The wind swept constantly through the corridor, making the young girl’s ponytail sway. The setting sun slipped away quietly at her feet. Lin Du watched her disappear around the corner before slowly closing the window.
Inside, Bai Yu shut her bedroom door, her almond-shaped eyes gradually sharpening. The episode Lin Du had this morning was most likely caused by the incense. Daju had said the scent made his fur stand on end. After weighing various possibilities, she arrived at a bold conclusion: someone in the Lin Residence was trying to harm Lin Du.
As the implications sank in, Bai Yu subconsciously locked the door, feeling deeply uneasy. They said the lives of the wealthy were as deep as the sea, but was she really going to be risking her life on her very first day? No, if Lin Du died, her presence in the Lin Residence would be meaningless. Her grandmother would lose the top medical team in Jing City. This wasn't just about one life; it was a string of lives! She had to uncover the person plotting against Lin Du.
[Animal Chat Group]
Bai Yu: Emergency mission. Based on the incense in Lin Du’s room, I suspect someone in the Lin Residence is trying to harm him!!!
Daju: *Burp~* Someone is trying to sabotage my long-term meal ticket, meow!
Dobin: Impossible. This is the Lin Residence. My dad is the apple of Grandma’s eye—who would want to die by harming him?
Bai Yu: My guess is that the person who wants to harm Lin Du will appear again tonight.
Daju: Then they shall taste my catty-cat fists!!!
Bai Yu: As soon as the person who lights the incense appears tonight, Daju, use your meow as the signal, and I’ll move in to arrest them!
Daju: Received!
Dobin: I want to join too, but I need to eat first. My poor little tummy is rumbling, boo hoo...
Daju: Having me is enough. You disgusting male dog, stop trying to mimic my cuteness.
Dobin and Daju started bickering in the group chat again. Outside, the dogs kept barking. Although it was noisier than usual, their voices grew weaker, as if they were exhausted.
In Lin Du’s room, Assistant Liu handed over a file. "Young Master Lin, according to the investigation, Miss Bai Yu is indeed the daughter the Bai Family lost over a decade ago. Yesterday was supposed to be the day she returned home, but for some reason, she was kicked out."
Lin Du flipped through the sparse pages, his gaze deep, recalling what he had heard the girl say on the phone near the window earlier. It was all lies. Assistant Liu had long since grown accustomed to the silent Young Master Lin; even with nothing but the ticking of the clock in his ears, he remained perfectly composed.
Cuddled in the corner of the desk, the orange cat suddenly performed a fat-cat flip, ears pinned back, and unleashed a flurry of "bam-bam" cat punches at a pot containing a thousand-gold-worth bicolor peony that had finally bloomed a single flower. Assistant Liu was horrified, but before he could stop it, the bicolor peony was knocked over, its petals scattering across the desk.
"That bicolor peony is worth a fortune. Madam Fang only managed to cultivate this one plant, and it only produced one bloom. This..." Assistant Liu adjusted his glasses, his voice full of regret.
Daju hid his ears, sneaking behind the potted plant. He had no idea that a cat of his size couldn't possibly be hidden by a plant. A smile tugged at the corner of Lin Du’s mouth as he grabbed the cat’s chubby paw and dragged him out. Daju gave a pitiful "meow"—he didn't mean to, he was just excited to protect the boss tonight. Lin Du gave Assistant Liu a look, and the bicolor peony was carried away. Realizing he was off the hook, Daju curled his whiskers high and rubbed against his boss’s palm.
Late at night, the waning moon hung over the treetops. Dim yellow lights glowed in the Lin Residence corridors, and a chill breeze stirred amidst the constant chirping of insects. To catch the culprit, Bai Yu hid in a rockery near Lin Du’s room. The Lin Residence was full of potted plants, which naturally attracted many mosquitoes; the rockery she hid in was practically a mosquito nest. She figured that if she stayed all night, she would be anemic by morning.
Just as she was fiercely battling the mosquitoes, a black shadow darted through the corridor. Bai Yu strained to listen, but Daju gave no meow signal. Afraid of missing the real culprit, she abandoned their meticulous plan—she couldn't afford even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of missing them. Forget whether it was the true culprit or not! Catch them first!
Bai Yu had grown up in the village, climbing trees, catching fish, and playing in the dirt; her physical stamina was far better than the city folk—"Ah!!!"
Before she could finish her boast, her foot stepped on something soft. With a pained yelp from a dog, Bai Yu sprawled forward, falling two or three meters. "Awoo, awoo..." Poor Dobin, who had been starved into a nap, was jolted awake by her step. The girl raised her head in pain, but the shadow was already gone.
[Animal Chat Group]
Daju, startled awake by the dog’s howling, panicked and knocked over the incense: When was the incense lit? How did I not know, meow!
Dobin: You stupid, fat orange cat, if I hadn't been starved unconscious, I would have caught the culprit already.
Bai Yu sat up, looking wretched with two streams of nosebleed: "As expected, I can't rely on anyone."
After a night of painstaking effort that yielded nothing, Bai Yu didn't wake up until the afternoon the next day. Aside from mosquito bites, she had a bump the size of a peach on her forehead, a bruised nose bridge, and scrapes on her elbows and knees. Filled with resentment, the girl knocked on Lin Du’s door. The nearby servants scattered like birds, fleeing in haste. No one had ever dared to knock on the Young Master’s door so brazenly.
Lin Du was about to open the door when Daju pressed his fleshy paws against the panel.
"Daju, if you don't open this door, I’ll take care of your eggs, believe me!" Bai Yu, having lost her patience, pounded on the door. Daju meowed frantically; although Lin Du couldn't understand him, it sounded like he was using some very colorful language.
"I’m counting to three. If you don't open it, you’ll see—" Before the girl could finish her threat, the door swung open from the inside.
Even after seeing him a few times, Lin Du’s handsomeness still took her by surprise. As their eyes met, Bai Yu quickly buried her multi-colored face. "I’m not looking for you, I’m looking for that fat cat!"
The girl gritted her teeth, anger boiling in her chest. She shoved past Lin Du, darted into the bedroom, and dived under the bed without hesitation, successfully cornering the fat cat. "You couldn't do one simple thing right. Feeding you to the dogs would have been better than letting you get this fat!"
Daju’s flurry of cat punches was no match for Bai Yu’s iron grip. Lin Du staggered slightly from the collision, a flicker of surprise in his dark eyes. The girl lay on the floor, moving like a dragon as she dragged out the hissing, screeching cat.
"Meow, meow..." Upon seeing Lin Du, Daju immediately pitched his voice into a high-pitched, pathetic plea for help.
"Even the King of Heaven can't save you now. I was bitten by mosquitoes all night while you were snoring like a bull."
Lin Du’s quiet room gained a touch of life because of the girl and the orange cat. He looked down to see the girl covered in mosquito bites and could barely suppress a laugh. Last night, hearing the commotion, he had looked out the window and seen the girl chasing a black shadow before being tripped by a dog—the image now replayed in his mind.
Assistant Liu came to bring the medicine, but upon opening the door, he was met with cat fur everywhere and Bai Yu chasing Daju around the desk, while the Young Master sat calmly at his desk drinking tea.
"Um... Young Master Lin, the medicine from Dr. Bai is here." Assistant Liu was flabbergasted, but seeing his boss’s calm expression, he could only pretend the absurdity before him didn't exist.
Until, in his attempt to escape Bai Yu’s clutches, Daju knocked the teacup out of Lin Du’s hand.
"That teacup is an antique! It's priceless!" Assistant Liu cried out in alarm.