The little one, determined to be independent, soon arrived at Little Deer’s door.
Little Deer was still livestreaming.
He was a hard worker, often streaming for hours at a time.
Sometimes, when a big spender showered him with gifts and insisted he stay online, he would genuinely extend his stream a little longer.
Because of this, he was often mocked beyond his usual circles.
People both inside and outside his community laughed at him, saying he had no principles and was easily swayed by money.
Little Deer was aware of these taunts but didn’t care.
The orphanage he supported had many sick children. Although these children received some medical subsidies, hospitals weren’t solely charitable institutions. They couldn’t provide all treatments free of charge from start to finish.
Such expectations were unrealistic.
Much of the money Little Deer donated went toward helping these sick children.
He had never told anyone about this.
But some people knew about his support for the orphanage and the sick children. When the news spread online, he was accused of staging a publicity stunt, with critics claiming it was just a new strategy to make money.
He didn’t argue or try to justify himself.
After all, rumors wouldn’t cause him to lose any flesh.
He simply chose to ignore them as much as possible.
“Little Deer, since you love money so much, aren’t you planning to use Yuan Yuan to make some cash?”
The viewer Little Deer had randomly selected to play games with during his stream spoke with a hint of sarcasm.
From the moment they connected, this person had been less than polite.
Little Deer guessed this was probably one of his anti-fans.
He sighed inwardly at his luck but kept a smile on his face, brushing off the unfriendly question.
“Yuan Yuan is my good friend.”
Little Deer only clarified his relationship with Yuan Yuan before shifting his focus back to the game.
He successfully carried the team to another victory.
“With such an age gap between you two, you can still be friends? Haha, you streamers really know how to sweet-talk, not even sparing a child.”
The person seized every opportunity to make snide remarks.
Little Deer’s expression remained unchanged. He offered no further explanation.
He simply continued smiling and said, “This round is over. I’m going to select another viewer now, bro. I’ll have to kick you out for now.”
“You’re kicking me out already? Take me for another round. I’ve spent money on you, you know.”
“Sorry, but other viewers are waiting for their turn.”
With that, Little Deer removed the viewer from the call.
He continued selecting new participants.
The viewer he had just kicked didn’t leave immediately. Most of his comments in the chat were replaced with asterisks. This indicates that his messages contained inappropriate language and had been automatically filtered by the system.
Little Deer rested his chin in one hand while using the mouse to select the next participant with the other.
Just as he was in the middle of the selection, a knock sounded at the door.
“Coming.”
Little Deer stood up hastily, smoothing his clothes as he did so.
Fortunately, since he was streaming, he was dressed in regular clothes, not pajamas.
He had no idea who might be at the door but assumed it was someone from the Li family.
It definitely couldn’t be Tao Zhi. Tao Zhi never knocked on his door.
When he opened the door, Little Deer was surprised to see the chubby little one standing there, leaning on a crutch.
“Yuan Yuan, did you walk here by yourself?”
Feng Yuan nodded his little head.
He was already struggling a bit, supporting himself with the crutch.
“Little Deer, hug.”
Hearing the request, Little Deer immediately bent down and picked him up.
But after lifting him, Little Deer didn’t let him into the room.
Feng Yuan glanced behind Little Deer, his dark, moist, and beautiful round eyes filled with disappointment.
“Does Little Deer not want Yuan Yuan to come in and play?”
Feng Yuan had been sleeping since five or six in the evening and now felt completely wide awake.
He wanted to come and play with Little Deer.
“Yuan Yuan, it’s not that I don’t want to let you in, but I’m live streaming right now.”
“Yuan Yuan wants to watch your stream.”
“Alright, then sit to the side later and don’t wander into the camera frame.”
As Little Deer spoke, he picked him up and brought him inside, letting Qin Xun follow along.
“Little Deer, are you used to living here? Qin Xun and I sleep in Dad’s bed. You can sleep in mine.”
