I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

Upon seeing his forced-into-be boss emerge, he paused in his hand, which had been secretly reaching for the cat, and instinctively handed over the chubby cat in his arms.

"Oh, if you like it, keep holding it. Aside from being a bit heavy, the canned food feels pretty good!" Seeing An Suo's actions, Pado smiled and waved at her, saying.

"..."

Upon hearing this, An Suo didn't say anything more, but silently withdrew his hand, hugged the can of food back to his chest, and gently rubbed it a couple of times.

Feeling the soft, fluffy texture under her fingertips, Miss Purple Rabbit couldn't help but squint her eyes. She had to admit that her cheap boss was right.

However, besides this little incident, something else made An Suo a little suspicious, and she didn't hold back, asking directly, "Miss Phyllis, what about the sushi you ordered? Does this restaurant not have it anymore?"

"Ahem... I had the people inside deliver it. After all, we have more important things to do next." Meeting An Suo's questioning gaze, Pado coughed lightly and explained with a "serious" expression.

"I see, so this kind of store actually offers delivery."

"Of course... Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore, let's go." To prevent herself from giving herself away later, Pado quickly changed the subject.

It's important to know that the cat isn't doing any sushi delivery. The reason it's not carrying anything is simply because it's already been stuffed into its storage space.

Actually, Pado didn't care if others knew about her ability to create space and "take things out of thin air." After all, many people around the little girl already knew about it.

However, given that An Suo was just a newly recruited underling and originally a "frivolous" thief who had struggled in the slums, Maomao decided to observe and investigate him for a period of time to see if he could be trusted in the long term.

Not only Pado herself, she guessed that Ansuo probably thought the same way. Just as she was evaluating her "little brothers," Ansuo would also evaluate whether she, as the "boss," was qualified and worth staying for.

Although Cat didn't know why Miss Purple Rabbit hadn't taken the opportunity to escape before, she knew that if she didn't pass the test later, her new little brother would definitely seize every opportunity to run away.

……

After leaving the sushi restaurant, Pado had a clear goal and took An Suo directly to Longmen's largest food street.

As for why we came here, besides the fact that there are many lunch options, it's also because it's not far from the wealthy Longmen area, making it convenient for me to carry out my next plan.

"Hmm, is there anything you'd like to eat? As long as we don't waste food, we can eat as much as we want." With that, Pado shifted her gaze from the dazzling array of snacks and shops in front of her and turned to ask An Suo.

"Ah this..."

Upon hearing this, An Suo swallowed hard and asked, "Really, anything is possible?"

Although Miss Purple Rabbit wasn't very hungry at the moment, the aroma wafting over still made her a little hungry.

"Of course! Go buy whatever you want to eat, as long as you don't waste any, we'll reimburse you!"

P.S.: There will be more tonight.

Chapter 36 Hidden Lock: Surely you didn't hire me to steal it?

Although Pado said she would reimburse everything, An Suo ultimately didn't buy too many snacks, only a serving of fish balls and a few other things.

The reason, besides the fact that she wasn't really hungry, was that Miss Purple Rabbit couldn't bear to part with it...

Although the money An Suo was using to buy things came from Pado's wallet, she had already claimed it as her own. Unsure if her "boss" would reimburse her, she couldn't bear to spend too much.

Because if any problems arise later, she still needs this money to live... In fact, in her opinion, the fish balls and various snacks she is buying now are already considered a rare luxury.

"An Suo, you only bought this little bit? You've eaten more canned food than you have!" Pado, who had swept around with canned food and returned with bags of snacks, looked at An Suo standing by the roadside with only a little bit of food and said in surprise.

"Um... this is enough for me, I'm not very hungry." After hearing Pado's words, An Suo raised his head and quickly waved his hand.

“Hmm, although it does make sense, but…” This time, Pado didn’t let An Suo’s explanation go as easily as before, but stared at the person in front of her with a probing gaze.

"But actually, An Suo was afraid I wouldn't reimburse her, so she didn't dare to buy more, right!"

Although it seemed like a question, the cat's tone was quite certain.

"!"

Startled by her sudden revelation of her secret thoughts, An Suo quickly explained, somewhat embarrassed, "How could that be? I really just can't eat that much!"

It's one thing to think and plan things yourself, but it's quite another to have someone else say it out loud. Although An Suo considers himself to be thick-skinned after all these years of hard work... he still felt a little embarrassed at this moment.

"Okay, I understand! I bought some extra, I'll share them with you later. Let's find a quiet place to sit."

Pado keenly noticed the subtle changes in An Suo's expression.

Upon noticing the change, a look of understanding flashed in his heterochromatic eyes. He then stopped dwelling on it and instead, quite abruptly, changed the subject.

"..."

Although he couldn't quite keep up with Pado's train of thought, after a moment of stunned silence, An Suo quickly caught up with her.

…………

"Oh dear, it's definitely better to enjoy a meal in a quiet place!"

After leaving the food street with An Suo and finding a quiet place nearby, Pa Duo casually pulled An Suo to sit down.

After sitting down, the cat grabbed a can of food with one hand and placed all the other food in front of An Suo with the other, saying:

"Here you go, I bought a lot. Just take whatever you want to eat."

"Meow!"

Before An Su could react, the canned food, which was being controlled by Pado, cried out in dissatisfaction and protest.

"Don't worry, Canned Food. We won't starve you. Let Anso choose first this time." Hearing Canned Food's protesting cries, Pado patted its head and comforted it.

"Meow meow!"

"Oh, don't be so stingy."

"..."

An Suo first looked at the wide variety of snacks in front of him, then at the person and cat playing around beside him, and a complex emotion mixed with warmth suddenly welled up in his heart.

