Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Chapter 56 — Jin | Jiang | Literature | City Original Release

Ever since Bai Li started running deliveries, Xie Chen had been following not too far behind.

This distance was just right—not close enough for Lili to notice, but not so far that he wouldn’t be able to respond in time if something went wrong.

Soon.

Xie Chen arrived beside the flowerbed. The red dot on the tracker was right here.

“Lili?”

Xie Chen looked around and called out.

He called several times, but there was only the sound of meowing in response, no voice answering back.

“Strange.”

This area wasn’t that big. Xie Chen was confident there was nothing wrong with his eyesight.

But he had looked all over—not even the tiniest glimpse of a white figure.

The driver who was in charge of the car was searching too, and just the same, couldn’t find anything no matter how hard he looked.

Time passed, second by second.

Xie Chen frowned, staring at the red dot and falling into thought.

When Daniel made the wearable phone for Bai Li, he had confidently declared that every feature on this device was top-tier.

Xie Chen had paid a hefty price for it—yet in the end, even the GPS was inaccurate?

Suppressing his frustration, he kept searching. This time, he even stepped into the garden.

As he passed the flowerbed, his leather shoe stepped on a pile of fallen leaves.

“Meow—!”

A familiar yowl suddenly exploded from the leaf pile.

Xie Chen: “……”

He stepped back, momentarily stunned.

He looked down at the pile of leaves where the yowl came from, squatted down in disbelief.

As he crouched, a little kitten with a few yellow leaves stuck on its head sat in the pile of leaves, tearfully clutching its tail, staring up at him.

“Meow.”The little kitten was still whining, accusing Xie Chen of stepping on his tail.

Xie Chen pressed his fingers to his temple, then picked up the tearful, aggrieved kitten and gently rubbed his tail.

“Be good, don’t cry. It was my fault.”

Usually cold and forceful in front of others, Xie Chen admitted his mistake to the kitten in his arms without hesitation. Not only did he apologize, he also patiently coaxed the kitten.

“I called you so many times just now, Lili—did you not hear any of it?”

Bai Li hadn’t heard.

When he came back, he was so sleepy he couldn’t even focus enough to walk straight.

Before falling asleep, he had pawed together a pile of leaves and buried himself in them.

Xie Chen carried the wronged kitten to the car and let him continue sleeping.

Before Bai Li closed his eyes, his little paw tugged at Xie Chen’s hand, still mumbling with a soft meow—

“Sir, give me a bath.” His white fur had gotten dirty; only after a bath would he let Sir hold him.

Xie Chen informed the seafood shop owner, who knew Bai Li hadn’t been feeling well lately, and brought out two fine fish from the store.

“Brother Xie.”

The shop owner greeted him with a warm smile. “Take these fish home.”

“They’re for Lili to recover—though you can eat them too.”

The owner had originally promised to prepare a full fish feast for Bai Li, but seeing he was unwell, he sent the fish over early so Bai Li could have a taste.

Xie Chen initially wanted to pay, but the owner firmly refused.

Back when he was an avid fan of Xie Chen, he had even sent him gifts—though they had been returned...

Now, being able to give Xie Chen two fish made him more than happy.

That afternoon.

After bathing Bai Li, Xie Chen brought him to the company.

At the company gate, Huang Fang—who had been dismissed—suddenly rushed over.

“President Xie, please—I’m begging you, let me go.”

She charged over, voice shrill and desperate: “I’m begging you, please don’t let the lawyer sue me…”

A lawsuit and blacklisting in the industry.

For Huang Fang, who still had a child to support and a mortgage to pay, this was undoubtedly a fatal blow.

Her husband had long since been unfaithful, keeping a mistress outside and emotionally detached from her. He never contributed to the household.

Now, with no income and facing legal troubles and compensation to Xie Group, Huang Fang had truly been pushed to the edge.The security guards held Huang Fang back, not letting her get a step closer to Xie Chen.

The chaotic scene woke the little kitten sleeping in Xie Chen’s arms.

“Meow?”

Bai Li yawned and lifted his head, looking at Huang Fang, who now resembled a crazed woman.

Xie Chen covered his eyes and replied in a low voice, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about her.”

He held the kitten, not sparing even a glance at Huang Fang.

From the moment she leaked company data and tried to sabotage the company to secure a better job elsewhere, she should have known what kind of consequences she'd face if it came to light.

People like her didn’t deserve sympathy.

