Chapter 30: The Second Step to an Identity Reveal
“It’s like he’s wearing a smiling mask. Reminds me of the Joker’s mask,” Wang Ziyu shrugged. He always had a wild imagination, but this time, it was surprisingly fitting.
The prototype for the Joker is “The Man Who Laughs,” someone who, for some reason, can only maintain a smile. Uncle Wang, because of the pain in his heart, uses a smile to hide his sorrow. He wants to show that he’s doing well, but his eyes can’t lie. How could there be any real joy in eyes that have lost their sparkle?
“We have a customer.” Just as Lin Xia was about to say something, a customer walked in. Lin Xia told Wang Ziyu to go and help them.
With something to do, Wang Ziyu quickly forgot about Uncle Wang and eagerly went to boost his sales numbers.
Lin Xia glanced at the calendar. Tomorrow was February 13th, supposedly the anniversary of the day Uncle Wang’s daughter passed away…
More than two hours had passed since the shop opened, and Lin Xia figured it was about time for Xiao Cangshu to return. Xiao Cangshu had to spend two hours a day with Chen Mingzong for his treatment. Chen Mingzong would pick him up in the morning when Lin Xia left for work and bring him back after the session.
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard a car pull up outside. Soon, Chen Mingzong walked in, holding Xiao Cangshu’s hand.
“They’re… holding hands…” Lin Xia stared at the two hands, one large and tan, the other small and pale, and nearly coughed up a lung.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself for the day the big bad wolf would snatch Xiao Cangshu away, seeing the reality before him, Lin Xia found he just couldn’t accept it.
“Lin Xia, I need to talk to you,” Chen Mingzong said, his aggressive tone making it clear it wasn’t good news.
“What is it?”
“I’m going to Hainan on a business trip for a few days, and I want to take Xiao Cangshu with me. The scenery is beautiful, the climate is pleasant—it’s a great place for recuperation and relaxation…” Chen Mingzong rambled on, extolling the virtues of taking Xiao Cangshu to Hainan from geographical, climatic, and cultural perspectives, sounding as if he were reciting an answer from a social studies textbook for the national college entrance exams.
“It does sound great, but is it appropriate for Xiao Cangshu to travel so far?” Lin Xia asked cautiously, risking his life.
“Why wouldn’t it be? I’m a doctor, I know what’s best.” As expected, the atmospheric pressure in the room dropped significantly.
“Besides, Xiao Cangshu can’t be without me!” Chen Mingzong delivered the final blow to Lin Xia. Triple kill!
As he said this, Chen Mingzong turned to gaze affectionately at Xiao Cangshu, who simply looked back with a blank expression.
“Did Xiao Cangshu agree to it?” Lin Xia asked, concerned by the boy’s bewildered look.
“He said he’ll agree if you agree.” Now it was Chen Mingzong’s turn to feel defeated. Lin Xia’s question was too powerful. Aced!
“Xiao Cangshu, do you want to go to Hainan with Mingzong-ge?” Lin Xia asked.
“I want to… but… if you guys… don’t go… I…” Xiao Cangshu’s vocabulary had expanded, but his speech was still halting.
To convince Xiao Cangshu to go with him, Chen Mingzong had shown him many pictures of Hainan’s scenery and food, which had piqued his interest. But Xiao Cangshu held his ground: if Lin Xia and the others weren’t going, he wouldn’t go either.
Chen Mingzong was not pleased. He stared at Lin Xia with a stony expression, his look clearly saying, “I’m just going to watch quietly. You know what you have to do…”
“Hainan is a lot of fun. We’ll all go when we have time, but we have to run the shop right now. How about you go with Mingzong-ge first, and then you can come back and tell us all the best places to visit?” Under the pressure of Chen Mingzong’s glare, Lin Xia spoke against his conscience.
“Really…?” This was a big mission. Xiao Cangshu immediately stood up straight, looking as if he had just been entrusted with a major task by a superior.
“Yes, you and Mingzong-ge will be the advance team.” Lin Xia decided that if the opportunity arose, the pet shop’s spring outing would be to Hainan.
“Okay!” Xiao Cangshu replied cheerfully, his eyes curving into crescent moons. He was delighted to be entrusted with such an important mission by Lin Xia.
