Free Web NovelChapter 32: Chapter 32: Cried All Night After Finding Out I Was a Salted Fish
Seeing that no one else was paying attention, Zhong Mingrui walked over by himself.
When he rounded the back of the building and saw a fluffy rear end, Zhong Mingrui’s jaw dropped.
"Big King! There’s a panda here!!!"
YELP!!!! The panda was startled, its roly-poly body leaping straight up.
Hearing Zhong Mingrui’s voice, Zhong Siqi was the first to run over.
The others followed.
They saw a chubby, roly-poly panda curled into a ball, its head buried in its belly.
’You can’t see me, you can’t see me!’ it mumbled to itself in a soft, squeaky voice.
Song Zhe looked at the panda, thinking it looked a little familiar. "Isn’t this the panda that was pooping this morning?"
"Hey, I think it is. How did it get here? Where’s its keeper?" Zhong Siqi looked around but saw no one else.
Song Yi spoke proudly, his words full of confidence, "It must have come looking for Big King."
Gu Zhao drew near and stroked its head. "What are you doing here? Does your keeper know?"
Only after hearing Gu Zhao’s voice did the panda dare to cautiously lift its head and sniff the air with its damp little nose.
’It’s the scent of the nice human!’
The panda looked at Gu Zhao and let out a couple of aggrieved whimpers. "Sister, I missed you."
"Please, can I stay with you?" The panda nuzzled its head against Gu Zhao.
Its little eyes darted up, secretly watching Gu Zhao’s expression.
’My daddy-keeper loves it when I nuzzle him. He always gives me yummy treats when I do!’
Zhong Mingrui reached out to pet it. The panda glanced at him and allowed it, even letting out a soft little coo in his direction.
’This is Sister’s friend. I can bribe him.’
"Brother! It’s so soft!!" Zhong Mingrui was ecstatic.
Song Yi also got his hands in and gave it a few pets.
Zhong Siqi and Song Zhe were getting jealous!!
They wanted to pet it, too!
But the panda was playing favorites. Other than Gu Xulin, it wouldn’t let any of the other adults touch it!
When Song Zhe reached out his hand, the panda swatted it away with a paw.
After swatting him, it turned to Gu Zhao with an aggrieved look.
[AHHHH MY HEART IS GOING TO EXPLODE FROM THE CUTENESS!! Good little cub~ Come give your auntie a kiss!!]
[LET ME AT HIM!! I’M GONNA KISS HIM BALD!!]
[Such a squishy little mochi ball! I wanna steal it!]
[I’M NOT JEALOUS!! I’M GONNA MAKE MY BOYFRIEND BIRTH ONE FOR ME!!]
The keepers, who had been frantically searching for the panda, got the news and came running over.
When they arrived, they saw their five-month-old, normally aloof cub letting everyone pet it like it was a free-for-all.
The keepers: ...
The panda jumped again when it saw them. Seemingly understanding their intentions, it immediately wrapped all four paws around Gu Zhao’s leg.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph~" It even grunted smugly at its keepers.
There was nothing to be done. The panda cub’s ears drooped, and it absolutely refused to budge.
The keepers had no choice but to leave it with Gu Zhao for the time being. As they walked away, they kept looking back over their shoulders,
hoping the panda would run after them.
But the panda only had eyes for Gu Zhao.
Gu Xulin felt a chill. ’So, I’m supposed to sleep with a gorilla and a panda now, is that it?!’
’Does anyone care how I feel about this?!’
No one cared how he felt. In fact, he was the one who had to worry about Gu Zhao!
"Gu Xiao Zhao, can’t you walk for two seconds?" Gu Xulin sounded utterly helpless.
’How does everyone else raise their kids? Why is the one I’m raising so lazy?’
Gu Zhao was being carried by a horse, sprawled lazily across its back.
The horse had trotted over on its own accord.
For free.
The panda trotted along on its four legs right beside the horse.
Gu Zhao drawled lazily, "Fourth Brother, there’s something you don’t know. I took a DNA test yesterday. The moment I learned I was, in fact, a lazy bum, I cried all night. I cried until I lost my voice and my eyes swelled shut. But in the end, I found peace. If heaven has decreed that I am to be a lazy bum, then I must embrace my destiny."
