There were less than three months left until Old Master Su’s 70th birthday celebration.
Within those three months, Su Qingwen would definitely make his move — and he would strike sooner rather than later.
Su Yu paced back and forth anxiously.
He had originally thought that, for the sake of the Luo family, Su Qingwen wouldn’t harm his mother — that even if she were placed under house arrest, she wouldn’t be in danger.
But now it seemed that with every day she remained in Su Qingwen’s hands, the risk to her life grew.
He had to find a way to locate his mother.
Relying on his own strength alone was no longer possible.
Su Yu realized he had to get help.
After thinking it over again and again, there were only two people he could truly count on — his two uncles.
But the problem was how to contact them.
And even if he found a way, would they believe something so absurd?
Su Yu frowned.
If this hadn’t happened to him personally, even he wouldn’t believe it — most likely he’d just laugh it off and move on.
Tired from pacing, Su Yu lay sprawled on the sofa, head drooping as he thought things through.
There were no better ideas for now — he had no choice but to try whatever he could.
He ran to the bedroom and dragged out a tablet, frowning as he typed out two emails — one to each of his uncles’ private inboxes.
He didn’t dare touch any of his social media accounts.
When he had gone to Haicheng, his phone had been taken by his mother.
And now that she was under house arrest, the phone had most likely fallen into Su Qingwen’s hands.
Imagine if a supposed vegetable lying in a hospital suddenly showed activity on social media — anyone with half a brain would know something was off.
Even if Su Qingwen couldn’t trace it back to Su Yu for sure, he might still grow suspicious.
And once he became alert, everything that followed would become much harder.
After sending the emails, Su Yu exhaled deeply and collapsed back onto the sofa, weighed down by heavy thoughts.
He lay there gloomily for a while.
Then he couldn’t help flipping the tablet over and refreshing the screen.
The emails still showed as “unread.”
Su Yu shifted a bit, then placed the tablet back where it was.
So when Qin Shou returned home, he saw the usually lively little furball — who never sat still — now lying listlessly on the sofa, flipping a tablet back and forth in a sulky mood.
Who knew what new tantrum he was throwing this time.
Su Yu was so caught up in his own frustration that he didn’t even realize his owner had come home.
He was still deep in his own little emotional spiral.
Qin Shou walked quietly and tiptoed up behind Su Yu—
Suddenly, Su Yu’s cat head got ruffled hard, startling him so much that his whole body sprang into the air!
He glared fiercely at the person now laughing out loud in front of him and let out an angry, offended “Mrowww!”
Are you crazy or what?!
Qin Shou looked at his little furball, whose back fur had puffed up like a hedgehog from the shock.
He laughed so hard internally he could barely breathe, but kept a straight face, clapped his hands, opened his arms, and said seriously,
“Come here, kiddo. Let Daddy give you a hug.”
Su Yu turned his head away, determined to ignore this lunatic.
You think I can’t see that smug grin you’re hiding, huh?
Damn idiot.
Qin Shou, feeling thoroughly despised by his cat, scratched his nose.
But if the mountain wouldn’t come to him, he’d go to the mountain.
He walked over, scooped Su Yu into his arms, nuzzled their foreheads together, and ran his hands over Su Yu’s whole body, finally satisfied.
But then he hesitated and said aloud,
“Kiddo… did you gain weight again?”
As he said it, he pinched Su Yu under the armpits and gave him a lift, then confirmed, “Yeah, definitely heavier.”
So tempted to claw his face.
If I wasn’t mooching off this guy for food, I’d have shredded him by now.
While Su Yu was messing around with Qin Shou, far away at the old Luo family residence, the Luo brothers had just opened their inboxes.
After reading the email, both brothers were visibly stunned.
Their first reaction was to go find each other — and they did, meeting in the hallway with matching shocked expressions.
Clearly, the message had reached them both.
The brothers exchanged a look and headed toward the study with unspoken understanding.
Once inside, they carefully locked the door.
On the glowing computer screen was a short, already-read email.
Just a few simple lines:
Uncle,
Mother is in danger.
Tomorrow at 10 a.m., North Street corner café.
Don’t be late.
—Su Yu
Luo Jianyuan was the first to speak.
“You received the email too, right? What do you make of it?”
Luo Jianyang pondered for a moment and analyzed,
“The email was sent to our private inboxes, and it was signed using A’Yu’s name. At the very least, it must be someone familiar with us.”
“Exactly,” Luo Jianyuan nodded.
“And it even mentioned Xiaoman. The sender clearly wants to lure us in using that as bait.”
The two brothers exchanged a bitter smile.
Whether friend or foe, they would have to meet this person face-to-face tomorrow.
The two had been abroad negotiating a major project and hadn’t been able to return until that very morning.
And as soon as they got home that evening, they received this strange email — they couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Their nephew had been in a car accident and was still unconscious.
Their younger sister had claimed she needed rest due to her poor health.
But not a single word had been heard from either of them since.
Having spent years navigating the business world, the brothers were sensitive enough to sense that this wasn’t just a coincidence.
When Su Yu’s accident first happened, Luo Jianyuan had immediately contacted Luo Xiaoman.
Over the phone, she’d sounded low-spirited and said her body wasn’t doing well due to the shock and might require recuperation.
He didn’t think much of it at the time — with both his sister and nephew in trouble, he and his brother had simply done their best to wrap up work and rush home.
