Good Baby C25

Chapter 25

At first, An An thought he had found a large but manageable prey that he could carry back to his mother for praise. However, he hadn’t expected that the creature resting inside was actually a buffalo.

Before he left, Maya had warned An An that buffaloes were best left alone. Even she could only avoid them when she encountered one, let alone An An, who hadn’t fully grown yet.

His mother’s teachings echoed in the little tiger’s mind, and he carefully lightened his movements, intending to leave. But just as he took two steps, his paw accidentally landed on a dry leaf, making a noise that caused the resting buffalo to open its eyes.

The sound of the buffalo standing up startled An An, and even the system in his space tensed up.

From the buffalo’s gaze, An An could tell that it had no intention of letting him leave. His paw pads began to sweat, and he nervously scraped at the ground.

Most buffaloes on this grassland were usually docile, but this one was clearly an exception. When it stood up, all four of An An’s legs trembled uncontrollably.

He couldn’t take this back to his mother—she wouldn’t be able to defeat it. He couldn’t even send a distress signal.

Just when the little tiger thought he was about to die here, a sudden tiger’s roar came from the side.

The buffalo, which had just stood up, sensed danger and instinctively tried to flee. But before it could, a yellow-furred adult tiger lunged out from the side.

Before the buffalo could react, the tiger pounced and sank its teeth into its neck. The buffalo struggled violently, but eventually, its strength drained away, and it collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Gairo had just caught a good prey today. He still remembered that the last time he had caught one of these, that little tiger hadn’t had enough to eat. So he thought of bringing it over for him to try.

When he didn’t see the little tiger in the cave where they lived, he decided to try his luck looking for him. Following the scent left in the air, he arrived just in time to see the tiny tiger, whose horns hadn’t even started growing yet, confronting a buffalo.

Without hesitation, Gairo charged in, his mind filled with terrifying images of the little tiger being gored in the belly by buffalo horns.

As soon as Gairo leaped into action, An An covered his eyes with his paws. Only when the commotion stopped did he peek through his paws. Confirming that the buffalo was no longer moving, he happily trotted over with quick little steps.

He circled around Gairo once, then leaned his head in, wanting to rub against him.

“This was too dangerous. Why did you come here alone?”

This was the first time An An had ever heard the big tiger speak to him. Gairo’s voice was deep and magnetic.

An An’s perked-up ears drooped slightly as he softly whimpered in defense.

He hadn’t come here to take risks—his mother had said she would teach him how to hunt.

He thought he was already a big tiger. When he sensed prey nearby, he had run over, not expecting it to be such a massive buffalo.

A little tiger had to grow up and become either a beastman or a half-beast before they could communicate properly.

For now, he could only howl and gesture with his paws, barely making his meaning clear to Gairo.

Gairo had no mate, but near his territory, there was a male tiger whose mate had recently given birth. The only cub that had been kept was also starting to practice hunting.

On the grasslands, there were no strict inheritance traditions, and few beastmen cared about their offspring.

If not for the reluctance of the females, most male beastmen would have abandoned their cubs at birth.

Gairo figured that this somewhat adorable little tiger might have been one of those discarded cubs, later picked up and raised by a half-beast female.

That half-beast female had taken good care of the little tiger. His fur was extremely clean, a clear sign that he was living well.

However, in this matter, she still wasn’t doing enough. There was a gap between half-beasts and beastmen. From Gairo’s perspective, this little tiger would grow up to be a strong beastman.

But the half-beast female didn’t understand beastmen’s hunting methods and was teaching him the wrong way.

Like today—this little tiger had nearly walked into danger. Even if that half-beast had been with him, she might not have been able to escape unscathed.

Half-beasts weren’t as sensitive to prey as beastmen. Since they could survive on a vegetarian diet, it wasn’t exactly her fault.

“Hunting? You’re still young. Why do you suddenly want to learn this?”

Hearing this, the little tiger’s eyes sparkled as he stared at Gairo. He eagerly leaned his head in to rub against him, making his intentions quite obvious.

