The Child Raised by a Golden Retriever Boy-Mom - Chapter 4

Lu Yubai underwent a very detailed examination at the children’s hospital. He was so well-behaved that he did not make a fuss even when the cold thermometer chilled his armpit. Even the doctor praised the child for being exceptionally quiet and obedient. The check-up revealed no major issues, only a few minor external injuries. The doctor prescribed some topical ointment for children and sent them home.

Back at the house, Feng You restocked their supplies. He lined up a cabinet full of milk powder cans neatly and attached sticky notes with reminders. He calculated the money in his bank account, carefully planning their life ahead. That wealthy Omega employer had at least shown some conscience by transferring a significant amount of money, likely out of a genuine fear that Feng You might cause a scene at the wedding. For a long while, Feng You would not have to worry about the funds being cut off.

Life did not need to be extravagant, but it had to be healthy and happy. Even if he could not provide the child with a tycoon’s quality of life, he wanted him to grow up joyfully. This was Feng You’s natural instinct.

While Feng You did the housework, Lu Yubai lay on the sofa, his eyes fixed on Feng You’s movements. His head bobbed back and forth like a rattle, following Feng You’s trail. The Golden Retriever Mommy never left his sight for a second, and that large, golden tail constantly moved within his field of vision. Lu Yubai had found his favorite toy: Mommy’s big tail. He showed little interest in the toys sent over by Xia Chang’an from next door; instead, he spent every day staring at the wagging dog tail.

“Do you want to play with it?”

Having finished his chores, Feng You sat on the freshly washed and dried plush rug in the living room and rubbed Lu Yubai’s head. He saw at a glance that the little fellow was once again staring intently at his dog tail.

“You can play with it, little one.”

All children in the world are the same; they love large, golden, reflective tails that move on their own. It was as if it triggered a primal hunting instinct and a desire for exploration buried in their genes.

Lu Yubai was too young to fully understand Feng You’s words, so he simply crawled over on his own and reached out to grab the fluffy Golden Retriever tail. Feng You teased the child as he usually did. Just as Lu Yubai was about to catch the tail, Feng You suddenly gave it a light sweep and wagged it elsewhere. The soft dog fur brushed lightly against the child’s face as it escaped his tiny hands.

The inward-curving dog tail was a natural teaser wand. The child looked at his hands in confusion, his small fingers grasping at the air. He tilted his head and resumed observing the moving tail.

Feng You was amused by the child’s reaction. He intentionally placed his tail in front of the boy, letting it rest quietly on the floor. When the fur spread out, it looked like a large broom. He rubbed Lu Yubai’s head and said softly, “Do not be discouraged, little one. Why don’t you try again?”

As Feng You spoke words of comfort, the little cub suddenly lunged forward, pinned the tail down, and bit it. The child buried his face in the fluffy tail, refusing to let go even with a mouthful of fur. He used all his strength, clamping down hard on Feng You’s tail. Even when Feng You tried to pull his tail away, the boy did not release it.

“Yubai,” Feng You laughed helplessly. He gripped the base of his tail and gave it a firm tug.

It did not budge. Just like when they first met, Lu Yubai showed no mercy with his bite. A slight sting radiated from his tail. The child chewed on the dog tail with the same strength he used for nursing, his face half-buried in the fur, leaving only a pair of wide eyes to observe Feng You.

“You are quite good at biting. Are you the real puppy here?”

Feng You stopped trying to reclaim his tail from Lu Yubai and instead pinched the boy’s chubby cheek. He figured the child would eventually stuff his nose so far into the fur that he would run out of breath and let go of the poor dog tail.

Soon enough, Lu Yubai proved his theory. His cheeks turned red from being buried in the fur, and he instinctively lifted his head to take a deep breath. The soft fur tickled his nose, causing him to sneeze a few times before he toppled backward onto the floor. He had made himself a bit dizzy. The moment his head hit the ground, he closed his eyes while still hugging the Golden Retriever tail.

“Yubai?”

The child did not respond. He held the tail with both hands, his eyes tightly shut. Feng You sighed helplessly, though a tender smile played in his eyes. He poked Lu Yubai’s cheek, which was hot from holding his breath, and hooked his fingers around his tail to try and “steal” it back.

In a half-asleep state, Lu Yubai clung to the comfortable dog tail and mumbled a few words. When he was awake, he was so quiet he almost never made a sound. It was only when he was drowsy that he would instinctively protest.

“It must be nice to be young, falling asleep the moment your head hits the floor.”

Feng You leaned back on his hands, sitting in a relaxed posture on the living room rug. As he relaxed, the dampened part of his tail began to wag unconsciously, the light tip brushing against Lu Yubai’s face. The child let out some indistinct hums, likely because the fur was tickling him.

Feng You teased the child for a while longer before grabbing the tip of his tail with one hand. He could not always control his tail perfectly; even as he held the tip, he could feel the fur tickling his own palm. The child had found a very effective comfort object.

