Qin Xiaoxue Was Scammed? Breeding Success!

The Beast Tamer Association headquarters.

It was still the same office.

Only this time, there were a few more people inside.

Qin Xiaoxue, who had rushed back from the outskirts, pushed open the door. Her brows soon lifted slightly as she looked into the office.

Besides her grandfather, there were two people she recognized but did not know particularly well.

"Xiaoxue, you're back."

Qin Erlong stood up with a beaming smile. Qin Xiaoxue nodded, her expression cool and detached, and glanced at the other two people present.

One was a balding old man who seemed about Qin Erlong's age. The other was a man in his thirties with a flattering smile plastered across his face.

It was the younger man who spoke now. As Qin Xiaoxue sat straight down, he hurriedly addressed her respectfully:

"Miss Qin, I'm truly sorry. Regarding what happened last time, I, Sun Chaoju, apologize to you on behalf of the Wolf Den Breeding Base. I've brought your breeding fee back.

"Also, if you're willing, the Wolf Den can make a second attempt at teaching Accelerated Casting for you at any time, free of charge."

Qin Xiaoxue frowned slightly and looked at Qin Erlong.

The old man quickly waved his hands.

"This wasn't my idea. Old Liu heard about it and called Sun Chaoju over. When he heard you were coming shortly, he hurried over with him."

The balding old man beside him also smiled.

"Xiaoxue, the blame for this falls on me. Last time, your grandfather didn't say whose pet needed training, and when you went there, you didn't mention me or your grandfather either. It's understandable that young Sun overlooked a few things!

"But don't worry. This time, I'll personally vouch for him. There definitely won't be any problems. If..."

After glancing at the balding old man, Qin Xiaoxue impatiently interrupted him and turned to her grandfather.

"Have you found anything about what I asked you on the phone?"

The balding old man looked thoroughly embarrassed, but he did not continue.

Qin Erlong gave a light cough.

"Yes, she's the chairwoman of the Skycloud Group, Dong Muyun. Her background is anything but simple. Why are you asking about her?"

Qin Xiaoxue's brows knitted, but she did not answer her grandfather.

The Skycloud Group?

Its reputation carried weight not just in Linzhou City, but throughout Jianghai Province, even across the Dragon Nation. What connection did such an important figure have with that brat?

Qin Xiaoxue might have been easygoing and carefree, but the circles she had grown up in spoke for themselves.

Still, with other people present, she could hardly ask further questions.

Frowning at Sun Chaoju's ingratiating smile, she spoke with undisguised impatience.

"Keep that money yourself. The terms were clear when we signed the contract, and I'm not short of that little bit of money.

"As for going back to your place for more training? Forget it. I've found a breeding base to train my Wooden Head, so there's no need for you to trouble yourselves."

The balding old man hastily smiled.

"Xiaoxue, you mean that Woodheart Breeding Base on the outskirts, right? Your grandfather told us about it. That breeding base has certainly been around for a long time. Even at the very beginning, it advertised training under the Woodheart banner.

"But over several decades, only a handful of pets with that ability ever appeared, and those were cubs that had already been contracted out. There's never been any precedent for them actually teaching Woodheart. Xiaoxue, don't let some crook deceive you!"

Qin Xiaoxue first glared at her grandfather, then glanced at the balding old man with his face full of smiles, her brows drawing together slightly.

"Do I look like someone who's easily scammed?"

The old man's smile froze, and embarrassment crept onto his face again.

Only then did Qin Erlong speak from beside them.

"Xiaoxue, is that any way to speak to your Grandpa Liu? Isn't he only looking out for you?"

Looking out for me? At the end of the day, it's all because of who I am.

At that thought, Qin Xiaoxue felt sick of it all. Spending time with these businessmen and bigwigs, who treated pet beast breeding entirely as business dealings and social favors, was truly tedious.

If she could, Qin Xiaoxue honestly found herself missing the pungent yet oddly comforting smell of wolf dung on Su Ping.

At least that guy seemed to take genuine pleasure in training pet beasts and put his heart into it.

Besides, would she not know whether she was being scammed?

Even setting everything else aside, the several pounds Wooden Head had gained over the past few days said enough. That guy had probably paid quite a bit out of his own pocket for food.

The contract was right there. If the training failed, she would not have to pay a single cent for any of the Woodheart materials or training expenses.

What could he possibly scam her out of?

The man in front of her, on the other hand, would have genuinely swindled her out of her three-million training fee if he had not learned who she was.

Still, she had no need to explain anything to them.

After all, Su Ping had not finished the training yet, and her Wooden Head had not learned Woodheart. Naturally, she had nothing convincing to show them.

Yet her silence only emboldened the other two. Sun Chaoju hurriedly said:

"Exactly, Miss Qin. I've made inquiries too. The previous owner of the Wood Heart Pet Beast Breeding Base has left Linzhou. Now there's only a boy who just graduated.

"What could a kid fresh out of school possibly know? He probably doesn't even understand some of the basics of breeding."

Qin Xiaoxue's brows tightened again.

"I'm also a student who only graduated a few years ago. You're looking down on people a little too much, Boss Sun."

Sun Chaoju wore a fawning expression.

"How could ordinary people compare to you, Miss Qin? You're an outstanding graduate of Demon City Academy, and Chairman Qin's granddaughter..."

"That's right, Xiaoxue. If someone could teach a Forest Wolf Woodheart, then, never mind anything else, as long as his success rate exceeded thirty percent, I would personally award him a Junior Breeder certificate.

"If it exceeded fifty percent, I would personally give him an Intermediate Breeder certificate. And if it were even higher, then, without question, he could enter the next Breeder Convention as a core representative of Linzhou..."

"Enough. If there's nothing else, I'm leaving. As for what I asked you about on the phone, let me know when you have time."

After saying goodbye to her grandfather, Qin Xiaoxue decisively cut them off and rose impatiently.

Just then, however, a clear chime rang out.

It was not a call, only a text notification on Qin Xiaoxue's phone.

Still, few people knew Qin Xiaoxue's private number. Anyone who could message her was clearly someone she knew well.

Yet when Qin Xiaoxue took out her phone, she froze slightly.

"Xiaoxue, what's wrong?"

Seeing his granddaughter stop in her tracks, Qin Erlong felt rather helpless. His granddaughter was excellent in every way: her talent, learning, and looks were all first-rate. Her temper was simply too fiery, and she left people no room to save face.

In short, she had little interest in learning the ways of the world-or rather, she disdained learning them.

Just like her grandmother.

But at Qin Erlong's question, Qin Xiaoxue's expression became a fascinating mix of emotions, both vivid and strange. She glanced at Chairman Liu of the Breeder Association beside her, then at Sun Chaoju of the Wolf Den Breeding Base, who was supposedly a certified Intermediate Breeder.

Only then did she speak, sounding rather incredulous.

"Su Ping says Wooden Head's training is complete. It succeeded, and he wants me to come take a look."

At those words, the entire office fell silent.

"That's impossible!"