All My Colleagues Are Animals 86p2

Chapter 86 – Part 2

At that time, the red panda had only been eighteen years old, and after transforming into her human form, she was a beautiful young girl.

A woman of about forty or fifty had happened to be passing by and had seen the young girl curled up on the roadside, trembling, her body stained with unknown blood, and her eyes full of panic and helplessness.

She had kindly taken the young girl home.

“Coincidentally, she was a veterinarian in the town, so I stayed on as an assistant.”

“I learned a thing or two from Mom. I’m not a red panda who just eats and does nothing.”

Pei the Little Able Cat boasted proudly.

Her mother was an excellent veterinarian, and the red panda, while accompanying her mother, had also learned a lot by osmosis.

And so, she had been able to stay on as an inexperienced veterinary assistant at the kind woman’s clinic and had decided to save up enough money to go and find her mother and younger sister.

But, although she knew a little about veterinary work, at that time, the red panda had also faced an even more difficult problem—

—speaking and reading.

A red panda had grown up with a human since she was little, so this should not have been difficult.

When Ye the Little Sprout had been learning Chinese characters and arithmetic, she had also been pulled along to learn.

Later, when Ye the Little Seedling had gone to school, she would seriously and paw-in-hand teach her the knowledge she had learned that day when she came home to do her homework.

But as a spoiled little red panda, she had been a slacker and had only eaten fruit, and her learning had been extremely sloppy.

It is only when a skill is needed that one regrets not having learned it.

She was not proficient in speaking and reading, and it was difficult for her to communicate with customers.

The customers in the shop had been dissatisfied several times, saying that she was deaf and mute, and had complained to the woman, asking for her to be replaced.

Fortunately, the woman had a daughter of the same age as the red panda who was studying in the city, and she had thus taken care of her with a certain maternal affection.

Although she had not done a good job, she had not been in a hurry to fire her either.

At that time, the red panda had been exceptionally hardworking.

She worked at the shop during the day, and at night, she would face a white wall and desperately practice speaking and reading.

She would repeatedly recall the expressions and tones of Yu Bao and her mother when they spoke, the shape of their mouths and their breaths, and she would try to imitate them.

She also took a tattered and worn-out early education book and, bit by bit, taught herself Chinese characters, studying diligently.

She was afraid that if she learned a little slower, she would lose this job and would not be able to earn money to find her family.

The smart little red panda only took a few months to basically be able to speak and read fluently.

Her job was secure, but there was a new problem—

A veterinarian’s life was meager, and she usually ate simple meals. The little red panda, with her sweet tooth, had not had fruit in a long time and would often cry secretly at night, craving fruit.

She was also getting thinner and thinner.

That day, she felt so sick from eating salted vegetables that she said carefully, “Excuse me, do you have any apples?”

The woman’s chopsticks paused, and a look of astonishment appeared on her face.

Only then did the little red panda know that the apples her mother and Yu Bao usually fed her were considered a luxury in this small town, and only the rich would eat them.

Let alone mangosteens.

She dejectedly reined in her thoughts.

Every day, she would eat, work, and save up her meager wages.

And so, half a year passed.

That day, the veterinarian auntie’s daughter came home.

At night, the little red panda got up from her little nest to get a drink of water and heard the mother and daughter in the master bedroom arguing.

“Mom, you’ve had this shop for so many years and have never hired an assistant. You hired her just to help her, right?”

“But to provide room and board, and also pay a salary, is a considerable expense. You’re so broke that you can’t even bear to buy a new pair of shoes when your own are worn out, and your toes are all red and swollen from frostbite…”

The daughter, after all, felt sorry for her mother, and as she spoke, she burst into tears.

“And, she has the money to dye her hair such a trendy color, and she even said she wants to eat apples. She must be the child of a rich family who ran away to play. Why did she have to come and bother us poor people…”

After hearing this, the little red panda quietly lowered her reddish-brown, fluffy head.

She packed her things overnight.

She carefully counted her money twice.

Although it was not much, it was enough to take a bus to the city.

She remembered that her mother and younger sister lived in the city, although she did not know if it was the same city.

At four o’clock that morning, she left quietly and set off for the market.

When she arrived at the market, the sky was just beginning to lighten, and there were few people on the road.

Passing by a fruit stall, she saw beautiful, round apples, and her peach blossom eyes lit up with craving, and she swallowed several times.

Her sweet-toothed instinct was leaping in her heart.

