All My Colleagues Are Animals 2

Chapter 2

Monday.

After several days of lingering spring rain, the sun finally broke through.

Ye Qingyu woke up early out of habit, went for a run in the soft morning light, then came home to shower, change, and eat breakfast.

When she was done, she glanced at the time. It was only 8:00 AM.

She couldn’t help but smile.

A new job that started at nine was truly wonderful.

Her home was close to the company; it was only a three-stop subway ride and a five-minute walk to Fluffy Road.

Ye Qingyu’s previous job was at a top-tier internet company in the industry. That building stood proudly in the city center’s commercial district, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. The glittering, extravagant surroundings had always made her feel a little restless.

But the street before her now was a completely different style.

It had been carved by time into something solid and gentle, appearing all the more tranquil and peaceful in the deserted morning.

She wound her way through the alley, her gaze sweeping over the old wooden address plates on the blue-green brick walls.

No. 106, No. 107…

No. 108.

She had arrived.

A glistening pink flower poked out from behind a silver-white fence. Just then, a spring breeze swept by, and the flower swayed, shaking off dewdrops with a soft pat.

Ye Qingyu followed its slender stem with her eyes, looking into the courtyard. She saw clusters of graceful spring blossoms in full, vibrant bloom, and stalks of verdant young bamboo standing as straight as pines. A purple sandalwood swing swayed in the gentle breeze, a calico cat curled up on it for a nap.

It was brimming with life, yet serenely peaceful.

Further in stood an exquisite three-story building with white-painted walls, light red roof tiles, and arched windowsills bursting with brilliant flowers.

So beautiful.

And she was about to start working here.

Ye Qingyu’s eyes shone. She took a few steps forward and pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong. The calico cat on the swing instantly opened its eyes.

It tilted its head, leaped down gracefully, and transformed into a human the moment it landed.

The main gate was opened quickly. Ye Qingyu looked up and met the gaze of a young woman.

“Good morning, I’m Ye Qingyu. I’m here to start work today…”

As she spoke the words she’d prepared, a different thought echoed in her mind—

So trendy!

The woman’s hair was dyed a milky white, with streaks of black and orange. The three-color mix looked beautiful and natural.

“I’m Sister Rong’s assistant, Bai Shuang. Follow me.”

The woman’s voice was cool, her expression as aloof as her hair color.

Ye Qingyu smiled at her. “Thank you for your trouble.”

She followed Bai Shuang along the stone-paved path. The fresh, rich fragrance of flowers was everywhere, a delight to the senses.

Her gaze swept over the gorgeous and unique scenery in the courtyard, and she noticed that the calico cat that had been napping on the swing was now nowhere to be seen.

Bai Shuang led her to the door of the three-story building, pushed open a small panel on the lock, and faced the camera for facial recognition.

“We work on the second floor of the building…”

Before she could finish, the lock let out a “beep-beep” warning sound: “Recognition failed. Please try again.”

Bai Shuang paused.

Ye Qingyu was busy admiring an exquisite cat tree by the door when Bai Shuang suddenly turned her head, pointed behind her, and said, “Miss Ye, take a close look at that swing.”

Ye Qingyu blinked, not understanding.

The second she turned around, Bai Shuang transformed into a calico cat and leaped nimbly onto the cat tree.

Her round cat face moved close to the facial recognition camera.

“Recognition successful. Unlocked.”

Ye Qingyu turned back, having seen nothing. “What’s wrong with the swing?” she asked, confused.

Bai Shuang, now human again, pressed the door handle, letting out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. “Just a reminder that you can go play on the swing whenever you like.”

Not only is my new colleague’s hair trendy, but she’s also surprisingly nice.

Ye Qingyu’s lips curved into a smile. “Okay, thank you.”

Bai Shuang opened the door and went inside, bending down to change into slippers. She then found a new pair from the entryway and handed them to Ye Qingyu.

The interior of the building was as beautiful and elegant as the exterior. The design was full of small, clever details, creating a warm and cheerful atmosphere.

They passed through a spacious and bright living room, walked up a spiral staircase with a white wooden handrail, and entered the second floor.

“The break and recreation room is on the left, and the work area is on the right.”

Ye Qingyu followed Bai Shuang to the door of the work area on the right.

Her sharp ears twitched, faintly picking up sounds from inside.

It sounded like a dog was running wild, crashing into things.

And like a bird was hopping up and down, chirping and tweeting.

It was like a meeting at the zoo.

However, all these sounds came to an abrupt halt with the thump-thump of Bai Shuang’s knock, vanishing into thin air as if they had been a complete illusion.

After a brief pause, Bai Shuang pushed down the handle and opened the door.

“Come in.”

Ye Qingyu’s heart trembled slightly. Something felt… not quite right.

Am I just too nervous?

The moment she stepped through the door, she saw two tufts of beige fur float lazily down from the air, like leftover evidence from a scuffle between small animals.

But before she could think too much about it, her attention was diverted.

Because several intense, scrutinizing gazes shot toward her at once.

“Hello everyone, I’m Ye Qingyu. I’m here to start work today.”

Ye Qingyu took a deep breath, maintaining her composure. She put on a bright smile and met the piercing stares of her new colleagues.

Then, for the second time today, a thought lamented in her mind: So trendy.

Her new colleagues’ hair was a kaleidoscope of colors: white with pink streaks, beige, brilliant gold, brown…

Thinking back to Boss Pei’s long, reddish-brown curls—

Hmm, dyeing one’s hair seems to be a kind of corporate culture here.

Ye Qingyu, with her natural, raven-black hair that seemed completely out of place in this new company, was led by Bai Shuang to her desk.

