Shen Yibin took another sip of tea, his fingers tapping subconsciously on the table. After a long moment, he finally asked, "How long are you planning to stay in Yunzhong City this time?"
"I have to leave tomorrow morning," Hong Mian replied. Her schedule was incredibly tight. Her mission in Yunzhong City was essentially finished, and she was originally supposed to head back tonight. She had fought hard just to get this extra half a day. If she couldn’t take Shi Gaofei with her this time, she had no idea when she’d be able to return. By then, it was anyone’s guess if Shi Gaofei would still be at the shop.
"Alright then." Shen Yibin seemed to have finally made his decision. He said, full of reluctance, "When you leave tomorrow morning, come by the shop and take Shi Gaofei with you."
’Sigh, even one more minute with it in the shop would be nice.’ Shi Gaofei wasn’t like Cheeky or Egg. Cheeky followed Sun Qian around for her performances, so he could see it whenever he wanted. Egg was a bit farther away, but it wasn’t too difficult for Shen Yibin to visit Japan or for Sakai Kaori to bring it to Yunzhong City. Once Shi Gaofei left with Hong Mian, however, seeing it would be much more difficult.
That was why Shen Yibin wanted to cook a delicious farewell meal for Shi Gaofei, so they could all have a lively time together and part without any regrets.
"Thank you, Boss Shen!" Hong Mian understood his implication and replied with pleasant surprise. She had thought it would take many more attempts to persuade him and never expected him to agree so quickly.
"Alright, it’s settled then. Come pick up Shi Gaofei tomorrow morning." Shen Yibin didn’t bring up the payment; he trusted that Hong Mian already had it ready. "Uh, well, if you don’t mind, why don’t you stay and have dinner with us tonight?"
"Okay, but I can only stay until eight. I have plans after that," Hong Mian replied after a moment’s hesitation. In truth, she thought Shen Yibin’s cooking was quite good, but she hadn’t expressed it last time since all her attention had been on Shi Gaofei.
"Great. I’ll go get the groceries, then. You can go downstairs and play with Shi Gaofei." With that, Shen Yibin headed out, got into his car, and drove to the place where he usually bought snake meat to get the ingredients for Shi Gaofei’s farewell feast. Hong Mian stayed in the shop to play with Shi Gaofei. Hah’Er seemed to sense something was happening and looked pitifully at Shi Gaofei and Hong Mian, reluctant to see it leave.
Shen Yibin drove fast, gathering all the ingredients in no time. Back in the kitchen, he put all his skills to use, preparing a table laden with food: honey-glazed char siu, honey-glazed chicken wings, salt and pepper snake segments, and clear-broth stewed snake... They were all of Shi Gaofei’s favorite dishes. As he filled Shi Gaofei’s bowl, he said, "Eat up. Have some more. Who knows when you’ll get to eat my cooking again."
"Boss, Shi Gaofei is leaving?" the young women asked, somewhat surprised. They had assumed Shi Gaofei was Shen Yibin’s personal pet, not for sale.
"Yeah, it’s leaving with this lady tomorrow morning. You should all give it some more food, too." There was a hint of sadness in Shen Yibin’s voice, just like when Cheeky and Egg had to leave. He always felt a little pained whenever he had to say goodbye to these clever and adorable pets.
"Um, if I have to go on a long trip in the future, could I board Shi Gaofei at your shop?" Perhaps seeing how genuinely fond Shen Yibin was of the creature, Hong Mian suddenly interjected. Her "long trip," of course, meant going out on a mission.
"Really?" Shen Yibin was overjoyed. ’Does that mean I’ll get to see Shi Gaofei again in the future?’ The thought lessened his sadness considerably.
"Yes. The places I travel to are quite remote, so it’s certainly not suitable to bring Shi Gaofei along." Of course, her colleagues at the base would have helped her look after Shi Gaofei, but seeing Shen Yibin’s reaction, she felt a surge of sympathy. "Let’s add each other on WeChat. When I have to leave for a trip, I’ll have someone bring Shi Gaofei over."
"Okay." This unexpected surprise delighted Shen Yibin, and he quickly took out his phone so he and Hong Mian could add each other on WeChat. He glanced at her profile—her feed was empty, and her profile picture wasn’t a photo of herself. ’Probably for confidentiality reasons,’ he thought. ’Which means she probably won’t be sending me frequent photos like Sun Qian and Sakai Kaori do.’
Hong Mian quickly finished her meal and left, as she still had matters to attend to. Before going, she bent down and stroked Shi Gaofei’s head. "Be good. I’ll come take you away first thing in the morning."
Shi Gaofei seemed to understand what she said. It escorted her to the door, then returned to Shen Yibin’s side and sat down obediently. It seemed that after all this time, the little creature had indeed grown to appreciate Shen Yibin’s kindness.
After dinner, Shen Yibin didn’t rush off to bed. Instead, he rallied his spirits to play with Hah’Er and Shi Gaofei in the bamboo grove downstairs. He pushed Shi Gaofei on the swing, higher and higher, and then squatted on the ground to watch it dig holes with all its might. They didn’t stop until well after midnight.
That night, Shi Gaofei didn’t sleep in its hole by the large tree as usual. Instead, it followed Shen Yibin back to the bedroom. After getting properly washed up, it lay down on the small bed it used to sleep in. Shen Yibin gently tucked the blanket over it, then returned to his own bed and closed his eyes.
Early the next morning, Shen Yibin got up and, instead of making breakfast as usual, went to open the shop door. Hong Mian was already waiting outside.
"I still have two hours, so I can join you for a run," Hong Mian said, wanting Shen Yibin to have a little more time with Shi Gaofei.
So, after breakfast, the group returned to the park. Shi Gaofei looped a leash around Hah’Er’s skateboard with its mouth, and the four of them began jogging around the lake at a steady pace.
This time, Shi Gaofei didn’t sprint with all its might as it had on previous days. It was mindful of Shen Yibin’s stamina and slowed down slightly, allowing him to run shoulder-to-shoulder with it and Hong Mian.
After three laps, Shi Gaofei once again dragged the protective suit over to Shen Yibin. The two of them had another round of good-natured roughhousing. This time, however, Shen Yibin didn’t feel tired, energetically responding to Shi Gaofei’s attacks.
Alas, the two hours passed all too quickly. Hong Mian transferred 222,222.22 yuan to his account, and from that moment on, Shi Gaofei was her pet.
Shi Gaofei walked up to Shen Yibin and nuzzled his calf, then ran over to Hah’Er and bumped its head against the panda’s belly. Shen Yibin and Hah’Er both stroked Shi Gaofei’s head in return. All of their noses began to sting, their eyes welling up.
In the end, Shi Gaofei climbed into Hong Mian’s car, and it drove off in the direction of the provincial capital. Shen Yibin and Hah’Er stood in the doorway, watching them leave. Even after the car had vanished around the corner, they couldn’t bring themselves to go back inside. ’Who knows when we’ll see each other again...’