Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Who Would Steal Your Underpants?

Terry glanced at Gu Ning, then turned his gaze back to his own terminal, taking the opportunity to mock Alex.

"Be careful, Alex. Don’t let the little Mixed Breed steal your underwear."

A wave of laughter echoed through the office.

Alex ignored the others’ ridicule. Placing a hand on Gu Ning’s shoulder, he asked, "Would you steal my underwear?"

Gu Ning was speechless. ’Why is he asking me that with such a straight face?!’

’Who would steal your underwear?’

The mere mention of underwear made Gu Ning a little irritated.

Ever since she’d lost her favorite pair in the public bathhouse the other day, she hadn’t been able to find them.

’Could a Beastman really do something like that?’

’What a pervert!’

Seeing Alex looking at her, still waiting for an answer, Gu Ning shook her head.

"Good." Alex walked toward a room on his left. "Come on."

Gu Ning quickly followed.

Thankfully, Alex had a relatively private office cubicle.

Alex slid the door shut, sealing them off from the main office area, and then walked to his desk.

"Over here." Alex picked up a stack of files from his desk. He glanced at the little Mixed Breed standing frozen by the door and tapped lightly on the desktop.

After a moment’s hesitation, Gu Ning walked over to his side.

"Can you read?" Alex asked.

Gu Ning paused. She looked at the documents on the desk and could barely pick out a few words she recognized.

She usually relied on her terminal’s translator to learn the Beastman language, and in just over a month, she hadn’t managed to learn much.

Gu Ning thought for a moment, then took out a pen and paper from her pocket and wrote: *Just a little.*

Alex took the paper from her.

’...’ He was surprised that he could understand her meaning at a glance.

"In that case, how about you stay by my side and learn from me? I’ll teach you how to read. Are you willing?" Alex asked, handing the piece of paper back to Gu Ning.

Gu Ning didn’t answer him right away. She was thinking.

The construction site wasn’t idle; in fact, everyone was incredibly busy, rushing to finish building the defensive fortifications before the onset of winter.

Even if she was Alex’s assistant and he was a nice person, for him to take half a day just to teach her seemed a bit too extravagant at such a critical time.

"Half a day of studying, half a day of work," Alex said. "You’ll be paid in full—the same wages as the other Beastmen."

Gu Ning looked at him in astonishment.

She didn’t actually need the wages anymore. Her five-second teaser video alone had already earned her over a million in donations.

But it wasn’t money she lacked right now; it was a way to better integrate into this world.

To survive in a strange Otherworld, just having money wasn’t enough.

If she didn’t understand this world, any amount of money would be like thin ice beneath her feet—it would shatter the moment she stepped on it, unable to support her weight.

She was like a newborn baby, needing to relearn everything. And her capacity to accept and learn was no better than an infant’s.

She needed to accept an entirely new civilization and culture, one completely different from her former world. She had to suppress her inner anxiety and fear to find her footing here.

However, this world wasn’t friendly to Mixed Breeds, making it very difficult for her to establish herself.

That was why she wanted to do her best to protect Cook’s credit score, so she could go with him to live in a better region. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’Somewhere in this world, there must be a place that can accept them and treat them kindly.’

’There must be kind and friendly Beastmen like Alex, too.’

Alex was giving her the same equal pay as the other Beastmen, which proved he didn’t discriminate against Mixed Breeds.

He was even willing to teach her. He was practically a mutant among Beastmen.

Gu Ning wrote a question mark on the paper and handed it to Alex.

Alex took it and said, "Are you asking why I’m teaching you? Or why I want you to work by my side?"

Gu Ning nodded. Both.

"It’s obvious your physique and stamina aren’t suited for heavy labor," Alex said bluntly. "You’re the smartest and easiest-to-communicate-with Mixed Breed I’ve ever met. You should be doing more suitable work, not wasting your abilities in a position that doesn’t fit you."

Listening to the mechanical translation from her earpiece, Gu Ning felt that, aside from Cook, Barto, and the others, these were the most humane words she had heard since crossing over into this world.

Alex continued, "It’s just that you can’t read well right now and don’t understand everything people say. If you want to do a good job as my assistant, you’ll still need to study hard."

Gu Ning was speechless. ’...And there goes the warmth.’

"Can you understand what I mean?" Alex asked in a gentle tone.

Gu Ning nodded.

’His words were a little blunt, but they were the truth.’

’If she lost her terminal and took off her translation earpiece, she’d be nothing but a hopeless illiterate in the Beastman World.’

Alex patted the chair on the inner side of the desk. "Today is your first lesson."

Gu Ning paused for a moment before sitting down in the massive chair.

The chair was built for a Beastman’s physique. When she sat down, she was perched right on the edge, unable to reach either the desk in front or the backrest behind. She felt stranded. If she were to lean back, she’d look less like a student and more like a pampered lord enjoying his leisure.

Seeing her prim posture, Alex raised an eyebrow and pushed the chair in a little so she could reach the desk.

Then, he placed a textbook for three-to-five-year-old Beast cubs in front of her, along with a translation pen.

He switched on the translation pen, scanned a word in the textbook, and the pen immediately read the word aloud.

Gu Ning was speechless. ’...Is this some kind of reading pen?’

After demonstrating how to use the pen a few times, Alex handed it to her. "Memorize the vocabulary in this book first. Once you can write them out from memory, I’ll teach you other things."

Gu Ning had no objections. Looking at the cover, which showed several little Beast cubs playing with a ball, she understood that this was basically the Beastman version of an elementary school textbook.

’With systematic language instruction, I’ll be able to learn a little faster.’

Alex rested a hand on the back of her chair. Watching Gu Ning use the translation pen for a while, he said, "It would be even better if you could read them out loud."

Gu Ning froze, her grip on the translation pen tightening for an instant.

"You have your regression under good control," Alex said. "Many Mixed Breeds’ linguistic abilities may have degenerated, but their vocal cords can still produce sound. You can give it a try. It’s fine even if you read one word at a time. It will be very helpful for maintaining your language skills."

Gu Ning thought to herself, ’It’s not that I *can’t* read them out loud...’

’It’s that I’d scare you to death if I did.’

Seeing that Gu Ning didn’t react much to his words, Alex didn’t press the issue. Things had to be taken one step at a time.

"Call me if you have any questions." Alex patted Gu Ning’s shoulder and went to another desk nearby to handle his work files.

At first, Gu Ning was a little nervous with Alex right there. But gradually, as she saw him focus on his own work without paying her too much attention, she calmed down and began to study the contents of the textbook seriously.

She channeled the same spirit she’d once used to cram for final exams, and in a single morning, she managed to memorize and write out nearly half the book’s vocabulary.

The Beastman elementary textbook was fairly simple. Or perhaps it was because she already had a foundation in language. Gu Ning felt a small swell of pride.

"Boss, the food’s here."

A Beastman carrying two large bowls of food pushed the door open and entered the inner office.

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing the surprised voice, Gu Ning looked up. Wasn’t this the Beastman foreman who managed her timecard?

Alex checked the time and said to Gu Ning, "After you eat, rest for a bit. This afternoon, we’re going up on the wall."

Gu Ning nodded and got up to walk out.

"Where are you going?" Alex called out to her.

Gu Ning quickly wrote on the paper: *Going to the restroom.*

Alex put down the file in his hands. "Follow me."