Shen Leyuan’s first reaction was actually disbelief.
Little Deer and Lin Yao might be shut away, but A Si… The boss had said A Si was still rational and temporarily trustworthy. It couldn’t be that in such a short time, he’d upgraded into a full-blown love-struck idiot, right?
Though, who knew. Little Deer’s situation couldn’t be judged by normal logic.
As he mulled it over, that initially firm disbelief of Shen Leyuan’s started to waver precariously.
His second reaction was to call the boss and verify if it was true.
No matter how the story described him, no matter what suspicions he’d harbored at the start, this boss he knew now was mature and wise. He’d given Shen Leyuan plenty of help and tolerance—he was very trustworthy.
But he opened his contacts, then closed them again.
No, if the boss was deceiving him, he’d believe it.
If it was a lie, and he fell for it, based on the old stories he’d pried out of Little Deer before, those punishments might be excessively harsh—ones he couldn’t accept. His students would get hurt.
He couldn’t just stand by and watch his students get hurt.
No, can’t think like that.
It was just a scrap of paper. He couldn’t take it as evidence. If he misunderstood the boss again like last time, he really wouldn’t have the face to keep taking his salary and hanging around here.
Calm down. First, think about why the boss punished them.
Yesterday, the boss had said he had something to handle and took the three kids out.
Did Lin Yao and the others screw up while handling that matter, or had they messed up first, prompting the boss to punish them? What kind of big deal required even bringing Little Deer along?
And the note only mentioned Lin Yao and A Si—Little Deer was probably fine…
Wait. A flash of insight hit Shen Leyuan. He pulled out his phone and contacted Little Deer.
The video call rang a dozen times without connecting. A while later, a message came through in that familiar, innocently naive tone: 【Teacher, sorry, I didn’t hear it just now. Is it time for class? Can Little Deer have class in Teacher’s room today?】
Shen Leyuan narrowed his eyes and hammered out: 【Where did you go today?】
No response from the other side.
Shen Leyuan: 【You snuck out, didn’t you? All three of you tailing me?】
Still no response from Little Deer.
Shen Leyuan: 【Reply, and I’ll make you a little cake tonight.】
Instant reply: 【Whimper.】
Shen Leyuan: 【Good boy.】
Shen Leyuan: 【I’m heading to the kitchen to make the little cake.】
Shen Leyuan: 【Wait for me : )】
Lin Yuan stared at the last message in the chat interface, feeling an inexplicable chill down his spine for some reason. He Baidu’d it and realized it was just a smiley face symbol before he barely relaxed.
His plan was to make an excuse later about not being able to come back for now.
The young man had only just discovered Little Deer had gone out—it was easy to fool him, and he wouldn’t suspect Little Deer of lying.
The surveillance feeds displayed on the screens as usual, but Lin Yuan had no mood to watch.
The person he wanted to see wasn’t there.
That person was in the kitchen, making a little cake for the sneaky Little Deer who’d done wrong and gone out.
Inopportunely, a sharp questioning voice from Little Deer echoed in Lin Yuan’s mind from some day.
—Why are you rewarding him?!
The man pinched the bridge of his nose, suspecting he’d slept too little lately to be thinking such random nonsense.
Suppressing his restless thoughts, he looked ahead.
Aside from the peripheral screens, the three largest ones monitored the three young men who’d messed up. A Si was in a standard Confinement Room, while Little Deer’s and Lin Yao’s were the complete opposite.
Little Deer was still in that tidy little nest of comfort, but this time the TV videos weren’t “comforting” at all—just records of his past punishments floating by. He didn’t find them painful, but he cried and cried nonstop.
Daddy said he’d committed an unforgivable wrong against Teacher, so Teacher could never like him again.
Such a great teacher…
He’d end up liking someone else, slowly forgetting Little Deer, never sparing him another glance.
He might even come to hate Little Deer.
The boy hugged his knees on the sofa, head down, face buried in his hands, tears leaking through his fingers. Besides the pain spreading in his heart, there was an even heavier doubt that suffocated him.
What exactly counts as a normal person?
So envious.
