“Daddy, I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?”
As she spoke, Duoduo quickly backed away.
She hadn’t expected Xiao Yi to rise directly from his wheelchair. With one stretch of his hand, he caught Duoduo and hauled her back.
Duoduo let out a sigh.
She had miscalculated!
She’d forgotten that Daddy’s legs had already healed.
Suddenly, Duoduo sensed a faint stir of consciousness in her mind.
She opened her hand, and Little Gold flew out.
When Xiao Yi saw a bug suddenly appear before him, he instinctively moved Duoduo behind him to protect her.
Little Gold had initially flown toward Xiao Yi, chirping, “Ji ji ji!”
But when it saw Xiao Yi shielding Duoduo behind him, it stopped in midair.
Duoduo poked her head out from behind Xiao Yi.
“Daddy, this is my Little Gold!”
“Little Gold, this is my daddy!”
“Daddy was only joking with me just now!”
Xiao Yi waved a hand dismissively at Little Gold, his expression full of disdain.
Little Gold angrily chirped, “Ji ji ji!” over and over.
But no matter how furious it became, it didn’t dare approach Xiao Yi. It remained above him, fluttering its tiny wings.
Duoduo studied Little Gold curiously.
She could sense Little Gold’s emotions.
“Huh? Daddy, Little Gold is actually scared of you!”
Duoduo stretched out a hand toward Little Gold. It immediately landed in her palm.
“It’s just a little thing, yet it dared to rush out and protect you. It doesn’t know its own limits!”
Xiao Yi looked thoroughly disdainful.
Duoduo stroked Little Gold’s back, soothing its emotions.
“Nina said Little Gold is still small. Once it grows up, it’ll definitely be able to protect me!”
Xiao Yi recalled the methods of raising gu insects that Yunxiao had learned about. Worry flashed through his eyes.
“I heard that raising a gu insect requires feeding it your own blood every day.”
“Are you all right? Do you need Daddy to think of a way to help you?”
Hearing the tension in Xiao Yi’s voice, Duoduo gave him a radiant smile.
“Daddy! There’s no need!”
“Little Gold is different from other gu insects.”
“It only bit me once, the first time. It hasn’t bitten me since!”
“Nina thinks it’s strange too.”
“But Nina said that maybe it’s because Little Gold willingly acknowledged me as its master.”
“She said Little Gold is protecting me!”
When Xiao Yi learned that Little Gold didn’t need Duoduo’s blood to survive, his gaze toward it became much kinder.
He silently studied Little Gold for a few moments.
Duoduo tilted her little head and held Little Gold beside her face.
“Little Gold, tell me—does Daddy have a gu insect inside his body?”
As Duoduo spoke, she saw Xiao Yi’s body stiffen noticeably.
Little Gold cautiously raised its tiny head and glanced at Xiao Yi.
When it saw Xiao Yi staring at it, it immediately curled itself up.
Xiao Yi found this irritating. He reached out and poked Little Gold’s body.
Huh?
It felt soft and plump. Quite interesting, actually!
Unable to resist, Xiao Yi poked it again.
That poke infuriated Little Gold.
It turned around and opened its mouth, about to bite Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi quickly snatched his hand back.
Duoduo was startled by Little Gold. She hurriedly pointed at it and scolded, “How could you scare Daddy?”
“You’re getting awfully bold! Who gave you the nerve?”
Little Gold curled itself into a ball in aggrieved silence and pretended to be dead.
Xiao Yi found it rather amusing.
He pinched Little Gold by the wing and lifted it up.
Duoduo hurriedly reached for it, frightened. “Daddy, Little Gold didn’t mean to do that!”
“Please be magnanimous and let Little Gold go!”
Xiao Yi held Little Gold up in front of his face, bringing them eye to eye.
He actually saw anger in the eyes of an insect.
Xiao Yi wondered if he had gone mad.
He stared at Little Gold, his tone threatening.
“If you ever dare harm Duoduo, this prince will throw you into a pot of oil and fry you!”
Little Gold chirped, “Ji ji ji!”
From the look in its eyes, Xiao Yi could tell that it was unconvinced.
That only made him find it more entertaining.
He could actually understand an insect’s emotions.
Still holding Little Gold, he returned to his wheelchair.
Duoduo followed closely behind him, her face filled with worry. She was afraid that Little Gold would anger her father.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Duoduo tried to snatch Little Gold back.
Xiao Yi turned around and placed Little Gold on the desk.
“You said it can sense whether there’s a gu insect inside my body?”
Duoduo nodded.
“Little Gold sensed the gu insect inside Grandpa’s body.”
Xiao Yi looked at Duoduo doubtfully. “What should I do?”
Duoduo tilted her little head.
“Little Gold has to agree!” Duoduo shifted the responsibility onto Little Gold.
Xiao Yi poked the Little Gold that was lying on the desk, pretending to be dead.
“Get up!”
Little Gold simply curled into a ball and ignored Xiao Yi.
The corners of Xiao Yi’s lips curled upward.
“The Prince of Pingyang’s residence doesn’t keep useless trash!”
“If you refuse to work, you’ll go into the oil!”
“Once you’re fried nice and crisp, you’ll make a fine accompaniment for wine!”
Little Gold’s head shot up with a whoosh. It straightened its upper body, glaring at Xiao Yi with fury.
A trace of amusement flashed through Xiao Yi’s eyes.
When Little Gold still didn’t move, he deliberately reached out slowly and pinched its wing.
Little Gold took fright and immediately flew into the air.
Hearing Little Gold cry “Help!” inside her mind, Duoduo hurriedly caught it.
Xiao Yi watched as Little Gold disappeared into Duoduo’s hands.
For some inexplicable reason, he felt a little disappointed.
Xiao Yi rubbed his fingers together, crushing that thought before it could take root.
“Daddy, Little Gold says it couldn’t sense any gu insect inside your body.”
“But it’s afraid of you!”
Xiao Yi narrowed his eyes. “Afraid?”
Duoduo pouted.
“Who told you to threaten it by saying you’d throw it into the oil?”
Xiao Yi raised a finger and tapped Duoduo on the forehead.
“Daddy was only trying to help you. What if it tried to trick you?”
“Don’t trust strange creatures too much!”
Duoduo tilted her little head. “But Daddy clearly liked Little Gold just now!”
Xiao Yi touched the tip of his nose. Then he suddenly remembered that this hand had just touched the insect.
Looking somewhat disgusted, he lowered his hand and pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe his fingers.
“You saw wrong!”
“I don’t like bugs!”
Xiao Yi wiped every one of his fingers before raising his head to look at Duoduo.
“Just now, you said your insect couldn’t sense any bug inside my body.”
“Does that mean there really isn’t one, or is your insect simply too weak to sense it?”
Duoduo tilted her head and thought for a while.
“There probably isn’t one!”
“Daddy, Little Gold is very powerful!” Duoduo defended Little Gold’s reputation.
Xiao Yi slowly shook his head.
“I don’t see it.”
Still, hearing that there was no gu insect inside his body, Xiao Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Who could accept having a bug inside their body? Just the thought of it was terrifying.
Duoduo puffed out her cheeks, no longer wanting to speak to Daddy.
Then her gaze fell on the jade pendant lying on the desk.
“Daddy, are you going to accept this jade pendant or not?”
