Chapter 213: Closed Pet Paradise

"So slow!"

After about half an hour, Yu Xueqing and Mo Yiqing finally emerged from the community clinic; An Sheng, who had been bored senseless and nearly dozed off, couldn't help but complain.

That crow next door is ridiculously talkative—almost as bad as Tang Sanzang in Journey to the West.

"Hssss"

As Mo Yiqing walked, she accidentally jolted her wound, sucked in a sharp breath, then turned to Yu Xueqing: "What did the little fox say?"

"What could the little fox say? He's asking why we haven't eaten yet."

Yu Xueqing sighed helplessly: "With your current gastroenteritis, stick to light food!"

"You don't want to keep feeling like there's a diamond-encrusted water jet inside your ass, right?"

"I eat with my mouth. Gastroenteritis is a gut issue—what does it have to do with my mouth?" Mo Yiqing immediately objected to Yu Xueqing's advice.

"Yes, yes, yes."

Yu Xueqing rolled her eyes, picked up the little fox, and headed back to the parking lot to go drink tea and have breakfast at a teahouse.

But all those fragrant, spicy, stimulating foods had nothing to do with Mo Yiqing.

The little fox happily ate shrimp dumplings while devouring black pepper beef ribs with big bites.

Mo Yiqing looked utterly resigned, one hand rubbing her still slightly aching stomach, eating a bland bowl of mustard greens and lean pork porridge with a non-spicy Fuding meat slice soup.

Yu Xueqing had century egg pork porridge plus a plate of dumplings.

After breakfast, Yu Xueqing asked Mo Yiqing if she wanted to return and rest; upon receiving a firm "no," she scratched her head, then set off again toward Changping Pet Paradise to begin streaming.

Following the riverbank, they occasionally spotted fishermen.

But most were casual hobbyists; they saw no one dumping feed into the river.

"Aoooo—"

As they entered the mountainous area, An Sheng, sitting beside Mo Yiqing in the passenger seat, twitched his ears slightly—he thought he heard the roar of a wild beast.

"Yu Xueqing, I think a bear's stuck. That bear's cursing like a sailor."

An Sheng pressed his head against the car window, carefully distinguishing the faint roars, then turned to Yu Xueqing to tell her what he'd heard.

"A bear's stuck?"

Yu Xueqing, driving, froze, pulled over into a patch of roadside weeds, and strained to listen—but apart from bird calls, she heard no roaring bear as the little fox described.

"Over there!"

An Sheng raised a paw and pointed up the mountain.

"Really?"

Yu Xueqing approached cautiously; Mo Yiqing got out of the passenger seat, curious, and followed behind her up the mountain.

Crossing from the forest's edge onto the grassland, they walked two or three hundred meters into the mountains and clearly saw cement ground and road signs marked with electric fence warnings; ahead lay a water channel built along the slope.

Halfway up the mountain, before Yu Xueqing and Mo Yiqing stood a black bear, lying on its back, sprawled in the water channel, its eyes slightly bloodshot, limbs flailing wildly, mouth roaring in panic and fury.

"Looks… a bit stressed."

Yu Xueqing stepped forward two paces, studied the bear trapped in the channel, tried to communicate—but the bear refused, growling at her instead.

Yu Xueqing wasn't particularly afraid, just looked slightly troubled.

The bear seemed terrified, fully stressed out—getting it out would be a hassle.

"Stressed? I can fix that!"

An Sheng jumped out of Mo Yiqing's arms, ran to the concrete water channel, and sneaked glances toward Yu Xueqing and Mo Yiqing.

While the two were on the phone, preparing to call the forestry bureau, An Sheng lifted his fox paw and slapped the bear's snout.

"Aoo!"

The bear froze, glared at the fox with a ferocious snarl.

An Sheng sneered and backhanded it.

"Owwww…"

The bear, which had been thrashing wildly, froze, instinctively raising a paw to cover its cheek.

"Ha—"

An Sheng bared his teeth at the bear, raised his tiny paw again, ready to slap it once more.

The bear shrank its neck, covering its head.

"Yu Xueqing! I cured its stress!" An Sheng turned to Yu Xueqing, who was still on the phone, and chirped happily.

"Huh? The bear isn't stressed anymore?"

Hearing the little fox's chirp, Yu Xueqing glanced at the bear, curled up inside the channel, paws covering its face, its double chin faintly visible.

"Oh oh oh, it's fine now, no stress—problem solved, no need to waste public resources coming over."

Yu Xueqing told the forestry bureau worker; the operator on the other end froze, then erupted in a shrill scream:

"NO!!!"

"Don't hang up! The bear's dangerous! It's not a crispy noodle snack—I'm begging you, get away from that bear and wait for our forest rangers!"

"Beep-beep-beep—"

The operator, hearing the dial tone, nearly fainted, mentally screaming: Who the hell's kid is this, so clueless?

That's a BEAR! A BEAR! If it's stuck in a channel, leave it there—we'll come rescue it! You're a college kid with no strength—what the hell are you doing?!

You pull it out.

It'll grab your head and gnaw it off!

After confirming the bear was no longer stressed and promised not to harm anyone, Yu Xueqing crouched down, assuming the stance of a weightlifter preparing for a clean-and-jerk.

Her left hand gripped the bear's white collar fur; her right hand pinched the fur on its belly.

Amid the bear's terrified expression, Yu Xueqing unleashed a wild pull, yanking the bear straight out of the channel, hoisting it over her head, turning around, stepping clear of the channel, then setting it down on the ground.

The adult black bear, normally weighing over 230 jin, had just experienced the same sensation it once felt as a cub—being tossed by its mother.

"Wuuuuh…"

The bear, eyes wide with terror, curled into a ball and rolled down the mountain slope, not daring to look back.

"Huh?"

Yu Xueqing frowned, staring at the giant bear rolling down the mountain in a ball, looking puzzled.

"…"

Beside her, Mo Yiqing and An Sheng stared, utterly stunned.

"Little An… you must have a rough life, huh?" Mo Yiqing lowered her recording phone and looked at the little fox sitting by her feet, unable to resist a sarcastic remark.

She'd planned to record the video of Yu Xueqing pulling the bear out of the channel, then the bear happily nuzzling Yu Xueqing—uploading it to Yu Xueqing's music account—but now, what was the point?

That fat black bear had been hoisted over Yu Xueqing's head—its courage shattered.

"Not bad. After all, Yu Xueqing eats a lot—stronger muscles make sense." An Sheng retorted.

If you can casually lift a black bear, why worry about it stressing out and attacking?

It swipes at you—you perfectly block it.

You punch it—it immediately claims medical insurance.

"Too bad the little bear ran off so fast." Yu Xueqing sighed deeply. Though Xia Dong was in black bear territory, they were extremely rare.

She'd wanted to chat with it properly—but now the bear was gone.

Yu Xueqing sighed as she descended the mountain; a black sedan had just pulled up beside the spicy fish head stall, but the occupants spotted them and sped off immediately.

Yu Xueqing got back in the car; An Sheng frowned, staring at the black sedan.

Yu Xueqing continued driving toward Pet Paradise.

After a twenty-minute drive.

The spicy fish head electric cart stopped in front of Pet Paradise—but the entrance was now surrounded by scaffolding, concrete mixers coming and going, workers in hard hats running around the parking lot.

"???"

Yu Xueqing stood beside the spicy fish head cart, shoulder to shoulder with Mo Yiqing, staring at the construction site.

"Is this real estate development?" Mo Yiqing asked, puzzled.

"Real estate development… in the deep mountains?" Yu Xueqing stared back, bewildered.

(End of Chapter)