Chapter 24

Chapter 24

After Tan Yi’s words fell, Xie Chen’s usually indifferent face showed no sign of emotion.

“Cat?”

He asked in a calm voice, “What, did your cat go missing?”

“Yes.”

For convenience, Tan Yi directly opened the other person's car door and sat inside.

“Mr. Xie, I’ve been looking for my little cat at home. A couple of days ago, before I fainted, I saw you holding a little cat, and that’s mine.”

Tan Yi said “my” repeatedly, making Xie Chen slightly frown.

He had just picked up a little kitten and hadn’t properly raised it yet, and now this person wanted to take it away?

Apart from the driver, no third person heard the conversation between the two.

After getting out of the car, both Tan Yi and Xie Chen looked unhappy.

They hadn’t reached an agreement. Xie Chen said that unless Lili recognized him herself, he wouldn’t send Lili away.

The last time they met, Lili hadn’t said that she knew this person.

Although Xie Chen could feel that Lili wanted to look at Tan Yi a little longer...

Standing on the curb, Tan Yi clenched his teeth and stared at the departing Maybach, realizing the truth.

“Trying to trick my brother into being raised by you? Dream on!”

He had a business cooperation with the Xie family, but if the Xie family wanted to take his brother away, don’t blame him for turning hostile.

“Lili.”

At the seafood shop, the boss gave Bai Li a big order: “This client is quite peculiar and doesn’t like to see people. I heard we have a cat delivery here, so specifically asked you to deliver.”

“Be cautious when you go.”

The boss packed the few ingredients the client needed and asked Bai Li to carry them.

“Go ahead. This client is rich and might give a good tip.”

Bai Li obediently nodded, took the ingredients and the note with the address, and set off to deliver the big order.

He came alone. Meimei was busy taking Diandian and Dahu elsewhere.

City A is very big.Bai Li didn’t take the main road like a normal delivery person. He chose a convenient small path, running with a pitter-patter sound.

This delivery took more than twenty minutes before he finally arrived.

The client’s address was very remote, living in a corner in the west of the city.

Though the place was remote, the house was not bad—a large courtyard with three gates and three openings. At the entrance stood big stone lions, majestically guarding both sides.

Bai Li looked at the stone lions, then walked up to knock on the door.

After knocking for a while, a woman’s voice came from the surveillance camera above the door: “Just push the door open and come in.”

Bai Li was stunned for a moment, then followed the instruction and pushed the door open, squeezing his chubby little body inside.

The courtyard was fully monitored by cameras, and someone was guiding Bai Li through the surveillance.

Bai Li wandered here and there for a while before finally seeing the person.

By the lotus pond, in a pavilion, a woman in a qipao sat on a stone bench, savoring tea.

Her hair was pinned up in a bun with a green jade flower, her skin fair, and her temperament serene.

However, there was a faint black mist in the center of her forehead, and where the black mist was...

Bai Li looked at her helplessly. She seemed influenced by it, as if she had already given up hope in her mind.

“Meow meow.”

Bai Li used the cat hypnosis technique, calling her: “The things you ordered have arrived, please sign for them.”

The woman saw that the deliverer was indeed a cat and smiled: “Okay.”

She took the items and put them on the stone table, then lowered her eyes to look at the little kitten that hadn’t left yet.

She took some bills out of her bag and put them into the pouch hanging on the kitten’s neck.

“Running fee.”

As the boss said, she was really generous. The bills were all 100 denominations.

But Bai Li didn’t leave—not because he was waiting for a tip, but because he was worried about her.

The woman didn’t like seeing people, and if someone stared at her like this, she would definitely get angry. But since it was a cute little kitten, she didn’t mind.

Bai Li followed her, watching her take the ingredients to the kitchen, throwing them into the water vat, then turning to another room.

This was a dance room. The woman changed into a dress and barefoot, in front of the wall covered with mirrors, she spun and danced freely.

Her dancing on her toes was magnificent. The display of various moves amazed even the cat.

No one knew how long she danced.

Bai Li couldn’t take his eyes off her. He was a cat with a strong artistic talent—painting, music, dance, and more, he liked them all.

Especially dance—Bai Li could even perform many cat-style dances!When the woman stopped dancing, Bai Li applauded with his paws to show his appreciation.

“Meow ow.”

So beautiful!

The woman was amused by his clapping and smiled: “Little kitten, you can appreciate this?”