Xie Chen carried Bai Li into the company building. Behind them, Huang Fang—being dragged out by security—looked at Xie Chen’s complete indifference. When she saw the kitten in his arms again, hatred flared in her eyes, almost to the point of bleeding.

“Even if—even if I hadn’t done those things, you still would’ve fired me!”

Huang Fang shouted angrily behind him: “That cat… you knew I kicked your cat, you knew I didn’t like that little beast, and that’s why you targeted me on purpose!”

She had long known how ruthless Xie Chen could be.

So the moment she saw him holding that little beast she had once tried to harm, even if he hadn’t said a word, she could feel it—she would definitely be taken down by Xie Chen.

To protect herself, to secure a better future, she betrayed the company.

Now, Huang Fang pushed all the blame onto Bai Li, who hadn’t said a single word.

As if only by doing so could she cover up her own suspicion, greed, and malice.

“You little beast… you ruined me.”

“I won’t let you live peacefully. And Xie Chen—I won’t let either of you off.”

Killing a cat isn’t a crime.

Since Xie Chen wouldn’t let her go, then she’d make him feel pain too!

He treasured that little kitten—so she would kill it!

Hatred filled Huang Fang’s eyes to the point of almost spilling blood.

Meanwhile, the person and cat she hated were inside the company, enjoying warm air from the heater while eating ice cream.

There was a mini fridge in the office.

Anna had stocked it with plenty of snacks—pastries, fruits, everything you could want.

When Xie Chen opened the fridge and let the kitten pick a treat, the little bumpkin cat immediately chose an ice cream he’d never seen before.

It was cold and sweet.Bai Li licked a small bite, and immediately felt his drowsiness vanish.

“Meow meow!”

Delicious!

Xie Chen held the ice cream while Bai Li clung to his hand, leaning in to lick it.

Anna came in with some documents and paused when she saw the kitten eating ice cream.

“Boss, cats shouldn’t—”

“He can eat it,” Xie Chen replied calmly.

If it were an ordinary cat, of course it couldn’t have this.

But the one sitting on his lap—never mind ice cream—whatever humans could eat, he could eat too. He was a proper little food-loving kitten.

Bai Li licked the ice cream contentedly, so happy his eyes squinted shut.

After just a few small bites, Xie Chen, worried the cold might upset his stomach, put the ice cream back in the fridge.

Bai Li stared longingly at the fridge door as it closed, clearly wanting to take the ice cream back out.

But he didn’t get the chance.

He was kept right under Xie Chen’s nose—he even had to raise a paw to “report in” before going to use the litter box.

The whole afternoon, aside from eating, Bai Li barely stayed awake at all.

The company was busy.

Xie Chen stayed in the office until night fully fell before finally finishing most of his work.

“Lili.”

At 8:30 p.m., Xie Chen carried the sleepy little kitten out: “Bai Liu called earlier—he said he wants to see you tonight.”

Hearing his gege’s name, Bai Li forced his eyes open. “Meow?”

Sixth Brother.

“Your Sixth Brother is probably waiting for you at home.”

Xie Chen now knew that Bai Li had six older brothers and sisters.

So far, he only knew two—Tan Yi and Bai Liu.

He could still handle those two… but as for the others, he had no idea what their personalities were like.

Man and cat walked out of the company, and a white curly-haired figure crouching by the door turned around when he heard footsteps.

“Why did you come down so late?”

Bai Liu frowned. He was naturally gifted—even after countless late nights in the lab, his skin was flawless, not a single blemish, and there were no dark circles under his eyes.When Bai Li saw Sixth Brother, he immediately meowed a greeting.

“Come here, let Gege hold you.”

After working hard for quite some time, Bai Liu took his little brother into his arms and lowered his head to sniff him.

Xie Chen’s brow furrowed slightly at the sight, but he didn’t show any emotion on his face.

When Bai Liu arrived, he had driven a car—a very cool convertible sports car.

He was about to take his little brother directly into his own car when Xie Chen stepped forward and pressed a hand against the car door.

“Lili tends to fall asleep in the car. Driving this kind of car isn’t suitable for him.”

Hearing that, Bai Liu blinked at Xie Chen.

The next second—

The boy with streaks of white in his curly hair lowered his head, eyelashes trembling slightly, as he looked at the kitten in his arms.

“Lili, do you want to ride in Xie Chen’s car instead?”

Bai Li was momentarily stunned, unsure how to respond.

