TECSBRO-(6)
When the delivery guy returned from a distant place with the freshly bought goat milk, Lu Xu had already eaten to his heart's content. He let out a small burp, blushing shyly as he covered his mouth.
Even Qi Sui had forgotten about buying goat milk in the midst of everyone getting full.
Observing everyone's satisfied expressions, the delivery guy silently wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and then drove them back to the orphanage.
During the journey, the delivery guy took advantage of every red light to shoot Qi Sui a glance full of resentment.
Qi Sui felt his scalp tingling under the gaze of this big man but pretended not to notice, keeping his eyes fixed on the window.
Upon returning, he decided to warm up the goat milk and serve it to Lu Xu while it was still fresh.
Lu Xu sat in the car with a sense of novelty. He had never been in a car before, and even the trip to the hospital was during a period of unconsciousness, leaving no impression.
However, Lu Xu was polite and refrained from touching things inside the car. Instead, he gazed curiously out of the window.
Worried that he might get bored, Rong Que turned on the TV hanging in the back of the car and selected a page with animated shows. "Is there anything you'd like to watch?"
Lu Xu glanced at the screen. His favorite animated show was called "Rabbit Hero." Because none of the kids in the orphanage liked it, and the show had low popularity, Lu Xu had only watched one episode. That episode probably wasn't the first one.
In the show, the Rabbit Hero, being an herbivore, was ostracized by carnivores, but she didn't hold any grudges. After gaining superpowers, she still wore a hat to conceal her identity while secretly helping others.
When faced with difficulties, everyone would call for Rabbit Hero.
However, after watching just one episode, it was replaced.
Lu Xu didn't see this animated show on the homepage, probably because it lacked popularity.
In the past, Lu Xu would have been afraid to reveal his preferences as it would invite mockery and insults from other kids. However, in front of Rong Que, Lu Xu was no longer as fearful. He turned his head and asked obediently, "Can I watch Rabbit Hero, Rong Que Gege?"
Rong Que, not remembering such a show, still opened the animation search page and looked up Rabbit Hero for Lu Xu.
Lu Xu stared at the screen intently, swinging his little legs in excitement, showing clear anticipation.
When the search results appeared, Lu Xu excitedly pointed to the Rabbit Hero he remembered. "It's this one!"
After pointing, Lu Xu couldn't help but glance at Rong Que.
Rong Que casually clicked on Rabbit Hero, seemingly having no particular thoughts about it or Lu Xu.
Lu Xu was overjoyed; he felt very comfortable spending time with Rong Que.
"At which episode are you now?" Rong Que asked. Rabbit Hero only had twelve episodes, making it a very short animated series.
Probably not many people have watched it.
Lu Xu happily mentioned the first episode because he didn't know which episode he had watched before.
Both Rong Que and Qi Sui were somewhat surprised. Why would Lu Xu like such an unknown animated series that they hadn't heard of before?
Is it because he's also a little rabbit, so he likes Rabbit Hero, but never had the chance to watch it?
The animation began. In Rabbit Hero, the rabbit was picked up by a wolf dad and wolf mom when it was little. Therefore, Rabbit Hero didn't have biological parents and would be bullied by siblings at home and classmates at school.
Rong Que probably understood why this animated series wasn't popular anymore. How could an animated series protagonist keep being mistreated like this? It wasn't suitable for children.
But Lu Xu watched it very seriously, so Rong Que didn't say anything.
As one episode ended, they happened to return to the welfare institution.
Lu Xu still seemed a bit reluctant, looking earnestly at the ending credits, and Rong Que couldn't bear to interrupt him.
However, Lu Xu was very understanding. As soon as the car stopped, he obediently turned off the television on his own.
For Lu Xu, the underside of the car was a bit high.
As Rong Que needed to jump down from the other side and then come over to assist Lu Xu.
While Qi Sui was on the phone arranging matters with the welfare institution's staff, he forgot about the inconvenience for the children to get off the car.
This resulted in only himself and a rugged-looking man left in the car.
Lu Xu thought he had been abandoned and anxiously tried to pull the door several times.
However, the man on the other side had activated the child lock, making it impossible to open the door by pulling the handle.
Noticing that the child wanted to get off, the man on this side opened the child lock.
Lu Xu was startled by the man's stern face and quickly retracted his hand, even thinking that perhaps everyone decided not to wait for him because he was too engrossed in watching cartoons.
Unable to open the door, Lu Xu anxiously crawled to the other side of the door, eager to get out.
The door on this side had just been closed by Rong Que, but it was not fully closed as he wasn't very strong. Lu Xu pulled the door handle, and it opened.
