All My Colleagues Are Animals 74p1

Chapter 74 p1

What is it like to have a red panda at home?

For this question, Ye Qingyu had had the right to answer since she was born.

…

Five months old.

A tiny little Ye Qingyu, wearing a diaper, was gnawing on her hand in her cradle after waking up, her big, dazed eyes staring at the ceiling.

By the cradle, a little red panda was curiously extending its paws, clinging to the railing and exploring.

This happened to cause a small, rhythmic, and gentle rocking.

And so, the cub version of Ye Qingyu was rocked into a yawn and, having just woken up, fell into a deep sleep again.

Before discovering this, Ms. Ye had once thought that Yu Bao was a baby who was too fond of sleeping.

Ten months old.

Little Ye Qingyu had already mastered the art of rolling over and crawling and was full of energy.

A beautiful, ringed tail was swaying back and forth in front of her, and she was so attracted that her eyes were round and sparkling, and she would crawl all over the floor, following the red panda.

The red panda was still in its infancy, with short little paws, and when it crawled, it looked like a fluffy little caterpillar.

Little Ye Qingyu unconsciously imitated her, and with her short little arms and legs, she also crawled sneakily, her posture exactly the same as the red panda’s.

She also learned to tear down the house with great resemblance.

Ms. Ye was a little troubled, because she sometimes couldn’t tell which one was the red panda.

One year old.

At the zhuāzhōu (first birthday ceremony).

Little Ye Qingyu disdained the numerous zhuāzhōu items and quickly crawled forward, firmly grabbing the fluffy red panda.

Ye Zhao gathered the two cubs into her arms, patted Yu Bao’s little head, and said with a smile:

“It seems your future pursuit is Rong Bao.”

“Very good. The two sisters must always love each other.”

At that time, she had never imagined in what kind of relationship the two sisters would love each other in the future.

Three years old.

Little Ye Qingyu stood under a tree, looking up at the red panda in the tree, her clear eyes welling up with glistening tears.

“Mom…” she said, pitifully tugging on Ye Zhao’s sleeve.

Ye Zhao said, “Climbing trees is a red panda’s instinct. She also needs to stay in a tree for a while sometimes.”

“You eat hard and grow up, and become a tall and straight Ye the Little Tree, and Rong Bao will like to climb you.”

Ye Zhao was just joking.

Who knew that from that day on, Yu Bao became more active in her eating every day.

“Mom, when can I become a Ye the Little Tree?” she would often ask.

Ye Zhao would seriously measure her height and then regretfully announce:

“Baby, you are still just a little sprout.”

“You need to drink more water and irrigate yourself.”

Ye the Little Sprout: “Mhm!”

From then on, Ms. Ye no longer had to worry about her drinking water.

…

In a flash, it was time for kindergarten.

Ye the Little Sprout refused to go no matter what, clinging to her mother’s leg and giving countless reasons in her sweet, milky voice.

Ye Zhao easily summarized these reasons into one sentence: There are no red pandas in kindergarten.

After Yu Bao had acted spoiled twice, Ye Zhao’s heart softened.

As a person who had read quite a few books, she decided to personally teach the kindergarten curriculum at home.

And so, every morning, Ye Zhao would teach in front of a blackboard, and the two below would sit in a neat row.

She mainly taught pinyin, Chinese characters, and arithmetic, and sometimes she would have art, music, and physical education classes.

The red panda, with a pair of snow-white, fluffy ears, would be dizzy from listening.

Ms. Ye would tap the blackboard. “Now, Rong Bao, please give the answer to this arithmetic problem.”

Just then, a willow catkin floated into the house.

The red panda’s nose twitched, and her fur trembled. She sneezed twice:

“Ying, ying!”

She took the opportunity to fall limply and, in a second, fell into a deep sleep on Ye the Little Sprout, contentedly licking the tip of her teeth in her dream.

“Rong Bao answered correctly!”

Ms. Ye wrote “2” in the blank space of the problem with satisfaction.

Ye the Little Sprout’s eyes widened. “…”

In the afternoon, Ye the Little Sprout would practice writing with a pencil.

The red panda would squat on the side and eat apple slices, crunching away, mainly to participate.

Sometimes, she would hold a half-eaten apple slice with her furry paw and generously share it with Ye the Little Sprout’s lips.

And at night, under Ms. Ye’s guidance, Ye the Little Sprout would brush the red panda’s teeth, give her a bath, dry her fur, comb her fur, trim her claws, and so on.

