Chapter 21
Yun Chuman looked at the chaotic living room and thought she might have opened the door wrong.
She pulled the two children back a step, reached for the doorknob, and said as she closed the door, "Sorry to disturb you..."
Yun Juan and Yun Shu finally recovered from their shock at this moment. They turned to look at each other, exchanged a glance, and then nodded firmly. A split second before the door closed, they both slipped through the crack, each faster and more agile than the other.
Yun Chuman didn't even have time to react. When the door closed, her first thought upon seeing the empty space beside her was, "Where are the children? Where are my two big kids?!"
The viewers in the live stream were completely surprised by Yun Juan and Yun Shu's sudden rush in. The two children, who had been well-behaved and obedient since the show started, had never done anything so unexpected.
Therefore, one second they were laughing at Yun Chuman's reaction, and the next they were screaming with worry for the children's safety. Furry kids fight without thinking. Even Mo Rongwen couldn't stop them, let alone two unfamiliar children. Wouldn't they just get beaten up if they went over?
They wanted to see a good show, but not one where two children were injured and bleeding.
Yun Chuman and Mo Rongwen were equally surprised.
Realizing what was happening, Yun Chuman panicked, quickly reopened the door, and rushed into the living room.
Forgetting his social anxiety and gloomy mood, Mo Rongwen abruptly stood up from the corner, intending to pull the two children away.
However, before they could even get close, they were stunned by the scene before them.
The two children split up after entering the living room. Their short legs moved incredibly fast.
Yun Juan went straight for the husky that had been beaten up, while Yun Shu went straight for the pug and hairless cat that were still bumping into each other.
The two children arrived almost simultaneously and then solemnly directed their childish voices to the furry creatures in front of them, "Good children don't fight!"
Most surprisingly, the furry creatures actually stopped when they heard them.
However, their gazes towards Yun Juan and Yun Shu were strange, filled with confusion and a hint of bewilderment.
Yun Chuman hesitated and was about to walk towards the two children, when she noticed Mo Rongwen gesturing for her to stay put in the corner.
She frowned, reluctantly stopping.
They didn't know the situation and dared not act rashly. The furry creatures were lenient with children, but that didn't necessarily apply to adults.
The furry creatures weren't attacking the children yet, but if they, the two adults, accidentally angered any of the cats or dogs, the children would be the ones to suffer.
So, an eerie silence fell over the living room.
Yun Chuman and Mo Rongwen dared not move.
Yun Juan stared wide-eyed at the golden and silver shaded cats riding on the husky's back.
The husky covered its head, unable to move, while the orange cat, seemingly unconcerned, sat steadily on its head, feigning sleep.
Yun Shu stood between the pug and the hairless cat. Her two short, chubby arms outstretched to the sides, seemingly trying to mediate the fight.
The little Pomeranian on the sofa was still perched on the Ragdoll. Its beautiful, fluffy head tilted, staring blankly at the little girl.
This quiet atmosphere lasted for an unknown amount of time before the pug finally made its move.
Perhaps exhausted from the fight, the pug couldn't stand for long and plopped down on the floor, panting pitifully with its tongue lolling out. Its comically awkward appearance, coupled with its large, watery eyes, made it look incredibly pathetic.
Yun Shu frowned slightly. Slowly, she crouched down like a little crab, and after seeing that neither the pug nor the hairless cat reacted, she gently stroked the pug's head.
The pug didn't resist; instead, it let out a pitiful whimper.
Yun Shu's heart softened immediately. She gently stroked the pug's round shoulder, the spot where it had just used its ‘self-sacrificing attack,’ and whispered, "Does it hurt? Do you want some water? Where's your water bowl?"
The pug's body swayed, landing squarely in her arms, and its eyes fixed on a corner.
The hairless cat opposite it bared its small, sharp teeth, turning its head away in disdain and looking utterly disgusted.
Yun Shu was following the pug's gaze and didn't notice its action.
A row of brightly colored pet food and water bowls stood in the corner, each labeled with a corresponding animal image.
