IBO -Chapter 69 The Happy Little Cubs

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

At this moment, Song Yiran couldn’t put his feelings into words—any language would be too shallow.

He let out a sigh, his eyes full of tenderness, and gently stroked Song Yang’s head.

Perhaps he shouldn’t call him Song Yang. This child deserved a name—a name that belonged only to him.

“You’re a brave and good child. Good child, can I give you a name?”

The little cub widened his eyes, carefully studying Song Yiran’s expression, trying to find even the slightest sign of insincerity.

But all he saw on Song Yiran’s face was genuine care.

So someone really could love him…

“…Okay.”

“‘Song An.’ How about this name?”

Song An’s eyes sparkled. He said happily, “I really like this name! Thank you, brother!”

Song Yang silently congratulated him in his heart. “Brother! Your name sounds so nice!”

Song An felt immensely proud, and unusually didn’t tease Song Yang. “Of course! My name is super, super nice!”

Song Yiran smiled. “Even though I’m a bit late saying this, I still want to say it.”

“Song An, welcome to the orphanage! From now on, I’m your brother. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you and make sure no one can hurt you!”

Afterwards, Song Yiran gave Song An a bath, washing off all the yuzu peel water stuck on his body.

After the bath, he was once again a clean little cub!

Song Yiran looked at the fragrant, fluffy Song An with satisfaction—this was the result of his hard work!

Then he took Song An to find the other cubs in the yard to play with.

The three cubs had been lined up to play on the slide, but upon hearing footsteps, they immediately abandoned the tempting slide and ran toward Song Yiran.

The three cubs crowded around him, chattering nonstop.

“Hello, brother! Hello, Yang Yang little brother!”

“Yang Yang little brother, do you want to play on the little swing with me?”

“Yang Yang little brother, do you want to play on the seesaw?”

Song Yiran cleared his throat twice, then seriously introduced Song An to the cubs. “Babies, this little brother isn’t Song Yang! He’s Song An.”

Song Fu looked confused. Isn’t Yang Yang little brother still Yang Yang little brother?

Although the eye color had changed, Yang Yang little brother’s scent hadn’t.

Song Xiuhu stared at Song An for a long time. Except for the eye color, Song An and Song Yang were identical.

Could they be twin brothers? But why hadn’t their scents changed?

Song Xiuhu’s mind was spinning. Everyone’s scent is different; even between brothers, scents are never identical.

So why did Song Yang and Song An smell exactly the same? Could they actually be the same person?

Song Buli blindly supported Song Yiran, never questioning a word he said, and immediately corrected himself. “Hello, An An little brother!”

“Song An and Song Yang had a little accident when they were young, so now they have to share the same body.”

Song Yiran tried to explain this as simply as possible.

“Song Yang’s eyes are emerald green, and Song An’s eyes are golden. Just remember this, and that’s all.”

“No matter if it’s An An or Yang Yang, they’re both part of our family!”

The cubs chorused together: “Okay~”

Song An had initially been hesitant. He had no emotional foundation with the three little ones—they probably liked the innocent, naive Yang Yang more…

But these thoughts were quickly dispelled by the cubs’ actions. The first to invite him was Song Fu.

Song Fu looked extremely happy. “Great! I have another little brother now!”

“An An little brother, I’ll take you on the little swing! The little swing is super fun!”

Song Xiuhu also extended a friendly paw.

With a smile, Song Xiuhu invited him. “An An little brother, how about I take you to play on the seesaw? The seesaw is really fun too!”

“An An little brother, let’s go play on the slide! The slide is super fun!” Song Buli also invited him.

In the end, the three cubs decided to take turns bringing Song An to try the slide, the little swing, and the seesaw.

Watching the cubs happily gather and play together, Song Yiran finally felt at ease and went to the kitchen to clean up the aftermath.

After tidying up the yuzu peel and water on the floor and the overturned basin, Song Yiran looked at the floor and sighed.

“Xiao Zhong’er, is there any item in the system shop that could give Song Yang a body of his own?”

Song Yiran really couldn’t bear to see the two cubs forced to pitifully share the same body.

Xiao Zhong’er shook his head. There was nothing he could do about this either. “There’s no such item.”

“…In my memory, when I did the task last time, this situation never appeared.”

“I never noticed there being another soul inside his body. Did I overlook some details in the past?”

Song Yiran’s tone was somewhat low. If that were really the case, then he had been far too unqualified as a brother.

Xiao Zhong’er hurried to comfort him. “Didn’t you forget? This is only one of the parallel timelines. What happens in parallel timelines won’t be exactly the same.”

“And in my memory, during the last mission, I didn’t notice anything abnormal about him either. I’m a high‑tech system—nothing can escape my electronic eyes!”

“So there’s an eighty percent chance that this situation only appeared in this parallel timeline. And look—his leg was broken before, but in my memory, during the last mission, his leg was never broken.”

