The Cannon Fodder Dad of Three Villainous Cubs - Chapter 8

Bedtime wasn’t the best time for education, so after Yanyan finished his story, Ji Zhiqiu hugged the soft little “milk ball” and drifted off to sleep.

But he had a nightmare all night long. He was being hunted by a legion of mosquitoes and cockroaches, and a little frog was persistently asking him: These are my two best friends, aren’t they adorable? Why don’t you like them?

When Ji Zhiqiu opened his eyes in the morning, feeling exhausted, the phrase “Why don’t you like them?” was still echoing in his brain.

He had wanted to respect the child’s imagination and nature, but this was beyond his tolerance. Unable to take it anymore, he hauled the newly awakened little guy in front of him and lectured him righteously on the dangers of cockroaches and mosquitoes.

Ji Yanyan let it go in one ear and out the other, puffing out his cheeks in defiance. Ji Zhiqiu, having talked until his throat was dry, finally issued an ultimatum: “In this house, either you stay, or the mosquitoes and cockroaches stay. Throwing a tantrum won’t work!”

Ji Zhiqiu was no longer the pushover father he used to be. Ji Yanyan succumbed to his “tyranny,” but a “Dragon Overlord” never actively bows his head. He gave Ji Zhiqiu a weak, glare, but Ji Zhiqiu happened to turn his head just in time to catch him in the act.

After the father and son stared at each other in silence for three seconds, Yanyan’s neck shrank shorter and shorter. He bubbled at the mouth while giving Ji Zhiqiu a wink.

Ji Zhiqiu huffed coldly. “Acting cute won’t work.”

“I wasn’t.” After a few seconds of bewilderment, Yanyan stomped his feet in a hurry. “My eye just twitched!”

Ji Zhiqiu knew he was making excuses and didn’t expose him, only asking: “Do you remember what I just said? Mosquitoes and cockroaches are pests, definitely not human friends. Don’t blame me if I practice humanitarian extermination when I see them!”

Yanyan didn’t understand the big words, but sensing the severity of the tone, he nodded reluctantly. “It’s okay, I still have the frog.”

That was Ji Zhiqiu’s last line of defense; he said no more.

But Yanyan pushed his luck. He trotted over and hugged Ji Zhiqiu’s leg. “Daddy, when are you going to get me a frog to raise?”

Ji Zhiqiu pinched his cheek irritably. “Look at how you’re behaving right now you think you’re ready for a frog? Besides, your two older brothers haven’t agreed to it yet. We’ll talk about it when they get back.”

Yanyan continued to pester him, but Ji Zhiqiu ignored him and turned to the kitchen to make breakfast.

He hadn’t slept well, so he planned to treat himself to a good breakfast, but Yanyan’s meal still required his personal touch. Children’s food requires fresh ingredients and balanced nutrition; it didn’t need to look fancy. Ji Zhiqiu looked at the steamed egg custard he’d made and his nose practically tilted up in pride.

Genius!

He carried the breakfast out and placed the still-sulking Yanyan in his high chair.

Yanyan crossed his arms and deliberately looked away, resembling a steaming triangle rice ball, his neck practically invisible.

Ji Zhiqiu couldn’t be bothered to deal with him and set up his livestreaming equipment. Thanks to the massive spike in followers from yesterday, and the health-conscious hour he chose to stream, there were plenty of people in the room.

【Good morning! Here to see the cute cub again.】

【Good morning to my commute buddy! I’m here!】

【I can’t open my eyes. Are you streaming tonight? I want to watch in the evening.】

Ji Zhiqiu greeted them with a smile. “Good morning everyone. Hard work on the commute! I’m not sure about streaming tonight; the kid goes to bed early.”

After the greetings, the food had cooled to a safe temperature. Ji Zhiqiu turned to the pouting Yanyan. Instead of picking up the spoon to feed him as usual, he said, “You’re three years old now. It’s time you tried eating by yourself.”

Yanyan was already nursing a grudge because his dad had interfered with his “social life.” Hearing this, he exploded. His chubby hands balled into fists, duang-duang-duang slamming against the table like an invincible cleaning machine, knocking the chopsticks and spoon right off. He buried his head on the table, occasionally flailing his arms.

