Chapter 83: Eating via VideoĀ
Lin Xia smiled as he watched the White Dumpling climb the stairs. Only when his small figure disappeared at the stairway entrance did Lin Xia turn and leave.
After the ladies left, the shop became quiet. Lin Xia and the others had nothing to do, so they sat together chatting.
Wang Ziyu and Mong Zheng were classmates, so they had many common topics. Lin Xia listened from the side, not interjecting.
“Liu Shihuan released a new drama! I’ve waited so long, and it’s finally out. I’m so moved!” Mong Zheng thought of his idol, his face full of adoration, his eyes seemingly holding the entire starry sky.
If this were a 2D anime world, Mong Zheng’s expression right now would be that of a lovestruck maiden with sparkling eyes.
“Yeah, so happy!” Wang Ziyu was also excited; it seemed he was a fan of Liu Shihuan too. “Brother Lin, Liu Shihuan’s dramas are all really good. Highly recommended!”
Hearing this, Lin Xia lazily lifted his eyelids and gave a faint “Oh,” seemingly uninterested. But if one looked closely, his hands were trembling; actually, he was suppressing his inner excitement.
Ahhh! He also liked Liu Shihuan, but he didn’t want to show it. Otherwise, Mong Zheng and Wang Ziyu wouldn’t let him live in peace. If those twoāno, three, plus the White Dumplingāknew he also liked Liu Shihuan, they would definitely drag him into their fan circle, chattering non-stop every moment.
Just thinking about that scene gave Lin Xia a headache, making him even more determined to hide the fact that he was also a fan.
Is having like-minded friends more important than peace and quiet?!
Lin Xia opened his phone’s photo album, wanting to change his wallpaper, but he saw picture after picture of… Tang Yinlang and White Dumpling’s selfies!!!
“Hahaha…” Lin Xia suddenly burst into laughter, his hand uncontrollably pounding the table. Forgive him, he really couldn’t hold it in.
Is this still Tang Yinlang? Could he have been possessed by the White Dumpling? These expressions and poses, identical to the White Dumpling’s acting cute ( meng ), looked jarring no matter how you looked at them.
“…” Wang Ziyu and Mong Zheng, who were in high spirits, were scared into shrinking back. The two looked at each other, not knowing what kind of fit Lin Xia was throwing. Come to think of it, this is the second time Lin Xia has had a fit today.
Lin Xia laughed for a long time before gradually stopping. Then he saved all the pictures, making a backup just in case Tang Yinlang deleted them later.
After doing all this, Lin Xia chose the most “eye-searing” one and sent it to Tang Yinlang, followed by a mischievous smile emoji and a sentence: I didn’t expect you to be this kind of Tang Yinlang!
“Mn, An’an is very cute.” Tang Yinlang pretended not to see himself and replied calmly to Lin Xia. But inside, he was dying of regret. If I had known, I wouldn’t have listened to the White Dumpling.
At that time, looking at the photos, he thought they were okay. Unexpectedly, looking at them now, they were truly shameful!
“That’s right, Baby is very cute.” Lin Xia didn’t get the reaction he wanted, so he had to end the somewhat awkward conversation. “Getting ready for lunch. What do you want to eat?”
“Anything works. Any suggestions?” Tang Yinlang sighed in relief seeing him actively change the subject.
“I wanted to ask you what you’re eating so I could use it as a reference.” Lin Xia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. His intention was to ask what Tang Yinlang was eating to get ideas. Otherwise, he and the White Dumpling always ate the same few things; they wanted to change tastes.
“How about Malatang (Spicy Hot Pot)?” Tang Yinlang looked down and saw a flyer that had been stuffed under his door.
“Good idea.” He hadn’t had Malatang in a long time. There was a Malatang snack shop nearby. It was an old shop, run only by a husband and wife. Because it was delicious and affordable, the snack shop’s business was good. The couple didn’t deliver; if you wanted to eat, you had to go to the shop.
Generally, Lin Xia only ate out for lunch, and usually ordered takeout, rarely going to snack shops. Since it wasn’t peak mealtime yet and there were few people eating in the shop, they could go pack some Malatang to go.
