Chapter 201: Chapter 200: Today I’m Boss Xu!

At this moment, even the desert wind turned gentle.

The little foxes’ paws were greasy and sticky. Qi Xiao fished a pack of wet wipes from his backpack and, after pulling out a sheet, gently held Fox Si Bao’s oily little paw.

In the moonlight, his lowered eyes appeared particularly tender.

Fox Si Bao wriggled its body.

“Don’t move.” He whispered, yet still allowed the little fox to roll around on his knee.

The wet wipe meticulously cleaned each pink pad, not even skipping the tiny grains of sand between the toes. Seeing this, Fox Sansan immediately approached, rubbing its furry head against the palm of his hand.

The five little foxes sat neatly in a row, their fluffy tails sweeping a small fan shape in the sand, eagerly waiting for Qi Xiao to clean each of their paws.

Xu Ying relaxedly lay down on the soft sand, the day’s exhaustion from recording finally catching up to her—though she hadn’t done much physical work, dealing with those demanding artists was truly mentally exhausting.

With Qi Xiao helping to take care of the little foxes, she felt at ease.

After a while.

The subtle sound of sand being brushed approached, and Xu Ying lazily lifted her eyelids.

In the pouring moonlight, Qi Xiao was somehow already kneeling in front of her on one knee.

His long fingers were pulling out a fresh wet wipe from the package.

“What about you? Do you need your paws cleaned?”

Qi Xiao shook the wet wipe, his voice carrying a hint of amusement, yet his gaze was intensely sincere, his deep black pupils reflecting only her image.

The moonlight sliced across his brow bone at an angle, soaking his slightly upturned phoenix eyes in pure radiance.

His usually sharp eyes now softened, as if containing a half-glass of warmed wine.

The little foxes huddled together, giggling, leaving a few messy paw prints in the sand.

Fox Sansan and Fox Si Bao had already clung to Xu Ying’s wrists from both sides, their furry little paws pushing her hand toward Qi Xiao.

Fox Xiao Wu even jumped directly onto Qi Xiao’s shoulder, nudging his chin forward with its head.

[Sister, reach out your hand!]

[Qi Xiao’s paw cleaning is so comfy!]

[Exactly, exactly, he even gently scratches the pads~]

Xu Ying looked at her hand, “kidnapped” by the little foxes, yet before she could respond, Qi Xiao naturally took her hand.

His movements were gentle, and the wet wipe, cool and damp, brushed over her fingertips, meticulously wiping clean from the spaces between her fingers to her palm, even the sauce on her wrist.

“They’re more enthusiastic than I am.”

Qi Xiao chuckled softly, his voice unusually relaxed. In the moonlight, his focused profile appeared extraordinarily tender.

Fox Sansan took the opportunity to sneak its little paw into Qi Xiao’s hand too, only to have its head gently patted: “Greedy, didn’t I just clean it?”

Seeing this scene, Xu Ying suddenly felt her nerves, which had been tense all day, were now relaxed.

She waved her freshly cleaned hand: “Looks like someone’s quite popular with little animals.”

Qi Xiao’s ears turned a bit red as he stored the wet wipe away: “It’s just… they’re more naturally friendly.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Fox Si Bao burrowed into his arms, its little paws digging at his collar looking for a game of hide-and-seek with the wet wipe.

[Qi Xiao’s embarrassed!]

[Clearly, he wanted to wipe Sister’s hand~]

The little foxes chattered, making Xu Ying laugh out loud.

Qi Xiao looked helplessly at the little foxes chattering on about him, really taking advantage of his lack of understanding of Fox Language.

As the night deepened, the desert wind swept in with a chill.

Xu Ying rubbed Fox Xiao Wu’s head, stood up, and patted the sand off her clothes.

“We should head back.” She glanced at her watch, her voice carrying a hint of fatigue. “Tomorrow I still have to act as the boss for the guests.”

Qi Xiao nodded, standing up and brushing the sand off his clothes.

But the little foxes were unwilling to let go. Fox Sansan bit onto Qi Xiao’s pant leg, and Fox Si Bao rolled directly to his feet, revealing its belly.

[Just five more minutes~]

[Daddy, don’t leave~]

Qi Xiao bent down to rub each of their little ears: “Be good, I’ll bring new food next time.”

[When’s next time?]

The fox cubs squatted expectantly on the ground, watching him.

Faced with five such hopeful gazes, Qi Xiao felt his heart melting, and although he couldn’t understand Fox Language, he seemed to grasp what the little foxes were asking.

“I’ll come when I have time, within a week.”

“I still have ongoing cooperation with the ’Desert Survival Law’ show team.”

Only then did the little ear foxes relent.

Xu Ying took the backpack from off the sand bike, and while she had come empty-handed, she was leaving with a backpack full of local specialties gifted by the villagers of West Village.

“Let me help you.”

Qi Xiao reached out and took the backpack off her shoulder, the action as natural as if he had done it countless times.

The two walked side by side over the dunes, their shadows stretched long by the moonlight.

At the entrance to the rescue station, as Qi Xiao handed back the backpack, his fingertips unintentionally brushed over the back of her hand.

“Goodnight.” Qi Xiao waved to Xu Ying and the fox cubs, his voice softer than the night wind.

[Goodnight, Daddy, be sure to come visit us often!]

Xu Ying stood under the porch, watching his figure gradually merge into the moonlight.

*

The next morning.

Xu Ying got up in high spirits, today she was the boss!

The tables have turned, and it’s finally her turn to deal with the other artists!

Humming a little tune, Xu Ying finished her morning routine, and the program team notified her that they would be delivering breakfast, so she didn’t need to make it herself.

After washing up, when Xu Ying opened the rescue station doors, she saw a table full of food set under the program team’s tent—golden fried eggs, sizzling bacon, and a pile of pancakes drizzled with honey. There was freshly squeezed orange juice next to it, with beads of water clinging to the glass.

She reached out for a piece of crispy toast, taking a bite, the butter’s aroma immediately spreading in her mouth.

“This is way too sumptuous,” she muttered, also noticing a bowl of fruit yogurt in the corner, with blueberries and strawberries so fresh they practically glowed.

Was today’s generous treatment because she was the boss?

Just then, a man in a baseball cap brought a plate of steak and shrimp to Xu Ying.

Xu Ying was startled and suddenly became suspicious, wondering if the program team was playing a prank on her.

When she looked up, she found the person delivering her breakfast was none other than the program’s executive director, Director Shao.

Seeing Xu Ying’s suspicious look, Director Shao explained: “Because yesterday you helped promote the local farm products from West Village, the program team put the product links online overnight.”

“The response was excellent, and we achieved a small goal of promoting agriculture, the station’s leaders are very pleased.”

Xu Ying was surprised. Initially, she just wanted to smooth things over to comfort the villagers, but she didn’t expect it to have such an unexpected effect!

Her eyes sparkled, and she asked with a wildly suggestive tone, “Are there any other rewards from the station?”

Director Shao nodded: “Yes, there’s a generous bonus.”

“We hope Little Xu Station Chief will continue to exert effort!”

After yesterday’s recording, the sharp-eyed Director Shao had already noticed that Xu Ying could very well be the highlight of their show, carrying the whole scene with her intelligence and emotional insight.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep