Chapter 3 Stay-at-home Dad 3

Chapter 3: Nanny 3

Nanny 3

"Xiao Su, the Little Wolf King is really well-behaved!" Fang Zhixu cradled Little Cotton in the crook of his arm, freeing one hand to hold the soft little paw and lift it, waving it at Su Yanche excitedly. "Look! He lets me do whatever I want."

Su Yanche watched him sharing his joy so wholeheartedly, a tender look in his eyes as he smiled. "He’s not usually this well-behaved."

"Woof—"

Fang Zhixu was about to speak.

But the little cotton ball nestled in his arms seemed to have its pride wounded, suddenly lifting his head and baring tiny sharp teeth at Su Yanche, a low growl rumbling from his throat.

"Woof—"

Another short, fierce snarl, like a fierce, food-guarding snarl, but with a possessive, babyish edge.

It was a completely different wolf from the timid, delicate one just moments ago.

Fang Zhixu held the light, fluffy little cotton ball up higher, only to meet his innocent blinking eyes, as if he hadn’t just been the one to snap. "Why are you so fierce?"

"Woof?" The Little Wolf King tilted his head, answering in a sweet, babyish tone.

Fang Zhixu’s heart melted again. "Do you have a nickname? How about I call you Little Cotton?"

Little Wolf King: "?"

The corner of Su Yanche’s mouth lifted slightly.

"Then I’ll take that as a yes!" Fang Zhixu’s eyes curved into a smile as he nuzzled the little cotton ball against his cheek and rubbed it. "Lu Yanli is your full name, and your nickname will be Little Cotton."

Little Cotton, dizzy from being rubbed against the soft cheek, could only let out soft little woofs, seemingly having been dazed into agreement. His two little black ears twitched, and his tail wagged.

Seeing that Fang Zhixu could rub the Little Wolf King like this without upsetting him, Su Yanche’s eyes showed a hint of surprise. "He really is quite well-behaved with you."

"He’s not usually well-behaved?"

"He’s usually wary of strangers." Su Yanche met his older brother’s warning gaze and smiled. "He doesn’t seem to resist you at all. The previous keepers were all a bit afraid of him."

"Afraid of him?" Fang Zhixu looked down at the little fluffball in his arms.

Little Cotton lifted his head sweetly.

Fang Zhixu’s heart melted again. "What’s there to be afraid of? He’s so adorable, right, my good baby!"

What a cute lucky wolf! A lucky wolf that could lead him to wealth and fortune! Praising him more, giving him plenty of emotional value, and building a good relationship with him was the crucial first step!

Little Cotton, dazed by the repeated calls of ‘baby,’ responded dreamily, "Woof~"

My wife always praises me.

Fang Zhixu hugged Little Cotton, playing with his paw in his hand. "So now I need to send him back? Where does he live?"

"He lives in the kindergarten, and I usually take him back to my dormitory."

Fang Zhixu hadn’t expected Su Yanche to bring the Little Wolf King to his dorm. "I thought he’d stay with Director Su. So now that I’m in charge of him, do I need to take him to my dorm?"

After all, he knew the Little Wolf King was the director’s son, so it made sense that the privileged son could live in the researcher’s dorm.

The Little Wolf King in his arms perked up instantly at these words.

Can I live with my wife now?

Su Yanche saw through his older brother’s intentions and smiled. "No need. There’s still some risk. Director Su specifically instructed that the Little Wolf King should stay with me."

Little Cotton’s expression instantly vanished, as if hit by a huge blow. His tail stopped wagging. He buried his head pitifully into his wife’s chest.

Fang Zhixu felt the little head burrowing against his chest, not knowing what it was thinking. Thinking it was just being clingy, he patted his head. "So I only need to take care of him during work hours, right?"

Su Yanche hummed in agreement. "Yes. You’re mainly responsible for his meals and tracking his nutritional status. You even need to record how much he eats at each meal—that alone will keep you busy. He has a dedicated growth file, and you’ll need to conduct weekly physical exams to monitor his development, checking if his growth curve is on track. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with all of that."

"Is Little Cotton’s development on track?" Fang Zhixu asked persistently, since building a good relationship was key.

Su Yanche: "No."

How could it be on track when he’s twenty years old and still that small?

The Little Wolf King angrily flicked his tail. "=(!!"

