"Vermouth, where are you?"
A man's deep voice came through the phone. The "white-haired man" lying on the bed stroked the little fox in his arms while watching *Tom and Jerry*, a tone of joy in her voice that even she hadn't expected.
"On vacation. Want to come?"
Gin, who had finally managed to get in touch with Vermouth, was utterly speechless upon receiving her reply. He and Vodka had spent the entire night running around looking for her, only to find out she was on vacation!
"Vermouth..."
"Little cutie, don't lick, that tickles... be a good boy..."
Vodka and Gin, sitting in the car, froze. The call was abruptly hung up, leaving them with a sleepless late night and endless, unrestrained fantasies.
She had petted cats before, but petting a fox was a first. Vermouth felt a bit light-headed. The tiny, fluffy white fox had curved eyebrows and looked exceptionally cute when it smiled.
"You-you."
Mind you, she had coaxed this fox away while that heterochromatic doctor was asleep. The little fellow wasn't shy at all, and its tiny, furry frame made anyone who petted it feel wonderfully happy.
The human and the fox played until the early hours of the morning before parting ways. The little fox looked at her pitifully, teary-eyed and truly heart-wrenching. Vermouth didn't have the heart to leave, so she couldn't resist petting it one more time, only leaving once the little fox fell asleep.
"Why are you sleeping out here?"
Geng Jing walked out, gently picked up the little fox, and carried it back inside to sleep, apparently completely unaware that his son had spent the entire night playing with a stranger.
*Vermouth: Thrilling, let's do it again next time.*
"Sir, are you going on a long trip again tonight?"
Geng Jing paused his packing, let out a noncommittal hum, strapped his medical box to his back, lifted the curtain, and walked out.
Geng Jing glanced dismissively at the person collapsed in the narrow alley. In the abandoned large warehouse, a burly middle-aged man was leaning against the corner.
Geng Jing reached out to check his pulse, put down his luggage case, bandaged his wounds, and applied medicine. Then he hoisted the man—whose physique formed a stark contrast to his own—onto his back, with the medical box still slung over his shoulder.
He entered the shop through the back door and laid the man on the bed, turned on the surgical lamp, and put on his white coat. In the quiet operating room, the only sound was the clattering of surgical instruments colliding.
The middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of blue light darting through them. He slowly sat up and stared expressionlessly at Geng Jing.
"Who are you?"
"A man who studies medicine. You can call me sir, just like the others. Do you still remember your name?"
The middle-aged man shook his head. A trace of disappointment flashed in Geng Jing's eyes, but it vanished without a trace almost immediately. He gave the man the name "Ye Musheng" and assigned him to be specifically responsible for driving him around in the future.
"This is your ID card and mobile phone number. I'm not too clear about your past; you can decide for yourself whether or not to wear this human-skin mask."
Ye Musheng looked at the human-skin mask in front of him and ultimately chose to put it on. Before long, obvious differences in their daily habits quickly emerged.
Geng Jing couldn't get used to American food, especially macaroni and cheese. The excessive grease made it impossible for his body to adapt and digest.
"It's better to eat less of these greasy things. Although you might not need to eat right now, you should still pay attention to your physical health occasionally."
Ye Musheng naturally knew that, but Geng Jing found his regular diet quite worrying. Considering that a man in his forties had been eating such irregular food all this time, it was already a miracle he was still alive.
"I always thought you were being hunted down by enemies and shot, but now that I think about it, you might have committed suicide because you were tortured beyond endurance by illness."
"Do you regret it, sir?"
Carrying two small bottles of wine, Geng Jing shook his head as if he had heard some joke. "I never regret the choices I make. You've shown me even more possibilities."
"Then why did you sigh when you first saw me wake up?"
"I regret that I couldn't help you recover your memories. To a certain extent, the you of now is a brand-new beginning and not the same person as your past self."
Geng Jing absentmindedly stroked the little fox in his arms. Just as he was about to pour some wine, he paused, put the bottle down, and took out a can of room-temperature milk, pouring it into a clean little basin nearby.
"I was thinking, if you also had a child, and your child was searching everywhere for you, even spending a fortune to do so, only to end up finding someone who isn't their original father—how heartbroken would they be?"
Catching the fragrant scent of milk, the little white fox hopped down and lay beside the basin to drink. Ye Musheng fell silent for a moment upon hearing those words.
"Then what do you think should be done?"
"Live a few more years, at least leaving behind the stereotype that I am living very happily on my own. That way, it won't have to worry about my life."
Geng Jing slowly rose, steadying himself against the wall as he stood up. Ye Musheng realized that the person before him was far better suited to being a father than he was, and that he truly did have a lovely child.
"Guangbai, shall we go to the back garden to pick some cherries?"
"You-you!"
After wiping its mouth with a towel, the little fox made a single leap onto Geng Jing's shoulder, rubbing affectionately against his cheek. Seeing Ye Musheng sitting behind him drinking, Geng Jing extended an invitation.
"Care to join us?"
"Okay."
Perhaps never having witnessed such a tacit understanding, a trace of emotion flickered in Ye Musheng's eyes. Geng Jing stood on a ladder holding a small basket, while the little fox stood on a tree branch picking cherries.
"Do you plan to stay in America or come with me to Japan?"
"Sir, I still have some things to handle in America, so I won't be going to Japan with you."
Though he didn't know what those matters were, Geng Jing had never liked prying into other people's business, so he simply let Ye Musheng forge his own path while he took Guangbai and headed to Japan.