, then stood up and continued moving forward.
Xu Ren'er followed behind her, and from a perspective that Pingguo Xinshan didn't notice, she silently breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, the moment Apple Xinshan mentioned that the handkerchief was used to wipe the feet, she really wanted to step back immediately, find a clean place, and wash her face.
But the moment the thought came to her mind, she suddenly realized that something was wrong.
Not to mention the abrupt change in Apple Xinshan's attitude, she knew herself very well. If there were really food residues on her face, how could she have been unaware of it for such a long time?
What's more, even if what Apple Xinshan said was true, she could only endure it and pretend to be a normal dog.
From the conversation between Apple Xinshan and Durian Lifeng yesterday, she knew Apple Xinshan's attitude towards her.
She was indeed not a spy sent by the so-called Vegetable Country, but if she revealed her abnormality, Apple Xinshan would probably mistake her for a spy from the enemy country and kill her on the spot in a matter of minutes.
Xu Ren'er couldn't help but sigh, life is not easy!
——
Xu Ren'er followed Pingguo Xinshan to a huge deciduous tree. The height of the tree was beyond imagination. Xu Ren'er looked up and saw clouds and mist blocking the sky above, making it almost impossible to see the end.
Under the tree, outside the roots, a huge pool was designed. The pool tightly surrounds the roots, leaving no path to pass through. The water in the pool is clear fruit green and looks very beautiful.
Before them, there was a young man and woman... I used the wrong word. Strictly speaking, they were a pair of a tall and strong green apple and a small and thin yellow apple. It was impossible to tell the gender. They walked over hand in hand, behaved intimately, and looked at each other with affectionate eyes.
The two apples stood by the pool, looked at each other, then knelt down together and said in unison:
“Sacred tree, we successfully became lifelong partners yesterday.
They promised each other that no matter they were rich or poor, sick or healthy, beautiful or ugly, successful or unsuccessful, they would love each other, comfort each other, respect each other, protect each other, and be loyal to each other forever throughout their lives.
Here, I ask the sacred tree to grant us a child! Let us have a complete family! "
After they finished speaking, they both stretched their hands forward, waiting for the response from the sacred tree.
After a while, a faint white light suddenly began to emanate from the originally calm pool. The next second, a small green apple, about fifty centimeters in size, fell from the sky and landed steadily on the hands of the two men.
The little green apple twisted twice in their hands, turned over, and suddenly facial features appeared on its plain skin. Then, with a "bang", the baby's limbs popped out.
Meng Meng stared at them with her big eyes and shouted:
"Dad! Mom! Hello!"
The two praying apples' eyes suddenly flashed with joy, and hugged him (her) with a hug.
Xu Ren'er, who was watching the whole process, was stunned and his jaw almost dropped to the ground.
This, this, this...
Is it really that easy to have a child? All you have to do is pray to a tree and you'll have one?!
"What are you standing there for?!"
Apple Xinshan walked to the front of the pool and looked back to find Xu Ren'er standing behind her motionless, looking foolishly at the two newlyweds opposite.
What's so interesting about this? Apple Xinshan didn't quite understand. Isn't this a common thing?
When Xu Ren'er heard the noise, he quickly reacted, trotted towards Pingguo Xinshan, and stood in front of Pingguo Xinshan.
Apple Xinshan picked up one of Xu Ren'er's dog paws, faced the deciduous tree, closed her eyes, and sensed the deciduous tree.
I don’t know what Apple Xinshan said to the deciduous tree, but the pool began to gurgle.
The next second, a red apple pendant suddenly jumped out of the pool towards Xu Ren'er, and hung around Xu Ren'er's neck at the moment he was stunned.
Xu Rener noticed that the red apple pendant on her neck was different from the pendant on Apple Xinshan's waist. The pendant on Apple Xinshan's waist was more shiny, and the unique stem on the top of the red apple was also a beautiful and fresh light green.
Her red apple pendant was dull and the stem looked dry and yellow.
"This is a temporary proof of identity. You must renew it every three months. If within these three months, I can confirm that there is no problem with your origins, and no one has come to claim you..."
At this point, Apple Xinshan's eyes softened, and the frost on her icy face faded slightly, with a hint of spring breeze:
"I will bring you here formally for a ceremony, and you will be my family from now on."
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