Chapter 62 – Spicy Rabbit Head and Bitter Melon

Some people suffer from morning temper, and for a few, it can be particularly severe.

Even if they try to go back to sleep, it never works. The more they toss and turn, the more irritated and uncomfortable they become.

And so, morning temper slips into a vicious cycle.

Just after washing her face and getting ready to cook breakfast, Juanjuan happened to see her third brother already dressed, not heading back to bed as expected, but striding out with a hammer slung over his shoulder.

Juanjuan, quick to read the mood, didn’t dare speak to her hammer-wielding third brother.

But Bai Yunxing, who had been up early practicing in the courtyard, called out when he saw him. “Where are you going?”

Bai Yun’an turned back with a smile that seemed pure and harmless. “I’m going to dig Sweet Potatoes.”

Bai Yunxing frowned slightly. Something didn’t feel quite right. But with his little sister already preparing breakfast, he decided not to pursue it and instead stepped forward to help her cook.

By the time the food was nearly ready, the side door creaked open.

Bai Yunqi, who always slept like a rock, emerged glowing with vitality and a bright, ringing voice. “Did everyone sleep well last night?”

Juanjuan looked at her eldest brother in puzzlement. He seemed especially cheerful today.

Bai Yunxing answered truthfully. “I slept alright. But Third Brother probably didn’t sleep so well.”

“Hm? Why not? Does he just not like to sleep?” Bai Yunqi blinked, baffled.

At that moment, Bai Yun’an came back from his “venting,” dragging a rabbit in one hand.

…Not like to sleep?

Like hell he didn’t like to sleep!

He couldn’t sleep at all!

He had barely managed to suppress his fury, only for it to flare up again at that one careless line—“Does he just not like to sleep?”

Bai Yunqi glanced toward the doorway, voice soft as if to himself. “It feels like… resentment…”

But before he could finish the thought, his third brother stepped into view wearing his same innocent smile. And yet, that faint, chilling aura of resentment lingered—twisting visibly around his body.

The air grew tense, ready to snap.

Just then—

“Ya! Sanbao! What is that you’re holding?!”

{Sanbao – nickname for third brother}

A peal of excitement rang out from inside the house, accompanied by hurried footsteps.

Jiang Dai hurried over to her third son, looking at the rabbit in his hand with eyes full of admiration.

It was a small white rabbit, still alive, dangling by its ears in the boy’s grip, staring blankly around.

Bai Yunxing was a little surprised. Wild rabbits were usually gray and scruffy—white ones were rare.

But to Jiang Dai, who was used to modern-day rabbits, it seemed perfectly normal.

“Sanbao, you’re amazing! Where did you get this rabbit? And why are you up so early?”

Her rapid string of questions defused the confrontation instantly—especially for Bai Yun’an.

He blinked at his mother, who was fussing over him with a voice sweet and effusive.

Seriously? Back in the apocalypse, when he was hailed as an invincible powerhouse no one dared to cross, who had ever gushed at him in this tone?

“Mua! My Sanbao is incredible!”

Jiang Dai ruffled his hair wildly, then tugged the still-living rabbit as she called for her daughter.

“Juanjuan, look! It’s a bunny, all soft and fluffy!”

Juanjuan’s eyes lit up. “So cute…”

“Right? Right? And Spicy Rabbit Head tastes amazing too!” Jiang Dai beamed.

【Slurp! Rabbits are so cute, but Spicy Rabbit Head is just too delicious!!!】

Juanjuan: ???

Her hand, halfway to petting the rabbit, reflexively pulled back. She stared at her mother in disbelief.

Realizing her slip, Jiang Dai hastily covered it up. “Ah—what I meant is… how could anyone eat such a cute bunny? Right, right?”

Bai Tian, walking over with perfect timing: …

【Seriously? How does that dumb meme still pop up here?】

Meanwhile, Bai Yun’an, who was already unsettled and now had his hair tousled on top of it…

At this moment, he truly wanted to kill someone.

Grind them into paste!

“How did you get the rabbit?” Bai Tian asked, fixing his son with a look.

Bai Yun’an put on a sincere—though entirely false—face. “It ran into a stump and knocked itself out while I was digging Sweet Potatoes, so I just brought it back.”

Juanjuan looked at her third brother with starry-eyed admiration.

“Tsk,” Bai Yunqi muttered under his breath. “Some luck.”

Bai Yunxing also found it strange, though maybe their third brother really was just that lucky. Unlike him—why was it that both his eldest and youngest brothers could stumble across useful things, but he never found a thing?

Only Bai Tian and Jiang Dai exchanged an odd look with their third son.

Jiang Dai murmured, “This must be that old saying…”

Bai Tian supplied, “Waiting by the stump for a rabbit.”

“Waiting by the stump for a rabbit?” Bai Yunxing repeated, puzzled. He turned to his parents.

Patiently, Bai Tian explained, “Long ago, a farmer once stumbled across a rabbit that ran headfirst into a stump and died. After that, instead of farming, he just waited by the stump, hoping for another rabbit to come along.

It’s a saying that mocks those who cling rigidly to one experience without change—or those who dream of reaping rewards without putting in the work.”

Juanjuan nodded in understanding.

And Bai Yunqi, after giving his father a long once-over, suddenly asked the soul-piercing question:

“Dad, weren’t you illiterate? And kind of a loafer? Since when do you know all this stuff?”

Bai Yunxing also looked at Bai Tian with suspicion.

Only Bai Yun’an sneered inwardly. His sharp mind had already guessed the general truth of what was going on.

Bai Tian’s eyes lit up with inspiration. “It was your mother. Your mother taught me this.”

“When you children are asleep at night, your mother tells me stories and teaches me things.”

The corner of Jiang Dai’s mouth twitched, but she quickly covered for him. “That’s right! I think I studied a bit of this back then.”

“Come on, come on, let’s eat first. I’ll go use the basket to cover the rabbits.”

Hurrying the children along, Jiang Dai briskly ushered them to the meal.

Bai Yun’an arched a brow. 【Wait a second—‘wait by the tree for a rabbit’? I want to see just how many words my parents can throw out that I actually understand.】

He was now certain that his parents were not people of this era.

But just as certain—they could never be from his own apocalyptic end-times either, because people like his parents would never have survived that long.

The family ate breakfast, each with their own thoughts and moods.

After finishing, Bai Yun’an calmed himself and shouldered the basket to “dig for sweet potatoes.”

In truth, he was planning to sneak off and nap, while also checking what new feature his spatial ability had unlocked today.

Ever since his Favorability Points had stopped being in the negatives, he could randomly draw one item each day from his space, valued somewhere in the 0–10 Favorability Point range.

Most of the time, these items were just ordinary staple foods.

But today—

Bai Yun’an found himself staring at a bitter melon.

And he laughed.