Panda Cub – Chapter 5

Acting Rogue

Who’s Really Taking Advantage of Whom!

Inside the noisy bar, the small space around the two of them was strangely quiet. After a moment, He Ying let out a soft laugh. Glancing at the people twisting and dancing on the dance floor, she smiled. “My dancing isn’t like that. But if you want to see it, I can show you—I just need you to be my dance partner.”

            

Her eyes, shimmering with light, fixed on Jing Dan like a patient hunter, calmly waiting for her answer.

The green patterned shirt—a color that usually demands a certain complexion—looked perfect on her. Paired with slim-fit trousers and white sneakers, she seemed both relaxed and strikingly elegant.

Jing Dan studied her seriously. When He Ying smiled, she gave off an approachable vibe, like someone with the best temper in the world.

            

But Jing Dan had a sharp feeling that this woman was definitely up to no good. Ever since she’d said she needed a dance partner. When you ask someone for help, do you normally smile that… that slyly? Yes, even though she was a newcomer little panda, she knew the word “sly,” and it fit He Ying perfectly right now.

“What? Do you agree, Miss Jing?” He Ying winked at her, still smiling seductively.

Jing Dan kept her face stiff. Her first instinct was to bolt, but looking at that smile, she felt that if she ran, this woman would laugh at her forever!

            

“…Fine.” It was just being a dance partner. If she just stood there like a post, wouldn’t He Ying be the one embarrassed? The little panda had already pictured He Ying blushing with embarrassment at her lack of cooperation.

At Jing Dan’s agreement, He Ying’s smile grew even brighter. She stood up, gave a slight bow, and extended her hand in invitation. Jing Dan kept her face stiff and placed her hand in He Ying’s.

Two equally soft, slender hands touched lightly, then slowly clasped together. The warmth of their palms transferred between them—in this sweltering place, it should have been negligible, yet at this moment it transmitted so vividly to the nerves of each other’s brains.

            

Jing Dan’s heart rose into her throat. She was nervous about what He Ying would do next.

He Ying slowly smiled—not the teasing, seductive fox-spirit look from before, but a gentle, spring-breeze smile that seemed to soothe. She said softly to Jing Dan, “Don’t be nervous. I’m not going to eat you.”

Although she herself found her behavior toward this person she’d just met too strange—so strange it didn’t feel like herself. Originally, she’d just wanted to see her break through that cold exterior with embarrassment or something. But now that she was actually getting nervous, He Ying couldn’t help wanting to comfort her. How bizarre.

            

“I’m not nervous at all!” Jing Dan kept her face stiff, thinking to herself, You’re the one who should be nervous. We’ll see who ends up embarrassed.

He Ying chuckled softly, her gaze warm and tender. But that made Jing Dan uncomfortable. She muttered inwardly, Is this woman crazy? Why does she keep changing like this?

He Ying pulled her to the open space in the center of the booth area. For some reason, she didn’t want to drag Jing Dan into the crowd of wild dancers. Maybe it was because Jing Dan seemed too clean and pure—He Ying felt that even a touch of that chaos would be jarring.

            

Jing Dan was extremely obedient now. Wherever He Ying pulled her, she stood, like a well-behaved piece of wood, holding her post.

“That’s not how you partner dance. Follow my movements later.” He Ying found Jing Dan even funnier to look at like this.

Among their group, besides the two of them, the only one who was still relatively sober—Hu Tu—had already disappeared to some corner. So even though the two of them were standing openly in the center of the booth, close enough to be ambiguous, no one came over to tease them.

            

“Mm.” Jing Dan responded, but inside she was already looking forward to seeing He Ying dumbfounded later.

He Ying closed her eyes, listening to the music playing in the bar. Finding the rhythm, she stretched out her arms and began to dance in front of Jing Dan, the hand holding Jing Dan’s guiding her to dance along. But unfortunately, Jing Dan was truly like a piece of wood now. She didn’t even have the obedient energy from before when she’d followed He Ying here. She was extremely uncooperative, just standing there like a post.

In her peripheral vision, He Ying caught the corner of Jing Dan’s mouth. It was like a kid who’d stolen candy and was secretly gloating—wanting to laugh but holding it in, but not controlling it well enough. He Ying had caught her red-handed.