The car's chassis was too high, and Lu Xu cautiously held onto the door, attempting to put one foot down first.
However, the man on the other side was also concerned about him stumbling and opened the car door to help.
Lu Xu was once again startled by the man's movements. His leg stretched to the limit, still unable to reach the ground. Due to his frantic actions, the door swung open even wider.
Lu Xu's hands were short, and his strength was not sufficient to hold the door. With his leg dangling and unable to touch the ground, he lost his balance and fell face down.
"Ugh..."
Lu Xu felt a lot of pain – his lips, teeth, and arms hurt. There was also a strange taste in his mouth.
But he endured it, refraining from crying out. Only a few tears escaped, which he quickly wiped away. However, the dust on his body was smeared onto his face.
Lu Xu had a very pale face, and the dirt stood out prominently on it.
Lu Xu, lying on the ground, felt like he was already abandoned and didn't want to bother his older brothers anymore. The headmaster had said he was annoying when making noise.
Enduring the pain, Lu Xu used his short arms to support his body and tried to get up.
Although the man, Xiao Er, wanted to help Lu Xu up, he saw the child looking frightened and attempting to retreat. Worried about scaring the kid and causing another fall, he dared not move and had to loudly inform Qi Sui.
When Rong Que heard the thud sound as he circled around the car, he quickly ran to the other side.
Qi Sui didn't hear the sound of Lu Xu falling while on the phone, but upon hearing Xiao Er's voice, he hung up and rushed over.
As Rong Que reached the back of the car, he saw Lu Xu kneeling on the ground, covered in dirt, with a bewildered Xiao Er beside him.
"Where did you fall?" Rong Que ran over to help Lu Xu.
Lu Xu didn't expect his brothers to come back. He turned his head, revealing his dirty face and the missing front tooth. "Xiao Lu fell."
Rong Que paused for a moment, looking at Lu Xu's genuinely happy expression despite the dirt and the empty space where the tooth used to be. His lip was split, and a bright red mark covered his lower lip and upper teeth.
This appearance, no matter how you look at it, seemed pitiful.
Seeing this, Qi Sui instructed Xiao Er to fetch some medicine from the medical room.
Rong Que's expression turned a bit somber. He couldn't understand why Lu Xu was still smiling so happily despite being in pain.
Worried about the other, Rong Que's expression became somewhat serious, and for a moment, he couldn't find the right words.
Sensing Rong Que's concern, Lu Xu thought he had caused trouble again. He subconsciously tried to apologize but was suddenly embraced in a warm hug.
Feeling a pang of heartache, but understanding that Lu Xu couldn't immediately change his habit of enduring silently, Rong Que held the cautious little bunny and softly recited comforting words, "There, there, the pain will fly away."
Initially tense, Lu Xu, fearing he might be disliked, widened his eyes at the unexpected embrace.
So, causing trouble doesn't necessarily mean being scolded.
Feeling the pain all over his body and having endured it for so long, Lu Xu was on the verge of tears. However, he still tried to suppress his sobbing, saying, "Brother Que."
Before he could finish his sentence, a choked sob escaped, and it seemed to open floodgates, unleashing a torrent of emotions.
Lu Xu cried out, "Brother, you are good."
The little bunny practically shouted these words amidst tears.
Seeing that the atmosphere had lightened, Qi Sui couldn't resist teasing the now candid little deer, "So, brother Qi Sui has been treating you badly?"
Lu Xu opened his eyes, tears blurring his vision. He sobbed, "Brother Qi Sui is good too."
The little bunny cried so much that his face turned red, coupled with the disheveled appearance, he now looked more like a lively child.
"Alright, let's go inside, disinfect and apply some medicine." Qi Sui patted the little bunny's head.
Rong Que released Lu Xu, helping him up.
Probably due to the pain from the fall, Lu Xu's little legs were still trembling and weak, making it hard for him to stand steadily.
Qi Sui handed the medicine to Rong Que and then reached under Lu Xu's shoulders, effortlessly lifting him into his arms.
Lu Xu was rarely held like this, and he didn't know where to put his small hands. Despite falling all over them and dirtying their clothes, neither Qi Sui nor Rong Que showed any signs of disgust.
Gradually calming down, Lu Xu sincerely felt the kindness from the two.
At this moment, quite a few children heard the commotion and gathered around.
The children in the welfare home were also supposed to attend kindergarten and then move on to primary, middle, and high school with official financial support.
However, due to the former director's embezzlement, all the funds allocated for kindergarten were misappropriated.
