“Yes.”
The butler lowered his eyes as he replied,
“I reviewed all surveillance footage within a five-kilometer radius of the Lin residence and found no sign of the cub you mentioned.”
“Could you have missed something?”
Lin Ye found it hard to believe.
The lingering warmth inside his mental sea proved that the little cub had truly existed.
Butler Lin shook his head.
“No.”
“I have reviewed the footage five times. I am certain no cub appeared.”
“Not only that, but during the past three days, aside from members of the Rodriguez family, no one else has come to the Lin residence.”
“The Rodriguez family?”
Lin Ye narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
“Could they have hidden the cub?”
The possibility was extremely low, but not impossible.
After all, underhanded tricks were the Rodriguez family’s specialty.
Secretly hiding a cub wasn’t beyond them.
However, Butler Lin felt something was off.
What would be the point of doing that?
In truth, he had a theory.
Besides entering another person’s mental sea due to being too close and accidentally being affected by mental fluctuations, there was another possibility.
People who shared an intimate bond could enter each other’s mental seas.
This type of close relationship included family members and lovers.
Blood-related relatives could freely enter and leave another person’s mental sea with the owner’s permission.
But when he thought about it, that seemed impossible.
The Family Head and the young masters would never do such a thing.
The youngest young master certainly wouldn’t allow them into his mental sea.
Lin Ye was only eleven years old, so having a lover was out of the question.
There was one more possibility.
But Butler Lin instinctively refused to think about it.
The conclusion that possibility led to was far too unrealistic and fragile.
No member of the Lin family could withstand it.
If it turned out to be false, it would only add more suffering to a family already battered by hardship.
Meanwhile, Lin Ye was making plans.
Looks like I’ll have to pay Garcia a visit one of these days.
If those people really hid the little cub, then they shouldn’t blame him for what happens next.
Breaking a couple of legs wouldn’t be enough.
A malicious smile appeared in Lin Ye’s eyes.
Garcia had better watch himself.
…
“Is this real?”
“These photos were sent from S City.”
“Yes, they’re real.”
“The people in S City were shocked when they received them.”
“A cub actually appeared there, and judging by her appearance, she looks like she was only born recently.”
“S City?”
“Isn’t that right next to the slums?”
“How could someone abandon a cub there?”
“She looks so adorable, just a tiny little thing. How could anyone be heartless enough to abandon her?”
“Waaah! How can there be a cub that looks so much like an angel? I just want to hug her until she cries.”
“What are you all talking about?”
A refined male voice came from behind them.
The group hurriedly turned around.
Since his younger brother had asked for help, Jing Yi intended to handle it quickly.
Otherwise, once that little tyrant became impatient, he would be difficult to deal with.
Coincidentally, Jing Yi already had business with Zhou Tang, so he stopped by.
When he overheard the staff discussing a cub, he casually asked about it.
The elegant man smiled gently at them.
“Don’t be nervous. I was just asking.”
The female employee who met his gaze immediately felt her breathing quicken.
Someone save her.
Chairman Jing was just too gentle.
“Chairman, we’re looking at photos of a cub.”
She handed over the pictures.
“How can there be such horrible people? They actually abandoned a cub.”
Jing Yi accepted the photos.
The cub in the picture wore a flower crown, making her face difficult to see.
The photos Ge Sang had sent were candid shots of Lin Suisui playing with Hei Yun.
Even so, anyone could feel the happiness radiating from the cub in the picture.
If the background were ignored, it would have been a heartwarming photograph capable of bringing joy to tens of thousands of people.
But paired with the scenery behind her, the cub’s smile only made people’s hearts ache.
The sky was gray-yellow.
The buildings were dilapidated.
The surroundings were scenes that could only be found in the slums.
A sweetly smiling cub suffering in the slums was enough information to make even the most hot-tempered beastman smash an entire building.
The female employee continued angrily,
“The little cub is so pitiful.”
“She must have suffered so much.”
“The conditions in the slums are terrible.”
Jing Yi found himself unable to speak.
The moment he saw the photo, something deep inside him was struck violently.
The cub’s smile made him feel happy.
The possibility that she was living in the slums made his heart feel as though it were being pierced by needles.
“Who sent these photos?”
He urgently wanted to know more about the cub.
The employee shook her head.
“We couldn’t trace the exact source.”
“The sender used signal interference.”