She had become a small and reliable little red panda keeper.

And when she slept at night, she would hug the red panda tightly.

—Mom had instructed her long ago that if this red panda was not held tightly when she slept in a bed, she would equally kick everyone.

…

In the peaceful and warm life of the family of three, Ye the Little Sprout grew up very quickly.

At first, when she and the red panda were hugging, the two looked to be about the same size.

They were each other’s large pillows when they slept.

Later, the red panda’s body gradually developed fully, but she was still just a tiny thing.

But Ye the Little Sprout grew taller and taller, her arms and legs long and slender, and at night, she would hold the entire red panda in her arms.

On her sixth birthday, Ms. Ye officially announced:

“You are already a little seedling.”

One step closer to becoming Ye the Little Tree. Ye the Little Seedling was extremely happy.

But at the same time, it was time for her to go to elementary school.

This time, no matter how she acted spoiled, Ms. Ye was unmoved.

The curriculum in elementary school now was rich and could not be compared to the education she had received back then. She could no longer blindly dote on her. It was time to let Yu Bao go out and broaden her horizons.

“Can’t Neng Bao go to school with me?”

On the day she went to school, Ye the Little Seedling held the red panda tightly and cried until her nose and tears were wiped on the red panda towel in her arms.

The red panda towel moved slightly.

She had always been a clean freak, diligently licking her fur every day, and did not like to get her fur dirty.

But at this moment, she lifted her fluffy head, which was wet with snot and tears, and gently licked Ye the Little Seedling’s cheek.

“Ying…” she whimpered, looking quite reluctant to part as well.

Ye Zhao lovingly patted the heads of her two cubs.

“Schools don’t accept small animals, and it’s not very safe for a red panda to be out and about.”

“Yu Bao must study hard, and when you come back at night, you can teach Rong Bao what you’ve learned, paw in hand.”

And so, Ye the Little Seedling went to school with her schoolbag on her back.

And Rong Bao, with her ears drooping dejectedly, would hug her large, fluffy tail tightly with both paws and lie by the window every day, waiting for her to come home from school.

4:30 PM.

From a distance, seeing Ye the Little Seedling in her sky-blue school uniform appear at the corner, her ears would instantly perk up high.

But she would never show that she had been waiting bitterly all day.

She would turn around, proudly start to lick her paws, and just wait for Ye the Little Seedling to rush over and hug and rub her.

Ms. Ye saw it all and couldn’t help but smile.

How is it that Rong Bao seems a little like she’s training a puppy?

—This thought would sometimes appear in her mind.

A few months later.

Ye the Little Seedling made a collar for the red panda in her craft class. But for some reason, the collar ended up on her own neck.

The small bell hanging in the center of the collar made a clear, jingling sound, which made the red panda unable to resist reaching out and playing with it.

Ye Zhao passed by and sighed.

This little dog was thoroughly trained.

…

Admiring the hundred flowers of spring and the moon of autumn, enjoying the cool breeze of summer and the snow of winter.

The family of three lived so peacefully and stably for many years.

When Ye the Little Seedling was in the fifth grade, a small incident suddenly occurred.

It was the middle of winter, and it was inevitable to be sleepy.

In the early morning, the alarm clock had rung three times before Ye the Little Seedling groggily woke up.

She held the warm little red panda in her arms a little tighter, reluctantly rubbed her head, and cherished a “smack” on her furry ear, muttering indistinctly:

“Neng Bao, how about I take you to school today…”

She had just had a beautiful dream, dreaming that she and Neng Bao had gone to school together and had become deskmates.

It was cold and she was sleepy in the early morning. Ye the Little Seedling was dizzy and, for a moment, couldn’t tell the difference between reality and dream.

She even forgot to eat the breakfast her mother had made and just put the entire red panda in her schoolbag and went out to school.

In the deep winter, the sky was always slow to brighten, making one feel drowsy.

It wasn’t until she had reached the school gate that Ye the Little Seedling managed to wake up properly. She stood under the gray sky, and she and the red panda in her schoolbag looked at each other.

“It’s over.”

Mom had told her not to take Neng Bao out alone, especially to crowded places.

Ye the Little Seedling’s heart jumped in alarm. She quickly turned around, wanting to take the red panda home.

“Ying.”

The red panda poked a fluffy head out of the schoolbag.

Her eyes were fixed on the school, and she raised a paw to poke Ye the Little Seedling’s shoulder.