“You want to be like me?”

The little tiger excitedly nodded. He had only caught a glimpse of the big tiger pouncing on the buffalo’s neck just now, but he thought it was unbelievably cool.

“I’ll teach you how to hunt next time.”

Gairo didn’t want to admit that he liked how this little tiger flattered him. Lowering his head, he licked the little tiger’s fur, telling himself that he was only doing this because he couldn’t stand to see a beastman go astray under improper guidance.

“Roar.”

The little tiger happily nodded. When he saw the buffalo lying on the ground, he secretly swallowed his saliva.

“I’ve already hunted today. This one is yours.”

Gairo wasn’t lacking prey. As long as he wasn’t injured, he could ensure a full stomach—especially in this season.

Besides, the little tiger’s sneaky gulping was adorable. Gairo couldn’t bear to see him disappointed.

The little tiger stood on his hind legs, stretching his front paws to tightly hug Gairo’s leg. He rubbed his head against him, embodying the phrase “clinging to a strong backer” to perfection.

Gairo lowered his head, rubbing the little tiger with his chin before preparing to leave. For now, he didn’t plan on meeting the half-beast who was raising the cub.

“See you next time.”

“Roar~”

Only after Gairo completely disappeared from sight did the little tiger use his young voice to call for Maya.

He stood atop the lifeless buffalo’s head, waiting until Maya finally arrived. When she did, she was greeted by the sight of a little tiger looking down at her proudly.

“Roar! Roar, roar~”

The little tiger circled the buffalo as if showing off to his mother before rushing up to her, eagerly waiting for praise.

Maya understood what he was trying to say, but she remained silent for a long time.

Does this little guy… think I look like a fool? Or does he just think I’m easy to deceive?

That water buffalo was so massive that even I wouldn’t dare provoke it. The cub isn’t even as long as its horns. If they had actually fought, I probably wouldn’t be seeing this lively little thing bouncing around right now.

Maya leaned in and sniffed the buffalo’s scent. It had only died recently. She wasn’t sure who had killed it, but her little tiger had clearly lucked out.

The buffalo was too big to carry back, so Maya simply started tearing into its flesh. After making an opening, she called the cub over.

“Eat as much as you can. Just don’t waste it.”

The little tiger understood his mother’s meaning and buried his head inside the carcass. Compared to the tough meat, he preferred eating the internal organs.

Gairo had discovered this little preference of his before and always saved him a few bites. Maya, on the other hand, could survive just fine on grass, so she certainly wasn’t going to fight An’an for food.

Both of them ate quickly. The heavy scent of blood was sure to attract even stronger predators. Maya wasn’t willing to risk an encounter when she wasn’t confident in their strength.

Once they were full, Maya picked up the little tiger and started heading back.

An’an’s belly was round and bloated like a balloon, but as they were leaving, he still couldn’t resist turning back for one last look. He stared at the remaining parts of the buffalo, reluctant to part with them.

Maya carried him away at top speed and cleaned the blood off their fur by the water.

The place she had taken An’an today was one she had visited many times before, but she had never encountered a buffalo as dangerous as this one.

Thinking about the danger An’an might have faced, Maya felt a tinge of guilt. After cleaning him up and restoring him to a pristine little tiger, she started teaching him the importance of not being greedy.

The little tiger obediently listened, nodding his small head as they walked. By the time they made it back to the cave from the river, the sunlight and wind had dried his fur.

Even after all this, Maya still felt unsettled. The reason she had survived on this grassland for so long was that she never trusted luck.

She silently resolved that next time she took An’an out, she would be even more cautious. At the very least, she would make sure nothing like today ever happened again.

An’an had been eagerly waiting for the big tiger to come play with him, but instead, he was met with a torrential downpour.

During the day, it was just heavy rain. An’an was very well-behaved—even though his stomach was growling with hunger, he simply nibbled on a few blades of grass and drank some water. He clung tightly to Maya with all four legs, making sure she wouldn’t go out in the rain.

