Chapter 15: The Parents Have Arrived

Chapter 15: The Parent Arrives

"Seconded!"

"Agreed!"

The bodyguard's suggestion was met with immediate and unanimous approval. Not only nutrition books and parenting books, but some even suggested adding sports-related books as well.

"After all, raising a child requires a comprehensive approach. To have a good body, one must not only eat well but also exercise well."

"Exactly, diet is important, but exercise is crucial. Life lies in movement."

"Proper exercise not only strengthens the body but also tempers the will. Education should start from a young age. I think the kitten's age is just right. We need to act quickly; we can't let the child fall behind at the starting line."

...

Pushing children too hard isn't good, but it depends on who it's for, right?!

The staff, in their calm demeanor, unknowingly added more burdens to the kitten.

Sheng Qingquan wasn't that bad; he even instinctively knew how to balance discipline with rewards.

After the kitten reluctantly finished its vegetables, Sheng Qingquan rewarded the kitten by bringing out the fruits that were included with the takeout.

Bright, juicy red strawberries, watermelon peeled, seeded, and cut into small pieces, and plump blueberries, each as big as a longan fruit, all washed clean.

As the fresh-keeping box was opened, a fresh, fruity aroma filled the air, completely overshadowing the aroma of the dishes.

Faced with a table full of delicious dishes, Sheng Qingquan, who hadn't been tempted, couldn't resist picking up a blueberry and popping it into his mouth when he brought out the fruits.

"I'm just sampling it. I'm worried the fruit quality might vary, so I'm trying it first."

A burst of refreshing sweetness exploded in his mouth, the flesh was sweet, with just a hint of tartness in the skin, perfectly balancing the flavor—not too sweet to be cloying, nor too sour to be unpleasant.

Everything was just right.

The organic blueberries he bought from the high-end imported supermarket, even the premium-grade ones, weren't as large, sweet, or delicious as these.

With so much food, the kitten couldn't finish it anyway. After finding an excuse for himself, Sheng Qingquan didn't stop after eating one blueberry; he picked up a strawberry next.

It was an entirely different kind of delight. The strawberries were larger, juicier. There was no hard core when bitten into; the flesh was extremely ripe, clearly vine-ripened strawberries, not picked early for easier transport and then artificially ripened.

The watermelon was even more refreshing, crisp and sweet, clearly cut from the core of the watermelon, not the parts near the rind. Besides the crisp flesh, there was even sandy-textured flesh to choose from.

"This is so delicious!"

"Is this the life of the rich? It's so blissful!"

The kitten, who had initially looked disdainfully at the 'vegetable dishes' Sheng Qingquan brought out, changed its attitude completely.

It looked so delicious.

After Sheng Qingquan placed the fruits in front of the kitten, he didn't even need to urge it; the kitten eagerly picked up a piece of watermelon.

In the next second, the kitten's gray-blue eyes widened in surprise. It's so juicy!

The kitten was utterly captivated by the sweet, crisp, and refreshing flavor. The unpleasant aftertaste from the vegetables was instantly washed away.

It eagerly swallowed the watermelon and immediately picked up another piece.

The kitten's surprise was so obvious, even its fur couldn't hide it.

The texture was totally different—sandy, crispy, and sweet.

Even better, the fruits were slightly chilled, but the temperature was carefully controlled to keep them healthy and tasty without upsetting the kitten's stomach.

Nothing beats a bite of chilled watermelon, even if it's not the middle of summer.

Even though the kitten isn't from Tianlanxing, it kept munching away, only stopping to try other fruits after a few bites.

Mmm, this is so good too. So sweet and fragrant, it even makes your breath smell like fruit.

The red fruit is delicious, and so is the blue one. Both are sweet and sour, but they feel different.

The kitten was so into the fruits, it totally forgot about being forced to eat veggies.

"Meow meow!"

I never thought the food on this little planet would be this good.

I get it now, two-legged creature.

You must've stayed because the food was so good.

The kitten suddenly wasn't so eager to find the light brain on the two-legged creature.

No need to rush this.

He's just a kid; no need to push him. Just wait patiently for the big cat to find him.

The kitten, so happy it forgot about home, wasn't exactly thrilled when its parent showed up. Its first thought was, "Already?!"

Realizing it had to leave the yummy food behind, the kitten was sad for all of three seconds before jumping into its parent's arms, meowing and acting all spoiled.

The kitten wasn't the only one caught off guard; Sheng Qingquan and the staff were also surprised the parent showed up so soon.

Sheng Qingquan hadn't been slacking off while caring for the kitten. He'd studied the plot, and since the book didn't say when the parent would arrive, they thought they had more time.

