Chapter 44: 43. Qiqi
“Good morning, Mr. Fisher. You got up later than usual today.”
By the time Fisher came down, Feilon was already sitting in the dining room reading the newspaper, with Nana beside her having breakfast. To Fisher’s surprise, there was an additional little girl in the restaurant this time; it was the werewolf girl adopted by Feilon, Qiqi.
With her short brown hair, two pointed ears stood upright as she held a cup slightly larger than her palm, drinking milk.
The most significant difference between the werewolf race and the dog-human race lies in their ears and the amount of fur on their bodies. Dog-humans have floppy ears and usually have much more hair than werewolves. Overall, werewolves possess a higher combat ability than dog-humans, while dog-humans have better learning capabilities.
She carefully glanced at Fisher, who had come downstairs, then looked at Feilon beside her, and finally took a sip of milk.
Feilon raised the newspaper in his hand and said to Fisher, “This is last week’s newspaper from Saint Nali. It says that the king is planning to establish an environmental investigation committee to check the factories around Saint Nali that emit black smoke and purify the air, so that the black smoke doesn’t blow into the Golden Palace every windy season.”
“That sounds good; at least the residents of the city won’t have to worry about getting lung disease and dying one day. The king also can’t stand the clear sky of the Golden Palace being covered by gas.”
Fisher took a seat and thanked the maid who brought breakfast. Feilon also put down the newspaper and sighed at Fisher, “Indeed, according to the latest statistics from Saint Nali University, sixty-four percent of the citizens of Saint Nali are primarily concerned about the air they breathe. Sacrificing the interests of a few entrepreneurs in exchange for the health of the majority is also a necessary action.”
Before Feilon could finish his words, the werewolf girl beside them had already set down her milk cup and grabbed Feilon’s sleeve, pouting and saying, “Papa, you didn’t answer my question. Can’t I go to the outer city to see her today?”
Feilon tapped his own gas mask in distress and said to Fisher, “Sorry, Mr. Fisher, this child has made a pen pal at the school outside the city and insists on going to meet her today.”
He turned his head to Qiqi and said, “But Papa has things to do today, and Nana also has to continue settling the subhumans who came to live here. I can’t just let a maid or soldier take you out without worrying.”
Qiqi puffed up her cheeks, cutely hugging her arms, looking angry, and her eyes brimmed with tears, adding to her cuteness.
“Papa, you promised me.”
Seeing that Qiqi was about to cry, Feilon helplessly reached out and hugged her in his arms. Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, he turned his head to Fisher and asked, “Mr. Fisher, do you have any plans today?”
“I’ll be taking Raphael and the others to the city to buy some supplies.”
“Ah, that’s great.” Feilon stroked the girl’s head in his arms and clapped his hands, saying, “Could you take Qiqi with you to meet her pen pal outside the city? You know how humans outside see them; I can’t just let someone take her without feeling at ease.”
Qiqi looked at Fisher with teary eyes from Feilon’s embrace, her ears flapping slightly, her gaze filled with wariness.
Fisher glanced at her and then nodded in agreement. “I’ll take care of her; it’s a good chance to keep her company with that noisy little dragon, Ral.”
“Ugh, Papa, I don’t want that little dragon with me; she always steals my toys! I dislike her the most!”
Feilon laughed and patted her head, then said, “You shouldn’t say such things about others. Sharing toys with others won’t hurt; being generous might just lead you to a good friend.” He looked at Fisher and said, “Mr. Fisher, I’ll leave Qiqi in your care for now.”
With that settled, when Raphael and Ral came downstairs from their room, Feilon temporarily left to go to the laboratory, saying he needed to change the nutrient solution in his mask, leaving only Nana to remind Qiqi what to pay attention to outside the city.
“Fisher! Ral dreamed about Lord Raphael last night and feels like she can hear her voice!”
Ral ran over and jumped into Fisher’s arms. As soon as she said this, everyone’s expressions subtly changed, Mill’s face flushed, Fashir and Keshil looked at Fisher with a peculiar expression, and Nana pretended not to hear while holding a bewildered Qiqi.
Only Raphael, who was gritting her teeth, reached out to give a good punch to the innocent Ral, wanting her to understand what it means to speak without thinking.
Fisher remained impassive and simply said to Ral, “That was an illusion; maybe you missed Raphael too much.”
These words earned him disdainful looks from Keshil and Fashir.
“But today, you all have to come with me to buy some supplies and also take Qiqi to meet her friend. Ral, you watch over Qiqi and stay with her.”