Yun Shu scanned the pug, stretched out her short, chubby arms, and laboriously lifted it up. The dog wasn't big, but it was quite heavy.
She huffed and puffed as she carried the pug to the water bowl. After casually wiping the sweat from her brow, she squatted down, tilted her little head, and said with a smile, "Have some water first."
Then she stood up and toddled towards the hairless cat.
The pug casually licked the water a couple of times and slowly turned around. Its eyes fixed on Yun Shu, showing no signs of being tired or thirsty.
Yun Chuman saw the interaction between Yun Shu and the pug clearly. She couldn't help but think to herself, "Why is this pug acting so tea?"
The hairless cat, noticing Yun Shu approaching, instinctively tried to get up and leave. It wasn't that silly dog that pretended to be pitiful. It didn't want to be carried by a little girl.
However, Yun Shu was a step faster than it.
Having learned from her experience with the pug, the little girl became much bolder. She ran straight to the hairless cat, squatted down, and said softly, "Don't fight! What's so good about fighting? That little dog is crying in pain and your handsome clothes are all wrinkled, little cat!"
She reached out her hand to the hairless cat.
The hairless cat froze, looking down in surprise. It saw those chubby little hands unbutton its clothes, tug at the hem, and then deftly button them back up.
Yun Shu nodded in satisfaction. "That's much more handsome!"
The hairless cat awkwardly turned its head to the side, its eyes constantly glancing at Yun Shu. Finally, it slowly stood up. As it left, it gently nudged her chin with its tail.
Yun Shu immediately giggled, scratching her chubby chin a couple of times. So ticklish!
The hairless cat glanced at her again before taking a few steps away, but stopped abruptly. It suddenly remembered that it seemed to have bumped into its owner, so it turned and walked towards Mo Rongwen.
Mo Rongwen had raised it for so long; how could he not see what had just happened?
He was speechless. "Thank you for remembering me!"
Resolving the fight between the pug and the hairless cat, Yun Shu then stood up and ran towards the sofa.
Before she even got close, the little Pomeranian raised its head and haughtily snorted.
Yun Shu didn't mind at all. She gently took the paw that was stepping on the Ragdoll cat's paw and said with a smile, "You two are so beautiful, how can you fight? It's so unsightly."
"Be good, let go of the paw, okay?"
The little Pomeranian's bright black eyes lit up. This human girl had good taste; she could see its beauty on their first meeting. For now, it would listen to her. Anyway, it was tired. The dog released the ragdoll cat, tilted its head back, wagged its tail, and slowly walked to the other end of the sofa to rest.
Yun Shu breathed a sigh of relief and smoothed the ragdoll cat's ruffled fur. However, she didn't quite understand why such a big cat was being pinned down by a tiny dog.
Feeling the little girl's gentle touch, the ragdoll cat's blue eyes welled up with tears. It meowed, stood up from the sofa, and jumped into her arms.
Sob sob It didn't know why that pretty little dog had suddenly started hitting it, and then it was inexplicably pinned down! This human girl was practically its hero, much better than its owner!
Surrounded by fluffy fur, Yun Shu couldn't help but laugh, patting its back with her chubby little hand in comfort.
The little Pomeranian glanced at the huddled person and cat and snorted again.
That silly cat actually wanted a hug from a human girl! If it weren't for its good looks, it wouldn't have pretended to beat it up to avoid the Golden and Silver duo dragging it into a group fight!
The pug, sitting beside the water basin, looked at Yun Shu with eyes full of surprise and admiration. Could this be what humans call a social bull? Envious!
Seeing Yun Shu instantly deal with four, Yun Chuman was speechless with astonishment. That was incredible!
Mo Rongwen was also somewhat surprised, but not entirely unexpected.
Because he knew these four were relatively docile; the troublesome ones were the Golden and Silver duo and the husky. As for the fat orange cat…
When it heard Yun Shu say that the Ragdoll and the Pomeranian were cute, it curiously went over and even spun around in front of Yun Shu to show off its beauty. It hadn't eaten for half a day and had lost a lot of weight.
