Chapter 8: Regaining Human Form

It was hard to believe you could see a pensive expression on a cat’s face, but Chen Yiqu saw it. Right after the male servant shouted out the thief’s name, the cat got up from his feet, squatted off to the side, and its short tail lightly tapped the ground as it fell into thought.

Jiang Xiaoyu observed the crowd. This Zhao Xiaoting was the maid who had fed him earlier.

Zhao Xiaoting was petite with a gentle appearance, but she wasn’t some naive little white rabbit. Once she sobered up, she shoved the male servant. “You’re the thief! What gives you the right to frame me?”

Zhou Wantong’s eyes welled with tears as she seized upon Zhao Xiaoting’s actions. “Xiaoting, how could you hit someone?” The male servant nearby got angry from her shove, his words laced with insulting terms. Zhou Wantong pretended to pull them apart but was actually pushing Zhao Xiaoting forward the whole time.

She thought Zhao Xiaoting was a soft persimmon she could easily pinch, but she didn’t know this girl’s temper was explosively fiery. Unable to fight back properly while being tugged by Zhou Wantong, she simply slapped Zhou Wantong with a backhand. “Don’t mess with your father!” Realizing something was off, she kept firing away. “Are you brain-damaged? What do you mean ‘even if my family isn’t well-off, I still can’t steal’?”

Zhou Wantong said pitifully, “I didn’t. You misunderstood me, Xiaoting.”

The male servant nearby chimed in. “Zhao Xiaoting, stop it! Stealing isn’t enough, now you dare hit Wantong?!”

Zhao Xiaoting rolled up her sleeves to fight back. “Don’t yap at me. Who gave you the right to frame your father? Your father not only wants to hit her—your father wants to hit you too!”

“Xiaoting, calm down.” Zhou Wantong cried as she went to pull her again and got slapped once more.

Chen Yiqu watched the farce before him with a stern face and said in a deep voice, “Enough! The Ye Residence isn’t a place for you to run wild. Xiao Zhang, call the police!”

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyu pondered in his heart. An idea popped into his mind. Taking advantage of the chaos, he ran toward the mountainside, dug out his phone, and called Jin Ge. “Master, there’s a theft report at Ink Orchid Mansion. Have the bureau coordinate and support me.”

He ran down the mountain while explaining the situation to Jin Ge. After getting an affirmative reply, he patiently waited at the agreed spot.

The response was quick. Two officers pulled up in front of Jiang Xiaoyu. “The uniform’s in the trunk.”

“Good.” Jiang Xiaoyu climbed into the back seat, changed into the clothes, and the three of them drove up the mountain together.

Entering the courtyard, Zhou Wantong had tear streaks on her delicate face, looking all fragile and weak. The male servant and others were comforting her. Zhao Xiaoting stood isolated and helpless to the side, her hair disheveled and eyes red. Luckily, the old butler stayed clear-headed and prevented things from escalating to a fight.

Jiang Xiaoyu walked up to Chen Yiqu and said, “I’m Officer Jiang Xiaoyu from the Pine City Public Security Bureau. My badge number is XXX.”

Jiang Xiaoyu noticed the odd look in the other’s eyes—something he couldn’t quite place. Before he could say more, he continued, “Are you the reporting party?”

Chen Yiqu calmly replied, “I am.” This Little Slob actually looked pretty decent in human form.

Then Jiang Xiaoyu led the other two officers through the standard procedures, but the crowd behind them started arguing again.

Seeing the police arrive, Zhou Wantong panicked a bit but relaxed once she recalled she’d handled everything flawlessly. She asked, “Officer, how long until it’s cleared up? I have something tonight.”

Jiang Xiaoyu gave her a flat look. “No one can leave until the truth is clear.” He turned to Chen Yiqu and got straight to the point. “Do you know roughly when the item went missing? Have you checked the surveillance?”

