BAOZI PET SHOP 68

Chapter 68: Hide and Seek

The vehicle continued forward, the scenery along the way changing constantly. From the countryside to the city, the distinctly different atmospheres made one feel as if they were in a time-traveling train, shuttling from one era to another.

At this moment, the car was peaceful. Because of a certain sleeping white fluff ball, the two adults tacitly stopped talking to create a quiet environment for him. Although no words were spoken, Tang Yinlang’s gaze lingered on Lin Xia, like a burning beam of light igniting a spark upon him.

Whenever Lin Xia turned his head, he would meet Tang Yinlang’s eyes. Turning back, his ears quietly flushed red…

It was already 3:30 PM when they returned home. They placed the white fluff ball on the sofa first, then dealt with the purchased goods.

The sofa was spacious and soft; the tiny white fluff ball could roll left and right in his sleep. Lin Xia grabbed a small blanket to cover him before organizing his abundant spoils of war.

Buying was thrilling, but organizing… the mood was subtle. Usually, he was alone, but thankfully he had Tang Yinlang’s help. The couple worked together—putting what needed to go in cages into cages, putting perishables in the fridge, taking out what could be eaten immediately… In less than an hour, the purchased items were organized in perfect order, much faster than if Lin Xia had done it alone.

After organizing, Lin Xia rested for a while, then went to marinate the chicken and fry the yuba (tofu skin). Yesterday he said he would make fried chicken and fried yuba for the white fluff ball; now that the chicken was bought, it would be ready just in time for the pet shop’s closing hours to send over to Wang Ziyu and the others.

Lin Xia marinated the chicken first. He put the chopped chicken pieces into cooking wine, ginger, salt, sugar, and five-spice powder, letting it marinate for about half an hour. While waiting for the chicken, Lin Xia started working on the yuba.

The yuba had been soaking since early morning, so the texture was just right.

First, he deep-fried the yuba in hot oil until golden yellow, fished it out, and then simmered the sauce. Lin Xia made two types: one spicy and one non-spicy. He placed the fried yuba into the sauce, waited for it to absorb the flavor, and then sprinkled it with cumin and sesame seeds. The seductive aroma of fried yuba wafted from the pot!

“Here, taste this!” Lin Xia picked up a piece with chopsticks and fed it to Tang Yinlang, who was acting as his sous-chef.

“Delicious.” Very fragrant and crispy. Tang Yinlang, who rarely ate spicy food, thought it tasted quite good.

“I’ll taste one too.” Receiving Tang Yinlang’s affirmation, Lin Xia smiled until his eyes curved into crescents. He picked up a piece for himself.

“Mmm…” Lin Xia was also very satisfied with this creation. The white fluff ball and the others would definitely like it.

After frying the yuba, the next step was frying the chicken nuggets. Lin Xia had done this several times and had experience, so he finished frying before the white fluff ball woke up.

Tang Yinlang and Lin Xia fed each other in the kitchen, forgetting about the white fluff ball sleeping on the sofa. By the time Lin Xia remembered him, the plate of fried chicken was almost finished.

Lin Xia took a piece of fried chicken out and placed it near the nose of the still-sleeping white fluff ball. In his dreams, the white fluff ball immediately started sniffing. Wherever Lin Xia moved the chicken, the white fluff ball’s nose followed.

Tang Yinlang, coming out of the kitchen, saw Lin Xia “pranking” their son with a mischievous grin and suddenly found the answer to Lin Xia’s question about “who the white fluff ball takes after.”

Lin Xia was the one who liked to play; it was just that his environment growing up had suppressed his personality…

“Awoo…?” The white fluff ball, unable to eat the fragrant food, suddenly opened his eyes and saw a piece of fried chicken right in front of him, and behind the chicken was his Papa trying to stifle a laugh.

“Awoo?” Papa, you finished frying the chicken? The white fluff ball immediately climbed up and sat obediently, wagging his tail happily, though his eyes never left the fried chicken in Lin Xia’s hand. The sleepiness? It had been lured away by the scent of fried chicken!

“The fried chicken and fried yuba are ready. Baby can eat after rinsing his mouth.” Lin Xia said with a smile.

