Chapter 2
The Rose Nursery was an advanced kindergarten sprawling over a vast area, with several gardens and orchards. Rivers and forests stretched between different zones, and you even had to drive a buggy to cross from one location to another.
This reminded Bai Nuosi of the zoos on his planet.
In the predator zones of those zoos, there were not only iron fences and rivers as barriers, but staff also had to drive when patrolling the mountains because the forests were too expansive.
A kindergarten built like a zoo, occupying such a large area—it could only be said that the beastmen were truly unique. During training, the instructors mentioned that beastman cubs loved nature, so every zone within the nursery had large gardens and orchards, and caregivers were encouraged to take the cubs outdoors frequently.
Loving nature was understandable, but this was still a kindergarten. The environment inside should be cleaned up, without any dangerous beasts lurking around, right?
When Bai Nuosi locked eyes with those golden pupils in the darkness, he was so startled that he dropped his chopsticks. Every hair on his body stood up as he jumped from his chair and took two steps back, staring intently at the flower bushes. His voice quivered, “Wh-what is that?”
His left hand pressed against the smart wristband on his right wrist. If that thing attacked, he would activate the accommodation area’s alarm system with one click.
But before he pressed it, he hesitated, thinking that perhaps it was just a little cat or dog hiding in there.
Surely there wouldn’t be anything strange in the nursery, right?
The little creature hiding in the bushes noticed Bai Nuosi’s movement and saw his hand pressing on the wristband. A few seconds later, an entirely pitch-black figure slowly emerged from the bushes.
Under the warm yellow lights of the garden, Bai Nuosi could see its appearance as soon as it came out.
It was a black panther cub!
The black panther looked very young, probably only two or three months old. Its face was round, and its eyes were timid and obedient. Who knew how long it had been hiding here; its body was dirty, with its four paws covered in mud, and its long tail was also smeared with wet dirt.
After his initial panic, Bai Nuosi was stunned to see such a black panther cub.
A black panther was a rare animal—how could it be here?
Bai Nuosi stood there in a daze for a while. The panther cub had been watching him warily, but since Bai Nuosi hadn’t moved, it seemed to relax a bit. It slowly walked to the side and suddenly sniffed the air.
Since earlier, it had caught a very pleasant scent—a smell that relaxed the nerves it had kept tense for the last two days.
The panther cub hesitantly glanced at Bai Nuosi and then slowly approached him.
That pleasant scent was coming from this black-haired, black-eyed human from an alien star system standing before it.
Having just differentiated, the panther cub was acting entirely on instinct. Afraid of anyone approaching, it had avoided humans as soon as it entered the nursery and found a safe place to hide.
Now, it felt that Bai Nuosi’s scent was very comforting and friendly, so it wanted to get close to him. Most importantly, Bai Nuosi didn’t carry any spiritual power that threatened it, which made it feel at ease.
Although the panther cub looked young and presumably wasn’t highly aggressive, Bai Nuosi was still a bit nervous. He felt that something was off—finding a panther cub in a place like this didn’t seem right.
As the panther approached him, he suddenly noticed a golden tag hanging around its neck.
“Hmm?”
Bai Nuosi hesitated and squatted down. The panther cub cautiously rubbed against his leg—a very affectionate gesture.
Taking advantage of the moment, Bai Nuosi looked at the small tag and saw engraved on it: [S·Han Baiyi].
Bai Nuosi: “……”
He knew what “S” meant; his own employee card had the same “S” symbol, indicating they belonged to the S Zone.
So this panther cub was wearing such a tag…
Bai Nuosi wasn’t foolish enough to mistake it for a pet belonging to someone named Han Baiyi.
He stared at the obedient panther cub for a moment, and a possibility suddenly came to mind: “Is your name Han Baiyi?”
Bai Nuosi was shocked and covered his mouth. “Could you be… a beastman baby?”
The panther cub let out a soft grunt, not denying it. It lay down beside Bai Nuosi’s leg, appearing very tired.
Bai Nuosi: “……”
He was bewildered—so beastman babies were actual beasts?
Completely in animal form—this… this wasn’t quite what he had imagined.
Although he had undergone a month of training and learned a lot about wild animals, dealing with infant predators like this was really…
Bai Nuosi scratched his head. The instructors hadn’t mentioned this; after all, their training content was based on human habits.
The panther cub seemed very tired, its body covered in dew, fur damp and matted. Its limbs and tail were dirty with mud and leaves.
Squatting beside the panther, Bai Nuosi carefully observed and found no visible external injuries, but its flanks were sunken—it probably hadn’t eaten for some time.
Since this was a cub from the S Zone, Bai Nuosi didn’t dare to delay. The autumn night was chilly, and beastman babies were just like human babies. Even though they had beast genes and animal forms, the cubs were fragile and could easily get sick.
Without thinking much, Bai Nuosi gently picked up the panther cub. At this moment, the little panther had already closed its eyes, soothed by the gentle scent.
