Stop Eyeing My Pretty Caretaker - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jian Chen entered the apartment building, holding the giant panda cub in his arms.

Having just bid farewell to his matched partner in the car, Dundu’s head was resting against Jian Chen’s neck, curled into a ball and sleeping soundly. Jian Chen held it with one hand and carried the incubator with the other, barely managing to open the door.

It was the first time Jian Chen realized that even a panda this small could snore.

Since pandas are solitary animals, if half their lives are spent sleeping, the other half is spent eating.

His roommate hadn’t come home yet. If he saw the panda or the marriage certificate with his own eyes, Dundu and Jian Chen probably wouldn’t get any sleep tonight.

Jian Chen decided to take the cub to a pet supermarket the next time it woke up.

Jian Chen placed Dundu into a pre-purchased animal habitat. The habitat wasn’t large, occupying only a corner of his room, but its functions were quite complete; it should be able to accommodate the panda cub’s body size for the next five months.

The little guy was sleeping deeply, relaxed and serene, with a small tip of its pale pink tongue sticking out, looking like a sesame tangyuan (sweet rice ball) with filling.

Jian Chen couldn’t help but reach out and rua (rub/pet) the panda cub’s round body.

It was soft, rising and falling slightly with its breath, very fleshy it seemed to have the potential to be a “fatty” early on.

It turned out there really was an animal that perfectly combined “fluffy” and “chubby.”

Jian Chen squatted by the small habitat. The moonlight spread across the floor through the glass window. He propped his arms on the edge of the bed, lowered his eyes, and quietly watched the little bear sleep.

A panda’s sleep is mostly concentrated between two feedings. A panda with a regular schedule can sleep for 2 to 4 hours, while cubs are even more lethargic. Jian Chen grew up with wild animals, most of which were endangered cub species, so he always had plenty of patience.

At the same time, he had a slow temperament and could focus his attention easily; observing a black-shelled beetle could consume an entire day for him.

So, the panda cub’s frequent sleeping was not a problem for him at all.

But today, Jian Chen had trouble focusing.

His legs felt a bit weak, and his face was burning. Everything that happened tonight washed over his heart like a lingering resonance.

He thought that probably no adult without any emotional experience could remain completely calm after getting married.

Jian Chen held the panda’s small paw, gently kneading and squeezing it. His marriage partner was a tall, handsome, and remarkably taciturn man.

However, looking back, based on the other person’s various behaviors, he was far too calm—even reaching the point of coldness.

So Jian Chen thought, did Yesting… seem to have no interest in him?

Hmm… so there are exceptions where a 100% compatibility match still results in not liking each other? Jian Chen felt a tiny bit discouraged.

But at the same time, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This was fine; it was originally an emotionless “contract marriage.” As fellow panda lovers, if their goals were aligned, they could focus on raising the cub, and the marriage might be even more stable and long-lasting.

Jian Chen sat down leaning against the pet habitat. The floor was warm, so his feet wouldn’t freeze. He needed to distract himself for a while, so he turned on his smartwatch.

A light screen suspended in mid-air displayed a technologically brilliant interface. On the far left was the contact chat interface, where Jian Chen saw Yesting’s avatar.

They had just added each other as friends, and the messages still sat at the system prompt: “You can now start chatting.”

Jian Chen thought for a moment. As one of the parents, he stood up and took several high-definition photos of Dundu from various angles and sent them to Yesting.

He didn’t expect Yesting to reply, because in Jian Chen’s view, Yesting didn’t seem like the type of person who would reply to daily messages.

Afterward, he swiped right and entered the National Forum.

Jian Chen didn’t usually spend much time on the forum, so when he first entered, he habitually clicked on the latest posts and read them one by one.

One post quickly caught his attention:

Ahhh!! Today at the Civil Affairs Bureau, I saw a same-sex couple bringing a panda cub to get their license. Come inside! There are pictures! (New!)

Jian Chen’s heart skipped a beat. They had been registered for less than an hour, and they were already famous online?

His heart racing, he clicked in. The main post only had two photos: one of the panda cub halfway out of the incubator, and another of him walking out of the hall holding Dundu after taking the marriage photo.

The comments updated quickly, and dozens of layers of replies soon piled up:

A panda cub??! Really?

Holy crap, reserved for the hot search list.

So cute! Also, just to add, that silhouette is amazing. I bet ninety cents that these two people’s faces definitely aren’t bad.

Am I the only one who noticed how well this couple matches!! The compatibility must be very high. Only got the back view? Wuuu, I want to see the front.

