Knowing names made greeting each other much more convenient.
Duan Li said, “Qi’an, I’m really glad to have met such an obedient and fun fox today. I have some things to handle at the park, so I’ll have to head out first.”
As it happened, Ning Qi’an checked the time and realized it was almost his promised meeting time with Bai Tu. He nodded and said, “Goodbye, Sister Duan.”
Duan Li replied, “Goodbye. If you like it here, come by often. I won’t charge you for a ticket.”
Ning Qi’an waited at the meeting spot for a few minutes before Bai Tu appeared from another path, chomping on a carrot stick.
Ning Qi’an asked, “Did you go feed the rabbits too?”
Bai Tu replied, “Huh? No. Bought them at the bunny garden—5 sticks for 10 yuan, total rip-off.”
The zoo sold fruits and vegetables for visitors to feed the gentle animals, so the high price was for the experience and fun of feeding, not the produce itself.
Bai Tu was the independent type; he used three sticks to feed the rabbits and the other two to feed his own stomach.
With a crisp “crunch,” Bai Tu tossed the rest of the half-stick into his mouth, clapped his hands, and said, “I couldn’t help the craving, and the zoo doesn’t allow outside food.”
He plucked a strand of red fur from the hem of Ning Qi’an’s jacket and asked, “Doesn’t the Fox Pavilion have no pathways for close-up interaction? What gives? Did you go in there to sell yourself?”
Ning Qi’an answered honestly, “I met the director. She invited me in to help take care of the foxes and said if I like it, I can come often and she won’t charge me for a ticket.”
As soon as Bai Tu heard this, he knew something was off and laughed out loud, “You really are a good soul.” Working for free and still happy about it.
As time passed, to prevent a repeat of the noon disaster, Ning Qi’an had Bai Tu help keep the fox hat safe and headed back on the bus an hour early. Going through the motions, he stood in front of the elevator, inputting the code he got at noon.
“009007.”
The elevator started moving. Sure enough, it was correct. He had bet right—no need to climb any pipes!
Once inside, he entered the code again. Checking his phone, it was already 5:45 PM. Secretary Chen seemed to like arriving early; at noon, he had been more than ten minutes early.
Ning Qi’an hurriedly stuffed his phone under the dog bed, transformed back into his original form, and hid in the bed pretending to play with a yellow chicken toy, while his ears stayed alert, listening for any sounds outside.
Before long, the door opened, and it was indeed Secretary Chen.
Ning Qi’an acted as if nothing had happened and went to greet him. Secretary Chen changed into disposable shoe covers and brought in a food container.
Ning Qi’an twitched his nose. Was that… carrots for dinner?
He began to doubt his sense of smell.
When the container opened, a large expanse of reddish-orange greeted him, along with a small piece of boiled chicken breast.
A question mark slowly rose over Ning Qi’an’s head.
Why should a fox eat vegetables?
“This is punishment for you running outside the balcony partition at noon,” Secretary Chen said, seemingly reading his confusion. “Besides, Young Master Qin instructed that you should be fed according to a human diet, and humans can’t eat meat at every meal.”
Ning Qi’an: …Humans get three meals a day, so why don’t I?
He protested angrily, clawing at the floor and howling.
Secretary Chen didn’t speak; he simply recorded a video with his phone, tapped the screen, and sent it to Qin Suixi.
A minute later, a voice message came through.
[Young Master Qin: If you dare to be a picky eater, you’ll go hungry from now on.]
Perhaps worried Ning Qi’an wouldn’t hear it, Secretary Chen turned the phone volume to the max. A fox’s hearing was keen, and Qin Suixi’s voice echoed in Ning Qi’an’s ears.
If you dare to be a picky eater, you’ll go hungry from now on… Go hungry from now on… Hungry…
Ning Qi’an silently retracted his protesting claws. The mission had failed before it even started; living under someone else’s roof, one had to bow one’s head.
He closed his eyes and tentatively licked it. No matter how well the cook prepared it, to him, it was all the same.
It tasted terrible.
