Chapter 26: The Little Fox Girl's Pinocchio

  Ma Long returned to White Oak Street when the sky was left with only a large patch of fiery sunset.

  "At least, tomorrow will still be a sunny day."

  Mulong muttered to himself as he rang the doorbell of Inspector Barnard's small villa.

  While waiting for the door to open, Ma Long was thinking about how to explain to Officer Bernard that he had been wandering around outside all day.

  The door was soon opened and he saw... little fox girl Amy hugging a wooden puppet wearing a white veil princess dress.

  When the door opened, the little fox girl made a clear movement of wanting to pounce forward, but when she realized that the person who rang the doorbell was Ma Long, she twisted her slender waist with incredible agility and stopped her pouncing movement abruptly.

  Although he had been telling stories all day and his head was still dizzy, Ma Long could clearly remember that he had never let the little loli take the initiative to **the uncle's aura.

  So Ma Long smiled at Xiao Hu Nu and asked: "Uncle Bernard, hasn't he come back yet?"

  It's better not to ask. As soon as Ma Long asked, the little fox girl suddenly pouted her mouth. She scanned Ma Long with an absolutely angry gaze and nodded heavily.

  Killing aura!

  Ma Long suddenly understood that Xiaohuliang was also very resentful of his late return, this is not a good sign...

  But before Ma Long could open his mouth to explain, the little fox girl who was still dissatisfied with a pouting face stretched out her hand and pulled Ma Long's sleeve, pulling him straight into the dining room.

  In the dining room, four wooden plates were placed, except for one plate that was almost empty after being eaten, the other three plates were still full of food that had lost all its heat.

  "Ai Mei, why haven't you eaten yet? This won't do! Children need to eat on time in order to grow up healthy, or else they'll become very ugly when they grow up!"

  Ma Long's face showed a look of surprise, and he unconsciously used the tone he had used to coax children at the orphanage.

  Even if he had to guess, Ma Long could tell that the almost empty plate was definitely eaten by his younger cousin An Wei.

  The fluffy sapphire-blue fox tail wagged, and the little fox girl Aimy pouted her mouth, giving Malong a "because we have to wait for you!" look.

  Then, the little fox girl put down the princess-style wooden doll in her arms, picked up a food tray that had gone cold, and headed towards the kitchen.

  After a moment, the little fox girl wearing a pink apron rearranged the hot dishes on the dining table.

  The little fox girl didn't seem to want to serve the second dish of food, but instead silently hinted that she would eat herself. Malong opened his mouth and asked: "Aimi, are you not going to wait for Uncle Bernard to come back and eat together? Can't I eat with you?"

  The little fox girl nodded firmly, her attitude resolute with no room for compromise.

  Ma Long revealed a bitter smile, although he was indeed very hungry now, but he couldn't bear to eat alone when the little fox girl Aimi, who had made delicious food for him, was still hungry.

  "Alright, let's wait together."

  Having finished speaking, Ma Long turned around and walked towards the living room.

  "Hey, snap out of it, Little Aimie! Hurry up and catch up! I think listening to your brother Malon's stories is a great way to pass the time before Uncle Bernard gets back!"

  Ma Long walked away without looking back, speaking in a tone that brooked no argument. The little fox girl Aimi gazed at Ma Long's receding figure, her sapphire-blue eyes gradually losing their angry expression and replacing it with a look of delight.

  Then, the little fox girl's fluffy tail swung happily from side to side, and she caught up with Ma Long with a light step. Without hesitation, she inserted her soft and boneless small hand into Ma Long's warm big hand.

  The small, soft hands that tightly grasped his fingers finally made Malong turn back in surprise. He saw in Amy's gemstone blue eyes, which were looking up at him, a fullness of joy and trust.

  Huh?!!

  I just acted cool for a bit, didn't I?

  Ma Long couldn't understand why his casual words had such a huge impact.

  His empty stomach led to a lack of calories and glucose, making Malong too lazy to think any further... Well, at least that's a good thing, isn't it?

  "Xiao An Wei, brother is back! Brother wants to tell a story, why don't you hurry up and come out?"

  Malong, still walking into the living room, shouted at the top of his lungs and then plopped down on the comfortable sofa. He put on a pitiful look and said to the little fox girl who was following closely behind him: "Lovely and beautiful Miss Amy, can you bring me three cups of rich milk coffee?"

  Ma Long's pitiful appearance made the little fox girl laugh out loud, and even her beautiful blue eyes curved into two crescent moons. She nodded vigorously again.

  ……

  "Oh! I'm saved—"

  Without bothering to savor it, he gulped down the delicious milk coffee with a series of satisfied "gulps", and Ma Long revealed an extremely comfortable expression.

  Then, without the little fox girl's constant smile and Xiao Anwei's expectant face urging him on, Ma Long opened his mouth and began to tell a fairy tale: "A long, long time ago, there was once such a piece of wood. It wasn't any precious material, just ordinary firewood for burning in stoves and fireplaces. One day, this piece of wood was placed in an old carpenter's shop. The old carpenter's name was Antonio, but people all called him Master Cherry..."

  Without a doubt, Ma Long's story is Disney movie version of Pinocchio.

  It was probably due to the third retelling that, under Malong's vivid and emotive storytelling, Little Fox Girl Aimi and Little Anwei quickly became immersed in the world of fairy tales, laughing and exclaiming with surprise as the story unfolded.

  As the sky grew darker and darker in Malong's narrative, until it was almost too dark for Malong to see the expression on the little fox girl sitting beside him, Sheriff Bernard's signature doorbell ringing and loud shouting finally entered Malong's ears.

  "Alright, story time is suspended! An Wei goes to light the gas lamp, and Aimie and I go to welcome our triumphant Inspector."

  Ma Long stood up and clapped his hands to wake up the little fox girl and the little boy who were entranced by the story, and quickly assigned tasks.

  "Good older brother!"

  Xiao Anwei carried out Ma Long's task without hesitation.

  And little fox girl Aimy silently put her soft small hands into Malong's palms once again.

  Ma Long thought that Xiao Hu Nu was just afraid of the dark, so he didn't think much and led her to the door of the small villa.

  The door opened and Sheriff Bernard stood outside. Unlike in the morning, his originally neat police uniform had turned into a beggar's outfit.

  "Ah, sorry kids, something came up today. I had to catch a wandering old martial artist who dared to rob openly in my territory after drifting from another city, so I was delayed for a while."

  Under the puffed-up eyes of Little Fox Girl Amy, Police Chief Bernard hastily explained, patting his police uniform which had turned into a beggar's outfit, and said in a tone that still lingered with fear: "Fortunately, that old guy not only was almost out of energy from hunger, but also had knee caps that had been shot before..."

  The speaker has no intention, but the listener has his own interpretation.

  After listening to Chief Barnard's explanation for his late return, Marlon's eyes, which had been dull due to hunger, lit up.

  Ma Long felt he had found the key figure in executing the three-win plan.

  "Uncle Bernard, are you sure? That's a vagrant old martial artist who just wandered in from another city?!"