Chapter Seventy-Three

Chapter Seventy-Three

Although it was sweltering, the heat didn’t dampen the tourists' enthusiasm for seeing the giant pandas.

When Su Xingyao and Lu Jiuxu arrived at the panda base, the park was already nearly full of people.

Seeing people everywhere, Su Xingyao felt a bit lost and looked at Lu Jiuxu in confusion.

"Which way should I go to look like I frequent this place?"

Lu Jiuxu smiled and shrugged, "I haven't been here either."

But this didn’t bother him.

After glancing at the signpost, Lu Jiuxu chose a less crowded path.

Walking through bamboo forests and trails, Su Xingyao spotted an exhibit area ahead.

Inside, three giant pandas were sleeping soundly.

One of them even turned its butt towards the glass in a haughty manner.

Delighted, Su Xingyao walked closer and gently placed his hands on the soundproof glass to look inside.

It was the first time he had ever seen so many giant pandas.

The last time he saw a real panda was on a school trip to the zoo as a child.

But that zoo had only one panda, and there were a lot of visitors.

Back then, the small boy had only caught a glimpse from a corner, for less than three seconds.

Yet, after returning home, he still tried hard to recall the experience and told his sister all about the panda he had seen.

"My sister's favorite animal used to be the panda."

But they were too poor, and his sister never got to visit the zoo.

Lu Jiuxu stood silently beside Su Xingyao, listening to him talk about his deceased sister.

Su Xingyao seldom mentioned his late sister.

Every time he did, his eyes would light up with joy.

But this time was different; a rare look of regret and desolation crossed his eyes.

Lu Jiuxu could roughly guess why Su Xingyao was sad. He resisted the urge to gently ruffle his hair and stood by his side to watch the pandas together.

"You should take a good look at the pandas for your sister today."

Lu Jiuxu's voice was soft.

Despite the noisy crowd, Su Xingyao heard him clearly.

Lu Jiuxu gently told him, "You are your sister's eyes now."

Su Xingyao’s eyes felt unusually dry, but he nodded and did his best to keep his eyes wide open, taking in all three pandas.

Noticing how focused Su Xingyao was, Lu Jiuxu reminded him, "You should take some pictures."

Su Xingyao shook his head and pointed to his head with a smile, "I’ve already memorized it."

After finishing with the pandas in this pavilion, the two continued to walk and look around along the way.

Originally, Su Xingyao wanted to see the newly born panda cubs, but they arrived too late, and the cubs had already been put away.

The two then casually wandered around the park.

Walking along, they soon found themselves surrounded by the crowd starting to grow.

Before Su Xingyao could react, a wave of tourists suddenly surged behind them.

Everyone quickened their pace, pushing towards one direction.

Su Xingyao and Lu Jiuxu were standing ahead and were instantly pushed forward by the crowd’s force, about to be swept away from each other.

"Lu Jiuxu."

Su Xingyao called out, panicking.

Just as he turned his head, he felt a sudden warmth in his palm.

Someone had grabbed his hand...

Under the scorching sun, tourists kept pushing forward. Su Xingyao was forced to move several steps ahead by the crowd.

But he felt that the person next to him was gripping his hand tightly, not letting go for even a second.

It was the first time anyone had held his hand this way. Su Xingyao felt a little uncomfortable and instinctively tried to pull away.

But Lu Jiuxu’s hand was big and warm.

As he led him forward through the crowd, it gave Su Xingyao a strange sense of security.

In the end, he didn’t pull away and just let Lu Jiuxu lead him forward.

Su Xingyao wasn’t sure how long they’d been walking in the crowd.

Thankfully, after the jostling, the crowd finally settled down.

Seeing that the crowd had thinned out, Lu Jiuxu let go of Su Xingyao and softly apologized.

"Sorry, I was afraid we'd get separated."

Su Xingyao lowered his eyes without looking at his face and softly replied, "It's okay."

Lu Jiuxu quietly looked at Su Xingyao for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to look around.

After inspecting for a while, he finally found the exit.

"There are too many people here, let’s head out first."

"Okay."

Just as Su Xingyao was about to step outward, a huge scream erupted from the crowd.

All eyes converged in one direction instantly.

It turned out that the panda world's "top star," the heartthrob of many, had made an appearance.

Su Xingyao watched as the excited people around him shouted the panda's name, suddenly realizing that he was now in the enclosure of the currently trending celebrity panda.

As luck would have it, he had been pushed forward by the crowd earlier and had unknowingly reached a fairly front position.

There’s a Chinese saying, “Since we’re already here…”

Su Xingyao was no different.

Since he was already here and fairly close, he might as well take a look.

After all, he had only seen it in videos and pictures before.

This close to the real “thing,” it felt a little regrettable not to see it.

So he stood on his tiptoes, trying to see ahead.

Although Su Xingyao wasn’t short, there were too many people in front of him. Since they couldn’t see either, they all held up their cameras and phones to take pictures and videos. So even though he was taller than some, he could only vaguely see the panda's blurry back through the gaps between phones.

