BAOZI PET SHOP 58

Chapter 58: The Unromantic Tiger

“Er Gou, get up.” Lin Xia squatted down and poked Er Gou, who was playing dead on the floor, with his finger.

“Woof…” Er Gou lazily glanced at Lin Xia, then closed his eyes again. As he moved, the wrinkles on his face jiggled.

“…” This dog is too uncooperative.

“Ao!” Get up, quickly! The big dumpling howled at Er Gou, startling the dog so much that his limbs sprang up.

“Woof…” The pressure of the King of Beasts was no joke. Even though the big dumpling was physically smaller than him, Er Gou had no choice but to obediently get up.

“Forget it, I’ll just carry him over.” Lin Xia resignedly put down the white dumpling and picked up Er Gou. Er Gou was severely overweight; walking was difficult for him. Lin Xia felt that at the dog’s moving speed, they wouldn’t reach the examination area until the “Year of the Monkey and Month of the Horse” (forever).

“So heavy.” Lin Xia suffered silently in his heart. Er Gou wasn’t fully grown yet, but his weight was probably already on par with a mature male English Bulldog.

Arriving at the examination area, Lin Xia placed Er Gou on the scale. Exactly 25 kilograms. Lin Xia grabbed the file chart and recorded Er Gou’s data.

After weighing him, Lin Xia conducted other checks on Er Gou to formulate a weight-loss plan based on his physical condition. Once finished with Er Gou, Lin Xia washed his hands and picked up the white dumpling to measure his weight and height.

“Aowu!” The white dumpling sat obediently on the scale, checking his own weight.

“5 kilograms. He’s half a jin heavier than last time.” Lin Xia held the white dumpling every day, so he hadn’t noticed the gradual weight gain.

“Aowu~” Papa, hurry and measure An An’s height, see if An An has grown taller. The white dumpling couldn’t wait to lie flat, stretching himself into a straight line.

“Okay.” Lin Xia took out the measuring tape to measure the white dumpling’s body length. Lin Xia usually measured him three ways: once from head to rump, once from head to extended hind legs, and once from head to tail.

“Aowu?” Papa, did An An grow taller? The white dumpling was eager to know.

“You grew taller. Three centimeters taller.” Lin Xia retracted the tape measure and said.

“Aowu!” Awesome, An An grew taller! The white dumpling stood up and cheered.

“Ao!” Lin Xia felt something at his foot; it was the big dumpling tugging at his pant leg.

“Da Bai, you want to be measured too?”

“Ao!” The big dumpling nodded vigorously.

“How about this: just transform back into your original form to measure body length. The scale here doesn’t go over a hundred jin.” The weight of an adult tiger generally exceeded 100 kilograms, which was beyond the capacity of ordinary scales.

“Ao!” Okay! The big dumpling agreed decisively. To avoid being seen, the family of three went up to the second floor. Only when Lin Xia said it was safe did the big dumpling transform back into the big white tiger.

“Ao!” The big white tiger’s original form was majestic; a casual glance from him leaked dominance.

“Lie down properly, try to stretch your body out.” Lin Xia patted the big white tiger’s back, and the tiger obediently stretched out and lay down.

“Aowu!” Uncle Tang is so long! The white dumpling sat on the table, unable to help but exclaim in wonder. The big white tiger was truly huge; even twenty An Ans added together wouldn’t be as big as him.

“Quite long.” Even though Lin Xia knew tigers were long, seeing it with his own eyes was still shocking. The big tiger was both long and broad, occupying a large chunk of space; even if Lin Xia lay down next to him, he would be significantly shorter.

“Two meters and ten centimeters.” Lin Xia scribbled down the big white tiger’s body stats. After finishing, he tossed the pen and paper aside and suddenly pounced onto the big white tiger to pet him.

The way the big white tiger obediently let him measure was just too cute. Lin Xia couldn’t help but harbor wicked thoughts—with such a big tiger right here, if he didn’t pet him now, when would he?

