Chapter 45: The White Fluffball Begging for Wine
At the Pet Shop.
Poached Egg was absent-minded. He would pick up a building block only to put it back down again, his eyes darting toward the door every few seconds.
“Aowu?” Brother Little Bao, are you thinking about Uncle He? The White Fluffball nudged a block toward Poached Egg’s hand with his head, noticing the boy kept looking outside.
“Sorry, An An. I got distracted,” Poached Egg said, realizing he wasn’t playing properly with the White Fluffball and quickly apologizing.
“Aowu!” It’s okay, Brother Little Bao! The White Fluffball placed both paws on Poached Egg’s hand to comfort him.
“Thank you, An An!” An An really is such a thoughtful friend. I like An An so much! Poached Egg picked up the White Fluffball, grabbing his paws to help stack the blocks together. The two little darlings focused their attention on the blocks, pushing the matter of He Chen to the back of their minds for the moment.
“Poached Egg, I’m back!” Just as Poached Egg finished the second building, he heard He Chen’s voice from a distance.
“Dad!” Hearing He Chen’s voice, Poached Egg scrambled up and ran toward the door. But after taking just one step, he felt he was being too “unchill,” so he abruptly stopped in his tracks, waiting for He Chen to walk in himself.
Hmph, it took him so long to come pick me up. He definitely met his first love. Just like on TV—whenever you go to a class reunion, you always run into your first love!
“My good son, I missed you to death!” As soon as He Chen walked in, he scooped Poached Egg up into his arms. Caught off guard, Poached Egg felt awkward being held like that and kicked his legs, signaling for He Chen to put him down.
He Chen didn’t put him down. Holding Poached Egg, he thanked Lin Xia, told Poached Egg to say goodbye to the White Fluffball, and then carried the boy away.
“Chen Ge seems really happy today!” Wang Ziyu said to Lin Xia, clutching a feather duster with a face full of gossip.
“Yeah,” Lin Xia replied. He had noticed a stranger standing next to He Chen’s electric scooter; they seemed to know each other.
“…By the way, Lin Ge, when is Little Hamster coming back? I kinda miss him.” Wang Ziyu waved the feather duster around, causing a nearby cat’s eyes to dart back and forth following the movement.
Chen Yaoguang, who was equally desperate to know the answer, twitched his ears and listened intently for Lin Xia’s reply.
“Four more days. But they’ll definitely stay there to play for a few extra days,” Lin Xia guessed. Aside from the business trip, Chen Mingzong would surely take a few days to relax, so they wouldn’t be back for at least ten days total.
“Sigh!” The thought of having to wait so long to see the little cutie broke Wang Ziyu’s heart. He resumed dusting the shelves dejectedly.
A week passed in a flash.
The routine was the same every day: clock in, clock out, call Tang Yinlang at a fixed time, and admire the White Fluffball’s selfies. Life was as plain as water, but warm and beautiful.
During this time, a certain change occurred in this part of the city: the average attractiveness of food delivery drivers skyrocketed. In their own words, “If you aren’t good-looking, you’re too embarrassed to deliver food.”
Rumor had it the cause was Sister Fan’s High Soup Rice hiring a new delivery guy who was devastatingly handsome. Some customers would treat their colleagues to soup rice just to get a glimpse of him. Other merchants felt threatened and scrambled to recruit handsome guys for their own deliveries. Unfortunately, none were as handsome as the two at Sister Fan’s place.
The benefit of this surge in delivery driver attractiveness was that customers found it pleasing to the eye, and ratings shot up, so it paid off in the end.
On the tenth day after taking Little Hamster to Hainan, Chen Mingzong finally returned. He and Little Hamster brought back plenty of gifts and local specialties for everyone.
Now that Little Hamster was back, Chen Yaoguang was so nervous he hid in the staff break room, afraid to come out. He didn’t know what to say to Little Hamster, and he even contemplated not revealing his identity at all.
Second Brother is living such a good life now. Would it be selfish of me to disturb him? Maybe I should just not tell him I’m his brother and silently protect him from the side…
“Hello…” Little Hamster spotted a head poking out of the break room, watching them cautiously. Little Hamster had heard from Lin Xia that there was a new employee, so he guessed this must be him. What a shy little guy.
Little Hamster took a gift into the break room and saw a boy with red-rimmed eyes.
“Hello.” Chen Yaoguang’s voice trembled slightly. He was trying his best not to act too strange.
“I… feel like… I’ve seen you somewhere…” Little Hamster tilted his head, thinking seriously.
Seeing Chen Yaoguang gave Little Hamster an inexplicable sense of familiarity, as if he had met this person before, yet also as if he hadn’t.
“He is your younger brother.” Lin Xia had already told Chen Mingzong about Chen Yaoguang. Chen Mingzong didn’t oppose the reunion, as Chen Yaoguang might have a positive effect on Little Hamster’s treatment.
“Brother?” Little Hamster had been learning for a while and knew what a ‘brother’ was, but how could he have one?
“You used to have a younger brother. You loved him very much…” Chen Mingzong guided him gently, helping Little Hamster process the information.
Hearing this, a hazy impression in Little Hamster’s mind sharpened. He didn’t remember the past, but sometimes images would involuntarily float to the surface of his mind, which felt very strange. Chen Mingzong said those were things he had experienced in the past.
“Brother!”
It seems I used to hold a child. The child was fair, soft, and cute. The image of that child slowly merged with Chen Yaoguang standing before him. “Taller… thinner…”
Little Hamster spoke haltingly, and for some reason, two trails of tears flowed from the corners of his eyes. Eh? That’s strange. Why am I crying?
