Chapter 223 - 181
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At the dinner table.
"The ribs are here~!" Su Mao, wearing a small pink apron, came pitter-pattering out of the kitchen, carrying a large pot of braised ribs.
To celebrate Su Zhi’s new Contracted Pet Beast, he had been busy ever since lunch.
The ribs gave off a savory aroma. The rich broth had thoroughly soaked into the potatoes and corn beside them, mingling with their own natural sweetness. After a long day, the scent made the little pets drool with hunger.
As soon as he saw his favorite food—meat—Yu Bao started wagging his tail excitedly.
But then he remembered Shan Bao was also at the table, so he put on the mature air of an older brother, as if to say the delicious food was nothing special.
’Right, I can’t let my little sister think I’m immature.’
’Did you forget all about that when you were fighting with Wu Bao...?’ Su Zhi, who was next to him, chuckled in amusement. He placed a few pieces of ribs and potatoes into his own bowl, then picked out the largest piece for Yu Bao and put it in his little bowl.
It turned out that Yu Bao’s self-restraint was not quite the same as Xiaoyue’s.
He was just putting on a show.
The moment the ribs landed in his bowl, Yu Bao threw all thoughts of being an "older brother" or a "gentleman" to the wind and buried his head, eating furiously.
Su Zhi had given him one of the large, bone-in ribs, but Yu Bao didn’t mind at all, devouring the bone along with the meat.
Yu Dian Dogs have extremely powerful digestive systems; they absorb every last nutrient from the meat and bones without any waste.
"Here." Su Zhi picked up a piece of corn for Shan Bao.
"Chirp~!" Shan Bao nodded in thanks, took the corn, and started pecking at it with its small beak.
Su Mao filled their glasses with cola. "Come, a toast! To Xiaoshu for contracting another pet, bringing him one step closer to being the strongest Beast Tamer on Blue Star!"
"Uh, being the strongest is still a bit far off..."
"Cheers!"
The three glasses clinked together, making a crisp sound.
Parents and son drank the ice-cold cola and let out a satisfied sigh.
Su Zhi was rather lucky. He didn’t like to drink, and coincidentally, neither did his parents. Su Mao would only drink a little beer to be social at author gatherings; otherwise, to ensure he could keep up with his updates, he wouldn’t touch a single drop.
However, given his actual update schedule... that excuse was debatable.
Just then, Wang Sujuan gently stroked Shan Bao’s head with her finger. "Is Shan Bao’s injury feeling better?"
"Chirp~!" Shan Bao hopped up and spun around in place, showing that it was alive and kicking.
"Wow..." Su Mao exclaimed. "Pet Beasts really are amazing!"
....
His parents started bickering again, glaring at each other with their faces close together. The couple-y vibes were off the charts.
Shan Bao looked curiously at Yu Bao.
Yu Bao waved his paw, indicating that this was some kind of secret ritual to strengthen their love and that Shan Bao shouldn’t be so surprised.
"Chirp..."
After hearing Brother Yu Bao’s explanation, Shan Bao recalled that Yu Bao and Wu Bao had also engaged in a series of similar behaviors before, and a blush instantly appeared on its face.
’But... but one’s a dog and the other is a bug?’
’How would a dog and a bug even... do it...?’
’Oh! So this is what love that transcends Races looks like!’
’It’s... it’s even sweeter!’
Su Zhi was trying his best not to laugh.
After contracting a new pet, the small house suddenly became much livelier.
When they were about done eating, Su Zhi looked at Shan Bao again.
If you looked closely, you could see a small, slightly scraped patch on its chest—damage left over from taking Yu Bao’s Furious Sand Blade head-on.
It had bled a little at the time, but now it was completely healed.
From this, Su Zhi deduced that Shan Bao’s physical strength was enough to withstand the initial version of Furious Sand Blade head-on.
He hadn’t tried the Thick Earth Blessing or Burning Sand Blade versions. Their power was too great; Shan Bao couldn’t handle them at its current stage.
But even so, Shan Bao’s Defense Power was astonishing.
After all, this was once Yu Bao’s strongest Output Skill. Su Zhi had never seen a Pet Beast from a Low Level Elite Race take Furious Sand Blade head-on and come out unscathed...
And this was a feat achieved with just Shan Bao’s own Constitution, without having learned any Skills.
If it learned a Defense Skill like Hardening, wouldn’t that be incredible?
’Could it be that Constitution is really the meta for Flash Gold Sparrows...?’
"Oh, right, Xiaoshu, take this pot of ribs to Wu Bao."
"Oh, okay!"
Only then did Su Zhi remember Wu Bao. He hurriedly took the ribs and went outside.
"Huh? What are you doing here?"
Su Zhi looked curiously at the white-haired girl sitting by the garage door.
Xiaoyue was lounging lazily in the girl’s lap, its chin resting on her fair thighs, looking utterly content.
Shao Ya blinked. "Because this is my garage, of course."
"Ah, right..."
"Silly Su Baby~"
"Woof!" Seeing Su Zhi arrive, Wu Bao, who was in the garage, shot up and scurried toward him.
Su Zhi smiled and opened his arms. "I missed you too!"
"Woof~" "Chirp~"
Wu Bao ignored Su Zhi and greeted Shan Bao instead.
"..." Su Zhi’s already raised hands froze in mid-air for a moment before he pretended to fix his hair.
Shao Ya pointed at him and laughed mercilessly.
"Woof!" After snuggling with Shan Bao, Wu Bao smelled the savory aroma of the ribs and turned to look at Su Zhi with sparkling eyes.
"Only remember me when it’s time to eat, huh?" Su Zhi chuckled wryly. He lifted the pot and only put it back down after Wu Bao begged for a little while.
Seeing Wu Bao gobble down its food, Su Zhi felt a pang of sadness. Of his three pets, Wu Bao had it the hardest. It couldn’t go home and had to sleep in the garage.
But when he saw the thick carpet and mattress laid out in the garage, his heart warmed, and he glanced at the girl beside him out of the corner of his eye.
"What?" Shao Ya put her hands behind her back, feigning innocence.
"Nothing."
Su Zhi smiled and looked at Wu Bao. "Did you really practice Doubling all afternoon?"