The Child Raised by a Golden Retriever Boy-Mom - Chapter 17

Feng You crouched down, placed his hands under Lu Yubai’s armpits, and lifted him straight up.

The muscles in his arms formed natural, symmetrical lines as he exerted force. With explosive strength, he held Lu Yubai steadily and spun him around in the air. His arm muscles were naturally firm, their contours moving fluidly with his actions, providing a total sense of security. With a single pull of his arms, he raised the child high, lifting him all the way over his head and supporting him steadily in his palms.

Feng You gave the child a tiny bounce. The sudden, slight feeling of weightlessness made the little cub’s eyes widen. Lu Yubai waved his arms joyfully, moving about in mid-air just like the big blue fat cat and his friend from his memories, as if he had actually grown wings and taken flight. Everything before his eyes began to rotate. The view from up high was different from usual and exceptionally novel. He rarely smiled this happily, his eyes crinkling into mere slits.

Nearby, Xia Chang’an clapped and cheered, providing shouts of joy for Lu Yubai, who could not speak and could only open his mouth wide. He hopped around the side, acting as a very competent one-man hype crew.

Feng You tossed him up slightly and caught him steadily, having even more fun than Lu Yubai himself. Only after playing for a long while did Feng You feel tired. He set the little rascal down and gave the top of the child’s head a gentle, soothing pat.

“Are you happy?”

Lu Yubai nodded.

Feng You breathed lightly from exhaustion and crouched down to pick up the bamboo dragonfly that had fallen on the ground. He patted his firm arm muscles to relax them, producing a dull, solid thudding sound. Lu Yubai ran over to help Feng You pat his arms to relax. He even wore a serious expression as he solemnly squeezed Mommy’s muscles, which had stiffened after the exercise.

The child started out quite seriously, thinking only of helping Mommy, but as he played, he forgot his original purpose. He discovered that when Mommy’s muscles were relaxed, they were soft and easy to squeeze, just like the play dough he had played with. He became obsessed with leaving his temporary little handprints on them.

Xia Chang’an also wanted to help. He ran to Feng You’s other side, balled his hands into fists, and began to seriously pound the muscles to help them relax. He was clearly much more serious than Lu Yubai, focusing on recalling the techniques his gym teacher had taught as he gave Feng You a proper massage.

“You two little rascals,” Feng You chuckled, stroking the head of the child on one side and pinching Xia Chang’an’s cheek on the other.

While the two children played with other toys, Feng You stayed nearby, doing some light work while keeping a watchful eye on them.

“Little Brother Yubai, let us play house, okay?” Xia Chang’an grabbed Lu Yubai’s hand and asked with a face full of anticipation.

He loved playing this game with his classmates the most. The massive family tree in his class had already evolved from great-great-great-grandfathers down to great-great-great-grandsons, with all sorts of absurd and bizarre family feuds mixed in between. Lu Yubai had never heard of this game, so he nodded curiously.

Xia Chang’an pointed at the small Golden Retriever plushie the younger boy was cradling and said, “We each have to pick a role. Let the little Golden Retriever be the child. I will be the Dad, and you be the Mom.”

Lu Yubai furrowed his brows. He understood “child” and he understood “Mom,” but he had caught a completely unfamiliar word. Dad? What is a Dad? He did not understand, so he shook his head and rejected the plan. The Golden Retriever was Mommy. Mommy was Mommy; she could not be the child.

“Then, then you decide. Who will be the Mom?”

“Mommy!”

The moment Lu Yubai heard the keyword, he scrambled up from the ground in excitement. He hopped twice while standing and held his little Golden Retriever plushie up high.

“Golden Retriever Mommy!”

Xia Chang’an understood his meaning and pointed at the plushie in his arms. “Do you want the little Golden Retriever to be the Mom?”

Lu Yubai nodded repeatedly. The Golden Retriever was the Mom.

“Then who will be the child? You be the child,” Xia Chang’an asked.

Lu Yubai nodded. He was, of course, Mommy’s child.

“Then that just leaves me. I will play the Dad.”

Xia Chang’an stood up and coughed twice. Mimicking an adult, he patted Lu Yubai’s head. He lowered his voice, trying hard to portray a grown-up, but he ended up squeezing his voice into a nasal tone that sounded like Crayon Shin-chan.

“Yubai, did you have fun playing with Mommy today?”

Lu Yubai’s brow furrowed, and he sank into deep confusion. But what was a Dad? Why play the role of a Dad? The child did not know what a Dad was. He had seen cartoons about sheep and bears, as well as a red cat and a blue rabbit, but none of them had a Dad.

Seeing that Lu Yubai was not responding, Xia Chang’an’s excitement for the game mostly vanished. He sat back down on the ground, deflated.

“Aiyah, Little Brother Yubai, that is not how you play!” He shook the younger boy’s hand back and forth and pleaded in a long, drawn-out voice. “You have to treat me like a Dad! You are playing the role of my child right now.”

Lu Yubai shook his head repeatedly. He held the Golden Retriever plushie up so high it almost poked Xia Chang’an in the face. He only had a Mommy. He was Mommy’s child.

“I am playing your Dad! It means a Dad is Mommy’s lover. The one who marks Mommy and gets married to be together for a lifetime. And then, you play the role of the Dad and Mommy’s child.”