Bai Li nodded and straightforwardly meowed: “Yes, you dance very well.”

The woman’s mind moved slightly, and she recorded the few new moves she just danced.

On the dance notebook, Bai Li saw a name written in the upper right corner. He didn’t know the status of this name in the outside world; he just felt the name was elegant and matched the woman perfectly.

Zhou Zhi.

This was the name of a top dancer renowned both domestically and internationally. Unfortunately, she retired five years ago and no one had found her since.

“I, I can dance too.”

Bai Li could sense Zhou Zhi’s despair, but he didn’t know how to dispel it.

To bring Zhou Zhi a little more happiness to live for, Bai Li proactively stretched out his paw, tugged her gently, and began to perform a cat dance for her.

The dance room floor was so clean it almost reflected shadows. Zhou Zhi sat cross-legged on the floor, watching the little kitten in front of her performing an adorable dance.

Bai Li’s little short legs could even do splits. He had learned several of Zhou Zhi’s moves and interpreted them in a cat version.

“Hahaha.”

Zhou Zhi sat on the floor, laughing heartily, charmed by the cute cat dance.

After laughing for a few seconds, Zhou Zhi froze.

Since being forced off the stage five years ago until now, this seemed to be the first time she had laughed like this.

After five years of suppression, she had long lost her happiness. On the eve of deciding to quietly die, she unexpectedly felt a long-lost joy from a little cat.

Bai Li was wholeheartedly focused on helping Zhou Zhi live on. Therefore, he didn’t notice that his cat dance was different from before.

Live.

Try hard to live.

This thought was unconsciously planted in Zhou Zhi’s mind while watching the cat dance.

The black mist on her forehead slowly faded. The gloom in her eyes was replaced by hope.

This world, including Monster Mountain, was losing its spiritual energy. Filth turned into black mist, disturbing innocent people; invisible evil spirits filled many corners.

But tiny little Bai Li could smash and drive away that black mist.

Only he himself didn’t yet realize how special his ability truly was.After dancing several cat dances in a row, Bai Li was so tired he plopped down on the floor.

“Meow meow.”

I’m done dancing.

Bai Li was panting, eyes moist, and meowed to Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi gave him a cup of water, and after he drank, she reached out and petted Bai Li’s furry head.

“Thank you.”

Zhou Zhi sincerely thanked him: “You might have made me reconsider a decision.”

Bai Li stared unblinking at her forehead, seeing that most of the black mist had disappeared, and smiled.

“Meow woo.”

Be happy.

Living in such a big house, dancing so beautifully, and still able to order very expensive takeout — isn’t that great?

Zhou Zhi held the little kitten, walked around the courtyard, and personally taught him a newly choreographed cat dance before letting him leave.

Before leaving, Zhou Zhi also gave him a freshly written invitation letter.

“This is for you.”

This was originally her planned farewell dance party; now, maybe it could be turned into a comeback dance party.

After five years of silence, Zhou Zhi thought, she should return to the stage.

Bai Li left Zhou Zhi’s grand villa feeling completely satisfied.

Just now, Zhou Zhi had said that if he wanted to learn new cat dances in the future, he could come here to find her!

Wanting to dance new versions of cat dances, Bai Li decided to come learn whenever he had time.

Bai Li had no idea how rare an opportunity it was to learn from Zhou Zhi; outsiders couldn’t even get close. Even one of his own brothers had hit a dead end here with Zhou Zhi.

Having spent too long at the villa, Bai Li sped through the remaining orders!

Delivering seafood late into the night, Bai Li successfully completed all the orders.

The seafood shop owner couldn’t stop smiling: “Li Li, you really helped me a lot these two days with the deliveries.”

He had said before that rich people love trying new things.

They had no shortage of money and casually ate seafood without care.

But ever since Bai Li started delivering, orders had been packed on his side!

Moreover, the clients placing orders all specifically trusted him, asking him to send their fish by cat delivery.

Everyone knows cats and fish are natural enemies. There’s no kitten who doesn’t love eating fish.But the seafood shop’s cat delivery worker carried a fish on his back, delivering it punctually right to the door.

The wealthy clients placing orders looked at the little kitten carrying fish and were overjoyed; the seafood shop owner who sold the fish was also happily laughing along.

His business was exactly with this group of people, and the profit on each fish was ridiculously high.