Little Hamster didn’t remember, but his body reacted with genuine emotion.
“Second Brother!” Chen Yaoguang couldn’t hold it back anymore. He rushed forward and hugged Little Hamster.
Surprisingly, Little Hamster didn’t feel any discomfort. Instead, he gently patted Yaoguang’s back to comfort him, just as he had coaxed his little brother countless times in their childhood.
Little Hamster’s memory still had a massive hole in it, yet he reacted to Chen Yaoguang out of reflex. Memories can be altered, but habits are hard to change.
Standing together, no one could doubt the blood relation between the two brothers. You might not see it when they were apart, but seeing them together, you just knew they were family.
The reunion scene between Little Hamster and Chen Yaoguang was touching. The White Fluffball and Wang Ziyu were moved to tears, sniffling loudly. Li Hao wasn’t there, so Lin Xia had to comfort one person and one tiger, feeling mentally exhausted.
Feeling drained, Lin Xia lay on the sofa. Wang Ziyu sat next to him, and the White Fluffball lay prone on his chest. Lin Xia’s shirt was soaked with the White Fluffball’s tears, making him want to cry too.
“Ao… wu…” The White Fluffball hiccuped. The tears had stopped, but the sobbing continued. Fortunately, Lin Xia kept gently patting his back, helping him calm down slowly.
Once the big human and the little tiger finally stabilized emotionally, Lin Xia didn’t even get a chance to sigh in relief before he heard Wang Ziyu say he wanted to re-watch The Fat Cat Seeks His Family.
“…” Can I dock his pay?
Wang Ziyu didn’t get to re-watch The Fat Cat Seeks His Family because the pet shop was closing. It was the weekend, and Boss Lin was going to cook a grand feast to reward the staff and welcome Little Hamster and Chen Mingzong back.
Hearing there was a feast, Wang Ziyu enthusiastically helped Lin Xia buy and carry the groceries. They bought a huge pile, as Chen Mingjie would also be bringing his big spider over for dinner later.
Chen Mingjie arrived quite early and even helped peel potatoes. He and Jing Ran brought mulberry wine to drink at the table.
With several people cooking together, the aroma soon wafted out. The White Fluffball was lured to the kitchen doorway by the scent, pacing back and forth.
“Caught a little greedy cat alive!” Wang Ziyu washed his hands and picked up the White Fluffball.
“Aowu!” An An isn’t a greedy cat, I’m a little tiger! The White Fluffball tried to salvage his last shred of dignity as a tiger. He wasn’t a greedy cat—look, he wasn’t even drooling!
“Go play with Ziyu Gege first. It’ll be ready soon,” Lin Xia laughed, hearing the White Fluffball’s protest.
“Aowu!” Okay! The White Fluffball went to the living room to watch TV with Wang Ziyu, while Lin Xia fired on all cylinders to finish dinner quickly and feed the little greedy cat.
Because there was so much to make, they busied themselves for over an hour before finishing. Dish after dish filled the dining table; juice and palate-cleansing fruits were also prepared.
“Come, come, come! Let me pour you a glass of mulberry wine!” Chen Mingjie took out the mulberry wine and poured for everyone. “Don’t down it in one go. Take small sips, like you’re drinking red wine.”
Everyone followed Chen Mingjie’s instructions and took a small sip. The wine tasted sweet and sour, leaving a strong, pleasant aftertaste that seemed to coat the throat with sweetness.
It was really good; no wonder Chen Mingjie recommended it so highly. Lin Xia took another sip.
“Aowu aowu!” Smelling the wine and seeing how much everyone enjoyed it, the White Fluffball wanted to try some too. But Chen Mingjie didn’t pour him any, so the White Fluffball had to beg Lin Xia.
“Just a taste.” Seeing the White Fluffball standing on his hind legs, paws hooking onto his arm like a begging kitten, Lin Xia’s heart softened. He dipped a chopstick into the wine and offered it to him.
The White Fluffball wrapped his tongue around the wine-dipped end of the chopstick. Immediately, the strange taste made him spit it out.
“Aowu!” What a weird taste! The White Fluffball immediately backed away from Lin Xia’s glass and gulped down soup to wash away the flavor.
“Have a piece of cantaloupe.” Lin Xia lifted the White Fluffball’s head from the bowl and fed him some melon. After eating the sweet fruit, the taste of wine in his mouth faded significantly.
“Hahaha…” The White Fluffball’s antics made everyone laugh. Having entertained the crowd, the White Fluffball received plenty of meat as consolation. Someone peeled shrimp for him, someone else gave him a drumstick, and in no time, his bowl was piled high with meat.
“Aowu!” Thanks, everyone! The White Fluffball dug in, tossing the earlier embarrassment to the back of his mind and devoting himself wholeheartedly to the delicious food.
Everyone ate and drank to their fill, helped Lin Xia clean up the “aftermath,” and then left.
The White Fluffball lay on the sofa, his belly distended, letting out an occasional burp.
Amused, Lin Xia rubbed his belly, telling him not to be so greedy in the future.
“Hmph…” The White Fluffball whined affectionately at Lin Xia, hoping he would still be allowed to eat until full in the future.
“I really can’t do anything with you!” Lin Xia laughed and continued rubbing the White Fluffball’s tummy, but secretly decided that in the future, he definitely wouldn’t let the White Fluffball stuff himself like this again…
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