Chapter 49: Big and Little Dumplings Go Out
Lin Xia brainstormed two solutions.
The first was simply not going to the shop today and staying home to pet the tiger. But who knew when the big white tiger would recover? He couldn’t stay away from the shop forever, so Lin Xia passed on that idea.
The second solution was to stuff the big white tiger into the car and take him to the pet shop. But once they arrived, the big white tiger couldn’t be seen by anyone else, so that wouldn’t work either.
Lin Xia stroked the big white tiger’s head with mixed feelings. The texture was incredible. The tiger’s fur wasn’t just long; it was silky smooth. Did he use high-end conditioner or something?
“Yinlang…” Calling the big white tiger by Tang Yinlang’s name felt weird no matter how he tried. “I’m going to the pet shop in a bit. You and the baby stay home. I’ll come back whenever I have a free moment.”
Lin Xia had originally intended to leave the big white tiger alone to watch the house, but thinking he might get lonely, he reluctantly decided to part with the white dumpling and leave him as company.
“Awoo…” Papa, An An wants to go with you. Uncle Tang, let’s go to the pet shop together… Although the white dumpling liked the big white tiger, he wanted to go to the shop with his Papa more.
“We can’t. Uncle Tang is too big. It would be trouble if people saw him,” Lin Xia explained to the white dumpling.
“Awoo…” The white dumpling was conflicted. He wanted to go with Lin Xia, but he was worried the big white tiger would be bored all alone. In the end, he chose to stay home with the big tiger.
“Ao!” The big white tiger could see that the white dumpling wanted to go, yet chose to stay for his sake. He was deeply moved by the little cub’s thoughtfulness and maturity. His cub was truly so considerate and kind.
But the big white tiger wasn’t that selfish; he didn’t want to put the little cub in a difficult spot. More importantly, he didn’t want to be separated from his beloved partner. Even being apart from Lin Xia for a single second made the big white tiger feel like he had lost his zest for life. Without Lin Xia, he didn’t want to do anything but sit there like a “husband-awaiting stone.”
“Ao!” The big white tiger paced around anxiously. He felt like he had a way to solve this perfectly, but his mind was a blank slate, and he couldn’t remember how.
“It’s okay. I’ll just go check on things and come right back,” Lin Xia said, squatting down to hug the restless tiger. The big white tiger was huge, like a giant plush toy, and very comfortable to hug. Lin Xia took the opportunity to rub his fur a few times.
The big white tiger trembled sensitively at the touch, his face burning hot underneath his fur. Luckily, the thick coat hid his blush.
Sigh! Having such a proactive partner was truly worrisome for a tiger. He really had to find a way to go with Lin Xia. Lin Xia couldn’t leave him, and if he didn’t go, Lin Xia wouldn’t be able to focus on work—what then?
Suddenly, Lin Xia felt his arms go empty. He looked down and was so startled he nearly took three steps back.
The big white tiger was gone. In his place on the floor sat a white dumpling, while the other white dumpling on the sofa let out a surprised cry. The big white tiger’s latent potential had been triggered, and he had regained the ability to change his size.
“Awoo!” Uncle Tang can transform!
“Ao!” The successfully shrunken big white tiger wagged his tail and pawed at Lin Xia’s leg, looking up with sparkling eyes as if to say, “Look at me, aren’t I amazing?”
“Very good,” Lin Xia praised him. Now that the big white tiger was small, everything was easy.
With two white dumplings tucked away, Lin Xia decided to drive. Two white dumplings were too conspicuous walking down the street; a car was much more convenient.
Seeing that the big white tiger could shrink and grow, Lin Xia guessed that Shifters had the ability to transform. He sent a message to Chen Mingjie asking if Jing Ran could do the same.
“Jing Ran, can you transform?” Chen Mingjie asked the large spider, who was currently using all eight legs to massage his back, after reading the message.
Hiss hiss. “I can.”
As the big spider spoke, he shrank bit by bit until he was the size of a normal spider, then burrowed into Chen Mingjie’s clothes.
“Lecherous spider, where are you touching?!” Chen Mingjie shouted, flying into a rage out of humiliation.
The little spider, now hanging onto a certain red cherry on Chen Mingjie’s chest, looked innocent. Chen Mingjie’s shout only made his eight legs grip the protrusion tighter.
Hiss hiss. He didn’t know anything…
It took a long time before Lin Xia received Chen Mingjie’s reply, confirming that Jing Ran could indeed transform. However, there were limits to the size change: the maximum was his largest natural form, and the minimum was his size at birth.
Chen Mingjie hadn’t gone to work today either. Ever since he started cohabitating with Jing Ran, he had taken quite a few days off. Chen Mingjie swore a solemn oath to Lin Xia: he would definitely go to work tomorrow!
…
When Lin Xia arrived at the pet shop, Wang Ziyu and Chen Yaoguang were already there. They were slightly surprised to see Lin Xia driving, as he usually walked since he lived nearby.
But when two white dumplings hopped out of the car, they understood immediately.
The Little White Tiger (Tang Yinlang) was the first to disembark. As soon as the door opened, he couldn’t wait to jump down. He walked with a majestic gait, eyes sharp, looking like a king surveying his domain. Even with the bandage wrapped around his head, his aura wasn’t diminished in the slightest.
Lin Xia was surprised to see that the bandage on the Big Dumpling’s head was elastic—it had adjusted to fit his smaller size.
The white dumpling (An An) followed close behind. His movements weren’t as domineering as the Little White Tiger’s, but he landed steadily… right on top of the Little White Tiger.
Afraid the cub’s paws would hurt on the ground, the Little White Tiger acted as a meat cushion, catching the cub with his body before carrying him inside on his back.