The current surge in orders, along with the good reputation spreading by word of mouth from customers, was a huge gain for him.

Bai Li was rewarded by the owner with several fresh fish to take back and eat.

Bai Li carried the fish under the overpass and placed them in an empty box.

“Mei Mei, Dian Dian, Da Hui.”

After putting the fish down, Bai Li didn’t see them, so he turned around and called outside.

Before long,

Mei Mei brought along the two twin kittens following behind and ran back.

“Wuwuwu, big brother.”

As soon as they came back, the younger Dian Dian sat on the ground crying meow meow: “There are notices posted on the streets and in the neighborhood saying they want to clean up the city appearance.”

City A was the most developed city, and these inspections happened every few days.

Bai Li didn’t immediately sense anything wrong.

Until Dian Dian looked up and kept crying: “Lots of people wearing the same clothes, carrying big sticks, said they want to kill all the stray cats and dogs.”

“Wuwuwu, they said stray cats and dogs are bad for humans and affect the city appearance.”

Hearing this, Bai Li felt suspicious inside.

The notices only said to clean up the city appearance, not explicitly to kill cats and dogs.

Who were these people beating cats and dogs...

“Don’t cry.”

Bai Li pulled Dian Dian closer and showed him the fish he brought back.

“Look, the owner gave me several small fish; come eat fish.”

He gave the fish to Dian Dian and the others to eat, then turned around to leave.

“Big brother, where are you going?”

“I’m going to check the situation.”

If those people beating cats and dogs were nearby, today he would have to take Dian Dian and the others away.

Bai Li carefully wandered around the nearby neighborhood. Not long after, he really saw some people.Those people wore identical red vests and carried sticks; they also had a banner in their hands.

“Stray cats and dogs cause great harm, must be beaten on sight.”

Bai Li, who could read, saw the words on the banner and clenched his paws in anger.

This whole group of stray cats and dogs posed no harm at all!

Brother Heizu managed this area well; the cats and dogs never hurt anyone. They looked for food in secluded places or scavenged leftovers.

The words on the banner were all nonsense.

Not only Bai Li was angry, but passing cat owners holding their pet cats also frowned.

A cat owner, seeing them carrying sticks, frowned: “Are you planning to kill any cats or dogs you see?”

The leader smiled and explained to her: “We’re just removing pests from the neighborhood, contributing to city cleanliness.”

Seeing the woman adorned in gold and silver with a gold tag hanging on the neck of her pet cat, the man softened his tone: “Don’t worry, cats like the one you’re holding—we won’t touch them.”

The woman wasn’t convinced: “What if our dear one accidentally runs off, won’t you kill it if you see it?!”

“No, no,” the man hurriedly pointed at the gold tag on her cat’s neck: “I see your tag has a name on it; tagged cats mean they have owners—we won’t touch those.”

The woman still wasn’t satisfied. She glared disgustedly at the group, clicked her high heels, and walked away, not wanting to say another word.

This so-called pest removal for the neighborhood was just an excuse to satisfy their own selfish desires and deliberately beat those poor stray cats and dogs for fun.

Bai Li feared these people might actually find stray cats and dogs, so after thinking for a moment, he decided to go talk to Brother Heizu about the matter.

His round, white body hid by the dark gray wall at the edge of the neighborhood, but before he could run away, the sharp-eyed group spotted him.

“Hey, there’s a little kitten over there.”

“Hurry, hurry, stray cats carry viruses; if they bite someone, they’ll need a rabies shot.”

The group of men wearing red thick vests spoke loudly about the dangers of stray cats, raising their sticks and chasing after Bai Li.

Bai Li: “!”

Sensing danger, Bai Li took off running with his short little legs.

He ran fast, but they chased fast too.

Bai Li tripped several times while being chased; not only did he fall, but sticks also hit his behind.

“Wuwu.”

The stick hitting him hurt so much that Bai Li let out a whimper from his throat.

He dared not stop; he didn’t have a name tag hanging on his neck.

One cat versus a group of people, running across the road. Tan Yi, who had been searching for his little brother all day, watched helplessly as the familiar little white kitten dashed past right before his eyes.Behind the little brother’s behind, a group of people carrying sticks followed.

“Tāncì?”

Tan Yi widened his peach blossom eyes, staring at the people carrying sticks who were hitting his little brother.