Feng Yuan and Qin Xun lived with the two adults.
Their small room was often left empty.
Sometimes, when Feng Yuan got upset with the adults, he would stomp back to his room in a huff, close the door, and lie face down on the bed without moving.
When he got into one of his stubborn moods, he wouldn’t calm down unless someone coaxed him.
“I’m fine sleeping here. Are you sleepy? If you are, I can stop streaming and put you to bed.”
“No.”
Feng Yuan shook his head. “I’m not sleepy at all.”
After speaking, Feng Yuan remembered that Little Deer was still live streaming, so he pointed a small finger at the computer.
“Little Deer, keep streaming. I won’t bother you.”
“Okay.”
Even though Feng Yuan said he wouldn’t disturb Little Deer, he didn’t realize that his conversation with Little Deer had already been heard by the viewers in the live stream.
Little Deer had no choice. He had to keep his microphone on during the stream.
He couldn’t possibly make Feng Yuan stay silent the whole time.
Fortunately, Feng Yuan’s voice wasn’t new to his stream. As long as his face wasn’t shown, it was still manageable.
Little Deer settled into his chair, cleared his throat, and ignored the flood of comments calling for “Yuan Yuan”, proceeding to select a viewer for a game.
Soon, the lucky winner was announced.
As soon as the chosen viewer joined, instead of starting the game, they greeted with a “hello”.
“Yuan Yuan, can you hear me? Are you living with Little Deer?”
Feng Yuan’s perked-up ears twitched.
He heard someone calling his name!
Just as he leaned in on his crutches to get a closer look at the camera, Qin Xun quickly turned his face away.
Qin Xun moved so fast that the stream only caught a glimpse of Feng Yuan’s curly hair.
Even though it was just a fleeting moment, the comment section exploded.
“Ahhh, it really is Yuan Yuan!”
“He’s alive! Curly hair! Yuan Yuan!”
“Streamer, please, let us see Yuan Yuan’s face!”
“I’m so curious about what Yuan Yuan looks like!”
The comments were flooded with requests to see Yuan Yuan. Along with the pleas, gifts were pouring in nonstop.
Little Deer watched the endless stream of gifts, feeling so overwhelmed he couldn’t even pretend to ignore them.
“Everyone, please stop sending gifts. Yuan Yuan really won’t be showing his face.”
“This isn’t about how many gifts you send.”
“Q, seriously, stop. You’re making me nervous.”
The viewers sending gifts kept insisting on seeing Yuan Yuan’s face.
Looking at the gifts that had already piled up, Little Deer felt for the first time that these presents were more trouble than they were worth.
Just as Little Deer was struggling, Feng Yuan’s soft, childish voice piped up from the side.
“Little Deer, are gifts like money?”
Feng Yuan had once seen his sister sending gifts on their aunt’s tablet.
He vaguely remembered that gifts were equivalent to money.
“Yes, gifts are like tips.”
Feng Yuan nodded in understanding, then asked, “Are people sending gifts to see Yuan Yuan?”
“Right. They’re a bit curious about you. But don’t worry, I won’t let your face show.”
“Why won’t you let Yuan Yuan show his face?”
Little Deer’s words made Feng Yuan scrunch up his little face in confusion.
He raised his hand and pinched his chubby cheek.
“Yuan Yuan is pretty!”
Feng Yuan was quite confident about his appearance.
He was a little phoenix. Little phoenixes were beautiful.
Although he was a bit chubby now, once he grew up and became as big as his dad, he would slim down.
By then, he’d be even better-looking!
The confident little phoenix’s retort left Little Deer momentarily speechless.
Little Deer paused for a moment before saying, “You’re still young. If you show your face too early, I’m afraid you might get disturbed.”
Feng Yuan wasn’t afraid of that.
With his pretty little face, he never hesitated to go out without fear.
The disagreement between the adult and the child about showing his face was obvious.
