Chapter 37: 037 Four Choices, Pick One

Between quickly saying, “Sorry, wrong room,” and fleeing out the door, versus continuing to walk onto the podium with sunny cheerfulness, Ming Ruan ultimately chose to shoulder the responsibility of being an Official Executor.

He forced a cheerful stride onto the podium.

“Hello, everyone.” Ming Ruan wore a mask of a smile and nodded lightly, as if unruffled by the wind and clouds.

He was extremely thankful that before transmigrating, he hadn’t gone through any thesis defense, or he feared his first words might have been the classic ‘Greetings, examinees, I am the examiner.’

When Ming Ruan spoke, the room instantly quieted. Those clustered in groups of two or three dispersed and sat properly.

“Today, let’s talk about—” what kind of fluffballs everyone likes to pet.

Shi Huai: “…”

Help, quick, think of a more impressive-sounding topic name.

“—Small Animal Behavior and Comfort Techniques: Exploring the Establishment of Mutual Trust and Intimate Bonds,” Ming Ruan muttered, mumbling rapidly under his breath as he muddled through, then eagerly opened the teaching materials he’d prepared on his Light Brain, ready to get to the point quickly.

Pop. The Light Brain display synchronized onto the massive wraparound screen in the meeting room.

On it were bright, colorful, adorable stick-figure-style course slides drawn by Ming Ruan himself.

Adorably silly cat heads, tiger heads, lion heads, gray wolf heads swished and swayed, filling the entire meeting room.

“Ohh—”

“Woah—”

“Hmm—”

Ming Ruan heard ambiguous exclamations from the meeting room.

Among those elders and middle-aged people, some looked intrigued, some seemed lost in thought, some were completely expressionless and unmoved, and others had furrowed brows and hands crossed over their mouths.

Ming Ruan: “…” Hang in there, Ming Ruan, you can do it. Just hang in a bit longer.

Ming Ruan took a strong gulp of the thin oxygen and began his lecture, feeling each second stretch like a year.

The content of this lesson included some animal knowledge Ming Ruan had dug out from his own mind, but the main part was his personal insights gained from interacting with the little animals for so long.

The content included: how to pet canines, how to pet felines, what to do when you can’t pet them…

Ming Ruan let out an almost imperceptible sigh. He couldn’t understand why these people, who looked very impressive, were wasting their time here listening to his daily ramblings about fluffballs.

“Hey, Mr. Carl, I think you should show Mr. Ming Ruan here some respect.” In the front row, an elderly gentleman with curled, styled hair, looking kindly and whimsical, quickly typed a message on his Light Brain and sent it to the person next to him.

The person next to him was an old man with a sharply angled face and features, his slightly drooping eyelids framing a pair of hawk-like sharp eyes. Ever since he’d sat down, he’d maintained a stern face, the corners of his mouth severely downturned. His hands constantly organized the materials he’d brought from his laboratory.

He glanced at the message but ignored it.

He believed that his very presence here was the greatest respect he could show that young sir.

In the audience, many shared Mr. Carl’s sentiment.

Although Ming Ruan was confirmed to be from Earth billions of years ago, and it was indeed proven he could influence the process of Reverse Therianthropy, they didn’t expect this young man to present anything eye-catching in terms of theoretical knowledge.

Oh—don’t misunderstand, they didn’t look down upon Ming Ruan.

They just understood an ancient saying from Earth: expertise lies in its own field.

Moreover, to them, Ming Ruan’s own significance far outweighed what he was attempting to lecture on today.

These scholars, who had come from the Central Research Institute, some even crossing half a galaxy, all had their eyes fixed intently on this ‘treasure’ before them.

As for what Ming Ruan was saying, initially no one was truly listening.

Until the very front row. One of the recognized leaders in the field of beastman research, the elderly gentleman with the curled hair who had sent the message earlier.

At a certain sentence, he threw his head back in silent laughter, gently clapped his hands, and when Ming Ruan looked over, he blinked, saying he completely agreed with Ming Ruan’s last point.

Ming Ruan, who had just been half-jokingly putting forth a point, breathed a sigh of relief and returned the smile.

