Chapter 248: Qing Xueqing Has Been Away Two Hours—I Miss Her

"By the way, Mom and Dad, Xiao An has a habit of going out for walks every night—remember to leave the door unlocked for him. He doesn't like chewing on big meat bones; he prefers lean pork belly. He only drinks blue-bottle cola, but no more than 150 milliliters a day."

At the moment of departure, Qing Xueqing, reluctant to leave, gave her parents detailed instructions on how to care for Xiao An.

If this were any other parent, faced with such peculiar feeding requirements for a little fox, they might nod politely but return home and feed it dog food or leftovers, turning a perfectly good fox into an overinflated gas tank.

But Qing Xueqing knew that, given her father's nature, if he had even a scrap of bran to eat, he'd still serve Xiao An two bowls of meat broth mixed with rice—she didn't need to worry about his diet.

After all, Xiao An was genuinely a money-drawing creature, and her father had no resistance to anything that brought wealth.

"Xiao An, you must behave yourself—every night, make sure you video-call me. Don't let a month pass and forget me entirely, got it?" Qing Xueqing said, staring at Xiao An with a serious expression.

"Mmm."

An Sheng waved his paw, signaling that Qing Xueqing didn't need to worry about buying train tickets.

"Mom, Dad, Xiao An—I'm off to school!"

After loading her luggage into the car, Qing Xueqing turned back, hugged her parents and Xiao An, then waved goodbye with a smile.

With the roar of the Dodge Hellcat, Qing Xueqing and Mo Yiqing drove toward the high-speed rail station.

"By the way."

"I remember when we sent Qing Xueqing off to Jinling for her freshman year—how come she's now studying in Chang'an?"

After watching Qing Xueqing leave, Yu Zhenghong dropped his stern expression and looked at his wife, bewildered.

Chen Peipei glanced at her husband, her lips twitching as she asked: "You remember? Do you even know what year Qing Xueqing is in now?"

"Third year!"

"Fourth year!"

Yu Zhenghong blinked: "F-f-fourth year? Isn't fourth year when students go out for internships? Then why is she still...?"

Chen Peipei hugged the little fox and rolled her eyes. "All you do is work. You don't even notice when your daughter gets kidnapped by some yellow-haired hooligan. Qing Xueqing's school is a five-year program: one academy, two campuses, four academic zones, and a major agricultural research institute in the capital."

"First year: theory in Jinling. Second year: farming and tilling in Luoyang. Third year: Yunnan and Guizhou. Now, fourth year: studying in the Qinling region, with a year-long internship in the capital."

The New Agricultural Academy is a single institution with two campuses, four academic zones, and one massive research institute, divided into animal and agricultural disciplines—an experimental university.

Though the campuses differ, the classmates remain the same, the dorm beds are still rotten wooden frames—only the location changes; everything else stays the same.

Real biologists and botanists don't sit in offices all day. They live in mountains or ravines, their bodies hardened, battling strange creatures of the wild up close.

Disciples of the Beast Taming Sect tame beasts; disciples of the Medicine King Sect guard plants from treacherous ambushes.

Aside from her first year of theory, Qing Xueqing spent the rest of her time either in the fields or living on the edges of mountain ravines.

If not for the New Agricultural Academy's extraordinary faculty, Chen Peipei would never have let Qing Xueqing enroll.

How could a little girl spend her days looking like a wild savage?

"What? One academy, two campuses, four zones? Why does it feel like I'm taking a dump in the principal's office?"

Sitting in the pickup truck, listening to Yu Zhenghong and Chen Peipei talk about Qing Xueqing's school, An Sheng's fox face twisted in shock: "So... does that mean I'll never get my revenge?"

"Master Fuli, just bear with it a little longer—we'll reach your new home soon."

Hearing Fuli's muffled complaint, Yu Zhenghong didn't realize the fox was cursing—he just thought the old pickup's bumpy ride was making Master Fuli uncomfortable, so he could only sigh and soothe him.

"."

When An Sheng heard Yu Zhenghong speak, he was overcome with profound despair.

Fifteen minutes since Qing Xueqing left—he missed her.

He missed her banter, her teasing, how she ordered takeout for him and scratched his itches.

Though An Sheng refused to admit it, he found neck and cheek scratches comforting, and even a little satisfying when she patted his rump.

But Qing Xueqing always noticed these strange little needs he never voiced.

She just... understood. Even when he didn't know what he wanted, she created it for him—they were perfectly in sync.

But then came Yu Zhenghong and Chen Peipei's words—

"Mmm." An Sheng let out a long sigh, feeling zero anticipation for this so-called new home.

Though An Sheng wasn't born in Jiule, he'd often visited this place in his past life.

The homes of Xia Dong people—aside from size—were identical copies, like paste-and-replicate clones.

As expected.

Upon arriving at the new home, the entrance garden held a shrine with electronic candles.

To the right inside was the kitchen and dining area; to the left, the living room was spacious, dominated by a massive rosewood sofa. On the rosewood table sat a gongfu tea tray and a stack of tea cups.

On the TV backdrop wall, two straight marble Roman column slices were embedded on either side.

"Master Fuli, sit down—I'll get you some cola."

Back home, Yu Zhenghong paid respects to the God of Wealth, then prepared to go out himself to buy everything Qing Xueqing had listed as Fuli's favorite foods.

"."

An Sheng sat on the rosewood sofa, staring at its carved backrest, lifting his tiny fox paw to gently tap the wood with his claws.

"Tap-tap-tap."

Master Fuli tapped the rosewood sofa, and the sofa responded with a deep, resonant, crisp sound—proclaiming its solid, unyielding quality.

An Sheng's expression was strained. He turned to Chen Peipei beside him and said:

"If I'm not mistaken, this set is visible-grain rosewood furniture, worth around a hundred thousand? Why not let me chip in—we replace it with a leather sofa?"

Rosewood furniture is dignified and solemn, suitable for formal occasions or when one must sit upright.

But for a little fox, leather was the treasure; second choice: fabric sofa.

This giant rosewood sofa? It was a death sentence for a fox.

"Huh? What's wrong, little one?" Chen Peipei, napping on the cushion, paused the Min opera on her music player and looked at the fox.

In the old house, An Sheng might have kicked his legs and rolled on the sofa—but knowing the rosewood's hardness, he merely let out a long sigh and waved his paw at Chen Peipei.

"It's nothing... the rosewood's a bit too hard on my rump. I'll just adjust my posture. No problem."

"Are you missing Qing Xueqing? Come on, let's video-call her."

Chen Peipei smiled, pulled the fox closer, and opened WeChat to dial Qing Xueqing's video call.

But—

The call went through, then showed "busy." Qing Xueqing's high-speed train had likely left the city, entered the mountains or a tunnel—no signal.

An Sheng: "."

Destroy me now!

Not tonight. I'll wait. I'll wait until Lin Ying returns from her trip and say goodbye properly.

Lin Ying has taken such good care of me—I couldn't just vanish without a word. That would be terribly rude.

(End of Chapter)