Just then, the person connected to Little Deer’s live stream, who clearly enjoyed stirring up trouble, deliberately chimed in.
“Little Yuan Yuan, everyone’s showering you with gifts because they want to see you. Actually, it’s because some people say you’re really ugly.”
“They want to know if you’re actually ugly or not.”
As soon as the person finished speaking, Little Deer muted them.
But Feng Yuan had already heard it.
He was fuming.
“Yuan Yuan is not ugly!”
After Feng Yuan declared he wasn’t ugly, everyone in the live stream expected him to show his face next to prove it.
Unexpectedly, the little one, who had been willing to show his face earlier, now refused.
“You say Yuan Yuan is ugly, so Yuan Yuan won’t show you anymore.”
Despite being so young, the little one handled this trap of self-validation better than most adults.
He didn’t fall into it at all.
He had no intention of proving himself based on others’ assumptions.
Seeing the little one was upset, some who genuinely adored him quickly sent comforting messages.
Even the big spender, Q, typed in the comments:
“Little Yuan Yuan, the gifts are because we like you and think you’re adorable.”
“We’re not trying to force you into anything.”
Little Deer, noticing the little one’s anger, hurriedly read out some positive comments to soothe him.
To cheer him up, Little Deer even connected with a few kind-hearted fans, including Q.
With their comforting words, the easily cheered-up Feng Yuan quickly brightened.
He smiled, his eyes curving, and began chatting with everyone.
“Yuan Yuan isn’t angry anymore.”
“Thank you for liking me!”
The beloved little Yuan Yuan lifted his chin and, before Little Deer could react, hobbled briefly in front of the camera with his little crutch.
Q, still on the mic, exclaimed, “Whoa, I saw Yuan Yuan! I almost thought I was seeing things.”
“Why is Yuan Yuan using a crutch? Did your dad hit you?”
During his brief appearance, some missed his face but clearly saw the little crutch.
Q also noticed the crutch.
His tone turned serious: “Little Yuan Yuan, I study law. Do you need legal assistance?”
“No matter how parents discipline their child, they shouldn’t cause disability. This sounds like domestic violence!”
Feng Yuan’s image as a frequently punished child was deeply ingrained.
Now, with his little crutch, it was hard for netizens not to jump to conclusions.
Hearing the unfamiliar uncle criticize his parent, Feng Yuan quickly wiggled his chubby little foot.
He showed his chubby little foot to everyone.
“It wasn’t Dad who hit me. Yuan Yuan jumped off a chair and fell.”
Netizens: “…”
Netizens were left speechless.
Jumping off a chair and spraining a foot. Somehow, it wasn’t the least bit surprising when it happened to little Yuan Yuan.
After wiggling his chubby foot, Feng Yuan had Qin Xun bring him a chair.
He sat down next to Little Deer. Though his face wasn’t visible on camera, he could still talk.
The little one started chatting with the uncles and aunties on the mic.
He talked about getting spanked and couldn’t help reaching back to rub his bottom.
“Yuan Yuan got spanked yesterday, too. Dad hit my bottom.”
“Yuan Yuan, why do you always seem to be asking for a spanking?”
The question from Q on the mic made Feng Yuan scratch his chubby cheek, unable to come up with an answer.
“I don’t know,” Feng Yuan replied honestly. “Yuan Yuan isn’t well-behaved.”
He only got spanked when he wasn’t well-behaved.
If he behaved, Dad wouldn’t hit him.
Feng Yuan had quite a bit of experience with getting spanked. He even shared some of his insights.
For example, before getting spanked, give Dad a kiss first.
That way, the spanking wouldn’t be as hard.
Or, right before Dad starts, try calling for help, see if anyone can save the little one.
He shared these tips very seriously.
The live stream audience was in stitches.
Little Deer stopped streaming the game. The viewer who had been selected to play with him earlier now had no interest in gaming. They just wanted to talk to little Yuan Yuan.