Fang Zhixu’s forearm got hit by the little tail—ouch, it stung a bit—but he didn’t mind. He rubbed the little head resting in his arm. "It’s okay! If we eat more, we’ll definitely grow bigger, right, Little Cotton!"

"Woof!"

Seeing that the wolf tail had no sense of restraint, Su Yanche’s eyes showed a hint of helplessness. He looked away and said, "Growing bigger would naturally be the best. But let’s hope he doesn’t get surpassed by the younger cubs in the class."

A muffled growl came from the arms.

Fang Zhixu saw the little guy huffily turn his head away, his back arching slightly, like a little furball that had puffed up.

He used his hand to smooth his fur, petting and coaxing him. "It’s okay, Little Cotton. We’ll just eat more, right?"

"Woof!" Little Cotton was instantly soothed, lifting his head to nuzzle Fang Zhixu’s palm, then casting a glance at Su Yanche.

Su Yanche smiled knowingly.

"Oh, my little darling!"

The two of them, along with the wolf, headed toward the kindergarten.

Just then, a man in a bodyguard uniform came running over, panting heavily. When he got closer, they saw he was holding a baby bottle.

"!!"

Fang Zhixu could feel the little cotton ball in his arms tense up, his two little black ears twitching. He buried his head into his waist, trembling and shrinking as if he had seen something terrifying.

"?"

"...Phew." The bodyguard stopped, bottle in hand, and seeing the little one here, looked at Su Yanche with immense gratitude. "So you had him, Su. I’ve been looking everywhere."

Su Yanche glanced at the furball cowering in Fang Zhixu’s arms. "Time for milk. Hiding won’t help. Xiao Zhi, the reason he hasn’t grown is precisely because he won’t drink his milk."

"Woof!" Little Cotton glared angrily at Su Yanche, his expression seemingly saying, ‘Try saying that again and see what happens?’

"Let me try." Fang Zhixu reached out toward the bodyguard.

The bodyguard hesitated and looked at Su Yanche. "Su, this is…"

Su Yanche said, "This is our new keeper, Fang Zhixu. From now on, he’ll be the Little Wolf King’s keeper."

The bodyguard immediately showed deference, offering the bottle to Fang Zhixu with both hands: "So you're Teacher Fang!"

Fang Zhixu was startled: "...?"

Little Cotton's jet-black eyes held a warning.

The bodyguard: "." Under the young master's intimidating stare, he quickly lowered the bottle in his hands and spoke softly and respectfully: "Ah, so you're Teacher Fang."

Fang Zhixu: "?" Why the sudden change in attitude? He took the bottle: "No need to call me that, it's too formal."

"No no, it's necessary." The bodyguard straightened up, clasped his hands, and looked at Fang Zhixu with admiration: "Anyone who can become Little Wolf King's caretaker must be a person of courage and wisdom!"

Fang Zhixu: "...?"

How does that have anything to do with courage and wisdom? Does taking care of such a tiny wolf cub require courage and wisdom?

He looked down, tilted the bottle, and brought the bottle's nipple to Little Cotton's mouth: "Are you hard to handle?"

As soon as he said that, he saw Little Cotton take the nipple and gulp down the milk in seconds.

The bodyguard: "?"

Su Yanche: "."

Fang Zhixu saw the bottle empty in seconds, rubbed Little Cotton's head, praising him: "Good baby." Then he looked at them and said: "He's pretty well-behaved, he should be easy enough to handle, right?"

The bodyguard: "..." This made him look ridiculous, having earlier chased the cub on a motorbike while holding the bottle. He was filled with renewed respect and gave Fang Zhixu a thumbs up: "Teacher Fang is truly amazing!"

Su Yanche saw Fang Zhixu barely holding back a grimace and smiled without a word.

"Gurgle~"

Fang Zhixu suddenly felt the little one in his arms lift his head, letting out a few faint, uncomfortable gurgling sounds, then beginning to dry heave gently, his small body jerking.

He quickly looked down, seeing Little Cotton uncomfortable, and his eyes were full of worry: "What's wrong?!"

Little Cotton gently buried his head in Fang Zhixu's waist, nuzzling, and let out a very soft whimper, sounding utterly pitiful.

Fang Zhixu's heart ached immediately, and he rubbed the little head soothingly: "Are you uncomfortable?"

"Whine~" Little Cotton lifted his head slightly, responding with a soft, babyish whine.