Gu Xulin: ...’You slept like a log last night.’
’It’s all because of that damn phone!’
The two little ones were confused. ’Isn’t Big King the Monkey King?’
’Oh well. The Lazy Bum King is cool, too.’
...
Task cards were scattered throughout the corners of the wildlife park. To complete a task, they first had to find it.
The other three teams had also accepted that they would now have an animal companion living and eating with them.
Having collected themselves, they too now set out to "forage" for tasks.
Ye Zuiyi and Ye Zexi were still teamed up with Tong Jianfeng and his daughter.
The four of them were searching the Golden Monkey activity area.
Elegant monkeys sat obediently in the trees and on the rocks, watching them.
"I don’t think the director would make it that easy for us." Ye Zuiyi’s brow furrowed for a moment before smoothing out, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Perhaps we should check the trees, or on the animals themselves."
A slight smile touched Ye Zexi’s lips, and his voice, gentler than he himself realized, was soft as he spoke. "Good idea. Yibao, you’re so thorough."
Tong Jianfeng also smiled and chimed in with praise, but his eyes, as they rested on Ye Zuiyi, held a hint of some unreadable emotion.
Just then, Tong Yunxin looked up and noticed his expression. Her body gave an involuntary shudder, and her knuckles turned white as she clutched her teddy bear.
After searching a while longer, Ye Zexi spotted a card in the hand of a Golden Monkey.
"There!" Ye Zexi yelled, looking at the Golden Monkey in the tree.
Looking at the monkey, the group was once again at a loss.
"How are we supposed to get up there?" Ye Zexi frowned.
Tong Jianfeng thought for a moment. "How about we try to lure it down?"
Before they could act, they heard Tang Yuexuan’s voice from nearby.
"Ying! There’s one here!" Tang Yuexuan spotted a card under a rock. She picked it up excitedly and waved it at Tang Yueying, who was searching in another area.
She could finally feel some vindication! Tang Yueying had been ignoring her for the past few days.
Tang Yueying sighed in resignation and walked over. Ye Zuiyi’s group arrived at the same time.
"Teacher Ye? Teacher Tong?" Tang Yuexuan was taken aback. "Can we help you?"
She didn’t seem to understand why they were coming over to talk to her.
Tong Jianfeng looked up, the fine lines around his eyes crinkling. A smile touched his lips and reached his eyes. "It must be tough with just the two of you. Why don’t you join our group? We can all watch out for each other."
Ye Zuiyi added with a sweet smile, "That’s right, Sister Tang! You should join us."
Tang Yuexuan let out a soft "Ah," as if she was just now processing the situation.
"I..." She instinctively glanced at her sister. Seeing Tang Yueying’s unhappy expression, she quickly refused. "No, no, it’s fine. We’re managing just fine on our own. But thank you for the offer, Teacher Tong, Teacher Ye, and Yibao."
Ye Zexi’s expression instantly turned cold.
Ye Zuiyi put on a wronged expression and looked at Tang Yueying. "Zhaozhao and I just have a small misunderstanding. I don’t want it to cause friction between everyone."
Tang Yueying frowned. "What does this have to do with Gu Zhao? My sister and I simply don’t want to join you."
"But... Sister Tang was willing to work with me last time..." Ye Zuiyi lowered her gaze, looking heartbroken.
Her words were loaded, implicitly asking, ’Did Gu Zhao say something to you?’
They had been willing to cooperate last time, but now they were refusing outright.
[She kinda has a point. I didn’t really like Ye Zuiyi at first, but what she’s saying isn’t wrong. There’s no reason for a conflict between two people to affect the whole group.]
[I agree. The conflict between them is their private business. Why should everyone get dragged into it?]
[??? Are you guys serious?! Gu Zhao never told anyone to ignore her. In fact, Gu Zhao can’t even be bothered with her, okay!]
[Gu Zhao: This lazy bum doesn’t want to get into drama. Stay away!]