The viewers in the chat, hoping to see a well-behaved child, fell silent.

【Sis didn’t lie to me. Someone said yesterday this kid would be a brat, and I wondered how much of a brat he could be… who knew…】

【How does he seamlessly switch between ‘angelic cutie’ and ‘demon king of chaos’ like that?!】

【Streamer, don’t indulge him! Give him a good spanking, otherwise, he’ll really be lawless.】

Some viewers softened at the sight and wanted Ji Zhiqiu to coax him.

【He’s still little, it doesn’t matter if you feed him for a few more meals.】

【He’s at a developmental stage; skipping even one meal is serious. Don’t starve the kid!】

【As a parent, you should take good care of the child. When he grows up, you won’t even have the chance to feed him anymore cherish it!】

The chat started arguing over “spanking” versus “coaxing,” throwing the ball into Ji Zhiqiu’s court.

Ji Zhiqiu watched Yanyan quietly. He had long realized that Yanyan couldn’t control his emotions, but the only way to teach him was slowly. This was the first time; he intended to wait for Yanyan to vent his temper and calm down on his own. Only when he realized his emotions existed could he correct them.

Ten minutes later, Yanyan had run out of steam. Hearing no sound from Ji Zhiqiu, he looked up, curious and scared.

Ji Zhiqiu didn’t look angry, only calm. “This egg custard is delicious. Are you sure you’re not eating it?”

Yanyan puffed out his cheeks. “If you don’t feed me, I won’t eat!”

“Fine, that’s what you said,” Ji Zhiqiu switched tactics. “If you won’t eat it, I will.”

Yanyan blinked in confusion. It wasn’t until Ji Zhiqiu leaned in that he finally realized what was happening. He watched, stunned, as Ji Zhiqiu didn’t even use a spoon he just shoved his mouth into the bowl. The custard was incredibly soft; it melted on the tongue without needing to be chewed. Ji Zhiqiu slurped it all up.

Yanyan hadn’t expected Ji Zhiqiu to pull this stunt and panicked. He used his little hands to push Ji Zhiqiu’s shoulder, crying out for his dad, trying to reclaim his paternal love: “Daddy, that’s my egg-egg! Don’t eat it!”

How could a kid match an adult’s strength? Ji Zhiqiu didn’t budge. Yanyan had no choice but to lean over, trying to cover the bowl with his small hands to compete with Ji Zhiqiu but after struggling for ages, he was pushed aside by Ji Zhiqiu’s head.

Ji Zhiqiu was still using the filter. In the eyes of the viewers, the scene was horrifying: the evil orange mascot head opened its bloody maw, grinning as it buried its face into the bowl, slurping everything up. Any screenshot of this was instant meme material, making the livestream room incredibly lively.

Once Ji Zhiqiu finished the bowl of custard, he lifted his head, feeling refreshed, and met Yanyan’s resentful gaze.

Yanyan hadn’t gotten a single taste there was only a tiny bit of residue on his cheek from when he’d been fighting for the bowl.

“You, you…” Recalling Ji Zhiqiu’s “tiger-like” feeding frenzy, he accused him in a milky voice: “Why didn’t you eat me, too!”

Ji Zhiqiu: “…” Livestream chat: “…”

Ji Zhiqiu was the first to recover. Without a blink, he said, “Didn’t you say you weren’t eating?”

“I didn’t…” Yanyan remembered what happened earlier. His voice grew smaller, his bravado weakening. “But that was my egg-egg.”

The scent of the custard still lingered on his nose. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He touched his bulging tummy, his big eyes becoming moist and glossy. “Daddy stole my egg-egg. Yanyan is so hungry.”

Ji Zhiqiu had been waiting for these words, but he pretended to act difficult. “Even if you had another bowl of egg custard, you wouldn’t know how to eat it yourself.”

“I can!” A Dragon Overlord never bows his head; he was dying to prove himself.

But the area in front of him was empty, save for the empty bowl. His mouth flattened into a wavy line, mirroring his aggrieved expression.

