Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Qiao Sang walked out of the store with her newly repaired phone.

Considering that people with social anxiety tend to have a slight fear of being without their phones, she didn’t wait until tomorrow.

Instead, she returned to school right away to give Jin Feifan her phone.

This delay caused Qiao Sang to get home an hour later than usual.

As she entered the neighborhood and rounded a corner, she saw two men in black suits lingering near her door, occasionally glancing inside.

The two men stood straight, looking exactly like bodyguards.

The first thought that popped into Qiao Sang’s mind was: "In the middle of summer, aren’t they hot dressed like that…"

Despite seeing two strangers outside her door, Qiao Sang didn’t think much of it.

While Tianjing Garden wasn’t the priciest neighborhood in Hanggang City, it was still a wealthy area with a robust security system. Security guards were on duty 24 hours a day, and outsiders couldn’t enter without registration.

“Wait!” Qiao Sang immediately patted Yabao’s back, signaling him to stop.

"Yap."

Yabao had also noticed the two humans up ahead.

Qiao Sang paused on Yabao's back, watching the little fat dove that had flown out of her yard land on one of the men’s shoulders and shake its head.

Oh, no! Illegal entry!

Suddenly, countless headlines she’d seen before flashed through her mind.

"Single Woman Encounters Strange Man Sneaking into Her Room"

"Woman in Liao City Discovers Stranger Hiding Under Her Bed, He Laughs Instead of Fleeing"

"27-Year-Old Single Woman Found in Suitcase After Being Killed"

"Reminder to Single Women: Don’t Adopt Stray Pets, They Might Be…"

The last headline was something she’d seen recently.

Some people used women’s soft hearts to get their pets adopted by appearing pitiful, only to use those pets to confirm if their targets lived alone and if it was safe to make a move.

Despicable.

Qiao Sang thought about it: Female, living alone, not to brag, but she did have a pretty face!

Could it be that someone had targeted her?

Thinking this, Qiao Sang touched her face, the idea growing more plausible.

“Walk over there with fierce expressions.” Qiao Sang whispered to Yabao and Little Treasure.

"Yap!"

Yabao caught on, glaring at the two humans up ahead, baring his sharp fangs, and putting on a fierce face.

“Xun~”

Little Treasure's ghostly eyes glowed as he took out a mirror and pen, adjusting the scar makeup on his face.

Before Qiao Sang could get closer, the thinner man in the black suit seemed to sense something and turned to look in her direction.

He paused, then said something to the man beside him, and both started walking toward her.

Instantly, Qiao Sang tensed up.

Are villains this bold now?!

Should she strike first and have Yabao attack them?

Thankfully, her rational side held her back from pouncing on them.

Without concrete evidence, if nearby surveillance caught the fat dove flying into her house and they lied about it as an accident, what then? After all, it was a pet, not a person.

The two men in black suits stopped two meters away, facing her and her two pets that were glaring back at them.

“Hello, are you the resident of Unit 1705?” The thinner man asked.

Qiao Sang shook her head.

“No.”

The two men were taken aback and exchanged glances. The thinner man finally said, “But lately, I’ve seen you going in and out of Unit 1705.”

Before Qiao Sang could reply, the heavier man frowned, “Could you have made a mistake?”

“No way, I remember the residents in our neighborhood. She does live in 1705.” The thinner man insisted.

Our neighborhood… Qiao Sang caught on to the phrase and realized a key detail.

Could she have misunderstood…?

“And you are?” She asked.

“We’re the neighborhood security. The resident of Unit 1707 reported that their white sticky fruit was stolen by a pet that seemed to run into Unit 1705. So we came to take a look.” The thinner guard explained.

Impressive, even the security guards in this upscale neighborhood were dressed so formally…

Good thing she hadn’t attacked them earlier. That would’ve been embarrassing.

Qiao Sang chuckled awkwardly.

“Oh, I just got back. Do you want to go in and take a look?”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t a resident of Unit 1705?” The heavier guard frowned.

Qiao Sang forced a smile, “I’m just renting. I thought you meant the owner.”

The heavier guard’s face darkened. He was about to say something but stopped when he met Yabao’s intimidating gaze.

“Well, let’s go take a look.” The heavier guard said to his partner, looking excited to go inside.

Watching his reaction, Qiao Sang narrowed her eyes.

“What are you staring at? She just got back.”

The thinner guard scolded, turning to Qiao Sang apologetically, “He’s new and doesn’t quite know his manners. We were only concerned that a wild pet may have entered. We sent the little fat dove to check inside.”

“If you’re not home, that’s fine. If a wild pet appears, just let us know.”

Internally, he thought, Come on, we’re security, not the police. Searching a Beast Master’s home over two fruits isn’t worth the risk.

The new guard’s eyes widened, “But-”

Before he could finish, Qiao Sang interrupted, “Do you have a picture of the pet that stole the white sticky fruit?”

The thinner guard hesitated, “We’re not sure what type of pet it was, just that it was blue.”

“Was the surveillance unclear?” Qiao Sang asked.

“It didn’t catch it.” He admitted awkwardly.

“Oh?” Qiao Sang raised an eyebrow.

“Then how do you know the pet went into Unit 1705?”

The heavier guard piped up, “I saw it run in there myself.”

Qiao Sang listened, then smiled and asked, “Sir, where are you from? Your accent sounds a bit different from around here.”

“He’s from Guwu District.” Ghe thinner guard cut in.

“He just joined us two days ago.”

Guwu District… Immediately, Qiao Sang thought of Water Luriana who was also from there.

What a coincidence…