“Ao!” The big white tiger hadn’t expected Lin Xia to pounce. Flattered and surprised, he lay motionless, letting Lin Xia touch him all over.

The big white tiger’s fur was long and soft, feeling wonderful to the touch. Lin Xia could also feel the solid muscle beneath; just through the muscles hidden under the fur, he could imagine the tiger’s explosive power.

Touching his way down the tiger’s body, when Lin Xia reached the tail, he touched it even though he knew it was a sensitive spot.

Suddenly having the tip of his tail played with sent a tingling sensation through the big white tiger, making his body tremble involuntarily. But as a qualified partner, the big white tiger didn’t want to spoil Lin Xia’s fun, so he endured it. Who knew that Lin Xia would push his luck and pick up the tail to study it?

“Ao!” Too flirtatious!

The big white tiger rolled over, flipping Lin Xia underneath him in the blink of an eye. His gaze turned fierce, as if he wanted to eat the person up.

“What are you doing…” Seeing the “man-eating” look in the tiger’s eyes, Lin Xia knew he had played too much and felt a bit guilty.

“Ao!” The tiger’s face suddenly leaned in close to Lin Xia. Pinned to the floor with no room to retreat, Lin Xia could only stare back into the big white tiger’s eyes.

Man and tiger were face to face, very close. Lin Xia could clearly feel the tiger’s breath brushing against his face. If either of them moved just a little more, they would kiss.

The big white tiger stared intently at Lin Xia, his gaze as if saying he wanted to devour him whole. Lin Xia stared back, and for some reason, he actually found the furry tiger face in front of him incredibly handsome!

The room temperature seemed to rise—otherwise, why were his face burning and his ears turning red? Lin Xia felt his body heat up, his mind beginning to wander.

Amorous vibes flowed between the man and the tiger, like a pair of teasing hands gently plucking heartstrings, or a lake surface rippled by a breeze. The big white tiger’s gaze softened, his blue eyes flickering with an uncertain light.

Closer! Lin Xia saw the big white tiger’s lips slowly approaching. Even though he knew what the tiger was going to do next, he nervously closed his eyes and gulped. Although kissing a tiger was strange, Lin Xia didn’t feel awkward; instead, he felt a bit of anticipation.

Here it comes! Eyes closed, Lin Xia was ready for the big white tiger’s kiss. Who knew…

Just as he was about to kiss Lin Xia, the big white tiger quickly extended his tongue and vigorously licked Lin Xia’s face, slathering him in saliva. Lin Xia’s lips were swept by the tiger’s tongue—barely counting as a kiss.

“…” Lin Xia’s hands itched; he just wanted to hit the tiger. Expressionlessly pushing the big white tiger away, Lin Xia got up, dusted off his clothes, picked up the white dumpling—who had consciously covered his eyes—and left.

“Ao?” My dear is angry? Pushed aside, the big white tiger looked bewildered. Weren’t things going well just now? Why did he turn hostile in a split second?

“Aowu!” Papa, you and Uncle Tang were being so shameful! The white dumpling lay in Lin Xia’s arms, looking excited.

“Nothing shameful happened. Papa was just helping Uncle Tang catch bugs.” Thinking back, Lin Xia regretted it—how had he gotten so carried away, and with the white dumpling watching the whole time?

“Aowu!” Papa is definitely shy! The white dumpling stated with certainty.

“…” Why does a child know so much! Lin Xia had black lines on his forehead, speechless.

Just as Lin Xia and the white dumpling went downstairs, they saw two anxious-looking men rush into the pet shop, looking around frantically as if searching for something.

“Excuse me, where is Shu Shu?” Seeing Lin Xia, the man running in front hurriedly asked.

“Please follow me.” It seemed these two men were Hao Shu’s family. Lin Xia led the way. A few steps later, he brought them to him.

