Chapter 305: Chapter 304: Jade Among the Lizards

[LOL, I’ve taken 20 screenshots of Station Chief Xu holding his breath!]

[Marmot: Just let me die.jpg]

[I can smell it through the screen, my mom asked why I’m holding my nose watching TV]

[The shot of Su Zhining gagging in the corner cracked me up]

Su Zhining stood in the corner with a look of disdain, while Xu Ying waved the toothbrush in her hand: "Little Su, if you don’t participate in the adventurous challenge of brushing the marmot’s teeth, you’ll have to redraw a challenge card."

Su Zhining’s fingers trembled slightly as she reluctantly moved to the examination table. The marmot, nervous, clutched the edge of the table, its black eyes fixed unblinkingly on her.

"Relax your wrist, brush gently from the gums to the tips..." Xu Ying stood by, patiently guiding.

When the toothbrush touched the marmot’s big yellow teeth for the first time, the little creature instinctively shrank back. But soon it found the human’s actions surprisingly gentle—

"Huh?"

Su Zhining suddenly noticed that as she moved, the marmot’s once yellowing teeth were becoming visibly bright and clean.

The little fellow squinted in comfort, its two front paws unconsciously holding the toothbrush handle, moving its head side to side as if cradling its favorite nut.

"Pfft..." Su Zhining couldn’t help but laugh. The marmot at this moment was nothing like a "biochemical weapon"—

Its fluffy fur quivered with each brush stroke, and its pink little tongue occasionally darted out to lick the toothpaste bubbles, like a child enjoying a spa session.

As they reached a particularly pleasant spot, the marmot even emitted a satisfied "gurgling" sound, its round body instinctively cuddling into Su Zhining’s palm.

Su Zhining froze completely—she could feel the marmot’s furry little belly rise and fall with its breath even through the gloves, the warm temperature seeping through the latex to her fingertips.

The little creature even nuzzled her wrist with its head, its soft fur brushing gently against her skin, causing a peculiar tickling sensation.

"!"

She widened her eyes in surprise, this feeling of unconditional trust from the small animal washing away all her disdain with a warm rush.

"Seems like..." Su Zhining’s voice unconsciously softened, her brushing motions becoming more gentle, "it’s not so bad after all."

Xu Ying leaned against the sterilization cabinet, a knowing smile playing on her lips: "Hmm, I don’t think you’re so bad either."

"..." Su Zhining froze, her face turning pale. She slowly raised her head, disbelief written in her eyes: "Xu Ying, what do you mean?! I’ve always been pretty likable!"

Xu Ying shrugged noncommittally.

Lu Jinyu drew a dare where he had to select one of the three "mystery boxes" containing unknown items, then retrieve the item and pose for a minute-long photo together.

Lu Jinyu used a method akin to ’picking from a lineup" to choose the right mystery box.

"Now, challenger, please reach into the mystery box—"

The assistant director’s voice trembled as if holding back laughter.

Hearing the assistant director laugh made Lu Jinyu break out in goosebumps.

Standing in front of the pitch-black mystery box, his Adam’s apple moved unconsciously. The black cloth at the opening hid the inside completely, only a faint "rustling" sound could be heard.

His fingers hovered at the mouth of the box, the hand speed he had always been proud of as an eSports player now surprisingly shaky.

"It couldn’t be something alive, right..." he muttered softly, the tips of his red hair slightly paling. "My hands still need to compete, don’t mess them up!"

When his fingertips finally ventured inside the box—

The cold sensation made him yank his hand back sharply, only to hear the crew’s exaggerated hisses. Gritting his teeth, Lu Jinyu plunged his whole arm into the darkness.

Fear of the unknown spread through the box—a cold something suddenly brushed his wrist, a "rustling" scratching sound came from the bottom, and he could faintly feel the warmth of a living creature. Lu Jinyu’s neck instantly tensed, fingers frozen mid-air.

"What on earth is...ah!"

Suddenly, something slick spiraled up his forearm, the scaled sensation making his hair stand on end. He yanked his arm out—

A palm-sized lizard suddenly darted out like lightning.

The cold slick sensation quickly climbed up his arm and perched on his shoulder. The green scales, strikingly vivid against Lu Jinyu’s flaming red hair. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

(Lizard illustration warning! Skip if afraid~)

[I was so startled I dropped my phone when he pulled his arm out]

[Wow, this lizard is really green, like jade!]

[Red and green together look like garbage! The production team sure knows color theory]

Lu Jinyu’s shoulder had essentially become an animal display stand.

Lu Jinyu felt the presence of the lizard, which extended its long tongue to touch Lu Jinyu’s face.

Lu Jinyu was on the verge of tears! He dared not move as the production crew’s photographer zoomed in for a close-up.

He asked, voice trembling: "Director, has the minute passed yet?"

Not until the assistant director finished the countdown did Lu Jinyu finally heave a sigh of relief, that minute feeling like a century.

Xu Ying gently cradled the green body of the lizard, the little creature placidly laying in her palm, the sunlight refracting off its scales like gemstones.

"This is a common lizard, widespread in Europe, but only found in Xizhou Province in our country; it’s a protected ’three-have’ national animal." She lightly tapped the net-like pattern on the lizard’s back, "They’re guardians of the prairie, eating 7 grasshoppers to protect 1 square meter of grassland."

Xu Ying allowed it to climb onto her shoulder, "Last year, when the forest police dismantled a poaching operation, it was found stuffed inside a plastic bottle. Only about 20% of illegally captured common lizards survive captivity, and..."

She gently stroked the lizard’s scales, "they depend heavily on their native vegetation, and rescued individuals like this one struggle to return to the wild."

The lizard seemed to understand, nuzzling her cheek, Xu Ying’s eyes softened: "Now it’s the county elementary school’s science ambassador, the kids call it ’Jade’. Remember, no wild animal should ever become our plaything."

The online viewers couldn’t help but feel pity, while Lu Jinyu, upon hearing this lizard was actually a "prairie guardian," suddenly found the vivid green lizard not as frightening, shaking his head: "Humans are scarier."

When it was Jia Yao’s turn to draw his dare challenge card, he found that his challenge draw box was different from his three teammates’.

Jia Yao eyed the glaring red draw box in front of him, the bold "Arctic People" characters glistening in the snow, next to a thumbs-up polar bear wearing the same thermal underwear.

"What’s going on?!"

Jia Yao’s voice cracked with desperate disbelief.

How are the advertisers this quick?!

The assistant director stifled laughter and explained: "It’s a new endorsement your manager just negotiated, a national brand!"