Chapter 20 This is Not an Illusion

After dinner, they cleaned up the kitchen, and Xia Sen and the others obediently went upstairs.

In the corner of the balcony on the third floor's living area, there was a set of wooden table and chairs, along with an umbrella suitable for setting the mood.

Xia Sen, Duanmu Lin, and Zhao Manman were looking downwards from the balcony.

Zhao Manman always had her beloved camera in hand, and today she probably almost maxed out a memory card.

"Leopard Sister, come on, the area is clear. Feel free to move around here, or you can go check out the back gardens as well."

Leopard Sister brought her two little cubs for a stroll in the yard, curious about the Panda House that Chen Ying mentioned.

She had never seen how two-legged beasts kept Iron-eating Beasts. Maybe she should go have a look?

She nudged Chen Ying's thigh with her head, left the little cubs with Yin Li, and one person and one big cat casually strolled to tour the gardens.

"I'm so jealous. Why can Brother Li touch the cubs?"

"Sour grapes," Duanmu Lin, holding a tablet and reading a paper while complaining about Xia Sen, "It was just Brother Li and Brother Ying in the mountains before. What if they didn't cooperate? The principle is to reduce contact between wild animals and people as much as possible while taking comprehensible care. Stop thinking about it. When you rescue a cute little animal in the wild, that will be your own special little cutie."

Zhao Manman glanced at Duanmu Lin then peeked at Xia Sen leaning on the railing, not saying a word.

In her camera's lens, Chen Ying and Leopard Sister had already strolled to the glass fence outside the Panda House.

Leopard Sister stood upright and peered over the fence to check out the activity area inside the house.

The national treasure is indeed a national treasure, even if it's just temporary transitional facilities, they were quite well-prepared.

Compared to the smaller wild animal museum next door, it's like comparing a big villa to a mud brick house.

They couldn't enter the Panda House for now, but the area below the venue prepared for the Red Panda next door, she could certainly take Leopard Sister for a walk around there.

The area wasn't so big, barely two hundred square meters. The trees within weren't abundant or large, specially treated.

This spot was originally a specialized site for the Rescue Station, an area for training the rescued wild animals to recover their motor functions autonomously. Everything set up inside was calculated to prevent them from "escaping" while allowing them to move according to their nature.

Chen Ying opened the iron gate and let Leopard Sister go in to play, while he used a sickle to cut grass, trimming some overly vigorous wild weeds.

While busy, Yin Li came with the two little ones.

The little leopards had never encountered such a wilderness environment since arriving at the Rescue Station and were curiously thrilled.

The two chubby babies rolled straight into the bushes, completely out of sight.

Yin Li went to the tool shed to fetch a hoe, helping to mend some water pits.

This place hadn't been used in a long time, the ground bumpy and patched; some puddles might be harmless to adults, but they hid dangers for little cubs.

"Just patch it up for now. If we're to utilize this place, we need to tear down the old wooden stake fence and build a wire or glass wall. The drainage system of the museum area also needs redoing."

Yin Li looked up and glanced at the office building, asking Chen Ying in a low voice.

"Why do I feel like that Zhao Manman came specifically for you?"

"Nonsense, I don't even know her. Plus, she was brought by Director Bai, so how could it be false?"

"It's not that I think her identity is fake. I just feel something's off. She seems more interested in your interactions with wild animals. She's been filming you and Leopard Sister all day."

Chen Ying paused in his grass cutting and didn't look up.

"Anyway, she'll stay at most three months. I don't plan to be alone with her. During this time, you'll have to put in more effort. Director Bai said in the group chat, in another three to five days, juniors from the Agricultural University, from the Veterinary and Plant Protection disciplines, will come for an internship. By then, just assign two people to follow her."

It was getting late. After casually handling the more dangerous spots, Leopard Sister, led by Chen Ying, took the two little cubs back to the Animal Shed after a wild play session.

Little Leopard whined and didn't want to leave, playing hide and seek with Chen Ying in the park, while Leopard Sister grew impatient and picked up the eldest by the mouth, swishing her tail and left.

Seeing their mother lead their brother away, the other little leopard became anxious, scrambling and crawling to chase after their mother while crying pitifully on the run.

"Whine, why didn't mom take me with her? Does mom not like me?"

Yin Li carried the hoe and took the sickle from Chen Ying's hand, heading to the tool shed, happily watching Chen Ying catch the little leopard.

This little creature was so stubborn. Chen Ying couldn't even hold it; it insisted on being picked up by its mother.

Leopard Sister, troubled by her rowdy child, had no choice but to put down the already heavy eldest to pick up the second child.

After being put down, the eldest lay on the ground, let out a sigh, and clung to Chen Ying's pant leg.

It didn't understand what its little brother was thinking. It had the comfort of being held and still wanted their mother to carry it.

Not to even mention how charming the scent from their mother's mouth was, but the part where it was held almost rubbed its delicate skin raw.

Chen Ying picked up Big Baby and weighed it.

The results of nearly half a month's growth were visibly evident from its weight.

This soft flesh, this bounce when patted—duang, duang—the wild babies could never have grown this heavy.

Leopard Sister carried the second child for a while and then spat out the little one.

This second child was even heavier than its brother!

Little Baby didn't realize what happened when it fell to the ground; its mother had already stepped over it and walked further away.

Stepped over... and kept going further and further without any reluctance.

Little Baby burst into tears.

"Whine, Mom, you really do only like big brother!"

Big Baby, lying in Chen Ying's arms, lifted its hind paw to scratch its ear, its chubby face full of schadenfreude.

Chen Ying was torn between laughter and tears, hurriedly picked up Little Baby, and held it in his arms.

"Don't cry, don't cry. I'll give you an extra spoonful of meat puree later."

Having said that, Chen Ying fell silent. This touch, this texture, this weight—maybe he should reduce a spoonful of meat puree instead.

Having sent Leopard Sister and her two children back to the animal shed and settled their food and water, Chen Ying and Yin Li headed upstairs to the third floor to prepare for a small meeting.

"The day after tomorrow, the giant panda will return to the rescue station. Sister Dai said in the group today that after returning to the center, they checked the biochemical indicators, and her inflammation markers are still pretty high. Later, Xia Sen, you'll need to pay more attention to these issues. Duanmu, you mainly help Xia Sen take care of Mendun'er, to see if its ascites has improved."

Post-surgery, many complications could arise. The center had sent Mendun'er back because no one there could calm the big creature.

"I spoke to Teacher Luo and obtained all of Mendun'er's examination and surgical data, and prepared this follow-up treatment plan, which has already been sent to the medical team at the base. They might reply by tomorrow."

Xia Sen looked youthful and playful, yet he worked earnestly, always willing to think things through and seek advice.

Duanmu also went over his work plans and arrangements for the period.

His specialty was radiology, which didn't seem to help much with everyday care and treatment of the giant pandas, but for a case like Mendun'er's, they really couldn't manage without him.

"Let's arrange it like this for now. My main focus here is still taking care of Leopard Sister and her family, trying to get them back to the mountains soon. Meng Yan is recovering well; Duanmu, I'll need you to help me with daily feeding. Yin Li has his own work to do; then, please assist Ms. Zhao in completing the promotional materials for this campaign."

Yin Li grumbled a response, with a facial expression that visibly showed resistance.

Zhao Manman frowned; not that she was overthinking, but she could truly feel the rejection.

Her gaze swept over the four men, Zhao Manman pursed her lips, staring toward Chen Ying.