The Smart Xiao Bao

Li Yanmei held on to Xiao Bao's paw as she led him back to the cozy couch he had been sitting on before.

She had a hypothesis in her mind that she wanted to test, a theory that could possibly explain one of the many hidden mysteries of this amazing dreamscape.

With that thought in mind, she helped Xiao Bao sit down on the soft cushions and then sat next to him, keeping her fingers wrapped around his fluffy paw.

She was ready to start her experiment, her eyes shining with excitement and curiosity.

She watched as the dream world changed around her.

As long as she touched Xiao Bao's hand, everything became solid and real!

"Cool!" Li Yanmei couldn't help but exclaim.

She could feel the texture of the couch, the warmth of his furry onesie, the weight of his body. But as soon as she let go of his hand, everything became ghostly and intangible again.

She felt a surge of wonder and joy, realizing that she had found a way to interact with the dreamscape.

"This shouldn't be a coincidence, right?" Li Yanmei asked no one in particular.

Standing up from the couch, she let go of Xiao Bao's hand for a moment then reached out to touch the couch. As she expected, her hand went through it like air.

She grabbed Xiao Bao's hand again and tried to touch the couch once more. This time, her hand met resistance. The couch was solid again, just like before.

Xiao Bao looked at Li Yanmei with confusion and fascination. He didn't understand what she was doing or why she was doing it, but he found it interesting.

He tilted his head and asked in a sweet voice, "Pretty sister, what are you doing?"

Li Yanmei froze for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed for looking stupid doing all those things just to prove her hypothesis—and at the same time, feeling flattered for receiving such compliment.

Aside from her family, no one had ever called her pretty.

With an awkward laugh, she gently pinched Xiao Bao's chubby cheeks and said, "You're quite a charmer, aren't you, cutie pie?"

Xiao Bao merely answered with a playful giggle, his round eyes looking at her with innocence.

Li Yanmei's stone heart melted at his cuteness. "Sister Meimei is trying something out just now, sweetie."

"Experiment?" Xiao Bao's young voice carried a surprising clarity, displaying a level of understanding beyond his tender age.

Li Yanmei nodded, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. "Yes, an experiment. Do you want to see something amazing?"

Xiao Bao listened with wonder as she started to explain her hypothesis while demonstrating how it worked, his eyes growing bigger and bigger.

At the end of her explanation, Xiao Bao clapped his paws and shouted, "That's awesome!"

A faint smile made its way on Li Yanmei's face.

'This child looked really lovely!' she thought.

However, she couldn't stop wondering about the reason why she was brought in this child's dream world.

Yue hadn't given her any further instructions yet, and she also hadn't met the other members of the Midnight Society.

Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder if they had forgotten about her already.

Nonetheless, she would just let nature take its course.

While she was lost in thought, Li Yanmei once again heard the modulated voice of the scientist speaking on the television, bringing her attention to the footage of real pandas living in nature reserve areas being shown on the screen.

"The giant panda was classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species from 1990 to 2016, when it was downgraded to vulnerable due to its population recovery. However, it still faces threats from habitat loss and fragmentation, climate change, human-wildlife conflict, and disease..."

On the other hand, Xiao Bao held the remote control in between his paws as he listened with rapt attention as the scientist showed and explained the graph of the population of pandas in China from 1985 to 2020.

Li Yanmei glanced at his serious yet adorable expression, wondering if he could really understand what was being said.

"See, this is a graph of the population of pandas in China from 1985 to 2020," the scientist continued. "The blue dots are the actual data points, and the red curve is the best-fit curve using the formula P(t) is equal P(0) multiplied by e raised to (rt)."

To her surprise and further astonishment, Xiao Bao stood up and pointed at the numbers on the screen.

"The data says that P0 is about 1,114 and r is about 0.017," he said. "So that means that in 1985, there were about 1,114 pandas in China, and their population was growing by about 1.7% per year. Am I right, pretty sister?"

"That's amazing, Xiao Bao!" Li Yanmei marveled. "So what does that tell us about the future of pandas?"

"Well, we can use the formula to predict how many pandas there will be in any year," Xiao Bao said matter-of-factly. "For example, if we want to know how many pandas there will be in 2030, we just plug in t equals 45, because 2030 is 45 years after 1985. It will give us the answer of 2,038."

Li Yanmei nodded. "That's correct! That means that in 2030, there will be about 2,038 pandas in China."

A wide grin stretched across Xiao Bao's face, making his eyes narrow into crescents. "Yay! It means that pandas are not going extinct anytime soon!"

"Yes, it's good news. But!" Li Yanmei paused and held up a finger, "we still have to be careful and protect their habitat and food sources. Otherwise, their growth rate might change and their population might decline again."

Xiao Bao titled his head and pinched his own cheeks using his paws as he pondered over her advice.

Li Yanmei let him digest her words as she silently looked at the blank television screen.

The television turned off on its own, as if losing its power source.

And that "power source" being the owner of this dreamscape!

As that realization dawned upon her, Xiao Bao's furry paw tugged at the fabric of her shirt, capturing her attention.

"Pretty sister, pretty sister! I have an idea!"

Xiao Bao spoke excitedly, his eyes sparkling with a gleam of anticipation, which radiated an infectious energy that enveloped her.

Curiosity danced within her gaze as Li Yanmei looked at the child.

Her voice carried a blend of warmth and intrigue as she asked, "What idea did Xiao Bao come up with?"

With a beaming smile stretching across his cherubic face, he announced his plan, his words imbued with the innocent audacity of childhood dreams.

"Pretty sister, I'll tell Daddy to build a huge park for the pandas!"