Then, before Rong Ye could even open his mouth to argue his case, Su Qinglan turned on her heel and ran toward the safety of the house.
Ciao Ciao immediately forgot he had been crying a second ago. Hearing his mother laugh, he happily let out a series of cheerful chirps, his tails wagging like crazy.
Just before they crossed the wooden doorway into the house, the little fox suddenly poked his fluffy head out from Su Qinglan’s arms.
Then, he opened his mouth and stuck out his tiny pink tongue as far as it could go.
"Bleh!"
He directed the ultimate gesture of disrespect right at Rong Ye.
"..."
Silence fell over the snowy yard.
Rong Ye stood in the snow, his eyes locking onto that tiny pink tongue before the door could close. A very slow, incredibly dangerous smile spread across his lips.
"Very good," Rong Ye whispered to the empty air, his knuckles cracking softly. "You’ve got real courage, my son."
The little cub suddenly felt a cold shiver run down his spine, completely unrelated to the winter weather.
Oh no... Realizing he had pushed the big boss too far, he quickly hid his head back inside his mother’s embrace, trembling slightly.
But it was already too late. Rong Ye had already begun chasing them, his long legs covering the distance to the porch in a single bound.
"Lanlan," Rong Ye called out, his deep voice filled with playful menace as he burst through the front door. "Hand over the culprit right now."
"Never!" Su Qinglan laughed breathlessly, sprinting deeper into the warmth of the living room, weaving around the large beast-skin rugs. "My baby is completely innocent!"
"Innocent?" Rong Ye almost laughed at the absurdity of the word. "That little fox is the least innocent cub I have ever seen in my entire life."
He took one long, powerful stride, then another. His adult beastman speed was unmatched. In only a few short seconds, he completely closed the distance between them. Before Su Qinglan could escape into the safety of the bedroom, he reached out his strong arms.
In one smooth, effortless movement, he scooped Su Qinglan right off her feet, lifting her into a secure, sweeping princess carry.
At the same time, because Ciao Ciao was still clinging desperately to his mother’s neck like a little burr, the little cub was lifted right along with her. Now, all three of them were trapped together in one tight, overwhelming embrace.
Su Qinglan blinked, her heart racing from the sudden flight, and she looked up into his handsome face. "Rong Ye!"
He looked down at both the mother and the son cradled in his arms, his chest rumbling with a deep, victorious grin.
The mischievous look on his face looked almost completely identical to the smug grin Ciao Ciao had flashed earlier in the yard.
"You two..." Rong Ye chuckled, his eyes dark with amusement. "Thought you could actually escape from me in my own house?"
Su Qinglan immediately tightened her arms, hugging Ciao Ciao protectively against her chest like a shield.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide as she tried to play the role of a fierce protector. "You... you can bully me if you want, but you are not allowed to bully my son!"
She looked exactly like a fierce mother hen protecting her tiny, fragile chick from a giant predator.
Ciao Ciao’s little heart was instantly touched. He looked up at his mother with big, worshipful eyes.
Mother... really loves me the most in the whole wide world! He proudly turned his head and shot a victorious look at Rong Ye. Father lost. Mother chose me.
Rong Ye chuckled deeply, the sound vibrating through his chest and directly into Su Qinglan’s back.
The little cub immediately released his grip, letting out a pathetic squeak.
His tiny jaws throbbed with a sharp ache. He looked down at Rong Ye’s leg in complete bewilderment, then scratched at his own tiny front teeth with a paw. The little fellow was utterly stunned.
Father’s muscles were too hard! It felt like he had just tried to bite through a solid block of granite! His baby teeth couldn’t even make a dent!
Rong Ye stopped tickling Su Qinglan for a moment and looked down. One tiny, faint row of wet baby teeth marks sat harmlessly on the thick fabric of his trouser leg. He almost laughed at the sheer cuteness of the assault.
"My son," Rong Ye teased, gently shaking his leg. "You’ll need to train for another few years and grow your adult fangs before you can even think about biting your father."
The little cub puffed his cheeks out in pure, stubborn rebellion.
Unwilling to give up or admit defeat in front of his mother, he leaned down, opened his mouth, and bit the exact same spot again with all his might.
"...Aoo!"
Two seconds later, he released it again with a miserable whine.
This time, the lesson was fully learned. He sat huddled in his mother’s arms, holding his own sore mouth with both of his tiny front paws.
His eyes became completely watery, and a few real tears of pain actually threatened to spill. His little baby teeth hurt even more now.
Su Qinglan, who was finally freed from the tickling, looked at her son’s pathetic state and laughed so hard that real tears rolled down her cheeks.
She hugged the vibrating little fox tightly, kissing his sore face. "My poor baby... you attacked the wrong person. Your father is made of iron."
The little fox looked incredibly aggrieved, his ears dropping completely flat. He had honestly wanted to be a brave hero and save his beautiful mother from the big bad monster. Instead, he had only succeeded in hurting himself.

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