This posture, this aura… Are you sure you aren’t here to hostilely takeover the pet shop? Wang Ziyu thought, black lines forming on his forehead.
“Brother Lin…” Lin Xia walked in after parking the car, finding Wang Ziyu looking like he wanted to say something but stopping himself.
“The other one is called Da Bai (Big White). A friend asked me to take care of him for a while,” Lin Xia explained briefly. He didn’t intend to elaborate, knowing that Wang Ziyu and the others were very adaptable. They would quickly accept the presence of an extra white dumpling.
“I just want to know… which one is An An and which one is Da Bai?” Wang Ziyu couldn’t tell the identical dumplings apart like Lin Xia could, and he didn’t want the awkwardness of calling them by the wrong names.
“The energetic one is An An, the calm one is Da Bai…” Lin Xia started to say, but upon seeing the two fluff balls already chasing a bouncy ball together, he wanted to retract his words. “The one with the bandage on his head is Da Bai.”
“What if Da Bai takes the bandage off?” Wang Ziyu asked, thinking ahead.
“…” Lin Xia was silent for a moment before saying slowly, “Then we’ll just make him keep wearing it.”
The astute Wang Ziyu smelled a hint of gossip, but he didn’t dare pry into the boss’s personal life. He suppressed his curiosity and went to work diligently.
“Awoo!” “Ao!”
The white dumpling led Da Bai on a rampage through the room. Everywhere Lin Xia looked, he saw two fur balls rolling around together. With a poker face, Lin Xia recorded it all on his phone. When Tang Yinlang regained his memory, he would show him this footage of him acting foolish and acting cute. Tang Yinlang’s expression would surely be spectacular.
“Good morning!” Molly arrived again, greeting Lin Xia as soon as she entered.
“Good morning, Molly!” Lin Xia gave her a smile.
“Morning, Boss!” Explosion Head followed close behind. His red hair added a splash of brightness to the shop, lighting it up like a torch.
“Morning. How should I address you?” Lin Xia realized he still hadn’t asked for Explosion Head’s name.
“Idiot! His name is Idiot!” Before Explosion Head could answer, Molly beat him to it.
“I am not called Idiot, you fat bird!” Explosion Head roared. His temper was just like his hair—explosive.
“Put up your hands! Put up your hands! This hero is named Wang Jiaming! I sit without changing my name, I walk without changing my surname! Twenty-one years old this year, suave and handsome…”
Wang Jiaming suddenly launched into a rap introduction.
As Wang Jiaming sang, Molly actually flew onto his shoulder, singing along and stomping her feet to the beat.
Watching Molly stomp rhythmically, Lin Xia felt her movements perfectly matched the “Little Luban – Electric Boy” skin from that video game. It was uncannily similar.
The owner and pet performing a rap duet truly stunned Lin Xia and the others. Who would have thought that Wang Jiaming, looking so emo and non-mainstream, would actually have such flavor when rapping?
“Awesome!” Lin Xia took the lead in applauding.
“Thanks!” Being praised made Wang Jiaming look a bit shy.
“Wow, brother, you sing pretty well!” As expected, you can’t judge a book by its cover! Wang Ziyu went over and patted Wang Jiaming on the shoulder. He thought Wang Jiaming only knew how to sing “If I were a DJ, would you still love me?” He hadn’t expected him to know rap. So cool.
Since they were similar in age and shared the same surname, Wang Ziyu felt a sense of kinship with Wang Jiaming.
“No, no, just singing casually,” Wang Jiaming said modestly.
“Are you a rapper?” Wang Ziyu was interested, pulling him over to sit and chat.
“Not really, just a hobby…” Wang Jiaming’s modest and polite attitude actually made him seem even more talented.
“Idiot, stop pretending. You know you’re dying of happiness inside!” Molly couldn’t stand it and exposed him.
“Fat bird, can’t you give me some face when we’re outside?!” Provoked by Molly, Wang Jiaming couldn’t sit still anymore, his true nature revealed instantly. He jumped up, rolling up his sleeves, trying to grab Molly to pluck her feathers and stew her.
Today we’re having Parrot Stew with Potatoes!
Flap flap flap… Molly flew up to the chandelier instantly, where Wang Jiaming couldn’t catch her.
“Can’t catch me, can’t catch me!” Molly stomped her feet and shouted at Wang Jiaming, looking incredibly arrogant.
“Argh…” Wang Jiaming was frantic, furious but helpless against Molly.
Lin Xia hid a smile but didn’t intervene. He could tell this was just how Wang Jiaming and Molly got along. Noisy, argumentative, and constantly roasting each other.
“Brother, do you know how to sing anything else?” Wang Ziyu was itching to learn; he wanted to try rap too.
Currently, Hip-Hop was still a niche genre in China compared to pop music. However, as more young people were exposed to it, the community was growing. Still, for most people, Hip-Hop remained somewhat mysterious.
Wang Ziyu was young and interested in the genre, but he didn’t know anyone who rapped, so he rarely had contact with it.
“Sure! Come, come, listen to some tracks I recorded.” Wang Jiaming took out his phone and played his own recordings for Wang Ziyu.
As Wang Ziyu listened, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, his admiration for Wang Jiaming written all over his face. Even Lin Xia, who rarely listened to music, was drawn in. Da Bai and the white dumpling, who had been playing, also gathered around, bobbing their heads to the beat.
“Ao!” “Awoo!” “Ji ji!” “Meow!” “Woof!”
The animals in the pet shop went crazy following Wang Jiaming’s flow. Lin Xia felt like he was going to go crazy too…
Author’s Note:
I plan to update around 7 PM every night as a fixed time from now on… Thanks to Hellfire, Matsuriko, and Passerby A for the landmines~ Mwah ^3^
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