All My Colleagues Are Animals 9

Chapter 9

The setting sun slanted across the sky like spilled orange soda.

Ye Qingyu, wearing an apron with a red panda pattern, was in the kitchen chopping vegetables and cooking dinner.

Her previous job had always kept her working late into the night with overtime. It had been a long time since she had experienced such a relaxed and leisurely pace of life.

One meat dish, one vegetable dish, and one soup were served one after another, their colors, aromas, and flavors all perfect on the exquisite white porcelain plates.

After dinner, she took a walk by herself, then came back to practice yoga, take a hot bath, and comfortably slip into bed.

Nothing special had happened, yet her mood seemed fuller than on any other night in her past twenty-plus years.

Ye Qingyu tried to figure out why, but she had no clue.

She turned off the bedside lamp and was about to go to sleep when her phone suddenly vibrated.

Tapping into WeChat, she saw a message from Boss Pei.

Pei Rong: 【I’ve found the culprit who bit you during your nap. They have been punished.】

Isn’t a red panda guarding an empty tree all alone a form of punishment?

A thought struck Ye Qingyu, and she typed a reply: 【What was the culprit?】

Pei Rong: 【A very cute little animal that wishes to remain anonymous.】

“…” Ye Qingyu chuckled.

She replied: 【Then we should respect the little animal’s wishes.】

Boss Pei didn’t message back right away.

Ye Qingyu stared at the chat window. She thought of the courtyard and the small building, so graceful with spring blossoms, so vibrant yet so peaceful. She thought of the beautiful boss with peach blossom eyes, and of the “see you tomorrow” before she left work. Her gaze softened unconsciously, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

【See you tomorrow, Boss Pei.】

After sending the message, she turned off her phone and went to sleep.

On the other end of the conversation, Pei Rong also put down her phone, her eyes crinkling with pleasure.

The internet said that you can’t neglect a human you’re raising.

Even when you’re not by their side, you have to find ways to poke and tease them, to let them know that they are being seriously thought of.

Pei the Red Panda felt she had done a great job. Her human would surely come to cuddle with her on her own very soon.

Contentedly, she climbed up the scholar tree, curled into a fluffy ball, and fell asleep with her head pillowed on her large tail.

The bright moon hung high in the sky.

The lustrous moonlight shone on the red panda’s soft, reddish-brown fur, and also flowed through the window into the room, caressing the tips of the human’s thick eyelashes.

…

…

Whoosh—

In the morning, just as Ye Qingyu stepped into the work area, a small ball, like a dog toy, came flying toward her.

Her pupils constricted. She reacted nimbly, leaning back and raising a hand to catch the ball with precision.

“Ye Qingyu, are you okay?!”

Just as Ye Qingyu focused on catching the ball, the Golden Retriever that had been pattering over to fetch it slammed on the brakes, transforming into the young woman with long, brilliant-gold hair.

“I’m fine.” Ye Qingyu shook her head and handed the ball back to Jin Can.

Jin Can was clearly in much higher spirits than yesterday afternoon. Her round, puppy-dog eyes crinkled into a cute smile. “That’s good!”

Ye Qingyu was infected by her cheerfulness and smiled back, her eyes curving as she followed Jin Can to her desk.

“Morning, Ye Qingyu.”

Gu Yue greeted her without looking up. She was still planting Chompers in Plants vs. Zombies.

She was clearly a little addicted to the game.

Or rather, this plant that could clamp people.

Ye Qingyu discovered that even her quiet, daydream-loving colleague to her left, Shui Zhu, was playing the pool level of Plants vs. Zombies.

As if sensing her gaze, Shui Zhu suddenly turned her head. The ears nestled in her brown hair twitched nimbly as she said seriously, “I like this pool.”

After speaking, she went back to planting in the pool.

“Is that so?” Ye Qingyu blinked.

This was the first time Shui Zhu had spoken to her.

With a creak, the door to the work area was pushed open again.

“Sister Rong, you’re up so early today?” Gu Yue’s voice sounded from the side.

Ye Qingyu looked up and saw today’s beautiful boss walk in through the door. A single stray cowlick stood up lightly from the top of her reddish-brown hair, and her misty peach blossom eyes were drooping lazily. She clearly looked as if she had just woken up.

Because of this, her stunningly exquisite face showed a hint of a small animal’s dazed cuteness.

Ye Qingyu’s fingertips, resting on the desk, twitched unconsciously.

Pei the Red Panda, in order to see her human early, had set an alarm clock before bed for the first time ever.

But when the alarm went off in the morning, she started to regret it and refused to leave her tree. She tossed and turned on the scholar tree for a long while, her fur getting all messy in the process.

In the end, she had to lick her fur for a bit before coming down from the tree. In her sleepy state, she had been careless while washing up and hadn’t noticed that a cowlick had stuck up after she transformed into her human form.

In any case, at this very moment, Pei the Red Panda walked into the work area in her unknowingly disheveled state, passing by everyone’s desks with a noble air.

Ye Qingyu tore her gaze away from the cowlick that bounced with Boss Pei’s every step. A smile appeared in her eyes as she greeted her in a soft voice, “Good morning, Boss Pei.”

