Talulah, I'm still a child.

Watching Mei Xue walk into the kitchen, Rosemary felt a little uncomfortable for some reason. She wagged her tail and wanted to pull Mei Xue out of the kitchen and start eating, but Lily of the Valley was right, the meal still had to be eaten properly, so she could only endure it for a while.

"Sister Rosemary, we really don't need... you know..."

Although Mei Xue wasn't there, there were still some things Ling Lan couldn't bring herself to say. She hesitated for a moment, then thought that she seemed to have become a bad child, so it shouldn't be a problem to talk about something unpleasant.

What should we use?

"Just... taking precautions."

Lily of the Valley blushed and lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers. The question left Rosemary bewildered, while the kitten twitched its ears and looked at her curiously.

What do you mean by "taking precautions"?

"That's the one..."

Seeing that Rosemary seemed genuinely clueless, Lily of the Valley had no choice but to lean close to her ear and whisper everything she knew. In reality, the three of them had more practical experience than theoretical knowledge in that area.

Mei Xue, in particular, had always regarded these things as simply playing games until today. After being taught by Lappland, the little fox now regarded them as something like a ritual, with absolutely no theoretical experience to speak of.

"It's okay."

After Lily of the Valley explained, Rosemary shook her head, and then, under Lily of the Valley's relieved gaze, said something that made her face turn pale.

"Huang said he would help me take care of the child in the future, so I can leave it to Huang."

It was so simple and straightforward that even Linglan didn't know where to begin to complain. But she did share the same anticipation as Rosemary, yet she was also a little worried. Fortunately, today wasn't dangerous, and she could prepare for the future later.

After what happened last night, Linglan decided to eat less tonight. It was really uncomfortable to have her stomach so full, but she couldn't control herself at the time, which resulted in her not having any appetite when she woke up this morning.

If there are any other concerns, then Suzuran's only problem right now is... she might not have enough clothes to change into.

After all, Rosemary prepared eight different styles of inner and outerwear. Although they may not all be suitable, they are all unlikely to pass the censorship.

The rest of tonight's events... really can't be written here.

Tanabata Extra Chapter: Rei's Past

It's another hottest day of summer, so hot that I want to take off my coat and jump right into the river in front of me, instead of sitting on the riverbank fishing like this.

Actually, fishing is fine. Although she didn't catch a single fish in two days, it's still a good way to train her character. It would be even better if her two younger sisters stopped sneaking around and peeking at her.

"Xi, do you think Mom will be able to catch any fish this time? I've noticed Dad hasn't cooked for days."

"How would I know? But it probably won't work this time either."

The two young sisters hid behind a tree and whispered to each other, completely ignoring Ling's gradually changing expression, but this was an unavoidable fact, because she really couldn't catch anything.

Without Mei Xue's good fortune, she felt that she might not be able to catch anything, let alone fish. Even if she jumped into the water to fish, she might not be able to catch anything. But she had promised to fish herself to add some food to her family's meals.

"I feel so bored looking at this. Let's go find Dad."

"Yeah, we're having hot pot for lunch today."

Ignoring Ling, who was sitting there listlessly, Nian and Xi ran towards their home on the mountain. After all, compared to their "mother" who would beat them to death with a ruler at the slightest disagreement, Nian and Xi preferred their father with the big tail.

Although he can't use his tail as freely as Ling, it's really comfortable to hold while sleeping, making it irresistible, and you sleep very soundly.

He glanced at his two younger sisters who were running off like madmen behind him, and cursed them inwardly as heartless little devils before continuing to fish.

But she knew better than anyone that there was nothing alive in the river, because the curse had spread as well. Xi and Nian had not yet stabilized themselves and their consciousness was still hazy, like human children. They probably needed Mei Xue's help.

Ling was here simply because she knew that person would come; today was a rather special day.