He had always harbored a deep fear of nature. His instincts told him that no matter how powerful a beast was, it wouldn’t survive a lightning strike.

Since An’an stubbornly refused to let her leave, Maya had no choice but to stay in the cave with him.

For the grassland, a storm like this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—at the very least, they wouldn’t have to worry about water sources.

The natural white noise lulled An’an to sleep early. But in the middle of the night, a loud thunderclap startled the little tiger awake.

At that moment, a flash of lightning lit up the cave, followed immediately by a deep, rumbling thunder. The little tiger instinctively bolted to the other side and curled up next to Maya.

Maya, always alert, never slept too deeply at night. She glanced outside, then used her paw to pull An’an into her embrace.

Lowering her head, she rested her chin over the little tiger’s ears, shielding him from the noise as much as possible.

His mother’s warm embrace and steady breathing were more comforting than the thunder. Slowly, the frightened little tiger drifted back to sleep.

Once the rain stopped, many animals emerged, making hunting much easier for Maya.

After what happened last time, Maya didn’t dare take An’an out with her for a while. Since her hunts took longer, An’an was left alone in the cave, so bored he might as well have grown mushrooms.

He wanted to go with her, but his mother wouldn’t allow it. He knew it was because that previous incident had left a lingering fear in her heart.

Not just in his mother’s—whenever An’an thought about locking eyes with that buffalo, even he felt his scalp tingle.

At this age, a little tiger was naturally full of curiosity about the outside world. And An’an wasn’t just any cub—inside his little tiger body was Xie Shian, who had been confined to that place for so many years.

Every day, he could only sit inside the cave and watch the outside world, occasionally bask in the sun, or chat with the system.

At first, 250 had thought letting him stay here was a complete waste of points, but now, it had entirely changed its mind. No cub was cuter than its cub!

Unfortunately, the system had no solution for boredom. As long as An’an hadn’t grown up yet, it wasn’t comfortable letting him leave the cave.

The law of the jungle was cruel. Selfishly, the system just wanted its little cub to live a long life.

One day, shortly after Maya left, a butterfly fluttered into the cave. Its brightly colored wings trembled gently, immediately catching the attention of the little tiger, who had been lying there in a daze.

An’an stared at it for a long time. The butterfly flitted around, playing for quite a while before finally leaving.

From that day on, the little tiger eagerly awaited more visitors. He hoped and hoped until, finally, he saw a strange yellow bug.

The moment it flew in, it began buzzing nonstop.

With his previous experience, An’an was much bolder this time. He stretched out a paw to greet it, then leaned in closer, just like he would with a good friend.

“Awwooo!!!”

From a distance, Maya, who was returning from a hunt, heard the little tiger’s childish wail and immediately quickened her pace.

When she entered the cave, she saw a tiny tiger sprawled on the ground, rolling around with his paws covering his face.

“What happened?”

Hearing his mother’s familiar voice, An’an instantly stopped rolling and ran up to her, pressing his little head against her. His teary eyes dampened the fur around them.

Maya couldn’t tell what was wrong just yet, so she simply comforted him first.

Today, she had not only caught prey but also found some particularly delicious-smelling fruit—fully ripe, with only a couple of pecks from birds.

An’an sat there, gently wiping away tears with his paw, sobbing even as he ate. The sweet fruit soothed the little tiger’s sadness to some extent.

After eating, the cleanliness-loving cub had his mother carry him to the stream. First, he cleaned the fur around his mouth, then dipped his paws into the water, washing them thoroughly.

The little tiger just didn’t like bathing. He disliked the feeling of being completely submerged in water, all wet and uncomfortable. But when it came to washing just one part of his body, he didn’t mind at all—in fact, he rather enjoyed it.

This was a rare season of peace on the grasslands, so Maya was willing to tolerate all of her cub’s little quirks.

Once the harsh weather arrived, even if she wanted to indulge him, she simply wouldn’t have the luxury to do so.