Chen Yiqu shook his head. “The assistant brought the items last week, opened and checked them—five pieces, all accounted for. This morning, when the master sent someone to retrieve them, one was missing. Haven’t reached the surveillance manager yet, so no footage.”

Jiang Xiaoyu suppressed the excitement surging in his heart at being so close to his target and stayed composed. “We brought cracking tools. Let’s pull the surveillance directly.” He turned to one officer. “You maintain order here.”

The group returned to the monitoring room. While connecting the cracking tool, Jiang Xiaoyu planted a Trojan for later access. Once everything was set, he breathed a sigh of relief and flipped through the recent footage with the officer behind him.

The surveillance showed that three days ago, when the assistant delivered the jewelry box, it indeed contained five pieces. The box was then taken straight to the third floor.

“No surveillance on the third floor?” Jiang Xiaoyu asked.

“Of course not,” Chen Yiqu flatly denied. “Only public areas and the stairwell corner have cameras.”

That made sense, Jiang Xiaoyu thought. Continuing, he saw that up until this morning when Chen Yiqu and the assistant came to retrieve the items, among the servants, only Zhao Xiaoting and Zhou Wantong had gone up to the third floor.

Zhou Wantong had only gone once on Monday with Zhao Xiaoting, but Zhao Xiaoting had gone up several times in the following days.

Chen Yiqu added, “The third floor is cleaned on rotation. Zhou Wantong did it last week, so they went up together for the shift change this week.” He muttered, “Looks like the thief is one of these two.”

Jiang Xiaoyu glanced at him. “No, there are five suspects.”

Not just Chen Yiqu—even the nearby officer looked at Jiang Xiaoyu in surprise. “How five?”

“Zhou Wantong, Zhao Xiaoting, the assistant, the butler, the master. The other four aside, Ye Lian spent more time alone on the third floor than anyone. Whether he lost it himself can’t be ruled out yet.” Amid Chen Yiqu’s shocked and angry glare, Jiang Xiaoyu calmly stated, “I’m just stating objective facts. Based on the current footage, I can’t exclude anyone, so I’ll request professional techs for full fingerprint collection and trace analysis on site.” He thought to himself, that way he could figure out how to sample the garage.

Chen Yiqu’s face darkened. Of course he wouldn’t let them waltz into the Ye Residence like that. But before he could speak, a servant rushed over. “Butler Chen, they found the ring on Zhao Xiaoting.”

Perfect—caught red-handed, no need for more people. Chen Yiqu smoothed his sleeve. “Officer Jiang, this way.”

Jiang Xiaoyu tsked inwardly. Failing this time didn’t annoy him much. He followed back to the courtyard.

The courtyard was even more one-sided now. Everyone turned their spears on Zhao Xiaoting, accusing her of being the thief. She stood alone in the center of the crowd, neck stiff, tears in her eyes as she shouted, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t steal!”

Her voice carried despair and helplessness, like a small beast cornered.

The male servant sneered coldly, his tone biting. “The ring was found on you—what’s left to quibble about?”

At that moment, a clear, crisp male voice rang out. “If I may remind you, you’re not the police. Until the truth is fully uncovered, don’t rashly conclude or accuse. Also, searching someone’s body without authorization is illegal.”

Jiang Xiaoyu suppressed his discomfort from contact with so many people. “Professionals will be here soon for verification. Everyone stay calm in the meantime.”

Zhao Xiaoting wiped her tears. When her eyes met Jiang Xiaoyu’s emerald green ones, the image of that black cat flashed in her mind. For some reason, a strange sense of familiarity made her aggrieved. “Officer, you have to investigate clearly. I really didn’t steal!”

Zhou Wantong interjected softly, “But the ring was indeed found on you.”

Zhao Xiaoting whipped around to face Zhou Wantong, flames of anger burning in her eyes. “Shut your mouth! What did I ever do to you to make you frame me like this?”

Amid the clamor, Chen Yiqu started making trouble too. “Who approved these so-called professionals to come inspect here?”