Nestled in a plum grove on the mountainside are more than a dozen wooden cabins, connected together to form a home. The ever-blooming plum blossoms drift down in the wind, causing the silver-haired boy, Walper, to frown. He gazes at the fiery red sky in the distance, lost in thought.

But before he could get up and go back to the kitchen, he could already hear the discordant voices of the two people.

"Don't run ahead of me!"

"How dare you trip me!"

"Ouch! I stepped on your tail!"

Seeing Xi and Nian chasing each other not far away, Mei Xue glanced at the six tails on her back, then opened her arms and hugged Nian, who was the first to run up to her.

"I've said it many times: you should give way to your younger sister, and sisters should get along well."

"Who told her to trip me with her tail... Oh right, Dad, are we having hot pot tonight?"

Her eyes lit up at the mention of hot pot; she was thinking about having a good meal tonight. Although they couldn't get a fish to add to the meal, she was satisfied with having some chili peppers.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you do all day is eat. You'll stuff yourself to death sooner or later."

Although her spot in his arms had been taken, Xi didn't cry and fuss like before. She simply found a tail to hug and snuggled against it comfortably.

"All she does all day is fawn over her little sister, she's such a coward, she's too scared to even sleep by herself."

"Alright, alright, if you keep making noise, you'll all be sleeping by yourselves tonight."

Mei Xue successfully calmed the two noisy sisters down with those words. Sleeping alone was a punishment for them, because if they fell asleep away from Mei Xue, they would only have nightmares and fear.

It was because of those nightmares that Nianxi and her other siblings became so dependent on Meixue that they never wanted to grow up.

"That's more like it. Is Ling still by the river?"

"Yes, Mom is still fishing. It's been two days."

Seeing Nian calling Ling "Mom" in such a serious manner, Mei Xue felt particularly strange. However, she had told these little ones who hadn't grown up yet more than once that Ling was their eldest sister, the third among her siblings, and of the same generation as them.

In fact, Nian and Xi's mother is actually Sui, and Mei Xue doesn't know if she can be considered their father, because the last time Sui pestered him was a long time ago. Pregnancy shouldn't last that long, and once it was a whole football team, plus an extra reserve player.

"I'll go take a look. You guys go to the kitchen."

"Is my youngest brother busy?"

"Yes, his cooking skills are already much better than mine."

Mei Xue nodded and put Nian down, then put Xi Ye down as a pendant from her tail, gave everyone a string of candied hawthorns, and then walked towards the river.

Watching the plum blossoms fall, if it weren't for the fact that the date was actually recorded, Mei Xue, being a long-lived species, really wouldn't believe that three years had passed so quickly.

Over the past three years, he has gone from being both a father and a mother to only being a father. Although he still does the same things, he can no longer bear to part with these children, even though they are just adopted by him. As the embodiment of the year, they are indeed Mei Xue's children in a strict sense, and Ling is the one who is quite special.

Unlike the two brothers who had already left, Ling did not rush down the mountain after consolidating his own strength. Instead, he chose to stay and help him take care of his younger siblings, and was even regarded as second only to the leader.

However, Ling would occasionally be on top of it. For example, the night before last, after she got drunk, Mei Xue couldn't do anything about her and ended up half-heartedly going along with it, which led to the situation we see now.

Looking at Ling not far away, Mei Xue knew that she must have already discovered her, because the blue-green tail was wagging very happily, which had already given away its owner's thoughts.

"So you're still in the Air Force?"

What is the Air Force?

Ling turned her head and made room for Mei Xue to sit down, but she felt rather embarrassed because she had gotten drunk the night before last and had actually pinned someone down and slept with them. Moreover, the other person was... cough cough, I won't say, the relationship is too complicated.

"It's nothing, just a word a friend taught me."

Realizing that he had unconsciously uttered some outdated phrases, Mei Xue quickly shook his head in denial. He had been feeling a bit mentally fatigued lately, and he was prone to accidentally letting slip some things.

"Whatever, you always say things we don't understand anyway, so it doesn't matter if we say one more."