The money in her hand should have been enough to buy some, but…

When she had left, Yu Bao had been seriously injured, especially at the junction of her shoulder and back.

The little red panda decisively left the fruit stall and went to the medicine market on the side to buy a trauma ointment.

She then came to the accessory section and chose a silver bracelet with a little tree pendant.

When her mother was working, she would always put her long hair up for convenience. The little red panda bought her a beautiful hairpin.

In addition, she also bought a pair of shoes and quietly placed them at the entrance of the veterinary clinic, leaving behind the two large, not-so-skilled, and rounded characters for “Thank you.”

For these experiences, the little red panda omitted all the arduous parts.

She just, in front of Yu Bao, her mother, and her little mom, lightly flicked her large, fluffy tail and boasted majestically:

“At that time, I earned a lot of money as a veterinary assistant, so I decided to set off for the city.”

“In the morning, at the market, I bought ointment and a bracelet for Yu Bao, a hairpin for Mom, and also gave the veterinarian auntie a pair of cotton shoes, and then I left the small town with a cool and neat air.”

Ye Zhao’s throat was choked.

Her chest rose and fell, and she took several silent deep breaths before she managed to praise with a spirited tone, “Our Rong Bao is so thoughtful.”

Getting the praise she wanted, Pei the Little Able Cat flicked the tip of her tail with pleasure.

She thoughtfully took care of the only one present who had no gift. “If I had known Little Mom at that time, I would have bought something for you too.”

“…” Xiao Yu’s nose felt sore, and she chuckled lightly. “Mhm, what a good child.”

Ye Qingyu did not speak.

But Pei the Little Able Cat felt Ye Qingyu take a light sniff of her fluffy head.

When her cheek left, a certain unknown dampness was left behind.

Pei the Little Able Cat was slightly stunned.

Was Yu Bao so moved by her Jiejie’s amazingness that she cried?

Don’t worry, there’s more to come.

…

Having worked at the animal clinic for several months, the red panda had eaten and lived with the veterinarian and had also worn the veterinarian’s daughter’s old clothes every day, so she had barely spent a penny of her wages.

But after this consumption, there was not much money left.

But a red panda is amazing and can always earn money.

She confidently got on the bus from the small town to the city that day.

The bus was not very steady and was always bumpy, but the red panda’s mood was soaring.

The gifts for Yu Bao and her mother were placed in two beautiful brocade bags respectively.

The brocade bags were held tightly in her hand like precious treasures.

In the afternoon, the red panda arrived in the city smoothly.

Dense and dark clouds were gathering in the sky, and it seemed as if it were about to rain heavily.

But the red panda had no time for that.

She weaved through the crowd, tirelessly looking for female humans to ask:

“Excuse me, do you know where A Leaf Animal Hospital is?”

Most people shook their heads in a daze.

Some people thought for a moment and said, “It sounds a little familiar.”

“It seems I’ve seen it somewhere. Is the sign reddish-brown?”

The red panda’s heart was beating extremely fast.

—Mom and my younger sister are really in this city!

She had clearly not slept all night, and had also been tired from the long journey during the day, and she was already very tired.

But now, her whole being was full of spirit, and she was tirelessly asking everywhere with her gifts, and in her excitement, she had even forgotten her empty stomach.

BOOM—

A bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the dark sky, and a clap of thunder exploded.

Although a red panda is timid, her mind was filled with warm memories of thunderstormy days with her mother and Yu Bao, so she was not very afraid of these.

She did not stop and continued to ask passersby.

Later, a raindrop suddenly fell on the tip of her nose.

A heavy rain thus, caught off guard, drenched the little red panda.

The little red panda carefully covered the brocade bags and her money in her pocket. She was a little cold after being drenched, and her body trembled slightly.

Fortunately, at this very moment, a big sister holding a small animal umbrella said:

“My little Golden Retriever was treated there before.”

She tilted her umbrella a little to shield this pitifully drenched little girl from the rain.

Then she took out a business card from her bag and handed it to the red panda.

On the business card, the name “Ye Zhao” was clearly written, along with the hospital’s phone number and address.

It… it’s Mom!

I’ve found my home!

The little red panda held the business card and, in an instant, cried with joy.

She repeatedly bowed to the big sister passerby and said, with teary eyes, thank you.

Holding the business card, the red panda’s heart was full of joy.

She remembered that the veterinarian auntie had said that it might be dangerous to make a phone call on a thunderstormy day.

And so, she decided to skip the phone call and go straight to her familiar and warm home to reunite with her mother and younger sister.