With Ral’s emblem still on her, being with Qiqi ensured her safety.
Ral glanced at Qiqi, who was looking at her warily from Nana’s embrace, then smiled at Fisher, “Okay! She and Ral are good friends. She always lends her toys to Ral, and Ral really likes her!”
“…”
That might be the case, Fisher thought, not dwelling too much on it.
He couldn’t quite grasp why Feilon would entrust him with taking Qiqi out. If the other party harbored malice, they shouldn’t place a child beside him unless they intended to use the child for something.
For instance, kidnapping the child midway and falsely accusing him of harming the subhuman child.
Various thoughts flashed in Fisher’s mind as he began to outline the details of their outing to ensure there were no flaws.
“Remember to listen to Mr. Fisher once you’re out. This is Daddy’s badge; if anything happens, show this and tell them Daddy is Feilon, the City Lord. He will definitely get to the bottom of it. Do you understand, Qiqi?”
“Yes, I understand, Miss Nana.”
Nana handed a deep blue badge to Qiqi, gently stroking her ear, and reiterated her warnings. Qiqi lowered her head and grasped the badge tightly, then nodded.
“It seems you’re all almost ready. At the door, the soldiers will let you out. When you return, let Qiqi show her badge.”
Not long after, Feilon returned, changed into a set of clothes, and said to Fisher, “As the City Lord, I still have many other things to take care of, so I won’t go out with you. I’ll go with Nana first.”
Fisher then took Qiqi and the others to his carriage, which had been parked outside the residence all this time, while the horses were entrusted to the servants for care. After preparing everything and ensuring the lock on his carriage hadn’t been tampered with, Fisher instructed the dragonfolk to get in.
“Hi, I’m Ral. Even though you haven’t talked to me, I know your name is Qiqi, right?”
“…”
“Thank you for lending me your toys. I have toys too, but they’re not mine; Fisher gave them to me. Do you want to see them?”
“…”
Ral, who had come close to the carriage, chattered away while introducing the spatial magic inside the carriage. She picked up the hourglass that Fisher had given her to keep her quiet and wanted to lend it to Qiqi.
Qiqi wore a small deep green dress, holding a gift wrapped in colorful paper, silently sitting behind Fisher, glancing at Ral occasionally but not speaking.
Keshil and Fashir sat on the stairs, watching Ral and laughing, “You idiot, she can’t understand what you’re saying; stop talking! You’re driving us crazy!”
“Ral is not an idiot! Even if she doesn’t understand Ral’s words, she should still respond. Is she mute? But Ral has clearly heard her talk before; does she only act mute in front of Ral?”
Ignoring Ral’s continued chatter, Fisher glanced at Qiqi behind him and asked, “Qiqi, where is your pen pal? Let’s go meet her first.”
She raised her head to look at Fisher, her ears perked up, and then lifted the gift in her hand, saying, “She lives at 74 Second Street, named Angela. She said I just need to call her name downstairs. And… there’s one more thing I’d like to ask you, Mr. Fisher.”
“What is it?”
She glanced at Fisher, who was holding the reins in front, then took out a small sunhat from her bosom, put it on her head to cover her ears, glanced back at the dragonfolk, and said, “Can you let them stay in the carriage and not let Angela see them?”
“…”
Only after she started speaking did Fisher suddenly realize that after coming out, Qiqi had become much quieter, as if she dared not speak for fear of revealing the werewolf’s characteristic fangs. Her tail was also covered by her long dress, and the ribbon under her hat was tied tightly in a knot to prevent it from falling off.
“I didn’t tell Angela that I’m a subhuman. I heard Nana and other soldier uncles say that humans outside look down on subhumans, so that’s why…”
“…It’s okay, but you’d better stay where I can see you. What did you two plan to do?”
“We didn’t plan anything; I just want to meet her. She mentioned in her letter that there’s a coffee shop below her house that serves really good drinks. If I go, she’ll treat me, and I’ll definitely stay within your line of sight. Please.”
Fisher nodded. They had already exited the inner city that Feilon built for the subhumans and were heading toward the outer road.
“To ensure your safety, I must stay close to you. Their safety is equally important to me, so they can’t leave me either. We will enter the coffee shop together. However, we will pretend not to know you until she leaves.”
Qiqi’s eyes lit up, and she flashed a bright smile at Fisher, “Thank you, Mr. Fisher.”
Everyone, I’m so cute, so please give me some tickets! Please, please!
(*`*)
(End of chapter)
