Future Beast World: Becoming A Pampered Beauty-Chapter 313 - 252: The Bond of Nurturing Is Stronger Than the Bond of Birth

Chapter 313: Chapter 252: The Bond of Nurturing Is Stronger Than the Bond of Birth

Sang Luo was at a loss for words.

’This child still thinks he’s dreaming.’

Sang Luo didn’t correct him. She held the little lion tighter and whispered, "I’m sorry. Mommy wasn’t there for you before. You’ve grown so much, and I wasn’t a part of your childhood..."

Her voice trailed off, unable to continue. After a moment’s thought, she decided to ask.

"Mommy came this time to take you with me. Would Little Sun be willing to come with Mommy?"

The little lion blinked, realizing she was calling him Little Sun. "Hephis..." he murmured happily. Then he remembered something and glanced toward the door. "Mommy, can we wait for Father to come? We can all go out and play together, okay?"

Sang Luo froze for a second, then shook her head with a smile. "Your father is the Monarch of the Empire. He has to stay here and attend to his duties. How about Mommy just takes you with me, okay?"

The little lion hesitated. He jumped out of her arms, took two steps back, and looked at her with his ears drooping.

Sang Luo’s arms paused in mid-air.

The little lion didn’t say anything, but she knew the answer.

He had chosen his father.

Sang Luo was genuinely taken aback. Perhaps because she had never encountered something like this before, she had never considered that her son would refuse her.

Her previous children had all been very attached to her. She had taken it for granted that she, their birth mother, was the most important person in their lives. If you asked them to choose between their father and mother, they would have absolutely chosen their mother... She had been biased from the start, selfishly coming here to take the little lion away.

Come to think of it, the grace of giving birth didn’t necessarily outweigh seven years of raising him.

Duotu was the one who had always been by the child’s side, loving him with everything he had.

Yet here she was, having only just learned her child’s name. She didn’t even know what colors the little lion liked, or what he liked to eat... She knew nothing at all.

It was only natural that Hephis wanted to stay by Duotu’s side.

The father and son were the ones who truly depended on each other, the closest of kin.

Sang Luo felt a little relieved that she hadn’t just summoned her son directly last time. Instead, she had made another trip to ask his opinion, which allowed her to learn his true feelings.

She respected her child’s choice.

"Alright, little Hephis. Then you be a good boy and stay with your daddy. Mommy will come see you again when I have the chance, okay?"

"Okay." The little lion returned to her embrace and snuggled against her happily.

Sang Luo gently squeezed his fluffy cheeks with both hands. "Little Sun is the nickname Mommy gave you. I know so little about you; I didn’t even know your name. In the past, whenever I thought of you, I would call you Little Sun in my heart. The first time I saw my sweet boy, it was like I was looking at a cute little sun... But now that I know your name, I’ll call you Hephis."

"The name Little Sun is really nice! Mommy can keep calling me that!"

"Yes, my sweet boy." Sang Luo gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The mother and son spent a long time together.

Seeing that it was almost time, Sang Luo said to Hephis, "Mommy has to go now."

"Ah? Mommy is leaving so soon?"

"Yes, Mommy has other things to do. I’ll come see you again when I have time, okay?"

"...Okay." The little lion was very reluctant to see her go.

Sang Luo added a reminder, "My visit this time is a little secret between us. Don’t tell your daddy, okay?"

"Why can’t I tell Daddy?" Hephis was confused. "Daddy misses Mommy a lot too."

"...If Daddy finds out, Mommy might not be able to come anymore." Sang Luo didn’t know how to explain their relationship to a child. Their Soul Contract had long been dissolved, and they were no longer partners. But they were, in fact, his birth father and birth mother, connected by this parental bond. So she just glossed over it with a single sentence.

The little lion was a smart one. He could see that his mother was hesitant and didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so he nodded in a daze. "Don’t worry, Mommy, I won’t tell Daddy. But you have to promise me you’ll remember to come back again. Don’t make Little Sun wait so long anymore."

"Okay, pinky promise."

Sang Luo looked down at the little lion’s paw pads and couldn’t help but smile. She grabbed one of his thick, pink pads and gave it a squeeze, then pressed the center with her thumb. "There. Just like that, Mommy and Little Sun have made a pact. I’ll come see you again soon."

She hugged the child and kissed him again, then used her spiritual power to put him to sleep.

She placed the finished wooden lion carving between his two overlapping front paws.

Sang Luo gave the sleeping little lion one last look. After a moment, she took out a camera, snapped a few pictures of him, and then left.

Duotu did not return early today. He had a lot of work piled up from the past few days and would be busy for a while. Unsure if the child had eaten, he had squeezed in some time at noon to check on him.

The little lion also slept... and woke up hungry.

After a wonderful dream, he had just gotten up and was stretching comfortably when the small wooden carving rolled out from under him, nearly falling off the bed.

He lunged forward and snatched the little carving. When he saw that it was a lifelike sculpture of a small lion, he blinked his beautiful, emerald-green beast eyes in confusion.

"Huh? Did Father give this to me? It’s so pretty. Father’s craftsmanship has improved again."

Seeing how much he loved playing with wood carvings, Duotu had also tried carving some for him. But no matter how beautiful they were, in Hephis’s heart, they could never compare to the charm of the little figure his mother had carved by hand.

"Father!"

Hephis looked up and saw the man approaching. He happily leaped off the bed with the wood carving in his mouth and jumped into his arms.

Duotu had a smile on his handsome face and was about to say something, but when he saw the wood carving in Hephis’s mouth, he suddenly froze.

After a moment, he reached out and took the lion carving, his deep voice tinged with anger. "Who gave this to you?"

A servant in attendance walked over and knelt in terror. "It was I, Your Majesty. I saw that the Young Master is fond of that little wooden figure, so I took the liberty of carving one in his likeness to please him. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Duotu frowned and asked again, "You made this?"

"I know my mistake! Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Hephis looked at the little wood carving, realized something, and suddenly shouted, "Daddy, don’t punish him! I really like this carving! Let me keep it to play with!"

Seeing that his son liked it, Duotu didn’t say anything more and waved the Beastman away.

"Okay, Daddy! I’m sleepy! I’m going to take a nap, so don’t disturb me!" While Duotu was distracted, the little lion snatched the wood carving from his hand, jumped to the floor, ran to the bed, and pulled the bed curtains shut.

Duotu had come to see if he had eaten on time, but seeing him so full of life, he wasn’t worried anymore. He still had a lot of work to attend to, so he went back to it.

He waited until he heard the door open and close twice.

Hephis was so excited he rolled around on the bed, foolishly clutching the wood carving with his paws—this wasn’t a gift from his father! Last night wasn’t a dream!

It was really his mother!

Mommy is still alive, she isn’t dead!!

Mommy really came back for him!!!

...

Outside, in the palace courtyard.

The Beast Servant’s steps faltered, a dark glint flashing in his eyes. He looked around in confusion, muttering to himself, "Strange, wasn’t I sweeping the courtyard? How did I end up coming out of the hall... What was I just doing?"

He scratched his head and walked away.

Having tied up the loose ends, Sang Luo was about to leave when she remembered what Si Ye had told her before she came.