Chapter 82 – The Abandoned Panda Cub..

A fluffy little ball lay flat on the ground, straining with its hind legs to lift its bottom into the air, wiggling its short, stubby tail to make sure it, too, got some sunlight.

Usually, when Xie Hui held him up to sunbathe, he never took it this seriously. This little cub was surprisingly good at taking care of himself.

As he lay there, his little tail swayed left and right to the rhythm of the music.

Eventually, the tail grew tired and stopped moving. It drooped lazily as he covered his face with his paws, instinctively trying to curl himself into a ball.

After a while, as if realizing he’d been resting too long, he quickly peeked toward the kitchen. Confirming he hadn’t been noticed, he stretched his paws out again, sprawled out flat, and lazily resumed swaying his tail.

Seeing how well the cub was sunning his own fur, Xie Hui turned back to preparing the cub’s complementary food.

Despite having the appearance of a panda, this cub really didn’t act like one. His short tail wagged even more enthusiastically than a puppy greeting its owner.

At the very least, Xie Hui had never seen a panda who loved wagging its tail so much.

While preparing the food, Xie Hui had noticed a note from the staff—several types of meat he had processed couldn’t be dried directly, but the baby food required dried meat, and none of it had been properly prepared for sale.

Thinking it over, he dug out the food dehydrator the original assistant had bought when decorating the place. After placing the meat inside, he washed his hands and stepped out.

In the living room, the cub was still lying there. When Xie Hui opened the door, the little tail started wagging even faster—much livelier than when he had been searching for the dehydrator.

“Ya, yiya~”

“Has your tail dried yet? If it hasn’t, you’ll only get to watch half an episode of cartoons tonight.”

As soon as Xie Hui said that, the cub started wagging his tail like a propeller, even slapping his own back with a paw, as if showing off how diligently he was working on drying his tail.

“Hmm, let me check.”

He wasn’t really checking if the tail was dry—he had already wanted to rub that happy little tail back in the kitchen. After two satisfying strokes, he helped smooth the fluffy tail fur.

The cub, having had his tail rubbed, seemed a little shy. He buried his face between his front paws, let out a small hum, and cautiously peeked up at Xie Hui, his clear, watery eyes speaking volumes.

“Hmm, not bad, not bad. All dried up. Be a good boy and keep sunning yourself next time, okay?”

That sprawled-out panda pancake was just too cute. Xie Hui hoped the cub would sun himself more often—he really enjoyed watching.

Xie Hui reached out to tease him, and the cub immediately placed both paws into Xie Hui’s palm, making his meaning perfectly clear.

“Next time you want to watch two episodes?”

When the cub nodded, his black ears bounced along with the movement.

“If you sun yourself twice, you can watch two episodes. Sound good?”

Xie Hui pinched the soft little paw pads and began seriously negotiating with him. Seeing the cub nod blankly, then bump his paw against Xie Hui’s, for once, Xie Hui felt guilty for tricking a child.

“Such a good boy.”

He leaned down and kissed the little paw pad, then buried his face in the cub’s belly for a deep sniff. He could clearly smell the sweet, light scent of the cub’s bath soap.

Xie Hui hadn’t realized before how frivolous he could be—but ever since raising this panda, he couldn’t get three minutes into a task before wanting to turn around and bury his face in that fluffy belly.

After a few sniffs, he saw the cub’s fur was all fluffed up. He patiently helped smooth it down.

“Let me see if you’ve grown any teeth.”

Xie Hui scooped him up and sat down on the sofa, gently prying open the cub’s mouth to check.

He had looked into when pandas typically grow teeth—but clearly, this cub couldn’t be judged by normal panda standards.

Other than looking like a panda, he didn’t behave like one at all.

He could just barely see a tiny hint of white poking through the gums, the faintest beginnings of teeth.

Before Xie Hui could take a proper look, the cub started squirming in his arms, making urgent little noises. Having just prepped ingredients for baby food, Xie Hui was tired and decided to tease him a little.

“Hmm? Are those new teeth bothering you? Should I get some scissors to file them down for you?”

The cub froze mid-snuggle. After a pause, he used both front paws to shield his head and buried his face into Xie Hui’s chest, turning himself into a large sesame dumpling of pure misery.

“Want some warm milk?”

The big sesame dumpling peeked out and reached out with a paw in agreement, touching Xie Hui’s hand and letting out two soft, urging cries.

When Xie Hui stood up to get the milk, a panda clung to his left arm. When he tried to shake him off, the cub clung tighter, all four paws wrapped around him.

Helpless, Xie Hui brought him along. He placed the milk into the warmer and pulled a bowl from the sterilizer.

