Chapter 94 – The Abandoned Panda Cub..

When Xie Hui finished reading the message and looked at the little one sitting there seriously reading a book, he couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated.

After replying to the message, he set down his phone and ruffled the cub’s head.

Xie Jia had been reading intently, and when his head was suddenly patted, he looked up in confusion. Upon seeing it was his dad, he scooted over and leaned against him, continuing to read in a relaxed manner.

The next day, before Xie Hui even got out of bed and while the nanny was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, someone in uniform knocked on the villa door.

The butler, who had been trimming bamboo in the backyard, put down his tools and walked over when the doorbell rang. As soon as the door opened, the lead person showed their ID.

“Hello, we’re from the Infant Protection Center. We’ve received a report alleging Mr. Xie Hui is abusing a cub. Please cooperate with our investigation.”

The butler was visibly surprised but quickly composed himself and smiled at them.

“Alright, I’ll go wake up the gentleman.”

Just a few steps later, he was stopped by one of the visitors.

“You may wake Mr. Xie Hui, but please do not disturb the cub. We need to inspect the cub’s living environment and determine whether the abuse allegations are true.”

“Well… then please come with me. Xie Jia is still sleeping in the same room as Mr. Xie.”

When the cub turned three, Xie Hui had prepared a room just for him. But the cub treated that room like a reading nook. During the day, he would go there to read or play with toys, but when bedtime came—even if the bed had been moved—he’d still trot over with his pillow in his mouth and sleep in Xie Hui’s room.

“Alright.”

The knocking on the door woke Xie Hui. He opened his eyes and instinctively covered the cub’s ears. According to scientific studies, cubs need adequate sleep during early development—or else… they could go bald.

Xie Hui had invested a lot in that fluffy coat of fur, so being attentive to such details had become second nature.

But the cub didn’t really need his help. When the knocking started and Xie Hui reached out to block the noise, the cub had already wriggled his way under the covers, using a pillow to block one ear and his paw to cover the other.

Once he was sure the cub wouldn’t be woken, Xie Hui got out of bed, put on his slippers, and went to open the door. Outside stood the old butler and several staff members in uniform.

Their clothes bore the emblem of the Infant Protection Association. Upon seeing Xie Hui, they showed him their IDs.

“Mr. Xie, we’ve received a report alleging you’re abusing a cub. We ask for your cooperation in our investigation.”

“Alright.”

Xie Hui stepped aside to let them in. Once inside, they noticed the lump on the bed and instinctively reached to pull the blanket back.

At first, they didn’t use much force, and the blanket was tugged right back. When they pulled harder, the blanket came off—only for the staff member’s hand to be forcefully kicked by the cub’s hind legs from under the covers.

“Yah!”

The cub let out a fierce cry, squinting sleepily as he tried to burrow back under the covers.

Though he was small, the cub was surprisingly strong—the staff member’s arm was already red from the kick.

Seeing this, Xie Hui quickly apologized.

“Sorry about that. My cub gets cranky when he wakes up.”

Once, when he hadn’t slept well, the cub had even tried to chew on Xie Hui’s arm. If Xie Hui hadn’t been quick to tug his ear, his arm might have become a teething toy.

“No problem, Mr. Xie.”

The staff member waved it off and, upon closer inspection, realized this might be the most pampered cub they’d ever seen.

Lying on a spacious bed, hugging a finely crafted panda plushie, with an electronic tag hanging from one paw indicating his identity. From his fur alone, it was obvious this cub was in perfect health.

After inspecting the cub, the butler showed them the cub’s usual play and rest areas. Once they confirmed everything was fine, the staff came to Xie Hui and bowed in apology.

“Sorry for the disturbance, Mr. Xie.”

“It’s alright.”

Xie Hui didn’t resent their over-cautious approach. Even though their visit had disrupted his morning rest, he understood their duty.

Before leaving, they asked about the video that had spread widely online last night, and why, unlike usual, Xie Hui hadn’t carried the cub but had let him walk on his own.

Xie Hui took out his tablet, which stored footage from his office’s surveillance camera, and handed it to them.

“Have a look at what this cub and two others did after I left.”

“He got himself so filthy, and I was also a bit angry at the time, so… I couldn’t bring myself to carry him.”

“Mr. Xie, could you please send this video to our official email? We’d like to help clarify the situation on your behalf.”

The Infant Protection Association investigates every report it receives and posts the results publicly on its website.

Open, prompt, and transparent.