So jealous.
I want to be a normal person too…
The room across from him was silent and dark—Lin Yao’s.
Maybe because it had been too long since his last punishment, or perhaps the long-absent penalty was too intense, Lin Yao’s nerves throbbed in pain. Flashes of memories crowded his vision—past and present, even some inexplicable hallucinations.
He saw Little Deer sitting obediently beside him, looking up and calling him “brother.”
He saw Daddy sternly scolding him, trying to rip him away from Little Deer with pain.
He even saw Shen Leyuan sitting beside Daddy, a ring on his ring finger, animatedly chatting with Daddy. Noticing his gaze, the young man looked over, his expression turning awkward and helpless: “A Yao…”
Fuck.
Lin Yao covered his face, gritting his teeth and cursing himself as sick.
Just a damn dream. The aftereffects lingered even now—ever since that day, seeing Shen Leyuan made him think of milk, of mom, and occasionally their wedding with the old man.
The Fox Spirit might suck, but did the old man deserve him?
He deserves a few stabs.
All he’s good for is dying alone!
His thoughts churned chaotically, but Lin Yao’s body temperature and heartbeat remained steady, as if the pitch-black, soundless environment couldn’t faze him at all. Only Little Deer could make his heart race.
…Not entirely accurate anymore. Now there was one more person who could do that.
Lin Yuan pulled back his gaze and replied to the phone messages.
【QAQ Sorry Teacher, I’m still on the road, can’t make it back today wuwu】
Shen Leyuan: 【No little cake?】
【QAQ Want! Teacher, put it in the fridge, Little Deer will save it for tomorrow!】
That should do it.
As compensation for deceiving him, give him a raise tomorrow.
Lin Yuan gazed at the young man’s copper coin avatar on WeChat, his thoughts jumping randomly to that.
A special notification pinged, snapping him back—the young man was still trying to coax the kid: 【But if you don’t eat it today, the texture won’t be as good tomorrow.】
【Wuwu, Teacher don’t tempt Little Deer QAQ】
After that, no reply came. Lin Yuan’s subtle sense of foreboding intensified, though he couldn’t pinpoint why. He scrolled back through the chat from the start.
No issues.
Little Deer always talked like this, with that airhead vibe.
It was as if by accident he’d typed out that line—then suddenly, a reply popped up on his phone screen:
【You know, Little Deer wouldn’t respond like that.】
At the same time.
Knock, knock, knock. Steady, unhurried knocks at the door. Shen Leyuan called out, “Mr. Lin, are you in there?”
Lin Yuan jolted in shock: Why didn’t anyone notify me?
Then he remembered—after stopping the surveillance, he’d told the bodyguards to only report major events. But they’d been reporting even the young man kissing Little Dog a few times, so he’d muted most notifications, allowing only reports of Shen Leyuan getting somewhat intimate with others.
Now, cut off from most intel, he suddenly hesitated to open the door.
Fortunately, the young man’s voice didn’t sound angry—still warm, gentle, and soft: “I made a little cake for Little Deer, but he’s not here. Want to try it?”
So he hasn’t figured it out. Lin Yuan relaxed.
Makes sense. The young man would only suspect Lin Yao or A Si using Little Deer’s phone—wouldn’t guess him.
Steadying himself, he said, “Come in.”
The little cake was different from last time—no cream, just pure sponge fresh from the oven, steaming with a soft, moist interior. It suited his taste better than the sweeter one before.
“By the way, do you have any suggestions?” Shen Leyuan asked.
He didn’t glance at the surveillance screens, flipping on the lights the moment he entered. Under the bright glow, the little cake looked soft and cute, and his smile seemed even warmer.
Lin Yuan shifted uncomfortably and murmured, “It tastes great.”
“I mean about Little Deer.” Shen Leyuan gave a light sigh, complaining, “You know how he’s always so disobedient. I specially made a cake for him today, but he’s nowhere to be found.”
As if realizing he’d complained too much, he gave an embarrassed smile: “Back to the point—about how to educate Little Deer, any advice?”
Did he?
Yes.
