Chapter 63: Shop

His face was pressed down, and Xie Xiaobao struggled for a while but couldn’t get up no matter what.  

He didn’t dare use too much strength, afraid of hurting Xie Meili.  

In the end, he could only spread out his limbs, lying limp on the tatami like a cat skin rug.  

Xie Meili claimed victory, loosening her claws and proudly sitting on Xie Xiaobao’s belly, rubbing his chin with her head.  

Xie Xiaobao hugged her tightly and indignantly licked her fur.  

Qu Yanning came downstairs and saw the two kittens curled up in a heap on the tatami by the floor-to-ceiling window.  

The smaller one had burrowed under the bigger one’s belly, sleeping so soundly that his belly rose and fell.  

Qu Yanning was planning to visit the store today.  

The small barbecue shop they started with had now expanded into over twenty chain locations.  

The main store was in Shen City, and Xie Qi had found a professional manager to run it.  

Qu Yanning’s role was simply to drop by once a month and play the mascot.  

Xie Xiaobao saw him and softly purred a greeting.  

“I’m heading to the store. Are you and Meili staying home?”  

“I’ll go with you.”  

Xie Xiaobao transformed back into human form, picking up the still-purring, sleeping Xie Meili in his arms.  

“That works. There’s nothing to do at home anyway. Might as well go out for a walk.”  

Qu Yanning drove, with Xie Xiaobao holding Xie Meili in the passenger seat, and the three headed straight to the store.  

This was Xie Xiaobao’s first time visiting a barbecue restaurant, and he looked around curiously when they arrived.  

The barbecue restaurant faced the pedestrian street and was located on the sixth floor of Sunshine Department Store.  

The sixth floor was a semi-open space mainly housing restaurants and bars.  

Qu Yanning’s barbecue restaurant took up one-third of the area, half indoors and half outdoors.  

The outdoor section was filled with many umbrella shades shaped like large trees.  

The tables under the umbrellas were designed like European carriages, and the vintage wrought-iron chairs could seat three people side by side.  

Beneath each chair was a sliding track, allowing the chair to swing gently like a small-scale swing when someone sat down.  

Many passersby liked to stop here to eat and enjoy the distant scenery.  

It was still early afternoon, and the restaurant wasn’t very crowded yet.  

The barbecue shop’s busiest time was at night, and right now, only a few scattered customers were resting.  

An employee saw Qu Yanning arrive and immediately went inside to notify the others.  

The staff lined up neatly to welcome the boss.  

“I’m just here to check things out. You guys don’t need to fuss over me.”  

Though he said that, the store manager stayed behind, following Qu Yanning closely in case he needed anything.  

Xie Xiaobao walked to the edge of the rooftop.  

The wrought-iron railing reached just to his waist.  

He leaned against the rail and looked out into the distance.  

Under the gentle sunshine, a stretch of blue coastline was visible.  

“This place is really nice.”  

Xie Meili woke up and stretched lazily in his arms, speaking in a drowsy voice.  

“I think so too.”  

Xie Xiaobao said seriously, “If I open a store in the future, I want to choose a place with a good environment.”  

Xie Meili looked up at him.  

“What kind of store do you want to open?”  

“It’s a secret. I’m not telling you.”  

Xie Xiaobao pressed his lips, his face showing a hint of pride.  

Xie Meili snorted and licked her paw.  

“You’ll find out sooner or later anyway.”  

***

“Want something to eat? I’ll make it for you myself.”  

After hearing the store manager’s work report, Qu Yanning stepped away to find Xie Xiaobao and company.  

Xie Xiaobao shook his head.  

They’d just finished lunch not long ago and weren’t hungry now.  

Neither sibling wanted to eat, which disappointed the manager who had hoped to impress them.  

In the end, he earnestly brought over two glasses of freshly squeezed juice.  

Xie Xiaobao set Xie Meili down and gently kicked the chair with his foot, causing it to sway back and forth, entertaining Xie Meili.  

Xie Meili rolled around on the chair a couple of times, then lay still, meowing softly to ask Xie Xiaobao to keep rocking her.  

While gently swaying the chair, Xie Xiaobao chatted with Qu Yanning.  

After seeing the barbecue restaurant, Xie Xiaobao’s desire to open a store surged strongly.  

Since his brother-in-law had experience, he naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to ask for advice.  

As they talked, they didn’t notice three girls a couple of tables away whispering excitedly.  

“Is that Xiaobao?”  

“Yeah, I’m not mistaken.”  

“Didn’t expect to run into him just shopping.”  

“Hurry and take a photo. Be careful not to get caught…”  

The three girls huddled together, whispering.  

The girl facing Xie Xiaobao’s table held up a camera, seemingly taking a selfie, but if one looked at her phone screen, it was clear she was photographing the people opposite her.  

They took several shots in a row, then gathered around to choose the best photos.  

“Being good-looking is awesome. Even when the photos distort the image, he still looks good.”  

“Yeah, yeah, he looks even better in person than in videos.”  

“Shh, keep your voices down. The guy next to Xiaobao is really good-looking too.”  

“That white cat is so cute too. Do you think she’s from the same litter as Orange Bao?”  

The other two girls looked skeptical.  

“How could that happen? Orange Bao is fat even when drinking water, and that soft little white cat feels like she’s from a different species.”  

They whispered their discussion, then selected the best two photos to post on Weibo.  

One of the girls was more active on Weibo and tagged a few of her well-connected fans.  

[Ran into my Bao while shopping!!! My Bao is so handsome!!]  

The tagged fans quickly screamed and reposted, asking for the location.  

Someone clever took a screenshot and posted it in the fan group, which set the fans near Sunshine Department Store into a frenzy, all clamoring to come and try to spot him.  

The Weibo post spread rapidly among the fans.  

***

“Shen City, Sunshine Department Store, sixth floor.”  

He Yu stared at the Weibo post open on the main page, each furrow between his brows deepening as he read.  

This Weibo account was a small account he had registered specially.  

It only followed the Xiaobao Fan Club and the Orange Bao Fan Club.  

An hour ago, the “Ran into Xiaobao” post was reposted by the Xiaobao Fan Club.  

An hour later, He Yu, sitting in his office, saw this Weibo post.  

He still remembered contacting Xie Xiaobao a few days ago, when Xiaobao told him he was going to stay in the mountains for a while.  

The mountain signal was poor, so he said not to contact him for now.  

Unexpectedly, just a few days later, the person who was supposed to be in the mountains appeared at the city center plaza, looking quite happy.  

He Yu stared at the post for a while, then suddenly smiled.  

“Looks like I was still too gentle.”