Ages one and two are typically when children learn to speak, but Lu Yubai was far too quiet and rarely opened his mouth. When they first met, he would cry a few times out of hunger, but once Feng You mastered his routine for eating and sleeping, he became completely silent. Qin Xiaotang also remarked that Lu Yubai was a particularly quiet child.

By the time Lu Yubai approached his second birthday, he still had not spoken. He had not even tried to learn. Generally, children of this age can say several meaningful words.

Feng You sat Lu Yubai upright on his lap. It seemed he needed to teach the child to speak intentionally; simply letting it happen naturally was not enough. Feng You felt this was a good opportunity. He wanted to teach Lu Yubai to call him “Brother” from a young age. He did not mind the term “Mommy,” but with only a fourteen-year-old age gap, “Brother” felt more appropriate. “Mommy” felt like too much.

“Little one, if you ever need me in the future, just call for ‘Brother,’ and I will appear by your side.”

Feng You supported the child with one hand and gently stroked his face with the other. “Come, little one, repeat after me.”

“Bro-ther.”

Feng You exaggerated his lip movements until his voice sounded distorted, yet he heard nothing from Lu Yubai. The child sat properly on his lap, staring at him intently without even opening his mouth.

“Yubai, try to copy me.”

“Bro-ther.”

Lu Yubai’s mind drifted. He turned his head to look out the window, staring at a small bird flying away. He ignored Feng You’s serious lesson entirely. Feng You turned the boy’s chin back toward him, his expression becoming slightly more serious.

“Little one, you have to learn how to call for me. Otherwise, when you need me, how will I know?”

After struggling for an entire afternoon, Feng You’s throat was dry, yet Lu Yubai had not spoken once. Feng You was so exhausted that his throat felt like it was smoking. He collapsed onto the sofa in partial defeat. He pulled Lu Yubai up to rest against his abdominal muscles to keep him from sliding down. This child was incredibly stubborn.

Feng You temporarily set the lesson aside and began searching for tutorials online and asking Qin Xiaotang for advice. Xia Chang’an, who lived next door, had started making sounds very early on. It began with simple “ah” and “ooh” sounds, followed by mimicking syllables. By the age of one, he could understand certain words, and by two, he could speak in simple, short sentences. Feng You felt that Lu Yubai probably understood some words but was simply unwilling to use his voice.

“The first word Chang’an learned was ‘Mama.’ It took a long time after that for him to learn ‘Papa,'” Qin Xiaotang said playfully, her voice full of pride. Like many parents online, she remembered whether the child called for her or her husband first.

“Perhaps it is because open vowel sounds are easier to learn. Maybe ‘Mama’ is a word etched into human genes. However, once this child learned to say ‘Mama,’ he would follow me around all day like a kitten, meowing ‘Ma, Ma’ incessantly.”

Just as she finished speaking, the child inside the house doing homework started calling “Ma” and “Mommy.” The homophones did indeed sound like a cat meowing.

Lu Yubai, who had been dozing in Feng You’s arms, sat up straight when he heard Xia Chang’an calling “Mama” repeatedly. He watched Qin Xiaotang’s back as she walked into the room, his little mind clearly working on something.

Feng You compromised. It was more important for the child to learn to speak than to worry about what he called him. He was used to being called “Mama” by the little Omegas anyway. He would get used to it.

However, he had almost never referred to himself as “Mommy.” It was a word full of symbolic meaning. Even without a blood relation, it carried a certain magical radiance. Feng You could not quite describe the feeling. He placed Lu Yubai on his lap to try the lesson again.

“Yubai, if you need me in the future, will you call me ‘Mama’?”

Feng You had made a firm resolution to say this. Back when he was surrounded by Omega cubs, they had passed the term “Mommy” around until everyone was using it. Now that he was teaching it himself and using it as a self-reference, he felt embarrassed. His face flushed involuntarily.

“Re-repeat after me. Ma-ma.”

Lu Yubai did not repeat the word, but he became happy upon hearing “Mama.” He broke into a wide grin. He bounced up and down on Feng You’s lap, laughing out loud as if a switch had been flipped.

Feng You felt somewhat helpless and gave the boy’s cheek a firm pinch. “Little one, you have to repeat after me. Say it with me: Ma-ma.”

The more Feng You said it, the more ashamed he felt. Before he could repeat it many times, he had turned bright red. For a fifteen-year-old boy, this was still a bit too advanced.

“For-forget it. We will talk about it later.”

He used the back of his hand to cool his face, temporarily giving up on the difficult task. The child’s cool hand then touched Feng You’s hot face. His chubby fingers pinched Feng You’s cheek lightly, mimicking the way Feng You usually stroked him. He opened his mouth as if trying to copy Feng You’s lip movements, but no sound came out.

“All right, we will take it slow. There is no rush,” Feng You comforted him patiently, rubbing his head.