Feng Yuan was quite fond of hearing compliments.
The strangers on the mic quickly picked up on this.
Under the barrage of flattery, Feng Yuan started to get a little carried away.
He sang a song for everyone—”Counting Ducks.”
If his foot hadn’t been sore, he would’ve even danced a little wiggle dance for them.
“Little Deer, I’ll send you ten more virtual sports cars. When you cash out, give Yuan Yuan a share.”
Little Deer’s gift earnings for the day were about to break records.
He knew all these gifts were meant for Feng Yuan.
So, in front of everyone in the live stream, he announced, “I’ll give all of tonight’s earnings to Yuan Yuan.”
After telling the audience, he repeated it to Feng Yuan.
“Yuan Yuan, all these gifts today were earned by you. You did great!”
Feng Yuan chatted in the live stream for two hours before finally getting sleepy.
He kept rubbing his eyes with his chubby little hands. Seeing how tired he was, Qin Xun wanted to carry him off to bed.
But the little one refused.
“Yuan Yuan isn’t sleepy.”
No sooner had he insisted he wasn’t sleepy than, within two minutes, his little head tilted straight onto Little Deer’s shoulder.
With his eyes closed, he started breathing evenly in a light snore as Little Deer held him.
This time, his sleeping profile wasn’t just a fleeting glimpse. It was clearly captured by the camera.
On the live stream screen, the little one’s beautiful side profile appeared. His chubby, pink baby cheeks and his long, curly eyelashes were clearly visible in high definition.
Everyone immediately started taking screenshots.
By the time they finished capturing the moment a second later, Little Deer had already picked Feng Yuan up.
He carried Feng Yuan off to bed.
After he left, the fans in the live stream were completely captivated by the legendary little Yuan Yuan’s looks.
“Help! I’ve never seen such a beautiful child in my life!”
“He’s so gorgeous it almost feels unreal [facepalm laugh].”
“What kind of divine beauty is this? I can’t even imagine how good-looking his parents must be!”
“This is like winning the genetic lottery. I wish I could win one, too.”
The comments section continued to rave about Feng Yuan’s appearance.
Little Deer, who had turned back, didn’t continue streaming.
After greeting everyone, he ended the stream.
After going offline, he took a screenshot of the backend earnings from that night’s livestream and sent it to Feng Yuan and Li Sheng.
He gave Li Sheng a detailed account of what had happened that evening.
“I’ll give all tonight’s earnings to Yuan Yuan.”
“Mr. Li, I’m really sorry for letting Yuan Yuan appear on camera.”
Li Sheng took a moment before replying to the message Little Deer had sent.
Li Sheng responded: “It’s fine, you can keep the money yourself.”
Li Sheng knew his own son better than anyone.
That little guy was stubborn. If he appeared on camera, it must have been because he wanted to show his face.
If he wasn’t willing, no one could force him.
Li Sheng’s reply made Little Deer breathe a sigh of relief.
Little Deer sent another message: “The donations in the livestream were all for Yuan Yuan, so this money should go to him.”
After Little Deer sent this follow-up message, Li Sheng didn’t reply again, seemingly busy.
In the middle of the night.
Little Deer glanced out the window, feeling a bit worried.
Tao Zhi still hadn’t returned. He had no idea what Li Sheng and Tao Zhi were busy with.
Meanwhile, Tao Zhi, whom Little Deer was thinking of, was currently helping with some tasks.
They were investigating the recently popular temporary tattoos.
“It’s the work of the Headless Tribe.”
The Headless Tribe was the clan of Xingtian, a tribe that hadn’t been heard from in years.
Feng Qi had previously assumed this tribe had gone extinct.
Unexpectedly, today, through the black temporary tattoos, he confirmed with Taotie that it was the mark of the Headless Tribe.
“This tribe is savage and brutal.”
Thinking of them, Taotie recalled some unpleasant memories.
