Ruan Xingyao took the tray and asked Haichen:
“Haichen baby, what would you like to eat?”
Haichen: 【If I eat, will you really help me?】
Ruan Xingyao said: “Of course, Haichen baby. Be good and eat.”
Haichen leaned toward the railing and sniffed, then said: “Pumpkin.”
Ruan Xingyao: “Ah, so Haichen baby is a good baby who loves pumpkin, wonderful!”
Haichen: 【Carrot too.】
Ruan Xingyao: “Too well-behaved! Haichen baby! Don’t rush, one at a time.”
Piece by piece, she fed Haichen pumpkin, carrots, and apples, until finally only three small chunks of cornbread were left on the tray.
At that moment, Haichen’s paw was holding a piece of apple, slowly grinding it against his teeth, dragging it out, chewing lazily.
All this time, Haichen had never once mentioned wanting the cornbread.
Ruan Xingyao grew tired of squatting, so she sat cross-legged right down on the ground.
She rested her chin in her hand with an amused smile as she watched Haichen, then turned her head toward Zhou Heqing and Zhou Yuan.
It was obvious she was asking: Are your cornbreads really that bad?
She had seen plenty of videos online—capital zoo’s cornbread was infamous for being so bad that everyone on the internet knew about it.
She hadn’t expected Changcheng Zoo’s cornbread to be just as bad.
Zhou Yuan noticed her doubt.
He rubbed his nose and turned his gaze away.
In front of Haichen, he couldn’t very well say it outright—but the truth was, because Haichen had always been too chubby, back at the panda base they had made a special cornbread just for him, different from the others.
After arriving at Changcheng Zoo, they had simply kept the same habit.
Their cornbread wasn’t bad.
Really.
Ruan Xingyao didn’t know this.
She had already turned back, watching Haichen with interest.
The apple in his paw had been gnawed down to just a strip of peel, yet he was still grinding away at it.
Ruan Xingyao couldn’t help being thoroughly amused.
She pinched a piece of cornbread and handed it to Haichen, raising her voice in a playful tone:
“Haichen baby, there are still three pieces of cornbread, you must finish them all~”
Haichen ignored her, acting like he hadn’t heard a thing.
He even turned his backside toward her with a wiggle.
Ruan Xingyao said: “Haichen baby, if you keep this up, it’ll be very hard for me. Don’t you still want me to help you?”
Sure enough, as soon as Haichen heard this, he was immediately caught.
He turned back around, and after what seemed like a huge struggle, finally stretched out his paw toward Ruan Xingyao.
Ruan Xingyao placed the corn bun in the middle of its paw and praised generously,
“So great! Our little Haichen!”
Coaxed by Ruan Xingyao, Haichen was practically grinning from ear to ear, and the corn bun it had been refusing earlier was now eaten with gusto.
Very soon, Haichen had finished all the corn buns.
Ruan Xingyao handed the plate back to Zhou Yu’an, stepped aside to let him give Haichen a quick check-up, and only after that did she sit back down in front of Haichen.
“Alright then, baby Haichen, now tell me, how did you hear that someone wanted to steal the cubs?”
Haichen sat properly across from Ruan Xingyao, the railing between them.
It said:
[My good friend Yuanman, she gave birth to two cubs. I heard some two-legged creatures say they were going to throw the little cubs into the wild.]
[Later, I asked Yuanman. She said one of her cubs was gone. The little cub must have been stolen, so I have to help Yuanman get it back.]
After hearing this, Ruan Xingyao unconsciously raised her hand and rubbed her forehead.
If she hadn’t misunderstood, what Haichen meant was that when his friend’s cub was to be sent to wilderness training, he thought they were stealing the cub.
If it was just that, then all the suffering Haichen had put himself through by refusing to eat these past days was really…
Ruan Xingyao said: “Alright, I’ll help you ask and find out the truth. But, baby Haichen, you have to promise me to eat on time from now on and cooperate with the keepers, okay?”
Haichen: [Then you have to help me find the little cub.]
Ruan Xingyao promised: “Alright, once I find out, I’ll definitely tell you!”
Only then did Haichen bare its teeth in satisfaction, even deliberately stretching out its paw.
Ruan Xingyao high-fived Haichen, and while doing so, gave its paw a playful squeeze.
Feeling content, she stood up from the ground and walked over to Zhou Heqing.
“I’ve pretty much got the story. Let’s go back to the office and talk.”
Zhou Heqing said: “Alright, let’s call the others over too.”
The keepers from the panda base who had originally taken care of Haichen were also worried about him, so they’d join in to listen as well.
When they returned to the office, the keepers from the panda base were already waiting there.
Zhou Heqing introduced, “Expert Ruan, these two are the keepers who used to take care of Haichen — Guan Xin and Zheng Zhihe.”
Ruan Xingyao greeted them, “Hello, I’m Ruan Xingyao.”
Guan Xin looked at her and asked, “Expert Ruan, is it true that you’ve already figured out what Haichen is thinking?”
Earlier, when Ruan Xingyao had been talking with Haichen, they had wanted to come over and see, but Zhou Heqing had stopped them.
During the time they waited, they had been so anxious it felt unbearable.
Ruan Xingyao nodded and said, “There are a few questions I need to confirm with you first.”
Guan Xin and Zheng Zhihe exchanged a look, then turned back to her and nodded,
“Go ahead, Expert Ruan.”
Ruan Xingyao asked, “At the panda base, there’s a panda named Yuanman who gave birth to two cubs, right?”
She hadn’t had time to gather this information herself, so she could only confirm it with Guan Xin and Zheng Zhihe.
Guan Xin replied, “Yes, that was three months before Haichen and Taotao were moved here to Changcheng.”
Ruan Xingyao asked,
“And one of them was sent to wilderness training?”
At those words, both Guan Xin and Zheng Zhihe’s expressions instantly changed.
Zheng Zhihe said, “No, Yuanman’s cubs don’t meet the conditions for wilderness training. Her cubs would never be sent there.”
Ruan Xingyao said, “But Haichen said he overheard someone talking about throwing Yuanman’s cub into the wild. And Yuanman also told him one of her cubs went missing.”
Hearing this, Guan Xin and Zheng Zhihe’s expressions grew even more serious.
Watching their faces, Ruan Xingyao asked, “What is it? Is there some problem?”
Guan Xin said, “Sorry, Expert Ruan. We can’t go into detail with you about this matter right now. We’ll need to contact the base first.”
At those words, Ruan Xingyao leaned back against her chair.
Her gaze shifted from Guan Xin’s face to Zheng Zhihe’s, and then to Zhou Heqing’s.
None of the three showed any intention of explaining things clearly to her.
Ruan Xingyao suddenly felt fed up.
She had traveled all the way to Changcheng, and for what?
“Fine. In that case, I’ve done all I can. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”
With that, she stood up and said to Chen Yu, “Chen Yu, let’s go.”
“Expert Ruan—” Zhou Heqing also stood up, hastily trying to stop her.
Ruan Xingyao paused, turned her head toward him, and said,
“Elder Zhou, I’ve resolved Haichen’s refusal to eat. As for the rest, it seems you don’t want an outsider like me to know. So let’s leave it at that.”
After saying this, Ruan Xingyao walked out without looking back.
— The end of the Chapter–
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