All My Colleagues Are Animals 4

Chapter 4

Ye Qingyu was completely unaware that on her very first day, she had managed to provoke the formation of a small animal avengers’ league.

Therefore, when she was summoned to the boss’s office, she was even more oblivious to the judgment she was about to face.

“Boss Pei.”

Pei Rong looked up at Ye Qingyu, who was standing in front of her desk.

The young woman stood as straight as bamboo, her lovely, delicate face as fresh and tender as a bamboo leaf soaked in spring rain.

Mmm, just like the kind red pandas love to eat.

So how could she possibly be a criminal?

Just now on the scholar tree, she had been groggily woken up, her mind not yet clear. Amidst the tearful, chirping accusations of the small animals, she had rashly convicted and sentenced the human.

But after waking up properly, she realized that from Ye Qingyu’s perspective, it must have been a completely different story.

Judge Pei was never shy about admitting her mistakes, so she immediately decided to hold a second hearing.

And so, the fluffy plaintiffs were now sitting in a row on her lap, ready to hear the defendant Ye Qingyu’s testimony.

“Have a seat.”

After the young woman sat down, Pei Rong’s peach blossom eyes curved into a smile. She propped up her chin and asked softly, “Did you have a look around just now? How did you find it?”

Ye Qingyu blinked, once again marveling at her new boss’s gentleness and consideration, always personally taking the time to care for a new employee like herself.

The studio environment was beautiful, and she genuinely liked it, so her praise was sincere.

After finishing her compliments, she paused, unable to stop thinking about the trapped calico cat in the gym and the guinea pig that had fallen into the water.

It was truly dangerous, so after a moment’s hesitation, she decided to bring it up.

“But I ran into a few small animals on my way…”

Pei Rong’s eyes lit up. She held down the plaintiffs on her lap, who were beginning to stir restlessly, and nodded for Ye Qingyu to continue.

“I saw a cat trapped on the treadmill in the gym. The belt was going really fast, it would be so easy for the cat to injure its paws…”

Ye Qingyu added, “It was your clever and cute calico cat, Boss Pei.”

The one that even closes the window for its owner when it rains.

“!!”

The calico cat, suddenly praised, did a somersault on Pei Rong’s lap to hide its embarrassment. It lifted a paw and began to lick itself, but its ears were pricked high.

“Then later, I found a guinea pig that had fallen into the pool in the backyard. I fished it out.”

Ye Qingyu continued, “I dried its fur and paws and put it in the sun. It shouldn’t catch a cold.”

The guinea pig’s little colorpoint ears twitched.

So this human wasn’t jealous of my swimming form? She was actually worried about me catching a cold?

Her palm was tickled by antennae. Pei Rong glanced down at the little bumblebee victim, who could wait no longer, and continued her interrogation of the defendant with practiced ease.

“You did very well. I’ll tell the housekeeper to be more careful in the future.” She tilted her head and said slowly, “Also, spring is here, so it’s inevitable there will be some small insects in the building. I was wondering if you’re afraid of them.”

Boss Pei’s tone was casual and relaxed, but her words carried a delicate concern.

Ye Qingyu’s heart warmed. Meeting the woman’s gentle peach blossom eyes, she chatted with a rare sense of ease. “Not at all. I even met a little bee today that was a great dancer. It got lost in the study, so I used a fan to help it out the window.”

A great dancer…

The little bumblebee wiggled its fluffy butt, feeling a bit smug. Its performance hadn’t been a total waste, then.

At this point in the retrial, the suspect had basically cleared her name.

But Judge Pei’s feelings were a little complicated.

She pursed her lips, preparing to dismiss the court, when her eyes caught sight of something red in the mini bucket with wheels on her desk.

Oh, it was the final victim she had accidentally forgotten: the mantis shrimp.

Wait, why is the shrimp cooked?!

Pei Rong’s heart skipped a beat. She leaned in for a closer look.

It wasn’t cooked yet, just puffed up and red from anger.

She soothingly reached a slender finger in to stroke the shrimp’s head, then looked up and added a question to the interrogation. “Oh, right, did you happen to go to the kitchen? There was a mantis shrimp there…”

“I saw it.”

Ye Qingyu felt like Boss Pei was trying to make small talk, but she still answered her concern seriously. “Are you planning to cook it for lunch?”

Cooked. This time it’s really going to be cooked.

Pei Rong glanced at the mantis shrimp under her fingertip, which was silently turning an even deeper shade of red. Her eyelashes trembled.

How was she supposed to tell Ye Qingyu that this wasn’t an ingredient, but the head chef?

Ye Qingyu saw the light in Boss Pei’s peach blossom eyes suddenly dim.