Yun Shu laughed heartily at its round, chubby appearance. She squatted down to stroke its plump body: "You're so cute!"
The chubby orange cat rubbed contentedly against her palm. It also thought it was cute too.
Holding the ragdoll cat in her arms and having the orange cat lying beside her, Yun Shu felt both satisfied and worried as she looked at elder brother.
Yun Juan was still confronting the golden and silver shaded cats. The husky lying on the ground turned around, looking at him pleadingly.
Not far away, two chinchillas watched them with their small, beady eyes.
"Why are you fighting? Aren't you friends?" Yun Juan asked seriously with a small face.
silver shaded cat glanced at him. This child was so strange. How could cats and dogs be friends?
golden shaded cat looked at Yun Juan, looked at its younger brother, meowed, and asked him what to do next. Should they beat the human boy as well?
silver shaded cat glanced at Yun Shu and found that they were already in harmony. It immediately lost interest in continuing the fight, swung his tail, jumped off the husky and left.
The golden shaded cat followed closely behind.
The two little chinchillas looked at each other in surprise, the gold and silver duo actually just let it go!
The husky instantly stood up and kept rubbing its head against Yun Juan, crying and howling.
The little human boy was so awesome. Not only did he save it, he also recognized it as a friend of the cats!
It was so touched. It was not easy for it to be an undercover dog among dogs for so many years. The gold and silver duo still misunderstood it! It was almost too much for the dog to bear!
Though unaware of its thoughts, Yun Juan stumbled back two steps after being bumped by the husky. He instinctively hugged the dog's head, but ultimately couldn't help laughing.
Yun Chuman stared blankly at the seemingly harmonious scene. Was it really resolved just like that?
Mo Rongwen couldn't help but question his existence. He rubbed his waist and thighs. When the two Yun family kids tried to break up the fight, nothing happened; but when he did, he got a beating from the furry friends.
Who, then, was their owner?!
After a while, seeing that the cat-and-dog fight had indeed been resolved by the two kids, Yun Chuman led them to greet Mo Rongwen, who was still huddled in the corner: "Hello, Mr. Mo, it's a pleasure recording this episode with you."
Mo Rongwen snapped out of his daze, stiffly hugging the hairless cat in his arms, almost squeezing it until its eyes rolled back.
He took a deep breath, avoiding Yun Chuman's gaze, and whispered, "Hello..."
Yun Chuman knew he was socially awkward from the preview, so she didn't find his behavior impolite.
After their mommy finished greeting them, Yun Juan and Yun Shu tilted their heads up and said in clear, crisp voices in unison, "Hello, Elder Brother Mo! I'm Yun Juan/I'm Yun Shu, nice to meet you!"
"Elder Brother..."
Mo Rongwen looked at them in surprise.
After what had just happened, he had changed his opinion of Yun Juan and Yun Shu. Unlike the unruly children he remembered, these two were quite well-behaved.
Not only that, they had also helped him resolve a cat-and-dog fight, so he had some anticipation for this episode. But that didn't mean he could accept being called "elder brother"!
Their mommy was still present! According to this generational hierarchy, what should he call Yun Chuman? Auntie?
Even after racking his brains, socially awkward Mo Rongwen couldn't utter a single word. Finally, he looked to Yun Chuman for help, hoping she could correct the two children's way of addressing each other.
However, Yun Chuman smiled at him and deliberately asked, "Mr. Mo, is there something you need?"
Mo Rongwen's face darkened. He hesitated before finally managing to squeeze out, "N-nothing..."
Yun Chuman chuckled mischievously to herself. She deliberately didn't correct the children's way of addressing each other; after all, Mo Rongwen had given her such a big "surprise." Heaven knew how terrified she was when she saw Yun Juan and Yun Shu run into the middle of the cat-and-dog fight.
Although she understood that this wasn't really Mo Rongwen's fault—after all, he was injured—she couldn't very well take it out on the animals.
The number of viewers in the live stream increased after the encounter between the human cubs and the furry children.