But now, exchanging looks again, both brothers felt something was seriously wrong.
Even Luo Xiaoman’s attitude on the phone seemed suspicious in hindsight.
She had always adored Su Yu.
There was no way she’d leave her unconscious son just to go “recuperate.”
They had been too worried to think clearly at the time.
Now, recalling the details, everything felt off — and when combined with this recent email, a new possibility emerged, maybe their sister didn’t want to leave Su Yu’s side… maybe she’d been forced to.
But there was no use guessing.
Whether this was a ghost or a human, everything would be clear after the meeting tomorrow.
Luo Jianyuan made the call, “No point overthinking it now. Let’s just get a good night’s rest. We’ll find out what this person wants when we meet them tomorrow.”
And so, the brothers went their separate ways to rest and recharge.
***
Su Yu stayed up all night refreshing the email inbox on his tablet.
It wasn’t until nearly 10 p.m. that the system showed the messages had been read.
He felt a rush of relief and stared even more intently at the screen, waiting for a reply.
But he ended up falling asleep clutching the tablet — no reply came.
Qin Shou, on the other hand, was puzzled by the sight of a little cat hugging a tablet all night.
But soon, his attention was captured by Su Yu’s soft, furry belly, which was peeking out.
He gave it a gentle rub, then carefully pulled the tablet out from under him and cuddled Su Yu in his arms to sleep.
***
~ The Next Morning ~
Su Yu woke up early, preoccupied with the planned meeting.
Seeing his cat up so early was a rare sight for Qin Shou. He teased him:
“Aw, my little guy’s up early. You planning to go to work with Dad today?”
Su Yu rolled his eyes at the shameless man.
Qin Shou felt something was off. Since last night, the cat had been acting weird.
Then a thought hit him — Su Yu was nearly six months old now.
According to the books, cats become restless when they’re in heat.
Recalling Su Yu’s behavior yesterday, Qin Shou became more and more convinced of his theory.
He crouched down and pinched Su Yu’s ear affectionately.
“My little guy’s growing into a big cat. Let Daddy see if you’re developing properly.”
As he said that, he reached for Su Yu’s back legs— “MROW!”
Su Yu jumped back, arched his spine, and let out a furious cry, instinctively clamping his hind legs shut.
What is this pervert trying to do?!
Qin Shou looked regretful at his failed sneak attack but quickly switched tactics, coaxing, “Be good, kiddo. Let Dad have a look. A big boy like you shouldn’t be so shy.”
When Su Yu finally realized what Qin Shou was trying to look at, his face was stunned.
Inside his mind, he was screaming.
This beast wants to see my balls?!
I’m still a cat!
He’s not even letting a cat off the hook?!
Monster!!
Worried the man might try to force a grope, Su Yu swallowed nervously, backed away two steps, bared his teeth, and gave Qin Shou a menacing glare:
“Mrow! Stay back! One more step and I’ll bite!”
Seeing his cat so full of suspicion, Qin Shou raised his hands in surrender and even stepped back two paces, saying,
“Alright, alright, Daddy won’t look. Don’t be scared.”
Su Yu rolled his eyes. Yeah right — as if I’d believe you.
In the end, it was Qin Shou who gave up first.
He sighed wistfully — his baby was growing up.
No longer the easily fooled kitten he used to be.
Still, after being teased all morning, Su Yu’s nervous mood lightened a bit.
He filled his belly, packed a tiny note into a small pouch, then hung the pouch around his neck and headed out.
***
The café Su Yu had chosen was not far from the Lucky Neighborhood.
It was usually quiet, with booth seating spaced far apart and many of the tables separated by decorative flower walls.
They could talk inside without fear of being overheard.
The Luo brothers arrived earlier than Su Yu.
They chose a secluded corner, ordered a coffee, and waited calmly.
As the agreed time drew near and the person still hadn’t shown up, Luo Jianyang couldn’t help glancing at his older brother.
“Could we have been played?”
As the elder brother, Luo Jianyuan remained composed.
He sipped his coffee and gave his brother a look that said:
“Relax. We came this far — just wait and see.”
While the two exchanged glances, Su Yu suddenly darted in, taking advantage of a distracted server.
He slipped into the café and made a beeline for their table.
Su Yu ran under the table, jumped up onto the high stool, and let out a very serious “meow” at the two of them.
Their expressions were hard to describe.
In their minds, both thought the same thing:
We’ve really been played, haven’t we?
Su Yu knew this wasn’t convincing at all.
He used his paw to pull the small pouch off his neck and retrieved a sticky note, gently pushing it in front of Luo Jianyuan.
Among the family, it was the eldest uncle who had more authority.
Luo Jianyuan picked up the note — and his smile froze.
Seeing his brother’s reaction, Luo Jianyang craned his neck to look too.
On the yellow sticky note was a single line, Uncle, I’m Su Yu.
Luo Jianyang couldn’t help but laugh, “What did I tell you? Someone’s just messing with us for fun.”
Luo Jianyuan gave his brother a glance, ignored him, and turned back to look at Su Yu with a face that had gone cold.
Su Yu’s little heart trembled.
He quickly pulled out another note and pushed it over:
Lend me your phone. I’ll prove it to you.
Luo Jianyuan looked at Su Yu suspiciously… but strangely enough, he could actually see hope in that flat little cat face.
Could it really be… that our nephew turned into a cat?