Every time Maya thought of this, she couldn’t help but treat him a little better. She wished her child could face the harsh realities of life a little later.

On the way back, An’an spotted a few birds drinking downstream from where he had just washed his paws. Instantly, he turned his head away, trying to hide the disgust on his face.

Those birds were terrifying—they were drinking his foot-washing water!

That afternoon, Maya didn’t go out. Instead, she stayed in the cave, teaching the little tiger some hunting techniques. She wasn’t very skilled at hunting herself, and the few techniques she did know were ones she had learned after taking in the little tiger.

Since his good friend hadn’t visited for a long time, young An’an had completely forgotten the warnings given to him and was now fully focused on learning from his mother.

At first, the little tiger was full of energy while learning from Maya. But before long, he started nodding off.

Seeing his little head bobbing up and down, looking like he might faceplant at any moment, Maya gently patted his head with her paw, picked him up, and placed him in their usual sleeping spot.

Drowsily, the little tiger realized that his mother was allowing him to sleep. He rubbed against her lightly in gratitude, then tilted his head and immediately started snoring.

When he woke up, the little tiger felt that something was off with his head. He shook it a little but didn’t see his mother around, so he could only sit there in a daze.

Gairo hadn’t visited the little tiger in a long time. At first, An’an had been too busy learning hunting skills from his mother to think about him. But now that he had some free time, he couldn’t help but count on his paws, wondering just how long it had been since Gairo last came.

Could it be that Gairo had found a cuter little tiger and abandoned him?

Thinking of this, An’an felt a little wronged. He let out a soft whimper and tried to shift into a more comfortable position. But as soon as his paw brushed against his face, pain shot through him, making him yelp.

At that moment, the scent of blood drifted into the little tiger’s nose on the wind. Instinctively, he lifted his head and sniffed the air carefully. Before An’an could figure out what was going on, a very familiar large tiger barged in, carrying his favorite beef leg in his mouth.

Seeing his long-absent friend, An’an instantly forgot what had just happened and ran up to Gairo with great enthusiasm, circling him excitedly. His tail swayed happily behind him.

Gairo had originally planned to nuzzle the little tiger like before, but as he set down the beef leg and leaned in, his gaze landed on An’an’s head, and he froze.

There was quite a size difference between them, and even when the little tiger jumped up, he only managed to nuzzle the air. As he sat there confused, he caught sight of his reflection in Gairo’s eyes.

His once adorable little head was now swollen and round, looking completely ridiculous. No wonder he had felt his head was heavy when he first woke up.

Gairo stared at him for a long time, while An’an, sensing something was off, tilted his head in confusion.

After a while, An’an finally came to his senses. He wanted to rub his eyes with his paw to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, but as soon as his paw touched his face, the pain made him yelp again.

“What did you run into?”

The little tiger sniffled, looking at Gairo with teary eyes. He shook his head lightly—he hadn’t run into anything, yet his head had somehow swollen up on its own.

Given the situation, Gairo had no idea what to do either. He simply stayed silent, tearing the meat into smaller pieces and placing them in front of An’an.

Even with his favorite beef leg in front of him, the sorrow of his swollen head overshadowed everything else. Sniffling, the little tiger chewed his food with difficulty.

After a while, finding the meat a bit too dry, he nudged Gairo with his paw.

Having experience with this, Gairo picked him up by the scruff of his neck. An’an clung onto his unfinished piece of meat as Gairo carried him to the stream.

As he drank water, his swollen head accidentally touched the water’s surface. The cool sensation immediately soothed the discomfort, making the little tiger’s eyes light up—he seemed to have found a solution!

But in Gairo’s eyes, this little tiger, despite his young age, was clearly up to no good again.

After finishing the meal his friend had brought him, An’an gritted his teeth and jumped straight into the water, occasionally surfacing to catch his breath.

This spot didn’t have much prey, but the scenery was quite nice. Gairo wasn’t sure if he was just tired or if he simply enjoyed the peaceful view in front of him, but he lay on the riverbank, basking in the sun.