When Lin Xia mentioned it to Mong Zheng and Wang Ziyu, they raised both hands and feet in approval. Lin Xia went upstairs to ask the White Dumpling if he wanted Malatang. The White Dumpling naturally wanted it. However, he liked meat and ordered lots of meatballs and ham.
Mong Zheng and Wang Ziyu took the order list and rode the e-scooter to get the food. Twenty minutes later, they returned carrying four bags of Malatang.
“Brother Lin, get the bowls quick!” Mong Zheng shouted, carrying four bags of Malatang off the scooter and walking into the shop after parking.
“Okay.” Lin Xia quickly took out four large bowls. The bowls were truly large, the kind usually used for fruit, because every bag of Malatang was huge; ordinary bowls couldn’t hold it all.
“Aowu!” The White Dumpling had come down early. Smelling the aroma of the Malatang, he almost couldn’t control himself and howled.
The three of them poured the Malatang into the bowls and started eating. The White Dumpling ran to Lin Xia’s side, swiping his paws in a gesture of impatience.
“Aowu!” Eat meatballs! The White Dumpling stared at the beef balls, his gaze burning.
“Here.” Lin Xia used chopsticks to skewer three meatballs for him, letting him hold the chopstick to eat by himself.
“Aowu…” The White Dumpling bit into the meatball, looking like he was eating a candied hawthorn stick.
While the White Dumpling ate the meatballs, Lin Xia used his chopsticks to sort through the vegetables in his own bowl. He moved the meatballs and meat into the White Dumpling’s bowl, and picked the vegetables from the White Dumpling’s bowl into his own.
In a short while, the bowl in front of the White Dumpling was full of meat: meatballs, ham, sausage, pig lung, pig blood curd, duck intestines, kidney slices, tripe, quail eggs… Lin Xia’s bowl had greens, bean sprouts, radish, kelp, mushrooms…
“Ao?” The White Dumpling was teary-eyed, looking at Lin Xia excitedly, his heart moved into a mess. This full bowl of meat dishes is all Papa’s love for me!
“This bowl is yours.” Lin Xia swapped the two bowls. The full bowl of meat in front of the White Dumpling turned into vegetables!
“Aowu?!!!!!” The White Dumpling was stunned by this sudden change. He looked incredulous, and the chopstick in his paw dropped with a clatter.
How could a carnivorous little tiger accept a bowl of vegetables? The White Dumpling sniffled aggrievedly, about to “cry.” What did An’an do wrong? Why treat An’an like this!
“This bowl is also yours.” seeing the White Dumpling was about to “cry,” Lin Xia said hurriedly.
“Ao?” Both are An’an’s? The White Dumpling’s eyes lit up; there was no sign of crying anymore.
“Papa separated the meat and the vegetables so it’s easier to pick what you want to eat.” Otherwise, a full bowl was hard to dig through.
“Aowu!” Papa, you are so good! The White Dumpling rubbed against Lin Xia, speaking happily.
“Eat!” Lin Xia patted the White Dumpling’s head. The father and son ate Malatang together. Of course, the meat mostly went into the White Dumpling’s stomach, while Lin Xia ate more of the vegetables.
Halfway through the meal, Tang Yinlang initiated a video chat.
“Eating already? Mine just arrived.” Tang Yinlang opened his Malatang. He had ordered delivery, and the shop gave him a disposable bowl. Tang Yinlang put the bag containing the Malatang into the bowl, then broke apart the chopsticks.
“Aowu?” Babi, are you eating Malatang too? The White Dumpling, eating happily, lifted his head and took a peek.
“Yes.” Tang Yinlang nodded.
“Are we eating together via video?” Lin Xia laughed, feeling the scene was inexplicably comical.
“I suppose so.” Tang Yinlang said faintly, the corners of his mouth curving into a pleasant arc.
“Aowu!” Babi, look, An’an takes a big bite! The White Dumpling grasped a chopstick with his paw, cleanly speared a meatball, opened his mouth with an Aowu, and swallowed the meatball.
“An’an is awesome.” Watching the White Dumpling “perform” eating, his appetite improved significantly.
