Chapter Thirty: Little, Little Apple (1/2)

Thankfully, Xiao Yu’s prayer did not go unheard. Yan Jin, who was a light sleeper, was woken up by Xiao Yu very quickly.

“Fishy?” Yan Jin opened his bedside lamp, adjusted to the brightness, then promptly flew off the bed.

Xiao Yu laid limply on Yan Jin’s palm listlessly.

“Squeakkk…” Stomach pain…

Yan Jin did not understand what Xiao Yu was trying to say but knew he for sure knew that Fishy was not feeling well. When he got closer to the cage, he could smell an odor and spotted some slimy substance at Fishy’s toilet area.

Yan Jin recalled the pizza they ate earlier and guessed that Xiao Yu might have had an upset stomach from it. He took a towel and folded it into several layers and placed Xiao Yu on top of it as he picked up his phone.

Twenty minutes later.

“If it’s not because I have an emergency operation tonight, I swear that I wouldn’t be coming here, I swear.” Chu Ge nagged as he entered the house. The doctor did not even have time to take off his white robe as he reeked of disinfectant from head to toe.

Having said that, this was the first time Chu Ge was summoned at two a.m. in the morning and that was new to Chu Ge. Even without that emergency operation, Chu Ge would probably do everything possible to get here.

After all, he was tortured by Yan Jin from a young age.

“Fishy seemed to have an upset stomach.” Yan Jin used the damp paper towel that was dipped with warm water to wipe Xiao Yu’s lips. Xiao Yu did not even have any strength left to raise his head as he laid on the towel with his eyes closed.

Although Chu Ge had come from a thousand miles away, he had no idea about what exactly happened. So, he decided to understand the situation first.

“What did he eat?”

“Pizza.”

“Pizza? Haven’t I told you that hamsters can’t eat human food?”

“You only said not to feed those that often.” Yan Jin reminded.

“Fine, fine. My fault.”

If it was just diarrhea then there would be no major issues, he could just give it some medicine. If it was really serious, then he could probably get his stomach pumped and problem solved. But, that was only if Chu Ge was dealing with a human.

Chu Ge wondered if a hamster could eat human medicine?

From the perspective of anatomy, the structure of their digestive system did look similar.

“What should we do? When you were on your way, he had diarrhea twice.” Yan Jin asked anxiously.

“… shall we try to feed him some apples?” Chu Ge suggested hesitantly.

“What?”

“Apple, APPLE. Those organic acids might help.”

Yan Jin did not look convinced: “Will it be useful?”

“We have to try even if it’s useless, young master. It’s like three to four hours before the sun rises again. Have you made an emergency appointment?”

“I did. They said to observe his situation first. If it’s not wet tail then there’s no need to rush. The vets are already on their way here.” Yan Jin pointed at Xiao Yu’s butt, “There’s no wetness around his tail, I’ve touched it.”

The weak Xiao Yu silently blushed. His tail was so short that it was barely visible, which meant to say that Yan Jin was practically touching his butt on purpose.

Chu Ge was a little frustrated: “You’ve already made the emergency appointment. Then what did you ask me to come over for?”

Yan Jin replied faintly: “Just in case.”

“… fine, asshole.”

Chu Ge poked Xiao Yu with his finger but did not receive any reaction in return.

“It’s probably feeling unwell – it’s not even biting back.” Although that was meant as a joke, Chu Ge was in fact quite worried as well. He knew how Yan Jin valued this hamster, and as a doctor, he did not want to see a life disappear just like that.

“Place a hot-water bag underneath the towel and switch off the air conditioner for the time being.” Chu Ge instructed.

Yan Jin switched off the air-conditioner as instructed. Noticing that there was no hot-water bag in the house, he quickly made a call to the veterinarian who was on the way to grab a hot-water bag from a nearby convenience store. Chu Ge went to cook the apple and sliced the unpeeled apple before he tried to feed it to Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu was so unwell that he did not want to eat anything, but he knew that it was for his own good. So, he forced himself to nibble two mouthfuls, and then laid back limply on the towel.

“Squeak.” I can’t eat anymore.

“Just one more bite okay? Be nice, Fishy.”

Xiao Yu refused to budge nor was he willing to open his mouth.

Chu Ge: I’m a surgeon, not a pediatrician. I really am not good at coaxing.

Helpless, Chu Ge sent his SOS gaze towards Yan Jin.

Yan Jin took over the small spoon in one hand as his other hand gently grabbed Xiao Yu upwards. He placed the small spoon to Xiao Yu’s mouth and said quietly, “Fishy, open up.”

Xiao Yu cooperatively opened his mouth and obediently swallowed a mouthful of apple.

Chu Ge was between laughter and tears: “This is so unfair?”

Xiao Yu ignored Chu Ge’s protest. In his heart, he thought that it was a privilege to be fed by Yan Jin, probably because no one else in this world had such treatment yet. Putting aside that his stomach was not feeling well, even if he was dead, he would probably spring up alive again to be fed.

About another half an hour later, the veterinarian arrived. Meanwhile, Xiao Yu stopped having diarrhea. He wondered if it was due to the cooked apple taking effect (or perhaps it was because he was fed by Yan Jin?), but Xiao Yu no longer felt as bad as before. The veterinarian checked on the hamster’s condition and announced that there were no big issues.

“A reminder to not overfeed him from now on. Every meal should be a fixed amount and do not let him overeat once it’s past the limit. And of course, hamsters should not be given human food for consumption. It’s okay to tease it with food but not too often. Don’t panic when he has diarrhea, just feed him some apples. It’ll be good if he gets well from there, but if it’s bad then you can buy some medicine to give to him instead. I’ll write down those medicine names for you…”

Finally, the veterinarian tactfully concluded, “Next time, don’t ask for an emergency appointment if the problem isn’t too big. After all, house call expenses aren’t cheap…”

Yan Jin conveniently asked, “How much do you earn in a month? Including the house calls.”

The veterinarian paused for a moment. By right these kinds of questions should not be answered, but for some unknown reason, the veterinarian decided to answer with the truth: “When the times are good, probably close to ten thousand, when it’s bad…”

“I’ll hire you for twenty thousand — you’ll be Fishy’s private doctor.” Yan Jin gently caressed Xiao Yu’s back, making that little hamster comfortably lie on the towel as he melted into a hamster pancake.

“You can continue to work at the veterinary clinic. Try not to do house calls so that I can contact you when needed.”