“There’s a spare key under the flowerpot by the front door. I’ll have to ask you two to pack Xiao Cangshu’s things yourselves.” With only two people at the shop, Lin Xia couldn’t get away. He had no choice but to leave the packing to them.
“No problem.” The storm clouds over Chen Mingzong’s head finally cleared. The thought of being able to enter Xiao Cangshu’s room even made him feel as if romantic little snowflakes were falling, putting him in an exceptionally good mood.
With Xiao Cangshu gone, there were only two working people left in the shop. Bai Tuanzi barely counted as a quarter of a worker, his main job being the mascot. The other part-time students were still on vacation, so Lin Xia decided to hire another part-timer.
The work at the pet shop was easy to pick up as long as it didn’t involve things like surgery, so hiring a full-timer or a part-timer was more or less the same. Plus, hiring a part-timer would provide a work-study opportunity for students from the nearby university, which was a good deed in itself.
Lin Xia wrote up a “Help Wanted” notice. Bai Tuanzi, who had come over to join the fun, stamped a paw print on it, calling it his official “seal of approval.”
“Baby, let’s go put up the poster.” Lin Xia smiled, holding Bai Tuanzi in one arm and a pot of paste in the other, while Bai Tuanzi helped by carrying the poster in his mouth.
Seeing this, Wang Ziyu’s mouth twitched. Seriously? It was only a few steps from inside the shop to the door, yet they were being so clingy.
Wang Ziyu grumbled to himself. Lin Xia was so inconsiderate of his single status; he didn’t even have a cat of his own. Although there were cats and dogs in the shop, and they were friendly with him, they weren’t his. He also wanted a little pet that he could be as close to as Lin Xia and Bai Tuanzi were.
Ruff, ruff, ruff! The familiar sound of a dog’s paws, so boisterous and energetic—he knew it was Weifeng just by the sound.
Sure enough, “Weifeng is here!” Lin Xia ran into Li Hao and Weifeng at the door.
“Woof woof woof!” Weifeng wagged his tail, greeting them.
“Need a hand?” Li Hao asked.
“No, thanks, we can manage on our own,” Lin Xia declined his offer.
Li Hao didn’t say anything, just gave a slight nod and led Weifeng into the shop.
“Woof woof woof!” The moment Weifeng saw Wang Ziyu, his eyes lit up with the same fiery intensity as his owner’s, as if he had just spotted gold.
“Awoo!” Weifeng hadn’t seen Wang Ziyu at all while the pet shop was closed, and he had missed him terribly. The husky pounced on Wang Ziyu, pinning him to the sofa with his paws and giving him a thorough licking!
“…” Wang Ziyu lay on the sofa like a salted fish, a look of complete resignation on his face as he let Weifeng lick him all over.
Endure it, I must endure it! Weifeng’s owner sent me a huge red envelope and even mailed me the New Year’s gift I’ve been dreaming of. So, I must, I absolutely must, endure this, please!!!!
Wang Ziyu built a solid mental fortress around himself.
“Weifeng, get down!” Fortunately, Li Hao pulled Weifeng off in time, saving Wang Ziyu from further tragedy. Filled with gratitude, Wang Ziyu’s opinion of Li Hao improved considerably.
He’s so considerate, sniffle…
After putting up the poster, Lin Xia carried Bai Tuanzi back into the shop. Seeing Wang Ziyu and Li Hao playing with Weifeng, he thought it would be a good time to let the shop’s dogs out for some air.
Lin Xia brought Da Mao, who was staying in the sick ward on the second floor, downstairs and let him hang out nearby. With so many of his own kind around, he wouldn’t be too bored. Da Mao was Jin Juan’s Golden Retriever, brought in on New Year’s Eve, and he was now mostly recovered.
A few days ago, Jin Juan had called to say she would leave Da Mao with them for a while longer. She had some matters to attend to and would pick him up when she was done.
“Awoo…” Da Mao, still recovering from a leg injury, watched the other dogs chase a ball and longed to join in. But he was confined and could only watch, not play. Still, that husky named Weifeng is so dumb. Such a simple-minded jock, he even trips while chasing a ball. Ha (woof) ha (woof) ha (woof)…
Seeing Da Mao happily barking away on the side, Lin Xia felt relieved and went back to his own tasks.
“Awoo!” Dad, An’an wants to play fetch too!
Seeing how much fun the dogs were having, Bai Tuanzi couldn’t sit still. He dug a bouncy ball out of his personal toy box and rolled it to Lin Xia’s feet with his paw.