Seeing Su Xingyao’s cute attempt as he stood on his tiptoes to look around, Lu Jiuxu didn’t immediately leave. He chuckled softly and asked him,

“Can you see it clearly?”

Su Xingyao regretfully replied, “No, I can’t.”

While Su Xingyao couldn’t see the panda at all, the tourists in the front kept updating him on the scene.

“Ahhh, it’s so cute!”

“It’s looking our way!”

“Oh my precious.”

The sounds kept coming, making Su Xingyao even more anxious to see.

Seeing that the tourists in front weren’t leaving, Su Xingyao could only wait patiently.

He turned to suggest waiting a bit longer but just as he was about to speak, Lu Jiuxu suddenly looked down at him and said, “There’s a way to see it. Do you want to try it?”

Hearing this, Su Xingyao turned to look at Lu Jiuxu, curiosity piqued.

“What is it?”

As Su Xingyao looked at him expectantly, his eyes lit up beautifully.

Lu Jiuxu met his gaze, his heart melting completely.

He slightly leaned down, whispering into Su Xingyao’s ear from just ten centimeters away.

“I’ll lift you up.”

Hearing those few words, Su Xingyao’s heart suddenly raced.

It was as if a drum was beating inside, thumping non-stop.

Lu Jiuxu, with a gentle smile, met Su Xingyao’s gaze and asked again, “Do you need me to?”

Su Xingyao felt as if he had been enchanted by the other party's ink-like dark eyes.

He didn’t know why he had nodded.

Before he knew it, the man behind him had already gently wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted him up with steady ease.

The view suddenly opened up. Su Xingyao successfully caught sight of the panda being cute for everyone.

The panda was really adorable, small, graceful, and beautiful.

But at that moment, Su Xingyao couldn’t fully focus on enjoying the sight.

He couldn’t ignore the hands resting on his waist.

Feeling the warmth from the other man’s chest and arms, he could feel his cheeks flush.

His ears inexplicably started to burn.

Despite the noise around them, the world seemed to fall silent at that moment, leaving just him and Lu Jiuxu.

After watching the panda and following Lu Jiuxu out of the crowd, Su Xingyao was still a bit dazed.

Why had he just asked Lu Jiuxu to do something like that…?

As Su Xingyao was still thinking about it, Lu Jiuxu spoke up, "Have you been losing your appetite lately?"

Su Xingyao looked confused. "No…"

"You're too light."

Realizing Lu Jiuxu was referring to his weight, Su Xingyao defended himself.

"I think it’s fine."

He had been worried that he might be too heavy and tire Lu Jiuxu out.

But Lu Jiuxu had held him steady with ease.

Su Xingyao suddenly came to a halt.

Why had he overthought it?

"Your face is all red."

Taking the bottled water Lu Jiuxu had bought from the vending machine, Su Xingyao pressed it to his cheek.

"It’s a bit hot."

With the blazing sun, wearing a mask, and having jostled through the crowd, it was really hot.

The cold water helped cool his cheek, but the heat inside him wouldn’t go away.

Passing by a panda souvenir shop, Lu Jiuxu suggested, "How about we go in to cool off?"

Su Xingyao didn’t hesitate.

He was really interested in the souvenirs inside.

The nearby store wasn't crowded, but every corner was filled with various trinkets.

Photos, badges, picture albums, dolls, scarves, bracelets... Each one was incredibly cute, making Su Xingyao's eyes go dizzy.

After picking out a few of his favorite items, Su Xingyao picked up a panda souvenir booklet and started flipping through it.

It documented the entire process of pandas growing from birth through their cub stages and slowly maturing.

Absorbed in the booklet, Su Xingyao was suddenly softly called from behind by Lu Jiuxu.

"Su Maomao."

Hearing that familiar voice and name, Su Xingyao instinctively turned to look at him.

Before he could make out Lu Jiuxu's face, a panda baseball cap was placed on his head.

Su Xingyao, who was already quite handsome, had most of his face covered by a mask, but his large and lively eyes made him look even cuter.

With the panda baseball cap on, he looked absolutely cute.

Seeing Su Xingyao's bewildered expression, Lu Jiuxu, with a smile in his eyes, said, "Use it to block the sun later."

Realizing what had happened, Su Xingyao glanced at his reflection with the panda hat on, then turned and found the same style of hat to put on Lu Jiuxu's head.

In reply, Su Xingyao was met with Lu Jiuxu's low chuckle.

Neither of them took off the baseball caps and they went to check out wearing them.

However, a minor incident happened while they were checking out.

A girl standing behind Su Xingyao, seeing the hats on him and Lu Jiuxu, whispered to her boyfriend next to her.

"Are these matching hats?"

"They look pretty nice. Let's buy a pair too."

The air conditioning indoors was strong, but Su Xingyao felt his skin burning up.

After returning from the panda base, Coral and Sunset were lazily enjoying their afternoon on the sofa.

The two little animals were sleeping like children, using small pillows as headrests, lying on their backs with their limbs stretched out.

Sunset was softly snoring.

Su Xingyao tiptoed over to them, and because of the air conditioning, he found two thin blankets designed for cats and dogs to cover the animals.

