From the moment she was born, Little Lychee was the darling of the entire family. It was understandable that Fifteen never left her side, but even Pei Chiyao would cradle the sweet, soft little one daily, clearly adoring her beyond measure.
Yet, oddly enough, Little Lychee loved Zhi Yao the most.
She grew quickly, and within days she could transform into a little fox at will. She would then tumble headfirst into Zhi Yao's arms, rolling around and cooing affectionately.
As Zhi Yi put it, neither of the two cubs Zhi Yao had given birth to took after her; they were both unbelievably clever.
Zhi Yao happily accepted this fact. After all, having smart cubs was the best one could hope for.
She especially loved it when Little Lychee would grab her finger, licking and nibbling while calling out, "Ma... ma..."
Seeing Little Lychee like this, Zhi Yao found herself growing increasingly attached to her.
As fate would have it, some issues had recently arisen within the Fox Clan, and Zhi Yao needed to return with Mother to address them.
Thus, the responsibility of caring for the children fell to Pei Chiyao and Fifteen.
Fifteen obediently stood at the doorway, watching Zhi Yao leave. The moment her silhouette completely disappeared, Fifteen, as if possessed, darted into Little Lychee's nursery. He scooped her up in his arms, relishing the feeling of her soft fur gently brushing against his hands.
"Brother..." Little Lychee's dark eyes gazed unblinkingly at Fifteen. "Brother, brother..."
She couldn't speak much yet, only simple words like "Papa," "Mama," and "Brother."
"Brother's here," Fifteen said, cradling Little Lychee while vigilantly eyeing the doorway, terrified that his father might burst in at any moment to snatch her away.
Their war over Zhi Yao's attention continued, with a new battlefront added: the fight for Little Lychee.
Usually, Little Lychee slept with Zhi Yao and Pei Chiyao, while Fifteen was left to sleep alone outside their door.
However, Fifteen occasionally emerged victorious, successfully driving Pei Chiyao away and sleeping with his mother and sister.
As Fifteen remained on high alert, Little Lychee suddenly rolled over in his arms. In the next moment, she transformed into a child-like form, though her fox ears and tail remained visible atop her head.
"Brother..." Little Lychee giggled, her fluffy tail swaying back and forth. Fifteen felt his heart melting.
"I love Little Lychee so much!"
The next second, Fifteen's smile froze on his face.
Why was his hand... wet?
Drip, drip...
Fifteen stood there, petrified. It seemed his sister had... wet herself on his hand.
"Little Lychee!!!" Fifteen wailed. "Why... why didn't you say something first?"
Little Lychee, seemingly unperturbed, giggled again.
"Oh no, oh no!"
Like Pei Chiyao, Fifteen had a bit of a cleanliness obsession. But... the warm, soft little thing in his arms was his sister. If he handed her over to his father now, his father would probably never give her back.
Sighing heavily, Fifteen resigned himself to his fate and dug out a diaper to change Little Lychee.
"Sister, how are you so much dumber than me? I never wet myself when I was little..."
Grandmother had been wrong about one thing: Little Lychee had clearly inherited their mother's intelligence, making her far less clever than him.
But being a bit slow was cute too... just like their mother.
Grunting with effort, Fifteen finished changing Little Lychee's diaper. Only then did he go to thoroughly wash his hands.
However, when he emerged from the bathroom, Little Lychee had vanished!
"Little Lychee? Little Lychee!"
Without a second thought, he knew his wicked father must have stolen her away!
Fifteen immediately rushed out of the room to find Little Lychee.
As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw Pei Chiyao holding Little Lychee.
The tall man cradled the fox-eared little cub in his arms, coaxing her gently, "Be good, Little Lychee. Daddy loves you the most."
Then he added, "But Daddy still loves Mommy more, so you'll have to settle for second place."
The little fox cub, however, kept nuzzling against Pei Chiyao's chest, as if searching for something.
Pei Chiyao couldn't help but laugh. "Are you hungry? Your mother's gone out. Should Daddy make you some milk formula?"
He was about to turn towards the kitchen with Little Lychee when he spotted the fuming Fifteen.
Their eyes met, and Fifteen quickly ran up to Pei Chiyao, extending his hands. "Give my sister back to me."
Pei Chiyao completely ignored Fifteen.
Fifteen stomped his feet in anger. "You... you... you! Bad Daddy! You're stealing the fruits of my labor! I just changed her diaper..."
Tears welled up in Fifteen's eyes. He had been looking forward to petting his sister's ears and tail.
Daddy... Daddy was nothing but a thief!
Pei Chiyao glanced coldly at Fifteen. "I was wondering who put Little Lychee's diaper on backwards. So it was you, boy."
Fifteen's tears instantly dried up.
Seeing how the little rascal was eyeing Little Lychee's swaying tail with undisguised envy, Pei Chiyao mercifully said, "Your sister is hungry. Come here, I'll teach you how to prepare her milk."
Fifteen rushed over immediately, seizing the opportunity to grab Little Lychee's big tail and give it a good rub.
Little Lychee noticed the not-quite-dry tear tracks on her brother's face. She stretched out her chubby little arms, trying to wipe away his tears, but her arms were too short to reach. Pei Chiyao held her tightly in his embrace.
Little Lychee gurgled a bit, then called out in her baby voice, "Brother... wet wet... wipe..."
She struggled desperately in Pei Chiyao's arms, but he acted as if he hadn't heard her.
Little Lychee's little mind raced, and suddenly she extended her big tail, brushing it across Fifteen's face.
With that sweep, the tear tracks were instantly wiped clean.
Little Lychee giggled happily, "All dry! Wet wet... dry dry!"
Fifteen: "!!!"
So cute, so cute, so cute! I want to kiss her to death, ahhh!
He felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest!
Pei Chiyao gently tapped Little Lychee's nose. "You little mischief-maker."
Little Lychee hugged her father's neck tightly, then used her big tail to brush Pei Chiyao's face. "Daddy, dry dry too!"
"Mm-hmm, a little wipe and it's all clean, isn't it?"
Little Lychee nodded vigorously. "Mommy, dry dry too!"
"Is this how your mother wipes you?" Pei Chiyao raised an eyebrow. He could easily guess that the lazy fox probably couldn't be bothered to use a wet wipe to clean the milk stains off the child, so she just swept her tail over instead.
Really...
And Little Lychee was imitating her, of all things.
"Don't copy your mother. Your mother is silly," he said, reaching out to gently pinch Little Lychee's nose.
To his surprise, Little Lychee suddenly got angry!
Her large, fluffy tail instantly bristled, and she looked at Pei Chiyao with an adorably fierce expression. "No... say about mama! Bad! Bad guy!"
She struggled desperately, trying to get down from Pei Chiyao's arms.