As the little tiger surfaced to breathe, he noticed Gairo dozing off nearby. He carefully climbed ashore, walked up to him, and, with a sudden swipe of his wet paw, splashed water all over Gairo’s face.

Gairo hated being wet. His eyes immediately showed his displeasure.

But when he saw that the culprit was the unbearably cute little tiger, who was now guiltily trying to flee back into the stream, his annoyance vanished instantly. He quickly blocked An’an’s escape route.

Picking him up by the scruff of his neck, Gairo tossed him into the water—then, after thinking about it, fished him back out.

It was thrilling, yes, but it was also quite the ordeal. At first, the little tiger had a blast, but after a few rounds, he ended up gulping down quite a bit of water.

When Gairo prepared to toss him in again, An’an clung to his head with all four paws, letting out a soft, pitiful whimper.

“Will you still be naughty next time?”

Gairo lowered his voice as he asked. This little tiger was getting bolder and bolder—he had even dared to try climbing onto Gairo’s head. As an adult beastman, Gairo absolutely couldn’t allow such a thing.

Under Gairo’s intense gaze, the little tiger decisively shook his head.

But with that movement, more water splashed onto Gairo’s face. His attempt to put on a stern act and scare the little tiger instantly fell apart.

Without saying a word, the little tiger, looking completely innocent, anxiously stared at Gairo, as if reflecting on whether he had done something wrong.

“Your head… what happened to it?”

From childhood to now, this was the first time Gairo had seen such a strange appearance. Based on his judgment, aside from the fact that he hadn’t visited the little tiger in a long time and the cub had grown, the rest of the swelling was at least double in size.

“Roar?”

The little tiger tilted his head in confusion. With his now oversized head for comparison, his two small ears looked even more prominent, making him appear quite pitiful.

“I’ll take you back. In a couple of days, I’ll come to teach you how to hunt.”

“Roar…”

The little tiger agreed readily, but when Gairo brought him back to the cave, he clung to Gairo’s leg like a dedicated leg pendant and refused to let go.

Last time, Gairo had also promised to come back and teach him soon, but so many days had passed since then.

Having seen many instances of separation by his mother’s side—where those who left never returned—the little tiger feared the same thing would happen between him and the big tiger.

Sensing the cub’s reluctance to part, Gairo lowered his head and gently rubbed the top of the little tiger’s head with his chin.

“Three days.”

Now that he had a definite date, the little tiger finally stopped insisting on keeping him there and waved his paw to send Gairo off.

When Maya returned and saw the little cub’s swollen face, she was also startled. His head wasn’t just swollen anymore; it was slightly red as well.

“What happened?”

In front of his little friends, the young tiger still cared somewhat about his pride, but in front of his mother, he had no concept of pride at all. Feeling wronged, he pounced into his mother’s arms and started crying softly.

It was precisely because he didn’t know what was happening that the little tiger was so scared.

Maya shifted into her half-beast form and gently patted An An’s back to soothe him.

She had encountered something similar before—long ago, when she went to pick fruit, she had been bitten by an insect, resulting in the same kind of redness, swelling, pain, and itchiness.

Even though it was already late, Maya still took An An outside to gather herbs. She crushed them with a stone and applied them to his face.

The smell of the herbs was quite pungent. At first, An An kept using his little paws to push them away, but when the cool sensation replaced the pain as the medicine settled on his wound, he stopped resisting.

Without needing Maya to force him, the little tiger eagerly moved his head closer to ensure his mother could apply the medicine more thoroughly.

“Roar~”

Since Maya couldn’t determine exactly where An An had been injured, she simply applied the medicine to his entire head.

On the way back, she let the little tiger lie on her back. Maya walked slowly, but the cub, afraid of falling off, held on tightly.

After a while, he grew tired of maintaining the same position. So, he flipped over and lay on his mother’s back.

