Being a Dad in the Animal World
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He came chasing after him with the three little ones.
Bai Yi looked at them in confusion.
Helpless.
Isa was excited to see him again, rolling around between his front paws and hugging his legs.
Goudan and Wangcai were just as happy, playfully rolling beside him.
Only Jason didn’t dare get too close. He watched Bai Yi warily, afraid that the fierce lion might hit him again.
The young lion couldn’t understand why his brother disliked such interactions. After all, Dilai and the other lions did the same, and nothing happened.
But when he tried it with his brother, not only did he get beaten, but he was also abandoned.
The night his brother left, Dilai drove them out. Back when his brother was around, Dilai never dared to act that way.
As soon as his brother was gone, Dilai tried to kill the three cubs. Jason had no choice but to fight with all his might and escape the pride under their adoptive mother’s protection.
He had followed his brother’s trail, sniffing the faint scent left behind, traveling without food or sleep, constantly on edge, until he finally found him.
Jason felt a little wronged, but he still didn’t dare approach Bai Yi. Instead, he lay down not far away, planning to rest for a while.
He was exhausted.
The three little ones were just as tired. They rolled around in the grass, whining uneasily.
Bai Yi knew they were hungry.
Even if he resented Jason, he couldn’t just leave the three little ones to fend for themselves.
Bai Yi let out a sigh.
It seemed there was no escaping this. He even had to admire Jason’s tracking skills, he had been gone for an entire day, yet Jason still managed to find him with the cubs.
What was meant to happen had happened.
Resigned, Bai Yi lay down to comfort the three cubs. They quickly gathered around him, leaning against him as they settled down.
The little ones were completely worn out. Jason had fallen asleep not far away, and soon the three cubs drifted off too.
Bai Yi glanced up at the rising sun and made up his mind to go hunting.
This area was vast and relatively safe, but that also meant food was scarce.
Otherwise, Bai Yi wouldn’t have run off the moment he woke up just to find food elsewhere.
With Jason and the cubs here, he couldn’t go far.
He waited until they were sound asleep before getting up quietly to hunt.
But the moment he moved, Jason woke up, watching him warily as if afraid he would disappear again.
Bai Yi glanced at Jason, then walked over and let out a low growl, signaling that he was only going hunting.
Jason, who had been thoroughly beaten before, no longer dared to challenge him. This was a good sign.
Bai Yi felt like his lessons were finally working.
You had to discipline troublemakers early; if you waited until they were already spoiled, it would be too late.
Before him stretched a vast, open grassland, there wasn’t even a single bush in sight. The withered grass reflected the morning sunlight, making the scene feel even more desolate.
Bai Yi scanned the area but didn’t see any prey nearby. With no other choice, he continued forward.
Jason followed behind with the three little ones trailing after him.
When he stopped, they stopped too, and the three little ones naturally ran toward him.
Bai Yi sighed helplessly. Was Jason afraid he would run away again?
No matter what he did, he couldn't shake off this extra baggage.
Bai Yi had no choice but to accept it and let them follow behind him.
Not long after, a rotten stench filled the air.
Bai Yi had always despised rotten meat. He would rather starve than eat that kind of "garbage."
From a distance, he could already hear the cries of vultures. Bai Yi walked toward the source of the sound.
Jason and the three little ones followed.
The vultures flew away in fright. Bai Yi glanced at the blackened, decaying animal carcass, covered in wriggling white maggots.
He felt nauseous.
He walked past the rotting meat without stopping, then looked back at Jason, only to see him and the three little ones eating the foul-smelling flesh.
Jason kept glancing at him.
There wasn’t much meat left. After gnawing on the putrid scraps for a while, they left and continued following Bai Yi.
A pang of sadness hit Bai Yi, but he kept moving forward.
He had no idea that Jason and the three little ones had been driven out.
It wasn’t until the filming crew caught up and shoved a camera in his face again that he realized what Dilai had done.
He had thought that since Dilai and Jason had blended into the pride, they wouldn’t be in danger anymore.
The three little ones had a foster mother looking after them, so staying with the pride had to be better than wandering with him.
But just as he was searching for prey to hunt, the filming crew decided that his first hunt was a moment worth capturing, so they started broadcasting a close-up live feed.
Then he heard the female host say "Jason and the little ones have been out here for a while now without a single bite to eat. Bai Yi must have realized this, which is why he’s looking for prey. If all goes well, this will be his first solo hunt, let’s see how he does!"
Bai Yi understood their English commentary. Hearing that Jason and the little ones had been cast out, he stopped in his tracks and turned to the cameraman filming his face.
The cameraman reported to his colleagues "Bai Yi isn’t moving. He seems to be thinking about something."
Of course, humans couldn’t understand what a lion was thinking. Bai Yi was simply wondering whether he should go back for revenge.
Then, he heard the host continue "Jason is injured now, and he’s struggling to move. If Bai Yi can’t hunt on his own, Jason and the three cubs will starve. Let’s hope Bai Yi succeeds."