Xiao Zhong’er added, “Also, the way Song Buli and Song Fu came to the nursery changed as well.”

In the end, Xiao Zhong’er drew his conclusion. “So this should just be an error within the parallel timeline.”

Song Yiran sighed again. “…I think this isn’t right.”

“Huh? You mean the parallel timeline error? That can’t be helped! Every timeline has countless parallel timelines, and each one develops differently.”

“Even history can only choose, from among parallel timelines, the one that best fits the course of historical development and continue from there.”

But Song Yiran shook his head. He looked toward the window that led from the kitchen to the courtyard, yet his gaze seemed fixed on someplace far more distant.

“I think this society is wrong. This society is sick. It shouldn’t be like this—children shouldn’t be abandoned the moment they’re born.”

An indescribable bitterness welled up in Song Yiran’s heart, surging all the way up his throat, as if it were about to swallow him whole.

“This society is far too unfair to beast-formers! Why are they treated like this? They’re abandoned the moment they’re born, without even the most basic civil rights!”

“Those who manage to survive are few and far between—and among them, how many can grow up safely?”

“They live even worse than orphans. Interstellar welfare institutions won’t refuse orphans, but they will refuse beast-formers.”

“I don’t understand. We’re all people—so why treat them like this?”

“I can take in beast-formers, but the universe is so vast—what about the places I can’t reach?”

“No matter how strong I am personally, I can’t possibly find every beast-former. There will definitely still be beast-formers wandering somewhere out there.”

“I can’t save them all!”

“They’re the same kind of people as interstellar humans. No one is more noble than anyone else—so why is the treatment they receive so unjust?”

“This is wrong. This is a mistake!”

“It shouldn’t be like this. Every child should receive love from their parents. Every child should grow up happily under their parents’ care!”

At this point, Song Yiran was already on the verge of losing control. Rage and compassion appeared on his face at the same time.

His features became twisted, tears pouring out uncontrollably, as if speaking for his dissatisfaction with interstellar society.

He clutched his head in agony, muttering over and over, “Why? Why does it have to be like this?”

“Is it just because they’re afraid that beast-formers will grow up and take away power? Why should that be allowed?”

“Just for such a ridiculous reason… so many lives have to be trampled on! Why?!”

Xiao Zhong’er didn’t understand. Why was Song Yiran in so much pain? What did the plight of beast-formers have to do with Song Yiran?

The ones being suppressed and discriminated against weren’t Song Yiran. So why was he hurting so badly?

Xiao Zhong’er couldn’t understand Song Yiran’s behavior, but he knew one thing—Song Yiran needed him.

Xiao Zhong’er stretched out his short little hand and patted Song Yiran’s shoulder, drawing his attention.

Just as Song Yiran turned his head to look at Xiao Zhong’er, Xiao Zhong’er slammed his head straight into Song Yiran’s forehead.

“…My head.” Song Yiran bared his teeth and clutched his aching forehead, then complained pitifully, “Xiao Zhong’er, why did you hit me?”

“Are you a bit clearer-headed now?”

Song Yiran felt a little guilty and stammered in explanation. “I… I was just…”

Xiao Zhong’er cut him off before he could finish. “Song Yiran, don’t put your overflowing compassion onto matters that have nothing to do with you.”

“But—”

For the first time, Xiao Zhong’er’s tone was completely devoid of emotion. “You think beast-formers are miserable, right? What does that have to do with you? Did you oppress them?”

“Did you cause all of this? Just because you can’t save them, are you going to blame yourself?”

“Fine. Then what about the people trapped in war?”

“Let me remind you— even in the interstellar era, there are still planets engulfed in war.”

“Are you going to sympathize with them too? Can you save them? Do you know how many war-torn planets there are?”

“Tens of thousands.”

“Then let me mention another group—people displaced by natural disasters.”

“Some technologically underdeveloped planets can’t defend against natural disasters. Even now, people on those planets still die because of them.”

“Are you going to start sympathizing again? Can you save them? Do you know how many such technologically backward planets there are?”

“Still tens of thousands.”

“Do you know that some planets are still in a slave-system era? Those slaves are oppressed every day, whipped, never get enough to eat, and don’t even have a place to live.”

“Hearing this, are you going to sympathize with them again? Can you save them? Do you know how many such planets there are?”

“So many you couldn’t possibly count them.”

“There are countless similar examples. In this vast universe, there are innumerable people suffering persecution.”

“I know you’re compassionate, but please don’t torment yourself just because you feel you can’t save everyone.”

“Their suffering wasn’t caused by you. You don’t need to feel pain over not being able to save everyone.”

“These aren’t your responsibilities. You’re just an ordinary person.”

Xiao Zhong’er patted Song Yiran’s shoulder again. “Having compassion has never been a bad thing—but taking on responsibilities that don’t belong to you will only bring you pain.”

“Song Yiran, I don’t want to see you in pain.”