            

With a shift in thought, she understood Jing Dan’s little scheme. She couldn’t help feeling both amused and exasperated—this one was playing mind games with her. Then, with a flash of inspiration, she smiled at Jing Dan.

Seeing that smile, Jing Dan quickly stiffened her expression again, not letting He Ying see any hint of her thoughts. But her heart was uneasy. That smile of He Ying’s—why did it make her feel so unsettled? She had a feeling something was about to happen.

At that moment, the music in the bar shifted, becoming softer and even more sensual than before. The people on the dance floor, watching the performance on stage, were all shouting. He Ying’s smile deepened. Following the music’s accompaniment, she treated Jing Dan’s post-like figure as the pole on stage and began to dance sensually around her.

            

If the partner dance she’d originally intended had been somewhat proper, now her soft, seductive movements combined with her excellent expression control—every expression on her face matched her dance moves seamlessly, overwhelmingly sexy.

Jing Dan froze. Warm breath sprayed onto her face. A full, soft chest brushed against her body, now and then. And in her line of sight, the waist hidden under the shirt—she could feel it twisting like a water snake. Every move was pure seduction.

Jing Dan’s face flushed bright red. Her gaze darted away, completely unable to look at He Ying. Her toes curled slightly. She was so embarrassed her hands and feet went numb.

            

But while she didn’t dare look, others did. Many people on the dance floor had noticed the scene. One after another, they whistled and clapped at the two of them, making them the center of attention.

But He Ying kept dancing, spinning around Jing Dan like a pole. Extremely close distance, extremely ambiguous teasing—it climbed to a peak amid the noisy cheers.

Jing Dan couldn’t take it anymore. She quickly reached out and wrapped her arms around the waist twisting in front of her, her face bright red as she held He Ying still to stop her from continuing. She was so flustered she couldn’t speak at all.

            

On the dance floor, Hu Tu stared wide-eyed at the two embracing figures. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. No mistake—it was real. They were really hugging, and earlier He Ying had been dancing a pole dance in front of Jing Dan. Hu Tu: “…” Weren’t they acting like they couldn’t stand each other before? Well, well, Jing Xiaodan, you’ve been hiding this deep.

But the atmosphere between the two embracing was extremely awkward. He Ying’s expression was normal, looking completely at ease, while Jing Dan was so embarrassed she nearly transformed back into a panda. She hurriedly tried to push He Ying away.

The moment her hands loosened from He Ying’s waist, her own waist was caught by He Ying, who rested her head on Jing Dan’s shoulder and laughed. “What? After taking advantage of me, you want to run?”

            

Warm, hot breath brushed against her ear, like a tingling electric current spreading from there. She started to panic, especially when she keenly heard people around them talking about the two of them.

“Wow, these two beauties are hot. When did this bar get such high quality?”

“Gorgeous! Too bad they’re taken by each other, but at least we can feast our eyes.”

            

“Are they really a couple? If not, why are they holding each other so tight and not letting go?”

At the word “couple,” Jing Dan acted as if she’d been scalded. She pushed He Ying away with force, glaring at her with a bright red face. And because of the onlookers’ comments, she couldn’t stay there at all. She sidestepped He Ying and hurried out of the bar.

Pushed away, He Ying didn’t chase after her. Instead, she stood there a little dazed. If she hadn’t seen wrong, Jing Dan had blushed from embarrassment? At that possibility, she suddenly revealed a victorious smile. She had finally broken through that cold shell of hers.

            

But what was underneath—she recalled it carefully in her mind. That exquisite, beautiful face covered in a flush of red, like the magnificent scenery of a sunset. At this moment, He Ying was especially glad she was a demon. Otherwise, how could she have seen such a sight in the dim, drunken lights of the bar? And with that shy, fleeing behavior, He Ying’s smile deepened. So cute.

Jing Dan ran out of the bar quickly. Even after she’d reached the dark alley beside it, she could still hear her own heart pounding wildly—she couldn’t suppress it! Just thinking back to that scene made her ears burn, and her hands and feet went numb again. That woman wasn’t just frivolous—she, she was acting rogue! Jing Dan was almost crying from anger. And she had the nerve to say Jing Dan was taking advantage of her? Who was really taking advantage of whom!

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The author has something to say:

            

Here is a little panda who’s so angry her eyes are about to turn red.

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