Ning Qi’an sighed inwardly. Get it over with quickly. He took a deep breath, like a soldier baring his teeth, and swallowed the food whole.
Leaving the small piece of chicken breast for last to clear the carrot taste from his mouth, Ning Qi’an regained his will to live…
Screw that, his mouth felt incredibly bland. He missed the grilled chicken leg Bai Tu had given him…
“If you finish this, there’s more.”
Secretary Chen reached out and revealed the second layer of the container.
It was a pile of peeled and sliced pears.
The fox, whose WeChat name was “Fox Doesn’t Eat Pears,” thought: …
Damn it. Is this Qin Suixi’s punishment for sneaking out?
“Be good, just finish the fruit,” Secretary Chen whispered like a devil, trying to bait him.
If it weren’t pears sitting in front of him, Ning Qi’an would have fallen for it.
How could a food like pears even exist? He hated pears just as some humans hated cilantro.
Ning Qi’an refused to yield to the end. He jumped onto the sofa, trying to look Secretary Chen in the eye to express his firm stance.
Secretary Chen smiled slightly and played the voice message again.
[Young Master Qin: If you dare to be a picky eater, you’ll go hungry from now on.]
Ning Qi’an shuddered. Between the suffering of the future and the torture of the present, he chose to act.
He jumped off the sofa and tremblingly licked the sweet, sticky juice off the surface of a pear, then exaggeratedly opened his mouth and made a retching gesture.
While he dry-heaved, he peeked sideways to see Secretary Chen’s reaction.
Secretary Chen had met countless people and was an expert at dealing with the “smiling tigers” of the business world, but he had never dealt with pets like cats or dogs.
He immediately looked worried, assuming the fox really couldn’t eat pears. He quickly took a photo with his phone to send to Qin Suixi and hurried to bring water, placing it on the ground.
Seeing this, Ning Qi’an knew he had won. He drooped his ears, acted listless, licked the clear water symbolically a few times, and then dragged his big tail away, leaving Secretary Chen with a back view that screamed, “I need some space,” before retreating into his bed.
At the same time, on the other end, Qin Suixi saw the photo. His subconscious told him the fox was faking it, but seeing the fox in the photo looking truly miserable, a strange emotion suppressed his lingering doubts. He sent a voice message:
[It doesn’t like them, so forget it. I’ll come back early tomorrow and take it to the vet.]
Secretary Chen’s phone volume was still at maximum. Ning Qi’an, who looked like he was sleeping, was actually eavesdropping.
Oh yeah! Escaped by a hair!
As for the vet, he wasn’t sick, so what was there to fear? But since Qin Suixi would be coming back early, tomorrow’s escape plan would have to be cancelled.
Secretary Chen, unaware of Ning Qi’an’s secret schemes, replied:
[Chen: Understood, Young Master Qin.]
The door clicked shut, leaving the room empty. Ning Qi’an kicked the yellow chicken toy away and fished out the phone from under the dog bed.
Fox claws weren’t convenient, so he transformed back into his human form and lay in the dog bed. The dog bed Secretary Chen bought was the extra-large size; the 174cm-tall Ning Qi’an could fit if he curled up.
He opened WeChat and sent an “I’m sorry” to both Luo Haitang and Huang Muquan.
Although he hadn’t told them yet, he had already stood them up.
The first to reply was Luo Haitang, that peacock who slacked off every day.
[Such a Beautiful Begonia Flower: Did you cheat on us?] [Fox Doesn’t Eat Pears: Something like that.] [Such a Beautiful Begonia Flower: ???]
A moment later, his phone vibrated—a message from Huang Muquan.
[Aaaa Yongfeng Hotel Manager Huang: Did you go behind my back and eat something good?]
These guys… couldn’t they think of something nice about him?
It was too much trouble to switch pages, so he started a group chat with the three of them, renaming the group to “The Strongest Combination on Earth.”
[Such a Beautiful Begonia Flower: ?] [Aaaa Yongfeng Hotel Manager Huang: ?] [Fox Doesn’t Eat Pears: ?]