“Aowu?” Babi, do you have meatballs? The White Dumpling looked into Tang Yinlang’s bowl, but couldn’t see clearly.
“I do.” Tang Yinlang picked up a meatball to show the White Dumpling.
“Aowu!” Same as the meatballs An’an is eating!
…
After the family of three finished their video meal, Lin Xia took the White Dumpling out for a walk to digest. They walked along a small path; at the end of the path, there were people selling fruit. The fruit here was cheaper than in the market, though there was a risk of being short-weighted.
After Lin Xia brought the White Dumpling there, he bought a few pounds of tangerines before leisurely heading back. Lin Xia peeled a tangerine and tasted a segment first.
“Sweet.” After tasting it, since it was sweet, Lin Xia gave it to the White Dumpling to eat.
“Aowu!” So sweet! The White Dumpling bit open the pulp, sweet juice flowing in his mouth. It was so delicious the tiger couldn’t stop.
“Aowu!” An’an wants more! Lin Xia and the White Dumpling quickly finished one tangerine, and the White Dumpling wanted to eat many more.
“Okay.” Lin Xia peeled tangerines for him. The White Dumpling ate several in a row before stopping.
“Aowu!” The tangerines are so sweet, we have to save some for Babi! The White Dumpling didn’t forget to save good things for Tang Yinlang.
“Okay.” Lin Xia smilingly placed a complete tangerine peel on the White Dumpling’s head like a cap; the White Dumpling looked like he was wearing a beret.
“Aowu!” Papa, quick, take a picture of An’an! The White Dumpling stopped moving so his new “hat” wouldn’t fall off.
“Get ready.” Lin Xia took out his phone to take a picture.
“Aowu!” The White Dumpling struck a pose and made a face, waiting for Lin Xia to snap the photo.
Lin Xia couldn’t help laughing; the White Dumpling was truly too vain. He crouched down and photographed the cute, show-offy White Dumpling.
Returning to the pet shop, after eating the tangerines Lin Xia bought, the group started working again. The White Dumpling took a nap in the lounge, and Lin Xia checked on him from time to time.
The afternoon was uneventful. No customers brought pets for styling or checkups; most just bought items. Lin Xia had nothing busy to do, so he did WeChat follow-ups with people who had previously adopted pets from the shop.
Follow-ups were necessary. An important function was to confirm the condition of the adopted pets and ensure they weren’t being harmed. The follow-up was conducted via video, requiring the pet to be nearby.
This rule was in the adoption agreement from the start, so adopters had no objections. Because some people with bad intentions didn’t adopt pets to raise them, but to eat them. To prevent this situation, Lin Xia came up with the follow-up method.
Some people were actually quite happy about Lin Xia’s follow-ups because they could take the opportunity to ask Lin Xia questions, and Lin Xia could do a preliminary check on the pet via video.
Throughout the afternoon, Lin Xia conducted follow-ups with available adopters. During the process, Lin Xia stopped occasionally to drink water to soothe his throat. Speaking too much made his throat uncomfortable.
What comforted him was that the pets were living well. Seeing them in good condition, he felt reassured.
Getting off work to go home, the White Dumpling didn’t forget to ask Lin Xia to bring his skateboard. To not add to Papa’s burden, the White Dumpling applied to walk by himself. Lin Xia didn’t let the White Dumpling walk; he scanned a shared bike with a basket. The White Dumpling sat in the basket pressing down on his skateboard, facing the evening breeze, looking particularly cool.
“Aowu!” So cool!
Arriving at the market, Lin Xia bought groceries and rode the bike home. Back at the residential complex, he parked the bike at the designated yellow bike spot and carried a bunch of things home. Beside him was a White Dumpling skateboarding home…
Author’s note: White Dumpling: “Aowu!” Papa, are you going to watch Liu Shihuan’s new drama with An’an? Lin Xia: “Since you are so sincere, Papa will watch it with you!” Ao ao ao! So excited!
Thanks to Passerby A and Matsuriko for the Landmines (gifts)~ Mwah~ ^3^ Goodnight~
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