Qing Niao knew that the refined-looking man in front of him was the university chancellor, so he spoke with great respect, “Yes, I’m a new employee at the Eighth Cafeteria. The boss assigned me to deliver food, and this happens to be the last order.”

Upon hearing Qing Niao’s words, Chancellor Wen was filled with mixed emotions. Ever since he learned that the wenyao worked in the Eighth Cafeteria, he had felt uneasy every time he went there to eat. He had considered avoiding the Eighth Cafeteria to escape these supernatural beasts. However, the braised pork in the Eighth Cafeteria was simply unparalleled, so delicious that he couldn’t help but suppress his fear and go.

Chancellor Wen asked with a smile, “What is your surname, young friend?”

Qing Niao politely replied, “My surname is Qing.”

Chancellor Wen was somewhat surprised to hear this, as the surname Qing was quite rare.

Because Qing Niao’s behavior was so normal, much like that of a naive young man, Chancellor Wen did not think he was a supernatural beast.

Chancellor Wen somewhat disagreed with Luo Huai’an’s decision. There were twenty wenyao in the cafeteria, making the working environment very special and complicated. How could she let such a simple young human be mixed in with them? What if he was timid like himself, got scared, and was left with indelible trauma?

Seeing how inexperienced Qing Niao was, Chancellor Wen felt pity for him and asked with concern, “You work in the Eighth Cafeteria, don’t you find anything strange about it? For example, do you feel that your colleagues are a bit odd?”

Qing Niao looked somewhat bewildered upon hearing this, and after a long while shook his head, “Not really.”

Seeing his naive appearance, Chancellor Wen assumed that Luo Huai’an has not told Qing Niao the truth about the cafeteria, which made him sigh and feel more pity for this clueless, young man.

This young man was so pitiful.

Just as Chancellor Wen was about to subtly tell Qing Niao about the complexity of his work environment, his phone suddenly lit up.

Luo Huai’an was serious about making money. Now that she was running a cafeteria at the university, she inevitably had to deal with the university chancellor.

Luo Huai’an knew that she couldn’t hide Qing Niao’s situation from the Chancellor, so she made a special call to inform him on the day Qing Niao officially joined her employment.

Chancellor Wen answered the call from Luo Huai’an.

After greeting him, Luo Huai’an got straight to the point, “Chancellor Wen, we have a new employee in our cafeteria.”

Chancellor Wen glanced at the obedient Qing Niao and said with a chuckle, “I already know. Xiao Qing delivered food to me today, and he’s in my office right now.”

Luo Huai’an thought to herself, ‘So Qing Niao has already met with Chancellor Wen.’

Chancellor Wen then said, “Xiao Luo, I think Xiao Qing is a pretty good young man. If you’re going to let him work there, you have to tell him about the cafeteria situation. You can’t keep it from him; that wouldn’t be fair to him.”

Luo Huai’an was somewhat bewildered. She understood each word Chancellor Wen said, but she didn’t know what they meant when strung together.

Why did Chancellor Wen think she was hiding something from Qingniao?

Luo Huai’an pondered deeply and suddenly remembered that Chancellor Wen was quite afraid of the wenyao in the cafeteria. Every time he came to the cafeteria, he would choose to pack the food to go and then leave quickly.

Luo Huai’an now understood, so she explained, “Chancellor Wen, I didn’t hide anything from Xiao Qing. He knows everything, after all, he’s not human.”

Not human…

At first, Chancellor Wen thought Luo Huai’an was cursing Qing Niao, calling him inhuman, but after thinking about it carefully, he suddenly understood her meaning. However, after realizing what she meant, he wished he had never understood the meaning at all.

The voice of the usually composed Chancellor Wen trembled almost imperceptibly as he asked incredulously, “What do you mean by not being human?!”

Luo Huai’an explained, “I called to report to you about Qing Niao. His original form is the blue bird (qingniao). You know the blue bird, right? It’s a very common, bird-like supernatural beast.”

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Luo Huai’an didn’t reveal Qing Niao’s full identity. Luo Huai’an thought that if she didn’t expose Qing Niao’s identity completely, Chancellor Wen wouldn’t be so afraid. However, as soon as she finished speaking, the line went dead.

Luo Huai’an took the phone away from her ear to examine it and was surprised to find that the call had been disconnected.

Luo Huai’an: “…” Why is the Chancellor still so timid?

How could she dare to reveal her identity to him in the future?

It was very likely that once she revealed her true form, the chancellor would be put on a ventilator.

… …

Chancellor Wen used all his strength to avoid losing his composure on the spot, but his hand accidentally slipped and he disconnected the call.

Chancellor Wen desperately wanted to call Luo Huai’an back immediately, as the other person was his closest source of security in this world filled with supernatural beasts. However, the call had already ended, and calling back now would seem too conspicuous.

Chancellor Wen had no choice but to put down his phone, coughed to appear calm, and said to Qing Niao, “Young man, the job you found is really good.”

“I think so too,” Qing Niao said with a smile.

While he was on the phone, Qing Niao noticed the calligraphy scroll on the wall to his left and was immediately drawn to them. Although he was indifferent to fame and fortune, who could resist the poet’s flattery?

Qing Niao then realized that the university chancellor actually liked him so much.

Unlike the wenyao, when he heard the news, his first reaction was not to seek personal gain, but rather to think that since the chancellor liked him, the boss’s cafeteria would be able to do better and better.

With this thought in mind, Qing Niao stepped forward, his tone slightly ingratiating, “Chancellor, would you like to see me deliver your meal in my true form?”

Chancellor Wen: “…”

Chancellor Wen suppressed the urge to faint and pointed to the office door. “Excuse me, I need to be alone to calm down.”

Qing Niao thought the chancellor was too happy and needed to calm down, so he considerately walked away and even thoughtfully closed the office door to give Chancellor Wen enough quiet space.

Alone in his office, Chancellor Wen was lost in a deep daze, and it took him a long time to calm down and come back to his senses. He took a deep breath and looked at the calligraphy scroll of the blue bird on his left.

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: I wasn’t sure if I made it clear, the ‘specie’ is called qingniao (literally blue bird). Our delivery guy’s name is Qing Niao (also blue bird). He is a specific qingniao who serves the Queen Mother of the West as her messenger. He is of a much higher level that the common qingniao.

Fun fact, sometimes there’s no clear correlation between Chinese colors and its western counterparts. So qing can be blue but also green and sometimes even dark enough to be black—think of the changing colors of the ocean. This is similar to how the Japanese color ‘ao‘ is sometimes blue but also green.

Huang is another example. It’s mostly translated as ‘yellow’ but it encompasses a wide spectrum from brown to orange. Da Huang (Big Yellow) is a usual name for a dog or horse in c-novels but I don’t think they mean the fur is banana yellow but more brownish shade.   

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Chapter 26.2 — Your Lunch Box Is Delicious!
Chapter 27.1 — Rich Lady, I’m Hungry
Chapter 27.2 — Rich Lady, I’m Hungry
Chapter 27.3 — Rich Lady, I’m Hungry
Chapter 28.1 — Shaved Ice School Beauty
Chapter 28.2 — Shaved Ice School Beauty
Chapter 29.1 — Phoenix is Really Weak
Chapter 29.2 — Phoenix is Really Weak
Chapter 30.1 — Phoenix-Roasted Chicken Leg
Chapter 30.2 — Phoenix-Roasted Chicken Leg
Chapter 31.1 — Bamboo Rice
Chapter 31.2 — Bamboo Rice
Chapter 32.1 — Phoenix-Cooked Bamboo Rice
Chapter 32.2 — Phoenix-Cooked Bamboo Rice