“Awoo!” Okay! The white fluff ball huffed and puffed as he climbed off the sofa, wanting to run to the bathroom to rinse.

“Daddy will carry you.” Tang Yinlang strode over, picked up the white fluff ball, and took him to wash up.

“Awoo!” Thank you, Daddy! The white fluff ball rubbed gratefully against Tang Yinlang’s chest, causing a wave of softness in Tang Yinlang’s heart, his gaze softening along with it.

When the white fluff ball came out after washing, he saw a plate of fried chicken and yuba on the table. With an “Awoo,” he pounced on the gourmet food, eating happily.

“Papa is going to send fried chicken to Brother Ziyu and the others. Will you and Daddy be okay at home?” Lin Xia looked at the little glutton tiger and couldn’t help smiling.

“Awoo…” Okay… The white fluff ball barely lifted his head from the temptation of food to respond to Lin Xia, quickly bowing his head to eat again.

Lin Xia chuckled, rubbed the white fluff ball’s head, and went into the kitchen to grab the packed fried chicken and yuba to deliver to Wang Ziyu and the team.

It was rush hour, and there were many pedestrians on the road. Some walked, others rode bikes or drove; some looked exhausted, others happy. Everyone was in a hurry, but they all shared a common destination—home.

Not long after leaving the house, watching the pedestrians coming and going, Lin Xia suddenly wanted to turn back and return to his warm home to hug his partner and baby.

The advertising lights outside the roadside shops began to flicker, signaling the arrival of night. Lin Xia quickened his pace. He hadn’t forgotten that people were waiting for him at the pet shop. Finish up quickly and go home; Tang Yinlang and the baby must be waiting for him!

Thinking of the big white tiger and the white fluff ball at home, sweetness filled Lin Xia’s heart. He sped up again, condensing a ten-minute walk into seven or eight.

“Brother Lin!” Wang Ziyu, Meng Zheng, and Fatty were cleaning up. Seeing him arrive, they greeted him enthusiastically.

“Busy today?” Lin Xia asked with a smile.

“Not busy,” Wang Ziyu answered, but his eyes were fixed on the things in Lin Xia’s hands. “Brother Lin, is that fried chicken and fried yuba?”

“Yes, brought it for you guys.” Seeing Wang Ziyu’s eyes lighting up, Lin Xia couldn’t help but smile.

“Oh yeah!” With good food arrived, Wang Ziyu cheered happily.

The three of them put down their tools and started sharing the food, only continuing their work after they had eaten their fill. Lin Xia told them to take the leftovers home; although it wouldn’t be as tasty cold, it would still have a unique flavor.

Lin Xia joined in to help, and together they finished the remaining work quickly so they could go home.

Wang Ziyu rode his electric scooter to drop Fatty off, and Meng Zheng rode his bicycle back to school. Lin Xia watched them leave, then took Jasmine and headed home himself.

By the time he returned, the sky had darkened. The streetlights were on, their warm yellow glow illuminating the road ahead.

“Did you have fun today?” Lin Xia asked, tucking Jasmine into his jacket to shield her from the cold wind.

“Fun!” Jasmine hopped inside Lin Xia’s jacket, using action to demonstrate her happiness.

There was a silly dog at the shop, apparently quite expensive. She didn’t believe it; that dog wasn’t even as smart as her, so how could it be more expensive?!

At the pet shop, Jasmine loved teasing Weifang (the dog). Weifang couldn’t catch her and could only stare helplessly. Jasmine had a great time and found her sense of superiority.

“Did you miss Master?” Lin Xia scratched Jasmine’s head with his finger and asked.

“Miss Master! Miss Dummy!” Jasmine flapped her wings and shouted.

“How about we call them when we get back?” Lin Xia asked with a smile.

“Call! Call!” Jasmine couldn’t help flying up, circling Lin Xia once, her excitement self-evident.

“We’ll call as soon as we’re back.” Lin Xia scooped the excited Jasmine up and stuffed her back into his jacket…

Arriving home, Lin Xia ran into Little Hamster and Chen Mingzong. Little Hamster hadn’t seen Lin Xia for a whole night and day, so seeing him now, he couldn’t help but pounce.

