Panda Cub – Chapter 2
by Little PandaBrewing
It’s actually quite embarrassing to admit.
He Ying was nearly driven to exasperated laughter. Looking at the tiny, curled-up ball, she rolled her eyes.
“I’ve noticed your thoughts are a bit off, little panda. I only asked if you were male or female—what on earth is going on inside that head of yours?”
Unfortunately, her eye-roll went completely unseen by that ungrateful bear.
Jing Dan curled up even tighter, letting out muffled grunts as she refused to lower her guard in the slightest.
Her ears twitched. Hearing the other woman’s retreating footsteps, Jing Dan finally let her racing heart settle.
Her aunt had always told her that when girls went out, they had to protect themselves—especially their private areas, which must never be shown to anyone.
As the footsteps grew distant, Jing Dan cautiously lifted her head. She watched those red high heels recede until they finally dissolved into the pale light of dawn on the horizon.
Standing up, she wrinkled her nose. She looked at the uneven ground beneath her feet, littered with wild weeds and fallen leaves, and tilted her head, unable to fathom it.
Why would anyone wear high heels on a path like this?
Unable to figure it out, she stopped trying. To the rustle of dry leaves beneath her paws, she ran off, weaving nimbly through the low brush before rolling into the courtyard of the detached villa.
Shaking the weeds and leaves from her coat, Jing Dan quickly restored her pristine black-and-white appearance and scurried indoors.
To her surprise, the moment she stepped onto the wooden floor of the veranda, a pair of slender hands scooped her up and cradled her in a warm embrace.
Jing Dan: “…”
She felt a distinct sense of déjà vu.
She looked up, nuzzling into her aunt’s embrace. “Aunt.”
Her cool voice carried absolute trust as she went completely limp, turning into a soft, black-and-white dough ball ready to be squeezed.
A squishy black-and-white ball with a voice that didn’t match her appearance in the slightest.
Jing Shiyue felt like laughing every time she heard that voice.
Carrying Jing Dan inside, she idly stroked the cub’s head and sighed. “Your shape-shifting control really is a headache.”
Jing Dan’s spiritual energy was among the strongest in the Panda Clan, making her the prime candidate to succeed as Clan Leader. Yet when it came to shape-shifting, she struggled far more than her peers.
While other pandas also had unstable shape-shifting before reaching adulthood, once they matured, they basically never had the issue of suddenly reverting to their panda forms. Jing Dan, however, was the exception; even though she was an adult, she still had as little control over her shape-shifting as she did when she was a cub.
Jing Dan turned her head away in mild annoyance, feeling a bit dejected.
Jing Shiyue had no intention of putting her down as she carried her into the living room. “Did you sneak out to dig up bamboo shoots again? Why are you back so late today?”
Dawn was breaking. The pale light on the horizon was starting to catch a few rays of morning glow, weaving together to paint a magnificent canvas.
Jing Dan ducked her head, looking a little self-conscious.
She simply enjoyed the thrill of foraging for food.
Jing Shiyue scruffed her neck, hoisting her up to dangle her in midair as they stared each other down.
“Your parents left you in my care, but not so you could run out foraging every single night. As the potential future leader of our clan, how can you be so greedy for food?”
This child was wonderful in every aspect—except for her insatiable appetite.
Actually, she wasn’t entirely perfect either; her personality was far too detached. She rarely showed interest in anything, which had caused her aunt plenty of worry.
“Aunt…” Jing Dan waved her paws, looking up with wide, pleading eyes in hopes of being put down.
Jing Shiyue: “…”
Having a child this cute was a real struggle; she simply didn’t have the heart to discipline her.
She tossed the cub onto the sofa, watching her bounce and roll twice on the cushions. The amusement in her eyes deepened.
“Alright, can you still not transform into human form?”
“I’m taking you to a banquet tonight to introduce you to everyone. It’ll make it easier for you to establish yourself in the human world later on.”
The panda on the sofa splayed her four paws in defeat. Turning her head away to avoid Jing Shiyue’s gaze, she muttered dejectedly, “I still need to build up to it.”
She had been so focused on eating earlier that she hadn’t bothered to settle her mind and resolve the issue of transforming back into her human form.
Jing Shiyue: “…It’s actually quite embarrassing to admit.”
The prestigious candidate to succeed as leader of the Panda Clan actually needed to “build up” to transform into human form.
Jing Dan knew she was in the wrong, so she didn’t dare utter a peep. Instead, her gaze wandered to a bottle of milk on the coffee table.
She stared at it longingly, wanting a drink.
Right under her pleading eyes, a slender arm reached out and scooped up the bottle with unerring accuracy. Under the little panda’s gaze as she turned to look, Jing Shiyue elegantly opened the cap and took a sip.
Jing Dan’s eyes instantly went round as she stared at her aunt in disbelief.
Jing Shiyue laughed. Her public image was always that of a shrewd, powerful career woman, but whenever she faced her niece, she could never keep a straight face.
“I have no idea what your mother ate when she was pregnant with you to give you such a temperament!” Jing Shiyue shook her head. Though those two were hardly reliable, at least they weren’t like Jing Dan.
With her detached yet gluttonous nature, how could she feel at ease leaving Jing Dan in the human world?
Still, if she wanted to grow, she had to get through this trial.
“Don’t you like watching movies and things like that? I registered an entertainment company for you. Go fiddle with it yourself.” She shook her head; she didn’t expect Jing Dan to actually build up a major corporation. Her main goal was to expose her to more people, as understanding human nature would benefit her state of mind.
With her milk gone, the panda’s energy and spirits visibly sagged. She had absolutely zero interest in this company her aunt mentioned.
“Show some spine, don’t look like you’re half-dead.” Jing Shiyue patted her bottom, watching her body bounce twice.