“Sure.”

Xie Hui personally walked them to the door, then turned around and sent the footage. When he returned to the living room, he saw the cub climbing down the stairs.

All four stubby little legs were moving at top speed as he dashed toward Xie Hui and leapt into his arms after a short run-up.

“Did the noise wake you? Still sleepy?”

“Ying ying…”

Hearing the whining tone, Xie Hui rubbed his head to comfort him. After breakfast, instead of going to the office, Xie Hui spent the morning in the backyard with the cub, building a few swings.

The cub sat on the grass, watching Xie Hui work with the wood. After pawing at it a few times in boredom, he flopped down next to Xie Hui and began acting spoiled.

He waved all four paws in the air and let out a little whine when Xie Hui looked over, clearly wanting to play.

“I’m making a few swings for you. When your little friends come over, you can play together.”

“Yaa?”

“Hm? Don’t you want to invite your friends over to play at your house?”

Upon hearing this, the cub’s eyes lit up and he immediately sprang up.

“If your friends come over to play, what would you do with them? Share your bamboo shoots? Sit and munch them together?”

At that, the cub shook his fluffy little head like a rattle drum.

“Come help out.”

Worried the cub might get bored, Xie Hui waved him over to help by handing over some rope.

When the swings were done, there were three seats. Xie Hui lifted his cub onto the middle one, placing him on the wooden board and letting him grab the ropes with his paws.

With a light push, the cub’s fur instantly puffed up in nervousness.

Xie Hui stood nearby to keep watch, a bit worried that the cub might fall the first time he tried the swing. But once he saw that the cub had somehow picked it up on his own and was now putting in effort to keep the swing moving, he finally stepped back a little, wanting to observe how the little one was doing.

He hadn’t taken more than five steps before realizing something was off.

Every time the swing reached its peak, the cub’s short tail just barely grazed the ground. Watching that little tail drag along the ground with each pass, Xie Hui couldn’t help but suspect that if the cub kept playing for too long, his favorite short tail would end up rubbed bald by his own doing.

Xie Hui walked over and picked up the cub who was having a blast. Xie Jia clearly hadn’t had enough—after being lifted off, his paws reached out, clearly unwilling, trying to climb back on.

“The ropes are a little too long. I’ll shorten them for you.”

“Ying ying, ya!”

Hearing the urgency in his cries, Xie Hui nodded.

“Alright, I’ll be quick.”

With the previous height, the cub could just about hop on by himself with some effort, but now that the swing was being adjusted, it was out of his reach without help.

Xie Hui reached over and lifted him back onto the swing. After making sure his tail wouldn’t be scraped anymore, he let the cub play on his own again.

Maybe it was the novelty of playing on a swing for the first time, but the cub just didn’t want to get off. Xie Hui eventually felt so exasperated he almost wanted to give the kid a full-blown childhood experience.

The uproar online finally came to an end with an official statement issued by the Cub Protection Center.

In this case, the Center even took the opportunity to publish their guidelines. Not every parent who disciplines their cub will be punished—only those involved in malicious abuse will warrant their intervention.

The statement nearly spelled out: If a cub’s being naughty, go ahead and scold or spank them as needed.

The surveillance footage was edited and released. When some netizens saw the mess made with all that ink in an entire office, they all commented: [Even through the screen, I’m fuming!]

After this incident blew over, Xie Hui became a key cooperative figure for the Cub Protection Center. The main reason: he truly treated his cub well and was incredibly patient when teaching him.

Compared to most families raising cubs, Xie Hui’s parenting style made the others feel a bit ashamed.

That video released online—if any of them had been in Xie Hui’s place, they wouldn’t have been able to resist giving a beating. Yet all he did was not pick the cub up.

Xie Hui himself didn’t think it was anything special. He just felt lucky that he was raising a soft, squishy little sesame glutinous rice ball. Though he could be mischievous, he was mostly well-behaved. At the same time, he sympathized with families whose cubs were more like Huskies or Alaskan Malamutes.

Coinciding with a monthly break, Xie Hui asked his two assistants for their opinions and invited them over for a get-together at his home.

The three cubs already got along well at the office, and when gathered together, they could make enough noise to give anyone a headache. Thankfully, none of them had ever bullied each other.

He let the three cubs play together in the backyard while he and the two assistants went into the study to work on a project.

When they finished and stepped out onto the balcony to check on the cubs, the scene unfolding in the backyard left them momentarily stunned.