“They love stealing others’ heads.”
Even Taotie’s head was something these people wanted.
Taotie had eaten them before. They tasted terrible.
Not only were these Headless Tribesmen insane, but they were also extremely petty. Their level of pettiness rivals Yazi’s.
After Taotie ate some of their tribesmen, they held a grudge against him.
Thinking about the nature of this tribe, Feng Qi felt his eyelids twitch.
“We need to find them. These tattoos are their way of marking people.”
Aside from their love for stealing heads, the Headless Tribesmen were also keen on recruiting new members.
Those they recruited naturally ended up without heads.
Now, those marked with these tattoos faced only two outcomes:
Their heads would be cut off, taken by the Headless Tribesmen, and left to die.
Their heads would be cut off, and the Headless Tribesmen would transform them into their own kind.
Both outcomes involved decapitation.
Thinking about the many children in the tattoo shop who had applied these tattoos, Feng Qi felt his anger rising.
As a father, he had a soft spot for children, even those from other families.
Now, knowing that a group of children had applied these deadly tattoos…
Feng Qi couldn’t wait to find the Headless Tribesmen behind this and tear them apart.
The night had grown deep.
Having pursued the investigation until now, Feng Qi was reluctant to rest. But his body couldn’t hold out any longer.
He found a nearby place to stay with Li Sheng.
As for Taotie, Li Sheng had promised to provide him with food, so he poked Feng Qi’s arm, urging him to bring out the meal.
The meal Feng Qi brought out was the previously sealed Zheng.
That creature, Zheng, was nothing but trouble.
Feng Qi tilted his chin and said to Taotie, “Eat up, it’s all you can eat.”
Taotie: “???”
Taotie: “No, it’s disgusting.”
The flesh of ancient ferocious beasts was utterly unpalatable.
He’d rather chew on garbage than eat this.
“Just eat it. At least it’ll curb your hunger.”
Li Sheng was also persuading him: “If you go back hungry, won’t Little Deer get tired of having to cook for you?”
“You should be more considerate toward your partner. I heard from Feng Qi that you’ve been single for tens of thousands of years. Now that you have a partner, you should cherish them.”
After saying this, Li Sheng went with Feng Qi to rest, leaving Taotie and Zheng alone in the same space.
Standing in place, Taotie’s handsome face was still furrowed in a frown.
What partner?
Little Deer wasn’t his partner.
Little Deer was fragrant. He was just food that Taotie didn’t want to eat.
As Taotie stood there frowning, he suddenly heard Zheng’s roar beside his ear.
Annoyed by the noise, he abruptly transformed into his true form.
“Roar!”
So noisy! I’m going to eat you.
Taotie reluctantly ate the unappetizing “buffet”, then went to find Little Deer late at night.
Little Deer was still awake, waiting for him.
When Taotie climbed in through the window, Little Deer widened his eyes in surprise: “Didn’t I tell you not to come so late? You should’ve stayed with Mr. Li for the night before coming back.”
Little Deer touched his hand. It was ice cold.
“This is too much trouble for you.”
Little Deer felt a bit distressed: “And this window is so dangerous. How did you even climb up here?”
Little Deer had a dozen questions to ask.
Tao Zhi quietly watched him, then suddenly opened his arms and pulled him into an embrace.
They held each other like that for a long while, with Tao Zhi saying nothing.
When they finally separated, Little Deer nudged Tao Zhi to go take a bath.
There were no clothes in the room that would fit Tao Zhi.
The height difference between them was significant. Tao Zhi couldn’t wear any of Little Deer’s clothes.
So, Little Deer could only prepare a towel for him to wrap around himself.
When Tao Zhi emerged with the towel wrapped around him, Little Deer took his clothes and tossed them into the washing machine.
“This washing machine has a drying function. Your clothes will be ready in about two hours.”