Jian Chen breathed a sigh of relief, while also starting to scrutinize the photo showing their backs.

Looking at it like this, they did seem quite well-matched?

Ha, what am I saying? If they weren’t matched, could the compatibility be 100%?

Just as Jian Chen exited the post, a new message popped up at the top of the interface.

He clicked it, and his heart gave a sudden throb. It was Yesting.

Under the large row of photos, there was only one short sentence: Only Dundu?

Jian Chen stared at this sentence, his brain lagging for a beat. Then he paused for a moment, feeling his cheeks slowly grow hot.

An absurd thought slowly emerged: did these four words mean “Why aren’t you in them?”

No, it must be his imagination.

So Jian Chen cautiously typed out word by word: “Do you need anything else photographed?”

The man’s reply came after a short while:

Living environment, food, etc.

At this moment, Jian Chen really wanted to smack his own head to wake himself up. He couldn’t think too much just because he got married. Their marriage was special, and he had to get used to that.

Entering “sober-minded mode,” Jian Chen took a few simple layout photos of his bedroom and living room, making sure to avoid the smelly socks his roommate had hung on the windowsill. He sent those along with the brand-new, glowing pet habitat and the previously prepared milk cans to Yesting.

As expected, the man didn’t say anything more.

Jian Chen glanced at the panda cub sleeping with its limbs sprawled out, gently rubbed the soft fur on its head, and continued browsing the forum.

Among the trending posts, Jian Chen noticed a piece of news recently published by the official account of “China News”:

According to the latest report from the China Central Bureau, the observatory has accurately observed a comet will enter Earth’s orbit. According to the latest data from experts, the comet will collide with Earth within three years. (Hot!!)

 The official media is out scaring people again.

Always bringing panic to the citizens, can’t they broadcast some positive news?

 It’s all catching shadows to grab attention. Just from scrolling through entertainment videos this year, comets have already hit Earth six times.

Jian Chen scrolled down. Most of the comments followed this style, with a few worried ones occasionally appearing, only to be quickly buried in the sea of clouds.

It wasn’t surprising that the citizens didn’t take it seriously. Since the year 2100, Earth’s climate had become increasingly harsh, and unstable factors between star systems had gradually erupted. But correspondingly, human technological levels were also rising rapidly, providing enough confidence to deal with every disaster.

Previously, several small comets had entered the orbit, and all were turned into safety. In fact, before people truly fell into panic, the disasters had already automatically disappeared.

This time was the same isn’t it just a comet hitting Earth?

Jian Chen copied the post title and entered it into various platforms to search for information. The information he got was very limited and mostly the same.

The video explanations weren’t unusual either: a 500-megaton small comet. Its destructive power was fierce, but it could be easily eliminated. The discussion was similar to every previous time a comet arrived it was an extremely ordinary star.

Jian Chen didn’t know why he was so focused on this information, to the point of searching it over and over. He, who knew nothing about astronomy, felt a trace of uncontrollable panic surge within him.

He stood up and looked out through the floor-to-ceiling window at the lights of thousands of homes, peaceful and serene, just like every day since he was born.

Jian Chen thought for a moment; maybe it was because he ate too much and was overthinking.

Yi!

Jian Chen snapped back to reality, ran to the side of the small habitat, and found that Dundu was awake.

He quickly cheered up, stretched, packed his backpack, and decided to take Dundu to the largest local pet supermarket to buy some ingredients and daily necessities.

Jian Chen put Dundu into the incubator. The panda cub’s fur was still very thin and light; it couldn’t be exposed to the harsh winter.

The supermarket wasn’t far from the commercial street, about a ten-minute walk. The dark night was hazy with a light snowfall.

When Jian Chen arrived, there weren’t many people in the supermarket, leaving only the cashier at the counter with his head down playing games.

Jian Chen had a specially made cub-carrying backpack that allowed him to carry Dundu on his chest while also allowing the panda cub to stretch out its limbs and curiously observe the surroundings.

In this era, pet supermarkets had a very complete range of products. Not only were there cat and dog areas, but there were also corresponding sales areas for exotic pets like owls, alpacas, lizards, and pandas.

Of course, the panda area had the fewest customers. After all, raising a panda was an extremely difficult task to begin with.

Most of the visiting customers were there to buy food to feed them while visiting the zoo, as no panda could refuse a small bamboo shoot.

Jian Chen went straight to the panda area.

“Dundu, was the bamboo cake this afternoon tasty?”