As a result, the children here did not attend kindergarten and directly entered elementary school.
Elementary education was compulsory and incurred minimal expenses, allowing the children here to receive an education.
Otherwise, according to normal circumstances, most of the children here would have already attended kindergarten.
Despite recalling the strange behavior of the director and Rong Que yesterday, the children warmly greeted Qi Sui.
In their eyes, only the children who had a good relationship with the director could have a good life.
Qi Sui was annoyed by this, so he decided to report in advance to see if there was a possibility of making an exception for this group of troublesome kids after the school started.
Lu Xu was afraid of these kids who used to bully him. He faced Qi Sui, not daring to look at them.
The troublemaker who got beaten by Rong Que yesterday was also there. He loudly questioned, "Director, why are you holding onto this weirdo?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Xu remembered that he forgot to pull the hood of his hoodie over his head.
As he was about to reach for his hood, he heard Qi Sui speak in a somewhat impatient tone, almost without hesitation, "Because he's the cutest."
Lu Xu's movements halted, and he tightly grabbed Qi Sui's clothes instead.
Rong Que also cast a cold glance at the troublemaker.
After all, Rong Que was not a real child. Coupled with the fact that he beat the troublemaker quite badly yesterday, his gaze was intimidating enough to scare the troublemaker.
The troublemaker couldn't understand, but he felt scared.
Because of yesterday's incident, his little followers were not as obedient as before.
He could only keep his mouth shut.
Back in the director's office, Lu Xu was placed in a chair. He still felt a bit uneasy, clutching his own clothes, but his eyes were shining. "What Brother Qà Suì said, is it true?"
Qi Sui was momentarily surprised before realizing Lu Xu was referring to the cute remark.
Originally, Qi Sui and Rong Que had discussed how to let Lu Xu know that he was cute, not a freak.
Now was the perfect opportunity.
Qi Sui opened his phone, searched for several anime characters with animal ears and showed the comments to Lu Xu.
Lu Xu saw the beautiful older brothers and sisters on the phone, all with a pair of animal ears, just like him.
His eyes widened in curiosity.
Rong Que reminded Qi Sui, "We haven't learned to read yet."
"Oh, right!" Qi Sui belatedly realized, then proceeded to read the comments to Lu Xu.
"Little deer, look, everyone really likes them." Qi Sui pointed to a comment, "Really want to touch her ears in my dreams."
"Dreaming of having a pair of cat ears."
"Miss Rabbit is too cute!"
Although Lu Xu couldn't read, he earnestly looked at these comments.
It was as if he had opened the door to a new world.
No one had ever said they liked his peculiar ears before.
And Lu Xu knew that Qi Sui wasn't lying to him.
Those comments were filled with lots of hearts and flowers.
This must be what it meant to be liked. Well-behaved kids in the orphanage would get little red flowers, but he had never received one.
"Besides Rabbit Hero, there are so many Miss Rabbits and Mr. Rabbits that people like." Qi Sui summarized in a tone imitating how one would speak to a child.
He had also listened to the Rabbit Hero's storyline in the car.
Although it was important to cultivate Lu Xu's virtues of not holding grudges and being kind, being too passive and accommodating was not good either.
What Lu Xu needed was confidence, not to be a pitiful soul like himself who faced discrimination.
Being too repressed might lead to world destruction.
If Lu Xu really liked watching it, Qi Sui didn't mind spending money to ask the production team to make the plot more positive. However, he believed that after Lu Xu saw these popular rabbit characters, he might not like Rabbit Hero anymore.
Rong Que found a currently popular magical girl anime to distract Lu Xu's attention.
Magical girls transform during battles, acquiring features like cat ears or bunny tails to protect the Earth against villains.
Lu Xu, who rarely watches anime, was easily captivated by it. While he watched, Rong Que and Qi Sui took care of the child, wiping away dust and disinfecting his wounds.
Fortunately, the injuries were not too severe, mostly minor abrasions. Thanks to his robust self-healing ability, there were no bleeding wounds remaining. However, the missing baby tooth from Lu Xu's fall was likely just a natural loss due to age. The lip, which was cut when the tooth fell out, looked frightening as it bled, but after cleaning, it wasn't too serious.
There were some bruises on his knees and elbows, and they were sprayed with a bit of bruise medicine. Lu Xu watched the magical girl anime with great enthusiasm, obediently allowing the two to pose him in various cute positions like a doll with its own skeleton.
