Future Pet Shop

"This isn’t my child!" Shen Yibin broke into a sweat. ’I’m only twenty-five, for crying out loud! I’m still a few months away from learning how to shoot fireballs, so where would I get a kid this big? Then again,’ he thought, ’if I ever had a kid who got this fat, I’d probably beat the stuffing out of him.’

"Not your child?" The front desk clerk grew even more nervous. ’They even require ID for your own child, so bringing someone else’s is an even bigger deal.’ She wondered if she should call security.

"Here. He’s the panda I’m raising." Unwilling to waste any more time, Shen Yibin pulled down Hah’Er’s hat and scarf, revealing an unbearably cute head with black patches around its eyes. He then fished a stack of documents out of his bag and tossed them onto the counter. "These are all the official permits. I’ve stayed at your Shanghai branch with him before. Just make a few calls to confirm!"

"Of course. We’ll verify this immediately. Please have a seat in the lobby lounge for a moment." The receptionist led Shen Yibin to a sofa and poured him a cup of tea. She glanced at Hah’Er, wondering if she should get him something too, but decided against it. ’Who could possibly take responsibility if a panda got an upset stomach?’

The hotel worked with impressive efficiency. Before Shen Yibin was even halfway through his tea, they had finished verifying his information. The lobby manager personally delivered his key card, apologizing profusely all the way to the elevator. When they stepped out of the elevator and into the room, Shen Yibin saw that a fruit platter and snacks were already arranged on the coffee table—clearly another part of the apology.

"Hah’Er, try some and see if you like it." Shen Yibin accepted the gesture readily. The airplane food had been scarce and awful, and he was starving. He would have a snack to tide himself over. Once he had recovered from the trip, he would take Hah’Er and Maphario down to sample some authentic Northeastern cuisine.

He called the hotel restaurant to book a table, letting them know what time he’d be down and which local specialties he wanted to try. Then, Shen Yibin pulled open the curtains to look at the view outside. As it happened, it was snowing in Ice City. The world was a vast expanse of white. Looking down, he saw a thick layer of snow blanketing the buildings, cars, and trees. It was a sight he had never seen back in Yunzhong City, and Shen Yibin stood there, stunned, for a long time before the shock wore off.

It was the same for Hah’Er and Maphario. The two of them pressed themselves against the floor-to-ceiling window, their mouths hanging open as they stared at the snowy vista. When he finally snapped out of it, Maphario discovered a new game. The temperature difference between inside and outside had caused a layer of condensation to form on the glass. When he had pressed his face against it earlier, he’d left behind the perfect outline of his head. So, the little fellow started using the window as a drawing board, happily doodling on the misty surface.

"Come on, Hah’Er, I’m taking you to build a snowman and have a snowball fight!" After resting up, Shen Yibin couldn’t wait to try the games he had seen countless times in movies and on TV but had never had the chance to experience for himself. It couldn’t be helped. For someone born in the south, it wasn’t at all strange to go an entire lifetime without ever seeing snow.

There was a small garden below the hotel, its lawn now covered in a thick, pristine layer of snow. The Northeastern locals were long accustomed to such weather and paid it no mind, leaving the snow perfectly untouched. This was a godsend for Shen Yibin. He eagerly led Hah’Er and Maphario downstairs, dashed out onto the snow, and packed a snowball. THWACK! He smashed it right on Hah’Er’s head and burst into delighted laughter.

"Oof!" Hah’Er only managed two steps before tumbling into the snow; he still wasn’t used to his thick winter clothes. But no matter—he just decided to roll the rest of the way. A long track appeared in the pristine white snow. Once he was close enough, Hah’Er copied Shen Yibin, packing a snowball of his own and hurling it at his head.

The moment Maphario poked its head out, it saw a snowball bigger than its own body hurtling toward Hah’Er. It got such a fright that it immediately ducked back inside Shen Yibin’s pocket. The snowball exploded against Hah’Er with a POOF, sending a flurry of snowflakes flying. Some of it landed inside Maphario’s little pocket, making the tiny creature shiver from the cold. It poked its head out and chittered at Shen Yibin in protest for a long while.

"Hahahahaha!" This only made Shen Yibin even more gleeful. His hands moved faster and faster, packing one snowball after another. Amid the sounds of joyous laughter, it wasn’t long before both he and Hah’Er were covered from head to toe in traces of snow.

"Truce, truce! Let’s build you a snow-panda instead!" Having finally gotten his fill of the fun, Shen Yibin held up his hands in surrender. He led Hah’Er over to a patch of untouched snow and began piling it up to build a snowman. Before long, a round, chubby panda took shape on the lawn. Shen Yibin had been watching Marc and Bald Qiang sculpt every day, so he’d picked up a few things. Building a simple snowman was a piece of cake.

"Well now, look at that round, chubby belly! It’s a perfect match for yours." Shen Yibin was quite pleased with his handiwork. It bore a strong resemblance to Hah’Er. "Of course, it’s not without its flaws," he muttered. "It’s a shame I don’t have any ink. I can’t make it black and white, especially the eye patches. Without those, it doesn’t really look like a panda."

"Come on, Hah’Er, stand next to it. I’ll take a picture of you two." Shen Yibin nudged Hah’Er to stand beside the snow-panda, pulled out his phone, and took a whole bunch of pictures. CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. Afterward, he posted them to his social media.

It didn’t take long for the comments to flood in. Xia Shixuan was the first to reply, "Boss, what’s that snow thingy next to Hah’Er? A polar bear? Why’s it so fat? Not very majestic, is it?"

PFFT! Shen Yibin nearly coughed up blood. ’Damn it, it’s obviously a panda! How does that look like a polar bear...?’ he fumed. ’Uh, well, okay, the color is pretty spot-on.’

After all the playing around, Shen Yibin hurried Hah’Er back to their room. The snow from the snowball fight was beginning to melt, leaving their clothes damp. They couldn’t stay in them any longer and needed to change right away.

Back in the room, they stripped off their wet clothes. Shen Yibin got Hah’Er and himself cleaned up with a nice, comfortable hot bath and they both changed into fresh outfits. He then called room service to have the dirty clothes taken away to be washed and ironed, ready to be worn again the next morning.

Once all that was settled, Shen Yibin took Hah’Er down to the restaurant. The head chef had already prepared the dishes as requested. Perhaps because word of Shen Yibin’s identity had gotten around, the chef even came out personally to explain the cooking methods and unique characteristics of each dish. Shen Yibin nodded along, realizing the information would be a great help to his own culinary skills.

They savored a delicious meal of Northeastern cuisine, then returned to their room for a good night’s sleep. The next morning after breakfast, Shen Yibin went out to rent a car. He came back, picked up Hah’Er, and began driving further north.