Chapter 71: Got a Job

“Not in a good mood? I see.”

Xiao Hei Mao just asked casually and didn’t think much of it. But Xing Lian couldn’t help being concerned.

Xiao Hei Mao’s words gave her a reminder. She could pass as a normal person because of the Gemstone Necklace. But the Gemstone Necklace was a special item that needed energy crystals to recharge.

It had been almost two months since the last recharge. The Gemstone Necklace’s limit was three months. If she didn’t recharge it soon, things would get very bad.

“Sis? What’s wrong, sis?”

Xiao Hei Mao was chatting with Xing Lian and noticed that she wasn’t responding. Her eyes were staring blankly at the fire. She curiously tugged at her skirt.

“I’m fine.”

Xing Lian smiled at her, and the group continued chatting. But she was no longer in the mood. Worry welled up inside her.

—

After finishing the Bamboo Rat, she played with the three little kittens for a while, then they each went home.

Xing Lian didn’t go straight back to the cabin. Instead, she walked toward the west side of the camp.

The camp was well-chosen, nestled against a mountain near water. To the west, there was a clear Small Stream.

Xing Lian came here to clean herself up.

Several days had passed since she arrived in the Forest. During those days, she had been focused solely on survival and hadn’t cleaned herself at all.

Her dress was very dirty, and she hadn’t bathed in days. Her skin felt itchy.

Even so, she had no intention of bathing here.

The Stream was not far from the camp. If she bathed here, what if someone saw her?

She couldn’t even wash her clothes. She only had this one outfit. If she washed it, she’d have nothing to wear.

“What a hassle.”

Sitting by the Stream, Xing Lian couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

She couldn’t wash clothes, couldn’t bathe. She could only wash her feet.

After walking through the Forest for days, she wondered if she might smell bad.

Xing Lian took off her shoes and socks. The socks were a bit dirty, but there was no bad smell.

Not only that, there was even a pleasant fragrance.

This scent was her natural body odor. The saying ‘a beautiful girl has fragrant feet’ was actually true.

Xing Lian found it incredibly hard to believe. She knew it went against common sense.

“Maybe this body is special.”

Xing Lian thought to herself, her face red.

Her snowy, jade-like feet dipped into the Stream, gently swaying in the water.

Xing Lian bent over to wash herself, from the top of her foot to the sole, not even missing the gaps between her toes.

After washing her feet, she also washed her socks. Once her feet were dry, she put on her shoes and carried the socks back toward the cabin.

But…

Just a few steps later, Xing Lian suddenly froze in place.

Not far away, by the Stream, several Cat Girls were sitting, washing something.

Because they were far away, Xing Lian couldn’t see clearly. But that wasn’t important. What mattered was something else.

The Stream flowed from east to west. She was upstream, and they were downstream. She had just washed her feet upstream while they were washing things downstream. That meant…

Xing Lian’s face instantly turned bright red. She didn’t dare stay any longer, afraid of being caught. She ran all the way back to the cabin.

After returning to the small wooden cabin, her heart was pounding wildly. Not only from the exertion of running, but also from embarrassment.

But since no one noticed, it should be fine.

On second thought, it was just foot-washing water.

Besides, the current was fast. It might not have even reached them. She didn’t need to worry about it.

Yes. No need to worry.

Xing Lian comforted herself in her mind.

She hung up her socks. The white socks were very thin—they should be dry by morning.

After hanging the socks, Xing Lian took off her shoes and lay down on the small wooden bed.

It was already late, and there was nothing to do at night. Xing Lian gently closed her eyes. Soon, she felt drowsy.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly heard an unusual sound.

Wait!

A sound?

Xing Lian’s body jerked.

Every time she heard an unusual sound, something bad happened. Xing Lian was jolted awake.

“What was that?”

Wide-eyed, she scanned around with the Gemstone Necklace. She found nothing.

The sound came again. Xing Lian pricked up her ears and listened carefully.

At first, she didn’t notice anything wrong. But after listening for a while, her face suddenly turned crimson. She pulled the covers over her head.

She was no longer an innocent little girl. Having been teased by Fei, and tormented by Yue Li so many times, she knew very well what adults did.

That sound was very similar to the sounds she made when she was being teased. The situation was obvious.

“Ugh, can’t they be a little quieter? Don’t they know they’re disturbing others? So embarrassing!”

Xing Lian covered her face with both hands, feeling incredibly awkward.

In the middle of the night, she couldn’t go out to stop them. She didn’t dare to stop them either. She had no choice but to let them be.

Xing Lian slept very poorly that night.

Not only was her sleep disturbed, but her desires were also stirred up.

The sudden sounds made her miss Fei and Yue Li even more. If they were here, the nights wouldn’t be so lonely.

With this thought, she drifted off to sleep with mixed feelings. When she woke up the next morning, she even had dark circles under her eyes.

But the dark circles didn’t matter. What mattered was that she absolutely had to wash her clothes.

After washing up in the morning, she went to see the village chief. The village gave her some clothes.

It was a coarse linen outfit, very uncomfortable to wear. But at this point, she didn’t have the luxury to complain.

After changing clothes, she first went to eat breakfast, then went to the Stream to wash her dress. Afterward, she played with the three little ones.

The three little kittens were very clingy. Whenever they had free time, they came to find her. She couldn’t shake them off, but she didn’t want to either.

Here, in an unfamiliar place with no acquaintances, it was nice to have a few friends.

Besides, having the three little ones around solved many of her problems.

Xing Lian was stunningly beautiful, and everyone coveted her. People often gave her gifts or confessed their feelings to her.

With the three little ones nearby, these people restrained themselves a bit. They were like her bodyguards.

Playing and laughing, the morning passed.

In the afternoon, a Cat Girl from the village came to find her. Curious, Xing Lian went over.

“Your job has been arranged. From now on, follow her.”

The village chief Cat Girl pointed to the Cat Girl beside her.

Xing Lian turned to look. She saw an adult cat with yellow fur and green eyes. She was pretty, a delicate little cat.

“Xing Lian, right? Come with me.”

Xing Lian followed the Cat Girl, who explained the work content.

There was nothing special about it. Her job was very simple: washing clothes, helping with picking and washing vegetables, and cleaning.

Xing Lian noticed that all her coworkers were kittens. In other words, these were all tasks for kittens.

How could they look down on her like this!

Xing Lian felt deeply humiliated. She argued, but was quickly persuaded.

Because aside from these simple tasks, the remaining jobs were all hard—hunting, building wooden cabins, carrying heavy loads. There was no way she could do those.

Xing Lian knew her limits. Crestfallen, she accepted the job.