After being reborn, I raised my childhood sweetheart.

Chapter 16 Now he's protecting me.

Xu Yuan established a hierarchy with his two children before leaving home to avoid them not knowing how to respond properly if they encountered danger while playing outside.

I may joke about you, young master, but if you really think I'm unreliable, then we can't build that kind of close relationship where we trust each other and I take the lead.

So, Xu Yuan took some pocket money, left a note for Aunt Lin Jing, and set off with Xia Ke and Lin Yueyao to begin their great adventure.

"By the way, where is your secret base?"

"Just follow us, it's a little far."

For eight-year-olds, going to a completely unfamiliar place can certainly be considered a great adventure.

After all, for children, getting lost is one of the most dangerous things they might encounter during their childhood.

For example, in Xu Yuan's memory, when he was a few years old, he got lost and couldn't find his father. He was terrified and didn't dare to talk to strangers or ask for directions.

After going around in circles, I actually managed to walk home on my own, which was quite an achievement when I think about it now.

Xia Ke walked at the front of the three-person group, sometimes walking in a straight line along the edge of the roadside flower bed, and sometimes jumping on the paving stones, she just couldn't stay still.

As they walked, Xia Ke suddenly picked up a dead branch that had fallen to the side of the road and started waving it at Xu Yuan.

"Look, young master, I've found an unparalleled sword! Ha, ha—take a look!"

"Don't poke my eyes, they're too sharp."

Xu Yuan confiscated Xia Ke's peerless sword.

Xia Ke suddenly climbed to a very high position:

"Young master, look! I dare to jump from such a high place!"

"Get down here right now!"

"It's nothing—"

What if you get bumped or bruised?

Xia Ke said with a smile, "Just don't tell my mom!"

"what?"

What a bizarre way of thinking! Are elementary school students these days so out of touch?
Xia Ke was used to being mischievous, but now that Xu Yuan doesn't let her run around on the street, she has gradually stopped trying to be naughty.

She had promised Xu Yuan she would listen to him, so she didn't dare to disobey. She kept her head down, pouting, looking rather sullen.

Am I being too authoritarian, like a patriarch...?

But in Xu Yuan's eyes, many of Xia Ke's actions were quite dangerous.

So he was genuinely worried that she might bump into something, which is why he stopped her.

In contrast, Lin Yueyao was very well-behaved, silently following behind Xu Yuan.

Sometimes when Xu Yuan walked too fast, Lin Yueyao would take small, quick steps to catch up, trying to grab the hem of his clothes, but Xu Yuan would just raise his hand and she would pull it back.

The three of them walked for almost half an hour, and Xia Ke arrived at her destination. She immediately introduced it to Xu Yuan:

"This is it! Our secret base is amazing, it's like a castle, let me tell you..."

At this moment, Lin Yueyao was still secretly trying to grab Xu Yuan's clothes. Just as she was about to grab them, Xia Ke suddenly took Xu Yuan's hand and pulled him forward a step quickly.

As a result, Lin Yueyao's attempt failed.

Just as she was feeling sullen, Xu Yuan glanced back at Lin Yueyao:

"What are you doing behind us? Keep up with us!"

As he spoke, he took Lin Yueyao's hand and led her forward, and Lin Yueyao quickly followed.

"Come on, come and see our secret base—ta-da!"

Turning the corner, Xia Ke, who was full of joy, suddenly looked bewildered.

"A secret base! I have such a big secret base!"

Before the children lay a pile of rubble, now a ruin. An excavator roared to life, its large bucket shoveling away debris. Several adults wearing hard hats discussed something while looking at blueprints.

Xia Ke was furious upon seeing this. "Young Master, let me tell you, our secret base was originally built like this, with a staircase that led directly to the roof. We played siege warfare on that roof..."

"So you were using the construction site as your secret base?"

"That's right, this is our territory!"

Xia Ke said, "I left a note over there, they probably didn't see it. No way, I'm going to settle the score with them!"

She angrily rolled up her sleeves as she spoke, but Xu Yuan stopped her.

“This land was originally a construction site; they were going to build houses on it.”

"Why are houses being built everywhere now? Several of our secret bases have been destroyed."

Xia Ke seemed disappointed. "That secret base is really great. It would be perfect as a castle. It would be so much fun playing siege warfare with other kids. Let me tell you..."