Rong Que pulled up Lu Xu's hoodie sleeve to clean his elbow, finding it amusing when Lu Xu continued holding up his arm. Rong Que manually brought it down, eliciting a smile. Qi Sui, noticing the torn part of the clothing, suggested going to a nearby shopping district to buy new clothes for Lu Xu.
As a wealthy young master, Qi Sui had no shortage of money. Lu Xu's hoodie was old, and it didn't fit well, covering half of his hand. Qi Sui wouldn't allow the child under his care to wear shabby clothes. This also presented an opportunity to buy some new clothes for Rong Que. However, Lu Xu, engrossed in the anime, didn't pay attention to their discussion.
After watching a full episode, Lu Xu found himself back in the car. Rarely leaving the welfare institution, he curiously asked where they were going. Qi Sui, keeping it mysterious, refused to disclose the destination. Due to the recent fall and emotional fluctuations, Lu Xu fell asleep within two minutes of being on the car.
Rong Que noticed Lu Xu inclining towards one side with the car's inertia. He reached out to support him, preventing the child's head from hitting anything. Although Lu Xu slept soundly beside Rong Que and wasn't disturbed by the movements, he obediently leaned against Rong Que's side.
Rong Que did his best to extend his short childlike arms to protect him from any bumps, especially when the car hit a stone and jolted. Despite Rong Que's efforts, Lu Xu was still awakened.
He rubbed his eyes in a daze. With his naturally red pupils and reddened eye sockets from rubbing, he looked even more like a rabbit. The little rabbit's head remained obediently nestled against Rong Que's side, and upon waking up, he appeared less reserved, saying, "Are we not there yet...? Mmm."
He stopped mid-sentence and chuckled.
"It's almost there. Watch another episode of the anime, and we'll arrive," Rong Que said, concerned that Lu Xu might get bored. He pulled up the second episode of the magical girl anime they had just watched to pass the time.
Lu Xu, no longer feeling sleepy, immediately became alert and started watching attentively. In the second episode, the female protagonist of the magical girl series found a companion of the same kind, a rabbit magical girl.
The rabbit magical girl was a tsundere princess with an adorable personality, secretly fond of cute and fluffy things.
After finishing the second episode, Lu Xu voluntarily turned off the TV. He remembered what Rong Que had said, that they would arrive after watching. Lu Xu didn't want to watch anymore.
Rong Que, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them upon hearing the anime's sound stop. He noticed that the base of Lu Xu's ears seemed to be fluttering, like a little chick flapping its wings but unable to take off.
Lu Xu tried to perk up his ears, even blushing with effort, as if attempting to imitate the perked ears of a bunny in the anime.
Rong Que smiled. After all, he was still a child. He turned his head, seemingly casual, and said, "If the bunny's ears were drooping like the Xiao Lu’s, it would be even more special."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xu immediately relaxed his ears, and it was evident that he didn't like being considered "special."
Because of being considered special, he had been tormented since childhood, always being excluded.
But it seemed that Rong Que liked the drooping rabbit ears, so Lu Xu didn't dislike his own weak and soft ears as much.
In the front seat, Qi Sui was playing with his phone and came across a page for a local comic convention. His fingers paused on an image of a little rabbit cosplayer.
Excited, he quickly switched to a shopping app. "Xiao Lu, let me check if there are rabbit-themed cosplay costumes for you."
Lu Xu didn't know what cosplay costumes were, and his beautiful red eyes were filled with curiosity.
Rong Que explained, "Cosplay is when you wear clothes and a wig that resemble the character you like, recreating that character."
Lu Xu's eyes lit up, seeming quite interested. "Xiao Lu can wear too?"
Qi Sui searched for a while and sighed regretfully, "There are no styles for children, probably because they're not easy to make."
Seeing Lu Xu's disappointment, Rong Que felt a bit deflated too and obediently said, "Oh."
Hearing Lu Xu's dejected tone, Qi Sui felt a bit guilty since he was the one who brought up the topic but couldn't fulfill it.
However, since this anime was popular, there would surely be people cosplaying as Little Rabbit at the comic convention. Qi Sui decided to arrange it himself. He sent a text to his father's assistant while saying, "Next month, there's a comic convention. I'll take you there, and there should be many Little Rabbit cosplayers."
Lu Xu didn't know what a comic convention was, so Rong Que patiently explained it to him.
However, Rong Que temporarily concealed the fact that he could actually make clothes. It was a small hobby he developed in his previous life.
He could make a costume for the little rabbit, and he only needed to finish it before the comic convention.
Lu Xu was an easily comforted and well-behaved child. After hearing this, he became happy again and started looking forward to the comic convention next month.
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