“Brother Lin…”

“Have you had dinner?” Lin Xia’s eyes held a smile as he patted Little Hamster’s head.

“Cough, cough!” Someone was unhappy and stepped forward to secretly pull the two apart.

“Ate… hotpot…” Little Hamster gestured while describing the hotpot.

After exchanging a few words with Little Hamster, Lin Xia asked Chen Mingzong to wait a moment while he went inside to get some things.

Chen Mingzong wished he could stay as long as possible. His displeased expression softened as he pulled Little Hamster aside to whisper sweet nothings.

Lin Xia brought out the eggs and fruit he bought at the market today, clearing his throat to interrupt their whispering. Chen Mingzong took the items looking annoyed, looking back three times with every step, reluctant to part, before finally driving away.

“…Heh!” Lin Xia sneered, thinking, You stick together every day; is it necessary to be so dramatic over a brief separation!

“Who did you sleep with last night?” Lin Xia wasn’t doubting Chen Mingzong’s character, but he just wanted to confirm.

“Slept alone… there was a big bear…” Little Hamster tilted his head and said.

The big bear was a large plush toy, over a meter long, very comfortable to hug while sleeping.

“That’s good.” Lin Xia took Little Hamster’s hand and entered the door, only to realize something was off.

He had been in a rush when he came in to get things earlier and hadn’t noticed much, but now he realized there was no one in the living room.

“Yinlang, Baby?” Lin Xia started looking for tigers.

“Awoo…” The white fluff ball crawled out from under the sofa, poking out his furry head. He raised a paw to his mouth, making a “shush” gesture.

“Awoo…” Papa, An An is playing hide-and-seek with Daddy. Don’t tell Daddy where An An is…

After speaking, the white fluff ball pulled his head back in, so fast that Lin Xia thought he might have been dreaming.

“…” Lin Xia really wanted to know how the father and son ended up playing hide-and-seek… “Do you want to eat fried chicken and fried yuba?”

“Huh?” Little Hamster was dazed, not reacting to Lin Xia’s sudden question.

“Come on, I’ll take you to eat something good.” Lin Xia pulled Little Hamster to the kitchen to eat because he saw Tang Yinlang coming out. To cooperate with the white fluff ball, he chose to hide away.

If he stayed in the living room watching Tang Yinlang wander around blindly, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from laughing…

Lin Xia and Little Hamster sat in the kitchen eating and chatting. Little Hamster’s speech was becoming more fluent. Although saying a complete sentence was still difficult, he could string together many words.

Lin Xia’s face was full of relief; seeing Little Hamster getting better and better put his mind at ease.

“Awoo?” Papa, Brother Hamster, let’s play hide-and-seek together? The white fluff ball ran in, da-da-da, blinking his big eyes and asking them.

It wasn’t satisfying playing with just Daddy—two tigers wasn’t enough; it would be more fun if everyone played.

“Playing hide-and-seek…” Lin Xia picked up the white fluff ball and explained the rules of hide-and-seek to Little Hamster.

“Want to play…” Little Hamster seemed to understand but not fully, yet he was interested; it felt like it would be fun.

Tang Yinlang was waiting for them in the living room. Seeing Lin Xia, he smiled slightly. He didn’t expect Lin Xia to actually agree to the white fluff ball’s request.

“Who will seek?” Lin Xia looked at Tang Yinlang. As the two adults, they should be humble and let the children hide first.

“I’ll seek. Starting in ten minutes.” Tang Yinlang actively walked outside to give them time to hide.

“Awoo!” Start! The white fluff ball nervously jumped onto the sofa and began his hiding.

It was the same sofa. This time, the white fluff ball didn’t crawl under it. Instead, he tried to squeeze into the crevices of the sofa cushions, but he didn’t succeed.

“…” Baby, wake up! You are a tiger, not a cat!!! Lin Xia screamed internally, scooping up the white fluff ball who was still attempting to drill into the crack.

The white fluff ball often saw GIFs on Weibo of cats squeezing into sofa gaps; he assumed he possessed the same liquid talent as a cat…

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