“All we know is that it came from somewhere in S City.”
“Director Zhou has already sent people to investigate.”
Speak of the devil, and he appears.
The female employee waved toward someone behind them.
“Director Zhou! Have you found the cub’s exact location yet?”
Jing Yi turned around.
A man dressed in red was approaching.
Seeing Jing Yi there, Zhou Tang looked surprised.
“You got the news this quickly?”
“I hadn’t even figured out how to tell you yet.”
Jing Yi froze.
His breathing slowed.
“What?”
Zhou Tang looked puzzled.
“You didn’t come here because of news about your sister?”
“My sister?”
The air around him seemed to tighten.
Sweat appeared in Jing Yi’s palms.
Every drop of blood in his body trembled.
A thought he had never dared entertain appeared in his mind because of Zhou Tang’s words.
Jing Yi’s expression was so strange that Zhou Tang immediately gestured toward his office.
“Let’s talk inside first.”
The two men walked away.
The female employee blinked in confusion.
“Did something happen to Third Miss? I haven’t heard anything from the military.”
“I don’t think it’s Third Miss.”
Another employee shook her head.
“Then what other sister could there be in the council?”
“Doesn’t the Lin family only have one daughter?”
“No idea.”
The female employee shrugged.
“But Chairman Jing is really gentle.”
“At the council chamber he’s decisive and commanding, but in private he’s approachable.”
“The contrast is amazing.”
“I heard his beast form is a red rose.”
“That makes him even more attractive!”
…
“What did you want to tell me?”
The moment they entered the office, Jing Yi’s calm facade completely shattered.
The mental energy leaking into the air revealed just how turbulent his emotions were.
Zhou Tang sucked in a breath and instinctively backed away.
“If you didn’t come because of your sister, then why are you here?”
“You have news about my little sister?!”
The man clenched the photographs tightly.
The composure he always showed others vanished the instant he heard those words.
Zhou Tang raised both hands.
“First, calm your mental power.”
“Don’t blow up my office.”
“Talk.”
The enchanting eyes that usually charmed people were now filled with chilling coldness.
Zhou Tang rolled his eyes.
Everyone should see the true face of their beloved Chairman.
The dazzling and charming red rose?
More like a man-eating flower that could poison people to death.
A normal person in the Lin family?
What a joke.
Jing Yi’s patience was nearing its limit.
Afraid the man might stab him through the throat if he delayed any longer, Zhou Tang hurriedly spoke.
“The cub in the photo you’re holding might be your sister.”
The photo in his hand?
Jing Yi lowered his head in disbelief.
The cub’s happy expression and the heartbreaking environment behind her stabbed at his heart.
While Jing Yi still retained some rationality, Zhou Tang quickly handed over several more photos.
“These were sent together with the first one.”
“Isn’t that your sister’s eggshell?”
In the photograph, the obedient little cub was sleeping peacefully inside an eggshell.
Suddenly, Jing Yi became afraid.
His trembling fingers brushed over the cub’s face.
With a single glance, he recognized it.
That was his little sister’s egg.
Even after nine years, he could still recognize it.
He had personally polished that eggshell 2,389 times.
The slightly thinner section visible in the photo was the exact spot he had rubbed so frequently that it had worn smooth.
His heart pounded like a war drum.
It felt as though it would burst from his chest.
Excitedly, he grabbed Zhou Tang.
“Where is she?!”
Seeing Jing Yi’s reaction, Zhou Tang knew the matter was almost certainly confirmed.
Still, he hesitated.
“When I tell you, stay calm.”
“Tell me!”
Jing Yi urged.
Zhou Tang replied:
“The western slums of S City.”
The moment he finished speaking, Zhou Tang immediately covered his head.
Boom!
A vase on the desk exploded.
Zhou Tang winced in pain.
That had been his favorite vase.
The slums.
His little sister was actually living in such a terrible place.
She looked so small.
She had only hatched a few days ago.
Had anyone bullied her?
Had she cried helplessly when no one was there to help her?
The thought of the cub hatching alone where he couldn’t see her—and possibly suffering through countless hardships—made Jing Yi’s chest ache so much he could barely breathe.
He couldn’t stay another second.
He had to bring his little sister home.
Without looking back, the man rushed out of the office.
Zhou Tang stood up and shouted after him:
“Oh, right!”
“I already sent a copy of those photos to the Lin family as well!”