All My Colleagues Are Animals 40p1

Chapter 40 p1

When Ye Qingyu woke up, it was quiet all around.

The sky was a deep, dark color, and the depths of the jungle in the middle of the night seemed rather gloomy. An occasional cool breeze would rustle through, and the bamboo leaves would sway, dangerous and mysterious.

Her heart jumped in alarm, and she was instantly wide awake.

How did I get here?

“Ye the Little Tree, this fruit isn’t sweet…”

A sleepy mumble suddenly came from her arms.

The sensation of touch suddenly returned. Ye Qingyu realized that in her arms was a soft, warm fragrance, with fluffy strands of hair occasionally brushing against her neck, a slight itch.

Just then, the wind blew the clouds away. She looked down and, by the clear white moonlight, saw her beautiful boss’s serene and cute sleeping face.

The woman’s thick lashes cast a shadow below her eyes, her lips were slightly parted, revealing the tips of her sharp canines. Her pink tongue would occasionally and lightly lick her teeth, like a small animal sleeping.

Her lovely brows would twitch from time to time, and she would mutter a few words sullenly, clearly dissatisfied with the fruit she had eaten in her dream.

Waking up in the depths of a dense, lush jungle after being heavily drunk should have been terrifying.

But for some strange reason, seeing Pei Rong sleeping so soundly in her arms, Ye Qingyu instantly felt at ease.

Her entire heart seemed to be filled with the moonlight, with nothing more to ask for.

She raised a hand and gently petted the woman’s fluffy head, tidying her messy hair.

Then she took off her open jacket and draped it over the person like a blanket to prevent her from catching a cold.

Then she took in the quiet night alone.

All around seemed to be an endless bamboo forest, but for some reason, she was very familiar with it and quickly identified the direction of the Yuqi Lake shore, which was also where everyone had set up their tents.

It shouldn’t be far.

The night dew was heavy. Sleeping here, she would catch a cold sooner or later.

Ye Qingyu decisively scooped Pei Rong up in a princess carry, intending to take her back to the tent to sleep.

Her feet landed steadily on the soft grass, making a rustling sound.

As she walked silently through the night, an image suddenly appeared in her mind—

She seemed to have just dreamt that she was carrying a little red panda schoolbag to school, and during the break, she had secretly reached into her desk to pet the little panda’s paws and furry ears…

Rustle.

A sound suddenly came from somewhere around her.

Ye Qingyu’s thoughts were abruptly cut off. She stopped warily, holding her breath, trying to find the source of the sound.

Besides the bamboo, the front, left, and right were all empty.

Rustle…

The sound assaulted her ears again, clearer this time.

Ye Qingyu’s heart began to pound, blood pumping rapidly to her limbs, a numbing sensation shooting up her spine. As if sensing something, she turned around—

The next second, her eyes flew open, her pupils constricting.

Between the green bamboo, a majestic beast stood proudly, its entirely black fur shimmering with a deep luster under the moonlight, faintly revealing beautiful leopard spots.

Its pair of jade-green eyes were mysterious and noble, a dark light flickering within them.

It was a black panther!

This black panther was chewing on something, which must have been its freshly caught prey, and it was eating quite fiercely.

A moment later, the black panther looked up, and their gazes met.

Ye Qingyu’s chest tightened, her heart feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy blow. The feeling of death’s arrival was sudden…

When Wu Shu woke up in a daze, her mouth was filled with a strange taste, like the scent of grass in the air after a rain.

She shook her head haphazardly, and uncomfortably raised a large paw to paw at her mouth, only to find that her paw was covered in mud.

Wu Shu was stunned for a few seconds, then stood up and looked around.

She saw that in a two-meter radius around her, the grass had been mercilessly ravaged, and in some places, only bald patches of turf remained—as if it had been randomly gnawed by sharp teeth.

“…”

The panther, who had eaten meat her whole life, licked her teeth dazedly and, unconsciously chewing, skillfully swallowed the last blade of grass in her mouth.

Just then, she inadvertently looked up and met the new colleague’s gaze.

The panther’s whole body froze, and then she was about to bristle—

This human actually saw me eating grass!

