Urban Most Awesome Dad

“Off we go, to see Peppa Piggy!” Tongtong cheerfully chimed in.

With some suspicion, Ye Xiaoning looked at the two of them, then shrugged off her doubts and followed closely behind them.

Making their way into Changlong International Zoo, the group headed straight for the Asian Pavilion.

The Asian Pavilion housed animals unique to Asia, such as South China tigers and Asian elephants, among others.

Carrying Tongtong, Xu Fan quickly reached the information board at the entrance of the Asian Pavilion.

“My darling daughter, which little animal do you want to see? You pick,” Xu Fan said to Tongtong, pointing at the information board with hundreds of animals listed on it.

Tongtong, with her eyes wide open, peered up and down at the board. Upon spotting a photo of a black-and-white panda, she pointed at the chubby, adorable animal and said with a laugh, “Giggle. Daddy, Tongtong wants to see the big panda.”

“Alright, let’s go see the pandas,” Xu Fan said, hoisting Tongtong onto his shoulders and led the way, with Xu Yixue and Ye Xiaoning in tow, towards the direction of the Panda Park.

Despite carrying a kid weighing around thirty or forty pounds on his back, Xu Fan’s pace was still unaffected; he strode like the wind. Ye Xiaoning could keep up since, as a former special forces soldier, she had excellent physical fitness and was wearing sneakers. Xu Yixue, however, was struggling a bit. She had worn high heels, which, while elegant, were not made for speedy walking. To keep up with Xu Fan, she found herself short of breath before they even reached the halfway point.

Tongtong, showing some conscience, turned around and saw Xu Yixue laboring to keep up. Tongtong then called out to her, “Mommy, hurry up! You’re walking so slowly, just like a snail crawling.”

“Mommy is wearing high heels and can’t walk fast,” Xu Yixue stubbornly replied, giving Xu Fan a somewhat resentful glance.

This Xu Fan had only just begun to grow on her, and now he had reverted back to being a typical insensitive man, completely ignoring the walking pace of the two ladies. She had even fleetingly considered the prospect of spending her life with him just moments earlier.

“Daddy, daddy, mommy is wearing tall shoes and walking slowly. Let’s wait for mommy,” the little girl Tongtong whispered into Xu Fan’s ear.

“Okay,” Xu Fan responded nonchalantly, slowing down to wait for Xu Yixue to catch up and followed behind her.

Under Xu Yixue’s lead and after a three to four-minute walk, everyone finally arrived at the Panda Park.

Changlong International Zoo was home to four wild giant pandas, all of which had been brought in from a nature reserve in Sichuan and Shu Province. It was now basking time for the pandas, so there were already many tourists gathered outside the park, snapping away with their cellphones.

The Panda Park covered an area of nearly half an acre; built with artificial mountains, streams, houses, and hundreds of lush bamboo trees. Two of the pandas were frolicking under the artificial mountain, while the other two had climbed up the bamboo trees, lazily swinging on them like on a swing.

Having grown up in America, this was her first time seeing the rare and treasured giant pandas from Yan Country, and so her attention was entirely captivated by these round-bellied creatures with their distinctive black and white coloring.

“Haha, pandas are so cute! Daddy, daddy, look, that panda is swaying in the tree, isn’t it afraid of falling down?” Tongtong sat on Xu Fan’s shoulders, looking at the scene in Panda Park and let out bursts of exclamations.

“They climb trees often, so they won’t fall.” Xu Fan touched Little Tongtong’s head and said with a smile.

“Wow, Daddy, that panda is eating bamboo!” Tongtong pointed at another panda. She saw the fluffy giant panda snapping off a vibrant green bamboo, stripping the leaves with its paws with a rustling sound, and then it crunched and stuffed it into its mouth, chewing heartily.

“Giant pandas love to eat bamboo, just like elephants’ favorite food is bananas,” Xu Fan said, holding Tongtong’s constantly kicking legs, and patiently explained to her.

“Haha, they actually eat bamboo, so greedy. Tongtong can’t bite something this hard.” Tongtong used her little hands to mimic the length of the bamboo, patted her little belly, and spoke with a bit of surprise.

“Of course, Tongtong doesn’t have to eat bamboo. With Daddy here, I cook delicious food for Tongtong every day,” Xu Fan narrowed his eyes and spoke to Tongtong with a bit of bliss.

“Hmph! Tongtong grew up eating the food I cooked; I’m still the one who will make Tongtong’s meals in the future,” Ye Xiaoning said nonchalantly, puffing up toward Xu Fan.

“Auntie, the food Daddy makes is also very delicious. In the future, Tongtong will eat both Auntie’s and Daddy’s cooking,” Tongtong said, sitting on Xu Fan’s neck, pouting, and smiling at Ye Xiaoning.

“You little ingrate, with your dad around, you’ve completely forgotten about your auntie!” Ye Xiaoning said to Tongtong with a bit of melancholy.

“That won’t happen, Tongtong loves Auntie.” Tongtong blew Ye Xiaoning a kiss through the air, managing to coax a smile out of Ye Xiaoning.

“Daddy, Tongtong really wants to touch the giant panda,” Tongtong said to Xu Fan, batting her bright, sparkling eyes expectantly.

“No, you can’t go in; the zoo prohibits it, and the animals inside are wild animals with untamed natures. What if something unexpected happens?” Xu Yixue immediately said to Tongtong upon hearing her words.

Indeed, according to the zoo’s policies, aside from the zookeepers, no one is allowed to enter the zoo.

Not just Tongtong, many people longed to touch the giant pandas, but rules are rules, and everyone could only stand behind the enclosure and watch the giant pandas frolic from a distance.

That’s when Xu Fan’s face showed an indulgent smile as he wiggled Tongtong’s little feet and said, “Does Tongtong really want to touch the adorable giant pandas with her own hands?”

“Yes, yes, Tongtong really wants to touch them.” Tongtong nodded excitedly and said to Xu Fan.

“Xu Fan? What are you thinking of doing? I’m warning you, you can’t just take Tongtong over the railing. The zoo has its rules, and it won’t be good if you get caught breaking them,” Xu Yixue said seriously, seeing the eager look on Xu Fan’s face.

“Don’t worry, how could I let the zoo catch us? Tongtong, tell your mom who your dad is,” Xu Fan slowly said to Tongtong.

“Daddy is Tongtong’s Superman!” Tongtong hugged Xu Fan and declared blissfully.