—What's going on? What Mo Rongwen had struggled so hard to achieve was easily solved by the two children?
—Is this the power of human cubs?
—I almost died laughing when I saw the Ragdoll and the Husky crying while holding the two cubs. I bet they were saying Movie Star Mo is useless, hahaha.
—The little Pug is so tea, and the little Pomeranian is so arrogant. Does it know it's pretty?
—Hahaha, am I the only one focusing on the generational difference between Mo Rongwen and Yun Chuman?
—The two cubs are too cute! I love cubbies who call everyone "elder brother" and "elder sister" and never mention "uncle" or "aunt."
—Me too, even though Movie Star Mo inexplicably became Yun Chuman's cheap nephew, hahaha.
—Mo Rongwen's expression is meme-worthy, so funny.
—Ahhh, the fluffies are fighting again!
—Why are they fighting? Did anyone see it?
—I don't know, I was watching them the whole time and it inexplicably started.
The people in the house naturally noticed the cat and dog fight had started again.
However, the hairless cat in Mo Rongwen's arms reacted faster. It broke free, leaped easily, landed steadily, and headed straight for the battlefield.
Yun Chuman, Yun Juan, and Yun Shu were a beat slower, turning around to see three dogs and five cats engaged in a massive melee, with two chinchillas excitedly circling around.
Yun Chuman watched the two little figures almost disappearing into afterimages and couldn't help but think that Mo Rongwen's two chinchillas were incredibly bold and practically superhuman.
This time, she reacted quickly, grabbing the two children to prevent them from getting closer. The melee was far more dangerous than before, something Yun Juan and Yun Shu couldn't handle.
She finally understood: golden and silver shaded cats, especially the golden shaded, were incredibly strong fighters, able to attack almost anything they wanted. And the two cats even coordinated!
Yun Chuman gasped in fear, relieved that they hadn't tried to attack Yun Juan.
The husky's size gave it an advantage, though. It didn't discriminate, attacking cats one minute and dogs the next.
The hairless cat and the pug clashed again, neither giving an inch.
The Pomeranian was fighting the chubby orange tabby. Being smaller, it was quickly overpowered, howling in pain.
As for the Ragdoll cat…
Yun Chuman thought that if it were human, it would be a complete silly little beauty. The other cats and dogs had been fighting for a while before it realized the danger around it, but by then it was too late; it couldn't escape.
Mo Rongwen was used to this kind of scene and rushed over without thinking.
Yun Chuman watched helplessly as the husky headbutted him, and the golden shaded cat kicked him in the stomach.
Mo Rongwen grimaced. He couldn't last five seconds on the battlefield before rolling out and clutching his stomach.
Yun Chuman gasped: "Hiss..."
She couldn't let the two kids go in; what would they get beaten up if they did!
Yun Juan and Yun Shu had just interacted with the furry creatures and felt they actually had good personalities. This fight seemed problematic and they subconsciously didn't want them to continue. But even though they were young, they knew no one would believe them if they said that.
The two children stamped their feet anxiously, secretly glancing at their collars, which Yun Chuman was tightly gripping. They exchanged a glance and simultaneously twisted their bodies rapidly.
Yun Chuman was engrossed in watching the cat-and-dog fight and, without noticing, the two children broke free. By the time she reacted, Yun Juan and Yun Shu were already in front of the cats and dogs.
Startled, she quickly followed: "Little Juan, Little Shu!"
"Elder Brother, catch the golden and silver kitties!"
Yun Juan was faster. Running behind him, Yun Shu called out as they went.
Without a second thought, Yun Juan swiftly grabbed the Golden and Silver duo by the scruff of their necks from among the fluffy cats.
The two cats, who were throwing punches at the husky, were startled by the sudden lift and their fur stood on end.
Realizing the intruder, the other fluffy cats initially tried to pounce on Yun Juan and Yun Shu, but stopped upon seeing who it was and quietly watched the two children.
Only the Golden and Silver duo had their necks seized and were meowing incessantly at the air.