Her breath caught. Her mind raced, and she instantly understood: that shrimp was also one of Boss Pei’s pets.

Everything made sense now.

When Boss Pei asked if she liked animals during the first interview, it was a screening process, but also a warning—there would be many small animals in the studio, and as a new employee, she needed to care for them.

Ye Qingyu was overcome with self-reproach. Anyone would be hurt if they heard someone suggest cooking their beloved pet.

With that thought, her ears seemed to droop slightly. She sat up straight and said to Pei Rong with utmost sincerity:

“It would be better not to cook it. That mantis shrimp looks very well-cared-for, a particularly beautiful light blue color. It’s the most lively and handsome shrimp I’ve ever seen.”

A certain shrimp was quietly changing color.

As if to live up to the human’s praise of “particularly beautiful,” the reddish mantis shrimp in the mini bucket cooled down, revealing its noble, light-blue hue, and even gave a smug flick of its tail.

A few drops of water splashed onto the desk.

The plaintiffs were a little too easy to placate.

With just a few words of explanation from the human across from them, whether intentional or not, they had all quickly let go of their anger.

However, a certain red panda was gradually becoming unhappy.

The other small animals, whether lying on her lap or nestled in the water, couldn’t see Ye Qingyu. But Pei Rong had been facing her the entire time.

She could tell that Ye Qingyu truly liked small animals, just as she had said in the interview. That’s why she would help them without hesitation when they were in trouble and would genuinely appreciate their cuteness.

When she spoke softly about those things, her delicate features and clear, gentle voice exuded a natural patience and tenderness.

At first, Pei Rong had been watching, captivated. But then, a belated sense of displeasure began to creep in.

Ye Qingyu had praised so many small animals—clever and cute, a great dancer—but she hadn’t praised her, Pei the Red Panda, with a single word.

Not a single word!

Ye Qingyu had even dried the guinea pig’s fur and paws.

No one ever dried her, Pei the Red Panda’s, fur and paws after her bath!

And Ye Qingyu had even said the light blue color was “particularly beautiful.”

Why had Ye Qingyu never said her, the red panda’s, reddish-brown fur was beautiful?

She’s the human I’m raising. She should only like me, only wag her tail for me.

As Ye Qingyu was speaking, she saw a flicker in Boss Pei’s glistening peach blossom eyes. It seemed she was getting emotional.

Her heart immediately clenched, and she quickly tried to recall if she had said something wrong.

While she was thinking, she failed to notice the office door slowly creak open about a foot. One by one, the fluffy plaintiffs slipped out through the gap. The calico cat at the end of the line even gently pushed the little bucket on wheels, transporting the mantis shrimp out as well.

After everyone was out, the guinea pig gave the door a shove with its round, chubby butt, and it clicked shut.

Click.

The sound was a little loud. Ye Qingyu subconsciously started to look toward the door, but then she saw the silent, beautiful boss across from her suddenly slump back bonelessly.

When she looked at her again, her peach blossom eyes seemed a little misty.

“So, are red pandas still your favorite?”

Ye Qingyu froze. For some reason, the woman’s glistening eyes made her heart tighten.

So, although she didn’t understand why, she still answered earnestly, just as she had in the interview: “Yes, I love red pandas the most.”

“…”

Pei Rong mulled it over for a few seconds, automatically adding a “Pei” in front of “red pandas,” and felt slightly more satisfied.

But she still wasn’t happy.

“Then peel me some mangosteens,” she said, lifting her chin.

That’s right. Although the defendant before her seemed innocent, and the placated fluffy plaintiffs had all indicated they wanted to drop the charges, Judge Pei had decided to uphold the original verdict.

In short, until Ye Qingyu praised her and dried her fur and paws, she was guilty of heinous crimes.

She needed to be punished properly.

But her newly-raised human clearly had no such penitent awareness. After she said, “peel me some mangosteens,” her pupils constricted, her expression a mix of surprise and confusion.

The air fell into a strange, delicate silence.

Ye Qingyu’s slender, fair fingers twitched, clutching the cuff of her sleeve.

Since they’d met, this beautiful boss, despite occasionally saying strange things like “you’re my little animal” and “let me see your hands,” had generally given her the impression of being very gentle and considerate.

But now, she seemed to be showing a hint of being spoiled.

The most absurd part was that she found it vaguely familiar, so familiar that a part of her head began to ache.

After waiting a moment and seeing that Ye Qingyu was just staring at her without a word, Pei Rong blinked her peach blossom eyes innocently.

Is peeling mangosteens that hard?

Could it be that Ye Qingyu’s beautiful hands are all for show and no use?

At this thought, Pei Rong couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. Her brows furrowed slightly.

They can’t be useless!