Future Pet Shop

Chapter 242: Skateboard Boy Hah’Er

Just as Shen Yibin was preparing to head to the park with Shi Gaofei for their workout, feeling like a man headed to the execution grounds, he saw Hah’Er curiously examining the roller skates he had tossed into the storage room a couple of days ago. The panda was lifting one of its paws, trying to put on a skate, and Sylvie was at its side, helping.

’Whoa, since when are you interested in these things? Aren’t you afraid of getting bruised all over?’ Shen Yibin subconsciously rubbed his own knee. That was where he’d landed last time he wore the roller skates and Shi Gaofei tripped him. He definitely didn’t want Hah’Er to follow in his footsteps; Shen Yibin’s heart would break if Hah’Er got hurt.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, these aren’t really for you. How about we just forget it?" Shen Yibin rushed forward, trying to pry the roller skates from Hah’Er’s paws.

"Hmph!" Hah’Er hugged the roller skates tightly, refusing to let go. It seemed genuinely interested in them, maybe because it saw Shen Yibin using them last time and thought it looked fun.

"I know you’re worried about its safety, but I think it won’t know if roller skating is right for it until it tries." Sylvie had taken psychology courses and sounded perfectly reasonable when she explained things. "Just forbidding it will only make it more defiant." This immediately put Shen Yibin in a bind.

"So, when you can, and you see it doing something you don’t like, the best approach is to take precautions and then let it try. Once it realizes the consequences are more than it can handle, it probably won’t want to try again, even if you shove the skates into its arms." Sylvie pressed her advantage. In her eyes, with both her and Shen Yibin watching, they’d be able to catch Hah’Er if it fell.

"Alright, fine. We’ll take you to the park to play with these." Shen Yibin threw his hands up in surrender. He realized he could never win an argument against Sylvie, and besides, what she said made a certain amount of sense.

So, Shen Yibin helped Hah’Er put on the roller skates. Since its paws were much smaller than Shen Yibin’s feet, he found some cloth to stuff inside the skates for a snugger fit.

"Okay, let’s go. I’ll hold on to you. You just try to take a few slow steps." Shen Yibin and Sylvie each took one of Hah’Er’s paws and helped it wobble to its feet. With their support, Hah’Er successfully made it to the park.

"You watch over it for a bit. I’m going to take Shi Gaofei for a few laps." With Hah’Er on roller skates, Shen Yibin definitely couldn’t trust it to run with Shi Gaofei. That meant he’d have to complete today’s mandatory four laps with Shi Gaofei all by himself. He had hoped for an easier day, but his burden had only grown heavier.

"Go on, with Shi Xuan and me here, nothing will go wrong." Sylvie took Hah’Er’s paw from Shen Yibin and passed it to Xia Shixuan.

"You sweet little baby, I’ll protect you." This seemed to be the first time Xia Shixuan had really played with Hah’Er, and she was a little excited. ’Looks like applying for a job at this store was a brilliant decision. Playing with Hah’Er is way more fun than shopping all the time or trying to pick up cute guys at bars.’

"Hmph!" Before she could even get a firm grip, Hah’Er impatiently tried to skate off. Its paws slipped from under it, and it fell backward. Thankfully, Sylvie reacted in a flash and kept the back of Hah’Er’s head from hitting the ground.

After that close call, Xia Shixuan and Sylvie tightened their watch over Hah’Er. Flanking it on both sides, they each held a paw, protecting it as it slowly learned to skate. Meanwhile, by the lake, a miserable Shen Yibin was being dragged along at a full sprint by Shi Gaofei.

’It doesn’t seem to have much of a talent for this.’ After half an hour of practice, Hah’Er still hadn’t gotten the hang of roller skating. It couldn’t manage more than a slow walk before falling over. If Sylvie and Xia Shixuan hadn’t been there to protect it, the little guy probably would have cried from all the falls long ago. But maybe because it hadn’t yet taken a truly hard tumble, it was still full of enthusiasm for the activity. It even tried to pull its paws free from their grasp to skate on its own.

Then, seizing the opportunity while Sylvie was giving a drink of water to an exhausted Shen Yibin, Hah’Er finally wriggled free from Xia Shixuan’s grasp. And then... after gliding just two steps, it went down with a solid THUD. Tears began to stream down its face. The sight broke the hearts of all three onlookers. Xia Shixuan, blaming herself repeatedly, rushed forward to rub the spot where Hah’Er had gotten hurt.

But even so, Hah’Er refused to take off the roller skates. It struggled to get up and try again. Shen Yibin saw how determined it was. He glanced around; they were on soft ground, with no bricks or stones nearby. ’Even if it falls, it’ll just hurt for a little while. Nothing serious will happen.’ So he tried to persuade her, "Just let it play a little longer. It’ll probably give up once the pain gets to be too much."

A moment ago, Sylvie had been persuading him; now it was his turn to persuade Xia Shixuan.

"But..." Xia Shixuan was still hesitant. However, after some joint persuasion from both Sylvie and Shen Yibin, she finally let go of Hah’Er’s paw. She watched as Hah’Er began to skate again, and then... it fell once more, its big head smacking right into the ground.

"Oof..." Hah’Er rubbed its head pitifully, but still refused to give up. It wobbled back to its feet, only to fall down yet again.

"Hah’Er is barely steady just walking on its hind legs; trying to roller skate is a bit of a stretch," Sylvie said, shaking her head. "How about we buy it another pair of skates? Maybe it would be better if it wore them on all four paws?"

"Hey, that’s an idea! Being on all fours has to be more stable than just two hind paws, right? I think I’ve seen videos online of dogs on skateboards. If dogs can do it, Hah’Er should have no problem." Shen Yibin nodded. He felt Sylvie’s suggestion was a great way to indulge Hah’Er’s obsession with skating while also keeping it from falling so much.

"If that’s the plan, wouldn’t a skateboard be even better?" Xia Shixuan chimed in. "A skateboard has to be safer than roller skates, right?"

The three of them went back and forth, and quickly came up with a plan. Shen Yibin rubbed his aching legs and got to his feet. He went over to Hah’Er and, after a good deal of coaxing, finally convinced it to stop practicing for the day and head back to the store with them.

Before Shen Yibin could even ask, Xia Shixuan volunteered for the skateboard-buying mission. She and Sylvie got into her Phaeton, found a skate shop on the map, and started the car to head over.

In less than an hour, they returned with a skateboard. The new toy immediately drew Hah’Er’s attention away from the roller skates. It curiously climbed onto the board.