"A little while ago, a few of us were downstairs watching Qianqian play the guitar, Cheeky sing, and Egg and Hah’Er dance," Bai Yanni said nervously. "But Qianqian had to leave for work soon, so we walked her to the entrance. It was a bit hard to hail a cab right there, so she went to the intersection up ahead. When we got back, we realized Egg was gone. I checked the surveillance footage. It went out the door and turned left, the opposite direction from us."
"Left? Where did it go after leaving?" Shen Yibin looked at Cheeky and Hah’Er. "You two couldn’t keep an eye on it?"
"The surveillance cara at your shop entrance doesn’t have a wide range. It was out of sight not long after it left," Bai Yanni offered. "Should I call the station and have them pull up other surveillance footage?"
"That idiot went to the storage room to get pet food, and I followed him in. By the ti we ca out, that new blockhead was gone." Cheeky’s tone held a hint of guilt; he clearly felt uneasy about not taking good care of the newcor.
"No need. Let think where it could have gone." It was only then that Shen Yibin rembered the newly installed pet tracker. Maybe he could find Egg’s location on it.
With that, he took out his phone and opened the pet tracker. On the map, the green dot with the panda icon and the yellow dot with the parrot icon were right next to him. Only the blue dot with the Raccoon Cat icon was to their left, and it seed to be moving. "It must have gone to the residential area on the left. Officer Bai, let’s the two of us go find it. Sylvie, you stay here in the shop and look after Hah’Er and Cheeky." Shen Yibin quickly pinpointed Egg’s location.
"I want to go too!"
"Take with you." Sylvie and Cheeky spoke at almost the sa ti. Hah’Er also shook its head, protesting Shen Yibin’s arrangent. All three of them wanted to find Egg as soon as possible.
"Fine. Just lock the door on your way out." Shen Yibin didn’t have ti to argue with them, so he nodded in agreent. This was Baiyun Street, after all, and the people here were already used to the sight of Hah’Er and Egg. It probably wouldn’t cause any problems.
Quickly locking the shop door, Shen Yibin jogged in the direction indicated by the pet tracker. Bai Yanni, Sylvie, and Hah’Er followed close behind. As for Cheeky, it simply perched on Shen Yibin’s shoulder.
’Huh? Is that music I hear?’ After jogging for over two hundred ters, a suspicion began to form in Shen Yibin’s mind. ’Don’t tell that little guy heard music. He didn’t get to dance his fill in the shop earlier, so when he heard more music, he just ran off?’
"Cheeky, do you hear music?" Shen Yibin pointed ahead. "Fly over there and see if Egg is there."
"Okay, but you guys hurry up too!" With that, Cheeky flapped its wings and took flight, following the sound of the music. It soon disappeared around the street corner.
Soon, they rounded the corner as well, and the music grew louder. A familiar tune reached their ears, "The boundless horizon is my love, flowers bloom at the foot of the rolling green mountains. What kind of rhythm is the most, most swaying? What kind of song is the most joyful..."
Looking ahead, the plaza in front of the Baiyun District gate was brilliantly lit. It was packed with dozens of people dancing to the music. Yep, this was the ever-popular plaza dancing.
The dozens of people were arranged in neat rows, facing the district’s flowerbeds. On either side of the flowerbeds sat two huge speakers, blasting out rhythmic music.
’Huh? Doesn’t Mrs. Wang usually lead the dance from the front? Why isn’t she there today?’ Mrs. Wang from the tea shop next to Shen Yibin’s was a huge plaza dancing enthusiast and the leader of this very dance troupe. Every ti Shen Yibin passed by, he would see her at the front of the formation, demonstrating the moves for the others. But she didn’t seem to be there today.
’No way!’ Shen Yibin’s gaze followed the spot where Mrs. Wang usually stood, and he was instantly dumbfounded. There was Egg, that little rascal, standing on top of the flowerbed, happily swinging its arms, twisting its hips, and lifting its legs to the beat of the music, dancing with abandon.
And the dozens of plaza dancing enthusiasts it was facing were all mirroring its movents—swinging their arms, twisting their hips, and lifting their legs. No wonder Shen Yibin hadn’t seen Mrs. Wang. Egg had taken her place as the lead dancer!
"Bin, we were worried sick, and this little punk is over here happily dancing! If you ask , we should just go back. Forget this guy. Let it dance its heart out here," Cheeky squawked angrily as it flew back. It had thought Egg was in trouble, but the little guy was clearly having the ti of his life. It had made everyone worry for nothing, which really ticked Cheeky off.
"Wow, your country has so many dance lovers! Dancing here seems so much happier than dancing at a cocktail party in formal attire." Sylvie’s eyes sparkled with envy as she gazed at the crowd of young won, new wives, middle-aged ladies, and grandmas. "Can I go join them?"
’Now that she ntions it, it’s true. Look at the joyful smiles on the faces of all these young won, new wives, middle-aged ladies, and grandmas. It really does look much happier than the balls you see in movies. Holy crap, why can’t I stop my own hands and feet from twitching to the beat? This plaza dancing is seriously hypnotic!’
Shen Yibin quickly forced his limbs to stop moving. ’Dammit! If Sylvie wants to go, let her. You couldn’t pay to go out there.’ "Since we’ve found Egg, go ahead if you want to."
’Incredible. Not even a foreign princess can resist the charm of plaza dancing. The global conquest of Chinese culture is just around the corner!’ An image couldn’t help but pop into Shen Yibin’s mind: Sylvie leading the entire royal family of Sokovia, dancing happily to the dynamic rhythm of *Zuì Xuàn Mínzú Fēng* in their country’s most iconic public square.
’That scene is a real assault on the eyes. You’ve shattered the beautiful image of princesses I’ve had since childhood.’ Watching Sylvie excitedly join the dancing crowd, Shen Yibin thought he could hear the sound of his own heart breaking.
Bai Yanni’s eyes went wide as well, completely at a loss for words. This was not how she had imagined a princess, either.
"Hm?" Hah’Er scratched its head and tugged on Shen Yibin’s pants, seeming to want to join them in the dance.
"You are not allowed to go!" ’A princess doing plaza dancing is already reality-shattering enough. If a panda joins in, my entire childhood will be ruined.’
As they spoke, the song ca to an end. It seed to be ti for a break. The young won, new wives, middle-aged ladies, and grandmas stopped dancing and sward toward Egg. Holding up cups of water, drinks, and snacks, they offered them to Egg all at once, as if trying to curry favor with it.
’Egg, you’re amazing. You’ve already won over dozens of young won, new wives, middle-aged ladies, and grandmas this quickly?’
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