Ji Zhiqiu gave him a cold look. Seeing the timing was right, he produced another bowl of custard from behind his back like a magician. “Why don’t you try, then?”

Yanyan’s eyes went wide. He was too stunned to speak. Seeing Ji Zhiqiu’s skeptical look, a wave of indignation welled up inside him, and he felt a surge of strength.

Having been coddled so much that he couldn’t even manage basic life tasks, he didn’t even know how to hold a spoon. He clenched and unclenched his little hands, gripping the handle of the spoon in an incredibly awkward way. His arm was stiff, and with great difficulty, he dug up a piece of the soft custard.

He couldn’t lift his arm high enough and, seeing the custard wobbling, he stretched his mouth out long to meet it.

This was Yanyan’s first attempt. Ji Zhiqiu didn’t want to interfere, but the clumsy sight was too painful to watch. He gave a subtle hint: “There’s this thing between your shoulders and your head called a neck. Don’t forget to use it.”

Reminded, Yanyan extended his neck. Through the combined effort of his mouth and neck, he finally ate a piece of custard.

The custard was delicious, but the sense of achievement intoxicated the little Dragon Overlord. Ji Zhiqiu provided maximum emotional value.

He clapped. “Yanyan is so smart! Three years old and you can eat by yourself you’re the smartest kid in the house!”

Yanyan wore a smug expression, his back straight, looking incredibly proud.

“But someone told me that no matter how smart a kid is, it’s impossible to finish a whole bowl of egg custard by themselves. I wonder if Yanyan can do it?”

The reverse psychology worked. Yanyan shouted with full vigor: “I can!”

Ji Zhiqiu cupped his face in his hands, watching him with starry eyes. To prove himself, Yanyan worked hard to take a second bite. Although his posture remained stiff and he still couldn’t hold the spoon correctly, he successfully got it into his mouth.

Ji Zhiqiu played along, acting surprised. “Good heavens! The smart little Yanyan has already taken a second bite! That beats 30% of the kids in the country. There’s still half a bowl left, if you can finish it all…”

He covered his mouth, looking as if the thought were too shocking to contemplate.

Yanyan intuitively understood dining etiquette. He wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and said smugly: “I can! I am the smartest kid ever!”

Driven by Ji Zhiqiu’s praise, he slowly lost his mind and polished off the entire bowl. He even volunteered to eat his least favorite vegetables, working incredibly hard. If Ji Zhiqiu hadn’t stopped him, he would have kept eating just to prove his worth.

The viewers witnessed the whole process. Yanyan went from a “brat who turns the world upside down” to a “good cub who eats on his own.” Under the flattery, he was floating, his chubby body swaying involuntarily, his eyes crinkling into slits. Regardless of their initial thoughts, everyone watching couldn’t help but reveal an “auntie smile.”

【Is this the joy of raising a cub?! Watching him get better and better, little by little—it’s so satisfying.】

【I’ve jumped on the trend, too. Cyber-parenting!】

【Streamer is amazing. You’re so good at praising it even makes me want to eat two more bowls of rice. Pride.jpg】

Only those who had actually raised children understood the true value of Ji Zhiqiu’s tactics. Previously, the main arguments in the chat were about spanking versus coaxing, but neither brute force nor pleading could solve the problem at the root.

Ji Zhiqiu had finished the custard first, forcing Yanyan to face reality: if he didn’t act, he’d go hungry. Then, Ji Zhiqiu provided a gentle path out and emotional validation. Yanyan got rewarded for eating on his own, which naturally triggered his drive. Next time, even if Ji Zhiqiu didn’t urge him, Yanyan would eat obediently just to show off.

How could a Dragon Overlord miss a chance to show off!

Looking at the brat who was now a completely different person, parents in the chat with the same issues were sold.

【Learned it. I’m trying it tonight.】

【Sisters, I was actually feeding my kid while watching the stream. I didn’t do anything, and my baby started eating on their own! The smug look on their face is exactly like Yanyan’s!】

【Positive reinforcement is the best. Streamer, write a book!】

【Begging for a book from the streamer +1】

Ji Zhiqiu smiled. “I’m not qualified to write a book, and I don’t have the energy I have more important things to do.”

His eldest son was coming home.