Little Deer didn’t plan to wait for the clothes to dry before letting Tao Zhi sleep in them.
He had Tao Zhi sleep with just the towel wrapped around him.
Little Deer led Tao Zhi to bed. Tao Zhi lay there, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on him.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Little Deer suddenly reached out and ruffled his hair.
“Tao Zhi, why do you look so wronged?”
Little Deer gently massaged his head as he asked softly.
Tao Zhi finally blinked.
He said, “The food was terrible.”
Little Deer: “…”
Little Deer didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
He thought about Li Sheng, who had offered to take Tao Zhi out to eat. Given Li Sheng’s character, he probably wouldn’t have actually mistreated Tao Zhi or made him eat something awful.
If Tao Zhi said it was terrible, it was probably just not to his taste.
Little Deer himself sometimes found restaurant food unpalatable.
Though he thought this, he didn’t say it out loud.
Instead, he patiently comforted Tao Zhi: “Next time, we won’t go there to eat. I’ll cook for you at home, okay? I’ll make you stir-fried rice noodles, the spicy kind.”
“Okay.”
After talking for a while, the two leaned against each other and fell asleep together.
Little Deer had rented a one-bedroom apartment. There was only one bed.
So, Tao Zhi had always slept with him.
Just before dawn, Tao Zhi woke up.
He opened his eyes, looked at Little Deer whose limbs were tangled with his, then closed his eyes again and took a few deep breaths.
So fragrant.
Little Deer was truly so fragrant.
Little Deer’s deliciousness was only slightly less than that of Feng Yuan.
Tao Zhi, smelling the scent in his embrace, for some reason, felt not just an appetite but also a faint, lingering desire of another kind.
He wanted to bite Little Deer, yet he didn’t want to hurt him.
He wanted to devour Little Deer, to make him merge into his very bones and blood, so he could stay by his side forever.
But he didn’t want Little Deer to die.
Taotie couldn’t understand his own desires. He quietly held Little Deer for a while longer, then got up, dressed, and left through the window.
He had promised Feng Qi and Li Sheng that he would continue helping them with their tasks.
Not long after Tao Zhi left, the sky brightened completely.
When Little Deer woke up and saw the empty bed, he thought Tao Zhi’s return the previous night had been nothing but a dream.
It wasn’t until he noticed the towel on the bed that he confirmed it hadn’t been a dream.
He was bewildered.
Why had Tao Zhi come and gone so abruptly? What was he so busy with?
Still confused, Little Deer tidied himself up and left the room.
He chatted with Frida outside for a while before Feng Yuan woke up.
When Feng Yuan awoke, he clung to his little crutch, putting on a brave face despite his “injuries”.
Little Deer glanced at his foot and thought it looked fine enough to walk on.
Children recover quickly. Qin Xun had been diligent in applying medicated oil to Feng Yuan’s foot.
The swelling had subsided entirely by today.
But the little one, convinced he hadn’t fully recovered yet, stubbornly gripped his crutch, refusing to let it go.
“Yuan Yuan,” Little Deer greeted him as he came out and asked if he had seen the screenshot.
Feng Yuan had seen it but didn’t understand it.
He didn’t even recognize the words “account balance” on the screenshot.
All he saw was a string of numbers. It was so large that he sat on the bed, counting on his chubby little fingers but failing to figure out the amount.
“The screenshot I sent you shows last night’s live stream earnings—300,000 yuan.”
“Once I withdraw the money, I’ll transfer it to you.”
“Yuan Yuan, you’re going to have 300,000 yuan!”
Feng Yuan tilted his head. “How much is 300,000 yuan?”
Qin Xun chimed in from the side, “If you collected scrap for 5 yuan a day, 300,000 yuan would take you until you’re 164 years old.”
“Your grandpa is 51 years old. 164 is like the combined age of three of your grandpas.”
Feng Yuan: “…”
Feng Yuan listened to this explanation, utterly dumbfounded.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152