The bodyguard looked incredulous and rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things. Was this the same Little Wolf King who could take on a dozen adult wolves, now acting like a puppy, snuggling and whimpering?

Su Yanche explained with a smile: "He hates drinking milk the most, he's very resistant, and he'll throw up if he drinks it, but he has to drink it. I didn't expect he'd actually drink it when you fed him. Brother He even had to ride a motorcycle to chase him down and feed him."

Brother He, the bodyguard, was deeply moved: "Yes, yes!"

Finally, no more chasing and fleeing.

Fang Zhixu flipped Little Cotton over with one hand, rubbed his belly to prevent him from throwing up, and then noticed a little 'something' down there: "Little Cotton is a boy."

Little Cotton: "!!!" Caught off guard, on his back with all four paws in the air, he scrambled to turn over.

But he slipped out of Fang Zhixu's hands and fell to the ground.

Actually, the landing was very light, hardly hurting at all.

But he let out a howl, he flopped his little body down, black ears drooping, and emitted a pitiful whimper. He lifted his head, round eyes wet, looking at Fang Zhixu as if he'd been badly injured.

Su Yanche & the bodyguard: "..."

Fang Zhixu, startled, quickly bent down and picked up Little Cotton: "Are you okay, Little Cotton? Did you get hurt?"

Oh my, this was the ticket to riches—can't drop him!

"Whine~"

Fang Zhixu gently stroked his fur and bent down to kiss the little head: "That's good."

Little Cotton's pupils contracted, his body stiffened for a moment.

But the next second, he brightened up, stretched out his tongue to lick Fang Zhixu's chin, panting heavily, his tail wagging very excitedly.

Fang Zhixu's eyes lit up—his fortune-bringing wolf definitely likes him! That was great!

The bodyguard leaned over to Su Yanche, covering his mouth and whispering: "Second Master, why does the big young master seem like a dog? Do wolves wag their tails like that?"

Su Yanche smiled faintly: "They do when they meet someone they like."

Finally, the feeding session was over.

Before leaving, the bodyguard waved to Fang Zhixu: "Teacher Fang! There's another feeding at four-thirty. If it's convenient, come get the bottle. I'm inside the kindergarten. You can have the security guard call me."

"Section Chief Su, I'm off then! See you later!"

Soon, the engine roared and the motorcycle sped off, leaving a cloud of dust.

"Why do they call you Section Chief Su?" Fang Zhixu asked curiously while stroking Little Cotton's head.

Su Yanche let out a laugh: "Because I'm a researcher with the rank of section chief, and my surname is Su. They call me Section Chief Su for convenience."

Fang Zhixu nodded in understanding: "I see."

"Little Wolf King really likes you." Su Yanche looked at Fang Zhixu, noticing the blush creeping up to his ears: "I think you'll make a really good keeper."

Fang Zhixu was a bit embarrassed: "You're too kind, I've just started."

Su Yanche reached out and poked the fluffy little head in his arms.

Little Cotton stared at him darkly, his expression clearly saying 'Don't touch me, man'.

"You can do it." Su Yanche withdrew his hand before getting bitten, looking down with a smile: "You're smart enough; I'm sure you'll handle it."

Maybe because his voice was so gentle, it carried a lot of credibility.

Fang Zhixu looked at Su Yanche's smile and felt he might have been won over by his smooth talk. Oddly, he began to feel confident: "Really?"

Su Yanche nodded: "Of course it's true. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask. I'll help you wherever I can."

Fang Zhixu felt a warmth in his heart and looked up with a smile: "Xiao Su, thank you so much! With you here, I suddenly feel starting out isn't that scary after all."

"You're welcome."

Little Cotton squinted, staring fixedly at the two talking, looking left and right. The soft fur all over his body seemed to bristle, his back arching into a tense curve.

His tail went stiff, and his eyes turned dark.

"Su Yanche."

Su Yanche looked down at the sound of his name, meeting his elder brother's gaze.

The little snow wolf nestled in Fang Zhixu's arms no longer looked cute or pitiful. His eyes were deep, a wolfish ferocity gleaming in his eyes, and he let out a low growl, a possessive growl of warning.

Though small, he was the wolf king after all.

Snow wolves are a pack with a hereditary hierarchy; the wolf king holds absolute control and first mating rights.

"I'm warning you, he's mine."