The people sent by Luo Jianyuan arrived at the residential complex quickly.
Su Yu, after receiving the message, reluctantly packed his things and went downstairs.
Looking at the small trinkets Qin Shou had given him these past days, he wanted this, he couldn’t bear to part with that.
Finally, he bit the bullet and took only a cat bell that Qin Shou had made for him.
The bell even had his and Qin Shou’s names engraved on it.
Su Yu hung the bell, tied with a red braided rope, around his neck.
Then, he looked back once and resolutely got into the car.
The black car carried Su Yu, slowly moving away.
As for how heartbroken, disappointed, or even angry Qin Shou would be when he returned home that night, Su Yu didn’t dare to think.
The urgent matter at hand was to rescue his mother.
Future matters could be considered later, Su Yu thought, feeling a lack of confidence.
***
Upon returning to the Luo family, Su Yu and his two uncles engaged in a heated debate about how to monitor Su Qingwen to find Luo Xiaoman’s whereabouts.
It finally concluded with Su Yu’s insistence.
Su Yu’s reason was simple yet most convincing, No one would guard against a cat.
For the next week, Su Yu would stake out the Su family villa.
If he could gain temporary residency by being cute, even better.
If not, he could only wait patiently (literally “guarding a tree-stump to wait for a rabbit”).
He would arrange for bodyguards to place designated items at designated spots daily, and Su Yu would replenish his supplies on time.
The nephew and his two uncles finalized the details, and Su Yu got into the car heading to the Su family villa under the worried gazes of his uncles.
***
Over at the Su family, Luo Jianyang’s plan had yielded better results than expected.
Before Qi Zhen was sent back to the Su family, Luo Jianyang specifically arranged for people to show him the bruises on her forehead and fed her restorative tonics for two days until her previous dishevelment was no longer visible.
Only then did Luo Jianyang nod, arranging for bodyguards to respectfully escort Qi Zhen back to the Su family.
The explanation for this was, “The two sirs haven’t seen Miss Qi for a long time, so they invited her back for a chat.”
Su Qingwen smiled elegantly and graciously in front of others, but when he turned around, his face was as dark as ink, and his pair of slender eyes swept over Qi Zhen like a snake’s tongue.
Qi Zhen’s scalp tingled from the gaze, but she still had to feign a weak, wind-blown demeanor, as if she hadn’t noticed Su Qingwen’s chilling gaze.
After the Luo family’s people were sent away, Su Qingwen couldn’t hold back.
Suppressing the brutality in his heart, he asked gently with a warm expression, “Luo Jian… Brother, why did he suddenly take you back at this time?”
Qi Zhen lowered her eyes, avoiding Su Qingwen’s gaze, and replied in a low voice, “They wanted to ask about Xiaoman’s recent situation. Xiaoman is still recuperating, so they could only find me.”
“Oh? Then what did you say?”
“I… I didn’t say much,” Qi Zhen said, biting her lip nervously, “I just said that Xiaoman is doing very well and that they shouldn’t worry.”
“Heh.”
Su Qingwen let out an ambiguous chuckle, not revealing whether he believed Qi Zhen’s words.
Only then did Qi Zhen realize the meaning of Luo Jianyuan’s words:
“I hope you don’t regret it…”
Seeing the playful expression on Su Qingwen’s face, Qi Zhen shivered intensely.
She wondered why Luo Jianyuan had let her go so easily.
So, this was what he was waiting for.
***
Daring not to sit idly by, Qi Zhen looked up at Su Qingwen with a wronged expression, tears welling up in her eyes, and said miserably, “Qingwen, you know my feelings for you. I would never betray you.”
Su Qingwen looked at the woman before him, her face streaked with tears, but felt no pity.
This woman, who could betray Luo Xiaoman for money and status, could also betray him to save her own life.
If she truly said nothing, as she claimed, would Luo Jianyuan have let her go so easily?
Even if Luo Jianyuan agreed, Luo Jianyang, with his fiery temper, wouldn’t have let her off.
Su Qingwen’s mind raced, but the words that came out were comforting.
“I haven’t said anything yet, why are you crying? I know your feelings. You’ve been through a fright these past two days, so just rest well here. I’ll send two people to protect you. If you need anything, just tell them to do it. Try not to go out these days.”
Qi Zhen’s heart sank.
Send two people to protect her?
Stay indoors?
It sounded good, but it was just a disguised house arrest.
Thinking of Luo Xiaoman’s fate, Qi Zhen clenched her fists: she absolutely couldn’t just sit there and wait for death!
***
Two flowers bloom, each branch tells its own tale. (An idiom meaning to describe two separate events happening concurrently.)
On this side, Su Qingwen went to the company with a gloomy face.
On the other side, Su Yu had already found a meeting point with the bodyguard and confirmed the rendezvous time.
Su Yu then wagged his tail and walked towards the Su family’s courtyard.
Su Yu, as usual, was perched on the Su family’s wall.
Su Qingwen wasn’t back yet; only Shi Jing’an and Su Cheng’an were home.
Shi Jing’an was leaning on the sofa knitting a scarf, while Su Cheng’an was doing his homework at the window-side table.
The little rascal was still in junior high, but the stack of exercise books on his desk was substantial, piled several palm-widths thick.
Su Yu “tsk-tsked” in sympathy.
He felt for him, remembering how his own mother never made many demands on his studies, letting him develop at his own pace.
Even when he only got into a second-rate university, his mother still smiled, happy as long as he liked it.
Unlike Su Cheng’an, who had to come in first at the end of the year to win Su Qingwen’s favor.
No wonder he was such a little terror, he must have been incredibly suppressed.
