There is a beast in the bright morning.

Chapter 266 The Oleander Forced to Stay

The arrival of the oleander was quite unexpected for Haochen.

Looking at the oleander and the walnut tree affectionately biting each other's tails, Hao Chen couldn't help but feel melancholy.

"What should we do? The oleanders appeared so suddenly."

If I just leave it like this, what if Oleander ends up with Zhanhu like in the comics?

If the original body were to return, it would likely not spare me.

Hao Chen glanced at the oleander with a conflicted expression, wondering if he should try to find a way to get rid of it himself.

But before Hao Chen could continue thinking, the Siberian Pheasant reached out and patted him: "Little Coal Ball, you look a little off. What are you thinking about?"

"No, it's nothing." Disturbed by the four-legged creature, Hao Chen immediately came back to his senses and thought to himself, "Really, why bother thinking so much about the main body? Anyway, Zhan Hu isn't mine. And maybe the main body will even thank me for finding him another fluffy one."

Hao Chen chuckled to himself, as if he could already see the shocked and angry expression on the original body's face when it returned.

However, upon looking up and seeing the curious expression on Si Bu Xiang's face, Hao Chen quickly wiped the smile off his lips: "Alright, Si... Xiang Rui, I'm fine, don't worry."

When Si Bu Xiang Jian realized that Hao Chen was alright, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he curiously wandered around the deer-man shop, taking in the current residence of Hao Chen and Tian Lu.

On the other side, the four-legged creature and the rabbit looked at the oleander with a puzzled expression. For some reason, they felt that they had seen the oleander somewhere before, but where was it?

"Hey Rabbit, don't you think Walnut's uncle looks familiar?"

"I also feel like I've seen that look familiar somewhere before?!"

Hearing the whispers between the Four-Faced Beast and the Rabbit Lord, Tianlu couldn't help but laugh, "Four-Faced Beast, your memory is really bad. Didn't we see Uncle Walnut's statue in Haochen's cave? Back then, he was being ridden by Zhanhu... Waaah!!"

Hao Chen, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly felt a surge of shame upon hearing Tian Lu's words. He quickly stepped forward and covered Tian Lu's mouth to stop him from continuing.

"Tianlu, shut up, don't say anything." Haochen patted himself down, then reluctantly took out a fist-sized pearl and stuffed it into Tianlu's mouth: "Eat your pearl."

Tianlu was initially a little unhappy, but after eating the pearl, he instantly forgot his displeasure and looked at Haochen with burning eyes: "Haochen, where did you get the pearl? Do you have any more? I want to eat more."

"That's all, just this one left." Hao Chen helplessly spread his hands.

This large pearl was a gift from the Treasure-Spitting Rat to Tianlu, but Tianlu happened to be away that day, so the Treasure-Spitting Rat asked Haochen to give it to Tianlu. However, Haochen kept it because he thought it was beautiful, but now it has been returned to its rightful owner.

Tianlu licked his lips in disappointment. Only one pearl, though delicious, was not enough for him to eat.

Although Tianlu didn't say anything more because of the pearl, his words just now reminded the Qilin that they had indeed seen the oleander statue at Haochen's place, although the posture was not very elegant.

For a moment, the way the four-legged creature and the rabbit looked at Haochen made him feel like he was being pricked by thorns, and he felt uncomfortable all over.

"Damn you, you've really screwed me over this time," Hao Chen cursed inwardly.

"Haochen, did you and Walnut's uncle know each other before? Otherwise, how would you know what he looks like?"

The words "four unlikes" made Hao Chen's mind race, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Fortunately, after Walnut and Oleander finished their interaction, Walnut led Oleander to the front of the Four-Unlikes and Haochen.

"This is a four-legged creature, let me introduce it to you. This is my uncle, Oleander."

"Uncle, those are the Four-Unlikes and Rabbit Lord, my buddies Pipi and Haochen, and those over there are my friends Xiangtai and Meimei."

After Walnut finished speaking, Oleander took the initiative to step forward and thank the Four-Faced Beast, saying, "Boss Four, thank you for taking such good care of Walnut."

The four-legged creature waved its hand: "It's nothing, and Walnut is a very sensible and obedient child. We all like him very much."

Upon hearing what the four-legged creature said, the oleander breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the walnut had not only not caused any trouble, but had also made many new friends.

The next moment, the four-legged creature pulled out a long piece of paper and handed it to the oleander.

Oleander looked at the numbers on it and asked in confusion, "Fourth Boss, what is this?"

The four-legged creature pointed to the "Walnut's Bill" on the paper and said, "This is what Walnut accidentally broke at the Deer Man's shop recently. Since you're Walnut's uncle, I'll give it to you."

"Bill...bill?!" Oleander looked at Walnut in confusion, while Walnut scratched the back of his head embarrassedly: "Uncle, Walnut didn't break the antique vase that looks like a mythical creature on purpose."

"..." Oleander felt a wave of dizziness and looked hesitantly at the four-legged creature. Didn't she just say that Walnut was sensible? How come there's a bill now?

Although he doesn't know how much he'll have to pay for the oleander, an antique vase is obviously expensive, and he's unemployed, so where would he get the money to pay for it?