Pei Rong’s steps paused slightly, and a flicker of pleasure appeared in her peach blossom eyes.

It was as if her silence just now had been just to wait for this proactive greeting.

“Mhm.”

She had clearly woken up early specifically for her human, but now she was putting on an act. She gave a reserved nod and didn’t say much more.

But Ye Qingyu keenly caught the slight upward curl of a smile on the woman’s lips.

She was dazed for a moment, her eyes subconsciously following Boss Pei into her office before she belatedly turned her head back.

…

In the office.

Pei the Red Panda opened her “Human Rearing Plan” notebook and seriously reviewed her notes.

【1. Let her adapt to the environment on her own to give her a sense of security.】

This one had been successfully completed yesterday. She drew a little red panda paw print next to it with her pen.

【2. Let her get familiar with the master’s scent.】

Pei the Red Panda pondered for a moment. She wasn’t sure how this one was progressing.

After a long search on the internet, she finally found a way to test it: the master needs to get very, very close to the puppy. If the puppy doesn’t move away, this step can be considered complete.

Pei the Red Panda was lost in thought.

Two minutes later, Ye Qingyu was summoned to the boss’s office by Bai Shuang.

“Ye Qingyu, sit here.” Pei Rong pointed to the spot beside her.

Ye Qingyu thought Boss Pei was having computer problems again, so she obediently moved a chair and sat down.

The distance between them instantly became very close.

Before Pei Rong could even begin her test, she faintly caught the scent on the other person.

It seemed to be a clear, tranquil floral fragrance.

Red pandas are born with a poor sense of smell; their tongue is their main sensory organ. This is also why red pandas love to stick out their tongues.

Therefore, in order to get a clearer scent, Pei the Red Panda subconsciously turned her head toward her human, leaning closer, and then closer still.

The tip of her pink tongue also unconsciously stuck out a little.

After a moment of self-absorbed assessment, Pei the Red Panda belatedly realized—she was now extremely close to Ye Qingyu. Any closer and they would be touching.

And during the process of her leaning in, the human seemed to have remained completely still, not moving away in the slightest.

At this, she curled her lips in pleasure.

Pei the Red Panda really knows how to train a human.

Maintaining this close distance, she slowly and deliberately recited her prepared line: “Ye Qingyu, you have an eyelash on your face.”

The woman’s warm breath ghosted across her cheek. Ye Qingyu’s hand, resting on the chair, quietly gripped the edge.

Just now, when Boss Pei had suddenly moved closer and closer, that clear, sweet scent of bamboo leaves had enveloped her.

It had gradually crossed the line of social distance. She should have felt uncomfortable, resistant, and moved away.

But none of that happened.

Her heart just pounded with a faint heat, and she forgot to even blink.

It wasn’t until the woman mentioned the eyelash that Ye Qingyu suddenly let out a breath of relief, as if she had found a reason for both of them.

In the next second, warm, delicate fingertips cupped her chin, applying a little pressure to adjust the angle.

The woman’s beautiful and enchanting face, now just inches away, filled her vision.

Just as the human’s breathing grew unsteady, Pei Rong encountered a problem.

A fallen eyelash was a seemingly reasonable excuse for close contact, but as she observed closely, her fingertips touching the human’s face here and there, she found that it was spotlessly clean everywhere. She couldn’t find a single fallen eyelash.

What to do?

Pei the Red Panda was in a bind. She hesitantly licked the tip of her teeth.

Finally, holding her breath, she zeroed in on one of the young woman’s long, curled eyelashes—

—and with a gentle pinch and pull, plucked it out.

“…”

Ye Qingyu felt a small, sharp sting at the root of her eyelash.

Her breath trembled slightly, but she still allowed the woman’s actions.

Pei Rong looked at the eyelash on her fingertip, then looked up and met the human’s innocent and docile, beautiful eyes. Her heart was suddenly stirred—

Did I hurt her?

With that thought, the pad of her finger gently stroked the spot where she had plucked the eyelash.

The human, being caressed like this, couldn’t help but blink. The tips of her fluffy lashes tickled Pei Rong’s finger, and her heart seemed to itch a little too.

“Eyelash.”

She released her hand and showed the eyelash to Ye Qingyu.

Worried it would be taken from her, she only showed it for an instant before protectively closing it in her palm.

“Thank you, Boss Pei,” the human said, her eyes clear, as if she were completely unaware of what had happened.

She was so well-behaved that Pei the Red Panda wanted to pet her again.

“Oh, right, Boss Pei, why did you call me over?” Ye Qingyu asked.

Pei the Red Panda paused.

A moment later, she said with righteous indignation, “I had work to give you, but you’re even losing your eyelashes.”

Her peach blossom eyes were full of pity. “You should just rest and recover today.”

Ye Qingyu had never met such a considerate and compassionate boss.

After the human left in a daze, Pei Rong opened her notebook and smoothly drew a paw print next to 【2. Let her get familiar with my scent.】

Her gaze moved down. There was only one step left—

【3. Pet her.】

For this one, Pei the Red Panda was getting a little impatient.