Donghua City.

Inside a private room at Hongyun Tower.

"Brother Qi, did you really get plastic surgery?" Gao Zhenyue yelped, reaching for Yang Qi’s face, his fingers making a deliberate pinching and kneading motion.

"Get outta here."

Yang Qi slapped his pawing hand away and grinned. "What can I say? I’m just naturally gorgeous."

"Tch~"

Gao Zhenyue scoffed, pointing at Yang Qi and shouting to the others, "This skin... it’s as smooth as glazed porcelain and even has a glow to it. Tsk, tsk, it’s even whiter and brighter than Song Wan’s after she uses Miracle Water!"

"He’s right."

Song Wan leaned in too, staring intently at Yang Qi with wide eyes. "Yang Qi, you have to confess! What brand of skincare products are you using? The results are insane! Tell me, I’m going to stock up on a whole case!"

"You guys..."

Ye Haibing shook his head, looking like he’d seen through it all. "Do you really think skincare products or makeup can achieve a complexion and texture like Brother Qi’s? This is obviously because Brother Qi has awakened his ’Druid’ talent! He absorbed the elemental power of the world’s flora, undergoing a complete physical rebirth overnight! Don’t you get it? This is the power of nature!"

"Oh no!"

Yang Qi played along, putting on a "panicked" expression. He furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Brother Bing, you’ve discovered my secret! Should I kill you to silence you?"

"Hahaha~"

Hearing this, Gao Zhenyue, Song Wan, and Qian Yu couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Today was the Liudong Study Group’s regular dinner gathering, and it was Gao Zhenyue’s treat.

Yang Qi had made dinner for Xiaojiu and Ta Xue at home ahead of time before driving over.

But as soon as he entered the private room, he was cornered by his friends, who hounded him about how he had gotten fairer and more handsome.

Yang Qi couldn’t explain the truth, so he could only joke around and try to gloss it over.

However, Ye Haibing’s offhand joke had unintentionally hit close to the truth.

...

The friends joked and bantered as they took their seats, clinked their glasses, and started eating, chatting casually as they did.

"Remember Hu Xiaomi? She’s getting married next month and invited me to be a bridesmaid," Song Wan said with a sigh. "Time flies. It feels like just yesterday we were fighting for food in the school cafeteria."

"Of course, I remember her," Yang Qi said, spinning the lazy Susan. "If I recall correctly, didn’t Old Gao pursue her during the second semester of our freshman year?"

"Yes, yes!" Ye Haibing perked up at that and chimed in, "After Old Gao got rejected, he went back to the dorm and—"

"Brother Bing! Spare me!" Gao Zhenyue shrieked. He dropped his chopsticks and lunged over to cover Ye Haibing’s mouth.

Ye Haibing quickly raised a hand to block him, laughing. "Alright, alright, I won’t say it, I won’t say it."

After Gao Zhenyue sullenly returned to his seat, Ye Haibing suddenly shot up from his chair and shouted, "Old Gao went back to the dorm and hid under his covers crying! He cried all night!"

"I’m gonna kill you!" Gao Zhenyue shrieked, pouncing on Ye Haibing.

The two of them "wrestled" into a tangled heap in the corner of the room, while Yang Qi laughed from the sidelines, "offering strategies."

"Old Gao, go for his legs! Brother Bing, put him in a chokehold!"

"Haha..." Song Wan and Qian Yu watched the two fooling around, doubled over with laughter.

In the midst of their horseplay, Qian Yu’s phone rang.

Seeing this, Gao Zhenyue and Ye Haibing stopped their roughhousing and returned to their seats to eat and drink, though they continued to "battle" with their glares.

"Understood. I’m on my way."

Qian Yu’s expression turned serious as she answered the call. After a brief response, she hung up and said apologetically to the others, "Sorry, something urgent came up at the bureau. I have to go."

"Need a ride?" Yang Qi asked casually.

"Ooh, look at Brother Qi, all fancy with his car now," Ye Haibing teased "jealously" from the side.