This couldn’t help but pique the curiosity of the others present.

They leaned slightly forward, intending to lend an ear.

However, once they did, no one paid any more attention to the materials they’d brought from their own laboratories.

In the vast meeting room, there was only Ming Ruan’s warm, steady voice.

From early morning, to high noon, to the mellowing sunlight of dusk.

Not a single person left their seat.

A very long time passed.

Ming Ruan finally stopped, licked his dry lips, and thought carefully.

He had said everything he could say.

“Um, that’s all. Thank you, everyone.” Ming Ruan gave a calm bow and prepared to leave.

The reason he was so calm was that he could see, halfway through his lecture, the people in the audience had all started busily writing things down on their own Light Brains, no longer looking up at him.

Probably thought what he was saying was too shallow and lacked substance.

But this was indeed all the experience he could currently pass on.

Although he was being ignored by everyone, Ming Ruan’s mindset was still very peaceful.

As he’d expected, even after he bowed and said his closing remarks, there wasn’t much applause from the audience.

Ming Ruan quietly walked to the meeting room door and pulled it open.

Just as he was about to walk out.

The people in the audience who had been rapidly operating their Light Brains seemed to finish jotting down their last bits of information. Suddenly, the entire meeting room burst into a cacophony.

The scraping and bumping of chairs being pushed back as people stood, the sound of rapid footsteps running, arguments like “I’m older, let me through,” “Sorry, Shishu, but what he said just now is really crucial for my project,” and—

Ming Ruan stumbled back in shock, watching a person lunge forward and slam the meeting room door shut right in front of him.

“Apologies, Mr. Ming Ruan, I was rude, but please look at this.” The person blocking the door straightened the clothes ruffled from the quick sprint and shoved their Light Brain screen right up to Ming Ruan’s face.

Ming Ruan stepped back and turned his head, only to find a similarly dark mass of people behind him, holding up their Light Brains and crowding in.

Like a zombie siege.

Ming Ruan: “?”

—

It wasn’t until the last rays of the setting sun were about to vanish that Ming Ruan finally crawled back to the Base.

He flopped onto the sofa and, like a piece of chewing gum, slid limply to the floor.

The fluffballs, who had been quiet and bored all day, couldn’t hold back any longer.

What happened?

The White Tiger extended a paw to stop Ming Ruan’s downward slide, then, carefully retracting its sharp canines, grabbed the back collar of Ming Ruan’s shirt and properly placed him back on the sofa.

Immediately after, the little Fox scampered over in a few leaps, padding restlessly on the sofa above Ming Ruan’s head. Its tiny, cool, moist muzzle and nose poked and prodded through Ming Ruan’s hair and around his temples.

What’s going on?

Next was the Gray Wolf. It approached and sat beside Ming Ruan, gently tilting its head to check his expression, then leaned slightly closer to Ming Ruan’s ear and let out a soothing “Woo—” sound.

Tired? Rest well.

The Lion was never one to join such bustling scenes, but it cared about Ming Ruan’s condition. So, last but not least, like the grand finale, the Lion placed a single paw on Ming Ruan’s leg and let out a low growl.

If there’s any troublesome matter, he could resolve it.

Facing the fluffballs’ concern, Ming Ruan raised his wrist and laid it over his eyes. “Hehe.”

So tired, but also very happy.

His mind replayed the scene after the lecture ended, when he was surrounded by people demanding to exchange experiences.

Finally, that old gentleman in the front row who had never looked up fixed his hawk-like eyes deeply on him.

The old gentleman said: You are special. You can help them.

These words echoed continuously in Ming Ruan’s ears.

What he’d lectured on today was useful. It could help the Sanatorium Zone, a certain type of animal, other people.

That was wonderful.

Seeing Ming Ruan’s silly smile, the fluffballs gathered around him in nervous concern finally relaxed.

The White Tiger retracted its paw from the Light Brain, where it had been about to send a questioning message to the Research Institute.

As long as he’s happy.

Seeing Ming Ruan was fine, the fluffballs were about to disperse.

Because the live stream room had been closed, the restless netizens who had been frantically buzzing all day couldn’t disperse. They gathered in the live stream room they’d finally managed to get open:

“Haven’t seen wife all day, I’m so miserable.”

