11 The Station's Rescue

“Catch them, catch them!”
“Those legs are so short, yet they’re actually pretty fast!”
“Hey, stay off the windowsill!”
The fluffy fox kits darted every which way, turning the Bureau’s corridor into a parkour racetrack.
“Baizhu, keep up! (bites tail, looks back) We can’t give up at a time like this!”
“Mina! (jumps from the windowsill) Here I come! (left forepaw braced on the floor)”
“Don’t underestimate the bond between us!”
“We’ll keep going, right?”
Tears streaming down their faces, they ran as they cried, creating a passionate atmosphere of foxes who never admit defeat and dare to resist.
“What on earth did Boss Ning show you all?”
Lu Huai’s hand split into countless branches, each scooping up a kit and packing them all into the office, exhausted as he herded them to the innermost corner. “Stand still, stand still! If you run again, I’ll smack your butts!”
The fox kits, eyes red and damp, lined up against the wall, their bushy tails crowded together behind them like clover leaves.
The administrator raised an eyebrow—well, they really are branded kits.
Ning Zhixia was a familiar face at the Bureau. As he passed by, the administrators greeted him with machine-like smiles, as if someone had installed a new program.
“Boss Ning, you’re here?”
“Boss Ning, are you hungry?”
“Boss Ning, want a snack? The most popular Slime Jelly Pie from Dimension 78!”
“No, no…” I value my life.
Ning Zhixia waved his hand like a third-speed windshield wiper.
He followed Odro into the room, where Baizhu was squeezed between his sisters, lips tightly pressed, tears brimming in his eyes.
Seeing the familiar young man, Baizhu instantly broke down, voice trembling as he sobbed, “Brother, you finally came… I’m going to be turned into a scarf, wuu…”
Once one started, the rest caught the mood, ears flattened as they howled at the ceiling, filling the room with grief. Administrators, flustered, waved their hands to explain they had no interest in fox pelts.
As the sonic assault grew, Odro strolled over, leaned down to the teary kits, and—out of Ning Zhixia’s view—opened his mouth.
“Hic!”
The crying ceased instantly.
The fox kits stared wide-eyed, as if witnessing something terrifying, quietly bowing their heads and sniffing hard.
Ning Zhixia peeked, curious. “What did you do?”
Odro had already turned, his expression calm as he winked and put a finger to his lips. “Just shushed them.”
Ning Zhixia believed him, nodding vigorously. “Oh, oh.”
Odro smiled, turning his gaze back to the now-quiet kits.
He extended his slender fingers, squinting as he moved them over several trembling heads, finally stopping above Baizhu.
Baizhu shuddered, clutching his tiny paws. “Eep!”
Odro prodded Baizhu’s back, pushing him out of the line of furry bundles.
Baizhu promptly leapt forward and hugged Ning Zhixia’s leg. “Brother Ning!”
Ning Zhixia: “Hey, hey, easy with the pouncing. Weren’t you supposed to return to your own dimension?”
“No… we didn’t return…” Baizhu confessed, head bowed. “We snuck out when the time was right… to teach that mean aunt a lesson!”
What?
No wonder she’d gone quiet!
Ning Zhixia excitedly rubbed his hands. “Any other surprises—”
The administrators, covered in paw prints, coughed dryly, expressionless.
“…Surprises I don’t know about,” Ning Zhixia switched abruptly, sounding dry.
The fox kits clutched their tails and sniffled in grievance. “We just wanted to vent your anger.”
Odro spoke slowly from the side. “Every dimension has its own rules. From the Bureau’s perspective, you can’t cross boundaries and interfere.”

Ning Zhixia ventured, “And from your personal perspective…”
“Not decisive enough,” Odro commented with interest.
If he wasn’t weighed down by the title of Bureau Director, he’d probably demonstrate for the kits himself next second.
His eager expression made the administrators clutch their chests, coughing like consumptives, closing their eyes in exhausted pain.
Having you is our blessing.
Ning Zhixia couldn’t help but ask, “So what did you do to Aunt Jin?”
The fox kits exchanged looks, gesturing tearfully. “We didn’t use much force, just scared her with nightmares…”
They recounted the events, tails hugged tight and tears in their eyes, suddenly shaking out a few chicken feathers.
Ning Zhixia picked them up, puzzled. “Where did you get these materials?”
Odro added calmly, “Lost their way from the residential area to the countryside, found by administrators eating a buffet in the chicken coop.”
“Hehe.”
The kits smacked their lips in reminiscence. “Since it was late, and we were there…”
Ning Zhixia was shocked. “You ate without plucking the feathers?”
Everyone turned to him, stunned. “!”
Friend, is that the point?
Realizing they had snuck out through his connection point, Ning Zhixia hurriedly apologized, rubbing his hands. “Sorry for using public resources for my personal issues…”
Lu Huai waved his hand. “It’s fine, all small matters.”
After all, Aunt Jin brought it on herself by provoking these vengeful little creatures. Fortunately, the fox kits didn’t have high cultivation, and aside from being frightened, there were no other problems.
Seeing the kits obediently line up to return home through Odro’s portal, Ning Zhixia finally relaxed.
Odro accompanied him out. As they waited for the elevator at the stairwell, Ning Zhixia paused.
The elevator before him had no strange stickers, seemed entirely normal, and its position had changed…
He tilted his head, looking toward where the elevator used to be, only to find a thick wall.
He was silent for a moment and asked Odro, “Where did the old elevator go?”
“It got ugly and hid itself,” Odro glanced at the blank wall, a hint of regret in his tone.
Ning Zhixia: “…”
His instincts told him not to ask what that thing was.
Soon, a black sedan stopped at Qingxi Road. Odro got out too, making Ning Zhixia feel he was being overly polite. Scratching his head, he said, “I’ve troubled you enough today—just drop me here.”
“I’m headed to the bakery next to your house,” Odro pointed down the street.
Ning Zhixia replied awkwardly, “Your honesty makes my politeness feel awkward.”
Odro paused, asking earnestly, “Should we redo that?”
Are you actually playing some dating sim, save and reload?
Ning Zhixia gave him half a heart and said, “No need.”
They’d only wandered around the Bureau for a short time. As the spring afternoon light shimmered and slanted across their shoulders, approaching Number 19, Ning Zhixia lifted his nose and soon caught the scent of cream and nuts.
Sure enough, the bakery’s glass display was filled with fresh bread. Couples sat leisurely by the window, sharing cakes and chatting softly.
Odro walked straight in through the pink haze, then asked, as if remembering something, “Want anything?”
Ning Zhixia didn’t want sweets at the moment. He shook his head. “Don’t mind me, order for yourself.”
“Alright.”
Odro went to the register, eyes downcast as he focused on the dessert menu.
Even in a simple light cardigan, his outstanding looks drew subtle glances from those around.
The staff recognized Ning Zhixia, and seeing them together, quickly glanced over with a serene smile.
What a lovely time, such beautiful scenery—sharing a plate of jam-filled cake under the fragrant blossom trees… One bite for you, one for me…
Mm, happiness again!
While daydreaming, she heard the model-like long-haired young man speak—