“Okay.” The first floor of the pet shop was divided into two sections: a merchandise area and a pet area. The pet area had a dedicated play space, which was also split in two. The dogs had taken over one section, leaving the other one free for Bai Tuanzi to play in.
“Awoo!” Dad, throw the ball! An’an is ready! Bai Tuanzi arched his body, getting into a pouncing position.
“Here it comes!” Lin Xia playfully threw the ball. Bai Tuanzi leaped up, successfully caught it in his mouth, and landed steadily on the ground.
“Awoo!” An’an caught it! Bai Tuanzi returned the ball to Lin Xia, who threw it again.
Throw, throw, throw, catch, catch, catch…
“It’s behind you!” This time, Lin Xia accidentally threw the ball behind Bai Tuanzi. He reacted and tried to dash for it, but it was too late. The ball bounced harmlessly off his head, light as a dragonfly skimming water, but it still elicited a frustrated sound from the cub.
“Awoo!” I missed!
“That’s not how you do it.” Tang Yinlang, who had arrived at the pet shop at some point, suddenly spoke up, startling Lin Xia.
“Yinlang, when did you get here?” Lin Xia almost clutched his chest.
“When you started playing.” Tang Yinlang had come straight to the pet shop after finishing his business. When he walked in, no one had noticed him. Lin Xia and Bai Tuanzi were engrossed in their game, and Wang Ziyu and Li Hao were having even more fun with the dogs, paying no attention to their surroundings.
“I see.” Lin Xia nodded.
“Awoo?” Hi, Uncle Tang. You said that’s not how you do it, so how should I do it? Hearing Tang Yinlang’s comment, the ever-eager-to-learn Bai Tuanzi asked for his guidance.
“If the ball is behind you, you don’t turn around and then jump. You jump first and then turn in mid-air,” Tang Yinlang explained patiently, stroking Bai Tuanzi’s fluffy head.
As he spoke, Tang Yinlang demonstrated. He mimicked Bai Tuanzi’s preparatory crouch, and the movement was identical, right down to the position of his hands mirroring Bai Tuanzi’s paws.
Alarm bells went off in Lin Xia’s head. On high alert, he watched every single move Tang Yinlang and Bai Tuanzi made.
The more he watched, the more shocked he became. How did Tang Yinlang know the movements of a beast of prey, and why were they so similar to Bai Tuanzi’s? Could it be that he was also a tiger-kin, or from a closely related species? How else would he know a tiger cub’s movements?
Lin Xia grew more and more confused. Why would Tang Yinlang keep his identity a secret if he knew Bai Tuanzi was also one of them? If he was worried that Lin Xia wouldn’t be able to accept his identity, that made no sense—Bai Tuanzi was living proof that he could. If that wasn’t the reason, then what was Tang Yinlang worried about? Or did he just feel their relationship hadn’t reached a point where they could be completely open with each other…?
“Lin Xia, throw the ball.” Tang Yinlang’s voice broke through Lin Xia’s thoughts. Having finished his instruction, he wanted Bai Tuanzi to practice.
“Okay.” Lin Xia snapped back to reality and threw the ball, casting a complicated glance at Tang Yinlang. Tang Yinlang, focused on watching Bai Tuanzi’s progress, didn’t notice the fleeting, complex emotion in Lin Xia’s eyes.
“Awoo!” Uncle Tang is amazing! Lin Xia hadn’t thrown the ball well, but thanks to Tang Yinlang’s lesson, Bai Tuanzi still managed to catch it.
“Good job, baby!” Lin Xia praised him with a smile, his expression as relaxed as usual.
Watching the excited little cub and Lin Xia, who was beaming with pride for his son, Tang Yinlang felt a pang of bitterness.
Skills as basic as this were usually taught by a tiger father as soon as his cub could run and jump. But because Bai Tuanzi hadn’t been with him, there was no one to teach him the skills a white tiger-kin should learn. If he were to play with other cubs, he would definitely be the furthest behind.
Fortunately, Bai Tuanzi was still young; it wasn’t too late for him to learn. Tang Yinlang decided that from now on, he would teach the little cub as much as he could, so he wouldn’t grow up to be an ignorant member of his kind.
Author’s Note: Bai Tuanzi: Awoo! Rolls over and acts cute for favorites(?)
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