But before he could answer, Bai Liu gave a self-deprecating smile. “Forget it. Good Lili, go ride in his car. You’re used to it, I guess—he drives you often.”

“Gege’s car… doesn’t compare to his.”

As he spoke, a hint of loneliness flashed in Bai Liu’s eyes. “It’s Gege’s fault for not being thoughtful enough. I just thought you’d like a cooler car, and didn’t consider anything else.”

After that whole exchange, Bai Li stayed nestled in Bai Liu’s arms, not wanting to move at all.

“Meow, meow meow.”

Gege’s car is great. I like Gege’s car.

The soft-hearted little kitten, hearing his gege say that, was full of heartache.

This car was bought just so Gege could drive him—he loved it!

“So, does Lili want to ride in Sixth Brother’s car?”

“Mm!”

Bai Li meowed firmly. As long as Sixth Brother was around, he wanted to ride with him.

Otherwise, Gege would be sad.

Xie Chen, still resting his hand on the car door: “…”

Fine.

Looks like this Sixth Brother of Bai Li’s has fully mastered the art of persuasive language.Bai Li, having decided whose car to ride in, tilted his head up and meowed to inform Xie Chen, “Sir, I’m riding back in Sixth Brother’s car.”

Xie Chen shot a cool glance at Bai Liu.

Bai Liu lifted his eyes and, while the little kitten wasn’t looking, gave him a provocative look.

Trying to compete with me?

Back when I was fighting to keep Lili, you didn’t even know where you were.

Xie Chen narrowed his eyes, just about to say something, when Bai Liu had already gotten into the car.

He closed the convertible top, giving up on enjoying the night breeze.

“Mr. Xie, could you move your hand?”

Bai Liu shut the car door tight, stepped on the gas, and sped off with his little brother.

Inside the car.

Bai Li was meowing to Sixth Brother.

“Lili, I’m taking you somewhere tomorrow. We’re going to save someone.”

Bai Li tilted his head, a bit confused. “Save who?”

“The man we met on the yacht last time. He got screwed over, and that scumbag is coming for him.”

“Sixth Brother will take you to crush the scumbag.”

Bai Li didn’t quite know what “crushing a scumbag” meant, but hearing his brother mention that person, he tried hard to recall—and seemed to remember a little.

“Meow, meow meow meow.”

Sixth Brother, is it that long-haired, pretty-looking man?

Bai Liu paused. “That’s him. What? He picked you up too?”

“That’s right.”

Picked-up Bai Li compared notes with Sixth Brother and discovered that the man who had picked up two kittens that night really was the same one.

That man had had it pretty rough.

Bai Liu thought for a moment, then nodded, agreeing to go with Sixth Brother to check on that unlucky guy.

The two brothers talked about whatever came to mind. Unconsciously, the topic turned to transformation.

Bai Liu had never brought it up, but in truth, Lili’s transformation had always been a tightly wound string in his heart.

He had never stopped worrying—not for a moment. But for something like this, even if he was hailed as a genius in the human world, he still couldn’t help his precious little brother transform.

“Lili.”

Bai Liu’s throat tightened. Gripping the steering wheel, he still gave his brother a little explanation about the matter of transformation."If one day you feel your body constantly heating up, becoming drowsy, and showing all sorts of abnormal reactions, it either means you're sick, or you might be about to transform."

"The first transformation is crucial. If you're able to transform the first time, then you'll continue to be able to transform in the future. The frequency won't be consistent at first, but it'll stabilize later on."

"Also, if..."

The more Bai Liu spoke, the more it felt like needles were stabbing into his heart, but he still kept going—

"If you start showing signs of transforming, you must tell your brother immediately."

"At the early stage of transformation, things are really unstable. There can be a lot of negative effects—like temporary memory loss, your bodily functions might not adjust properly, temporary blindness, deafness, loss of speech. There have been cases of all of these on Demon Beast Mountain."

That's why all cats who want to leave the mountain must wait until their transformation stabilizes before they can come down.

It’s because feline transformations are finicky and troublesome, and come with a bunch of side effects. On the mountain, they have family to take care of them. Once they're off the mountain, there's real risk if they transform again.

For someone like Bai Li, who was sent down the mountain before transforming—well, that was a last resort.

Bai Liu's explanation went on for quite a while.

Bai Li tried his best to keep listening, but gradually, his eyelids started to fight to stay open.