Lying on the ground with a throbbing stomach, Mo Rongwen realized for the first time that his own fluffy cats were hypocritical! Why wasn't he treated this way when he tried to break up the fight?!
Yun Chuman, who had caught up, stopped. A puzzled expression emerged on her face. What was going on? Had they stopped them again? Were Yun Juan and Yun Shu the youngest cubs among the fluffy cats?
Yun Juan placed the gold and silver cats on the ground, frowning earnestly, "Didn't I just say not to fight? Why do you have to fight?"
Yun Shu stood beside them, nodding, "That's right, look at yourselves. You shed fur every time you fight. You'll go bald!"
The furry creatures were initially shocked and then all looked at the hairless cat.
The hairless cat: ...
So annoying! It hated it when people said it had no fur. It did have fur! Just very lightly!
Yun Shu vaguely sensed its irritation, walked over and patted its head. Then she held out her palm in front of its eyes, feigning surprise, "Oh! Look, you're shedding fur too!"
The furry creatures peered over again and indeed saw a few almost invisible short, light-colored hairs.
The husky chuckled foolishly, while the pug turned away, smirking.
The Pomeranian, Ragdoll, and orange tabby huddled together, heads touching, trying to hide their mouths.
The hairless cat paused for a moment and then rubbed its head against Yun Shu's cheek at once.
Watching the commotion, the gold and silver cats turned back and glared at Yun Juan. They were very unhappy with this human boy for repeatedly interrupting their fight.
"Meow meow meow!" The golden shaded cat's fur stood on end and its flat ears perked up. It meowed loudly at Yun Juan.
Yun Chuman subconsciously looked at Mo Rongwen beside her: "Mr. Mo, what are your cats saying?"
Mo Rongwen gave her a strange look, thinking that if he could understand what these furry kids were saying, his house wouldn't be so chaotic every day.
He shook his head: "I don't know."
Yun Juan frowned. He could sense the two cats' hostility towards him, so he retorted confidently, "I don't understand! Speak human language if you dare!"
The Gold and Silver duo: ...
You think you're right because you don't understand?! Why don't you learn cat language?!
The silver shaded cat's mouth twitched, revealing a small, sharp tooth. It looked around and pointed at a certain spot: "Meow!"
The next second, two Chinchillas appeared from that spot, trotting over to them.
The Silver shaded cat lowered its head, meowing irritably: "Meow meow meow meow!"
The two Chinchillas looked up, listening intently. Their little eyes darted around before finally nodding.
They first patted Yun Juan's trouser leg. Seeing him look over, they stood beside the Silver shaded cat and him respectively.
The two Chinchillas pointed with their little paws at the people or cats next to them, then simultaneously pointed to themselves.
Then the chinchilla next to the Silver Shaded stood up straight and suddenly swung its little paws.
The chinchilla next to Yun Juan perked up, clenched its little paws into fists, slightly turned its body, and looked sharply at the other.
The chinchilla beside the silver shaded chinchilla mimicked the action, leaping up simultaneously as if ready to fight.
Yun Chuman stared wide-eyed in surprise. No wonder it was the chinchilla raised by the movie star; it was quite the drama queen! But what were they doing?
Yun Juan frowned, watching for a long time before suddenly remembering the chinchilla's claw-swinging motion—it resembled swinging a glove.
He looked at the silver shaded cat and finally spoke after a long pause, "You want to duel with me?"
The silver shaded cat narrowed its eyes, opening its mouth excitedly, "Meow!"
The two chinchillas finally stopped and high-five each other, satisfied that Yun Juan understood their meaning.
"How do we fight?" Yun Juan asked.
The silver shaded cat raised its paw, pointed to the fluffy things behind it, and then to itself: "Meow!"
Then it pointed to Yun Juan and Yun Shu: "Meow!"
Yun Juan raised an eyebrow: "Little Shu and I are on one team, and you and the other cats and dogs are on one team?"
The two chinchillas jumped up and raised their hands.
"Oh, and you'll also need to add two little mice," Yun Juan added.
The chinchillas looked at each other and stomped their feet in exasperation. They weren't mice!