Dundu heard Jian Chen’s voice and raised its small bear head.

Pandas look well-behaved most of the time, with a somewhat blank expression. It was hard to observe other expressions through those dark circles.

Jian Chen knew it couldn’t understand, so he smiled and scratched its chin: “I’ll study it and try to make some tomorrow. Um, it might be a disaster.”

Dundu wiggled its legs and gave a soft cry.

Jian Chen’s goal was clear. He stocked up on several cans of zoo-specific milk and cleaning lotion and towels for bathing the panda. He lingered longest in the bamboo area. Although Dundu currently had no teeth only two tiny tooth tips barely visible to the naked eye it couldn’t gnaw on bamboo yet.

But for the softer bamboo leaves, bamboo shoots, and tender bamboo, he could crush them and follow the tutorial from the kitchen to boil them into a melt-in-the-mouth bamboo cake.

Before checking out, his watch suddenly rang urgently.

Jian Chen saw it was his assistant from the research institute, Chen Qiu.

An urgent voice came through the speaker, revealing a breakdown-like anxiety:

“Teacher Jian, are you asleep?”

“I’ve been working so much overtime I can’t sleep.”

Jian Chen glanced at the clock: 9:30 PM. The night was pitch black. At this time, even the director should have finished work.

Jian Chen was surprised: “Why are you still at work?”

Chen Qiu was about to cry: “Teacher Jian, when are you coming back? During these three days of your vacation, the research institute can’t hold on anymore!!”

Jian Chen was startled and moved the receiver closer: “What’s wrong? Speak slowly.”

Chen Qiu was a new employee who had just joined this year. The previous assistant had taken maternity leave, and Chen Qiu had taken over under pressure. Facing various rare species with different temperaments, he found that this dream job seemed different from what he had imagined.

He was on the verge of collapse almost every day.

“It’s just, after you left, they were well-behaved at first.” Xiao Chen’s voice was panicked and helpless: “Starting suddenly today, they began to riot, refusing to eat. No matter how we comfort them, it’s useless. Sedatives aren’t working because they won’t even let the staff get close… and the New Species Area!! No one dares to go in there now.”

“I seriously suspect they were all pretending to be well-behaved before.”

“Today I fed the most docile flat-billed duck, and it took the chance to peck me.”

“Teacher Jian, please find time to come back. We can’t hold out here! Someone’s life really might be at risk.”

The “Endangered Animal Research Institute.”

As the name suggests, it receives all endangered and rare species, providing a fully simulated ecological environment and food assurance. It occupies a vast area and has been established for over thirty years.

And those cubs and fierce beasts being rescued and raised had one common characteristic: they only liked Jian Chen.

So Jian Chen almost worked 365 days a year without rest. Sometimes he didn’t have time to go home at night and would simply stay at the institute. This was the first time he had taken a week’s leave from his post. The employees didn’t know where Professor Jian had gone or what he was doing.

The “New Species Area” Chen Qiu mentioned was a key protection area of the institute.

Because what was housed inside were not the familiar endangered species of Earth, but entirely new species born from gene testing and cultivation by the Academy of Sciences.

Merfolk, dragons, nine-tailed foxes, phoenixes… these animals, which previously existed only in human imagination and mythology, could all exist in the New Species Area.

“Teacher Jian, do you remember the group of black-shelled insects in the safety zone? I suspect they’ve evolved intelligence.”

“They’ve started working together to bite the glass window, appearing to want to escape. That’s tempered glass!! Cracks have already started to appear.”

The more Jian Chen heard, the more ridiculous it seemed. He exchanged a look with the panda cub. “Okay, I’ll go over tomorrow morning.”

The person on the other end breathed a sigh of relief: “Good, you keep your word, you must come.”

Jian Chen carried Dundu to the checkout counter. The cashier had his eyes lowered, nodding his chin nonchalantly, pointing at the induction area: “Just put the items here, the amount will be calculated automatically.”

Jian Chen said apologetically: “That, my panda just bit two bamboo leaves, it’s my fault for not watching it. Sorry, let me pay for them.”

“Oh, it’s fine, just two leaves.”

The cashier was focused on his game, but suddenly his body jolted, and his eyes widened: “Wait, your… your what??”

Looking up, he saw a beautiful young man holding a panda cub.

The cashier clutched his chest and slowly stood up, unable to hide his excitement: “My god, am I dreaming? Is this a real panda? Not on TV or in a zoo, it’s real!?”

Jian Chen held the panda cub tighter: Yes.