He actually felt a tiny bit of sympathy for the little rascal, but couldn’t help but want to laugh.
“Poor thing, lol!”
A cat that doesn’t have to take exams fears nothing!
Su Yu stood up, shook his fur, and lightly jumped into the courtyard.
He trotted in small steps to Su Cheng’an’s bedside, full of superiority, and meowed at the boy buried in his homework, “Meow~!”
Tsk-tsk!
So pathetic!
The person engrossed in homework ignored him.
Su Yu moved closer and meowed again: “Meow~!”
Poor little thing, come out and play!
Su Cheng’an looked up at the cat on the windowsill, finding it a bit familiar.
After a moment, he remembered it was the stray cat that often perched on their wall, and he’d even teased it twice.
It still hadn’t learned its lesson.
Shi Jing’an was on the sofa, so Su Cheng’an didn’t dare to disturb her.
He turned his face and made a fierce grimace at Su Yu.
“Oh, you dare to make a face.”
He had to return it.
Su Yu also bared his teeth and made a face back at Su Cheng’an.
Unfortunately, when a round, fluffy cat face did it, it looked more like it was acting cute.
Su Cheng’an looked at the cat grimacing at him and pouted.
“Not cute at all!”
Stray cat!
The boy and the cat wrestled for a while, neither winning.
Finally, both retreated in defeat.
Su Yu ran to the courtyard to sun his belly, while Su Cheng’an continued to bury himself in the sea of questions.
Lying on the small swing in the courtyard, Su Yu thought, “The little rascal isn’t so annoying after all. He’s much cuter than his parents, even if he is a bit of a terror.”
A gentle breeze blew by, and the swing swayed slightly.
A withered leaf drifted down from the tree, twirling gracefully.
Su Yu reached out and swiped at it a couple of times, found it boring, and quietly lay back on the swing.
He wondered how Qin Shou was doing.
He’d left without a word; his owner must be desperately looking for him everywhere, right?
Su Yu turned over and rested his head on his paws.
He somewhat regretted leaving so abruptly.
He knew perfectly well how good Qin Shou was to him.
Qin Shou had an almost extreme doting affection for “Ah Zai,” not like treating a pet, but more like a drowning person clutching at their only straw.
If only he had left a note then, though it would have been outlandish, it would still be better than just running off without a sound.
And, Su Yu now inexplicably felt that even if Qin Shou knew the truth, he wouldn’t harm him.
Unfortunately, his realization seemed a little late.
Su Yu clutched his head in anguish and groaned.
“I’ll confess to Qin Shou after I’ve sorted things out. After all, I don’t want to lose this only good friend!”
While Su Yu was still in a dilemma, Qin Shou was almost driven mad looking for him.
***
The night before, he was still agonizing over whether he had fallen for Ah Zai, and if a human-animal relationship was too “heavy.”
He came back from work to find Ah Zai gone!
The house door was properly closed, but when he opened it, the cat’s bed had been dragged out and left by the door.
Seeing the cat bed by the door, Qin Shou had a bad premonition. Sure enough, after calling “Ah Zai” a few times, he didn’t hear the familiar response.
Qin Shou frantically searched the entire house in a panic, but couldn’t find the familiar little ball of fur.
The news that Ah Zai was gone shook Qin Shou, completely disrupting his normal thought processes.
He sat dazedly on the sofa for half an hour.
“Meow.”
A familiar meow sounded, and Qin Shou excitedly stood up to look at the door, only to be disappointed to find the sound coming from his phone.
He slumped back onto the sofa, rubbed his face, and told himself to calm down.
After washing his face in the bathroom, Qin Shou began to sort through the chaotic information in his mind.
No one could have entered the house; there were no signs of disturbance, and the furniture was exactly as he’d left it that morning, except for…
Qin Shou’s spirit was roused: except for the cat bed at the door!
He went to the door and checked, confirming his suspicion, Ah Zai had opened the door himself and run out!
Qin Shou’s eyes were deep and his expression uncertain.
To prove his theory, he just needed to check the surveillance footage with the community security.
He contacted the community manager to check the security footage.
Sure enough, Ah Zai had run out himself.
And while he was at it, he looked at the footage from the past few days.
Qin Shou discovered that Ah Zai ran out almost every day and then returned before he got off work.
The most bizarre thing was that the main gate’s lock was an electronic lock that required a password.
And Ah Zai, every time, entered the password himself to open the door.
The situation was becoming increasingly bizarre.
Qin Shou’s face was cold as he looked at the two security guards and the manager beside them, and said directly, “Regarding today’s matter, I hope no one else will know.”
“Yes,” the chubby manager bowed respectfully and said ingratiatingly, “Mr. Qin, rest assured, we will not leak a single word of the owner’s privacy.”
“That’s good.”
Qin Shou nodded and led the way out of the surveillance room.
The three people left in the surveillance room looked at the cat in the footage.
They exchanged glances and decisively turned off the surveillance recording.
They all rushed outside and let out a long breath.
Damn, there are all sorts of strange things these days.
A cat can even open a password lock.
Is this thing a spirit-cat or something?!
Back at home, he casually made himself a bowl of noodles.
Ah Zai wasn’t there, so he wasn’t in the mood to cook.
While eating, he recalled Ah Zai’s behavior during this period.
Qin Shou clearly realized that Ah Zai was different from other cats or animals.
Ah Zai was very smart.
Many times when he spoke to him, it was as if he understood.
Before, he was in the thick of it and just thought Ah Zai was a bit smarter than other cats.
But now, looking back, Ah Zai’s behavior at times didn’t seem like a cat at all, but rather more like a human.
For example, he would actively wash his paws before eating, often pester him to give him a bath, and play various small games on the PAD…
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