The silver shaded cat defiantly raised its chin: "Meow?"
This time, Yun Juan didn't even need the two chinchillas to translate; it knew it was asking "You dare?"
He thought for a moment: "I can, but there are conditions."
The scene of the human and the cat talking was truly bizarre; even Mo Rongwen found it hard to accept.
"Ms. Yun, you...you...aren't you going to do anything about this?" he stammered.
Yun Chuman, on the other hand, was calmer than him.
Twice! Twice in a row, Yun Juan and Yun Shu resolved the cat-and-dog fights.
By now, she could somewhat tell that the two children genuinely didn't want the furry creatures to fight, though she didn't know why.
But they would be spending almost three more days together and she dared to say that every time the furry creatures fought, the two children would rush in. Now that both the golden and silver shaded cats were hostile towards Yun Juan. The two children might not be as lucky as they had been these two times to escape unscathed.
Judging from what Yun Juan said, he seemed to have an idea.
In that case, as his mommy, she should trust him. And it wouldn't be bad to take this opportunity to resolve the conflict with the furry creatures once and for all.
Yun Chuman suppressed her worries for the two children, outwardly feigned composure, and said, "What's wrong with that? We adults shouldn't interfere in the affairs between furry children and human cubs."
Mo Rongwen's eyes widened in surprise. What was this person saying!
On the other side, the silver-shaded cat meowed in confusion when hearing Yun Juan mention conditions.
"The competition must be civilized. I won't use violence against you," Yun Juan said, arms crossed. "Also, after Little Shu and I win, you can't fight each other anymore."
The silver-shaded cat stared at him silently for a while. The chinchilla beside it nudged it with its little paw and its small eyes were sparkling.
The silver-shaded cat glanced at it and nodded: "Meow!"
Yun Juan smiled and looked at Yun Shu: "Little Shu, would you like to accept a duel with elder brother?"
Yun Shu quickly ran to his side. Smiling as she took his hand, she stood opposite the gold and silver duo: "Yes! Little Shu is willing!"
The two children weren't much taller than the two cats. The live stream chat was filled with exclamation marks.
—What did I just witness! A cat challenged a human cub to a duel!
—How did Little Juan understand those two mice's performance?
—Chinchilla, chinchilla! What two mice? But did those two from Movie Star Mo's house gain a spirit?
—Ahhh, although I'm excited, I admit I want to see human babies fight with furry kids!
—What kind of duel is little Juan going to use? One husky over there can easily take down two kids!
This duel was both magical and inexplicably hilarious.
However, Li Rufei, the director of "Every Family Has Its Own Affairs," didn't care about any of that. Long before Yun Juan and the Silver Shaded Cat agreed on the duel, he had his staff cut out this scene and post it on Weibo.
In less than a minute, the hashtag #FurriesChallengesHumanBabies# topped the trending list.
"Finally, we're getting attention again!" Li Rufei clutched her phone. Her hands trembled as she almost bursted into tears. "Thank you to Yun Chuman's two little ones! Thank you to Mo Rongwen's bunch of fluffy creatures. Thank you!"
Author's Note:
【Yun Family Diary】
Yun Juan: If you lose, you'd better learn how to speak human language!
Yun Shu: If you lose, you'd better play house with me~
Fluffy Creatures: We must win this duel!
Yun Chuman: Today I witnessed the moment animals gain a spirit. I'm in a daze.
————
This chapter contains some exaggeration regarding the relationship between the human cubs and the small animals. Mainly, the small animals are all very individualistic. Just between you and me, I did give each one a "persona," [only two chapters (just kidding)] and then there won't be any more.
However, real-life furry animals are actually quite intelligent. There are athletic dogs that can skateboard and ski, mischievous dogs that mock Corgis for their crouching gait, and cats and dogs that care for human infants… Many animals are more intelligent than humans imagine.
And personally, I think human infants and small animals can naturally communicate, so I wrote it in a slightly exaggerated direction (:ะท」∠) If you mind or don't like it, I apologize in advance.