“Three lava croissants, two strawberry donuts, one each of ice cream and vanilla cream puffs, triangle slices with tiger-skin taro, mint dark chocolate, and matcha raspberry, plus a box of seaweed pork floss mini cakes… That’s all, pack them up.”
The clerk was baffled. “?”
That’s all?
The clerk felt despair—what a bottomless pit. A spring date for two instantly turned into a competitive eating championship.
A moment later, Odro walked out with a huge bag of desserts beside Ning Zhixia.
Ning Zhixia thought he smelled sweet all over and couldn’t help but ask, “You really like sweets?”
“Mm.”
Odro nodded, recalling, “I never had them before.”
“Ah… I see…”
No wonder he never talks about his home dimension—it must be a closed-off, backward place. Who knows what hardships he’s been through.
Ning Zhixia opened his mouth, feeling a sudden tenderness for him, but still couldn’t help saying, “You should be careful, though. Eat too much, you’ll get fat.”
Odro raised an eyebrow. “It’s fine, I exercise a lot.”
“…Alright then.”
Ning Zhixia scratched his hair. When they reached the wall outside Number 19, he hesitated, then brought up Aunt Jin’s luck. “So… if the kits hadn’t interfered, would Aunt Jin have avoided punishment?”
“Your dimension values fortune. Hers is nearly depleted, no matter how good it was,” Odro blinked. “As for the future, you’ll know soon enough.”
Ning Zhixia looked at him. “You know, your tone right now makes you sound like some foreign fortune-teller.”
Odro: “On work hours, I must match your world’s style.”
“Ugh, why so cryptic…”
Ning Zhixia was confused, but Odro had no intention of continuing. He carried his huge bag of desserts away, as if finishing a market run.
Just then, Qu Banqing’s piercing voice rang out from the house.
“Ning Zhixia, where have you been? Hurry back for dinner!”
Qu Banqing, wearing a panda apron, waved a spatula at the door, summoning him. “Lalala, lalala…”
What, dinner time!
Ning Zhixia stopped thinking, bouncing happily back. “Here I come!”
After the account was clarified, many passersby liked the post and waited for updates. Within days, Ning Zhixia learned what Odro’s cryptic words meant.
As Odro predicted, the other shop owners on Qingxi Road, after Aunt Jin’s negative reviews were deleted, compiled a list of her freeloading. The amounts weren’t large, so the police just gave her a verbal warning and moved on.
But someone, apparently unable to let it go, leaked the story to local media. Soon reporters came knocking, and Aunt Jin stayed home all day. Her son and daughter-in-law, embarrassed, sent her back to the countryside, ignoring her from then on.
With the storm of bad reviews over, caring fans left comments to “jump over the fire basin together.”
“I knew it. No way she could claim allergies without proof—she’s definitely a freeloader!”
“That balm smells amazing. I never spent five hundred, but Boss Ning always applies it after my manicure!”
“The scent lasts so long—my wrists still smell good the next day!”
“Don’t bring up price again, the shop’s price list isn’t high for Yucheng, and the finished product is worth it!”
“[Image] Not sure if it’s superstition, but I picked gold flowers for my dried flower manicure, and recently my luck’s been mysteriously good!”
“Sis, is this the designated wealth-attracting style? I’ll get one next time too!”
The gossip thread instantly became a manicure photo post, drawing attention to the shop. The dried flower series became highly popular, especially gold ones.
The shop was bustling: daytime appointments were fully booked, and at night, Su Qiushui occasionally brought big spirits to patronize.
After tallying up, Ning Zhixia and Qu Banqing weren’t even tired—over the past half month, business brought in fifty or sixty thousand.
The two hugged and wept with joy, determined to enjoy their hard-earned money in true decadence.
Ning Zhixia slapped the table: “From now on, KFC every day except Thursdays!”
Qu Banqing chimed in: “I’ll sign up for memberships and never turn off auto-renew!”
Together, they shouted: “Meh ga ga ga ga ga—”