Panda Cub – Chapter 12
by Little PandaHand Feel
Her face got so big.
Hu Tu was both annoyed and amused, and at this moment deeply regretted not dragging Jing Dan out to see the world more in years past. Otherwise she wouldn’t be acting like such a country bumpkin now!
He Ying was taken aback for a moment, then laughed outright. She nodded and said, “That’s right, you did a good job. It’s much easier to tell you two apart this way—otherwise I might accidentally eat your share later without even realizing it.”
Hu Tu’s face had gone numb by this point. She felt she could relax—this person was treating Jing Dan purely as a cub!
He Ying couldn’t possibly be so twisted as to have designs on a cub, right?
Hearing this, Jing Dan’s opinion of He Ying improved considerably. So she wasn’t so bad after all?
She picked up a piece of mochi and popped it into her mouth, eyes narrowing slightly with a smile. Sure enough, the thing that brought demons the most happiness was still good food.
He Ying watched from the side as Jing Dan—completely oblivious to how thoroughly she’d shattered her own image—curved her lips in a soft smile. This person was growing more interesting and adorable by the minute; so many of her behaviors simply couldn’t be judged by ordinary logic.
She chatted with them for a while, and when she heard someone calling her from outside, she said, “You two can wait here for a bit. After the show wraps, I’ll take you back to the hotel.”
“Sure, go ahead and do your thing,” Hu Tu nodded.
Jing Dan gave a casual nod without even lifting her head, her eyes fixed on her own portion of food the entire time.
Suddenly, a pale, slender hand appeared in her field of vision—exceptionally beautiful.
That hand piled more items onto her portion, and He Ying’s soft, smiling voice drifted by her ear: “You can see I’m about to go record the show and won’t be able to eat. By the time I finish taping and come back, it won’t taste as good anymore, and it’ll go to waste. Help me finish it—don’t let it go to waste, okay?”
Jing Dan paused, then remembered what Hu Tu had said—He Ying was really strapped for cash. If she was that strapped, she must hate seeing food wasted, right?
She nodded to show she agreed!
He Ying chuckled, then left the dressing room, closing the door gently behind her.
Outside, she ran into another judge from the show. Seeing the smile on He Ying’s lips, the woman said with some surprise, “Teacher He, what’s got you in such a good mood?”
This person usually wore a warm, magnanimous expression with a comfortable smile always on her face, but this time it was clearly different—you could distinctly feel the genuine delight in her smile.
“Hm? Is it that obvious?” He Ying arched her brows, her smile growing even more pronounced.
“Not obvious enough? Come on, tell me—is it because a friend came for a set visit?” the other judge said with a laugh.
He Ying pressed her lips together in a soft laugh, thinking of the person who was surely stuffing her face inside right now, the amusement in her eyes deepening. “Yeah, a little kid came to visit. How could I not be happy?”
Even she didn’t know what she was so happy about—she just felt wonderful.
The two walked out chatting and laughing together, while inside the dressing room, the other two watched the live broadcast on the large screen.
Watching He Ying on screen—still flawlessly beautiful even with the camera shoved right in her face—Hu Tu sighed and said regretfully, “She won’t play with me. But honestly, for someone like her, I’d go celibate for a hundred years. So what?”
Be with He Ying, and only start her own playboy lifestyle after she died.
Jing Dan turned to look at her, frowning seriously. “Stop talking about ‘playing’ all the time. My aunt said—he who hunts wild geese all day will eventually get his eyes pecked out by a goose. Be careful you don’t get your eyes pecked out.”
Hu Tu: “…”
Listen to that—was she even speaking demon?
“Shut up! ‘My aunt says this, my aunt says that’ all day long—do you think an aunt-obsessed girl like you will ever find a partner?!”
She rolled her eyes dramatically. She, Hu Tu, had navigated the dating scene for years—was there anyone she hadn’t seen? How could she possibly crash and burn?
Not long after, Hu Tu—pinned fiercely down on a bed by someone—would think back to this day, deeply regretting that she hadn’t listened to Jing Dan, so thoroughly pinned that she couldn’t budge an inch.
Jing Dan, who’d just been called aunt-obsessed, shot her a cold glare. She might be aunt-obsessed, but she certainly wasn’t like those momma’s boys on TV dramas. She had her own thoughts and a clear sense of right and wrong!
The two watched the entire day’s recording in the dressing room. Just watching was enough to tell that these dance competition shows were exhausting—performers coming out one by one to dance, then being evaluated and scored, then recruited onto different teams. By the end, Jing Dan was drowsy.
She really was better suited to watching already-edited programs.
She was drowsy, and Hu Tu wasn’t doing much better. Having finally endured to the end of the day’s taping, she actually felt a sense of liberation.
Sure enough, money wasn’t easy to earn.
When He Ying returned, she found Jing Dan lying asleep on the sofa, while Hu Tu looked like her soul had fled her body, as though she’d suffered terribly.
“…”
Amused, she went over and crouched in front of Jing Dan, looking down at her face. The beautiful contours and elegant lines made even He Ying marvel—this was a natural beauty.
“Wake up. If you want to sleep, go sleep at the hotel.” As she roused Jing Dan, she also glanced at the table and noticed Jing Dan had actually eaten everything—completely clean, not a single scrap left.
She looked down at Jing Dan’s sleeping face and felt she understood something.
This person looked aloof and cold, but underneath it all, she was a glutton!
She chuckled softly, her voice growing gentler as she called to Jing Dan. Watching her slowly open her eyes, still bleary and dazed, He Ying’s chest tightened.
That innocent, unguarded look was so like a newborn cub—it struck straight at the softest part of her heart.
Jing Dan rubbed her eyes and caught that familiar, pleasant faint fragrance again. She opened her eyes to look at He Ying—and since they were so close, even her face appeared magnified.
Jing Dan: “Why are you standing so close? Your face got so big.”
He Ying’s expression stiffened. Looking at Jing Dan’s completely earnest face, she was speechless.
Beside them, Hu Tu heard Jing Dan’s words and immediately burst out laughing. “He Ying, so you finally get a taste of your own medicine!”
Go out and ask anyone—who wouldn’t want He Ying to stand closer? And Jing Dan, of all people, actually complained her face was too big! Hahaha!
He Ying shot Hu Tu a glare, then pulled two tissues and held them out to Jing Dan, saying gently, “Wipe your face. You slept so long it got oily.”
“Pfft—hahahaha!” Hu Tu pounded the floor madly.
Jing Dan’s face instantly looked like she’d been struck by lightning. She stared blankly at He Ying, utterly incredulous.
Sleeping made her face oily?!
Seeing her reaction, He Ying held back her laughter and took matters into her own hands, wiping Jing Dan’s face herself. “It’s totally normal. When people sleep, their skin naturally secretes oil—that’s the real culprit behind a greasy face.”
Jing Dan: “…”
But she was a demon, not a human!
He Ying wiped her face, tossed the tissues into the trash, and turned to see Jing Dan still looking like she’d been struck by lightning—seemingly unable to accept that her face could get oily.
Seeing her like this, He Ying laughed softly and finally couldn’t bear to keep teasing her. “Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. Your face is perfectly clean—not oily at all.”
Fair and clean. When she’d made as if to wipe it just now, she’d actually taken the opportunity to give her cheek a pinch—and the hand feel was surprisingly good.
The author has something to say:
He Ying: The hand feel was so good it rivaled that little panda cub I’d encountered before!
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