To her right was a young woman with white hair streaked with pink. She was very outgoing and seemed easy to get along with. However, after a lively greeting, her line of questioning took a sudden turn:

“Excuse me, can I clamp you?”

As she said this, her eyes measured Ye Qingyu from top to bottom, as if contemplating where to clamp.

Clamp how? With what?

Cold sweat broke out on Ye Qingyu’s back.

Her colleague to the left had brownish-black hair and was balancing a perfectly round orange on her head. Her entire demeanor was one of detached calm.

Seeing Ye Qingyu sit down, she quietly turned her head to glance over. The orange wobbled and accidentally fell off.

Ye Qingyu’s gaze paused. Just as she was about to help pick it up, the girl with brilliant golden hair from the next desk suddenly shot up and rushed over.

Like a puppy fetching a ball, she picked up the round orange, happily handed it back, and placed it on top of the brown-haired girl’s head again.

Then she asked, her eyes sparkling, “Can you drop it again?”

“…”

Ye Qingyu found her new colleagues to be quite fascinating, and also… quite cute.

Temporarily suppressing her desire to investigate, she asked Bai Shuang, “Excuse me, where is Boss Pei?”

Pei Rong had said that day that she would personally review her contract and handle her onboarding.

“Sister Rong?”

The girl with beige hair from across the way smiled brightly, eagerly jumping in to answer:

“Sister Rong is still in the tree—”

“Ahem.” Bai Shuang cut her off forcefully, taking over. “Sister Rong is still… a few meters away. Please wait a moment, she’ll be here soon.”

Ye Qingyu nodded.

A few meters away. What a novel way of putting it.

In the courtyard behind the small building.

A tall scholar tree stood with thick branches, its new spring leaves a clear, jade-green that shimmered in the sunlight.

Nestled among the intersecting branches, a red panda had buried its head in its own fluffy, soft tail. Curled into a round ball of fur, it was sleeping soundly.

Dreaming of something sweet, a tiny sliver of its pink tongue peeked out, occasionally licking its teeth.

“Sister Rong.”

A voice from under the tree, heedless of its own mortality, disturbed the peaceful dream.

The red panda’s snow-white, furry ears folded back. It hugged its big tail even tighter.

“Sister Rong, wake up…”

The voice was persistent.

A few minutes later.

The red panda finally deigned to open its eyes. In the sunlight, its brown irises were light and clear.

Its intense morning grumpiness was on full display.

“What is it?”

Her voice was still raspy with sleep. As she spoke, she rolled over, turning her back to the person under the tree in a huff. Every single strand of fur screamed its displeasure.

Bai Shuang, standing below, was helpless. She said softly, “Sister Rong, your human has arrived.”

“…”

The red panda’s folded-back ears slowly perked up.

She released her tail. The long, fluffy tail, adorned with beautiful rings, swayed slowly in the air, soaking up the warm sunlight and glowing with an orange halo.

“I know. I’ll be there in a bit.”

When the woman’s voice sounded again, there was a faint hint of pleasure in it.

The moment Bai Shuang left, the red panda, which had been sprawled out like a lazy pancake on the branch, immediately flipped over and leaped gracefully from the tree to the ground.

She couldn’t wait to go find her new toy.

In the office.

Brilliant sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, landing on the woman’s long, reddish-brown curls, making them look like an unquenchable flame.

A single leaf, picked up from who-knows-where, was caught in her hair, looking as if it might catch fire at any moment.

It’s as if she just rushed down from a tree.

Ye Qingyu was amused by her own strange association and silently curved her lips into a smile.

Then, feeling it was disrespectful, she quickly straightened them.

She was hesitating whether to tell Boss Pei about the leaf when the woman tilted her head to look at a document, and the leaf happened to float gently to the ground.

She couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

The contract was quickly reviewed, and the onboarding process was completed immediately.

Pei Rong accepted the documents as if accepting a deed of indenture.

Her peach blossom eyes curved as she bestowed a devastatingly beautiful smile upon Ye Qingyu.

Ye Qingyu expected her to say something like, “Welcome to the team,” but instead, the woman raised an eyebrow and said leisurely:

“Now that you’ve joined my studio, you’re my little animal.”

Ye Qingyu’s eyelashes fluttered.

What does “my little animal” mean?

I’m here to work, not to be her dog.

Confused and about to ask, she saw the beautiful boss prop up her chin and suddenly say with great seriousness:

“Oh, right. There’s something I forgot to confirm during the interview. Hold out your paw… I mean, your hand.”

Her expression was so earnest that Ye Qingyu assumed it was for work and held out both her hands without hesitation.

They were clean, well-proportioned, slender, and fair.

Pei Rong examined them closely, a satisfied curl on her lips.

They look like they’d be very good at peeling mangosteens for me. Eight of them, all peeled neatly. Peeling and slicing apples into a platter for me in the future should be no problem either. They could probably also satisfy my physiological needs… like, for example, ear scratches and belly rubs.

“Not bad.” Her lovely brows knitted together as she said with a straight face, “You can put your hands back now.”

“…” Ye Qingyu was completely bewildered.

There were so many strange things, she didn’t know which one to ask about first.

“I don’t have any work for you today.” Pei Rong leaned back lazily in her office chair. “Go wander around the building and the courtyard and get familiar with your new environment.”

She paused, then added, “If anyone bullies you, come and tell me.”

After speaking, she glanced at the search results on her screen for “How to settle in a new puppy”:

1. Let it adapt to the environment on its own to give it a sense of security.

2. Let it get familiar with your scent.

3. Pet it.

And that’s it. It will gradually become super clingy and come to you for cuddles and hugs on its own!

Confirming that she had just completed step one, Pei Rong gave her human a pleased lift of her chin.

“Alright, go on and play.”