Ye Qingyu couldn’t help but shiver.

Of all the misfortunes, the black panther she had encountered must be a very hungry beast, because the moment it saw her, its eyes had lit up with a sharp light, and it was preparing to attack.

No, no…

Her beautiful boss was still in her arms.

In this life-or-death moment, Ye Qingyu’s mind went briefly blank, and then a single thought flashed through: we can’t both die. I have to protect Pei Rong.

It was as if she had once experienced a tragic loss, and this time, she absolutely could not let the tragedy repeat itself.

After a moment’s standoff, she spoke, her voice trembling slightly. “Boss Pei, Boss Pei.”

Calling her like this, while keeping a close eye on the black panther’s movements, she very slowly and steadily placed the woman in her arms on the ground, then positioned herself sideways, half-shielding Pei Rong from the black panther.

Pei the Red Panda let out a hazy “Mhm,” nuzzled Ye Qingyu’s neck, and didn’t fully wake up.

The panther’s whole body was rigid.

It’s over. This human is going to wake up Sister Rong and then spread the news of her drunken grass-eating incident?!

Is it too late to run away now? Sister Rong usually dotes on this human so much. She’ll probably believe whatever she says.

Ye Qingyu kept her eyes fixed on the black panther and saw that its pair of jade-green eyes had grown even deeper, as if calculating how to eat her and Pei Rong.

Even its throat began to emit an anxious growl.

A fragile human raised in a greenhouse, facing a wild and ferocious beast, would perhaps inevitably have her weak nature stimulated.

But Ye Qingyu had no time to be afraid. As she met the black panther’s gaze, she was also frantically trying to wake up her beautiful boss.

Pei the Red Panda finally managed to wake up.

Before her morning grumpiness could even kick in, she heard the human, in a tone of final farewell, her voice trembling as she solemnly instructed:

“We’ve run into a black panther. I’ll deal with it, and you find a chance to leave. The tents are directly behind us. Just walk straight.”

Pei Rong blinked dazedly. “Huh?”

She turned her head, and her gaze met Wu Shu’s.

Her eyes swept over the patch of mud and grass at the corner of the panther’s mouth, and she froze.

“Don’t be afraid. Just follow my lead.”

Ye Qingyu’s chest was heaving violently. As she kept a close eye on the black panther, she whispered her instructions.

When encountering this kind of beast, turning and running was the most unwise thing to do, as it might trigger its hunting instinct.

The usual way to deal with it was to face the black panther, slowly back away, and at the same time, spread open your jacket to make yourself appear larger.

“We’ll both keep facing it. I’ll stand in front to attract its attention, and you slowly back away. When you’re almost out of its sight, you can find a chance to run back to the tents.”

After quickly giving her instructions, Ye Qingyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, she could only do her best and leave the rest to fate…

She pursed her lips. She suddenly wanted to look at Pei Rong one more time, but she was worried the black panther would attack.

The tip of her nose inexplicably tingled. She took a deep breath and finally said softly, “And one more thing.”

“…You’re the cutest person I’ve ever met.”

The young woman’s slightly choked words fell on her ears, each word striking her heart, making Pei Rong’s eyelashes tremble violently.

For a moment, she couldn’t feel the headache from her drunkenness. Her mind was filled only with the scene before her—

The moonlight was hazy, the bamboo forest deep. The young woman was tall and slender, her long shadow cast on the grass.

Facing a agile beast like a black panther, the human seemed so thin and fragile, yet she stood with her back straight, as firm as a proud tree, in front of her.

Dazed, Pei the Red Panda’s breath hitched. Her peach blossom eyes filled with a moist sheen, and she felt a dense, tingling itch coursing through her limbs.

She raised a hand and took Ye Qingyu’s, which was trembling slightly and already damp with sweat.

Her fingers, as if self-taught, slipped between her fingers, their fingers interlocking, their skin pressed tightly together.

She pulled Ye Qingyu behind her and said to the black panther, “She was scared. You can find another place to chew on your grass.”

The panther blinked, then let out a low, embarrassed and angry growl from its throat.

Then it turned around and, with an agile leap, quickly disappeared without a trace.

“…”