It had been in the nursery for two days, nerves stretched tight and timid beyond measure, scared of everyone it met. All its energy had been spent hiding, and now, smelling a scent that made it feel safe, it just wanted to lie down and rest.
Carefully cradling the panther cub, Bai Nuosi carried it back to his small home. He spread a soft blanket on the coffee table in the little living room and placed the cub on it.
The panther cub was listless, its head drooping, extremely docile. The initial wariness upon first meeting had vanished, replaced by reliance on Bai Nuosi.
It was at this moment that Han Baiyi synchronized with the panther, his primary consciousness entering the cub’s body.
He opened his eyes slightly and saw standing before him a beautiful boy with black hair and black eyes, rosy lips, and white teeth. The boy looked about his age, wearing a soft, light green T-shirt and white trousers, and he smelled wonderful.
Han Baiyi was momentarily stunned.
Although he had sensed that his spiritual entity had been picked up by someone, he hadn’t expected the rescuer to be such a beautiful boy…
For once, Han Baiyi was at a loss, staring blankly at Bai Nuosi. The boy looked very young—could he be his caregiver?
Wait, could someone underage become a caregiver?
Han Baiyi pondered.
Before he could react, the boy leaned in close, speaking in an incredibly gentle voice, “Hello, sweetheart! I’m Teacher Xiao Bai from the S Zone. Although this is our first meeting, don’t be nervous; I won’t hurt you.”
As he spoke, Bai Nuosi reached out and gently patted the panther cub’s head soothingly.
While stroking, Bai Nuosi continued speaking softly to him, “What a good baby, so obedient~ Did you get separated from your caregiver? Have you not eaten yet today? Or taken a bath? How about Teacher Xiao Bai helps you take a bath in a bit, okay?”
Han Baiyi: “……”
This person—this person actually called him ‘little sweetheart’!
He didn’t want to act like an idiot, but the other party called him ‘little sweetheart’ and even praised him for being so good!!!
Han Baiyi was dumbfounded, his mind blank, completely engrossed in Teacher Xiao Bai’s gentle approach. In his eighteen years, he had never met such a gentle teacher, nor had anyone ever spoken to him so kindly. Even during his kindergarten years, he hadn’t experienced such tenderness.
He was utterly stupefied, momentarily forgetting the purpose of his synchronization.
Bai Nuosi gently soothed the panther cub’s head with one hand while softly massaging its limbs, abdomen, back, and other areas with the other, observing for any signs of discomfort.
The panther was covered in fur, and some injuries might not be apparent on the surface. So, to be safe, he needed to check the cub’s body thoroughly.
To prevent the panther cub from getting nervous, he spoke to it gently, “Sweetheart, how old are you this year?”
The panther cub looked dazed, staring blankly at Bai Nuosi without answering.
Bai Nuosi thought the cub was too young to speak and was also shy.
For cubs in the language development stage, you needed to talk to them more so they could accumulate vocabulary and start speaking sooner.
After synchronization, Han Baiyi’s consciousness would be influenced by the spiritual entity cub, becoming somewhat less mature. Even so, being gently examined by Teacher Xiao Bai made him feel very embarrassed.
No one had ever treated him so gently since he was a child. The little panther felt a bit shy.
Bai Nuosi smiled and ruffled the panther cub’s head. “You’re such a good baby! You did a great job protecting yourself outside, and you’re not hurt. But you’re too dirty, and your fur is wet. If we don’t take care of it quickly, you might catch a cold. If you get sick, you’ll have to take medicine, which is even more troublesome.”
When facing little ones, Bai Nuosi tended to become a bit talkative, and his voice would unconsciously soften. He couldn’t help it; as an early childhood education professional, he was already used to it.
He wrapped the dirty panther cub in a blanket and carried it to his small bathroom. The bathtub was too big and not suitable for the cub, so he placed a basin inside the tub and carefully put the panther cub into it.
Adjusting the water temperature, he squatted beside the obedient cub sitting in the basin and said, “Now, Teacher Xiao Bai is going to give you a bath.”
“Oh, right,” Bai Nuosi clapped his hands and took out a green little turtle and a yellow rubber duck from the bathroom cabinet drawer.
The little turtle was wind-up and would paddle its limbs when the switch was turned. The rubber duck would squeak when pressed—these were the favorite toys for babies during bath time.
He presented the two toys like treasures and placed them into the basin. “Sweetheart, how about letting Little Turtle and Little Duck accompany you for your bath? Little Turtle, so cute; walks slowly, swims fast. Little Duck loves to bathe; sees water and jumps right in…”
Han Baiyi: “……”
Han Baiyi fell silent. He lowered his head, expressionless, looking at the two small toys in front of him. After two seconds, he raised his head to look at Bai Nuosi.
While testing the shower’s water temperature on his arm, Bai Nuosi praised the panther cub again, “What a good baby, sitting so still. Hmm? You don’t like the Little Turtle and Little Duck I brought?”
Han Baiyi: “……”
So, should he like them or not?
Hahaha this is so cute OMG ?????