The clean night sky above the grassland was dotted with bright stars, and the distant chirping of insects served as the perfect lullaby. The fragrance of flowers was carried to An An’s nose by the wind, and the comfort of it all made him unconsciously stretch his paws in relaxation.

Maya could feel the little cub’s happiness on her back. This was a rare moment of peace on the grassland.

After a good sleep, the swelling on An An’s head had gone down significantly. His fur was originally pure white, but just one trip outside was enough to turn him dusty and gray—let alone this time, when his entire head had been covered in medicine.

When Maya returned with her hunt, she saw the green-headed little tiger running toward her and couldn’t help but find it amusing.

She set down the prey and called An An to eat quickly. Once he finished, she would take him to wash off the green medicinal paste from his fur.

The little tiger obediently followed the first instruction, sitting beside Maya and wolfing down his food.

As Maya watched him chew, his head bobbing slightly, and his belly slowly rounding out, she felt a deep sense of fulfillment. The effort of hunting earlier suddenly seemed insignificant.

However, after finishing his meal, instead of going to wash his paws as usual, the little tiger yawned and went straight to his sleeping spot, flopping down.

If his “sleeping” skills weren’t so poor, Maya might not have realized what he was trying to do.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to wash up?”

The little tiger let out a soft whimper, pretending not to understand what she was saying. Though he deeply trusted his mother, this time, he had no intention of following her instructions.

Compared to having his head swollen and aching again, he felt that looking green was actually quite nice.

Maya wasn’t sure why her cub suddenly insisted on this and even wondered if the color green had triggered some strange new preference in him.

When she reached out, intending to force him to wash up, the little tiger struggled violently, as if his paws were covered in thorns that no one was allowed to touch. Seeing this, she had no choice but to give up.

Even after his head fully recovered, he didn’t stop his habit of using herbal juices to dye his fur in all sorts of messy colors.

At first, Maya found it hard to accept. But after thinking about it, she figured that since her cub’s fur was already an unusual color—white, which was the most conspicuous shade when hunting—adding a few more colors wouldn’t make much difference.

Most importantly, An An thought he looked beautiful like this, and it made him happy.

The little tiger was smart. He figured out that not only could he dye his fur green, but he could also try many other beautiful colors, perfectly indulging his little hobby.

When Gairo visited again, he almost didn’t recognize An An at first glance. It was only when he saw the cub’s particularly enthusiastic wagging tail that he felt a sense of familiarity.

Gairo had seen countless animals on the grassland—some of his kind and some that became his food—but among them all, only this little tiger wagged his tail so energetically.

Neither scent nor appearance could help him identify An An, but the constantly swaying tail was unmistakable.

An An loved Maya the most and admired Gairo the most. He dreamed of growing up to be as majestic as Gairo.

So, when he heard Gairo say that today he was going to teach him how to hunt, An An was so excited he nearly took off running. His four chubby little legs strode forward with absolute confidence.

Gairo followed behind him, leading him farther than usual.

Since half-beasts weren’t as capable as full beastmen, Maya was always cautious. She never dared to take An An too far, fearing they might run into danger.

But Gairo was different. He had the strength to contend with even the mightiest beasts of the grassland. Other than natural disasters, he could guarantee that he would bring An An back safely.

Leaving his mother, this was the first time An An had traveled so far. In this completely unfamiliar environment, everything he saw felt new and fresh.

Gairo, who had previously sworn that he would never let a tiger ride on his head, ended up carrying An An in his mouth the entire way to ensure the little cub had enough energy when he taught him how to hunt.

Gairo was taller than Maya, and from this greater height, An An could see much more as they ran across the grasslands, experiencing a perspective he had never tried before.

When they arrived, Gairo placed An An on the grass. The grass here was lusher than the grass in the cave where he previously lived—if it grew just a little taller, it would completely cover his small body.

“There are small prey around here, but you have to find them yourself.”

Gairo did not agree with Maya’s method of finding prey first and then letting the little tiger catch them. He always believed that being able to locate prey was an important skill as well.

