IBO – Chapter 2 The First Cub

This novel contains sensitive and taboo content like R*pe, Mu**er etc. Read only if you are comfortable.

Song Yiran asked anxiously, “Th-this—this—this—Xiao Zhong’er, come out here! Why are the children you told me about… furry?!”

Xiao Zhong’er lowered its head and explained, “Sorry, I didn’t make it clear. I mentioned it once before—we would be taking in children that are a bit different.”

“In fact, the children we’re receiving are precisely these furry ones.”

“This world is an interstellar civilization formed after the evolution of beastmen. Ninety-nine percent of children are born in human form and awaken their beastman bloodline upon reaching adulthood.”

“But one percent of children experience atavism and are not born in human form.”

“These atavistic children are regarded as aberrations. They’re abandoned by their birth parents, disliked by most people, and as a result receive poor care. Their mortality rate during early childhood is extremely high.”

“Regardless of the type of child, after birth they must stay in an incubator for a period of time to sustain life.”

“As technology advanced, incubators for normal children became fully automated long ago and no longer require manual assistance.”

“The reason the incubators you see—those meant for special children—were phased out is mainly because no one is willing to research better incubators for these children anymore.”

“But don’t worry, young man. What so-called ‘manual assistance’ really means is just adjusting the incubator’s temperature at fixed times each day and interacting with the eggs. It’s very simple!”

“Your mission is to raise every child in this orphanage to adulthood—to protect them, care for them, and love them.”

Hearing this, and recalling what he had said earlier, Song Yiran felt extremely embarrassed.

But the most urgent matter at hand was the male cub curled up in the grass, huddled into a ball and trembling nonstop.

For now, Song Yiran couldn’t tell what species the cub belonged to.

That wasn’t his fault—the cub had curled its entire body up, covering its head tightly with both front paws, its tail pressed firmly against its hind legs.

What mattered most was that the cub’s fur was black. Though it looked thick and soft to the touch—

—the surrounding light was already dimming. With the poor lighting, Song Yiran could barely make out the cub’s outline. Being able to tell it had a tail was already the limit.

As the saying goes: “Hesitation leads to defeat!”

Song Yiran acted decisively. Carefully, he reached out, picked the cub up, and held it in his arms.

And so, on an ordinary dusk, Song Yiran walked toward his orphanage with a cub cradled against his chest.

He brought the cub to his room.

He tried turning on the light. Warm yellow light filled the entire room.

Fortunately, the light still worked. Song Yiran let out a long sigh of relief.

Otherwise, he truly wouldn’t have known how to get through the night—after all, he was night-blind by nature.

Song Yiran gently placed the cub from his arms onto a small stool.

Only then, under the light, did he finally see the cub clearly.

This should be a cub with wolf blood—very wolf-like in appearance.

Its entire body was pitch-black. Though its fur was thick, it was messy and badly matted.

Most importantly—

The cub was still trembling.

Was it uncomfortable in a new environment? Or was it sick? Song Yiran was deeply worried about the cub’s condition.

He slowly placed his hand on the cub and began stroking its fur, one stroke at a time.

In fact, the cub had been frightened from the very beginning—afraid of running into someone who took pleasure in abusing cubs like him.

But this person had held him, had held him securely in their arms.

Just like in the countless dreams he could only ever dream—someone holding him like a treasure.

All the way here, while being carried, the cub kept thinking: just a little was enough. He wasn’t greedy—just one hug a day would be enough.

He could eat only once a day. He could drink expired nutrient solution. He could sleep outside the room and guard the door every night.

As long as he could have one hug each day.

If that was too busy—then one hug every two days would be fine.

As long as he could be hugged.

Then he wouldn’t have to envy those children who had parents to hold them.

He would have someone to hold him too.

But after arriving in the room, he was placed on a stool.

The cub grew uneasy, imagining all sorts of things—why wasn’t he being held anymore? Would he never be held again? Would he be thrown away? He could be very well-behaved—could they please not abandon him?

Then the cub froze.

This person was rubbing his fur!

So warm. This person’s hand was so warm.

This was the first time anyone had ever been willing to stroke his fur.

So happy.

When Song Yiran first placed his hand on the cub, he felt the cub’s body stiffen for a moment—then, under his instinctive rua-the-cub technique, it melted into a soft puddle.

“Xiao Zhong’er,” Song Yiran asked, “can cubs talk?”

“Young man,” Xiao Zhong’er replied, “interstellar children possess inherited knowledge in their minds from the moment they’re born. Once they leave the incubator, they can speak. This cub can speak too.”

After learning that the cub could talk, Song Yiran squatted down in front of him and asked with a smile, “Hello there, little one! What’s your name?”

When talking to children, you should use more gentle, friendly particles in your tone, and it’s best to get down to the same height as the child to close the distance between you.

Very good. Song Yiran nodded to himself—he’d done all of that.

The cub clearly hadn’t expected Song Yiran to ask such a question. After freezing for a moment, he lifted his head to look at Song Yiran and said softly, “I… don’t have a name.”

Hearing that answer, Song Yiran also paused for a few seconds, not knowing how to respond.

In just those few seconds, the light in the cub’s eyes slowly dimmed, and he lowered his head again.

What was he even hoping for? He was just a “defective breed” without even a name. Who would ever love him?

“Little one, since you don’t have a name, may I give you one?”

The cub looked up at Song Yiran in disbelief.

He saw Song Yiran gazing at him earnestly, and in those eyes was a clear reflection of a small, tiny him.

Nothing else left any trace in Song Yiran’s eyes, as if the world contained only that small him.

