Chapter 44 p2
A heavy rain fell at noon.
The storm came and went with a flourish.
But it left behind a backyard full of green leaves and crimson petals, crushed by the rain, in a messy state.
In the afternoon, with nothing to do, everyone decided to clean up the backyard together.
The leaves and petals would be easier to clean up after they had dried, so for now, they just needed to scoop the floating leaves out of the swimming pool and right the things that had been blown over—
—like the cute wooden horse on the grass by the scholar tree.
It looked small, like a children’s rocking horse.
Only a child or a small beast could sit on it.
Ye Qingyu righted the fallen wooden horse and heard Gu Yue say, “Aiya, Sister Rong’s precious wooden horse is broken.”
There was indeed a crack on the side of the exquisite wooden horse, and the handle for the paws had also fallen off.
“Mmm?”
Hearing her name in her sleep, a damp, fluffy head suddenly and groggily poked out from between the branches of the scholar tree. Raindrops were still trickling down from her snow-white, butterfly-like ears.
The little beasts subconsciously looked up and were all shocked.
It had just been raining so hard. Why was Sister Rong still sleeping in the tree!
“Sister Rong, how could you…”
Jin Can opened her mouth to speak but was covered by Bai Shuang’s hand. “Shh!”
“!”
Everyone reacted, held their breath, and looked toward the human—
With such a loud commotion, such a clamor, such a clear “Sister Rong,” the human was like she had shielded her five senses, still engrossed in studying the crack on the wooden horse.
What happened to sharp and smart?
How did she suddenly become so slow?
The second, third, fourth, and fifth small animals whose original forms had been easily seen through and whose covers had been blown by the human looked at each other, all finding it incredible.
On the scholar tree, the half-asleep Pei the Red Panda raised a paw to rub her face, belatedly realizing that her entire body was soaking wet.
She had had a rather damp dream just now, and she hadn’t expected it to have rained in reality as well.
The feeling of being damp was very uncomfortable. She shook her head, and her half-closed eyes widened a little.
She glanced down from the tree and, caught off guard, saw the human nearby, and was so scared that her large tail trembled.
Before she could even retract her fluffy head, she saw Ye Qingyu stand up and sigh softly.
“I don’t think this wooden horse can be repaired. It’s better to just get a new one.”
“Mmm, mmm, mmm…”
The small animals all agreed vaguely, occasionally sneaking a glance toward the scholar tree.
Pei the Red Panda’s breath tightened. She clung to the tree trunk with her paws, shifted her position, and completely hid herself.
Having been caught in the rain and chilled, she couldn’t help but let out a whimpering sneeze.
As she moved, the scholar tree shook, and the translucent raindrops on its leaves all fell off, creating a small shower.
This commotion made the little beasts nervous again, but they saw that the human was still completely unaware.
Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, revealing her fair and delicate forearms, as she diligently bent down to work.
The little sea otter had a look of amazement in her eyes.
Sister Rong is so lucky, to not have been discovered even after all this.
With Ye Qingyu’s lead, everyone quickly cleaned up the backyard together and returned to the studio in a lively mood.
That was close.
Pei the Red Panda breathed a sigh of relief.
…
After being caught in the rain, the soaking wet and cold little red panda dumpling soaked herself in the bathtub.
The moment she entered the water, Pei the Red Panda transformed into her human form, feeling the hot water soothe every inch of her skin, dispelling the chill that had made her shiver.
The bathroom was filled with steam, and the woman’s stunning face was flushed with a beautiful pink.
She lazily half-closed her peach blossom eyes and lay back in the bathtub, letting out a breath.
So comfortable…
In her weariness, she half-fell asleep again and, in a daze, dreamt that Ye the Little Tree was helping her, a little panda, take a bath.
Those warm and soft hands worked the shower gel into a fine, white foam and carefully applied it to every strand of her fur.
“Neng Bao, lift your tail a little.”
Ye the Little Tree said gently.
And so, Pei the Red Panda obediently lifted her large, fluffy tail, letting the human apply the foam and wash her until she was fragrant.
But the next second, she transformed into her human form at Ye the Little Tree’s fingertips, and so the hand full of fine foam directly touched her tailbone.
Pei the Red Panda’s eyes suddenly flew open, and she stared dazedly at the misty ceiling.
Her breathing was rapid, her chest rising and fell. It took a long while for her to come back to her senses.
The water in the bathtub had already grown cold.
She moved her legs, drained the strangely slick bathwater, and refilled it with clear, hot water.
Perhaps because she had fallen asleep in the bath just now and had soaked in the somewhat cold water for a while, after her second hot bath, Pei the Red Panda still felt a little chilled.
As if she had caught a cold.
Sniffling, she sat a little dejectedly in her office chair and heard a knock on the office door.
“Come in,” Pei the Red Panda said in a hoarse voice.
Ye Qingyu pushed the door open and came in, holding a steaming cup of tea.
“Boss Pei, it rained heavily at noon, and the weather is very cold.”
“I just happened to make a pot of brown sugar and ginger water. Would you like some to warm up?”
Pei the Red Panda’s eyes lit up.
She had had this kind of tea made by Ye Qingyu before. It was sweet and very much to a red panda’s taste.
“I’ll have some,” she said.
The temperature of this cup of brown sugar and ginger water was just right, both warm and not too hot. She held the cup and drank it all down, and her stomach immediately felt warm, as if the chill had been completely dispelled.
Pei the Red Panda squinted her peach blossom eyes in comfort.
“Have you had a hot bath?” the human asked her.
Thinking of the dream just now, Pei the Red Panda’s eyelashes trembled, and she was instantly on alert.
Why is she suddenly asking this?
Does Ye the Little Tree want to help me take a bath?
Just like in the dream…
No.
Pei the Red Panda’s train of thought got back on track, and she discovered an even more terrifying possibility—
Does Ye Qingyu know I was caught in the rain on the scholar tree, and that I’m a sleepy little red panda?!
“It’s too cold,” Ye Qingyu’s eyes were clear and innocent, and she said seriously and gently, “My mother said that when the weather suddenly turns cold like this, you need to take a hot bath.”
Pei the Red Panda’s ears twitched, and she gradually let down her guard.
She answered a beat later, “I have.”
Relax. Ye the Little Tree definitely doesn’t know she’s a red panda yet.
Otherwise, how could she resist exposing her and then petting her—
She’s very pettable.
It was said that the outer fur of a red panda was usually a little rough to the touch, but her, Pei the Red Panda’s, entire body, including her large tail, was particularly soft.
Seeing her beautiful boss obediently finish the brown sugar and ginger water, the tip of her nose red from the heat, and perhaps out of a craving for the sweet taste, even lick her sharp little beast teeth, Ye Qingyu’s eyes curved.
Then she pursed her lips and swallowed lightly, trying to suppress a certain rising itch.
She certainly had countless ways to catch this little red panda.
But ever since she had learned that the little beasts were competing in a certain group chat, that once a cover was blown, one was a tier below the others, and that the one who held out until the end was the king of beasts, she had turned a blind eye to the various loopholes her beautiful boss inadvertently revealed.
Even when cleaning the backyard, knowing that the red panda was right behind her on the scholar tree, perhaps poking its head out in some extremely cute way, she had still buried her head in her work, fighting the itch in her heart, not even looking up.
—She wanted this proud little red panda to win.