Ling didn't delve into it. This wasn't the first time Mei Xue had uttered those ambiguous words, but it was probably because he had lived for too long, long enough to have existed before the collapse of the previous civilization, and therefore possessed a lot of knowledge that didn't fit the current era.

So how long do you plan to stay here?

"What? How did you know it's Qixi Festival today?"

Completely ignoring Mei Xue's question, she pretended not to hear it, while essentially making it clear to Mei Xue that she had done everything she should and shouldn't have done, and now Mei Xue had no way to back out.

"Qixi Festival... I almost forgot there was such a festival. By the way, why are you celebrating Qixi? You should..."

Before Mei Xue could finish speaking, Ling's eyes were full of amusement, which made him realize that he probably shouldn't get entangled with Ling too much.

“You’re right in front of me, the father of my child.”

"...When they grow up and remember this history, they might choose to find a mountain and kill themselves."

Mei Xue reluctantly acknowledged Chen Hu's words, feeling a bit of a headache. He had only offered to take care of these twelve younger relatives because he was worried they would go astray. Who would have thought it would turn out like this? Being treated as a father was bad enough, but he never expected that Ling would be treated as a mother.

Most importantly, in some respects, they can now be considered husband and wife.

"Let it happen, as long as you don't try to take it from me."

Ling casually tossed the bamboo fishing rod in his hand into the water, reached out and hugged Mei Xue's tail before lying down on the grass to rest peacefully. She opened her eyes and looked at him, pondering all sorts of questions.

"Tell me your story, I've been cooped up here for days."

"If you're feeling really stifled, just go back."

"But... I'm afraid you'll kick me off the bed."

"...Why do you have to climb into my bed? You're so old now, you're not like Xi who would be scared by Sui."

At this point, Mei Xue frowned. Although he had enjoyed himself the night before last, he still felt something was strange, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. After all... he and Sui had a relationship.

"Isn't it comfortable to hold your tail? But now that you mention it, it reminds me of those women's names that I didn't recognize when I moved around by myself while you were asleep?"

Ling's eyes suddenly sharpened. Although she was drunk the night before last, she remembered everything that happened. At that time, Mei Xue was sleeping soundly and she moved on her own. However, Mei Xue was reciting other women's names in her sleep, such as Kal'tsit, Precys, Hall, etc., which were obviously not names of people from the Great Yan.

"By the way, especially that one named Isamara, you're calling her name seven out of ten times I move!"

Such a pointed question indeed put Mei Xue in a difficult position to answer, mainly because he didn't know how to answer it well. He couldn't very well say, "You can call them all Mom," after all, Kal'tsit's relationship with him was limited to wishing, and of course, the rest was another matter.

"Isamara... is the name of a friend of mine. It's normal that you don't know her, after all, she lives in the sea."

This isn't Mei Xue lying; it's because Isamara really lives in the sea. She's not even human, okay? And Mei Xue remembers that she and She were just friends. Although she's missing a lot of memories, she can't be too far off the mark.

"Are they those guys from the sea?"

"It's a bit complicated, but it's probably because I haven't seen her for a long time and I really missed her that I called out to her like that."

"Then why did you have to shout when I was about to go up?"

Ling grabbed Mei Xue's collar in annoyance, flipped him over, and pinned him to the grass by the riverbank. Actually, the reason she stayed here for two days was not only because she was embarrassed to see Mei Xue, but also because she was sulking.

She had finally managed to cross that final line thanks to the alcohol, only to discover that Mei Xue had also gotten into trouble with a whole bunch of women she didn't know, in addition to her age. It would be strange if she wasn't upset.

"Was I dreaming at the time...?"

"Oh, you're dreaming."

Ling sneered and lowered her head to bite Mei Xue's ear. She originally intended to bite harder, but subconsciously she was a little reluctant, so it turned into a gesture of emotional adjustment.

"Then what did you mean by your last sentence, 'Nine-Colored Deer, inside or outside the shrine?'"

"..."