Future Pet Shop

Chapter 77: Hah’Er Doesn’t Want to Go Home

The fragrant grilled fish and refreshing shepherd’s purse congee gave the four of them a ravenous appetite. In no time, they had devoured the half-bucket of small fish and the entire pot of congee.

"I’m a little stuffed!" Shen Yibin rubbed his slightly bloated stomach. He’d eaten far more than he usually did at home.

"Me too. I bet I’m going to gain weight again. It’s all your fault!" She had snatched food even more fiercely than Shen Yibin just now, but the moment they finished eating, she started complaining. ’Women really are a puzzling species.’

"We’ll just rest for a bit, then we can hike the mountain and walk it off. It was just a little bit of food; it’ll be easy to digest." Shen Yibin pursed his lips, then got up to grab the moisture-proof mat from the trunk. He found a spot sheltered from the wind and spread it out. "Officer Bai, you can go rest in the car. I’ll stay out here."

"Okay, wake me up when you’re up." Bai Yanni was getting a little drowsy too. She stretched and went back to the car. She saw that Shen Yibin had already placed a blanket on the back seat for her. This touched Bai Yanni slightly. ’I didn’t expect Bin to be so thoughtful.’ She glanced at Shen Yibin, then lay down on the back seat, covered herself with the blanket, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

"Hah’Er, you lie over here. Cheeky, you can just sleep in your carrier." Shen Yibin made the arrangements. Cheeky’s carrier wasn’t large, so he’d grabbed it on his way out. Hah’Er would have to squeeze onto the mat with Shen Yibin. Fortunately, the weather was bright and sunny with no wind. The three of them fell asleep like that, listening to the RUSHING of the river.

"Enh! Enh!" Still groggy from sleep, Shen Yibin felt a furry paw prodding his face. He opened his eyes to see Hah’Er staring at him with its small eyes.

"What time is it?" He opened his eyes, fumbled for his phone, and took a look. He had actually slept for two hours—it was already two in the afternoon. ’I slept for quite a while. I guess I’ve been a bit tired these past two days.’

He scratched his head and climbed up from the mat. "You two, come with me to the river to wash up, then I’ll take you mountain climbing." After saying that, he took the two of them to the river and splashed some water on their faces, then walked over to the car to wake up Bai Yanni.

His hand had just reached the glass when it stopped. Through the car window, he could see Bai Yanni sleeping soundly on the back seat. She seemed to be having a pleasant dream; her face was slightly flushed, and a charming smile played on her lips, making her look exceptionally captivating. For a moment, Shen Yibin was completely mesmerized and forgot to knock on the window.

"BANG! BANG! BANG! Get up, you big sleepyhead!" Cheeky had no appreciation for this kind of beauty; it was just eager to go have fun in the forest. Seeing Shen Yibin stand there motionless, it immediately flew to the window, pecked the glass a few times with its beak, and shouted.

"Who’s there?!" As expected of a police officer, Bai Yanni woke up instantly at the sound. Her right hand shot to the door handle, ready to burst out and attack at any moment. She only relaxed after she saw it was Shen Yibin. "Did you just call me a sleepyhead?"

"Uh, no, no, that was Cheeky," Shen Yibin quickly explained.

"He’s your parrot. You must have taught him that." ’Well, there’s no shaking this blame.’ Before Shen Yibin could explain further, Bai Yanni started shooing him away. "Go on, go on, get out of here. I need to straighten my clothes. I’ll be out in a second."

Feeling utterly dejected, Shen Yibin shot Cheeky a middle finger. ’It’s all your fault, you idiot.’ He then took it and Hah’Er aside to wait. Before long, Bai Yanni came out, all tidied up. Together, they put the moisture-proof mat, grill, outdoor pot, and other miscellaneous items back into the trunk, locked it, and then began their hike up the mountain.

"Enh! Enh!" It seemed like a long time since Hah’Er had been out in nature. The moment it stepped onto the small path in the woods, it became exceptionally excited. It kicked off its shoes and started running happily on all fours, darting back and forth around Shen Yibin. Cheeky was also having fun, flitting from tree to tree and occasionally pecking at some fruit to drop into Shen Yibin’s arms.

"Heh." Seeing how happy the two of them were made Shen Yibin happy too. ’Looks like I should bring them out to play more often in the future.’ Maybe he could set aside one day a week to take them out? But if he did that, he’d really need to hire a reliable helper for the shop sooner rather than later.

"Bin, come take a picture of me and Hah’Er!" Bai Yanni’s voice interrupted Shen Yibin’s thoughts. He looked over and saw Hah’Er gripping a branch with its front paws, about to climb a tree, while Bai Yanni had run to its side and was making a peace sign.

"Okay!" He snapped a few pictures of the pair with a CLICK, CLICK, then sent them to Bai Yanni via WeChat. They continued their way up the mountain.

"Hah’Er, be careful!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than Hah’Er lost its footing and came tumbling down a grassy slope, crying "Enh, enh, ah, ah!" It seemed quite frightened.

"Don’t panic, I’m coming!" Shen Yibin dashed forward, reaching out to stop Hah’Er. But unexpectedly, Hah’Er’s momentum knocked him down too. At least he’d managed to stop it.

"Enh! Enh!" Shen Yibin was now lying on his back on the ground with Hah’Er sitting right on his stomach, grinning foolishly. Its eyes were fixed on the grassy slope it had just slid down, as if it thought this game was incredibly fun and wanted to go again.

Getting off Shen Yibin, Hah’Er scrambled to the top of the slope in just a few bounds. It let out a cry, hugged its head with its paws, curled its whole body into a ball, and rolled down the slope once more.

"Hah’Er, don’t—OOF!" Shen Yibin had just started to get up to stop it when Hah’Er rolled right up to him. With a *DUANG*, its head slammed right between his legs. Shen Yibin was instantly overcome with excruciating pain.

"Aiyoyoyo..." Shen Yibin immediately dropped to his knees, clutching his crotch with both hands and crying out in pain.

"Enh~?" Hah’Er clearly didn’t understand what had happened. It innocently rubbed its big head and looked at Shen Yibin, then tried to pry his hands away with its other paw to see what was wrong.

"Don’t move, don’t move. It’ll be fine in a minute." ’I can’t let you touch that area!’

Cheeky was up in the tree, practically falling over with laughter, while Bai Yanni looked away, pretending she hadn’t seen a thing.

After a short rest, the pain gradually subsided. Shen Yibin straightened up again and continued climbing with Hah’Er. When they reached the mountainside, they took another break, and Hah’Er became interested in a large tree in front of them.

Despite looking fat, round, and exceptionally clumsy, the creature was anything but slow when it came to climbing trees. Before Shen Yibin could even react, Hah’Er had already scurried to the top of the tree.

They rested for a while longer. The sun in the west was already about to dip behind the mountain peak. It seemed it was about time to head back, get some dinner, and then continue with the talent show.

"Hah’Er, come down! Time to go home!" Shen Yibin got up from the ground and shouted up to Hah’Er at the top of the tree.

"Enh? Enh~~" Hah’Er froze for a second, then shook its head repeatedly. It didn’t look like it wanted to go back at all.

’Oh, crap. What am I going to do now?’ Shen Yibin was at a loss.