“Shu Shu!” Seeing his son, the suspended stone in Shu Yuejiang’s heart finally dropped. But even so, the lingering fear of not finding his child remained.

Shu Yuejiang rushed forward in a single stride, picked up the little boy, and raised his hand as if to spank his bottom. “Do you know how worried Daddy and I were…”

“Wah!” Knowing his papa was going to hit him, the little boy cried out in fear. Although Shu Yuejiang often criticized him for this and that, he had never actually hit him before.

“Slap!“

A loud slap landed as expected, but not on the little boy’s bottom. Just as Shu Yuejiang’s hand was about to land on the boy, he suddenly turned his hand and slapped himself.

From the sound alone, one could tell the slap had considerable force. Soon, a red mark appeared on Shu Yuejiang’s fair face. Immediately after, Shu Yuejiang started crying too.

The little one was crying, and the big one was crying too. The man who came with Shu Yuejiang gently stroked Shu Yuejiang’s back, offering silent comfort.

Everyone was stunned by Shu Yuejiang’s self-slap, daring not make a sound. Even Little Pang, with a spicy strip hanging from his mouth, didn’t dare chew.

Lin Xia could understand Shu Yuejiang’s feelings. When anxiety reaches a certain level, the first thing one wants to do upon finding the child isn’t to hug them, but to beat them. That’s when the adult’s inner fear outweighs the joy of recovery; nothing makes a child remember a lesson better than a beating.

“Why did you run off? Do you know how dangerous it is outside…” Shu Yuejiang spoke through his tears. No one knew how he felt when he woke up to call Shu Shu for breakfast and found him gone. The bed was cold, and the clothes in the room were neatly arranged, meaning Shu Shu had gone out in his original form. This made Shu Yuejiang even more worried.

Shu Shu’s original form wasn’t likeable, and he was so small. What if he was caught by a person or a cat… Various images flashed through Shu Yuejiang’s mind; the more he thought, the more his heart wrenched.

The couple had searched the entire residential area but found no one. They spent the entire morning searching, not even stopping for a sip of water. Fortunately, someone called them to inform them of Shu Shu’s location; otherwise, they wouldn’t have known what to do.

“Papa, I’m sorry…” Seeing the anxious faces of his Daddy and Papa, and seeing his Papa cry for the first time, guilt surged in Hao Shu’s heart.

Shu Yuejiang calmed himself down, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible. “Can you tell Papa why you ran away from home?”

“Because…” Hao Shu looked up at Lin Xia. Seeing the encouraging look in Lin Xia’s eyes, he slowly gathered his courage. “Because… Papa always scolds me. I… I felt so sad, so I ran away. Papa likes Brother Xiao Peng so much… after I leave, Papa can take Brother Xiao Peng as his son…”

“I’m sorry, Shu Shu…” Shu Yuejiang finally realized how much impact his words had on his child, enough to make the timid Shu Shu run away from home.

He often criticized Shu Shu for being slow to react, for being a beat slower than others in learning and doing things. Every time he saw other people’s children and then looked at his own, he would get anxious. Once anxious, he would say those things. Shu Yuejiang hadn’t thought much of it; his own mother had spoken to him the same way since childhood. He had an unyielding personality—scold him once, and he would improve once. So when Shu Shu didn’t do well, he acted like his mother, and over time, it became a habit.

If not for Shu Shu running away this time, Shu Yuejiang didn’t know how long he would have continued like this—perhaps until Shu Shu grew up.

“Papa, can you stop scolding me from now on?” Hao Shu asked Shu Yuejiang cautiously.

“Papa was wrong. From now on, Papa won’t scold you anymore. Will Shu Shu forgive Papa?” The damage was done; all Shu Yuejiang could do was make amends. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late.

“Okay, let’s pinky swear!” Hao Shu extended his finger, smiling sweetly at Shu Yuejiang.

“Okay.” A smile curled at the corner of Shu Yuejiang’s mouth as he extended his pinky finger to hook with his son’s.

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