"It's alright, we can find the secret base later."

Lin Yueyao comforted Xia Ke, touching her cheek: "It's a lot of fun for the three of us to go on an adventure together."

"..." "Since things have come to this, let's go back first."

"Ok."

Although it was a pity that he couldn't see the secret base in person, Xu Yuan cared more about Xia Ke's sullen mood than the secret base itself.

I felt bad for being a spoilsport the whole time. I had promised to go on an adventure with her, but I hadn't let her enjoy the trip.

Just then, he saw a half-empty bottle of mineral water on the ground and an idea came to him.

He quickly ran to the mineral water bottle, picked it up, and called to Xia Ke and Lin Yueyao.

"Xia Ke, Yue Yao, do you want to play this?"

When Xia Ke saw Xu Yuan suggest playing together, she immediately skipped over and asked, "It's bottle kicking, let's see who can kick it the highest and farthest!"

"Let me show you..."

Xu Yuan said, "Spin the bottle in the air and let it stand up. Whoever can make the bottle stand up is the winner."

Xu Yuan gave Xia Ke and Lin Yueyao a demonstration, but it failed.

"Hahaha, young master is really bad, watch me."

Xia Ke took the bottle and tried to throw it into her arms, but she failed.

Lin Yueyao squatted to the side, picking at her toes and watching the ants. When it was her turn to operate, she simply flicked the bottle, and it spun around in the air a few times before finally standing up steadily!

"Wow! Yueyao is amazing! You won!"

Xia Ke and Xu Yuan both applauded Lin Yueyao.

Xu Yuan felt that it wouldn't be so fun without a reward and punishment system, so he bought a bottle of Mirinda from the nearby convenience store and handed it to Lin Yueyao.

"The loser goes over there and comes back, and loses again. If you fail, you lose again."

"The winner can drink juice, and she can keep drinking until the next person successfully stands up."

"I...I...I...I...I—let me throw it away!"

What was originally a sure-fire death game of throwing bottles by one person at a time has suddenly turned into a tense and fierce competition because of the reward of a drink.

The three children were playing with bottles on the cement ground by the roadside, one after the other, gulping down each other's drinks. Xu Yuan was also having a lot of fun.

A young couple on a date nearby saw the three children, and the girl sighed helplessly, then shook her head.
"Kids these days are so pitiful, they don't have any toys to play with..."

"But it seems like it's actually quite fun..."

The boy, watching the children making a ruckus, offered a completely different opinion.

"You really think it's fun?"

"Yeah, don't you think—"

The girl immediately pushed the boy away, staring at him with a grief-stricken expression: "You don't love me anymore!"

"What does this have to do with whether or not you love me!"

The boy jogged over to coax his girlfriend, who was walking briskly ahead.

Meanwhile, Xu Yuan, Xia Ke, and Lin Yueyao were chasing each other and swinging bottles around, and even Xu Yuan could let loose and have fun.

Before long, the sky gradually became overcast, the weather began to darken, and distant thunder could be heard faintly. Lin Yueyao subconsciously tugged at Xu Yuan's sleeve.

"It's going to rain soon, let's hurry back."

"it is good."

The children walked quickly home. As they walked, a red motorcycle slowly approached them from the side of the road.

Xu Yuan saw that the rider was a burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist, who looked like someone involved in the underworld.

Xu Yuan immediately became wary. He shielded the girls on the inside of the road and urged them to hurry up.

But the motorcycle stopped right in front of the three of them, blocking their way.

The middle-aged man glanced at Xu Yuan, looked him up and down, and frowned slightly.

He seemed to harbor a subtle, scrutinizing hostility towards Xu Yuan, which made Xu Yuan feel a sense of crisis.

Even if he had cheat codes, he would still be instantly killed if targeted by such a strong adult man.

"Uncle, is there anything I can help you with?"

Xu Yuan stood in front of the girls and took the initiative to strike up a conversation with the older man.

But the uncle ignored him and instead looked at the girl bouncing behind Xu Yuan.

"Ake, who is this child?"

"This is my current boss, Dad!"

Xia Ke peeked out from behind Xu Yuan, "He's protecting me now!"

"Dad...?"

(End of this chapter)