Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1358 - 16: Little Girl_3
"I’m delighted." Gongsun Ce chuckled foolishly, "Ahahaha, it feels so good to be ’older’ than you... such happiness..."
Little Alandia ignored the rambling of the attendant, jumped off the sofa, and prepared to continue her itinerary. After her body shrank, the house seemed like a new world, and she found that even opening the door was a bit challenging. Gongsun Ce rushed over and opened the door for her, crouching down with a smile, "Shall I accompany you to the library?"
"Don’t carry me." Alandia reiterated, "Don’t be rude, or I’ll get angry."
As they walked out the door, Wawu in the yard happened to glance over, it froze with its mouth wide open for a full half hour, perplexed.
Gongsun Ce drove the Sky Clear to take the little knight to the library. She wandered around in the empire history section, occasionally tiptoeing to pull out a hefty tome, flipping through it quickly before putting it back. Little Alandia soon finished perusing the shelves, her small face slightly disappointed.
"I heard the library in the Celestial City collects copies of books from the capitals of each country, but now it seems no different from the materials available in the country."
"The strength here is in the science and academic collections. If you want to research history, you’d probably have to go to the imperial capital, Divine Capital," Gongsun Ce said, "By the way, why are you investigating imperial history? Researching the identity of the Hidden Law Master?"
"You can’t find conclusive evidence about the Creator Realm Mage in the library; I’m expanding the True World archive," Alandia said, "Let’s go, finish work before 11 o’clock."
They spent over an hour scanning the books Alandia hadn’t read, including some rare editions stored in the warehouse not on display. She piled the planned books on the table, then skillfully climbed into a seat slightly high for her, sitting at the table, reading them one by one intently. Watching her, Gongsun Ce was absorbed in thought, recalling how maybe little Alandia frequently visited the royal capital library over a decade ago, accompanied by her mother.
She claimed she was an ordinary child, but clearly, that’s not correct. Normal kids lack the patience to quietly read large volumes; they prefer running around under the sun.
"All done." Little Alandia closed the book, "Ce?"
"How did you handle lunches back when you were at the library?" Gongsun Ce asked.
"My mother would buy two sandwiches. We’d sit by the flowerbed in front of the library, each eating one, feeding the remaining bread crumbs in the bag to the pigeons."
Contemplating Gongsun Ce, he used telekinesis to return the books to the shelf, then helped the little lady down from the chair.
"Come on, let’s eat something kids are supposed to eat."
·
"One kids’ meal, be careful, it’s hot～" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
The children’s meal at the family restaurant, South Wind Pavilion, included mashed potatoes shaped like a cat’s head, small pieces of carrots and pumpkins, two bunny-shaped buns, creamy mushroom soup, and a small sizzling hamburger steak. The waitress delivered it, the steak still sizzling on the pan, and deftly shook out a napkin to shield Little Alandia before cheerfully walking away as the oil splatter ceased.
Little Alandia, holding the mini knife and fork, was momentarily lost for words.
"Maybe you’re trying to make up for my deprived childhood, but..."
"No, I simply wanted to treat you to a kid’s meal," Gongsun Ce said, "You haven’t had one before, right? So take this chance to try it."
He ordered a serving of stewed rice, watching the little lady across the table with eager anticipation. Alandia, not wanting to reject the goodwill, began using the knife and fork. Though the hamburger steak was small, it was substantial. A cut released translucent meat juices, blending with the barbecue sauce aroma. She cut a small piece to taste, finding the kids’ meal’s hamburger steak specially made, not as greasy as expected. The patty contained corn kernels, peas, and diced carrots—an effort by the restaurant for those kids who don’t like eating vegetables.
"Very tasty." Alandia said, "I would have liked it when I was a child."
"Right! It’s quite a novelty that once you grow up, you feel embarrassed to order one for yourself, and no one else orders it for you," Gongsun Ce laughed.
"Do you want to try some?"
"Me? No way, I’m already twenty."
Little Alandia cut a large piece of the meat patty, stood up, and leaned over the table, offering the small fork across. Gongsun Ce swallowed the meat patty in one big bite, laughing a bit sheepishly. In return, he shared a generous spoonful of cheesy stewed rice onto her sauce-laden skillet plate.
"Ce, did your parents play games with you when you were little?"
"Umm... I can’t quite remember. Probably when I was very young, but I matured relatively early, stopped playing by the age of ten."
"My father used to play toss-and-catch with me as a child. He made a Heart Phase Weapon that would bounce back within a certain range, so we could play freely without worrying about losing the ball," Little Alandia reminisced, "I occasionally played that game until middle school."
"Sounds fun. Want to try?"
After lunch, they drove home and stood facing each other on the grass lawn. Little Alandia’s childhood toy, a silver-gray bouncing ball slightly larger than a tennis ball, was tossed back and forth under the sunlight, keeping them entertained for quite some time.
Eventually, Gongsun Ce lifted Little Alandia up and sat her on his shoulders. He pretended to be a mighty steed, galloping wildly across his lawn, bringing endless laughter to the little knight.
"Just like little kids."
"Kids are so happy!" Gongsun Ce sat on the grass with her, lazily basking in the sun, "Too bad the young miss and others are coming back soon, and our childhood ends... Should we do this again next time we have a chance?"
Little Alandia tidied her disheveled hair from the wind, "No, not again."
"You’re a rather unpleasant child... huh?"
However, the enthusiast of children’s games had not noticed that three young women, already suspicious, were hiding in the distance using information stealth ability, observing the delightful moments in their family courtyard through binoculars. So, as Gongsun Ce prepared to wrap up and head inside, a small shadow suddenly covered his face.
He looked up in confusion, seeing a little girl in a black cheongsam with a bun haircut.
"Big brother, I want to ride the horsey too."
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh?! "
A mysterious little girl lunged into Gongsun Ce’s belly, forcing him flat back where he attempted to rise. Then another unfamiliar girl appeared in his vision, wearing a quaint empire school uniform with adorable pigtails. Without a word, she lay down on the grass, grabbing Gongsun Ce’s arm, speaking in a cutesy voice, "Big brother Gongsun Ce, I want to play ball too～"
Gongsun Ce scrambled, "Wait a minute, wait up! Big brother temporarily doesn’t have the strength to handle so many little angels! Let big brother get up first, okay?"
The final straw to crush Gongsun Ce was a small foot stepping onto his hand. Little Alice, wearing a blue and white dress, stood silhouetted against the light, sneering repeatedly.
"Hmph～～ you’re it’s enjoying this, Mr. Gongsun～～～"
"No no no, you misunderstand! It’s not what you think! Hey, Alandia, why are you crawling into my arms now?! You’re laughing, you did it on purpose, didn’t you?!"
Oh well. As long as the girls are happy, a little play doesn’t hurt...
As Gongsun Ce thought this, an ominous sound of something heavy hitting the ground reached his ears.
The sound came from the entrance. He stiffly raised his head, seeing Zhenfan frozen at the doorway and the handbag dropped on the ground beside her.
"...... Ah, Sister Zhenfan mentioned sending a potted plant this afternoon." Qin Qianbai whispered.
"Hey hey hey hey hey wait a second, Sister Zhenfan, don’t retreat just yet, listen to me, it’s not what you think!"
Zhenfan slowly scanned the entire Gongsun family courtyard, displaying a gaze Gongsun Ce found very familiar from his childhood—one mixed with hostility, coldness, and disdain.
"Pervert."
"I just knew it, ahhhhhhh!"
The superpower user surrounded by little girls cried out in despair.
We still do not know when the day will come for the Jihui Bureau to clear its name...