A few seconds later, still wearing his hospital gown that hadn’t been changed all day, Tan Yi grabbed a clothes drying pole from a shop entrance by the roadside, threw some whole bills on the ground without taking any change, and fiercely chased after the group.

“Everyone, damn it, stop right there!!!”

Tan Yi shouted angrily without caring about his image. These people who hit his precious little brother in front of him were finished!

Bai Li, focused on running, didn’t hear his older brother’s voice. He was now rushing straight toward Xie Chen’s villa.

It was very late now; the gentleman should have already finished work.

Bai Li ran straight to Xie Chen’s door without looking back. Upon seeing the familiar gate, he shouted loudly, meowing.

Inside, Xie Chen and Xie Bo both heard the meowing.

“Sir, it’s Li Li—”

Xie Bo was about to say that Li Li’s voice sounded odd but didn’t finish before Xie Chen had already strode outside.

The door opened.

Bai Li bumped his head on Xie Chen’s leg, sat down hard, and was dazed from the bump.

Xie Chen crouched down, and seeing the bedraggled little kitten in front of him, his heart sank.

“Li Li, what happened?”

Bai Li sat on the cool ground, tears brimming in his beautiful amber eyes.

“Wuoao—”

He lifted his head, crying loudly at Xie Chen, climbing onto him as he cried.

The little white fur that had been clean earlier in the day was now dirty after several falls.

But Xie Chen didn’t mind the dirt; he held him in his arms and patiently wiped away his tears.

With such gentle indulgence, Bai Li clung to Xie Chen’s fingers, finally hiccupping through his sobs, meowing softly.

“Sir, I want a name tag. With a name tag, I won’t get beaten.”

Upon hearing this, a flash of harshness crossed Xie Chen’s eyes.

“Beaten?”

He noticed the dirty fur on the little kitten’s behind, suppressed the emotions in his heart, and lowered his head to ask calmly, “Li Li, explain clearly. What tag? What do you mean by being beaten?”

Bai Li clung to his fingers and told him everything about the group of people carrying sticks who hunted stray cats and dogs and beat them to death once caught.Xie Chen’s tone sounded calm, but Xie Bo, standing beside him, clearly saw that his master was angry.

“Sir.”

Xie Bo felt sorry for the little kitten and worried about Xie Chen: “You… you can’t lose your temper.”

Once the master’s emotions got out of control, it could be very dangerous…

Bai Li held onto Xie Chen’s hand, tears dripping from his beautiful amber eyes.

The threat of death was still too terrifying for him.

If he had run slower just now and was caught without a name tag on his neck, he wouldn’t have been able to fight off so many people.

Xie Chen stood up, holding the tiny kitten tightly against his chest.

“Don’t be afraid.”

He lowered his head and kissed the kitten’s furry head: “With me here, Li Li won’t get beaten.”

Bai Li’s paws grabbed at the fabric of his chest, burying his face there, his chubby little body trembling.

About fifty meters away from the villa, Tan Yi, wearing a disposable mask, was wildly swinging the clothes drying pole, hitting people.

“Hit my little brother? Hit me then!”

“Damn it, you scared my little brother so badly?!”

“If I’d come any later, would you have beaten my little brother to death?!”

Tan Yi wasn’t very fierce among his siblings since he was the artistic type.

His eldest brother and second sister were the real fierce ones. Especially his second sister—no one in the whole clan dared to mess with her.

His second sister had basically dealt with most of their brothers and sisters. Only Li Li was protected by her like the apple of her eye since childhood. Not to mention being beaten, if Li Li accidentally played with someone rough or bumped into them, his second sister would hold a grudge.

“A bunch of trash!”

Tan Yi cursed and swore, swinging wildly and forcing the group to only know how to dodge.

There were many people on their side, but Tan Yi’s momentum was like he had nothing to lose.

They were all scared stiff by Tan Yi’s craziness.

After swinging people around, Tan Yi kicked one more person before finally stopping.

The security guards at Xie Chen’s door were signaled to come over and restrain the group.

Tan Yi then turned and went to find his precious little brother.

A few minutes later,

Tan Yi looked at the familiar little white cat burying his head in Xie Chen’s arms, his nose turning sour.

“Li Li.”Bai Li didn’t move.

Tan Yi: “……”

Tan Yi raised his voice, eyes red, emotionally calling out again: “Li Li, it’s Third Brother here.”

