Chapter 134 - 134 – Preparing The Feast For The Babies

That weekend, both Ren and Fang spent the entire morning playing with the four babies and even accompanied them to watch their current favourite anime. Most of the household staff probably felt that Ren and Fang had lost their minds, watching anime with a kitten, two puppies and a little baby snake – but even if they did think so, no one would dare say anything to the two of them anyway. And, besides, the household staff pampered the four babies as much (if not more) as Ren and Fang did. Of course, they didn't get to see Sylvia's snake form very often and everyone thought that the human baby and the baby snake didn't get along, and that the baby snake hid herself whenever the human baby was around. It was quite a pity, some of the staff members thought, because the little snake and the human baby had matching purple eyes, and they all thought that their Young Master Fang, the human baby and the baby snake would look adorable in the same picture frame together! And little Snow could be there, too – all four of them with their beautiful purple eyes – it would be so lovely!

Sadly, that was never destined to happen.

After a light lunch (courtesy of Chef Jules), Ren and Fang went into the kitchen and took over the task of preparing for dinner. Most of the staff members hung around, though, hoping to help.

And for once, Ren didn't refuse their help. After all, the babies had given him a list of twenty seven dishes, and he was determined to make all of them for his precious little ones. And making that many dishes meant that he would need help from other people as well, not just Fang.

The kitchen staff were all too happy to help Ren and Fang! Every single one of them had tasted Ren's cooking before, and they still drooled just thinking about the dishes Ren made. And now they were going to help Ren with his cooking! Besides, Ren always made enough portions for everybody in the house, from the newest servant to his most precious and beloved Young Master Fang – and it didn't make sense to have Ren do all the work by himself, with no one to help him other than Fang. They were all going to eat the final product personally made by Master Ren – and it would be an honour for them to help him! And who knows, perhaps they could pick up a few tips along the way as well…!

Chef Jules was one of the most enthusiastic people among the kitchen staff and was very eager to help Ren – and technically, Chef Jules was the boss of everyone in the kitchen – and thus, him being so happy to help Ren cook would naturally trickle down to the others as well.

And thus, the kitchen became the busiest place in the house for the entire evening.

Even with everyone helping Ren, it was quite a task to make that many different dishes. And it didn't help that the babies hung outside the kitchen with forlorn expressions on their faces – and Ren couldn't help but make additional little snacks that were light and easy to digest and yet really tasty and he kept serving them to the babies ever so often.

"Don't indulge them too much," Fang said sternly to Ren, the fifth time he served little plates of food to the babies. "They won't be able to eat dinner otherwise."

Ren shrugged helplessly. "I can't help it," he said with a pout. He waved his arm at the four babies of different species. "Look at their adorable little faces – how am I supposed to turn them down?"

Fang shook his head in exasperation and turned to the babies. "All of you have missed your afternoon nap today," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Why don't you go and get some rest, and then you will be bright and fresh for dinner – otherwise, you will not be able to eat all the delicious things that your Daddy is working so hard to cook…"

That threat worked perfectly!

Two puppies, one kitten and one baby snake obediently trailed after their Papa Fang, who led them to their rooms and tucked them in. Then Fang reminded Sylvia that she had to remember to crawl into Pax's car – because the human baby was supposedly out with Uncle Pax today – and they had to show to everyone that she was coming in with Pax and Wolf.

Sylvia laughed and rubbed her head against Fang's cheek. "Don't worry, Papa," she told him. "I know what to do."

Fang smiled at her and stroked her smooth scales affectionately. "I know," he murmured. "You are our smartest child, of course."

Sylvia preened.

Fang slyly used a little bit of magic and put all four babies to sleep, and then hurried back to the kitchen to help Ren.

Ren raised his eyebrows in surprise when Fang came back to the kitchen.

"All of them fell asleep so fast?" Ren asked in disbelief. Whenever it was his turn to put the babies to sleep, it usually took him over an hour – and just now, it had been barely fifteen minutes and Fang was already back! What miracle was this?!

Fang grinned rakishly at his fiancé. "Well, you could say that I cheated a bit," he said.

"Young Master Fang is really good with the children," one of the kitchen staff members said with a laugh.

Ren rolled his eyes. "Then Young Master Fang can take over the task of putting the babies to sleep every day," he murmured.

Fang heard Ren grumbling and felt a grin spread on his own face. He sauntered over to Ren and slipped an arm around the older man's waist.

"I'll do it every single day until the babies are old enough not to require tucking in," he whispered in Ren's ear. "And that will definitely save us some time to spend on other things…"

Ren flushed immediately. This boy! What was he saying in the presence of all their kitchen staff?!

Chef Jules cleared his throat loudly and Fang let Ren go rather reluctantly.

But then, Ren was distracted, and he ended up almost chopping his own fingers instead of the potato in his hand.

Fang, who was almost as sensitive to the smell of blood as their twin boys Smoke and Shadow, immediately grabbed Ren's hands before the knife could cut any deeper.

"What in the world are you doing?!" Fang scolded Ren, his purple eyes filled with anxiety. "Show me!"

Ren chuckled at the panicking young man in front of him. "Calm down, my big darling," he said softly. "It's just a small nick – it doesn't even hurt."

Fang furrowed his brows angrily and pressed down on the wound, making Ren groan out loud.

"Doesn't hurt, does it?" Fang asked angrily. "What is wrong with you, you idiot?!"

Meanwhile, Steward Paul had fetched the first aid kit and hurried over to the young couple.

Fang practically snatched the first aid kit from Steward Paul's hands with a quick word of thanks, and then carefully cleaned the cut which had run across several of Ren's fingers and then he proceeded to bandage them neatly.

"Does it still hurt?" Fang asked Ren worriedly.

Ren shook his head and pressed a soft kiss to Fang's cheek. "Will you kiss it better for me if I tell you that it really, really hurts a lot?" he asked in response.

Fang immediately brought Ren's bandaged fingers to his lips and kissed them one by one, making Ren blush.

A number of the kitchen staff members had to stop themselves from squealing in delight. Master Ren and Young Master Fang were really too cute!

"Thank you," Ren said shyly, when Fang finally released his hand.

Fang still looked worried. "Does it still hurt? Should I get you an analgesic?" he asked anxiously, cupping Ren's face gently in his hands and peering at him carefully to gauge if there were any signs of pain on his face or in his eyes.

Ren chuckled and shook his head. "With my big darling driving away the pain for me, how could it still hurt?" he asked with a smile. "Come on, we still have half the dishes left to make." Ren turned to Chef Jules and asked, "Could you do the chopping, please? I'll make the batter instead – I shouldn't get the bandages wet."

"No," Fang said firmly. "You stand here and give instructions. You won't do anything else!"

"I agree with Young Master Fang," Chef Jules said.

Ren pouted, but Fang wouldn't let Ren use his hands now that he was hurt – so the cooking process slowed down with Ren having to give detailed instructions to the kitchen staff as well as Fang, who took a lot of key work, since he was the one who was most familiar with Ren's cooking, and also the person who had the maximum experience when it came to cooking with Ren.