"Daju won't feel safe without me."
The young girl tearfully pushed the check away, squeezed into the luxury car, and nudged Lin Du toward the inside with her hip.
Assistant Liu stood frozen for two seconds, then felt a wave of jubilation. Ever since Young Master Lin had developed aphasia, he had been unwilling to have any physical contact with others. The psychiatrist had said that once the Young Master was willing to be close to people, he wouldn't be far from speaking again. After all these years, there was finally hope!
The girl had nudged the Young Master with her hip, and he was actually fine with it. Assistant Liu got into the car almost immediately. Regardless of anything else, he decided to get them home first.
The car interior was deathly quiet. Rainwater dripped from the cuffs of Bai Yu's trousers. Unlike that orange cat, who could sleep soundly even in these surroundings, she felt out of place. Assistant Liu glanced at Bai Yu’s attire, guessing that she probably didn't live in this affluent villa district.
"Miss Bai Yu, if you have nowhere to stay, why not stay at the Lin Residence for the time being?"
"If it wouldn't be an imposition, that would be wonderful."
Bai Yu didn't want to return home in such a disheveled state; if her grandmother saw her, she would surely worry herself sick. Under the circumstances, she had no choice but to rely on them. After the night’s ordeal, her throat was parched. She caught sight of a bottle of purified water beside her; it was in a green glass bottle that looked expensive at a glance. She unscrewed the cap and looked up to see that Lin Du’s lips were chapped as well.
He had been missing for three days and nights—had he not had a single drop of water? Thinking of how Daju had already sacrificed himself to find a way out, she realized she had to do something to keep holding onto this lifeline.
"Drink," the girl said, holding the water to the man's lips.
Assistant Liu, sitting in the passenger seat, gripped his seatbelt, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror, terrified that Young Master Lin might kick her out of the car.
The man remained silent, staring coldly at the bottle. Bai Yu lost her patience. She pressed the rim directly against his lips and forced the water in.
"Your lips are chapped. If you want to drink, then drink—stop dallying."Sweet water slid down the man's throat, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He frowned slightly as he looked at the young woman, but thinking of the place on the web of his hand where he had been bitten, which still faintly ached...
Forget it. He wouldn't stoop to the level of a rough woman.
Bai Yu shook the glass bottle. "Hold it yourself."
Seeing Young Master Lin actually reach out and take the glass bottle, Assistant Liu pulled back the hand he had been about to use to stop him and patted his chest in relief.
"Assistant Liu, do you have a towel?"
The young woman was almost completely soaked. She took a towel to wipe her face and hair, looking somewhat puzzled at Assistant Liu. "Why didn't you give your Young Master Lin a towel?"
Wasn't he the son of the richest man? How come no one ever seemed to take care of him?
"Uh... Young Master Lin doesn't..." like people touching him.
Before Assistant Liu could finish speaking, a white towel flew through the air and landed right on Young Master Lin's face!
"!!!"
With the young woman's quick motion of wiping her hair, the towel in her hand had vanished, and when she looked up, it was already covering the man's face.
"Uh... your hair is wet too, I'll wipe it for you." Bai Yu figured she might as well go all the way; besides, since she was trying to get in his good graces, showing some initiative was only right.
"I used to wipe my grandma's hair all the time, it dries really fast."
The young woman grabbed both ends of the towel and, using Lin Du's head as the center point, worked it back and forth like a giant handsaw at lightning speed.
Assistant Liu's pupils dilated and his nostrils flared wide!
"Miss... Miss Bai Yu... that's enough, that's enough, Young Master Lin's hair should be dry by now."
"Not yet, not nearly!"
Lin Du's head was practically friction-mossed and smoking.
Because Bai Yu's movements were far too rough, Daju, who had been sleeping in Lin Du's arms, woke up as well.
The phone in the young woman's back pocket rang frantically.
Daju: Human, what are you doing to the big shot's head!
Daju: Stop it, stop it...
