When Jiang Xiaoyu poked his head into the room, that Little Teddy called Cotton was leisurely reclining on the sofa, its front paws crossed and hind legs propped up, looking just like a person. A servant nearby was feeding it snacks, but it seemed unsatisfied and bared its teeth menacingly: “I’ve said this dog doesn’t eat vegetable jerky! Go get the dog’s meat!”
The servant, who had attended to this dog for a long time and knew its temperament all too well, stood up helplessly—only to spot Jiang Xiaoyu peeking in from the doorway. Startled, the servant said, “Where’d this cat come from?”
Little Teddy heard the voice and caught sight of the black cat that had sneaked into the room out of the corner of its eye. It jumped in fright, its little body shuddering violently and nearly choking on the chicken in its mouth. “Y-You, you you—you, how are you here?!”
No sooner had it barked than it remembered someone was nearby. It scrambled up and hid behind the servant’s feet, emboldened by the human as it barked: “This dog spared you last time, and you still dare come!”
Jiang Xiaoyu balled his paw into a fist and raised it. “You sure about that?”
Teddy recalled the fists that had pummeled it, feeling its dog hide ache phantomly. It was a bit intimidated but not fully cowed, baring its teeth and snarling: “This dog’s servant is here—you dare come over, and this dog will have him beat you!”
Jiang Xiaoyu scoffed, flicking his tail as he started toward it. But before he could take two steps, all four paws left the ground as someone scooped him up from behind.
Ye Lian’s tone was calm yet brooking no argument as he instructed: “Take good care of my cat. Don’t let the dog bully him.”
Who was bullying whom, exactly?? Teddy’s mind was full of question marks.
It had still been putting up a strong front when facing Jiang Xiaoyu, pretending not to be afraid. But the moment it saw Ye Lian, it truly, utterly—in every sense—peed itself.
Nestled in the crook of Ye Lian’s arm, Jiang Xiaoyu watched wide-eyed as the dog’s four skinny little legs trembled uncontrollably. It wobbled and straight-up wet itself, a trickle soaking the blanket beneath. And that wasn’t all—seeing Ye Lian approach, it rolled its eyes back, its soul nearly departing its body.
“Cotton? Cotton!” The servant cried out in alarm and scooped up Teddy, rushing toward the bathroom.
“What’s wrong with it…” Jiang Xiaoyu couldn’t fathom why it was so terrified of Ye Lian. Puzzled, he asked, “Did you hit it before?”
Ye Lian glanced at the stain on the floor, subtly furrowing his brow before stepping over it from afar with his long legs. “Uncle’s in the front hall. He’ll come pick you up shortly.”
“Could you stop calling yourself Uncle?” The man was over a decade older than him, so it wasn’t inaccurate—but with his refined, ageless features like clear skies after rain, every time he said it, Jiang Xiaoyu felt an inexplicable wave of embarrassment.
Ye Lian arched a brow, a hint of teasing in his eyes. He vigorously rubbed the cat ears a few times before turning to leave.
“I said only one touch!” Jiang Xiaoyu covered his heated ears, meowing loudly at the man’s tall retreating back.
By the time Teddy was washed clean and carried back out, it seemed to have lost all courage to throw a tantrum after losing face—especially upon smelling Ye Lian’s lingering scent on Jiang Xiaoyu. Its eyes welled up like a crybaby: “Wuwu, this dog doesn’t like you…”
Jiang Xiaoyu hadn’t expected it to like him anyway. Seeing the servant finish cleaning the floor and go fetch food, he padded over to Teddy: “Stop crying.”
“Don’t come over! You smell like him—this dog is scared!”
Jiang Xiaoyu asked: “Why are you afraid of him?”
“Did he do something to hurt you?”
Teddy paused: “Not really.”
“Then why?” To the point of peeing itself… He completely forgot that back in the underground garage catching rats, there had been a pitiful chinchilla scared witless by him, its soul fleeing straight to rat heaven.
In nature, the instinctive fear of apex predators at the top of the food chain was etched into every creature’s genes. Teddy couldn’t articulate the feeling; it just sniffed and barked: “This dog just fears him.” It didn’t think there was anything wrong with its instincts—instead, it found Jiang Xiaoyu weird: “Boss Cat, you’re really something, not afraid of him at all and even letting him pinch your ears.”
Jiang Xiaoyu hadn’t realized the dog had seen his interactions with Ye Lian. What was perfectly normal suddenly sounded off when described this way, leaving his paws at a loss for where to place. He changed the subject to cover: “Where’s your owner?”
Cotton’s little mouth curved into a grin at the mention of its owner: “Festival today—owner went out to help.”
“You even know it’s a festival?” This dog had a nasty personality, but its intelligence was absolutely the highest among any animal Jiang Xiaoyu had met.
But a dog was still a dog. After Jiang Xiaoyu buttered it up with a few words and rewarded it with some pats, it was completely docile: “Boss Cat, what are you looking for? Snacks? This dog will have the servant fetch some!” With that, it trotted out. Jiang Xiaoyu took the chance to rummage around the room.
He searched high and low but found nothing unusual—except for a low cabinet by the bed that was locked. Recalling Teddy’s words, he figured the phone was probably inside. Fortunately, Ji Wangan hadn’t anticipated a cat stealing things; the key sat blatantly in a little bowl on top of the cabinet.
