Zhou Jinze silently held Qianyuan, watching the little octopus seedlings bask in glory. He remained silent, as if he were merely Qianyuan's personal humanoid display stand.
But given Zhou Jinze's taciturn nature, he would never say something like, "Why don't you like me a little more?"
He simply acted quietly as the little guy's knight, guardian, and supervisor.
Qianyuan, wearing that yellow and blue floral dress, was almost overwhelmed by the compliments from passing researchers.
However, he was already good-looking, with slightly curly black hair and misty blue eyes, making him an androgynous figure. Even if you put a burlap sack on Qian Yuan, he would probably look like it was custom-made for her.
Moreover, Qianyuan currently appears to be an innocent and precious little doll.
If it weren't for Captain Zhou watching them from behind, they probably would have already pinched the little guy's cheeks until they were bright red.
But Qianyuan seemed to sense something and turned to look at Zhou Jinze.
Actually, it wasn't him who noticed it, but rather the system notification. The emotional value provided by Zhou Jinze was so dark that it almost covered his face, making it hard not to notice.
The little guy just looked at Zhou Jinze for a moment, blinked, and then tilted his head and pressed it against Zhou Jinze's neck.
It is a posture that is highly dependent on.
The way he leaned against him was enough to melt even the hardest heart.
Zhou Jinze snorted after a while: "Hurry up and go back, you'll get sick if you stay outside too long."
Qian Yuan leaned against Zhou Jinze's neck and glanced up. Her previously gloomy emotional value was now bubbling with pink bubbles.
Qianyuan then lowered her eyes and snuggled against Zhou Jinze, unconsciously acting like a kitten.
"Why do you love to act so cute?"
Zhou Jinze's words were full of disdain, but his emotional intelligence had already betrayed him.
Actually, this action was not Qianyuan's original intention. Perhaps the trauma she suffered in her past life was too great, which is why she couldn't help but seek confirmation and get closer after receiving attention and love in the present.
He hoped that the love and care he received were genuine.
Besides, he wasn't acting cute the whole time.
Qianyuan pouted, her brows furrowed, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
Zhou Jinze said, "Stop acting all cute."
Qianyuan: ? ?
Who would mistake someone's anger for a tantrum?
Qianyuan nudged him and got off Zhou Jinze.
The little girl was clearly sulking and wanted to break up with him.
Zhou Jinze couldn't stop the cub either, so he could only let go and watch it slide down his leg to the ground.
Although Qianyuan is still not very skilled at controlling his octopus tail, he at least knows how to walk by manipulating his tentacles.
So he hurriedly and awkwardly chased after Zhou Jinze.
Seeing how hastily he swung the tentacles around, Zhou Jinze couldn't help but chuckle to himself again.
Qianyuan: ...
What to do? He can't drag his tentacles along, the ground is so dirty!
And with so many people around, it's even more impossible to climb...
Qian Yuan, who always asked Zhou Jinze to be her mode of transportation, became even more hesitant.
Damn it, why don't humans grow legs?!
Zhou Jinze watched silently as his son got himself really angry and slammed his tentacle against the wall. But the wall was too hard, and the little guy suffered in silence. He hugged the reddened tip of the tentacle, and his blue eyes filled with tears again.
Honestly, she's so young and in poor health, how can she have such a bad temper?
Zhou Jinze helplessly reached out and scooped the cub from the ground into his arms, wiping away its tears: "Don't cry, there's no water now, don't cry yourself into a dried octopus."
Qianyuan: She got even angrier.
Fortunately, the little guy wasn't stubborn enough to bite his own tentacle in frustration. Zhou Jinze went back and fed him some candy, and the cub immediately perked up.
However, the tentacle that had slammed against the wall started to swell up from its initial redness, and the tip of the tentacle became noticeably thicker.
The little guy couldn't sit or stand comfortably, as he kept bumping into the tentacle no matter what he did, so Zhou Jinze had to hold his hand for him.
Are you still sulking?
Zhou Jinze asked him.
Qianyuan turned her face away, pretending not to hear.
Zhou Jinze looked at the little fool, sighed, and applied some human anti-swelling medicine to him.
I don't know if this stuff will work on octopuses.
When it was time to go on the mission, Zhou Jinze peeled off the children's fever-reducing patch from the cub's forehead and then bandaged up the swollen tentacle.
Since the cubs had already been damaged before they even went into battle, Zhou Jinze simply put on his coat and tucked the octopus hatchlings into his arms, protecting them like a kangaroo mother with her baby.
Separated only by a thin layer of fabric, Qianyuan's tentacles pressed against him, and he could feel the hard muscles.
Zhou Jinze felt the restless cub in his arms and was only glad that he didn't have a ticklish spot.
Otherwise, he really wanted to tie up the cub's tentacles and stop it from touching things everywhere.
Qianyuan, on his first time out, was just like a curious child. He kept trying to stick his head out of Zhou Jinze's arms, so Zhou Jinze could only keep holding the baby and question how a baby octopus could be so strong.
It wasn't until Zhou Jinze boarded the bus with the group that things started to sway. Qian Yuan, who was always prone to motion sickness, was even more so now that she was smaller.
When Zhou Jinze realized the cub wasn't moving, it had automatically shrunk into a baby octopus.
Zhou Jinze was startled. He flipped the octopus seedling over with his finger and saw that its two bright, beady eyes had turned into mosquito coils.
Zhou Jinze: ...
"Stop, I'll clear the way."
Zhou Jinze could only find an excuse to go down and ride the motorcycle. After a while, Qian Yuan finally recovered.
He opened his eyes and looked at the brand new world before him.
Although this world is full of crises and apocalypses, it is not without any hope of survival.
People still live and work. These ordinary people live within the protective barrier that the country has built for them with its own lives. They are as insignificant as mayflies, yet as great as giants.
That's how humanity has continued, little by little.
When the shelter administration vehicles pass by, they always stop what they are doing and watch their heroes leave.
Qianyuan looked at those people, then at Zhou Jinze. For the first time, the little guy felt that Zhou Jinze must be very remarkable, otherwise these people wouldn't look at him with such respect.
"You're not carsick anymore?"
Zhou Jinze lowered his head and looked at the little octopus Miaomiao in his arms. Miaomiao was startled and clung tightly to Zhou Jinze's collar to avoid being blown away.
"You can stay like this for now. Once I'm on my own, you can transform into a cub."
The little octopus didn't say anything, but instead struggled to climb onto Zhou Jinze's helmet, bravely scaling the heights, and calmly settling down on top of Zhou Jinze's head.
Now it's a good time; he can finally snuggle up on Zhou Jinze's head.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
