Taotao was a female giant panda, smaller in size compared to others her age.
With her short arms and legs, whenever she sat on the ground, she looked like an equilateral triangle—extraordinarily cute.
At this moment, sunlight poured into the yard.
Taotao sat by the pond, leisurely crossing her little feet as she munched on bamboo shoots.
Ruan Xingyao walked into the yard and called out from a distance.
“Hello, Taotao.”
She spoke while slowly approaching Taotao.
Zhou Yuan and Zhou Heqing were still standing inside the doorway.
Zhou Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “Grandfather, are you sure she’s really fine?”
Taotao was no longer a cub.
Though her temperament was gentle and well-behaved, letting Ruan Xingyao go in like this… what if something happened?
Zhou Yuan wasn’t worried about Ruan Xingyao getting hurt—he was worried about her harming Taotao.
Zhou Heqing said, “Let’s just observe for now.”
By this time, Ruan Xingyao had already reached Taotao’s side.
She resisted the urge to reach out and pet her.
Instead, she crouched down about five steps away.
With both hands propping up her cheeks, she gazed at Taotao with sparkling starry eyes, nearly squealing silently in excitement.
Although she had grown up in the Beast-Taming Sect, she had rarely ever seen a giant panda.
Now, being able to get this close, how could Ruan Xingyao not be thrilled?
Taotao glanced at her once and continued chomping on her bamboo shoots.
Ruan Xingyao simply sat herself down right there on the grass.
But being stared at so intently, Taotao suddenly didn’t find her bamboo as tasty.
【Who is this two-legged creature? How come I’ve never seen her before? Why is she staring at me like that? So weird!】
【She’s not here to steal my bamboo, is she?!】
Hearing Taotao’s thoughts, Ruan Xingyao twitched her lips awkwardly.
Inwardly, she thought: So I’m being disliked, huh.
Taotao kept chewing and chewing.
After finishing one shoot, she carefully picked another from the pile and started munching again.
Ruan Xingyao gave a small cough, then quietly scooted a little closer to Taotao.
She said, “Hello, Taotao. Can I chat with you for a while?”
【What’s wrong with this two-legged creature? Talking to me as if I could actually understand her…】
Ruan Xingyao said, “I can understand you, you know. If you don’t believe me, try it.”
Taotao froze, her paw clutching the bamboo shoot going stiff.
The shoot even slipped from her grasp and fell onto the ground.
Her mouth fell slightly open, and her round eyes stared straight at Ruan Xingyao.
Her thoughts came tumbling out uncontrollably, streaming right into Ruan Xingyao’s ears.
【Oh my goodness! What in the world! A two-legged creature can talk to me?!】
【How is that possible! That’s terrifying!】
【It must be the bamboo I ate today. Something’s wrong with it. I’ll just eat another one.】
Thinking that, Taotao picked up another shoot and started chewing away.
Ruan Xingyao asked, “Taotao, Haichen is your good friend, right?”
Taotao froze mid-chew, and more thoughts spilled out.
【Haichen? That big dummy? Who’s his good friend? He’s such an idiot.】
Ruan Xingyao raised her brows and scooted a little closer toward Haichen’s side, then asked Taotao in a conspiratorial tone, “Taotao, can you tell me why Haichen isn’t your good friend?”
Taotao: 【Why? Because he’s sick! I don’t play with idiots!】
From Taotao’s thoughts, it was very clear—she really did dislike Haichen.
Ruan Xingyao asked, “Really? Then, Taotao, can you tell me what kind of sickness he has?”
Taotao: 【He’s always saying weird things.】
Ruan Xingyao’s eyes lit up, and she immediately pressed further: “What kind of weird things? Can you tell me?”
Taotao shot her a glance: 【What’s with this two-legged creature being so annoying, disturbing me while I eat my bamboo? I’m not telling her.】
Ruan Xingyao felt a little helpless.
Good grief—being disliked by a panda was one thing, but now she was even being toyed with by it.
Still, she didn’t press the issue any further.
Instead, she scooted back, not disturbing Taotao’s bamboo time anymore.
After retreating a good distance, Ruan Xingyao finally stood up and left the yard.
Back inside, both Zhou Heqing and Zhou Yuan turned to look at her in unison.
Unable to contain himself, Zhou Yuan anxiously blurted out, “Expert Ruan, what did Taotao just say to you?”
Ruan Xingyao lifted her eyelids and glanced at him.
From his eyes she could clearly read his mistrust—his whole expression screamed: Let’s see what kind of nonsense you’ll make up.
But Ruan Xingyao didn’t really mind.
She said, “It didn’t say much. Just that I was bothering it while it was eating bamboo, so it kicked me out.”
Sure enough, Zhou Yuan’s expression changed, his eyes now saying: As expected, she’s spouting nonsense.
Ruan Xingyao ignored Zhou Yuan’s look and instead turned to Zhou Heqing.
“But, Taotao did tell me that Haichen often says strange things. Once he wakes up, I’ll ask him about it.”
Zhou Heqing was anxious, but for now, there was nothing else they could do—they could only wait for Haichen to wake up.
Chen Yu walked over to Ruan Xingyao’s side and lowered his voice. “Xingxing, just out of curiosity… couldn’t you use the same method as with Buguo?”
Waiting for Haichen to wake up could take who knows how long, and even then, who could say what the situation might be?
Ruan Xingyao lifted her eyelids to glance at Chen Yu and said, “This is a giant panda. Do you really think, if I used that method, I’d still be able to walk out of Changcheng Zoo?”
Chen Yu said, “I’m not trying to argue, but… doesn’t that count as double standards?”
Ruan Xingyao said, “Of course. The reason I won’t use it is because there’s no need to.”
As she spoke, she lifted her chin slightly and pointed toward Haichen’s room.
It had already stretched its legs, looking like it was about to wake up.
Zhou Heqing and Zhou Yian also noticed that Haichen was waking up.
They both turned their eyes to Ruan Xingyao.
Zhou Heqing asked, “Expert Ruan, should we go over now?”
Ruan Xingyao replied, “No rush, let’s just follow Haichen’s pace.”
Haichen climbed down from the wooden bed, wandered around for a bit, drank some water by the pool, washed its face, and then walked to the doorway, plopping down on the ground.
Its back instantly looked especially desolate, radiating sorrow even from behind.
Ruan Xingyao asked, “Normally around this time, what does it eat?”
Zhou Yian said, “It’s supposed to be the same as Taotao, going out into the yard to eat bamboo. But it doesn’t like going into the yard, and it refuses to eat bamboo.”
Ruan Xingyao said, “That’s fine. Open the door, I’ll lure it outside.”
After speaking, she had already walked into the yard first.
She circled around to Haichen’s doorway and crouched down in front of it, separated by the iron gate.
Haichen acted as if he hadn’t seen her at all, staring off into the distance.
If it were a human, it would be the very picture of a melancholy young man.
If the weather at that moment had been drizzling rain, he’d have been the complete embodiment of a broodingly handsome guy with a perfect vibe.
Ruan Xingyao ended up amusing herself, laughing out loud rather unkindly.
— The end of the Chapter–
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