DTBS - Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Taking First Place
"Hehe," Tao Aiqin held up the key in her hand and said to Meng Huashi, "Mengmeng, look, we found the key."
"Qinqin is so amazing~" The little girl in the black cat costume clapped her hands. "It really is a 'baa baa'."
The System was curious and couldn't help but speak up: 【Why a sheep? An animal in the dark, how did you think of a sheep? Why not a bat!】
When Tao Qiuyun read the riddle, the System was convinced it was a bat.
Why not a bat? Bats are so cool, someone even made movies about them!
"That's typically adult thinking, you have to think outside the box," Tao Aiqin explained to it. "But you also can't be limited to a child's perspective, after all, the riddle was made by adults."
【What do you mean?】 The System was confused by her.
"If it were that simple, what kind of riddle would it be? They might as well just put the answer out there."
Tao Aiqin continued, "Adults would think that way too. Since this is for kids, it must be simple. Just think of a few nocturnal animals and run to each one. If this one is wrong, go to the next. You'll get it eventually. That! Is the pitfall! How big is this place? The teacher said on the bus that it would take an hour to walk the whole way without stopping. We also have to find clues. If we search aimlessly, we'll just waste more time. We only have one afternoon for the treasure hunt."
【Why are you so serious?】 The System didn't expect her to analyze it so thoroughly.
"Playing a game! Are you playing for fun?"
【Isn't... isn't it for fun?】
"Of course, it's to win!" Tao Aiqin was full of fighting spirit.
"Qinqin," Tao Qiuyun stepped forward and stroked the little cat's head. "Why is it a 'baa baa'? Can you tell Mama?"
Tao Qiuyun finally couldn't hold back her curiosity and humbly asked her daughter for guidance.
"Why wouldn't it be a 'baa baa'?" The little girl tilted her head. "It just is a 'baa baa'. What else would it be?"
"Then why did Qinqin think of a 'baa baa'?" Tao Qiuyun looked at the little sheep around them. "Why not an owl? Owls come out at night."
"Because Qinqin can't sleep at night and counts 'baa baas'!" The little cat looked adorable and explained, "'Baa baas' come out when I sleep at night, and they say 'baa baa' to Qinqin~"
One sheep, two sheep... It was counting sheep to fall asleep!
Tao Qiuyun's pupils trembled, and she looked at her daughter with a hint of admiration.
This way of thinking was definitely not inherited from her!
Thinking this, she suddenly thought of Qin Qingshang and simply sent the riddle via WeChat.
【CEO Tao: A roaring animal hidden in the dark】
【CEO Tao: Guess an animal】
【Miss Qin: Huh? Account hacked?】
【CEO Tao: My daughter's activity riddle, want to guess?】
【CEO Tao: Giving you a sense of participation】
【Miss Qin: Little sheep?】
【CEO Tao: ???】
【Miss Qin: Is that wrong?】
【CEO Tao: Why a sheep?】
【Miss Qin: [Smile] Because I count sheep when I can't sleep at night, is there a problem?】
【Miss Qin: CEO Tao, are you mocking me by sending question marks?】
【CEO Tao: You guessed right】
【Miss Qin: Guessed what right? [Angry] Guessed that you're mocking me!】
【CEO Tao: Guessed the riddle right [Sweating], I wasn't mocking you, I'm very impressed】
Tao Qiuyun put away her phone...
Case closed. Tao Aiqin definitely inherited from Qin Qingshang.
So, why do they count sheep when they sleep!?
Having successfully solved the first riddle, Tao Qiuyun prepared to leave with the two little cats.
"Mengmeng," Tao Aiqin started suggesting ideas. "Let's take two keys. When we solve the riddles, we'll take two keys each, so we don't have to split the king's treasure. We can each have a share of the treasure."
"What kind of evil dragon from the deep mountains are you? Unwilling to share treasure," Tao Qiuyun picked up the mischievous little cat. "The rules say one key per family. Mengmeng is with us now, so we can only take one key. You have to share the fruits of your labor with your teammates, understand?"
"Okay~" The little cat rubbed against her. "Qinqin will share the treasure with Mengmeng."
"So good!" Tao Qiuyun praised her, holding her and the quiet Meng Huashi as they left, preparing to solve the second riddle.