The aversion to humans doubled, making fine cold sweat bead on Jiang Xiaoyu’s forehead. His head spun—maybe he was hallucinating?—as a leisurely voice sounded behind him. In this sweltering outdoor air that no AC could cool, it was like a Bulvardi packed with ice, intoxicating in its haze.

The voice’s owner said, “Officer, are you alright? You don’t look so good.”

Jiang Xiaoyu’s voice was a bit hoarse. “I’m fine.”

Ye Lian’s eyes curved. “If you’re not feeling well, please rest inside first.”

The old butler stepped up, taking the briefcase from Ye Lian’s hand, and said lowly, “Young Master, this side…”

Ye Lian raised a hand to cut him off, still mild-mannered. “Just cooperate with the officer’s investigation. Problems need solving, right?”

Jiang Xiaoyu steadied himself and said, “The surveillance didn’t capture key evidence, so I’ll apply f—” Before he finished, dizziness surged, his steps staggered, and a cool fragrance hit his nose.

Ye Lian supported Jiang Xiaoyu and said warmly, “You really don’t look well. Come inside to rest.” Without giving Jiang Xiaoyu time to struggle, he loosened his hold, handing him to the nearby officer. “Speaking of surveillance, I just remembered something. A friend sent me a cat-shaped disguised camera a while back. I casually put it in the study and forgot to check it.”

Zhou Wantong’s heart clenched at this, her face instantly paling. She’d seen it in the study, thought it was just a decoration, and even picked it up.

Ye Lian continued, a hint of uncertainty in his tone. “I remember, it was on the desk. No guarantees, but maybe… it caught the thief in the act?”

Jiang Xiaoyu’s eyes cleared. He thanked the officer supporting him, straightened up, and said, “Then, trouble Mr. Ye to retrieve the camera.”

The rest was easy to handle. That camera had not only captured the thief in the act, but even gotten a 4K high-definition close-up of her face. With everything settled, Zhao Xiaoting angrily shouted at Zhou Wantong, “Zhou Wantong, you thief crying thief!”

The old butler’s expression was also unsightly. “It’s been so many years since the Ye Residence had an incident like this. As expected, these externally hired servants are the undisciplined ones.”

He muttered under his breath about firing all these servants and transferring people over from the old estate.

Jiang Xiaoyu and the other two officers subdued the thief. “You have the right to remain silent.” As he cuffed her, Jiang Xiaoyu said calmly, “But you should proactively confess your crimes and strive for leniency.”

At this moment, however, Zhou Wantong kept her head lowered, her face deathly pale, unable to utter even a single word.

Jiang Xiaoyu shoved her into the police car. When his gaze landed on Ye Lian, who was elegantly seated to the side, there was a momentary flicker of evasion. “Mr. Ye, we’ll notify you once the verdict comes down.”

Ye Lian’s lips curved in a faint smile. Only now did he feel that this little guy matched the aloof and indifferent description in his file somewhat. “Alright, thank you, Officer Jiang.”

After the police left, Chen Yiqu swiftly cleaned up the scene. With a cold expression, he sent all the servants packing—even the innocent Zhao Xiaoting, who had been wrongly accused, wasn’t spared.

“Young Master, we should have Yan Feilang hurry back.”

Ye Lian hummed in acknowledgment, tapping his finger on the table. “It’s about time. I’m also starting to miss the Husky a bit.” He wondered what interesting things might happen when the Little Black Cat ran into the Husky.

As if remembering something, Chen Yiqu glanced carefully around before lowering his voice. “Young Master… did you do this on purpose?”

Ye Lian laughed. “Are you talking about placing the jewelry box where the maid could access it, or putting the camera on the table? Or perhaps anticipating that the little officer wouldn’t pass up the opportunity?”

That woman’s petty little tricks hadn’t escaped his notice, but he was very curious about Jiang Xiaoyu. All he had to do was dangle the bait in front of them, and everything fell into place naturally.

“Next, take a guess—when will the little guy come back?”