Then, without warning, he shot to his feet.

"LAN LAN!"

The sudden shout nearly frightened everyone out of their skins.

Rong Ye pointed dramatically toward the white bundle, his face glowing with excitement.

"Our Nine-Tailed Fox Clan has a new heir!"

The room instantly fell silent.

Every pair of eyes slowly turned toward him.

"...What?"

Rong Ye looked as though he might burst into tears from happiness at any second.

"It’s a fox cub!" he declared proudly.

Without waiting for permission, he hurried over and carefully poked the fluffy white bundle.

The reaction was immediate.

A tiny paw suddenly emerged from the cocoon of fur.

Whack!

The small paw smacked directly into Rong Ye’s face before instantly retreating back into its fluffy shelter.

The room became deathly quiet. Everyone was left speechless with the stunt pull by this fluff.

Meanwhile, Rong Ye stood there rubbing his nose with an aggrieved expression.

"Why did it hit me?" he complained pitifully.

The fluffy bundle remained completely silent.

If anything, it seemed to be conveying the clear message that anyone foolish enough to disturb its sleep deserved to be slapped.

The sight only made everyone laugh harder.

Against all odds, Xiao Yi’s prediction had been correct from the very beginning.

Su Qinglan was curious.

The fluffy white bundle looked far too strange to ignore. It was round, unbelievably fluffy, and suspiciously motionless. The more she looked at it, the more she wanted to touch it.

Unfortunately, the image of Rong Ye getting smacked in the face by a tiny paw was still fresh in her memory.

What if she got hit too?

Wouldn’t that be embarrassing? Getting beaten up by a cub that wasn’t even a minute old yet?

For a moment, Su Qinglan hesitated, but curiosity won.

Slowly, she leaned closer to the fluffy bundle.

Just as she did, the white cocoon suddenly moved. Everyone immediately fell silent and turned their attention toward it.

A small white head slowly emerged from the cloud-like fur.

The room instantly became quiet.

The little fox cub blinked blindly, his eyes still firmly closed. Yet as though he could somehow sense his mother’s presence, he immediately began crawling forward. His tiny paws moved clumsily across the blanket while his fluffy tail dragged behind him.

The sight was so adorable that Su Qinglan felt her heart melt on the spot.

Her eyes softened immediately.

"My baby..."

Unfortunately, it seemed the fox cub had already made an enemy on the very first day of his life.

Before he could reach Su Qinglan, a hand suddenly grabbed his back legs.

The cub froze.

Everyone else froze as well.

Then Rong Ye casually lifted the cub into the air. The tiny fox dangled upside down.

For several seconds, the room remained completely silent as everyone stared at the bizarre scene unfolding before them.

Rong Ye, however, appeared perfectly calm. Holding the cub upside down, he gently patted his back.

Pat.

Pat.

Pat.

The next moment, a loud cry echoed throughout the room.

"WAAAAAH!"

The fox cub finally burst into tears. The sound was astonishingly loud.

Su Qinglan stared at Rong Ye in shock.

"What are you doing?!"

Rong Ye looked completely innocent.

"Lan Lan, he wasn’t crying before." He pointed at the cub as though presenting irrefutable evidence. "What if he couldn’t breathe?"

The room fell silent.

"So I’m helping him," Rong Ye continued confidently. "If babies don’t cry after they’re born, isn’t that dangerous?"

Su Qinglan opened her mouth.

Then closed it.

Then opened it again. Because somehow, against all logic, his reasoning actually made sense.

Grandma Lin rubbed her forehead. A headache was rapidly forming.

Meanwhile, Rong Ye looked extremely proud of himself. "See?" he said smugly. "Father knows best."

As though determined to prove him wrong, the fox cub immediately cried even louder.

"WAAAAAAH!"

Rather than feeling guilty, Rong Ye looked even more pleased. Then, before anyone could stop him, he transformed into his giant nine-tailed fox form.

The already crowded room became even more crowded. Several people nearly stumbled backward. The giant fox lowered his head toward the crying cub.

Slurp!

An enormous tongue swept across the tiny fox cub. The cub rolled across the bed like a fluffy white ball.

"WAAAAAAH!!"

His cries instantly doubled in volume.

The poor little fox looked utterly devastated. All he had wanted was to crawl into his mother’s arms. Instead, he had been picked up upside down, forced to cry, and then licked halfway across the bed by a giant fox.

Life already seemed incredibly difficult.

Su Qinglan finally lost her patience.

"Give him here!"

She immediately snatched the cub away. The crying fox instantly settled into the safety of her arms.

Su Qinglan gently stroked his fluffy head. "There, there. Don’t cry. Mommy is here."

Almost immediately, the crying began to soften. The little fox buried himself against her chest and refused to move.

Su Qinglan shot Rong Ye a glare. "It’s his first day in the world. You’re his father. Be gentler."

Rong Ye looked deeply wronged. "But I was only helping him."

The fox cub let out a tiny whimper before curling into a fluffy ball inside Su Qinglan’s embrace, looking so pitiful that her heart melted all over again.

"My poor baby."

Rong Ye felt incredibly unfairly treated.

Just then, the fox cub suddenly opened his eyes. A newborn opening his eyes this quickly was already unusual enough to attract everyone’s attention.

The little fox’s gaze landed directly on Rong Ye.

Father and son stared at each other.

Suddenly, the corner of the cub’s tiny mouth seemed to twitch upward. It looked suspiciously like a smug smile.

Rong Ye froze. The fox cub blinked innocently. The smile disappeared as though it had never existed.

Rong Ye’s eyes widened dramatically. He immediately turned toward Hu Yan, his face filled with disbelief.

Did you see that?

Hu Yan looked at him, then at the cub, before looking back again. A strange expression slowly appeared on his face.

"...I think your son just mocked you.