Chapter 39: ◎Antarctic Sweet Girl Adélie (5)◎
Shi Qiao didn't know yet that a certain male Adélie was ready to raise a cub. When she was sleeping, she was thinking about how she would continue to look for parents all over the world tomorrow.
They have been searching for several days in a row, and they should continue to search in the future. It's okay if they can't find them. What if she finds them and recognizes them, will she recognize them directly or deceive the boss?
Both choices were a bit difficult for her.
She doesn't want to go back to her so-called "home". Only her old mother has a little love for her. The old father's favoritism should not be too obvious. Even if Adélie parents were found and there was her stronger brother competing in the nest, she would not have a high chance of becoming the surviving little penguin.
But it was too difficult for her to lie to the boss. She had never fooled him before, and she didn't know if she could.
If she fails, she is very likely to be rejected by the other party. Why would the boss continue to keep a lying little penguin by his side?
Ah, it's so hard to choose.
Shi Qiao was caught in a dilemma, and the thoughts in the little penguin's mind were tangled into a ball of yarn, densely filled with the feeling of not wanting to separate.
Noticing that the little penguin next to him did not close her eyes and sleep like she did a few days ago, Klein thought that the other person was sad because she had not found her parents for so long, so he lowered his head and rubbed his head against the other person.
He is a penguin who has lived in the ice and snow for a long time and is not used to close contact with the same kind. These days, he has been staying with the penguin cub every day. It is the first time in his life that he has been so close to a chick.
It doesn't seem that unacceptable.
Especially when he saw the other person's surprised expression after being rubbed, Klein remembered the little penguin's preference. After discovering that the other person liked having her head rubbed, he rubbed it comfortingly.
Shi Qiao didn't expect that the boss of Penguin would take the initiative to rub her head. Although she didn't know why the other person wanted to rub his head, it didn't stop her mood from getting better.
The little penguin seemed to have found some interesting toy. She put her head over and continued to rub against the male Adélie.
Until she was pushed away by the opponent with his flippers, with a warning in his eyes.
He will get annoyed if she rubs him again.
Shi Qiao looked at the intimidating gaze in front of her, pretended not to understand the other person's expression, resisted the pressure, and rubbed it for the last time before quickly moving away from the other person.
Looking at the penguin chick who was never so nimble, it was no longer possible to scare her intentionally. Klein used his flippers to bring her back to his side without taking back his arm on the little penguin.
In this way, the other party could have a good sleep peacefully.
When Shi Qiao opened his eyes the next day, it was already bright. After adapting to the weather in Antarctica, it is not cold except at night in summer. Another adult penguin is sleeping next to her in a nest. The temperature is just right, which is very suitable for deep sleep.
Unexpectedly, she could still sleep in after becoming a penguin. Shi Qiao glanced at the male Adélie next to her. She didn't know whether he was sleeping or awake and just didn't want to move.
The little penguin called to the other party, and the other party opened his eyes instantly without thinking.
There was a hint of sleepiness, it seemed like he had woken up long ago.
Shi Qiao felt a little guilty after realizing that the boss would wait silently when she was sleeping. After all, the other party still had to take her to do business, and there were tens of thousands of penguins left waiting for them to identify them one by one.
The little penguin got up from the ground and hurried outside.
Unexpectedly, the other party grabbed the back of the neck and dragged her back into the nest.
Shi Qiao looked at the boss in confusion. It was already noon and almost afternoon. It would get dark if they kept going, and it would be even harder to recognize by then.
Klein couldn't tell the little penguin clearly, so he simply used his flippers to move the little penguin to his feet and led the little penguin in the opposite direction.
The direction they were walking was uphill where Shi Qiao had run blindly to avoid Antarctic skuas. A group of single Adélie penguins without a partner or children gathered at that location.
As the only penguin that inhabits Antarctica, the Adélie, like the emperor penguin, only has one mate in its lifetime.
Among a group of single penguins, some are left because there are no female penguins who can see them, and some actively refuse blind dates because they have too high standards and strict requirements. Anyway, there will be opportunities next year.
The remaining single penguins will also choose to get together with the same kind of singles, otherwise, it will be a bit distressing to continue to mix among the same kind of penguins who have wives and children.
Compared to the silly emperor penguins, Adélie penguins have a lot of tricks up their sleeves.
Single penguins who cannot find a partner will come to seduce female penguins when the male Adélie is not at home. The low-quality penguins in Antarctica are not just talkative. Other Adélie penguins that have been successfully paired will attack them out of fear of being poached by singles.
These attacked penguins had no choice but to live uphill with their fellow penguins who were also alone.
There is also a grumpy old guy named Klein who doesn't want to listen to the noise of the cub and the love of the couple every day and actively isolates the other penguins. After all, it is much quieter up there than down below.
Shi Qiao watched the boss take her to the place where she lived before and didn't know why the other party took her back there.
There weren't many Adélie up there.
