"Hah’Er!" Shen Yibin quickly stopped him. ’Have you no shame? Are you really going to snatch the food meant for your godson?’ Shen Yibin pointed to the pill again, then at the panda hamster. "This is for it to eat!"
Hah’Er’s eyes were glazed over in confusion. Only when the pill was a little farther away did clarity return to them. He scratched his head and studied the pill curiously, as if wondering why he had just reacted that way.
’Wait, something’s not right. Could this pill have some kind of function that entices animals to eat it?’ Shen Yibin was starting to figure it out. If not, why would Hah’Er have worn that expression just now? ’It makes sense when you think about it. Tricking these animals into taking medicine is no easy task. Even medicine for children has a sugar coating. It’s perfectly normal for the Future Pet Shop to add an enticing feature to the pills meant for these Mutant Animals.’
’What a loss! If I’d discovered this sooner, I wouldn’t have had to work so hard to trick Shi Gaofei on the African savanna.’ Shen Yibin slapped his thigh in frustration.
’Thank goodness I reacted quickly and stopped Hah’Er. Otherwise, who knows how he would have reacted after eating this pill? If it raised his intelligence again and made him able to talk, that would be terrifying. At that point, I’m afraid even with a full set of legal documents, I wouldn’t be able to stop scientists from taking Hah’Er away for research, right?’
’Of course, they probably wouldn’t go as far as dissecting him or anything, but Hah’Er would definitely lose his freedom. It would be nearly impossible for me to ever see him again.’
The thought made Shen Yibin break out in a cold sweat. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly snatched the pill from Hah’Er’s paw. ’It’s better if you don’t hold this!’ Then, Shen Yibin carefully offered the pill to the panda hamster. "Here, eat up. This is delicious!" He sounded just like a parent coaxing a child to take medicine.
"Squeak squeak?" The panda hamster was probably a little hungry, too. It immediately reached out with its two little paws, took the pill, and brought it under its nose to sniff, just as Hah’Er had done. Its two mung-bean-sized eyes instantly lit up. It opened its mouth wide and began to gnaw away with a CRUNCH CRUNCH, as if it were eating some grand delicacy.
Seeing this, the nearby Hah’Er couldn’t help but stick his finger in his mouth as drool streamed down. His eyes were fixed on the pill, which was a bit too large for the panda hamster, as if hoping it would leave some leftovers for him.
’I make you so much delicious food, and I never see you make this face. Is this thing really that tempting?’ Hah’Er’s expression made Shen Yibin want to break off a crumb and taste it himself. But the moment he recalled the Future Pet Shop’s previous warning, he shivered and backed down. ’I’d like to live a few more years, thank you very much.’
The panda hamster gnawed for a long time and finally finished the pill that was far too big for it. It lay down comfortably on the table, paws in the air, rubbing its belly and letting out a series of contented groans. You could tell with one look that the little guy had absolutely eaten its fill. Getting stuffed just from taking medicine—Shen Yibin felt like he’d seen it all today.
"Hmph~" Hah’Er wriggled unhappily, apparently annoyed that the panda hamster hadn’t left him a single crumb. But a moment later, he reached out a finger and gently scratched the panda hamster’s belly in concern, worried it might have gotten a stomachache.
But by then, the panda hamster had already closed its eyes. Its chest and belly rose and fell gently, and its breathing grew long and steady. It was clearly asleep. Its reaction was almost identical to Shi Gaofei’s after he had taken his medicine.
"It’s asleep. Come on, let’s go to bed, too," Shen Yibin said with a yawn. He was a little tired after being busy for so long. He figured that when he woke up tomorrow morning, he’d be able to see the changes in the panda hamster.
"Mmm!" Perhaps because he had seen Shi Gaofei’s reaction last time, Hah’Er wasn’t very confused. He carefully picked up the panda hamster and wobbled back to the bedroom. He then took out the bird’s nest that Cheeky used to live in, placed it beside his own pillow, and gently put the panda hamster inside. He looked just like a man who had just become a new father.
’Just consider this practice,’ Shen Yibin snickered to himself. ’There are still plenty of female pandas at the Sichuan Giant Panda Base pregnant with your cubs and waiting to give birth. You’ll have your hands full then.’
「The next morning」
While Shen Yibin was still half-asleep, he heard a series of squeaks and murmurs by his ear. He opened his eyes and saw that the panda hamster was awake. It was looking at Hah’Er, its two front paws gripping the edge of the bird’s nest.
Shen Yibin studied it carefully for a moment and found that, just like Shi Gaofei, its fur had become noticeably glossier and its eyes much clearer after taking the medicine. It seemed the medicine had indeed taken effect.
"You watch it for a bit. I’ll go get it something to eat," Shen Yibin said. "It’s probably starving by now, right?" After arriving at the shop, the little guy had only eaten that one big pill and nothing else.
Regular hamsters liked to eat things like wheat kernels, unhulled barley, barley flakes, oat flakes, oat groats, sorghum, buckwheat groats, and unhulled buckwheat. Shen Yibin’s shop mainly sold medium- to large-sized pets, so he didn’t have any of these on hand. Luckily, he still had some small, red-skinned peanuts for cooking, as well as some mung beans and corn kernels for making porridge—all things hamsters enjoyed. Shen Yibin put a small amount into a bowl, then, after a moment’s thought, added some sunflower seeds and pine nuts. ’After all, the pets from the Future Pet Shop are no ordinary creatures. Maybe this little guy will like these.’
"Morning, Gao Shu." Coming out of the kitchen, he saw Gao Shu was already neatly dressed and ready to help. Seeing her reminded Shen Yibin of something else. "Oh, right, Gao Shu. I remember you know how to sew, don’t you?"
The young woman usually had to take care of her two younger sisters, so she was no stranger to mending and sewing. She nodded and said, "What would you like me to make, Boss? I have a needle and thread in my room."
"Hold on a second!" Shen Yibin first returned to his bedroom, handed the small bowl to Hah’Er to feed the panda hamster, then found a few of Hah’Er’s outfits. He brought them out and handed them to Gao Shu. "Uh, can you sew a large pocket here on the stomach? You’ve seen kangaroos online, right? Sew it just like the pouch on a kangaroo’s belly."
"I understand." Gao Shu nodded, took the clothes, and went back to get to work.
Shen Yibin laughed inwardly. ’From now on, Hah’Er can wear this kind of outfit and carry the panda hamster around in the pocket to take care of it. I’m leaving the task of being a doting dad to you from now on.’
The problem of looking after the panda hamster was solved, but another one had just popped up.