Wen Xin never expected Xiao Hei to suddenly throw a tantrum.
Even when angry, the normally cool and composed furball always paid attention to his image in front of the young man.
But with just one step forward and a stretch of his paw, he sent the green furball flying!
Watching Linshu Kui crash heavily into the bushes, Wen Xin was completely taken aback and exclaimed in shock, “Xiao Hei?”
Xiao Hei didn’t look back. His tail hooked around Wen Xin’s finger, and with an indifferent expression, he pulled him in the direction of home.
But Wen Xin couldn’t pretend nothing had happened.
Xiao Hei had inexplicably attacked someone else and had used considerable force. He said sternly, “Xiao Hei, what are you doing? Stop right there.”
Xiao Hei halted.
It wasn’t that he wanted to stop; it was because Wen Xin had pulled him back, hooking him under the base of his tail and picking him up.
Turning around, Wen Xin saw the green furball crawling out of the bushes. Although it looked quite disheveled, it didn’t seem to be injured.
He couldn’t help but breathe a slight sigh of relief.
By now, Wen Xin realized he had misunderstood again.
Not only did these two furballs not have any special feelings for each other, but the way they fought made it seem like they had a grudge!
Linshu Kui saw Wen Xin approaching and instinctively wanted to get up, but then he met Xiao Hei’s gaze—fierce and cold.
That gaze was nothing less than a warning to Linshu Kui: if he dared to step over the line, Xiao Hei would immediately take action.
Linshu Kui hesitated, then chickened out, thinking that discretion was the better part of valor, and turned to run off without a trace.
Seeing the green furball run away without looking back, Wen Xin came to his senses and slowly exhaled.
He frowned and looked into Xiao Hei’s eyes. “Xiao Hei, I want to know why.”
When he had driven away Linshu Kui, Wen Xin’s reaction had been intense; Xiao Hei was already prepared for the young man to fly into a rage.
But unexpectedly, there was no aggressive questioning or harsh scolding; the other still spoke gently, willing to listen to his explanation.
As if a gentle breeze brushed by, the boiling irritability in Xiao Hei’s heart was immediately soothed.
After a moment of silence, he lifted his paw pad, patted Wen Xin, and then pointed in the direction Linshu Kui had left, making several gestures that the other could understand.
—He is very dangerous.
—You must not get close to him.
*
After that day, Wen Xin still often saw Linshu Kui’s figure in the garden.
Sometimes in the trees, sometimes in the bushes, or in unpopulated corners of the paths.
The other obviously had excellent camouflage skills; after all, none of the other residents in the community had discovered him.
Remembering Xiao Hei’s warning, Wen Xin kept his distance from Linshu Kui each time, standing about a meter away, offering the furball a polite smile and saying a helpless apology.
He thought that with such obvious rejection, the green furball would soon give up trying to get close to him.
Who knew that the other seemed to be competing with him.
The more he avoided and distanced himself, the more the green furball pressed on.
He even risked exposure by cheerfully following Wen Xin all the way outside the community.
Wen Xin was quite troubled, having to avoid other people to prevent the green furball from being discovered.
“You’re a good cat,” he patiently persuaded. “But I already have a cat at home; you saw how angry he was that day. If I bring another cat home, he’ll get jealous and throw a tantrum.”
The green furball wouldn’t listen: “Meow.”
That’s your home; he listens to you. If you agree, that’s enough.
“Meow~”
If you think I’ll take up space, I can curl up tightly~
Wen Xin couldn’t understand him, and they hadn’t developed a mutual understanding yet.
Seeing that the green furball was still stubborn, he couldn’t help but sigh.
This sigh affected Linshu Kui; he suddenly stopped, and the corners of his mouth that had been perked up with interest flattened into a cold straight line.
Wen Xin walked a few steps ahead and, not hearing any movement behind him, instinctively looked back.
The green furball was squatting in the setting sun, half of his body swallowed by shadows, his expression confused and aggrieved.
At the moment Wen Xin looked over, the aggrieved expression instantly vanished. He stiffened his neck and raised his chin high, looking as if he wouldn’t be defeated or show weakness.
*
On Friday evening, Wen Xin got off work as usual.
By then, it was already quite late. As he walked past an intersection, he suddenly noticed a figure behind him following, and his heart tightened.
The security in this neighborhood wasn’t bad; entering the community required facial recognition or an access card, and security guards had regular patrol routes.
But if a criminal snuck in, no one would notice for a while.
Thinking this, Wen Xin tentatively quickened his pace, and the figure behind him started jogging to keep up.
Sure enough, he was being followed!
The figure was burly; it wasn’t hard to tell it was an adult male. Out of the corner of his eye, Wen Xin glimpsed a flash of cold light at the man’s sleeve, as if he was holding a knife.
Instantly, his heart pounded like a drum; he couldn’t care about anything else and started running.
“Stop right there!” the man growled in a low voice as he pursued.
Only a fool would stand still and wait to be caught.
Wen Xin mustered all his strength and ran toward the security booth.
But the man was obviously trained; seeing he couldn’t catch up, he angrily threw the knife.
The sharp blade aimed at his back; Wen Xin sensed something and turned his head.
The next second, he heard the clash of hard objects, and the man’s scream followed: “Damn it, what the hell is this thing? Let go! Ah—!”
Linshu Kui was pressing down on the man’s chest; though the man’s body was strong, it was light as a feather for the green furball.
His seemingly soft tail coiled around the man’s wrist, tightening continuously, directly causing bruises; bones creaked audibly.
Facing the man’s utterly terrified gaze, Linshu Kui slowly lowered his head, revealing sharp fangs with a drop of venom hanging from them, his eyes so sinister they seemed ready to devour someone.
“Roar?”
You dare to lay a hand on him?
The man’s screams echoed through the night, causing quite a commotion.
“Hey! Who’s over there? What’s going on?”
Footsteps approached from the direction of the security booth. Wen Xin didn’t have time to think, quickly running over to pick up the green furball.
His hand naturally brushed against the furball’s chest, feeling a bit of wetness.
It was blood.
At the same time, Wen Xin saw the fruit knife drop to the ground; his pupils contracted.
Linshu Kui had scales to protect him; the fruit knife at most had cut his skin, which would heal shortly.
He obediently curled up in Wen Xin’s arms, no longer fierce as before, raising his head to nuzzle the young man’s chin, as if seeking credit.
—See, I’m useful, right? Keeping me isn’t a loss.
Wen Xin looked down at him, fingers trembling.
After a silence that lasted less than a second, he suddenly curved his eyes in a smile.
“Good boy.” He patted the green furball’s little head. “Go hide over there for now.”
A noble mutant would never follow human commands.
However, since the other was willing to pet him again, Linshu Kui was quite satisfied. With a whoosh, he dashed into the woods, stretching his neck, happily watching to see what Wen Xin would do.
The man was in so much pain he was about to faint and didn’t have the energy to pay attention to what had just happened.
Wen Xin walked over without even looking at him, wrapped his sleeve around his hand, picked up the fruit knife from the ground, and quickly made a cut on his own palm.
Then he grabbed the man’s injured wrist, using all his strength to leave his own fingerprints, covering the bruises from Linshu Kui’s coiling.
The security guards arrived shortly after; they heard a clang as the fruit knife fell to the ground.
“Hiss…”
Wen Xin cried out in pain, releasing the man’s hand; his exposed palm was bleeding profusely.
The security guards looked at his wound and immediately gasped.
