A Star Reborn: The Queen’s Return

Er Mao ignored him completely.

In some areas, his owner was an idiot.

He stretched his tongue out and gently licked Shaohui’s hand that was stroking his fur. The thorny surface of his tongue made a small cut on Shaohui’s little hand, and Er Mao drew his tongue back tasting the blood.

“Er Mao!” Li Lei shouted out in terror. The child’s skin was soft and tender, and a mere lick from Er Mao had cut him. Xiao Ling was going to get so mad at him seeing Shaohui’s injured hand, and she would definitely lose her temper at him. Li Lei was close to tears. Er Mao had never licked Li Rui in all the years that they had stayed together. He thought that this leopard was clever and knew not to harm the children. Who knew…

Li Lei pulled Shaohui’s hand back to check it. Thankfully, the cut was minor.

“Does it hurt?” Li Lei asked anxiously before instructing his helper waiting at the side. “Call the doctor over.”

However, Shaohui shook his head. He had stayed with his uncle since he was a child and was used to climbing trees, digging through mudbanks, and running around in the mountainous terrain of the countryside. Cuts like these were common. It was a small cut and didn’t hurt him at all. He stared at Er Mao curiously, wondering why this leopard decided to lick him.

He stretched his hand out again to test.

“Shaohui!” Li Lei was almost going berserk. This child… did he not know how to be afraid?

Shaohui ignored Li Lei and took two steps forward, coming close to Er Mao again. Er Mao lowered his head to sniff his hand. This time, he didn’t lick him but instead rubbed his head affectionately against Shaohui’s palm.

Li Lei breathed a sigh of relief as he watched in amazement. Er Mao was a haughty leopard, and he of all people knew that Er Mao had never paid any attention to any of the kids in the Li Family, including Li Rui. He would always walk away from them without even looking back, uninterested in playing with them.

Shaohui was the first child that Er Mao was voluntarily willing to get close to.

And Shaohui? His round, chubby face was full of smiles. “I knew you would like me!” He had a way with animals and few didn’t like him.

Er Mao rubbed against him affectionately again.

After which, he stretched his tongue out again and carefully touched Shaohui’s hand. This time, there was no aggression in his lick. He simply touched Shaohui’s palm ever so lightly, leaving a sticky patch of his saliva over the injury he had created before.

Li Rui’s face was full of disgust. How gross! Who knew how much bacteria was in Er Mao’s saliva!

He pulled at his nanny, urging her to pull his wheelchair further away from them.

Shaohui was not bothered by Er Mao’s saliva on his hand, his smile becoming all the more radiant. “Er Mao, are you trying to help me take care of my cut? Thank you.” Having stayed in the countryside since he was young, Shaohui knew that wild beasts would always lick their own wounds when they were injured. Their saliva had antiseptic properties and was able to stop bleeding effectively, better than any medicine.

Er Mao closed his eyes lazily. Hmm… communicating with this little owner was easy.

He had intentionally cut Shaohui earlier to taste his blood. Now, he was certain that this cute child was his owner’s biological son. His poor owner was still in the dark. How…

Dumb.

Er Mao felt intellectually superior to Li Lei.

He played with this little child for a while more before the family doctor arrived. The doctor took a closer look at Shaohui’s cut and saw that it was nothing serious. Shaohui was having fun playing with Er Mao, patting and stroking him, and Er Mao lay down flat on the floor becoming a huge leopard rug, letting Shaohui lie and roll over him in the sun.

Li Lei watched on in shock. This… was this the same haughty Er Mao?!

This… this leopard must have been changed by someone?!

Li Rui too was watching on in a daze. Hmph… this irritating leopard ignored him all the time and would start to growl menacingly every time he went near. Why was he being so friendly with this stranger? Anger started to build in Li Rui’s heart. He suddenly drew courage and struggled to stand, hobbling off the wheelchair, intending to pull Er Mao’s tail.

“Roar!” Er Mao turned around abruptly and roared at Li Rui.

His deep, loud roar permeated the area, making birds fly off the trees in terror. Li Rui was so frightened his legs gave way and he fell to the ground. “Boohoohoo…” He started to cry out loud.

The nanny and family doctor ran over to help him up and check if he had been hurt.

Er Mao was unbothered and moved away lazily, trying to get further away from this noisy, idiotic human being.

Shaohui was playing with Er Mao and only turned around in shock when he heard Li Rui’s cries. This Li Rui always made himself seem so high and mighty, but why was he such a coward? How could he be frightened by Er Mao? Er Mao was so cute! Li Rui was such an embarrassment.

Although he was thinking so in his heart, Shaohui still walked over to show concern to Li Rui.

However, he hadn’t reached Li Rui when he felt a heavy weight pull him back. He turned and saw Er Mao biting on the corner of his shirt and pulling him backward.

Little Shaohui was stunned and couldn’t understand what Er Mao was doing.

Li Rui started to cry more intently, pointing a finger at Shaohui. “Boohoohoo… you big bully!” He cried without a care for his young master image.

Little Shaohui was even more stunned now. “How have I bullied you at all?”

Er Mao blew a huff through his nose in disdain. Urgh, why was this family so idiotic. Don’t misunderstand… he wasn’t calling Li Rui and Su Tang idiotic. This mother and son pair were clever ones. He was calling his owner and that silly woman, Ye Xingling, and their little child here idiotic.

Little owner… haven’t you met with people who would just put the blame on you regardless?

Thankfully, you haven’t walked over to him yet. Otherwise, there was no way that you would be able to wash yourself clean from the situation.

Er Mao felt worried for the intellect of this family. He pulled his little owner a few more steps further away from the commotion. Sigh… it was up to him, Er Mao, to take care of this family.

On the other end, Li Rui was still being a nuisance. “Boohoohoo… you’re fighting with me over Er Mao! You’ve combined forces with Er Mao to bully me! Boohoohoo… I don’t care! You have to pay me back!”

“What do I have to pay you back for?” Shaohui was confused.

“You have to pay for my injuries!” Li Rui stretched his hand out revealing an abrasion from when he fell down. “You also have to pay me for a new set of clothes!” Today, he had worn a new outfit with the intent to outshine Shaohui. This set of clothes was expensive as his mother had got the best child tailor in the world to custom-make a suit for him. He could hardly bear to let anyone touch the suit. Yet, he had taken a huge fall in the dirt in this new suit today!

Shaohui frowned. He was kindhearted but hated when others blamed him for something he didn’t do.

“You can just wait for it then.” He threw down this sentence before running back to play with Er Mao.

Li Lei, who was watching this play out to the side, stared at the cute child playing with Er Mao and at Li Rui sitting on the floor refusing to stand up. He felt a headache coming. He was so dumb… so dumb… he had always prevented Xiao Ling and Su Tang from meeting for fear that they would fight. Why didn’t he think that Shaohui and Li Rui could get into a fight too?