Glancing at the barely touched cake, Lin Yuan said, “You can’t spoil kids too much. Can’t be too gentle. Can’t give them whatever they want.”
There used to be rewards and punishments. Not today.
“Too spoiled?” Shen Leyuan muttered to himself. “Nah.”
Lin Yuan’s brows furrowed, his mood souring. He suddenly shot back, “You came over so suddenly—is there something you want to say?”
You know Little Deer went out.
But you don’t know I know that too.
Will you trust me? Tell me?
Shen Leyuan looked baffled: “Nope.”
With that, he politely took his leave, packing up the uneaten cake, waving goodbye without a trace of cloud.
Lin Yuan’s face darkened: The young man was still hiding things from him, refusing to trust him.
And a tiny grievance: Should’ve eaten more just now.
Why’d he take it away?
But outside the door, back turned to him, Shen Leyuan’s face was even colder. His usual gentle smile vanished without a trace—far uglier than when he’d learned the original host owed massive debts.
He didn’t want to suspect the boss.
He didn’t dare imagine the boss holding Little Deer’s phone, expressionlessly typing “QAQ.”
But…
“Can’t give them whatever they want?”
Up to now, aside from today’s cake, all his rewards and punishments had followed logic. The boss had never objected—why bring it up today, at this exact moment?
Shen Leyuan dumped the specially made cake for the boss straight into the trash. He pulled out his phone, messaged A Si in his usual tone—the reply seemed like the same person as always.
After a thought, he dug up Lin Yao’s WeChat, which he’d added before, and sent: 【You promised to add me last time—gonna welch?】
Quick add, quick reply: 【Like hell I will!】
But that had never happened.
Shen Leyuan’s gut feeling worsened; he couldn’t even recall what he’d sent. Looking closely, the other side was asking in a slacker tone: 【Fox Spirit, how’d you know it was me?】
Shen Leyuan didn’t mention Little Deer would never miss a video call with him. He replied: 【Little Deer wouldn’t tell me not to tempt him. He’d say, “Can’t you make another one for Little Deer tomorrow? Do you not like Little Deer anymore? Are you giving Little Deer’s stuff to someone else?!”】
Snide reply: 【Ho, real doting, huh.】
Shen Leyuan: 【Not as much as you.】
As he typed back, he racked his brains recalling everything he knew, trying to guess where Lin Yao and A Si might be. No leads.
The bodyguards had mentioned the young master would be punished harshly. Little Deer said brother always got locked in confinement after punishment, avoiding him for days, then returning to play as usual.
Confinement Room confirmed, physical punishment likely—but this time’s details unknown, location unknown.
The note-passer might know.
He could order same-city delivery later to contact them.
But too slow.
They probably didn’t know much anyway, or they wouldn’t have tipped him off—only seeking him as a last resort.
But what could a mere family tutor do?
Shen Leyuan’s brows knit tight. That night in bed, sleep evaded him. Closing his eyes brought memories of students he’d once had who’d suffered domestic violence. Most times, he couldn’t help—just powerlessly telling them, “Just grow up. It’ll be fine once you’re in college. Study hard, and when you’re independent, everything will get better.”
Lin Yao was grown, but it hadn’t helped.
His father was more powerful, more stubborn than others.
What should I do? Should I give up?
I’m just an ordinary teacher. I can’t and shouldn’t meddle in family matters. I should know my limits—wait for Lin Yao to return for lessons, talk to him then, focus on his mental health.
…That treats the symptoms, not the root.
Late at night, Shen Leyuan dragged his heavy body up.
Like so many times before, he took a deep breath to quell his nerves, knocked on a certain problematic parent’s door, and deployed every persuasive line he could think of.
“Mr. Lin,” he asked gravely, “Little Deer and the others still haven’t come back, have they?”
Lin Yuan: ?
Lin Yuan: !!!
The long-awaited confession—here so suddenly?
Confess? Tsk tsk, in your dreams!
![Reborn as a Ragdoll Cat [Interstellar]](https://i2.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/f.jpg?resize=151,215 "Reborn as a Ragdoll Cat [Interstellar]")
