So, high school students are just as pitiful as Qin Sui-xi.
Ning Qi-an suddenly developed a sense of reverence for the “high school student” collective.
Ning Qi-an looked back at the foxes playing inside and, recalling Duan Li’s invitation, couldn’t help but feel moved.
“Can I really go in?”
Duan Li swept the hair in front of her shoulder and said, “I have at least that much authority. Come on over.”
As expected of the zoo director, she knew the place like the back of her hand. Leading Ning Qi-an through several turns, she arrived at a small door with a red warning sign posted on it: Staff Only!
Duan Li skillfully opened the door with a key and led Ning Qi-an inside with a grand, swaggering air.
The small door connected to a large space, which was further divided into small rooms with different functions. Duan Li tossed a pair of gloves and a bucket of meat over, saying, “Just in time, I haven’t fed them today yet. You go do it.”
Ning Qi-an caught them in a flurry of panic and said, “Oh, okay, thank you, Director.”
Duan Li smiled craftily. “Don’t mention it.”
The fox exhibit’s zookeeper was off for the weekend, and Duan Li was supposed to handle it for the day; she hadn’t expected to find a free laborer.
As soon as the small door opened, the foxes—who had been lying lazily on the grass soaking up the sun—scrambled up and rushed toward Ning Qi-an like a swarm.
After Ning Qi-an closed the door and turned back, he was met with over a dozen pairs of eyes.
“It’s a human, a human is here, and he’s carrying food!”
“I’m so hungry, hurry up and feed me!”
“Why is it a different person? Oh well, as long as he brought meat.”
Voices that humans couldn’t hear surged into his ears; the foxes were talking.
He had never seen so many of his own kind all at once.
Foxes are not pack animals; even foxes from the same mountain usually stay far apart.
Ning Qi-an managed to carve out a path, wobbling as he walked to the place where they usually ate, and spread the meat from the bucket evenly.
After doing that, he noticed some fox droppings in the corners and used a shovel to clean them up. He spotted some weeds floating in the water trough, fished them out, and turned on the tap to fill the trough.
Once finished, he sat down in the middle of the well-fed fox pack, watching them lick their fur and paws.
Perhaps because of a strange sense of perception between creatures of the same kind, a red fox cautiously approached him—this stranger it was seeing for the first time.
“Why does this human smell like a fox?”
Ning Qi-an heard it speak. He took off his glove and waved, saying, “Hello?”
The red fox was startled by his movement and pulled its head back, but seeing that he didn’t do anything else, it leaned back in.
His hand finally rested on the red fox’s head. The fur poked through his fingers; the texture was very pleasant.
No wonder Qin Sui-xi liked to pet his head; it turns out there was a reason for it. If it were him, he wouldn’t be able to stop either.
Ning Qi-an’s eyes curved into crescents, his voice filled with joy: “Good afternoon, little fox.”
He moved his fingers from the top of its head to its chin, scratching it, and was rewarded with the fox’s comfortable hum.
“Hello, hello, yes, right there, that’s the spot! Awesome!”
As a fox himself, he knew better what technique would please a fox. Compared to Qin Sui-xi’s “stew-like” petting technique, this was vastly superior.
Thinking of Qin Sui-xi, Ning Qi-an couldn’t help but wonder how his business trip was going.
But within seconds, he cast that fleeting thought aside and sighed contentedly while hugging the little fox.
It wasn’t his business to worry; although Qin Sui-xi was a bit odd, he was at least reliable.
Far away, hundreds of miles away, Qin Sui-xi: Achoo!
He stifled a sneeze.
Strange, why had he been wanting to sneeze so much lately? He should probably make some cold medicine when he gets back.
“Young Master Qin, you have a video conference at 8:00 tonight with… Mr. Ouyang Feng.”
When mentioning that name, Li Xin paused subtly. Her fingers curled into a loose fist before relaxing a moment later.
Qin Sui-xi didn’t notice her subtle movement and said, “Mm.”
Ouyang Feng was a rare talent; if he joined Tian Qin, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.
His gaze swept over the caked foundation under Li Xin’s eyes and the color discrepancy near her ears. He paused and said, “Nothing urgent for now. Secretary Li, go back to the hotel to freshen up; we’ll discuss it tonight.”
Li Xin lowered her head, said “Okay,” and left with Qin Sui-xi’s permission.
Looking at the boundless blue ocean outside the hotel, where a couple was laughing and playing on the beach with a Golden Retriever darting around their feet, Qin Sui-xi suddenly felt a touch of melancholy.
He realized he hadn’t taken the fox out for a walk yet. Perhaps he could bring it to the Shuangchi Beach before the end of the year.
As the waves rolled in, the Golden Retriever lunged into the water, but didn’t last more than a few seconds before scrambling back to the shore, visibly shivering.
Qin Sui-xi: … It’s too cold in winter. Better wait until after the new year.
Meanwhile, the object of someone’s thoughts, Ning Qi-an, happily left his group of fluffy kin and added Duan Li as a contact.
Looking at the two new people on his list, Ning Qi-an cheered quietly: two more friends!
One of the tasks Ning Qi-an had set for himself when coming down the mountain was to make ten friends, and he was already halfway there.
Of course, Uncle Qin didn’t count.
Ning Qi-an still felt the distance one has toward a senior when it came to Qin Yuan, even if the man claimed to have held him.
Plenty of spirits had held him—like Uncle Badger and Aunt Banyan tree back in the mountains, and his brothers and sisters, hadn’t they held him too?
But since Qin Yuan had transferred him money, Ning Qi-an just treated it as payment for helping out.
When adding WeChat, Duan Li accidentally glanced at his screen and said, “You even added Yang Er-hu?”
Ning Qi-an: “Who?”
Duan Li: “The goat who sells hats at the entrance.”
Once she said that, Ning Qi-an knew who she meant. He had been too busy taking care of the foxes to look at his phone, but an hour ago, Uncle Goat had accepted his friend request, and the system notification had bumped his profile down to the second spot.
Ning Qi-an subconsciously touched the fox ears on top of his head and replied, “Yes, he gave me this hat.”
Duan Li: “I guessed that the moment I saw it.”
She also had a fake antelope-horn hat, but the horns were too long to be convenient. Aside from being fascinated the first time she wore it, she found it too cumbersome and hadn’t touched it since, leaving it to collect dust at home.
As if remembering something, a few extra lines appeared near her sharp eye corners.
Ning Qi-an noticed her unusual state and asked with concern, “Director, are you okay?”
Duan Li: “I’m fine. Just thought of an ex-boyfriend.”
An ex-boyfriend? Ning Qi-an thought about what that title implied.
It made sense; the director was in her thirties, so having an ex-boyfriend was normal. He just didn’t know if the ex was human or a spirit.
Ning Qi-an didn’t intend to pry into her privacy, but felt it would be impolite to say nothing, so he said an awkward “Oh.”
Seeing his at-a-loss expression, Duan Li smiled and said, “My name is ‘Duan Li.’ You can call me ‘Sister Duan’.”
Ning Qi-an caught on quickly and called out “Sister Duan,” then immediately introduced himself: “My name is ‘Ning Qi-an’.”
Duan Li: “Is it the ‘Qi’ (strange) from ‘strange’?”
“No,” Ning Qi-an sent his name over.
Duan Li looked at it and said, “Oh, it’s the ‘Qi’ (auspicious) from ‘auspicious’.”
Ning Qi-an hesitated. “I suppose?”
He wasn’t that proficient in Chinese characters yet.