Bai Li still lay on Xie Chen’s chest, motionless.

Tan Yi: “?”

Tan Yi wiped his red eyes, swallowed his emotional feelings, then looked expressionlessly at Xie Chen.

“Mr. Xie, did you suffocate my Li Li to death?”

Xie Chen freed one hand, stroked Bai Li’s head, and said calmly: “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Tan Yi, you called him, but he didn’t react at all. Are you sure he’s your cat?”

“Of course he is!”

Tan Yi looked at his precious little brother’s back of the head, then at the man holding his brother, feeling more and more displeased.

Pfft.

Back when he cooperated with the Xie family, he even praised Xie Chen for being generous with endorsement fees.

Now it seems that praise was premature.

This man has no intention of giving his brother back!

“Li Li.”

Tan Yi stubbornly continued calling: “You really don’t want Third Brother anymore, huh?!”

This time he didn’t just call; he tried to grab his brother back.

But Xie Chen was quick and dodged, not letting him succeed.

The two fought over one cat, neither willing to yield.

Xie Chen protected the little kitten in his arms, not letting Tan Yi touch him.

Tan Yi couldn’t get a response from his brother, so he refused to give up, wanting to see what was going on.

Back and forth, Bai Li tilted his head back, and Xie Chen supported him in time.

Still, Tan Yi saw the front of his precious little brother’s face.

The badly crying Bai Li, sleeping obediently and cutely with his eyes closed in Xie Chen’s arms.

“Purr purr purr.”

The sweet little purring sound fell into Tan Yi’s ears, making his mouth twitch.He called out so many times, but apparently Li Li didn’t hear a single word.

“Give me Li Li.”

Tan Yi demanded, “He’s from my family, very precious, can’t give him to anyone.”

Xie Chen heard this and sneered, “Precious, huh?”

Under Tan Yi’s gaze, Xie Chen’s eyes grew even colder: “Tan Yi, don’t you think what you’re saying is ridiculous?”

“I picked Li Li up from the roadside. When I found him, he had been hit by someone, but they refused to take responsibility and just left.”

“Right, when he got hit, he was working, pulling trailers for people.”

“Not just pulling trailers, he also went to a kiln factory, stamping paw prints, but after many days, they didn’t pay him a cent and even bullied him.”

“Besides the kiln factory, he was forced to livestream, now he delivers goods and takes care of several other stray cats.”

“When he was working, his paws were worn out, food was just a few cents for a plain steamed bun, drinking free cold water, living under the overpass.”

“Tan Yi, where were you while he was going through all this?”

Every word from Xie Chen pierced Tan Yi’s heart like a nail.

He felt intense pain inside.

The little one they once cherished so much in the mountains had suffered so much hardship.

What’s more unforgivable was that when all this was happening, he and Li Li were in the same city.

“It’s my fault.”

Tan Yi’s voice was rough, his fingertips squeezing his palm hard: “It’s my fault.”

“I should have found him sooner.” Tan Yi stared hard at the dirty little kitten in Xie Chen’s arms, tears held back in his eyes: “Mr. Xie, I will protect him from now on—”

“No need.”

Xie Chen added coldly, “When he was hit, I demanded compensation for him.”

“The kiln factory boss who bullied him has been dealt with by me.”

“The person who forced him to livestream is now in jail.”

That person illegally hid a gun; how could they not go to jail?

“In short, Li Li is under my care now and will live well.”

Those who let Li Li get beaten this time, he wouldn’t let go.

In the future, he would use some small tricks to ensure Li Li’s safety.

After hearing this, Tan Yi paused for a few seconds, then came back to himself: “Mr. Xie, it’s not about whether he’s well cared for or not.”

“Li Li and I…”Tan Yi gritted his teeth.

How could he make Xie Chen understand that when he said Li Li was from his family, he didn’t mean Li Li was just a cat he raised, but that Li Li was his own younger brother!!!

A biological younger brother, born of the same mother, really couldn’t be given to someone else to raise.

“What happened between you and Li Li?” Xie Chen raised an eyebrow and asked again.

Tan Yi couldn’t tell the truth. He was human now, Li Li still looked like a little kitten, and if he said they were brothers, Xie Chen might think he was an idiot.

“Mr. Xie,”

Tan Yi said in despair, “Just give Li Li back to me.”

Author’s note: Tan Yi: My brother, my real brother, can’t give him away QAQ