In Jing Nian’s eyes, there wasn’t a single good person in this world, and aside from Little Rabbit, there wasn’t a single bad animal either.
Little Rabbit trembled from the roar, and only after snapping back to reality did he realize he had unconsciously drawn so many cards.
Jing Nian’s furious shout echoed in his ears, “Clean this up! And don’t waste the ones you’ve drawn! Keep them for yourself to use later!”
“Got it, got it…”
Little Rabbit didn’t dare argue and scurried off to clean up.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
Little Rabbit paused his task. He hadn’t ordered takeout, and it was too late for a delivery.
Jing Nian merely furrowed his brows slightly before walking over to open the door. It was the landlord.
Shi Yi leaned against the doorframe, striking what he thought was a cool pose for Jing Nian standing inside. The smirk on his face mirrored the expression of the “Rabbit Mona Lisa” painting outside.
“Nian Nian, we meet again,” Shi Yi said with a raised eyebrow.
Jing Nian’s face instantly fell, clearly displeased. “Oh.”
His entrance seemed to have been taught by the same master as Qiu Huai’s.
Hearing the familiar voice, Little Rabbit didn’t bother hiding his identity and hopped over to the back of the door in a few quick bounds.
There stood a folding chair that Jing Nian had recently bought and hadn’t yet put away. Wedged behind the door, it provided the perfect support for Shi Yi’s pose.
Without a word, Little Rabbit jumped onto it and, with a click, folded the chair shut.
The door immediately swung backward, and Shi Yi, suddenly losing his support, let out a yelp as he stumbled forward.
Jing Nian made no move to catch him. Instead, he thoughtfully stepped aside, offering Shi Yi the perfect opportunity for an intimate encounter with the floor.
Getting close to the earth is good for your health.
Little Rabbit rolled on the floor laughing.
“Hahahaha, serves you right! All you know how to do is show off!”
Rubbing his reddened forehead, Shi Yi glared at the little kiwi-like creature. “You stupid rabbit again! Just you wait!”
“Little Rabbit isn’t stupid!” Little Rabbit stuck out his tongue at him. “You’re the stupid one!”
This clearly wasn’t the first time Little Rabbit had played a trick on him. Similar scenes had played out many times before.
Shi Yi scrambled to his feet, trying to catch the little kiwi bouncing around the floor. But just then, a soft, puppy-like bark sounded from behind him, and a small, snowball-like Pomeranian stepped on his head and leaped into the room.
The puppy wagged its tail enthusiastically at Jing Nian, its eyes dark and bright like two round grapes. “Woof!”
The canine way of making friends wasn’t exactly friendly to Jing Nian, a feline at heart.
But Snowball the puppy had cuteness on its side.
Jing Nian didn’t like big dogs and was even a little afraid of them. As a child, he’d been chased by a big wolfhound, and Gu Yehan hadn’t helped him—instead, he’d laughed at him, leaving a psychological scar on young Jing Nian.
This little Snowball, only slightly bigger than Little Rabbit, posed no threat at all.
The puppy rubbed against Jing Nian’s pant leg while, on the other side, Little Rabbit and Shi Yi were already chasing each other around.
The winner was Little Rabbit, who tripped Shi Yi again with a packaging bag.
“You don’t seem very smart for a celestial master.”
Shi Yi gritted his teeth in frustration, picking up the packaging bag from the floor. When he saw the logo of a luxury brand printed on it, his eyes widened in shock.
He looked at Jing Nian with a pained expression.
“Nian Nian! You really do have a boyfriend! No wonder I saw you getting out of a Rolls-Royce tonight! You never accepted gifts from me before!”
“He’s not my boyfriend, just…”
Jing Nian paused, unable to find a suitable word to define his relationship with Jiang Jue after a long while.
But in Shi Yi’s eyes, his hesitant and evasive demeanor seemed like he was deliberately hiding something.
Moreover, Jing Nian’s boyfriend appeared to be very wealthy. Shi Yi considered himself no less capable. He had tried pursuing Jing Nian before, but recalling the atmosphere, it was even colder than the freezer at home.
All because he wasn’t Jing Nian’s type—lacking eight-pack abs and the arm strength to lift Jing Nian effortlessly.
On the contrary? Jing Nian was strong enough to often swing him around like a sledgehammer.
Before this, Jing Nian had always likened his relationship with Jiang Jue to that of a wealthy patron visiting a song house and tipping performers—he was the one with the money.
