Shen Yibin walked to the door, then came back. He was still uneasy. If the delivery guy saw Hah'Er, it would be all over for him. He'd spend the rest of his days dropping the soap in a prison shower. So, he just pulled Hah'Er to the bottom of the stairs, opened the storage room door, and pushed it inside.
He coaxed it as he pushed it in, "Hah'Er, be a good boy and stay in here for a bit. I'll be back in a minute."
'Sigh, safety first. I'll just have to put you out for a little while.' Just before closing the door, Shen Yibin worried it would be too dark and scare Hah'Er, so he flipped on the light. Only then did he dash over to get the door for the delivery guy.
As the delivery guy handed him the ten portions of twice-cooked pork, he curiously sized up the room. "Hey, you didn't order these ten servings of twice-cooked pork just for yourself, did you?"
Shen Yibin broke into a cold sweat. 'You're a delivery guy, just deliver the food. Why so nosy?' "Uh, my friends haven't arrived yet. They're from Sichuan and absolutely love twice-cooked pork." 'Well, Hah'Er really is from Sichuan,' he thought. 'I just exaggerated the number of friends a little.'
After sending the delivery guy away, he carried the ten portions of twice-cooked pork back into the house. The aroma wafted over, and Shen Yibin's stomach started to rumble. Only then did he remember that he hadn't eaten either.
He shut the door securely and let Hah'Er out of the storage room. He found a stool, placed it by the coffee table, then opened a food container and set it in front of Hah'Er. "You must be starving. Go on, eat while it's hot." 'Wait, does it prefer its food hot or cold?' Shen Yibin froze. 'Then again,' he reasoned, 'since the Future Pet Shop didn't mention anything specific, hot should be fine, right?'
Hah'Er stared blankly at the twice-cooked pork, already drooling. But it didn't immediately dig in. Instead, it held its paws out toward Shen Yibin. First, it rubbed them together a few times. Then, it pointed to its neck with its right paw and let out a couple of soft grunts.
Shen Yibin was utterly baffled. 'What's it trying to do? I bought you the twice-cooked pork, why aren't you eating?' He pushed the container a little closer. "Hurry up and eat. It won't taste as good when it's cold."
More drool trickled from Hah'Er's mouth, but it still didn't touch the food. It kept alternating between rubbing its paws together and pointing at its neck, looking incredibly anxious.
"No way... you want to wash your hands?" The slow-to-react Shen Yibin seemed to finally grasp Hah'Er's meaning. 'Isn't rubbing two paws together the gesture for washing hands?' At that thought, his face flushed. 'The panda knows to wash its hands before a meal, but I never bother. Damn it, I'm less hygienic than a panda!'
"Mm! Mm!" Hah'Er nodded vigorously, once again presenting its paws to Shen Yibin.
"I'll go get a basin for you right now." Shen Yibin immediately shot to his feet and dashed upstairs to the bathroom. He found a plastic basin he'd barely ever used. Coincidentally, the design on it was a panda hugging a stalk of bamboo.
'Hand soap, a towel... what else? Okay, rubbing its paws means washing its hands, but what about pointing to its neck?' Shen Yibin wondered as he filled the basin with warm water. 'Oh, I get it! Damn, does this little guy have to be so particular? It wants me to find it a bib so the sauces and juices don't stain its fur!'
'Are you here for twice-cooked pork or a fine dining experience at a five-star hotel?' Shen Yibin was speechless. He ran to the kitchen to grab the apron he normally used for cooking. He then headed back downstairs, carrying the basin, with a bottle of hand soap tucked under his arm and a towel and the apron slung over his shoulder.
Seeing Shen Yibin come down with the basin, Hah'Er rolled right off the stool, wobbled over to his side, and held out its paws as if it wanted to help him carry the basin.
"Don't be silly, the water's still a little hot." There was no way Shen Yibin was going to let it help. He quickly walked over to the coffee table, set the basin on the floor, checked the water temperature, and then guided Hah'Er's paws into the water.
'Damn it, other people eat bear paws, but I'm stuck here washing them,' Shen Yibin grumbled to himself as he squirted hand soap onto Hah'Er's paws. Hah'Er held its paws out flat, obediently accepting the soap. After that, however, it didn't need any more help. Hah'Er expertly pressed its paws together and began scrubbing—left and right, up and down—with practiced skill.
After washing its hands—'oh, right, its paws'—it rinsed them in the water. Then it held them out to Shen Yibin again, pointed at the hand soap, and grunted twice.
'I'm floored. This has to be a germaphobe panda. I only use soap once when I wash my hands!' Shen Yibin squeezed more soap onto Hah'Er's paws. Only after the third pump of soap did Hah'Er nod its big head in satisfaction and reach for the towel on Shen Yibin's shoulder.
"Sigh, just let me do it. I get it now. You're not a pet, you're my new master." Though he was complaining, his actions were anything but careless. He deftly dried Hah'Er's paws and then tied the apron around it.
Shen Yibin's apron was a bit too large, draping from Hah'Er's neck all the way to the floor. It looked like an extra-long bridal gown worn backward. He scratched his head, embarrassed. "Er, this is the only one I have for now. I'll go out and buy you a smaller one later." 'More money... I could just cry.'
Finally, they were all set. He placed Hah'Er back on the little stool. Thankfully, the twice-cooked pork was still warm. Hah'Er reached out a paw, but stopped just as it was about to touch the food container.
"What is it now? You don't want chopsticks, do you?" Shen Yibin looked at Hah'Er's thick paws. 'There's no way it can use chopsticks with those, right?'
"Mmm~ mmm~" Hah'Er gently pushed the food container toward Shen Yibin.
"You're... letting me eat first?" Shen Yibin was on the verge of tears. 'All that trouble wasn't for nothing! You even know to do this?' Seeing the panda be so thoughtful, Shen Yibin suddenly felt that all his effort had been worth it.
"Mm!" Hah'Er nodded its big head twice and nudged the container a little closer to Shen Yibin.
"I have my own, I'll eat this one." Shen Yibin's eyes welled up. He took out another container and put it in front of himself. But after a moment's thought, he swapped his container for the one Hah'Er had offered. 'This one is a little warmer. It's better if Hah'Er eats it.'
Shen Yibin was full after one serving of twice-cooked pork and a container of rice, but Hah'Er devoured one container after another, finishing all nine remaining portions completely.
He helped it wash its paws again, wiped its mouth for good measure, and tidied up the empty containers. Then, Shen Yibin called Bao and asked him to deliver the pets he had pre-ordered. Afterward, he opened WeChat, found the Future Pet Shop, and sent a message: "You said earlier that if I get more pets from you, I can level up. And after I level up, you'll help me solve the panda's identity issue?"
After receiving an affirmative reply, Shen Yibin typed back, "So, can I place an order with you right now?"