An abrupt silence greeted him from the other end of the call, only shattered once Kitty cried out again, this time louder as if it had just noticed He Juan’s presence through the phone. "Meow meow!" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He Juan could feel the pain and soreness on his body melting away just by the sound of those sweet cries. "Kitty, sweetheart..." he crooned softly. "I see that you’re having fun with Xiao Ze, huh?"

His gaze softened when he imagined the scene of his favorite cat snuggling together with the boy. So envious! He wanted to be there and cuddled with both of them too! Instead here he was all alone, inside the dark hotel room with no one to accompany him...

The more He Juan thought about it, a visceral urge to return home gripped onto his heart, almost making him light-headed with want. He entertained the idea of booking the earliest plane ticket and departed to the airport right now, but in the end the logical part of his mind slapped him awake and forced him to see the cold reality.

No. He couldn’t do that. He was not here for fun, but to seek the answer that he suspected might be related to the omega trafficking organization he was hunting down for.

These past few months, He Juan’s effort to catch the leader of the organization turned out to be for naught. All he got was bits and pieces of trifling information that offered him no insight to who that person really was.

He might have crippled the pillars of that organization by destroying a few of their strongholds, but as long as the heart had not died, one day the organization would undoubtedly return in full force and terrorize the omegas in the country again.

Until he could catch that bastard, He Juan could not rest.

"I..." There was a loud clatter from the other side as if Mu Yuze had dropped his phone before hastily picking it up again. The boy’s breathing was hurried as he tried to explain, "I wasn’t going to let it enter the house. Just outside the hallway. It looks like a storm is coming so I am a little worried—"

"Wait a minute, Xiao Ze." He Juan increased the volume of the call and pricked his ears up, trying to discern the surroundings. "Where are you now? Don’t tell me that you’re outside the house."

Mu Yuze’s words came out even faster. "It’s okay, the cat won’t come in. I am watching over it—"

"Xiao Ze." He Juan cut him off once again, helpless and amused in equal measure. "Calm down. It’s okay to bring Kitty inside. You can even cuddle with it in your bed!" He let out a chuckle when Mu Yuze fell silent, "You dummy, do you think I will get angry just because of this?"

Mu Yuze stammered out in fluster and somehow, He Juan could even imagine how his ears were flushing red. "But you... you never brought it inside. So I thought—"

Ah, He Juan finally realized where this misunderstanding came from. Due to his frequent business trips, he could not afford to take Kitty in. But Mu Yuze had clearly gotten the wrong idea that he disliked having a cat in his house, and thus he secretly came out to accompany Kitty in the hallway when he saw that it was about to rain...

How could someone be so precious and lovely?

And to think that He Juan even thought to give some time for both of them to get to know each other better... when it was clear that Mu Yuze liked the orange tabby cat very much!

He Juan pressed his knuckles on his lips, but in the end he still failed to prevent a soft chuckle from slipping out. "Mu Yuze, you’re really a wonder, you know."

He Juan felt like he was starting to understand why he was so fond of the boy. Despite the cruelty this world had cursed him with, those eyes of his still remained pure and clear, and through them He Juan could catch a glimpse of his beautiful soul. Pristine, untainted. Just like a single white flower that grew tenaciously amidst the swamp of mud, a lonely yet enchanting existence.

This was the flower that he was striving to protect.

"W–What are you..."

He Juan’s mood had become infinitely better, even his injuries did not hurt as much before. Just as he was going to continue teasing the boy, the doorbell suddenly rang. It must be the food and medicine he was waiting for.

"Wait a minute," he told Mu Yuze as he rose to his feet. "I’m going to answer the door."

He Juan slid a hand into his pocket, grabbed his gun and released the trigger with a soft click. Soundlessly, his feet brought him across the room to the door and he peeked into the hole to find a Burmese man clad in the staff uniform. Upon hearing no answer, the man reached out to ring the bell again and called out, "Room service!"

He Juan opened the door by a crack and told him, "Thank you. You can go now."

Though confused, the man still bowed politely. "Please enjoy your food, Sir."

He Juan waited until the man walked away and disappeared into a corner before he allowed himself to relax. Heaving a little sigh, he stepped back and finally opened the door wider to pull the food cart in. The porridge and medicine he was asking for was there.

He spent a few minutes checking every crook and cranny of the cart for any suspicious items and sighed in relief when he found none. Next, he carefully inspected the porridge and took out a silver needle to test for poison. It came out negative. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to be more careful. He had no idea whether the news of his injuries had spread all over the underworld, but if his enemies wanted to find a time to assassinate him, then now would be the perfect moment.

But it turned out he had been thinking too much.

It seemed like Chen Youzhi had done a good job in keeping the news under a tight lid.

Placing the bowl of porridge on the coffee table, he lowered himself to the floor again and saw that the call timer was still running. He Juan raised an amused brow. How obedient... he thought that Mu Yuze would have hung up on the phone by now.

He let out a chuckle. "Sorry, did I make you wait long?"

Mu Yuze was silent for a few seconds before asking with a hesitant tone, "Do you... have a late guest?"