Chapter 4: Pao Pei Hatches from the Egg
Having a personal dimension made Xiao Mei's worries about where to stash things disappear. She began making a list of essential supplies to buy. Aside from food, household medicines were a must—after all, if she got sick, where could she find a doctor to treat her? And don't forget the important items for women—what would she do when Aunt Red comes and there's no sanitary pads, right? She browsed the internet for a list of things to prepare when going camping. Some of these things needed to be stocked up just in case.
Xiao Mei was busy ordering this and that, but in the end, she was faced with the harsh reality: she didn't have enough money!!!
Being poor was terrifying... and now, she was poor. All she had left was just enough to get back home! The more she thought about it, the sadder she became. When she got sad, she lost the energy to do anything. Xiao Mei lay flat on the bed, sighing quietly. Most people would go to the beach to sit idly, but she could only lie around on the bed being lazy! After tossing and turning for a while, she buried her face in the pillow and muttered in a muffled voice, "Pao Pei… we only have this much money, how are we supposed to manage? I want to buy a hundred-pound cake!!!!"
Pao Pei, seeing his master in such a downcast mood, sighed with irritation. This woman!!! She was already worn out over so little.
"You can buy whatever you want when we get to Grandma's house. Just pick out a little bit of what you can afford," it said, curling up under the pillow. It needed warmth—its time to hatch from the egg was approaching.
"When you don't know what to do, eat hot pot," Xiao Mei said, sitting up from the bed. She grabbed Pao Pei and decided to go to her favorite hot pot restaurant. She ordered a bunch to stock up in her dimension. Whenever she wanted to eat, she could just take it out.
No matter what happens, in life, people must 'eat well and sleep warm!!!'
After Xiao Mei finished her hot pot, she bought several types of food she liked and stocked them up in her dimension. After all, it wouldn't spoil, and having a lot stored up was always better.
The little dimensional spirit was diligently organizing the food she had bought, building shelves and categorizing everything she had stored. It seemed that without it, as Pao Pei had said, she would be in trouble.
Returning home, Xiao Mei looked at the little dimensional spirit organizing the items curiously.
"Little spirit, can you go outside the dimension? You're doing such a good job. If you help me clean the house, it'll surely be spotless, right?"
"Not yet... You have to become a bit stronger before I can," it replied, lifting a hot pot set she had bought and climbing up to place it on the top shelf.
The little spirit, shaped like an emperor penguin, was so round that it almost seemed to roll as it walked, but it was surprisingly nimble, handling tasks quickly. Xiao Mei watched it work for half the day without getting bored. 'So cute!'
That night, Xiao Mei went to bed earlier than usual, and she slept for nearly ten hours, exhausted. Maybe it was because the past two or three days had been filled with worries that drained her body. Once she lay down, she slept soundly, not wanting to wake up.
She dreamed… In the dream, she was running from zombies in a panic. The entire city was full of zombies! She ran until she was out of breath, and just as she was about to collapse, she woke up.
But when she woke up, she still had to run!!! It was too late! She had been running away from zombies in her dream, and now she had to rush to catch her flight!
Xiao Mei barely made it in time for check-in at the airport. She squeezed past the large foreign passengers to sit in her seat. Since she spoke English well, she managed to get a seat by the window next to the emergency exit. Xiao Mei secretly petted Pao Pei, who was tucked in her bag, and looked out the window at the bright sky. It would be such a shame if one day this beautiful world were to fall apart. Would there still be trees, leaves, and fresh air? If the apocalypse really came, what would the government do about it?
After almost two hours on the plane, Xiao Mei felt Pao Pei's body heat rising in her bag as they were landing. She became anxious, but she had to wait until the staff signaled they could disembark. Once off the plane, she rushed to the bathroom to check on him.
"Why are you so hot? What's happening?" Xiao Mei asked frantically.
Pao Pei was shaking slightly, and its temperature had risen so much that it almost burned her hand. It told her, its voice strained, "Master, what do you want me to look like? Show me a picture."
Xiao Mei quickly pulled out her phone and opened the picture she had prepared for Pao Pei to look at. It had told her that it could transform into any form she liked. Guardians had no fixed form, and they were incredibly rare, almost one per galaxy. The ability to shape-shift was a bloodline skill of theirs.
Xiao Mei watched as the eggshell slowly cracked open, a small round head popping out first, covered in messy white feathers. As soon as Pao Pei fully emerged, it began nibbling on the eggshell that had wrapped around it. She stared at the little guardian, her eyes unblinking. It looked just like the picture she had shown—an adorable, round white tiger cub with pointy ears like a cat, tiny teeth, a pink tongue, and a pink nose. Its paws were like mangosteen flesh, and tiny, sharp claws peeked out. Its eyes were a bit annoyed but full of wild instincts. Overall, it was so cute it almost hurt. Xiao Mei fell in love with this little guardian at first sight.
"Squee! Pao Pei, you're so cute!" Xiao Mei covered her mouth, letting out a soft squeal.
"Master, eat this quickly," Pao Pei said, offering a small piece of eggshell to her. It had stopped itself from eating it all, leaving her a piece the size of a melon seed.
Xiao Mei didn't hesitate. She popped it into her mouth and barely chewed before swallowing. The eggshell had no taste, but it felt warm as she ate it. After swallowing, she asked, "You seemed to like it a lot. Why did you save me some?"
"The first eggshell of a Guardian gives us strong energy. Guardians must eat it to inherit energy through their bloodline. It's only beneficial for you, Master."
If it weren't for its weak master being as soft as tofu, Pao Pei would never have shared the eggshell.
"So, I'll become stronger, right?" Xiao Mei lifted Pao Pei and said, "Thank you... Pao Pei, you're the best!" She placed Pao Pei back into her large tote bag. Now, it was a little tiger cub, and it was technically illegal to own it without permission. If anyone saw it, she would definitely be caught.
"Stay hidden in here until we get home, okay?"