Since she is just a newbie who needs supervision now, she can't get anything out of him. She can only act as a penguin pendant, and she will go wherever the other person goes.
When Shi Qiao was brought to the place where they first met, the other single Adélie penguins stretched their necks and squawked when they saw Klein with his cub.
"Where have you been for so many days? When will you go to sea?"
"Why are you still carrying this little thing?"
"What are you doing by taking it out and bringing it back? Just find a place and throw it away."
"This little penguin seems to be very special to him. Something is wrong, very wrong."
"Hiss, is this Klein's cub? He hasn't even found a partner, so when did he go poaching?"
Hearing the last question, the other single male Adélie looked at Klein with eyes that betrayed the organization and then were frightened by the cold return stare and shut their mouths.
The Adélie, who had just been talking happily, suddenly became honest. Shi Qiao couldn't help but sigh at the majesty accumulated by a certain big guy.
They reacted so quickly, so they probably got beaten a lot before.
Shi Qiao went down to the ground and took a step forward. Then she was taken to a gravel nest by the boss.
There is no other smell in this den like the previously abandoned dens. There is only Klein's own scent. It is probably the boss's home.
Shi Qiao was placed here and then watched the boss call a few times to the Adélie penguins who were whispering to each other.
The penguin's tone was very complex, even worse than that of the leopard. She was confused when she heard it. She could only see the boss's back, but could not see his expression clearly.
All the remaining penguins looked serious, and some even looked sad.
The food stored in the crops from the last trip to sea has been exhausted, and Klein decided to look for food today.
Since he had to leave as soon as he decided to raise his own chick, the little penguin became a solitary goose again and was likely to be eaten by Antarctic skuas when he left, so he asked the remaining penguins who did not need to go to sea to take care of her for a few days.
The condition is to exchange the food brought back.
Another negative condition is that if there is any accident or injury to the cubs when he leaves, none of the penguins who stay in the colony to take care of the children will be able to escape, and they will all have to accept the death penalty from the Antarctic bully.
"Understand?"
Klein glanced at the three Adélie penguins, Victor, Koloff, and Hoover, who were not planning to go to sea and drilled the precautions into their minds.
He even asked each penguin to repeat it in front of him.
Due to the opponent's accumulated power, the remaining Adélie penguins had to agree even if they didn't want to bring up his chick.
They have all seen Klein's fighting power. It is no exaggeration to say that the three of them together are no match for each other. If this cub is really Klein's baby, if something goes wrong in their hands, it is estimated that all the penguins present will have to follow the little penguin.
If they dare not agree, then burp their butt in the other party's hands now.
Therefore, this is not a negotiation request or transaction at all, this is a clear threat!
However, they all regard Klein as their big brother and are too timid to disobey him.
Shi Qiao looked at three of the penguins, who looked like they had been trained by instructors. The eyes that looked at her were no longer ridiculing and gossiping, and they all looked a little bit like death.
If they take care of her well, they can live; if they don't take care of her well, they will die.
In other words, this little cub is also their precious pup from now on.
Shi Qiao was surrounded by three adult Adélie, who looked like three penguin bodyguards who wanted to protect her. The little penguin could only poke its head out of the gap to see the big boss who was walking outside the settlement.
The other party didn't even say a word and walked away very fast.
Fortunately, Shi Qiao was not a real ignorant penguin chick. She knew when she saw the direction the other person was running that he was going to the estuary and back to the ocean in search of food.
She had already consumed Klein's remaining food, and it was time to go to sea.
The other party was eager to help her find her parents in those days because it was difficult to move around freely with the cub. If she left the settlement, she would be in danger of being helpless.
Bringing her to the single Adélie was much better than leaving her behind. At least she knew that Klein would definitely come back to find her instead of sending her home and disappearing among the penguins.
The three full-time bodyguards or nannies who were ordered to take care of the baby were a little surprised to see the quiet little penguin.
Surrounded by a group of "weird squirrels", the other person had a calm expression on her face, unlike ordinary little penguins. If other chicks were abandoned by their parents and blocked by adult penguins who didn't look kind at all, they would probably have screamed in fear.
Koloff and Victor looked at each other and saw each other's affirmative eyes.
There's no need to guess, she's so courageous, it turns out she's Klein's cub!
Shi Qiao couldn't understand what the two male Adélie were saying to each other. There was another penguin behind her who was responsible for always being on guard against enemies in the sky. He looked very reliable.
Before leaving, Klein did not forget to arrange for a few temporary guardian geese to be around her. He was so meticulous.
Shi Qiao stayed where she was, trying to minimize the trouble of the three penguins raising a baby.
She just doesn't know when Klein will come back.
Shi Qiao looked into the distance and couldn't see the location of the entrance to the sea at all. She could only see scattered Adélie walking on the road like small black dots.
She withdrew her gaze and lay down in the nest. She could only pass the time by counting the small stones in the nest.
The three Adélie penguins relaxed after seeing no trace of Klein, standing next to each other chatting and staring at the little penguin.