But given the current situation, that clearly wasn’t the case anymore. He was no longer the young master of a wealthy family; instead, Jiang Jue seemed more like his patron.
If Gu Yehan were here, Jiang Jue’s presence would be like 1+2.
No, no, no…
They weren’t together yet, so it couldn’t be considered 1+2.
“More like a suitor?” Jing Nian looked at Shi Yi and posed a question.
Shi Yi fell silent, tears welling up in his eyes.
He was a suitor too, so why was the treatment so drastically different?
Jing Nian grew impatient. “Hold back those tears. What exactly brings you here so late?”
Shi Yi stopped crying instantly, switching to an ingratiating expression. “Nothing major…”
He watched Jing Nian’s expression carefully as he spoke cautiously. “My family wants me to go back for a while. I was thinking of leaving Tuan Tuan with you for a few days. Do you think…”
Tuan Tuan was the little Pomeranian that had just been pawing at Jing Nian’s pants.
“How many days?”
“…Thirty days.”
Seeing Jing Nian’s expression, which suggested he might lash out at any moment, Shi Yi quickly offered compensation. “I’ll waive your rent for a year!”
“Up until now, you’ve already waived twenty-three years of rent for me,” Jing Nian said, exasperated. “Why not just give me the house?”
Shi Yi waved his hands frantically. “No, no, if my brother finds out I sold this house, he’d kill me.”
Their family had been exorcists for generations, specializing in dealing with ghosts and supernatural beings. But Shi Yi had extremely poor talent and shallow cultivation, so the elders used this house, haunted by fierce ghosts, as a test for him.
Of course, Shi Yi had no way to deal with these vicious ghosts. He could only live in another apartment across the street, watching helplessly from afar while growing increasingly anxious.
Just when he was at his wit’s end, he met Jing Nian.
This fierce, cold-faced little cat didn’t seem particularly powerful, yet not only did he help Shi Yi subdue the evil spirits, but he was also an incredibly influential connection in the underworld.
With such a powerful backer, Shi Yi’s career as an exorcist had been smooth sailing ever since. Even the elders praised him, saying he had finally awakened to his potential and had an immeasurable future ahead.
Now, this house had become a symbol of his honor. Selling it was out of the question. He only told others that he had rented it out cheaply to a tenant with a particularly strong fate.
Seeing Shi Yi about to plead with him again, Jing Nian quickly shooed him away. “Fine, leave the dog. Now get lost.”
After Shi Yi left, Xiao Tu resignedly cleaned up the even messier pile of tissues on the floor. Just as he folded the tissues and prepared to stuff them back into the bag, Jing Nian snatched it away.
“The clean ones are for me, the dirty ones are for you.”
Little Rabbit held a pile of crumpled tissues miserably. “How can such cold, heartless words come from a mouth that’s thirty-six degrees!”
Jing Nian patted Little Rabbit’s head. “My body temperature stays at thirty-four degrees all year round.”
Just as Little Rabbit was about to throw his head back and wail, something even more devastating happened.
Tuan Tuan brought a small ball toy and, while playing, rolled it right to Little Rabbit’s feet. Driven by a dog’s instinct to chase, Tuan Tuan immediately dashed over.
Unsurprisingly, he knocked Little Rabbit over, sending the stack of tissues that had just been gathered flying everywhere again.
Little Rabbit immediately roared, “My tissues—!!”
Furious, he leaped onto Tuan Tuan’s back, clutching the snow-white fur with his tiny paws, and shouted, “Bad dog! Pick up my tissues right now! Pick them up!!”
Instantly, the living room was filled with the dog’s barks, Little Rabbit’s angry yells, and tissues fluttering everywhere like snow.
Jing Nian covered his eyes and pretended to be deaf—out of sight, out of mind—then turned and walked into the bedroom.
Only the winner deserved to stay in his house as a pet.
Before going to bed, Jing Nian glanced at his phone. Jiang Jue had sent him a message.
[Get some rest early. Good night.]
He opened it, left it unanswered, and set it aside.
Back when Shi Yi was pursuing him, he’d also been this attentive, though his methods weren’t particularly sophisticated—more like a child’s playful antics, nowhere near as comfortable, natural, and effortless as Jiang Jue’s approach.
However, after Shi Yi witnessed him twist off a malevolent ghost’s head with his bare hands, he never dared to act on impulse again. In fact, he even risked getting beaten up by his own older brother to beg Jing Nian to take him as a disciple.