Without a word, Yang Qi took out his car keys and tossed them to him. "You drive her."

Ye Haibing immediately stood up, caught the keys, and gave Qian Yu an exaggerated bow. "My fair lady, you must grant me the opportunity to escort you back to your esteemed office."

"Haha..." Song Wan laughed so hard she collapsed onto the table.

The call had left Qian Yu feeling tense, but she couldn’t help but chuckle at his antics. Remembering the urgency of the situation, she nodded.

"Alright, then I’ll have to trouble this ’knight.’" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I’ll be right back, fellas!" Ye Haibing waved the car keys at Yang Qi and Gao Zhenyue, then quickly followed Qian Yu out of the room.

"Come on, let’s keep eating."

Gao Zhenyue said to the remaining Yang Qi and Song Wan.

About half an hour later, Ye Haibing returned, handed the keys back to Yang Qi, and reported that his passenger had been delivered safely.

After dinner, the four of them went for a walk at a nearby mall before parting ways.

...

Meanwhile, Qian Yu and her colleagues arrived at an old, abandoned factory on the outskirts of Hongshu District.

Inside the factory grounds, police lights flashed. Several police cars were parked, and officers in both uniform and plainclothes moved back and forth, the atmosphere tense.

Most of them were gathered outside a large warehouse.

"Captain Li, we’ve finished the assessment. Wang Delong chose this warehouse deliberately."

A uniformed officer reported to the team leader, Li Hongqi, holding a tablet that displayed a rough diagram of the warehouse. "All the doors and windows have been sealed shut from the inside with heavy wooden planks and iron bars. Our micro-drones have tried from several angles but can’t find a single gap to get through."

Li Hongqi, who was in plainclothes, frowned deeply. "Not even the vents?"

"There are vents."

The officer used his finger to zoom in on an area of the tablet. "There are a few on the back wall of the warehouse, near the roof. But they don’t open directly into the warehouse. They’re all connected to an internal network of galvanized iron ducts, about twenty centimeters in diameter."

"The duct openings have bird-proof fan blades, so our drones can’t get in. Plus, there are right-angle turns inside that completely block both the line of sight and any entry path."

"So what you’re saying is, we need to find a small cat to crawl into these vents for us?" a plainclothes officer with a thick beard standing next to Li Hongqi couldn’t help but interject.

"Theoretically, a small, agile cat could indeed get inside the warehouse through the vents and ducts."

The officer gave his objective analysis, then changed his tone. "But can a cat understand us? Can it comprehend that we need it to go inside and check for things, like how many people are in there? Are there weapons? What’s the hostage’s condition? And then come back and tell us?"

"So you mean..."

The bearded officer’s tone turned hostile. "We’d be better off finding a cat that can understand human speech and can fully comprehend and execute complex orders, right? The kind you see in the movies?"

"Lao Luo!"

Li Hongqi shot the man a look, then turned to the reporting officer with an apology. "Sorry, Captain Jiang. Lao Luo is just anxious, he doesn’t have a filter. Wang Delong is the prime suspect in this kidnapping, and he might have a homemade firearm. The situation inside the warehouse is unknown, so we can’t risk a direct assault. We’re afraid of harming the hostage, and we’re also afraid he’ll get desperate and destroy the evidence."

"It’s alright, Captain Li, I understand."

The officer known as Captain Jiang waved his hand dismissively. "From a technical standpoint, it’s currently impossible to assess the situation inside the warehouse without alerting the suspect. Unless... just as Officer Luo said, we find a cat that understands human speech, can follow our commands perfectly, and can carry out a reconnaissance mission for us through the ventilation ducts."

"Heh~"

The bearded officer snorted. "If a cat like that existed, what would be the point of us cops? Or your tech team with all its high-tech gear? We should just form a ’Feline Special Forces’ and be done with it!"

"That’s enough, Lao Luo!" Li Hongqi glared at him.

"I wish we had a cat like that, too."

Captain Jiang chuckled, his tone calm. "But the reality is..."

"Um... Captain Li, Captain Jiang... I think I know where we might find a cat like that."