The novel had a lot about Officer Jiang caring for the kitten, making it seem like a long time had passed.

Plus, after the kitten landed on Tianlanxing, both the escape pod and the light brain it was wearing were wrecked.

With all that, even with advanced alien tech, it would take time for the parent to find the kitten.

Who knew the parent would show up in less than two weeks?

That day, after lunch and a walk with the kitten, just as Sheng Qingquan was about to head home and get the kitten to nap, a big cat quietly appeared beside him.

"You've done well taking care of this child," a calm voice said.

"Ahhh, you scared the life out of me!"

"Who just popped up out of nowhere?"

"Whoa, where did this huge cat come from?"

"It's seriously huge."

Sheng Qingquan's thoughts raced, and he wasn't the only one freaked out.

All the staff were stunned.

"How could this happen so quickly?" They weren’t unprepared, but their preparations were entirely useless.

"I thought they’d approach Tianlan Star slowly from outer space and at least send a greeting before entering."

"Or even if they did enter, they’d notify the authorities to speed up finding the child."

At this thought, a staff member sighed: "I didn’t expect them to reach out to the authorities on their own, but I thought, with our technology, even if we couldn’t detect them in advance, we should have noticed after they entered."

"But if he hadn’t revealed himself, we’d have had no clue."

"Is the gap really this huge?"

They knew Tianlan Star was technologically behind compared to aliens, but they didn’t expect it to be so far behind.

If they’d been totally in the dark, being unprepared would’ve made sense.

But they’d known ahead of time and had gone all out to prepare and stay alert.

Yet none of those preparations did any good. All the instruments might as well have been broken—they didn’t react at all.

How could this not frustrate them?

Sheng Qingquan jumped at the sudden voice. The big cat was a little startled by Sheng Qingquan’s jumpiness.

What’s up with this kid? So jumpy.

Luckily, Sheng Qingquan snapped out of it quickly.

"Are you his guardian?"

The big cat had a light brain that translated in real time. He lifted his paw and gently patted the kitten’s head: "I am Liu Qing, Liu Yun’s grandfather. Thank you very much for taking in Liu Yun."

Before finding the child, he’d imagined all sorts of grim possibilities.

Abuse, imprisonment, or wandering the wilds, battered and starving, skin and bones, barely clinging to life.

And the worst—he couldn’t even bring himself to consider it—was the chance the child was gone.

Fortunately, after sensing the child’s presence, the worst did not happen.

And after finding the child, he was relieved to find that the child had been taken in by a kind person.

His fur was sleek, and his eyes sparkled with life.

Still as lively and playful as ever. The accident hadn’t left him too worse for wear. It even seemed like he didn’t have any psychological trauma.

What Liu Qing left unsaid was that he’d actually arrived at dawn.

He just didn’t show himself right away.

He deliberately stayed by their side for a while to observe, making sure that this human had no ill intentions toward Liu Yun, and that Liu Yun was well taken care of by this human, before choosing to appear.

But just because he didn’t say it, it didn’t mean Sheng Qingquan didn’t notice. In fact, when Liu Qing suddenly appeared, Sheng Qingquan realized this possibility.

Sheng Qingquan even had a moment of enlightenment.

"No wonder the parent was so furious in the story."

"If he had chosen to observe first instead of appearing immediately after finding the kitten, wouldn't he have witnessed how Officer Jiang cared for the kitten firsthand?"

"Seeing something firsthand is totally different from just hearing about it later!"

"It's like when someone around you tells you about a stabbing incident nearby, and how it happened, compared to actually seeing someone being stabbed right in front of you—it's a whole different ballgame."

"You might feel a pang of sympathy when you hear about it, but you'll likely forget it in a couple of days. The latter will definitely scare you on the spot, and even years later, you might still wake up from nightmares in the middle of the night, haunted by lingering fear."

"Moreover, he's the kitten's grandfather. The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is universal, no matter where you are."

"Venting his anger on the whole of Tianlan Star isn't entirely out of line."

"Still, it feels pretty out there."

Earlier, Liu Qing had heard some sounds but thought it was just the translator, so he didn't pay much attention. Part of it was also because his focus was entirely on his precious grandson. But now, Liu Qing's expression changed slightly.

Unlike his young grandson, he wouldn't mistake Sheng Qingquan for an alien. The person in front of him was clearly a pure human, and he wasn't wearing any devices like a neural interface.

Moreover, the voice didn't seem to come from the outside—it seemed more like it was happening in his mind.

Thinking back to what he had just heard...

Is this... a Prophet?

How could a Prophet exist on a backward planet like Tianlan Star?