"Klein has never had much contact with females, so how did he give birth to such a big cub?"
"Maybe the enemy became the father. In fact, the egg belongs to Klein, otherwise, he would have become a male widow."
"Are you even listening to what you said?"
"Is it possible?"
"How can it be impossible? Everything is possible!"
"That's true."
When Shi Qiao heard a certain call, she raised her head and looked at the particularly noisy Adélie penguins, listening to their chat and blowing water to study the meaning.
When the three penguins noticed the bright-eyed little penguin, the little penguin imitated their tone and called out.
"Klein."
The three penguins were startled when they heard her speak. At the same time, they turned and looked behind, thinking that Klein had left and returned.
As a result, there was nothing behind them, and there was nowhere to see the shadow of the bully.
Hoover looked at the little penguin in confusion and called to her: "Why are you calling him?"
"Klein."
Koloff quacked a few times perfunctorily: "Okay, I know you miss him, so there's no need to bark anymore."
"Klein."
A chick who is just beginning to understand the meaning of a penguin call is like a goose repeater, repeating back and forth the call that she knows the meaning of.
Only then did the remaining three Adélie penguins suddenly realize.
Klein's cub turned out to be a little fool who just started to learn how to speak.
The three penguins were very emotional. Who would have thought that the always vicious Klein would have a stupid cub? God is fair and will close every window for him whenever he opens a door.
It's not easy for a single father to pull the stupid cubs, and they are no longer jealous of each other for leaving so many girls around and pretending to be single.
In the past few days when Klein was out at sea, Shi Qiao caught three gossiping male penguins and began to talk. Such talkative and gossipy penguins were the most talkative and gossipy penguins in the Adélie group. The emperor penguins next door didn't talk much about anything important.
A certain boss didn't like to talk when he was taking her with him, and he wouldn't be able to amuse himself by chattering to a little penguin who didn't understand.
The three penguins caught a little fool as the target of their confession, telling her over and over again how Klein usually bullied them, which made Shi Qiao already smoking at the few words.
These include the words Klein, Goose Fighting, and Super Fierce.
The history of blood and tears that can be summarized in just six words was forced to be complained by three Adélie for three days, and Shi Qiao's ears almost felt like calluses.
She couldn't help but sigh.
Human beings will never know how rich animals' emotions are, just like she doesn't know why she listened to a group of Adélie in Antarctica complaining about how good another of its kind can fight.
If it weren't for learning how to speak, she wouldn't be impatient to listen to these penguins squawking together, and she wouldn't blame them for being beaten by her boss all the time.
However, the noise is noisy. When the Antarctic skuas came to visit the colony, the three temporary bodyguards still dutifully protected the little penguins. Even the raptors could not break the encirclement of the three adult Adélie, so they could only come back with empty words again and again.
Just kidding, if the other party is snatched away by the skuas, it is equivalent to giving up their lives as well.
They form a group of three geese and defend their young to the death!
Because these three Adélie were kind to her and made her language system improve by leaps and bounds, Shi Qiao could barely bear it no matter how noisy or late at night they chatted.
Just after the little penguin learned a lot of penguin slang from these gossipy bachelors, Klein, who had been at sea for three days, finally returned.
Shi Qiao accurately found Klein's figure among a bunch of Adélie penguins. The whole penguin suddenly became energetic, pulled away the three bodyguards, and chirped a few times in the distance.
Klein was very fast and was the first to return to the settlement in a short time.
The little penguin brought a surprise as soon as she opened her mouth: "Kline, Klein!"
Unexpectedly, the baby penguin, who couldn't understand the cry before he left, had already learned to speak. Klein looked at the other person with a somewhat surprised look, but it was important to eat. Before the little penguin could continue to show off her rich vocabulary, she fed the other person the krill caught in the crop.
The remaining three penguin bodyguards also watched eagerly, preparing to receive their salary for the past few days.
After feeding the chicks, Klein divided the food among the remaining adult penguins.
It took a long time this time, and he encountered a group of krill and striped fish on the way. After filling his stomach, he could bring back a lot, so it was not a waste of so many days.
Shi Qiao's belly was full after eating, and she squatted next to Klein to watch the three Adélie fight over who could eat the last krill.
She had just learned how to speak after being in Antarctica for so long. In the past few days, she had been acting as a trash can for venting gossip. Now that she saw the boss, she felt that she had been holding back what she wanted to say.
The three Adélie penguins usually just kept talking to themselves and would not explain their meaning to her sentence by sentence. As a result, Shi Qiao could only imitate some of the calls and did not quite understand the meaning.
The little penguin had a strong desire to show off, so she spoke confidently and chirped at the other person.
"Klien, how pitiful you are, a male widow with a baby!"
Klien: "..."
The three Adélie who were still fighting for food made a move, and the next second they received a sinister look from a certain bully.
As if to say to them, are you looking for death?
Sure enough, being beaten will never be absent, it's just going to be late sometimes.