“Heard he’s doing an exchange and learning session with the Beastman Research Institute.”

“One person petitions in blood for wife to do a live teaching stream! I copied the water bath and meal plan before, and the beastman in my family loved it!!”

“My family member doesn’t take to it… Sigh, really hope Ming Ruan could do an interactive live stream, we really need it.”

“Administrator 01: Your suggestion has been noted, please look forward to it~”

“?!?! Interactive live stream?? It’s really being arranged??”

“???? Really? Will wife see us going crazy??”

“Oh god, will wife read the comments? If he finds out he’s gained so many husbands, will he shyly bury his face in the sofa? Wuu so cute.”

Just as the live stream room was set ablaze by the admin’s “look forward to it,” on the sofa, Ming Ruan suddenly sat bolt upright like a spring and loudly announced: “Tomorrow! We’ll be picking a lucky fluffy to come to class with me!”

Tomorrow was a hands-on demonstration lesson. Everyone would bring an animal with them, and Ming Ruan would show his methods of interacting with animals on the spot.

The dispersing fluffballs whipped their heads back around.

These past two days, Ming Ruan had such a packed schedule, leaving early and returning late. Except for Su Yuyun, who could freely transform, the other three had been cooped up at home in low spirits. Hearing now that they could go out with Ming Ruan, even Fuxi felt a stir of interest.

Was there even a need to choose?

Shi Huai shot back into Ming Ruan’s arms like a rocket—just the right size for an embrace, perfectly fitting.

Of course, they’d bring the little Fox! Small and convenient, very easy to hold and easy to handle!

The Gray Wolf walked back too. It remained silent as ever, just looking at Ming Ruan with those icy blue eyes, as if silently recounting the past when only the two of them had kept each other company.

The Lion hesitated for a long moment where he stood. Seeing Ming Ruan’s already conflicted expression, he still flicked his tail and, pretending magnanimity, walked away.

He never deigned to compete with others for favor.

But anyone could see the Lion’s concession.

This made Ming Ruan even more conflicted!

The smoke of rivalry seemed to quietly spread through the room.

Wait, no, it was clearly just picking a ‘teaching aid.’

But for some reason, Ming Ruan felt a deep sense of hot water.

The name hovered on the tip of his tongue, swapped and reswapped several times, hesitating and faltering, yet he just couldn’t say it.

Even the live stream room had focused its attention here.

“Strange, I feel like I’m faintly catching a whiff of some love battlefield vibe.”

“So nervous. Reiterating: I’m a Wenming shipper. Wife can’t forget those past moments with the Former Council Speaker! You held his face and said you liked him!!”

“Entertainment industry cp! Rivals to lovers! Scheming green tea younger attacker never surrenders!! The content is fully fed, you’ll be missing out if you don’t ship Shiming!!”

“Arrogant Noble X Commoner, you’re the only exception, the only one he treats differently with double standards is the most fragrant!! Wife, look at Fuxi, ahhh!!”

“White Tiger stans, I’ll say this with a pot on my head: is anyone else eating the mysterious blind-box skyfall, or in place of that, shipping the superior-subordinate cp…”

“Wait, what is this all trying to do?”

“You still don’t get it? What they’re doing isn’t important. What’s important is who Ming Ruan will choose!! This is the first time Wife is making a multiple-choice question, right?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but may I ask if this is a love-variety live stream room?”

“The person above asks a good question. Can we ask the officials to rename the live stream room to ‘Beastman Blind Box Love Variety Show’?”

Hesitant and hesitant, Ming Ruan, for some unknown reason, instinctively searched for the White Tiger’s position.

The White Tiger was right behind him. The big cat with its clean, handsome black-and-white stripes just quietly looked at Ming Ruan, silent, supporting whatever choice he made.

Infected by this atmosphere, Ming Ruan became cautious and serious.

He thought it over very carefully for a long time.

Xie Gewen, Shi Huai, Su Yuyun, and even Fuxi, who had his back turned, slightly twisted his head to focus his attention on Ming Ruan.

Ming Ruan: “Then let’s…”