The cashier froze for a moment, then turned around. Two minutes later, he came back holding a basket of food and toys.

“Give these all to you.” The cashier said heart-achingly: “The little guy is too thin, he needs more nutrition.”

Jian Chen: Cough, okay, a thousand people have a thousand different Dundus in their eyes.

Dundu, however, was very pleased and even took a liking to a small yellow duck toy in the basket, hugging it with its paw pads and holding it in its arms to play.

Just as Jian Chen was about to decline, the cashier rubbed his hands and shyly made a wish: “Can I take a photo with you guys?”

First Military District Headquarters.

Officers in military uniforms walked by in a hurry.

Representing the central headquarters of the world’s strongest military force, this building was cold-styled and majestic. It faced countless major missions and decisions every day, and it also symbolized overwhelming power.

The eleventh floor of the headquarters, the Officers’ Department.

The breakroom.

A man in a pine-green military uniform took a cup of coffee and said leisurely: “Today I scrolled onto a status from a supermarket cashier near my house. He actually took a photo with a panda cub. I’m dying of envy.”

Another colleague asked: “A panda cub?”

“Yeah, probably a matching marriage. I don’t know if the other young man above is his partner.”

The person put down his tea: “What does it look like? Let me see.”

The deputy executive officer coughed twice.

The two officers were naturally alert and immediately stopped their small talk.

Turning around, they were instantly covered in a cold sweat.

Standing before them was a tall, handsome man.

In a deep black military uniform, with broad shoulders and long legs, light silver hair, and gray-gold pupils that almost seemed to swallow people whole, his thin lips were pressed into an indifferent line as he slowly took off his gloves.

Standing beside him was the deputy executive officer, who was breaking out in a sweat.

No one didn’t know his name.

He had received an elite education from a young age the man who was uninterested in everything.

Later, when the military district was established, this newcomer who joined late quickly established a fearsome reputation in the military.

Because of that extremely strong decisiveness, he became the current, well-deserved Chief of the First Military District—Yesting.

The two officers suppressed their fear, trying to maintain their composure, standing straight and saluting: “Chief.”

The man spoke: “What status?”

“Huh?” The officer didn’t react.

The other one reacted quickly: “The panda one just now? Quickly show the Chief!”

“Oh! oh, yes sir!”

The smartwatch light screen was handed over. Yesting lowered his eyes. After a few seconds, his brows furrowed slightly.

The cashier’s status included a photo. In the photo, a panda’s head was looking blankly at the camera, holding a small yellow duck in its paws.

The person holding it was a beautiful young man. Beside him, the stranger who was the cashier had his arm extended, smiling incredibly brightly, making a “V” sign by Jian Chen’s shoulder.

If you looked closely, you would find that the cashier hadn’t just updated his status, but had even changed his avatar to this group photo.

The two subordinates quietly observed Yesting’s expression, already thinking about where they would be buried.

The man’s voice suddenly rang out, in an extremely cold tone, yet one could detect a hint of displeasure:

“Not his partner.”

The officers looked up, completely baffled.

“Didn’t you see he’s wearing a work uniform?”

The two of them stared at each other, and suddenly it clicked. The Chief was chatting about daily life with them!?

“Ah, that’s indeed the case! The Chief is wise.”

“It’s indeed not his partner, we misread it.”

“Yes.” That clever subordinate quickly said: “If a person is married, logically speaking, they would definitely find every way to let everyone know, wouldn’t they?”

The other person chimed in: “Right, right, that makes a lot of sense.

Yesting remained silent, thinking about who knows what. His cold brows furrowed slightly as he turned and left.

Their palms were freezing. The subordinates watched the man’s back, wiped away their cold sweat, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Every time the Chief comes by, their lifespan decreases by ten years.

Late at night.

Jian Chen turned off the lights, put the small yellow duck into the pet habitat, and entered dreamland with the panda cub.

After several attempts to sleep without success, Jian Chen turned on his smartwatch. The floating light screen emitted a faint blue light in the dark night, illuminating Jian Chen’s face.

Just as he entered the contacts interface, Jian Chen’s gaze inadvertently fell on the place where he last chatted with Yesting, and he suddenly froze.

“…?”

Why was Yesting’s avatar so red?

In the middle of the deep black night, it was so red it was eye-stinging.

???

Jian Chen sat up with a start.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again. It was indeed Yesting himself.

How was it possible? He must have misread it. Yesting’s avatar…

Couldn’t be their marriage certificate, right?