Bai Yi had been debating whether to return for revenge, but upon hearing that Jason was injured, he turned back to confirm it.
Jason and the three little ones were still following him. Bai Yi walked up to Jason and sniffed him, catching a faint scent of blood on his foreleg.
Lowering his head, Bai Yi took a closer look and found that the fur on Jason’s leg was matted with dried blood.
Seeing Bai Yi approach him, Jason immediately flopped onto his side, as if hoping to play with him.
But Bai Yi wasn’t in the mood for that.
The wound was in a spot Jason couldn’t reach himself. Suppressing his anger, Bai Yi licked the wound clean. Jason stared at him in confusion.
Bai Yi lay down in the tall grass, tending to Jason’s wound for a while before getting up and walking away.
After taking a few steps, he let out a low growl, signaling Jason and the little ones to follow.
Jason seemed to understand. He pushed himself up from the grass and followed behind Bai Yi.
The three little ones trailed closely behind.
Bai Yi saw them following and continued moving forward.
He was heading back.
The streamer and cameraman were stunned. "Xiao Bai suddenly turned around? What is he trying to do?"
Bai Yi wasn’t trying to do anything. He just couldn’t swallow his anger.
The territory was won by him and the lionesses. He had assumed that Dilai would treat Jason and the three cubs well because of him, but the moment he left, Dilai showed his true colors.
Male lions were all the same. There was no point in trying to reform them with kindness and sincerity. Beasts understood nothing, they only cared about their own interests.
As soon as he left, Jason and the cubs lost their protector. To Dilai, keeping Jason and the cubs around only meant more mouths to feed, so he chose to turn his back on them without hesitation.
How shameless must a fully grown lion be to drive out the young? The lionesses were the ones raising the pride anyway.
He was nothing but a useless freeloader, yet he dared to bully others like this.
Bai Yi led Jason and the three cubs back again.
The film crew assumed he had failed to find prey and was returning to seek refuge with Dilai, which excited the "Dibai" fans.
They had thought their ship was over, but now, there was hope for a reunion.
However, they were all wrong. Bai Yi wasn’t going back to rely on Dilai, he was going back to teach him a lesson.
That ungrateful lion needed to learn what happened to those who bullied his cubs.
No one knew what Bai Yi intended to do after turning back.
"Dibai" fans reignited their hopes and wailed in the chat.
"Xiao Bai still likes Dilai! Otherwise, why would he go back?"
"Dilai, go for it! Xiao Bai is back! You must win him over this time!"
"Dibai must be happy together! Wishing them 99!"
Meanwhile "Sonbai" fans were unimpressed.
"Dilai is such a shameless scumbag. The territory belongs to Xiao Bai, the lionesses are his, and yet Dilai dares to drive Jason and the cubs away? I’m not just saying this—aside from Xiao Bai, all male lions in the wild are like this. They never raise another’s cubs."
"Jason is such a sweetheart. He really sees Xiao Bai as his only support. Even after traveling such a long distance with the cubs, he still chased after him. This long and difficult journey to win him over is heartbreaking."
"Jason, hurry and grow up! I really want to see him form his own pride, become his own king. He shouldn’t have to suffer like this anymore, it’s killing me!"
"I have a feeling Jason and Xiao Bai won’t have a happy ending. Will my premonition come true?
Bai Yi's solo fans commented:
"A male lion turning back usually means forming an alliance or seeking revenge. I think it's more likely our Bai Yi is out for revenge, maybe because of Jason and the three cubs."
"Bro, the way you put it, I suddenly feel like supporting Jason and Bai Yi... but I'm a solo Bai Yi fan!"
"Come on, stop kidding around. With how lazy and laid-back Bai Yi is, him going after Di Lai for revenge would be the real surprise. He probably just couldn’t catch anything and went back to freeload again. The only question is whether Di Lai will still take him in."
"Di Lai really went too far. That territory belonged to Bai Yi, yet the moment he left, Di Lai threw Jason and the cubs out overnight. If their surrogate mother hadn’t protected them, those four little lives might not have survived."
"And yet there are still fools supporting Bai Yi and Di Lai. To be honest, no lion in the wild is worthy of our genius Bai Yi. He stands alone in his brilliance, no arguments allowed."
Neither the filming crew nor the audience could figure out what Bai Yi was thinking. After all, they weren’t Bai Yi.
This time, Bai Yi didn’t go back to mooch off Di Lai, he returned for revenge.
Damn it. Who the hell dares to dance on his weak spot?
Ever since becoming a lion, Jason and the three cubs had been his one and only soft spot.
He might dislike Jason doing those indecent, shameless things to him, but he also didn’t want to see the cubs get hurt.
Di Lai was asking for death.
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Author’s Note:
Jason: "My treasure must really love me!"
Bai Yi: "...You absolute idiot."