Jiang Xiaoyu grabbed the key in his mouth and inserted it into the lock. With a click, it opened. He reared up, draping himself over the edge of the drawer and fishing inside with his paw. Sure enough, he found the phone. Just as he dragged it out, he heard movement at the door. He swiftly shoved the phone under the bed, nudged the drawer shut with his butt, and leaped back onto the sofa to casually groom his fur.
The servant returned with food, Teddy in tow, noticing nothing amiss. Since Ye Lian had specifically instructed, he didn’t dare slack off. He set the tray on the ground and beckoned Jiang Xiaoyu: “Meow meow, come eat.”
Seeing the cat circle the food a few times, sniff it, and then start eating, the servant thought to himself: You wouldn’t say Lian Ye doesn’t care about the cat—he specifically ordered this food prepared. But if you say he does… who feeds a cat stuff like this? Three dishes, one soup, and spicy too—totally bizarre.
Unaware of the servant’s thoughts, Jiang Xiaoyu had little appetite in the summer heat. But tasting the spice in the dishes perked him up a bit; he smacked his lips and ate a few more bites.
Teddy glanced over enviously, eyeing its own bowl of kibble: “Boss Cat, is that tasty?”
“Not bad.” Seeing Little Teddy’s pitiful, longing look and noting nothing in the food harmful to dogs, he nudged the bowl toward it: “Want some?”
Cotton barked once, grinning as it started forward—only for the servant to block it: “Cotton can’t eat that!”
“Let go! Cats can eat it, so why can’t this dog?!” Cotton tilted its head and nipped at the servant’s hand.
Jiang Xiaoyu licked his mouth and began washing his face. He’d raised so many little strays and rarely fed them commercial pet food—not just because it was pricey, but mainly because his homemade meals were more balanced and they loved them. Most people, though, figured kibble was better for them.
As Teddy squabbled with the servant, Jiang Xiaoyu fretted over how to smuggle the phone out—when Ji Wangan’s voice sounded from the doorway.
“Second Master.” The servant hurriedly released Teddy and bowed in greeting.
“Mm, go tend to your duties.” Ji Wangan waved the servant off, then said to the person behind him: “Senpai, come in.”
Jiang Xiaoyu halted his paw-washing, ears tilting back as his gaze locked onto the man behind Ji Wangan. The newcomer was impeccably dressed and mannered, with a mild and measured demeanor. But Jiang Xiaoyu’s instincts were sharp; he had a natural sensitivity to danger and malice. This guy gave him bad vibes.
The man glanced at the black cat, unconcerned whether it was Ji Wangan’s new pet, and smiled: “Your Ji Family is still so grand. It takes over ten minutes just to cross the courtyard.”
Ji Wangan replied: “Left by our ancestors.” He seemed disinterested and ignored Jiang Xiaoyu, merely picking up Cotton before sitting on the sofa in silence.
The sofa was spacious, but instead of the middle, he chose the edge. With his left elbow propped on the backrest and right on the armrest, he formed a triangular posture.
Jiang Xiaoyu, versed in criminal psychology and body language, immediately recognized it as a classic defensive stance.
“Wangan, have you been avoiding me lately?” The man chuckled and sat beside Ji Wangan, reaching to pet Cotton in his arms—only to be blocked by Ji Wangan’s raised hand.
Ji Wangan feigned calm: “No, why would I avoid Senpai?”
“Really? But ever since that incident, you haven’t picked up my calls.”
“I… I was grounded.”
“Oh? Was the Old Madam angry about that?”
Cotton, squeezed too tightly, grew uncomfortable and licked Ji Wangan’s hand. Ji Wangan tugged at his lips: “I didn’t mention you.”
“If you didn’t say anything, then Wangan, why don’t you tell me in detail—what did you say to the Old Madam?”
Ji Wangan’s face paled. Cotton, increasingly constricted, finally couldn’t take it and jumped out of his arms.
“I said I killed someone.”
“That’s what you told her?” The man seemed surprised. “No wonder the Old Madam was so furious, locking you up for so long.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyu’s heart sank. Though he’d suspected Ji Wangan was the killer, confirmation brought complex feelings. Maybe because his initial impression of Ji Wangan was decent, or perhaps because he was Ye Lian’s blood brother.
The atmosphere fell silent. The man patted Ji Wangan’s hand: “Alright, don’t be so down. I told you, it was just an accident—nothing to do with you.”
“You’re too naive. It’s been so long; the body’s already ashes. Just let it go.”
Ji Wangan endured the fear of the touch, withdrawing his hand to press under his thigh and forcing a smile: “Mm, mm.”
That person watched Ji Wangan’s reaction and chuckled lightly. “By the way, you deleted the video from your phone, right?”
D-deleted.
Seeing this coward stammer like that, the man narrowed his eyes slightly. “Hand me that phone.”
Not only did Ji Wangan tense up instantly, but even Jiang Xiaoyu tightened every muscle in his body. He calmly glanced under the bed, mentally mapping out the escape route carrying the device for later.
“I really deleted it.” Ji Wangan sat up.
“Senior knows, senior also believes you deleted it, but can you give the phone to senior?” That person smiled slyly.