As if he were Song Yiran’s treasure.

“Okay!” In that instant, the cub made his decision—perhaps he had been bewitched by Song Yiran’s eyes.

Or perhaps Song Yiran’s embrace was too warm, or his hands were too warm.

No matter how Song Yiran might treat him in the future, at this moment, he chose Song Yiran.

After obtaining the cub’s consent, Song Yiran thought seriously for a while. After all, a name was a big deal—it would be used for a lifetime.

“How about taking my surname and being called ‘Song Buli’? Your nickname can be ‘Lili’.” Song Yiran said with a smile.

Song Buli hadn’t expected that he could share Song Yiran’s surname, and replied excitedly, “I’m willing!”

Song Yiran continued, “Lili, my name is Song Yiran. I’m the director of this nursery. You can call me ‘Brother Song.’

I’ll do everything I can to help you grow up happily.

I’ll always be here. From now on, this place is your home, and I’m your family too.

Now I’m going to start cleaning the room. Be good and stay on this chair, okay? Don’t run around.”

“Okay! Lili definitely won’t run around.”

Seeing how well-behaved Lili was, Song Yiran felt deeply comforted—his inner old-father soul was slowly awakening.

After ruffling Lili’s head, Song Yiran threw himself into the “great undertaking” of cleaning the room.

An hour later, Song Yiran finished his battle with the dust.

He looked with satisfaction at the freshly cleaned room, feeling a strong sense of accomplishment.

“Grrr—”

The sound came from Song Yiran’s stomach.

Only then did he remember that he hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

Lili probably hadn’t eaten either.

“Xiao Zhong’er, do you provide meals or not? There’s nothing edible in this nursery. We’re not going to starve to death here, are we?”

“Relax, young man. Just focus on completing the mission. During this period, anything you need will be prepared for you.

Go to the entrance now. I’ll transfer the food into your hands. Remember to avoid Lili—you can’t let him find out.”

Song Yiran gently patted Lili’s head and said softly, “Lili, you haven’t eaten yet, right? I’m going to get our dinner.

Wait here for a bit. I’ll be right back.”

After seeing Lili nod, Song Yiran left the room and closed the door behind him, in case Lili tried to sneak out.

And then Song Yiran was stunned.

What Xiao Zhong’er gave him were two plastic tubes filled with an unknown liquid.

“Xiao Zhong’er, is this what people in the interstellar era eat? Does this stuff fill you up? Does it taste good?”

“Young man, this is a nutrient solution. Don’t be fooled by how little it looks—one bottle is enough to meet all the nutritional needs of the human body, and it’s very filling!

The taste is just so-so, though.

If you’re missing the food you used to eat, I can get it for you too. But I can only bring the raw ingredients, not finished dishes.

There isn’t much time right now. You and the little one need sleep. I’ll get it for you tomorrow morning.”

“Xiao Zhong’er, you’re amazing! It’s a deal!”

Xiao Zhong’er was so flattered by Song Yiran’s praise that it became a little lightheaded, happily retreating back into the space in a daze of excitement.

Song Yiran deliberately lingered outside for a few more minutes before slowly heading back to the room, pretending he’d gone to fetch food from somewhere else.

The moment he pushed the door open, a little “cannonball” threw itself straight into his arms.

Afraid that Song Buli might fall, Song Yiran quickly freed one hand to hold him securely.

“Looks like little Lili was really starving!” Song Yiran teased with a smile.

As he spoke, he carried Song Buli over to the bed and set him down.

He looked at the two nutrient solutions in his hand—one red, one white—then opened both and took a sip from each.

He was only tasting them to see which one was sweeter, that’s all. It definitely wasn’t because he wanted to try both.

Song Yiran silently convinced himself of this in his heart.

The red one tasted like apples—sweet and pleasant.

The white one tasted like lychee, but it was very sweet.

Song Yiran thought that kids probably liked sweet things.

So he handed the white nutrient solution to Song Buli.

It was the first time Song Buli had ever tasted such a sweet nutrient solution, and one that wasn’t sour at all.

Next came mealtime for Song Yiran and Song Buli.

For a while, the room was filled only with the sounds of “gulp gulp gulp” and “slurp slurp slurp” as they ate.

After the meal, Song Yiran turned off the light, held Song Buli in his arms, simply pulled the blanket over them, and went to sleep.

Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

What Song Yiran didn’t know was that after he fell asleep, Song Buli—whom he thought was already asleep—slowly opened his eyes.

Song Yiran hadn’t guessed wrong. Song Buli was a cub with wolf clan blood.

That was why his night vision was exceptionally strong.

Even in complete darkness, Song Buli could see Song Yiran’s face clearly.

Song Buli really liked Song Yiran.

Song Yiran held him, rubbed his fluffy fur, and even gave him a name.

Song Yiran gave him very, very sweet nutrient solution.

He had never eaten such sweet nutrient solution before. The only ones he’d ever had were nearly expired and sour.

He really liked Song Yiran.

Now that he had Song Yiran, he no longer needed to envy other children.

He wouldn’t envy other children for being able to drink nutrient solution that hadn’t expired.

He wouldn’t envy other children for having someone to hold them.

He wouldn’t envy other children for having a name.

He also wouldn’t need to hide in the grass anymore, envying other children who had a home to return to.

He had Song Yiran.

And he had a home.

In the days to come, Song Buli would always remember this day.

On an ordinary dusk, Song Yiran held him in his arms and carried him toward home.

On that day, he gained a name, a home, and Song Yiran.