Chapter 87 – The Abandoned Panda Cub..

Xie Hui, struggling to breathe, forced his eyes open, only to find a heavy panda sprawled on his face, its round little belly—normally something he quite enjoyed snuggling—pressing down hard.

He reached out and pushed the “panda pancake” off his face. When he looked into its clear eyes full of unfiltered joy and excitement, any irritation at being woken up in the middle of the night melted away.

Truthfully, Xie Hui had already guessed before going to bed that this little rascal wouldn’t sleep quietly through the night. He had eaten too early, and he usually didn’t go to bed until around ten o’clock. Tonight, Xie had coaxed him into the crib before nine.

That meant either he’d wake up in the middle of the night, or be up at the crack of dawn.

“It’s still dark out. Why aren’t you asleep?”

Woken in the middle of the night, Xie Hui yawned and tried to keep his voice as gentle as possible.

He couldn’t explain why, but he instinctively wanted to be gentle when dealing with the cubs, doing his best not to let his negative emotions affect them.

He firmly believed that leading by example was far more important than teaching endless principles. A father’s actions spoke louder than any words.

This little one probably felt a bit guilty about climbing on his dad’s face and waking him up—he wasn’t his usual bubbly self. He rested both paws on his belly and started pointing at it solemnly.

“Hungry?”

“Ying.”

Xie Hui let out a helpless smile, lifted the blanket and scooped the cub into his arms before walking out of the bedroom.

Once in the kitchen, he turned on the light and set Xie Jia on a stool. Rolling up his sleeves, he got ready to make a bowl of porridge.

Passing through the living room, he glanced at the clock—it was a little past one in the morning. So, when making the porridge, he added extra water to thin it out a bit, considering how late it was.

“Yaya, ying-ya ya~”

While Xie Hui patiently cooked, the little one sitting behind him babbled incomprehensibly in his soft, babyish voice. Though the words made no sense, the tone overflowed with joy and contentment.

Porridge took time to cook, so Xie Hui took the chance to tidy up the toy room that the cub had wrecked earlier, using it as an opportunity to wear him out a little.

When they finished cleaning, the porridge was ready. After letting it cool, Xie Hui set it in front of Xie Jia, who immediately buried his face in it and gobbled it down. Xie Hui silently vowed never to let him eat that early again.

After eating, the cub grabbed a napkin, flattened it on the table, and rubbed his mouth clean against it before climbing over to Xie Hui again.

Xie Hui carried him back to the bedroom. Seeing that the cub was still full of energy, he didn’t bother putting him back in the crib. Instead, he brought the little pillow over to the big bed and tucked the cub into the blanket beside him.

He had only turned around for a second to grab the pillow, but when he turned back, he saw a small, lumpy mound squirming furiously under the covers.

Xie Hui walked over and lifted the blanket. The now-freed cub collapsed in exhaustion, lying spread-eagled like a flat pancake.

After adjusting the small pillow and shifting the cub over, Xie Hui muttered, “Dummy,” and pulled the blanket over him.

“Go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, someone’s bringing you new bamboo shoots.”

“Ying?”

“New bamboo shoots. Supposedly even crunchier and sweeter than the last batch. But if you wake up late, and the delivery guy sees no one’s answering the door… might he just take them to the next house?”

He watched the light in the cub’s eyes grow brighter and brighter. The moment he finished speaking, the cub beside him shut his eyes tight. Xie Hui smiled wordlessly and reached out to turn off the light.

The next morning, Xie Hui was woken up the same way as during the night—with the cub’s paws struggling to lift the blanket off him. When he didn’t move after opening his eyes, Xie Jia got anxious and looked like he was about to launch a panda-face attack.

Seeing the cub about to pounce, Xie Hui quickly caught him in his arms, pulled back the blanket, tucked his feet in, and walked out with a helpless expression.

“It’s still early. What’s the rush?”

In the living room, the wall clock showed it wasn’t even seven yet.

When he looked down, he caught a glimpse of fleeting guilt in the cub’s shining eyes. Xie Hui started to regret using the bamboo shoot delivery as a bedtime bribe last night. If he hadn’t, he might not have been dragged out of bed this early.

Usually, Xie Hui wasn’t one to sleep in or procrastinate, but having to get up in the middle of the night to cook, and then being woken again so early… that was a different story.

Besides, the delivery truck for the bamboo shoots usually didn’t arrive until eight.

As the cub excitedly ran laps around the sofa, Xie Hui sighed and rubbed his temples.

Forget it, I’m already up anyway. He turned into the kitchen to start making breakfast for both of them.

Just as they finished eating and cleaning up, the delivery truck pulled in. Standing at the roadside, Xie Hui didn’t even have time to speak before the panda cub in his arms excitedly waved both his paws.

“Mr. Xie? Here are the bamboo shoots you ordered. Let me carry them in for you.”

“Thanks a lot.”

Xie Hui wasn’t in any position to carry them himself. The delivery guy noticed this and called the other man in the passenger seat to help carry the box of fresh bamboo shoots into the kitchen’s cold storage.

“You be good and wait here. I’m going upstairs to grab two files for work. Once I have them, I’m heading out to the office, okay?”

“Yiya~”

Getting a response, Xie Hui finally felt comfortable heading upstairs. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring Xie Jia along, but at his size now, the cub was getting heavy, and there was no need.

When he came back downstairs with the files, he didn’t see the mochi-like ball anywhere in the kitchen.

Just as he was about to put the files down and start searching properly, he noticed the cold storage room door hadn’t closed all the way. He was sure the delivery workers had shut it tight from the outside.

Opening the door, he found the bamboo shoot box torn to shreds. Shoots were scattered all over the floor. Amid the tallest pile, a little tail wagged conspicuously.

Xie Hui walked over, dug through the shoots, and pulled Xie Jia out, removing two bamboo leaves from his head.

“They’re all yours anyway. I’m not fighting you for them. What’s the hurry?”

As a panda, burying yourself in a bamboo shoot pile… this might be the most accomplished panda ever.

Xie Jia seemed to realize his mistake too. He waited quietly until Xie Hui’s hands moved away, then nuzzled his dad’s palm and let out a soft whimper.

It was somewhere between an apology and a plea, as he offered a particularly fat bamboo shoot to Xie Hui.

It looked excellent. Even Xie Hui had to admit—it must be crisp and sweet.

“Yiya, wuuya ya~”

Xie Hui accepted the peace-offering shoot and gently tapped the cub’s head with it. Then he carried him back to the room, pulled out a little backpack, and let him pick a few favorite shoots to take along.

Once it was full, the cub looked like he wanted to carry it himself. After testing the weight, Xie Hui refused.

Just as they were about to leave, Xie Jia sat down with a huff and crossed his front paws in an exaggerated sulk.

“You can try it.”

Xie Hui placed the full little backpack in front of him and patiently helped him put it on.

Standing off to the side, he couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as he watched the cub wobble with every step. Eventually, the backpack tipped him over, and he ended up belly-up, all four paws in the air, flailing wildly before letting out a helpless little whine for help.