Stop Eyeing My Pretty Caretaker - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

When Bennett returned, the night was thick, shrouding the silent and peaceful zoo.

All was still.

The fact that he hadn’t found any trace of Dunden left Bennett feeling somewhat despondent.

Perhaps he should tell Jian Chen.

It was highly likely that Dunden had left the sleep capsule recently, and the chances of him being alive were great; Mr. Jian Chen would surely be overjoyed to know this.

But at the same time, he feared his master would fall into a deadlock trying to find Dunden. If the little panda had been taken by Yesting, Mr. Jian Chen might very well encounter that man again during his search for the cub.

The little robot paced back and forth in the entryway, feeling conflicted for the first time.

“Bennett?”

The little robot jolted.

It was Jian Chen’s voice.

Turning around, he saw Jian Chen in the kitchen on the first floor.

His master wasn’t sleeping on the second floor. Instead, he was wearing pajamas, illuminated only by a faint small lamp in the kitchen. The warm light blurred softly across the youth’s brow and profile like ink. Jian Chen’s slippers were discarded on the floor, and he was treading on the crossbar of a tall stool with bare feet.

Hearing the robot’s voice, he poked his head out from beside the cupboard.

The ends of his hair were slightly disheveled from sleep.

On the square kitchen table, there seemed to be some steaming hot food obscured by the youth’s body.

Thus, from Bennett’s angle, it looked as if wisps of pale white steam were rising from the top of Jian Chen’s head.

Bennett: “?”

Jian Chen was a bit surprised: “Bennett, why are you coming in from outside? Weren’t you sleeping?”

The little robot felt a sudden pang of guilt and said, “I went… to patrol a bit, to see if there were any gaps in the fence.”

Jian Chen pursed his lips, suddenly turning serious: “Ban-ban.”

Bennett stiffened: “Yes?”

Jian Chen said, “If you want to patrol, we’ll go together next time.”

Even when giving a stern lecture to his “cub,” the youth’s voice remained gentle and soft, like the light plucking of a lute string, making the listener want to squint their eyes in comfort.

Jian Chen spoke earnestly: “You are a human now, just like me. Sleep is very important; don’t sacrifice your sleeping time.”

Bennett, who was actually not a human, nodded obediently. Then, his gaze fell upon the instant noodles Jian Chen had placed on the table.

Jian Chen: “…”

He had actually forgotten about his own act of sacrificing sleep for a midnight snack.

The perfect example of a bad guardian. ORZ

Under the little robot’s watchful gaze, it was now Jian Chen’s turn to feel guilty.

To his surprise, Bennett didn’t say anything.

Instead, the robot turned around, lit the stove, and prepared a full meal for Jian Chen—four dishes and a soup.

Jian Chen: “…”

What kind of divine little robot is this?

Though it wasn’t made of rare delicacies, the nutrition was perfectly balanced.

The comforted yet guilty elder of the house ate a large bowl of rice with tears in his eyes.

Following the official opening of the zoo, there were zero tourists.

Jian Chen looked at his increasingly empty wallet and realized he didn’t even have the capital to hire a breeder.

Bennett was the housekeeper, and Jian Chen, as a zoologist, had to shoulder the dual responsibilities of both director and breeder.

Since the animals in the various sectors had already formed their own ecosystems and default rules, Jian Chen couldn’t interfere too much.

For instance, he could pick up an injured cub, care for it meticulously, and release it back into nature… or he could help disinfect and bandage animals that had narrowly escaped an attack, preventing infection and increasing their survival rate.

But he could not stop predators from hunting.

—Every animal, while hunting, would also become the prey of another predator.

This was the law of nature. Even as the director, Jian Chen had no right to intrude upon the ecosystem and arbitrarily disrupt the food chain of the animals.

Jian Chen stretched, walked out of the director’s office into the park, and found the sightseeing cart Bennett had driven him in yesterday.

He tried to start it, gripping the steering wheel with his feet poised—the left on the brake and the right on the accelerator. The small open-top car let out a “beep-beep” sound and began to drive forward at a moderate pace.

Jian Chen’s mind was not idle; as he drove, he brainstormed ways to fix his situation.

He couldn’t watch the zoo go bankrupt. Not only would he and Bennett end up homeless, but these animals would be taken over by some unknown businessman and face an uncertain, dangerous future.

At the thought of the “hunting grounds” Chen Jianshang had mentioned, Jian Chen still felt a smoldering anger, and his foot pressed a little harder on the accelerator.

Should I buy some balloons, colored lights, and a bulletin board to post at the main gate? The board could say: [All tourist tickets 20% off today].

Jian Chen rubbed his chin and silently rejected the proposal.

Even the zoo’s main gate was broken; while boards and balloons might enhance the atmosphere, it would feel a bit like “putting lipstick on a pig.”

Jian Chen thought, Should I go back to my old trade and try live-streaming as a breeder?

Calling it his “old trade” wasn’t entirely accurate, but he did have similar experience. When he first made bamboo cakes for Dunden, he had started a live stream once, and the response seemed quite enthusiastic.

“…”

The youth suddenly realized that the extraordinary success of that stream was largely due to Dunden’s immense popularity.

After all, no one could resist a high-status, black-and-white furball.

Now that Dunden was gone, a live stream with only Jian Chen would surely not make any waves.

Jian Chen came up with a few more ideas one after another, recording them on his optical computer to revisit later.

Despite the collapsed gate, the facilities inside the zoo were at least intact.

The sightseeing cart was driving steadily until, at the third turn, the tire under the passenger seat leisurely rolled off.

It rolled away in the opposite direction of the cart, without ever looking back.

Jian Chen: “…”