The cub had started with a bottle nipple too—but while other cubs might go through three, his was chewed through on the first try.

The hospital staff delivering the milk had even joked that if they hadn’t seen him, they’d think Xie Hui’s kid was a baby husky.

After learning how expensive those bottle nipples were—and since they were always delivered for free—Xie Hui felt a bit guilty and switched the cub to using a bowl.

The warmer beeped, and Xie Hui poured the milk into the cub’s designated bowl. With the heavy cub clinging to his left arm and swallowing saliva, he had to do everything one-handed.

He used the food thermometer from the sterilizer to check the temperature—just right—then brought it to the dining table.

Ever since the first time he face-planted into the bowl, the cub always managed to spill milk while drinking. Today was no exception.

“How old are you now? Still spilling milk—aren’t you ashamed?”

Scolded mid-sip, the cub paused, looked up in confusion at Xie Hui, then squeaked and ran over to nuzzle Xie Hui’s arm.

“Drink up. If it gets cold, you can’t have it anymore and I’ll have to take it away.”

The word “take away” flipped a switch. The cub rushed back and started drinking much faster.

Unless absolutely necessary, Xie Hui didn’t like lying to children. Any promise he made, he usually kept.

So that evening, he held the cub in his arms, ready to let him watch cartoons—and even prepared some snacks appropriate for his age.

Xie Hui himself wasn’t interested in media aimed at children, but whether the cartoon was good didn’t really matter.

He was just an ordinary guy who couldn’t resist holding a fluffy ball, rubbing it from time to time, slipping it snacks, and pinching those soft little paw pads while it chewed.

His attention was nowhere near the cartoon. But judging by how focused the cub looked, it probably wasn’t bad.

He offered a snack shaped like tender bamboo shoots near the cub’s mouth. The cub didn’t even glance away from the screen. Xie Hui slowly moved the snack farther away, and the cub instinctively stretched his head forward.

Only then did Xie Hui notice—ah, so even this chubby little glutinous rice ball had a neck.

Xie Hui wasn’t exactly sure what the tender bamboo shoot-shaped snacks were made of—likely something that had been air-dried. Judging by the crisp crunching sounds as they were chewed, they were very crunchy. The little guy would gobble one up in a single bite, then rub his head against Xie Hui in a flattering way to get another.

When one episode of the cartoon finished, Xie Jia didn’t fuss about watching another. Instead, he curled obediently into Xie Hui’s arms, all four paws stretched skyward, letting out soft little hums in his own language.

Xie Hui knew he was trying to win favor so he could watch another episode tomorrow. But looking at him lying like that, it was really hard to resist the urge to bury his face in panda fluff for a sniff.

So he did just that—buried his face in the little one’s belly for a sniff—then scooped him up while he was still dazed and plopped him onto the bed in his own room. On the way out, Xie Hui grabbed the small blanket from the cabinet and tossed it over him. It landed perfectly, covering everything except the little guy’s head.

“Time to sleep. We’ll be moving in a few days.”

The original client had mentioned the move to the assistant before, but because the client had been too busy at the time, he hadn’t had a chance to actually check out the shortlisted homes.

Now that Xie Hui brought it up, the assistant remembered the options and sent him photos of the properties. Xie Hui picked the one with a very large balcony and asked the assistant to make sure it was properly soundproofed during renovation, so they wouldn’t bother the neighbors.

He specifically requested that the big balcony be enclosed with transparent material, making it easier for the little one to sun-dry his fur after a bath.

Although the staff had repeatedly told Xie Hui that, apart from food issues, this kind of cub was rarely prone to illness, Xie Hui still thought that after a bath, it was better to be cautious. A breeze could still make the little guy catch a chill.

This era wasn’t all that different from the modern world Xie Hui remembered—apart from the unique aspects of reproduction, most things were roughly the same.

The assistant had messaged him recently to say the new place was fully renovated, and the location was close to the office, making commuting convenient.

Over the past few days, Xie Hui had gradually started packing. He didn’t have much of his own stuff, but that little cub’s belongings? Not even several suitcases could contain them all.

Some things Xie Hui thought were useless and ready to toss were, just yesterday, picked right back up by the cub and placed prominently in the luggage. When Xie Hui looked over, the cub just gave him a righteously aggrieved look, full of innocent protest.

The next morning, after waking up, the first thing Xie Hui did was check the next room. As expected, there was Xie Jia sprawled out on the big bed again, all four limbs spread out.

His back rose and fell gently with his breathing. He was sleeping so soundly that, if you listened closely, you could even hear him snoring.