Chapter 31: The Red Fox Is Definitely Not Serious (Please Collect and Vote for Monthly Tickets, Keep Reading)

Yu Xueqing sent the short video of the fox eating yogurt to Mo Yiqing, then shared it in her dorm group.

Of the four girls in the dorm, Mo Yiqing and Ling Ren were both deeply fascinated by the fox.

The fourth girl, Tang You, had never commented on it and hadn’t even appeared online for a long time.

Yet all three—including Yu Xueqing—had long grown used to it.

People living in cities long for pastoral idylls; those living in pastoral lands long for neon lights.

Tang You came from a family that raised cattle and horses, but after arriving in the city, she became addicted to computers and spent most of her school time playing games as a cyber Genghis Khan.

Left hand: strong liquor; right hand: mouse; left eye fixed on the game screen charging across battlefields; right eye glancing at the side screen.

Yu Xueqing’s academy was in the Xiabei region; it was not any 985 or 211 institution, but it was Xia Country’s top school for plant and animal sciences.

Every agricultural-related field, from ecological environments down to attaching bells to pets, had corresponding disciplines.

Many students applying to the New Agricultural Academy came from families already in related industries—or planned to enter plant or animal-related fields in the future.

The New Agricultural Academy’s specialization was so intense that it had no other popular majors at all, and even subtly exhibited a strange exclusivity.

It seemed its purpose was never to boost enrollment or climb international university rankings.

Its admissions process naturally carried the flavor of selection—there was nothing wrong with that.

In Xia Country, there were three other institutions of similar nature but different specialties, all launched five years ago as experimental reforms alongside the Green Health Education initiative.

………………

An Sheng, curled in Yu Xueqing’s arms, sneakily glanced at the group chat, pouted, lost interest in lurking, and scampered back to the table to eat.

Women are all big pork trotters—just moments ago they were praising their own beauty and physique.

Now they were debating the aesthetic differences between foreign snow foxes and domestic red foxes, and which one was softer.

An Sheng’s head filled with black lines.

Isn’t he himself a red fox?

If An Mou sheds his goth black stockings, dyes his yellow fur white, you’d all fail to recognize him?

“Ying ying ying”

An Sheng chewed beef jerky loudly as Yu Xueqing returned to the living room’s livestream studio.

After the recent livestream ban, Yu Xueqing’s studio had even fewer than three or four viewers.

“Ugh, almost done streaming, and not a single tea sample sold.”

Yu Xueqing checked the backend: not a single pack of her tea had sold—not even the thirty-yuan free-shipping trial packs.

The trial gift box contained Zhenghe Gongfu, Tanyang Gongfu, Dongding Oolong, and a jasmine tea.

Two black teas, one oolong, and one floral tea suited for bold palates.

Both Zhenghe Gongfu and Tanyang Gongfu were black teas with over a hundred years of history.

They had history, depth, and could even boast royal and aristocratic endorsements.

Yet there weren’t even two people in the livestream—Yu Xueqing had no one to tell her stories to.

Of course, the Zhenghe Gongfu and Tanyang Gongfu her family sold weren’t from the core production zones—just the same varietals grown in similar locations.

The real black teas exported overseas, coveted by foreigners, were priced by liang.

Their status was like that of core-zone Longjing.

Even if Zheng Zhenghong could get his hands on them, few in the livestream would dare buy.

“Aqing, don’t be sad! You didn’t sell a single pack on your first livestream, but think about it—Old Man’s livestream ran five months, made zero profit, even lost tens of thousands and paid for his own medical bills.”

“You’re already amazing—you haven’t lost anything,” An Sheng, avoiding the camera, snuggled onto Yu Xueqing’s thighs, patting her belly as he comforted her:

“Like the stock market—if you don’t invest, you’ve already outperformed ninety-seven percent of people.”

“Selling tea on livestreams—no loss is profit. Just keep streaming, get familiar, then An Mou will sell myself to raise money and flood your stream with likes!”

An Sheng comforted Yu Xueqing and gritted his teeth to make his promise.

No viewers? No heat?

Then An Mou will risk being sent to the zoo’s dormitory, borrow Lin Ying’s phone, and boost your rankings!

Then figure out a way to turn some of that traffic into followers.

Hmm.

Then I’ll climb the mountain, drag down that obese king cobra, wrap a headscarf around my head, bite a suona in my mouth, and dance breakdance with it.

“Ying ying ying ying—”

“Master~ Not catching prey doesn’t matter. Foxie is clumsy and can’t hunt, but I’ll eat less. After you’ve eaten your fill, you’ll have more strength.”

“Ying ying. Foxie will work harder too—when I grow up, I’ll catch you a wild boar.”

An Sheng’s comforting words, after being machine-translated into poetic elegance in Yu Xueqing’s mind, instantly turned into cooing cuteness.

“Wu wu wu—Xiao An is so sweet!”

Hearing this, Yu Xueqing’s sadness, insecurity, and timidity all melted into emotion; tears welled in her eyes as she lifted the little fox high and kissed it frantically.

“Whoa—Aqing! You’re ungrateful!”

An Sheng, drenched in saliva, wriggled in Yu Xueqing’s arms, face twisted in horror.

Help! Saliva everywhere! The owner wants to eat the fox’s snout raw!

Fox repays kindness—repaid with betrayal!

………………

After a while.

Yu Xueqing shut down the livestream, patted the little fox’s head, and prepared to shower.

An Sheng, face full of disgust, lifted his paw and rubbed it across his own fox face.

Hmph! Woman!

Now you’re kissing, hugging, and lifting me up—but later, when An Mou achieves the Dao, you’ll point at my nose, scream in disbelief, and demand I turn back!

An Sheng vaguely remembered a dubbed video he’d seen on TikTok.

The video excerpted the Legend of Nezha, casting King Zhou and Daji as the leads.

Daji transformed from a fox into a woman, then the scene cut to King Zhou smashing things.

Daji spoke: “My lord~”

King Zhou roared: “Turn back!”

Daji reverted to fox form; the scene switched to King Zhou cavorting in his wine pool and meat forest.

Life insurance ads dominated the entire screen.

“Hmph.”

An Sheng stretched, then headed outside for a stroll to digest his meal before patrolling Shangpo Mountain.

As for Peak Consulting Company…

“Ying ying ying—”

An Sheng tapped on the bathroom door, then spoke to the blurry silhouette behind the frosted glass:

“Oh oh, went out to poop—don’t play too long with Laifu, come back early.”

Yu Xueqing, showering inside, easily understood An Sheng’s fox-speak and laughed in reply.

The little fox meant: bring snacks to the neighbor’s, then go out with Laifu to do a little outdoor business.

(End of Chapter)