“Do remember what I told you two days ago?” Looking at this sticky-rice-cake of a panda, she asked, feeling a bit worried.
The little panda sat up. With a flash of white light, the soft, cute cub vanished, replaced by a woman of exquisite and stunning beauty. Her face was completely expressionless, giving off a cold aura that made her seem utterly unapproachable.
She nodded calmly. “I remember. Keep up appearances in public and make sure everyone thinks I’m not to be trifled with.”
Hearing this, Jing Shiyue nodded, looking like a pleased mentor with a worthy student.
“Exactly. Just like you are now. Keep it up.”
When this child put on a cold face, she really did carry a bit of a Clan Leader’s commanding presence.
Hearing this, Jing Dan’s expression grew even colder. “How about this?”
Already breathtakingly refined, combined with her cold, detached aura, her current look was exactly what humans would call a cold, elegant beauty.
Jing Shiyue pinched her cheek in satisfaction, though she silently lamented that it didn’t feel nearly as good to squeeze as her panda form.
“Not bad. This way, others will be intimidated by you, and naturally, very few will have the courage to cross you.”
Jing Dan nodded thoughtfully. So I just need to play the cold, aloof type?
“Your formal wear is ready in your room. Go try it on in a bit to see if it fits, so we can swap it out early if it doesn’t,” Jing Shiyue instructed.
The child’s parents had gone off to enjoy themselves shortly after she was born, dumping her on her aunt. Over the years, although she was only her aunt, she had worried just as much as any mother would have.
Jing Dan nodded obediently and went upstairs to try on the outfit.
Jing Shiyue had prepared a suit for her. A burgundy suit that looked formal without being stuffy, paired with Jing Dan’s cool, pale skin, it suited her wonderfully.
When she came downstairs wearing it, Jing Shiyue’s eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly in admiration.
As expected of her niece; when she wasn’t acting silly, she looked like a deity descended to earth.
“It suits you very well.” Jing Shiyue was quite pleased with her own taste.
Jing Dan was already tall. At 175 centimeters, this outfit emphasized her long legs and slender waist even further.
Jing Dan also nodded in agreement. “Do I need to prepare anything else for tonight’s banquet?”
Back in the demon realm, she never had to worry about such trivialities. Now that she was in the human world, there were so many restrictions, and she felt far less free than before.
“Just speak as little as possible,” Jing Shiyue said nonchalantly. After all, she was only taking her to show her face to those people; there was no need for her to do anything.
There was no need for her to do anything, but she did need to be kept from speaking. Although Jing Dan wasn’t a talkative person, she was blunt to a fault. Sometimes, she could anger someone to death without even realizing it.
Jing Dan: “…Oh.”
She puffed out her cheeks in mild discontent. Now her restrictions had increased by yet another one—she wasn’t allowed to talk too much.
When evening arrived, Jing Shiyue brought Jing Dan along to the banquet, which gathered all of Huaqing City’s upper class. The moment they made their entrance, they drew the gaze of everyone in the room.
Dressed in a sleek black suit, Jing Shiyue walked in with an icy expression, accompanied by an equally cold Jing Dan. Their combined aura was so intimidating that for a while, no one dared to approach them.
Given the power of the Jing family, they had no need to play nice or exchange superficial pleasantries with this crowd. They only needed to be themselves.
“President Jing, you’re as striking as ever!” the host of the banquet said as he stepped forward, his eyes filled with stunned admiration as he looked at the two of them.
Jing Shiyue belonged to the type of powerful career woman whose overwhelming aura sometimes caused people to overlook just how captivating her beauty actually was.
As for the woman beside her, she looked a bit more youthful, which made her stunning features immediately catch the eye.
Jing Shiyue conversed with him calmly before introducing Jing Dan. The moment they heard her surname, everyone knew what was on Jing Shiyue’s mind and began showering Jing Dan with compliments.
Hearing these praises, Jing Dan secretly scoffed. It was only their first meeting, and they didn’t even know her full name, yet they were already trying so hard to cozy up to her.
By now, Jing Shiyue had already moved away to discuss business with others, leaving her to handle the crowd on her own.
“Miss Jing, hello.”
After the crowd had mostly dispersed, someone else came up to greet her.
Jing Dan looked over. A woman dressed in a flowing black gown was sizing her up with keen interest.
Jing Dan did not like her gaze. It felt like the look of a predator staring at its prey.
But she was not prey.
“Hello,” Jing Dan replied, her mind already racing for a way to escape.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Xu Zhihuan, the Chairwoman and CEO of Zhihuan Entertainment. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Jing Dan shook her hand, a faint smile on her face. She gave a brief, polite response, showing no desire to converse further.
“I just heard President Jing mention that you are preparing to enter the entertainment industry. I believe Zhihuan Entertainment still carries some weight in the circle. If you ever need any assistance, Miss Jing, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
With that, the woman handed over a business card.
Looking at those gold-embossed characters, Jing Dan suddenly recalled her aunt mentioning this woman before, calling her highly capable and warning her to be careful around her.
She finally examined the woman in front of her closely. Without a doubt, she was exceptionally beautiful, but her beauty was dangerous, carrying a subtle, unsettling vibe.
For some reason, this reminded her of the woman who had held her while digging up bamboo shoots last night. Although they possessed similarly gorgeous and striking faces, that other woman felt incredibly comfortable to be around.
And that embrace.
It, too, had been very comfortable.
Same🤣
I really cannot tie her panda version and human version, they are like the sun and the moon 😭
I find it so funny how she has to fake being cold because her true self is too socially awkward 🤣
Same🤣
I really cannot tie her panda version and human version, they are like the sun and the moon 😭
I find it so funny how she has to fake being cold because her true self is too socially awkward 🤣