"Shall we look at the second clue now?" Tao Qiuyun looked down at the two little cats, one black and one white.
"No, there are too many people here." Tao Aiqin pulled on Tao Qiuyun's T-shirt, dragging her into the depths of the small bamboo forest. "Bad guys are stupid, they talk loudly and will be heard! We need to discuss quietly."
"Mhm," Mengmeng nodded. "Qinqin is always right."
"Okay," Tao Qiuyun sighed helplessly, letting the two little girls sit on a rock. She also sat cross-legged on the grass. "Let's see what the second riddle is... The white tiger was very unhappy with its lunch yesterday, it seems to have an upset stomach. I hope the children can help it."
Tao Qiuyun looked around. A white tiger? How could there be a white tiger here!
"White tiger?" Tao Aiqin and Meng Huashi looked at each other, both a little troubled.
"How about looking at the map?" Tao Qiuyun flipped the treasure map over. The back of the riddle was a map of the entire area.
Forget white tigers, there weren't even any tigers here!
"So," Tao Qiuyun looked at the riddle again. "This tiger is a symbol."
Could it be a statue or something?
"Let's look at the third one first," Tao Aiqin suggested.
【Oh, couldn't guess it right away this time, huh?】 The System mocked her.
"Shut up!" Tao Aiqin smiled.
"The third clue is," Tao Qiuyun read, "Follow the river west, and the white dragon horse will tell you the answer."
"Yay! There's a white horse!" The little cat raised her hand and cheered.
"Yay~" Meng Huashi also raised her arm.
Tao Qiuyun was charmed by their cuteness, and her fighting spirit was also ignited. She finally actively participated in the game and said, "Qinqin, Mengmeng, how about we read all the riddles first? Then we can start with the simplest and easiest to guess. How about that?"
"Okay~" Both little ones agreed with her.
"The fourth clue, the baby alpaca and the mama alpaca are lost. The mama alpaca pleads with the little heroes to look for clues about the baby alpaca under the biggest tree."
"The fifth clue, Miss Woodpecker, who loves milk tea, hopes someone can do her a favor."
"The sixth clue, when the music plays, gather at the square and wait for a miracle to descend."
"The seventh clue, leaves are in the forest."
After reading these clues, Tao Qiuyun shared her thoughts with the little cats. "We can put the sixth one aside for later. I saw a milk tea shop on the map. Shall we go find Miss Woodpecker first?"
The little white cat and the little black cat both agreed.
Leading the little cats to the milk tea shop, Tao Qiuyun conveniently edited the clues on the way and sent them to Qin Qingshang via WeChat, but the other side seemed busy and didn't reply.
"Welcome~" The staff at the milk tea shop greeted Tao Qiuyun.
As soon as they entered, the cat-eared trio's eyes were drawn to Miss Woodpecker sitting by the window. There was no other reason; the woodpecker's appearance was truly eye-catching, and she was surrounded by many children, seemingly all doing tasks.
Seeing that the parents were waiting on the side and the children were doing the tasks, Tao Qiuyun let the two little cats go forward to queue. She ordered a yogurt for each of them and then sat on the side, like other parents, silently watching her children's performance.
Miss Woodpecker's task was very simple. She said she was lonely and wanted the little animals to be her friends and tell her stories.
The children before them had all finished. Even the shy Meng Huashi stumbled through a story about a little mermaid. Although some people mocked her for stuttering and telling a childish story, Miss Woodpecker was still willing to be friends with Mengmeng.
Finally, it was Tao Aiqin's turn. The little cat cleared her throat and stared at the little boy from the next class who had just mocked Mengmeng for stuttering. She gesticulated and vividly told a fairy tale about a doll. The version was slightly dark; the doll bled, scaring a group of children into tears. Miss Woodpecker hesitated, unsure whether to be friends with Tao Aiqin.
The little one stared at the little boy who had been arrogant just now and was now crying miserably, baring her teeth and saying, "Crybaby, crying, shame on you!"
"Waaah—" The boy cried even louder.
His parent came over to comfort him, telling him it was just a story and reminding him to remember this lesson and not mock others casually in the future.
Tao Qiuyun lowered her head, browsing the documents sent by Secretary Zheng, occasionally looking up at the scene, thinking to herself: Qinqin is really protective of her own, and she gets revenge on the spot.
