Future Pet Shop

Chapter 327: Chapter 327: It Seems Something Strange Got Mixed In?

Hah’Er seemed to really like the cubs, too. When evening came, he refused to go back and rest, so Shen Yibin had no choice but to take an extremely grumpy Maphario back to the hotel by himself.

The next morning, they arrived at the nursery to see Hah’Er holding a pile of milk bottles, feeding the panda cubs. He was quite the competent nanny! The base staff, meanwhile, were setting up a platform covered in blue velvet on the lawn outside, preparing to carry the panda cubs out one by one. They were going to place them on the wooden platform for a group photo.

"Nn! Nn!" Hah’Er, however, didn’t want anyone else touching his cubs and decided to take them out himself. He emerged with one cub in his left paw, one in his right, one in the pocket on his chest, and two more clinging to his legs. He shuffled out the door with a body full of cubs, arrived at the wooden platform, and carefully set them down.

The panda cubs lay comfortably on the wooden platform, ready for a little rest. But the moment they saw Hah’Er turn to go back inside, they grew anxious. Wiggling their little stubby legs, they started to scoot off the platform one by one, as if trying to chase after him. The staff scrambled over, terrified that one might accidentally fall and get hurt.

"Don’t be so eager. You can go over after Hah’Er brings all the cubs out." Seeing the panda cubs, Maphario looked like he wanted to join the fun, but Shen Yibin quickly stopped him. Although Maphario had been disinfected along with him and was allowed to get close to the cubs, Shen Yibin was still a bit uneasy. It was better to wait for Hah’Er to come back out.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Maphario chirped twice in protest and continued to sit on Shen Yibin’s shoulder, nibbling on a peanut. This time, however, he stopped after just two bites. He looked at the peanut in his paws, then over at the panda cubs. ’Should I save a few for them?’ he seemed to wonder.

"They’re still too young; their teeth haven’t even fully grown in. They can only drink milk. They can’t chew nuts yet." ’I have no idea if these cubs inherited Hah’Er’s foodie genes,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’Better to be safe than sorry. I can’t afford the vet bills if I make them sick.’

After four or five trips, Hah’Er finally managed to transport all his cubs outside. Nearly twenty little black-and-white furballs squirmed chaotically on the wooden platform. One would pin down another’s leg, while a third nibbled on a fourth’s paw. The scene was pure chaos.

Hah’Er no longer had the energy to stop them. He was lying on his back on the lawn, panting heavily. These literal "bear brats" had completely worn him out since yesterday.

"Alright, you can go over now." Shen Yibin went to Hah’Er’s side, squatted down, and rested his right hand on the panda’s belly. Maphario scurried down his arm, let out two squeaks, and dove into Hah’Er’s pouch. He seemed to be declaring his sovereignty, as if to tell the panda cubs, ’This is my spot. You’re not allowed in here.’

"Nnngh..." Hah’Er grunted wearily. He stretched out a paw, fished Maphario out of his pouch, and placed him on the platform as well. He wanted his biological cubs and his adopted son to get properly acquainted.

Just a moment ago, Maphario had been in a bit of a huff. But seeing so many adorable panda cubs, his dissatisfaction vanished in a puff of smoke. He was completely overwhelmed by the cuteness of these little critters. SQUEAKING excitedly, he immediately started to play with them. Maphario ate well and lived well at Shen Yibin’s shop, so he was already quite chubby. Since the panda cubs weren’t fully grown, there wasn’t much difference in their sizes.

The clueless panda cubs, thinking Maphario was a relative, snuggled and rubbed against him. Their scent, so similar to Hah’Er’s, made Maphario feel a special kinship as well. He was having a blast, one moment tugging on a short tail, the next pinching a little cheek. He would even squeak at Shen Yibin from time to time, as if asking for nuts to feed the panda cubs. Shen Yibin, of course, wouldn’t dare agree.

"Alright, alright! Time to line up for the family photo!" A keeper in gloves picked up the panda cubs one by one, arranging them in neat rows on the platform. He was preparing to take a family photo of Hah’Er and his children. When he got to Maphario, he hesitated for a moment. ’Where did this little guy come from?’

"Go ahead and put him with the others! He’s part of Hah’Er’s family, too," Shen Yibin explained with a smile. And so, Maphario was placed beside Hah’Er’s cubs.

"Okay, Hah’Er, get in the back, sit right in the middle, and spread your paws out like you’re about to hug them all," Shen Yibin instructed, relaying the photographer’s directions. Thanks to his experience on the film set, Hah’Er quickly understood what pose to strike. With a goofy grin, he sat down at the very back and assumed the position the photographer wanted.

With a few clicks of the shutter, the photographer quickly captured the shot he wanted. He couldn’t stop praising Hah’Er’s presence on camera, declaring it the best photograph he had taken in all his years working there.

Shen Yibin wasn’t about to miss out on such a great picture. He immediately asked for a copy and posted it to his Weibo with the caption: Hah’Er and his children!

The photographer busied himself running around, snapping candid shots of Hah’Er, the panda cubs, and Maphario playing together. Shen Yibin, meanwhile, kept refreshing his Weibo, curious to see what bizarre comments would pop up. It had taken him a long time to figure out the hidden meaning behind yesterday’s "covered in children" comment.

"Huh? Are these all Hah’Er’s kids? Why do I get the feeling something strange has slipped in?" a netizen soon commented, having spotted Maphario. He had drawn a circle around the little hamster. "This one doesn’t look like a panda cub. It looks like a panda hamster, right?"

"Yeah, I think you’re right. I used to have a panda hamster. Mine wasn’t this fat, but it looked almost identical!" someone else chimed in as proof.

"But Bin said on Weibo that these are all Hah’Er’s kids. Does that mean I’ve discovered some dark secret? Did Hah’Er have an illegitimate child?"

"Don’t tell me Hah’Er got drunk one day, gave in to his beastly nature, and forced himself on a hamster in the pet shop, getting her pregnant with this panda hamster? The mental image is too much, I can’t even..."

"Are you throwing shade at the size of Hah’Er’s dick or what? lol" The usual pack of dirty-minded commenters started going wild in the comments again. Shen Yibin couldn’t help but clutch his stomach and roll on the lawn, howling with laughter. These guys were absolutely killing him.