Underneath the towel, Lin Du's face turned ashen, veins bulged on his neck, and his hands clenched tightly into fists.Finally, the young girl pouted and sat pressed against the car door, twisting the corner of a towel in her hand as she muttered, "It's already dry, why are you pulling such a long face?"
The car drove into the Lin Residence, a traditional-style courtyard house where the servants all wore Chinese-style attire.
Along the path from the main gate to the main hall, large peonies were planted in pots.
There were flowers of every color.
Some were varieties she had never seen before.
Based on Bai Yu's behavior in the car, Assistant Liu—though Young Master Lin hadn't kicked her out—was still terrified that she might hurt Young Master Lin.
Consequently, he arranged a room for her that was as far away from Young Master Lin's bedroom as possible.
"Where is my Daju? Surely it isn't sleeping with Young Master Lin?"
Bai Yu thought to herself that Daju had worked hard, sacrificing itself just to be a sleeping companion.
Only then did Assistant Liu explain the whole story from beginning to end.
"When our Young Master Lin was a child, he was kidnapped and witnessed his older brother being killed. After that, he developed selective mutism, and sometimes when he is triggered or sees blood, he has violent reactions."
"To be honest with you, Miss Bai Yu, you are currently the only person who has done so many things to Young Master Lin without being driven away."
Bai Yu scratched her head, recalling the scene in the alley where she bit the man. "Perhaps... he's afraid of being bitten by me."
"Huh?"
"Nothing, nothing... I just mean that selective mutism is quite curable, very curable. I seem to remember there's something called animal therapy. My Daju is very spiritual. If it spends more time with Young Master Lin, his condition might improve."
Assistant Liu had precisely this in mind.
Bai Yu muttered to herself, "That way I can stay a few more days."
"Miss Bai Yu is the savior who brought Young Master Lin back, and an honored guest of the Lin Residence. You may stay as long as you like."
Caught muttering to herself, the young girl blushed furiously.
Assistant Liu had other matters to attend to, and after a few brief words, he closed the door and left.
Looking at the furnishings in the room, Bai Yu finally let out a sigh of relief.
Ancient paintings hung on the wall, a pot of clivia sat by the window, and there was a set of red mahogany tables and chairs complete with a tea service.
The bed was made of sandalwood, featuring intricately carved headboards and a soft, warm, fragrant mattress.
Tonight, she would finally get a good night's sleep.
When Bai Yu emerged from the bathroom wearing a bathrobe, her phone vibrated several times in succession.
[Animal Chat Group]
Daju: The boss's bed is so soft, and it smells so good.
Daju: Human, the boss has an amazing physique. Inverted triangle, swimmer's waist, long straight legs.....
Bai Yu: You, you, you, can't you be decent? If you're going to sleep with him, just sleep with him, why do you have to say things that make people cringe?
Bai Yu: Besides, who wants to know about that part of him? Why are you giving a running commentary here?
Daju: Don't your human species breed? As the cat king of Xiangyun Village, many female cats line up to beg for my favor.
Bai Yu: No wonder I hear female cats in heat every single night. So you're just a scoundrel who loves and leaves.
Daju: Xiangyun Village is full of my descendants. I'm very impressive too, human. Let me tell you, this Lin Du looks very impressive, just like me.
Bai Yu: Shut up, I'm going to sleep.
Daju: Then I'll just keep sleeping on the boss's pectoral muscles. How strange, the aromatherapy in this room makes me want to fluff out my fur.
Staring at the phone screen, the young girl gnashed her teeth.
Suddenly, a new friend joined the [Animal Chat Group].
Dobin: So you're the ones who saved my dad? Even if you're a bit shabby, still, three-ks-you.
Daju: Who are you calling shabby? Have you ever slept in the boss's arms? All you do is yip, yip, yip!
Dobin: I slept in Dad's arms when I was a little pup too! Now I've just grown up...
Daju: Nananana, I get to sleep in the boss's arms, but you don't, hee hee hee...
Dobin: Don't let me catch you, or I'll bite your head off.