Several timid children present were scared to tears. Miss Woodpecker was a bit undecided, saying she needed to think about whether to be friends with Tao Aiqin. But the little cat didn't care. She pulled Meng Huashi's hand. "Let's go, Mengmeng, let's go to the next place."
Anyway, Mengmeng had already gotten this key. One key per family. They had already gotten the Flower Key, so Miss Woodpecker, this NPC, was useless now.
Miss Woodpecker: ...Such a realistic child. I wonder what kind of family raised her.
Sensing the NPC sister's resentment, Tao Qiuyun smiled at her and then left with the children.
Miss Woodpecker, captivated by the beauty, quickly lowered her head, her face flushed.
Damn, she's so beautiful! Can they have a task next year where parents tell stories?
The other clues were very simple. The white dragon horse encountered along the river said it wanted to hear a song. After listening to the two little cats sing children's songs, it decisively handed over the Apple Key.
The place where the baby alpaca was lost was under the largest ancient tree in the garden. A fox doll found there had a note hidden in its mouth. Following the clue on the note, they found several trees lined up, with alpaca dolls hanging on them.
Tao Qiuyun successfully performed tree climbing as expected, and successfully retrieved the alpaca doll. The little cats applauded.
【System: To be honest, her skills are a bit off. A CEO, and she can climb trees?】
Tao Aiqin: "She even did mountain reconnaissance! Calm down."
Hearing this, the System thought of the time she peeked with binoculars and fell silent.
The transmigrator is off, the female lead is off, the villain is also off. Sooner or later, it might become off too... Perhaps, it has already started to become off?
"Now we have four keys," Tao Qiuyun led the two children to look for the white tiger. "Only three more to go."
She took out her phone to check the time and also glanced at WeChat. Qin Qingshang still hadn't replied.
"White tiger, white tiger..." Tao Aiqin looked around.
"Qinqin," Meng Huashi tugged at her hem. "Look at that, is that a white tiger?"
Mengmeng pointed to the white sightseeing car driving on the road, which had a character "ē" (King) painted on the front.
【System: Good heavens! That's so abstract!】
Tao Qiuyun and Tao Aiqin's eyes lit up. The two quickly took Mengmeng onto the car. Besides the steady driver, the car was empty. They quickly found a box of Maple Leaf Keys under the seat. It seemed this was the "tiger's lunch" from the riddle.
The progress towards the seven keys advanced smoothly by a large margin. At this moment, the broadcast in the forest sounded, playing music. Clue six appeared!
Most people guessed clue six and rushed to the square to gather. This time it was a group activity - the ocean ball fishing game.
The keys were hidden in transparent ocean balls, and the children were to fish them out. Grabbing and fighting were prohibited, and parents were to supervise.
"Don't worry! Qinqin and Mengmeng will definitely find the key!" The little cat clenched her fist.
Watching her daughter and her little friend bobbing and playing in the ocean ball pit, she couldn't help but smile.
Besides ocean balls, there were also some plush dolls in the ball pit. How could the children resist such temptation? After a while, they forgot what their task was.
Moreover, the ocean balls all looked the same, and there were many of them, making them hard to find. It seemed this part would take the most time.
How did that saying go?
To hide a leaf, hide it in the forest. The most dangerous place is the safest place.
Hmm? Wait, the seventh clue is...
A special notification sound rang out. Qin Qingshang's message finally came through:
【Miss Qin: So many riddles?】
【Miss Qin: Let me talk about the last one first. Leaves are in the forest. Could it be a blind spot? Did your activity give you anything? Could it be hidden inside?】
Tao Qiuyun opened the backpacks that every family had received. After checking carefully without finding anything, she turned her gaze to Tao Aiqin and Meng Huashi, or more precisely, the cat costumes they were wearing.
All the children had changed into their costumes at school, and since this was an animal kingdom, the seventh key should be hidden on the children themselves.
Should she find it now?
Tao Qiuyun looked at the surrounding parents and suppressed the urge to verify her theory on the spot.
She had to wait until the little cats got the sixth key and went to a safe place to verify, lest someone discover it and copy the answer directly.
What? This is just a game for kindergarten children, no need to be so serious?
No, games are not about size, only about winning or losing.
She didn't want to lose, she wanted to help her daughter take first place!
Like mothers, like daughterš¤£
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