Lu Yubai’s brow furrowed even tighter. He clutched the little Golden Retriever with one hand while the other hand waved frantically in distress. How could there be someone else who wanted to be with Mommy for a lifetime? Only he could be with Mommy for a lifetime.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he understood something. So, he was Mommy’s child, and he was also the child’s Dad!

“I am my own Dad!”

Once Lu Yubai figured out this question, his brow smoothed over. He looked as relieved as a mathematician who had just solved an epic, legendary problem. He held the little Golden Retriever in one hand and grabbed the older boy’s hand with the other, hopping around happily in place, leaving Xia Chang’an to look at him in total bewilderment.

So, Lu Yubai finally understood why Xia Chang’an had a Dad while he did not have one in his life. It was because he was his own Dad. Xia Chang’an did not understand, but he chose to join in. Infected by the younger boy’s laughter, he hopped along with him happily.

“So, so do you want to change roles? Do you want to play the Dad?” He spoke while hopping, words bursting out one by one as he panted for breath.

Lu Yubai nodded seriously.

“Okay, fine. Then I will play the child.”

Lu Yubai stopped hopping, also panting from exhaustion. He shook his head and then pointed at himself.

“You cannot be both the Dad and the child,” Xia Chang’an said.

Lu Yubai stopped smiling and lightly stomped his foot. Why not? He was already both Mommy’s child and the child’s Dad. Now it was Xia Chang’an’s turn to scratch his head. How could this younger brother want to be everything at once? Wouldn’t that mean he had no role to play?

As the older one, Xia Chang’an decided to take on the responsibility of the elder and not fight with the younger boy over roles.

“Fine then. I will just play your Big Brother.”

Lu Yubai was very satisfied with this result. He happily played house with the older boy, acting as both Mommy’s child and the child’s Dad.

“Are you two having fun?”

Qin Xiaotang came to pick up the children and saw them sitting on the ground fumbling with toys. She heard Xia Chang’an talking incessantly. Xia Chang’an had finally found someone who would not interrupt him and would always listen to his babbling, so he especially loved playing with Lu Yubai. His chatterbox nature was on full display, his words coming out like a machine gun, “da-da-da,” without stopping for a second.

As soon as Qin Xiaotang got close, she heard Xia Chang’an rambling about “Dad and Mom.” The smile on her face immediately froze in shock. As an adult, she naturally knew that Lu Yubai’s family background was a topic that should not be mentioned. She had even heard that the child would have a stress reaction if he saw news about the Lu patriarch. She hurried to help Lu Yubai up, checking him over and over to see if anything was wrong.

Lu Yubai was turned around in circles by her until he was so dizzy he almost fell over.

“Xiao You, Xiao You, come here quickly!”

Qin Xiaotang waved to summon Feng You from nearby and whispered an explanation of what had just happened into his ear.

“I am so sorry. I did not tell Chang’an much about Yubai’s special circumstances. This, I will educate him properly.”

Feng You looked at Lu Yubai. As soon as his eyes met the child’s, he saw the boy grin at him with a wide, confused but happy smile. He did not look at all like he had been hurt. He walked over and stroked the child’s head.

“Little treasure, did you have fun playing with Big Brother?”

Lu Yubai nodded frantically like a chick pecking at grain. He really liked playing with the older boy. Big Brother could talk forever, just as impressive as Grandpa Qin Youjiang. And Big Brother even taught him how to be a Dad.

Feng You picked up the tired child and gently patted his back. He was also worried that Lu Yubai might have a stress reaction, but strangely enough, the child showed no unusual response at all. If the child could talk, he could ask him, but for now, he could only observe. He patted the child soothingly and turned to comfort the equally nervous Qin Xiaotang.

“It is okay. Children playing house without mentioning, well, it should be fine. I will keep an eye on him for a while.”

Lu Yubai, of course, had not thought of any unpleasant people. His mind was filled entirely with the fact that he was going to be his own Dad from now on.

“I will go back and teach Chang’an a lesson. I am truly sorry for causing you trouble, Xiao You.”

Feng You comforted her with a smile. “Do not be nervous; it is fine. The two children had fun. It is normal for us adults not to understand. Children have very unique ways of thinking, and this bit of childhood innocence is very precious. Do not be hard on little treasure Chang’an; he is a very good big brother.”

Qin Xiaotang thanked him repeatedly and said her goodbyes. Feng You was still curious, so he took Lu Yubai back to their room and asked softly.

“If you played house with Big Brother Chang’an, who played the Mom?”

Lu Yubai held up the little Golden Retriever plushie in his arms. Feng You smiled and stroked the plushie’s head. Suppressing his nervous feelings, he tried to keep his voice steady as he asked.

“Then who played the Dad?”

He was very worried that if Lu Yubai recalled this word and the person buried deep in his memories, he would become stressed and sad. But in reality, Lu Yubai had no memories of his life before the age of two.

Lu Yubai proudly puffed out his chest and patted it. Feng You breathed a sigh of relief and followed the routine by asking.

“Our little treasure is so great. So did Big Brother Chang’an play the child?”

Lu Yubai shook his head like a rattle, then puffed out his chest again and patted it once more.

“Huh?”