Coral, with her eyes half-closed in pleasure, wagged her tail a couple of times as a greeting to Su Xingyao.

Sunset was too lazy to open her eyes, pulling her small blanket to cover her neck, sleeping soundly.

Watching the two little animals for a while, Su Xingyao couldn't help but pull out his phone to take pictures of them, which he then set as his phone wallpaper.

Seeing this happen, Lu Jiuxu spoke softly.

"Sunset and Coral are very lucky."

Su Xingyao didn't understand what Lu Jiuxu was getting at.

He looked at him and listened closely to what he would say next.

Lu Jiuxu glanced at the cat and dog before continuing, "I'm very lucky to have met you."

These words surprised Su Xingyao.

"I should be the lucky one to have met them..."

Su Xingyao paused, "Before I met Luori and Shanhu... I had a deep-seated fear of small animals."

When he was a child, his sister brought him back from a market stall, and they picked up a little orange cat they named Mengmeng.

Mengmeng's fur was very similar to Shanhu's, a golden shaded tabby, smart and cute.

When they first brought her home, Mengmeng was small and thin, just weaned.

Su Xingyao worried whether Mengmeng would survive.

But thanks to his sister's careful care, Mengmeng survived and thrived, and became very attuned to human emotions.

Every morning when he left for school, Mengmeng would follow him and see him off at the corner.

After school, the cat would meow twice from the tree at the corner to greet him as he came home.

But one day, when he returned home, he no longer heard the familiar meow.

For 365 days a year, as long as he was in school, Mengmeng never missed a single day, rain or shine.

Her sudden absence made Su Xingyao sense that something was wrong.

He anxiously searched all the spots where Mengmeng frequently appeared.

But even after searching until nightfall, he found no trace of Mengmeng.

That night, his adoptive father brought out a pot of stewed meat and forced him to eat it.

Tears streaming down his face, Su Xingyao curled up in the corner, dry heaving as if his insides were coming out.

His sister cried and tried to stop their father's deranged and perverse behavior but was beaten badly by him.

After that, Su Xingyao didn't dare let any small animals come near him for a very long time.

Until much later, when he adopted the puppy Danhuang...

That dog, who had saved both him and his sister but was left disabled, had lived dependently with him in the orphanage for many years...

But was killed because of Shen Huaixi, after the Shen family took him in.

Since then, Su Xingyao has carried a huge psychological burden.

He didn't dare keep any small animals, or even get close to them, afraid he wouldn't be able to protect them and would bring them misfortune...

Even now, he still hesitates to fully take care of them.

But compared to the severe anxiety he used to feel around animals, his state had greatly improved.

Su Xingyao had never told this story to anyone before; today was the first time he had shared it.

Thinking of those cats and dogs that had lost their lives, his heart still swelled with sadness.

Lu Jiuxu quietly stayed by his side for a long time. As Su Xingyao was about to sleep, he received a message from Lu Jiuxu.

Lu Doggo: Would you like to adopt a panda?

Lu Doggo: You don't need to raise them yourself.

Following these two messages, Lu Jiuxu also sent some news articles about well-known celebrities or companies adopting pandas.

Su Xingyao felt a little tempted after seeing them.

Su Kitty: Is it like cloud-raising a panda?

The other person immediately replied, "Yes."

Su Kitty: Is it okay?

Su Xingyao felt a little hesitant but also excited.

But Lu Jiuxu firmly told him that it was okay.

A few days later, Su Xingyao returned to the panda base.

Lu Jiuxu's assistant had already handled all the preliminary preparations.

Su Xingyao signed the adoption agreement with the base, completed the procedures, and officially adopted a panda.

He adopted a panda cub that shared the same birthday as him on June 1st.

"You get to give it a name~"

The caretaker smiled and reminded Su Xingyao.

Su Xingyao was a bit surprised, "Doesn't it already have its own name?"

"You can give it a name for the adoption."

After hearing the caretaker’s explanation, Su Xingyao looked at the panda cub through the glass, feeling a soft spot in his heart for it.

He really had a panda of his own to care for and might watch it grow up little by little in the future.

"Can I call it Wuyou?"

He hoped the giant panda could live carefree, safe, happy, and healthy.

The caretaker replied to him, "Of course~"

Lu Jiuxu then spoke up, "Then I'll call mine Wuli."

He also adopted a panda cub that was born on the same day as Wuyou.

The caretaker smiled and nodded in approval, "Together, they will live carefree as they grow up~"

After returning from the panda base, they sent Su Xingyao some photos of the panda cubs.

Su Xingyao printed the photos of both cubs and placed them next to the "Family" night light that Lu Jiuxu had given him.

Looking at his photo with Luoxia and Coral on the night light, and now the newly added Wuyou and Wuli.

Su Xingyao felt that the "family members" of his household were growing larger!

He had never thought that one day he would have so many lovely little animals accompanying him.

After happily admiring the "family members" for a while, Su Xingyao took out his phone and sent a voice message to Lu Jiuxu.

"Mr. Lu, next week is the finals of The Voice of Heaven. Can I invite you to join me as my family supporter?"