Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Panda Beastman Zhu Qingqing

"Bullying a weak female in broad daylight... I simply couldn’t stand by and watch."

The sharp, mocking laughter stopped abruptly. Zhu Qingqing snapped her head up to see the Beastmen who had been taunting her collapse to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

An old male was standing with his back to her, leaning on a cane. He turned, his expression kind. "Are you alright, little one?"

"I-I’m fine."

Zhu Qingqing stammered, "Th-thank you. What happened to them...?"

The old male said nonchalantly, "They’ve just been hit with my poison. They’re only temporarily unconscious and will wake up in a little while."

Zhu Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they weren’t dead, it was fine.

This was the first time anyone had ever spoken up for her, and she was at a complete loss for what to do. The old male seemed to notice.

He chuckled. "No need to be nervous. I just can’t stand to see them bullying the weak."

"Little one, it seems you’re often bullied by them. That won’t do. You can’t survive in the exiled land with such a timid nature."

Zhu Qingqing whispered, "I don’t want to be, but I can’t seem to change..."

She knew she was bullied because she was overweight and lacked Fertility. She had tried to lose weight, even starving herself to the point of fainting several times, but she hadn’t been able to lose a single pound.

The old male said patiently, "If you can’t change yourself, you can try changing how others see you."

"Change how others see me?"

"Exactly. Take Boss Yu, the one with the stall, for example. Her status among the Beastmen is quite high, isn’t it?"

He coaxed her, "If you could associate yourself with Boss Yu, the members of your tribe would surely start looking at you in a new light."

Zhu Qingqing stared blankly in the direction of the fried chicken stall, her eyes flashing with a mix of longing and hesitation.

"I don’t know how... A female as wonderful as Boss Yu would never think I’m worthy..."

A flicker of impatience crossed the old male’s eyes, but he maintained his patient tone. "Boss Yu sells her food every day, which requires a lot of prep work. She’s bound to hire help eventually."

"If you find a way to get her to hire you, your fellow tribe members will surely see you in a different light once they see you working for Boss Yu."

"Of course," he added, "I just can’t stand seeing you bullied all the time, so I’m giving you an idea. Whether you act on it is up to you."

This time, Zhu Qingqing hesitated for much longer. Just before the old male’s patience wore out, she finally made up her mind. "Thank you! I’ll do my best!"

’I’m strong, and I can endure any hardship. Even without pay, as long as it makes people respect me... no, as long as they just stop mocking me, I’ll do anything!’

The old male nodded, satisfied. "Go on, then."

He turned to leave, but Zhu Qingqing hurriedly called out to him. "Excuse me, may I know your name?"

The old male didn’t turn around. "Han Fengyun."

Zhu Qingqing repeated the name to herself twice, then bowed respectfully in the direction he had disappeared.

With three laborers at her disposal, Yu An had no plans to hire anyone for the time being.

On her way back after selling out of fried chicken, she saw a familiar figure standing by the side of the road, craning their neck as if waiting for someone. The moment their eyes met, the person quickly looked down.

But they quickly looked up again, nervously wringing their hands. They seemed to want to flag down the cart, but didn’t dare.

Sensing the cart slow down, Mo Yan asked, puzzled, "An’an, why are we slowing down?"

Yu An gestured ahead. "It looks like she needs something."

As they spoke, the cart pulled to a stop beside Zhu Qingqing. Seeing that she was holding a container of half-eaten fried chicken, Yu An hopped off and asked gently, "I remember you. Is there a problem with the fried chicken?"

"N-no."

Zhu Qingqing hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time. She summoned all her courage, but her words still came out in a stammer.

"Then is there something I can help you with?"

"I, I wanted..."

Zhu Qingqing clenched her fists and rushed out in one breath, "Boss Yu, are you looking for help? I can do anything! I don’t need any wages, I don’t need anything, really!"

Yu An never expected to hear something like that. She was completely shocked. "You don’t want anything?"

’Is she crazy? Why work if not for money? If there’s no pay, what’s the freaking point!’

Zhu Qingqing nodded eagerly. "Yes, nothing at all."

Yu An didn’t consider herself a capitalist, but she really didn’t have any plans to hire anyone at the moment. She gently turned her down. "I can manage on my own for now, so I don’t need any help. If I do need to hire someone in the future, why don’t you come back then, okay?"

Realizing she was being rejected, Zhu Qingqing’s eyes reddened. She didn’t dare say another word, afraid of annoying Yu An.

"I... I understand. Thank you, Boss Yu."

She turned to go, but as Yu An’s gaze swept over the ears on top of her head, an idea struck. She called out, "Can I ask what your beast form is?"

Zhu Qingqing stopped in her tracks. In a small voice, she said, "A bear... but I don’t look like the other members of the Bear Clan. I’m very, very ugly."

The old Clan Leader had found her and brought her back to the Qingyan Tribe. She grew up on the charity of many families. The original thinking was that saving a life and adding another female to the tribe was worth it, so no one minded sparing a bit of food.

But after Zhu Qingqing grew up, they discovered she had no Fertility. What’s more, she seemed to gain weight just by drinking water. While her chubbiness was cute when she was little, it was no longer considered so when she grew up to weigh more than anyone else in the tribe.

Some people assumed she was overweight because she was greedy and lazy, so they stopped giving her food.

Yu An asked tentatively, "Is it black and white?"

Zhu Qingqing nodded, only to see a flash of sheer ecstasy in Yu An’s eyes.

"Can I see it?"

Yu An quickly added, "But it’s fine if you don’t want to! No pressure."

’A black-and-white bear... It could very well be...’

Zhu Qingqing summoned her courage, nodded, and then shifted into her beast form.

A fluffy ball of black and white fur appeared. Yu An couldn’t resist reaching out and giving it a squeeze.

’It feels amazing!’

"You said you wanted to work for me earlier?"

Zhu Qingqing nodded, dazed, not understanding why Yu An was bringing it up again.

"I agree," Yu An decided on the spot. "Five silver coins a month. I’ll cover your meals, but not your lodging. How does that sound?"

The sudden offer left Zhu Qingqing completely stunned.

She managed to say, "Boss Yu, didn’t you just say you didn’t need any help? And... that’s too much pay."

’But I really want to raise a giant panda! I couldn’t do it in my past life, so I have to satisfy that urge now!’

Yu An cleared her throat. "Let’s just say I changed my mind. The pay is high because I think you’re adorable. If you feel bad about it, how about you just let me pet you whenever I want?"

SWISH—

Four gazes landed on Yu An at the same time. ’Female Master, Female Mother, we’ll let you pet us whenever you want! And for free!’

But Yu An didn’t even glance their way. After getting Zhu Qingqing’s consent, she gave the panda form several more enthusiastic pets.

"Come back with me for now. You can return to the Qingyan Tribe after your work is done. For now, you can help me collect money when I set up my stall."

Zhu Qingqing nodded eagerly. "Okay!"

She didn’t shift back into her human form, instead trotting alongside the cart in her beast form, her steps lighter than they had ever been.

’I’m not clever, but even I know that it’s my beast form Yu An likes.’

’I was always mocked because my beast form was different from everyone else’s. But now, I’m so grateful for it.’

Not long after the group had departed, the figure of Han Fengyun appeared.

He stared at Han Li’s departing back for a long while before his gaze shifted to Yu An.

’He actually got involved with the one that person from the Imperial City wants to deal with. Even if I don’t make a move, my "dear" son is going to lose his life.’

’Oh well. For the sake of our former father-son relationship, I can at least grant them an intact corpse.’