Future Pet Shop-Chapter 48: The Three-Bowl Limit

"Mhm! Mhm!" Seeing Shen Yibin hesitate to pour her a drink, Hah’Er got a little anxious. She urged him on, holding the bowl in both paws and pushing it toward Shen Yibin again, her eyes looking at him pitifully.

"I really don’t get you two idiots. How can you drink something so disgusting and be so happy?" Cheeky was exasperated with both of them. "Hey, give me another lamb skewer. No chili peppers." ’I’ll just eat by myself. You two can do whatever you want.’

Hah’Er was so focused on drinking that she wasn’t grilling anymore. ’How am I supposed to pour drinks and grill meat all by myself?’ "Hah’Er, wait a moment. How about I pour you a drink after I finish grilling this meat?" Shen Yibin tried to stall for more time.

"Mmm~" Hah’Er pushed the bowl forward again, then took the lamb skewers and deftly started flipping them on the grill. It seemed she was saying, ’I’ll handle the skewers for you, so hurry up and pour me my drink.’ 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

’Forget it, I give up. What else can I do when she’s acting like this?’ Shen Yibin felt helpless. He had no choice but to pour another small half-bowl of beer. "Hah’Er, this is really the last bowl." Shen Yibin glanced at the remaining beer. ’Sigh, why is there still so much left? If there were only two or three bottles, I could chug them all myself, but this much is clearly beyond me.’

"Mhm! Mhm!" Hah’Er nodded repeatedly. Her paws moved quickly, brushing seasoning on the lamb skewers and sprinkling them with cumin and chili powder, but her eyes were glued to the bowl of beer. It looked like she was planning to pounce on the drink the second these skewers were done.

’Looks like bringing out the beer today was a huge mistake. Why can’t I ever keep my big mouth shut? Drinking really does cause trouble. I guess I can’t keep beer in the house anymore. It’s fine now since I’m here at the shop, but what if I have to go out and leave this little troublemaker home alone? What if she finds the beer cans and drinks herself silly?!’

"Mhm!" While Shen Yibin’s mind was wandering, Hah’Er had already finished grilling the skewers. She handed two without chili peppers to Cheeky, then stuffed the rest into Shen Yibin’s hands. The moment her paws were free, she reached for the bowl of beer.

Shen Yibin quickly pushed the bowl aside and handed her a few skewers. "Hah’Er, eat these first, then you can drink." ’Hah’Er hasn’t eaten much tonight. Doesn’t she know it’s easy to get drunk on an empty stomach? She needs to line her stomach first.’

"Mmm~" Hah’Er looked at Shen Yibin with a wronged expression. ’I’ve been so good, why won’t you give me my drink?’ This time, however, Shen Yibin finally hardened his heart and refused to give her the bowl no matter what. Hah’Er had no choice but to take the lamb skewers and start chewing. ’Sigh, these skewers that tasted so delicious just a moment ago seem completely flavorless now.’ She devoured them in a few bites and once again looked pitifully at Shen Yibin.

’Alright, you win. A panda may be cute, but it’s still a bear. And when this bear cub gets stubborn, there’s nothing I can do.’ Shen Yibin used a napkin to wipe the grease from the corners of Hah’Er’s mouth, then handed over the bowl, emphasizing again, "We agreed this is the last bowl. After you finish this, we’ll focus on grilling."

"Mmm~ Mhm! Mhm!" At first, Hah’Er was reluctant to agree, but seeing Shen Yibin gripping the bowl tightly and not letting go, she had to take a step back and agree with a wronged look on her face.

"GLUG GLUG! Ahhh~" She lifted the bowl with both paws, tilted her head back, and chugged it down. Afterward, she let out a satisfied burp and sighed in heartfelt admiration. ’How can such a delicious drink exist in this world? Why did I only find out about it so late?’ Hah’Er felt both fortunate and a little regretful.

’Huh? Why are there two moons in the sky? And why are Bin and Cheeky swaying back and forth?’ Hah’Er, holding the bowl, swayed unsteadily, looking as if she was about to ask Shen Yibin for another one. But before she could make a sound, she fell backward and landed on the ground with a THUD.

’She’s drunk already?’ Shen Yibin looked at the beer can in confusion. ’There’s nothing wrong with it, is there? This is just regular beer. How did it become a "three bowls and you’re out" situation for Hah’Er? She couldn’t even handle three small bowls?’

"Hah’Er! Hah’Er!" With no time to think, he rushed over, helped Hah’Er up, and called her name repeatedly. He was filled with regret. ’See? I told you not to drink, but you insisted. Now you’re drunk, aren’t you? Why wasn’t I more firm just now? What am I going to do if this kid drank herself sick?’

"Mmm~" Just as Shen Yibin was wondering if he should call an ambulance, Hah’Er finally stirred. She blinked open her drowsy eyes and held the bowl out to Shen Yibin again.

’What the— You still want more? Dammit, you just fell like that and you still didn’t forget to protect your bowl? What kind of panda am I raising? Are you trying to become the first Panda in history to die of alcohol poisoning?’

"Hah’Er, you’re drunk! You can’t drink anymore!" This time, Shen Yibin didn’t dare give in. He snatched the bowl from Hah’Er’s paws, set it aside, and picked the little troublemaker up to carry her to the bedroom. "You drank too much, so don’t move around. Just lie down for a while, and you’ll be fine!"

"Mmm~ Mmm~" Hah’Er, who was usually very obedient, started acting up. She refused to leave the balcony no matter what and began to struggle in Shen Yibin’s arms.

"How do you use this thing? I want to record this embarrassing display and show it to her tomorrow when she wakes up." Cheeky gloated, pawing at Shen Yibin’s phone with his claws, trying to record the scene. Unfortunately, operating a touchscreen with his claws was a bit difficult, and he couldn’t figure it out after trying for a long time.

Perhaps because the alcohol was really starting to hit, Hah’Er’s struggles grew weaker and weaker. After a great deal of effort, Shen Yibin finally managed to carry the little rascal to the bedroom, place her on her small bed, and cover her with a blanket. Before long, Hah’Er started to snore lightly.

’Phew~ That’s finally settled. It looks like there are no major problems, so I probably don’t need to call an ambulance.’ Shen Yibin relaxed a little. ’Sigh, after all this chaos, I’m not in the mood for skewers anymore. I’d better put everything away first.’

So, Shen Yibin took the uncooked skewers back to the kitchen and put them in the fridge, extinguished the charcoal in the grill, and dismantled the grill to store it away. More importantly, he hid all the remaining beer somewhere Hah’Er couldn’t reach. He absolutely could not let this little critter drink again.

After cleaning up the second floor, he still had to go feed the pets and clean up on the first floor. He certainly couldn’t count on Hah’Er’s help today. Shen Yibin said to Cheeky, "You watch Hah’Er in the bedroom. If anything happens, just call for me. I’m going to go clean up downstairs."

He dragged the basket around to feed the pets. Maybe because they were used to Hah’Er feeding them, the animals didn’t pay much attention to Shen Yibin. He finally finished feeding them and was cleaning up when he suddenly heard a sound from the second floor.

He instinctively looked toward the top of the stairs, and what he saw nearly made him piss his pants. There stood Hah’Er at the landing, her eyes hazy from the drink, swaying back and forth and looking like she could fall at any moment.