Seeing the guilty look on Oleander's face, the Four-Unlikes knew that Oleander probably didn't have the money to pay compensation. However, the Four-Unlikes was not surprised, as it had been prepared for this situation.

“Oleander, this isn’t a charity. If you don’t have the money to pay, then just sign this contract.”

As he spoke, the four-legged creature took out a labor contract that it had prepared in advance and handed it to the oleander: "If you don't have money, you can work for Walnut to pay off your debts. You can help sweep the floor, water the flowers, and occasionally run errands. It should take about two hundred years to pay off the debts."

Meimei, who was eating dumplings nearby, overheard the four-legged creature's words and immediately felt a sense of crisis. She even forgot about eating her dumplings and said, "Boss Si, I just remembered that the warehouse hasn't been organized yet. I'll go organize it right away."

"Hey, Meimei, aren't you going to eat first?"

"No, work is more important."

"How much?" At the same time, Oleander picked at her ear in disbelief, then looked at Walnut with annoyance. She had seen people who cheated their fathers, their mothers, and even their sons, but she had never seen anyone cheat their uncle.

Walnut, however, had the foresight to slip away first, leaving Oleander alone to face the strange creature.

"Since you're Walnut's uncle, I think you should set a good example for Walnut!"

In the end, the four-legged creature used its deceptive skills, coaxing and cajoling the naive oleander into signing a contract, successfully gaining a free employee.

However, Oleander, who signed the contract, felt particularly aggrieved. He had come here to take Walnut away to find his sister, but not only did he fail to take Walnut with him, he also got himself involved.

Feeling increasingly aggrieved, Oleander couldn't help but sob softly, "Sister, where are you? Why did you drive me away back then!"

The four-legged creature froze upon hearing the oleander's sobs: "Wait, I didn't do anything to him, did I? Why is he crying?"

Seeing the four-legged creature looking anxious, Rabbit quickly comforted him, "Little one, this has nothing to do with you. Maybe Oleander isn't ready yet. Let's let him calm down first."

As Rabbit spoke, he winked at Hao Chen and pointed to Oleander, who was crying softly. It was clear that he wanted Hao Chen to comfort Oleander, this "enlarged version of Walnut".

Although Hao Chen looked unhappy, he was secretly overjoyed.

At this moment, Rabbit Lord left the room with the Four-Faced Beast, Tianlu finished eating dumplings and ran off somewhere, and Xiangtai was dragged away by Meimei to do chores. Only Haochen and Oleander remained in the room.

"Since the main body has a War Tiger, it shouldn't be too much for me to choose an Oleander, right?" Hao Chen looked at the aggrieved Oleander with burning eyes, and couldn't help but feel a protective instinct.

"Alright, Oleander, stop crying. If Walnut sees you, you'll definitely be laughed at."

After Hao Chen shrunk his body to be about the same size as the oleander, he walked to the oleander's side and, to the oleander's astonishment, stuck out his tongue and licked away the oleander's tears.

"Don't worry, the four-legged creature is just joking with you. It won't really let you stay here that long."

"really?"

Because Oleander had just cried, his voice still sounded a little choked up, and coupled with his droopy eyes, it made Hao Chen feel even more protective of him.

“That’s right, and I’m here too.” Hao Chen said, taking out a bamboo tube from his body. “By the way, I have some fresh bamboo tube wine. Want a cup?”

Regardless of whether Oleander wanted to drink or not, Haochen poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her.

Oleander waved its paw: "Sorry, I don't want to drink right now."

"Drink up, this wine isn't very strong, just treat it like a soft drink." Hao Chen pushed the wine towards the oleander.

Unable to resist Haochen's enthusiasm, Oleander politely picked up the wine and drank it in one gulp, then licked her lips: "It tastes icy cold and a little sweet, quite delicious."

"Right? If you like it, drink more. There are some dumplings left over here, which can be a good snack with your drinks. I'll drink with you."

Haochen pulled Oleander to sit at the table, pouring her wine while also picking up a few dumplings to go with it.

Perhaps the pressure of not being able to find her older sister had put too much strain on Oleander, and now, with Haochen urging her to drink, Oleander kept drinking.

Even though the bamboo tube wine that Haochen brought out was not very strong, Oleander couldn't resist drinking it all, and soon she felt a little dizzy.

"No, no, I can't drink anymore, hiccup!"

Seeing that Oleander was already hiccuping from the alcohol, Haochen didn't want to urge her to drink any more. He couldn't very well get Oleander drunk on their first meeting.

"Oleander, you're drunk. Let me take you to rest."

Without giving the oleander a chance to refuse, Haochen picked it up and put it on his back, then walked towards the direction of the four-legged creature.

"Let's borrow the room of the four-legged creature for now. I don't think he'll mind."

Perhaps because she was drunk, the oleander's originally faint plant fragrance became even more alluring, making Haochen unable to resist burying his head in the oleander and deeply inhaling its aroma.

As he inhaled, Hao Chen released the ability to grow larger and shrunk back down. He yawned while holding the oleander, feeling a wave of drowsiness wash over him.