“I’m not really hungry, this is all I need. Miss Phyllis, you should eat your canned food quickly before it gets cold…” An Suo casually picked one item, then pushed the snack back and reminded her.

"Honestly, you should learn more from canned food! And here you go."

Seeing An Suo's actions, Pado shook her head helplessly. Then she released the can, reached into her pocket, took out a few banknotes, and handed them to the person next to her.

"We may not be able to guarantee other aspects, but we will absolutely, positively treat you well in terms of food, drink, and benefits!"

"..."

Staring at the few bright blue banknotes in front of him, An Suo did not accept them as quickly as usual. Instead, he turned his head slightly to look at Pa Duo and asked the same question as before with a puzzled expression.

"why?"

"Huh? What do you mean, why?"

As they spoke, Pado stuffed the money in her hand into Ansuo's pocket, then slowly picked up a snack from the side and ate it while waiting for her explanation.

"...Why did you choose me, and why are you being so good to me for no reason?"

An Suo met Pa Duo's beautiful heterochromatic eyes, remained silent for a while, and then whispered.

Miss Purple Rabbit had asked a similar question at the beginning and received an answer. However... that answer did not satisfy her, or rather, it did not convince her.

At that time, An Suo didn't pay attention, because her initial idea was to take the money given to her by this "weirdo" and find an opportunity to escape.

Since she had no intention of staying, she naturally wouldn't delve into the matter or care about the answer the cat gave.

But things are different now, and even Miss Purple Rabbit herself finds it unbelievable. After spending just one morning with the people around her, she actually had terrifying thoughts like, "This is not bad at all," and "Staying here shouldn't be a bad idea."

And it was precisely because of these fleeting thoughts that An Su, who hadn't cared about the "reason" before, now started to care... In fact, the better Pado treated her, the more she cared about the reason behind it...

"Huh? An Suo, why are you still dwelling on this? Didn't I say at the beginning that I think you're exceptionally talented and wanted to mentor you?" Saying this, Pado took a bite of the skewer in her hand and continued:

"And when have I ever been nice to you for no reason?"

"?"

Upon hearing this, An Suo glanced at the snacks in front of him and the money in his pocket, a big question mark appearing on his little head.

While leisurely enjoying her lunch, Pado silently observed An Suo's expression, then smiled, shook her head, and said:

"Oh, actually, I think you should think of yourself a little more. I've never been nice to you for no reason, because we have a normal employment relationship now, although it seems like we haven't signed a contract or anything..."

As someone whose past experiences were similar to An Suo's, "Pa Duo" could easily understand her "little brother's" current dilemma just by listening to what he said.

Cat saw the little rabbit's dilemma as a good thing, even a pleasant surprise, since she hadn't expected this "dilemma" to come so soon.

As for why she said that, it's because Pado had long understood the principle that "if you don't care, you won't be bothered by it."

In Maomao's opinion, if An Suo were really only thinking about taking advantage and running away with the money, then she wouldn't be bothered by this kind of issue at all.

“Although that’s what you say, Miss Phyllis… I don’t think I have anything that would make you spend so much money to hire me. I don’t know much either, you can’t be planning to hire me to steal, can you…?”

P.S.: This is a bit late, I'm going to sleep now. I accidentally stayed up all night and now I'm getting new growths on my body again. Goodnight.

Chapter 37 The Sensitive Rabbit and the Helpless Cat

“Although that’s what you say, Miss Phyllis… I don’t think I have anything that would make you spend so much money to hire me. I don’t know much either, you can’t be planning to hire me to steal, can you…?”

Although An Suo said these words with a smile, the unease and wariness in her eyes when she looked at Pado, as well as the unconscious change in how she addressed her, all revealed her true emotions at that moment.

It's really no wonder Miss Purple Rabbit was overthinking things; it's just that all of this seemed too abnormal to her! So abnormal that all her years of experience and rationality told her that there's no such thing as a free lunch, something fishy was going on, and she should run away as fast as she could.

However, she had to admit that so far, Pado had not only not done anything outrageous or dangerous, but had even been very kind to her...

"Hehe, I didn't expect you to guess so accurately, An Suo. However, I don't like the term 'theft,' I usually call it 'buying goods.'" Pado chuckled after hearing An Suo's joking probing.

"...?"

"???"

Pado's sudden and information-packed words stunned An Suo. After she came to her senses, her face was full of astonishment, and a row of question marks appeared on her little head.

"You...you...this, I..."

Looking at An Suo, who had become incoherent because of her words, Pado first blinked innocently, "Oh dear, are you that surprised?"

"Of course! Buying goods... Could it be... could it be that Miss Phyllis, you're some kind of unscrupulous trafficker who kidnaps infected people and makes them steal all sorts of things for you?!"

Looking at Pado's innocent face, An Suo immediately thought of the worst possibility, and then said in a trembling voice with a look of fear on his face.

"?"

"How could that be! Do we look like the kind of people who would do that kind of thing?! And keep your voice down, you know walls have ears." As soon as An Suo said this, it was Pa Duo's turn to be unsettled.

Although Cat knew that An Suo had struggled in the slums and it was normal for him to overthink things, she could be understanding. But she really didn't expect things to get so outrageous!

She clearly only intended to hire Xiaoshi on an equal footing and then fulfill her promise to teach her a couple of moves!

"Don't overthink things, Tian Tian. I would never do such a bad thing. And, if I may be frank, your skills aren't as good as mine." As she spoke, Pado's long tail swayed unhappily, then she quietly hooked a cold drink next to her and pressed it against An Suo's cheek.

"Alas!"