Camouflaging oneself to avoid being detected by prey, successfully spotting prey, initiating the hunt, and turning the prey into a meal—these three steps were all essential, and missing even one of them would not work.

The little tiger crouched there sneakily, waiting for prey to come to him. Gairo, standing nearby and trying to minimize his presence, sighed when he saw this scene.

This was no way to hunt—waiting for alert prey to appear voluntarily had too low a probability of success. If this little tiger continued like this, he was bound to starve in the future.

More importantly, he was a white tiger, which made hunting even more difficult. Most animals with white fur on the grasslands found it hard to survive to adulthood unless they possessed exceptional abilities in other aspects.

At the most basic level, they couldn’t even secure food.

Fortunately, there was still plenty of time. The little tiger hadn’t grown up yet, and while he was still in his formative years, Gairo could correct these bad habits one by one.

At worst, aside from the little one’s half-beast adoptive mother, Gairo himself didn’t mind bringing him food occasionally. Watching such a clean and adorable little tiger wag his tail at him was truly cute.

Today, Gairo was already prepared for the little tiger to catch nothing and simply stayed with him, waiting patiently.

No matter how many reminders he gave, nothing would be as effective as letting An An experience firsthand that this method was useless.

The little tiger lay there patiently, but before long, his attention began to drift elsewhere.

The yellow butterfly resting on a flower was so pretty, fluttering its wings as if it would shake off the tiny shimmering dust on them.

After waiting a long time, the little tiger’s paws started to go numb. Just as he was about to change his position, a rabbit suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

Before the little tiger could even react, Gairo, due to his nervousness, was the first to stand up, staring intensely at the rabbit as if he wished he could catch it himself.

The rabbit, oblivious to the little tiger hidden in the grass, was leisurely nibbling on the grass.

An An only realized belatedly that he had found prey and immediately pounced. However, as fast as he ran, the rabbit was even faster—within seconds, it had vanished.

The little tiger, having lunged at empty air, stood there completely baffled. When he turned around and saw Gairo staring at him, the disappointment suddenly overwhelmed him. He ran over, flopped down in front of Gairo, and whimpered in frustration.

Wild rabbits were nothing like the exhausted ones Maya had prepared for him. The moment An An stood up from the grass, the rabbit had already sensed something was wrong.

Gairo told the little tiger to stay put and went to catch the rabbit himself.

While waiting for his prey, Gairo even controlled his breathing, making it as light as possible. Then, the moment the rabbit appeared, he struck swiftly—before it could react, his jaws clamped down on its neck, snuffing out its life instantly.

As much as An An thought Gairo looked incredibly cool, he couldn’t help but reach up and lightly touch his own neck with his paw.

Thankfully, that wasn’t him.

“Did you learn? You have to be like this—don’t give them a chance to escape.”

Gairo tossed the dead rabbit in front of the little tiger. However, when he saw the cub’s drooping ears and pitiful expression, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh.

“Forget it. You’re still young. You can learn when you’re a little older.”

“Awuuu…”

In the past, An An would have believed this without question. But today, he had startled the rabbit away just by standing up, whereas Gairo had caught it effortlessly with that cool, precise move. The stark contrast left him feeling dejected.

Originally, Gairo had simply intended to teach the little tiger how to hunt, but not only did he end up catching a rabbit for him, he also noticed on the way back that the little one—completely lacking in energy—was staring at a fruit. So, he went through the trouble of picking it for him as well.

The little tiger ate the ugliest one himself, made sure the remaining two looked good, then shoved one into Gairo’s mouth and tucked the last one into his fur, planning to bring it back for his mother.

Even though he hadn’t caught a single piece of prey, the little one still felt like he had worked hard and was now too lazy to move. Seeing that there was still plenty of time, Gairo decided to take him straight back to the cave.

The little tiger, happily carrying his fruit, waved goodbye to Gairo. But before he even entered the cave, he spotted Maya waiting for him.

Startled, he dropped the fruit, watching in dismay as it rolled several times on the ground.