Bai Xuan’s enrollment procedures went unexpectedly smoothly.
A few days later, a brand-new household register and relevant school documents were delivered by Lin You.
Bai Xuan’s identity information was complete and arranged perfectly.
On the morning school started, a special atmosphere filled Baizhou Hall.
Bai Jimu was more excited than the boy himself.
He circled Bai Xuan, who had changed into a brand-new uniform, chattering nonstop. “Little Xuan, did you check your schoolbag? Are there enough pencils? Is the water bottle full? Don’t be afraid at school. If anyone bullies you, tell me, and Brother Mumu will go teach them a lesson!”
The invisible tail behind him seemed to be wagging at high speed again.
Bai Xuan gripped the straps of his schoolbag tightly.
His small face was tense, a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
He stammered in response, “I-I know, Brother Mumu. I-I’ll be good.”
Ming Shu remained in her orange cat form, lying lazily on the rattan chair by the window.
Her amber eyes swept over the busy scene with a hint of amusement.
She flicked her tail but didn’t speak.
Bai Yanzhou was very calm. He simply adjusted Bai Xuan’s slightly crooked collar carefully and tucked a folded piece of paper into the side pocket of his schoolbag. “This is the clinic’s address and my phone number. Keep it safe. Come straight back after school. Don’t run around.”
“Mmhmm!” Bai Xuan nodded vigorously.
Feeling this detailed care, much of the nervousness in his heart dissipated.
In the end, Bai Yanzhou personally took Bai Xuan to school.
Bai Jimu clung to the doorframe, watching them walk away with puppy-dog eyes until they disappeared. He came back looking dejected, sighing, “It feels so quiet without Little Xuan…”
Ming Shu finally spoke, her voice lazy. “He’s just going to school. He’ll be back in the evening.”
She seemed to think the dog demon’s reaction was overly dramatic.
After dropping Bai Xuan off at the school gate and watching the small figure in the uniform look back three times with every step before blending into the other children and disappearing into the school building, Bai Yanzhou turned to leave.
There was no expression on his face, but deep in his eyes, there was a trace of softness so faint even he didn’t notice it, and a… subtle feeling, like watching his fledgling leave the nest for the first time.
When he returned to the clinic, the sunlight was just right.
Bai Jimu was holding a rag, absent-mindedly wiping the counter.
Ming Shu had dug out a yellowed medical book from somewhere and was sitting in her old spot by the window, seemingly flipping through it casually.
The wind chime rang lightly as Bai Yanzhou pushed the door open.
“Bro! How is Little Xuan? Is the school good? Did he cry?” Bai Jimu immediately threw down the rag and rushed over.
“It’s fine. He’s already in the classroom,” Bai Yanzhou answered briefly. His gaze habitually swept around the clinic, finally landing on the counter.
Coal Ball was lying there, his golden pupils watching him quietly, as if he had been waiting for his return the whole time.
Bai Yanzhou walked over and, as usual, reached out to stroke Coal Ball’s sleek fur.
However, today, Coal Ball tilted his head slightly, avoiding his touch. He just stared at Bai Yanzhou unblinkingly with those deep cat eyes.
That look… wasn’t the usual laziness or coquettishness.
Instead, it held an indescribably complex emotion, like… scrutiny?
Or perhaps, a quiet gaze carrying a certain weight.
Bai Yanzhou’s hand froze in mid-air, then he withdrew it nonchalantly, letting it hang by his side.
This wasn’t the first time Coal Ball had shown such “human-like” behavior.
The looks he occasionally revealed, his subtle reactions to certain visitors, and now this avoidance laden with obvious emotion… all caused the vague suspicion in Bai Yanzhou’s heart to resurface.
Is this really just an ordinary cat with a bit of spiritual intelligence?
A thousand years of experience prevented him from jumping to conclusions.
He kept his composure, walked to the medicine cabinet, and began organizing herbs, instructing in a flat tone, “Little Bi, don’t slack off. Mop the floor. Ming Shu, keep an eye on the pot of calming tea on the stove, it’s almost done.”
“Got it, Bro!” Bai Jimu was immediately distracted and ran to get the mop.
Ming Shu responded, leaped lightly off the rattan chair, and cat-walked toward the small kitchen in the backyard.
As she passed the counter, she glanced at Coal Ball, who remained in the same posture, his eyes still following Bai Yanzhou’s back.
A trace of inquiry flashed in her amber eyes.
This black cat is indeed a bit unusual.
Bai Yanzhou had his back to the counter, but he could clearly feel that gaze, following him like a shadow.
His movements, grinding the herbs, remained steady, but his thoughts wavered slightly.
He remembered a certain someone from a thousand years ago who also liked to stare at him with such a deep gaze.
Xiao Duchuan.
That guy’s eyes were just like this—stubborn, intense, and carrying a defiance that refused to admit defeat.
It… couldn’t be, right?
Bai Yanzhou denied this absurd thought that flashed through his mind.
With Xiao Duchuan’s personality—proud and direct—if he had really found him, he wouldn’t use such a roundabout method.
He would probably have come directly to the door to demand answers, or… done something even more drastic.
Disguising himself as a harmless pet cat? That definitely wasn’t Xiao Duchuan’s style.
Moreover, he believed that the “death” he staged back then was flawless.
Xiao Duchuan might hate him or resent him, but in all likelihood, he thought Bai Yanzhou had long since turned to dust.
Probably… just a coincidence.
A thousand years ago, he was the Imperial Preceptor of the Great Zhao Dynasty, and the other was the unruly Crown Prince.
He wasn’t entirely unaware of Xiao Duchuan’s secret and persistent feelings for him, but at the time, their status difference was vast and the political situation complex, so he chose to ignore and evade them.
That carefully planned “death” was a strategy to escape, but also… a complete rejection and closure.
He believed time would smooth over everything.
Perhaps Xiao Duchuan now only thought of him as a pile of white bones.
Even the deepest feelings should be let go after a thousand years.
Perhaps this black cat just had some special karmic encounter, gained spiritual intelligence, and was more human-like than ordinary cats.
He poured the ground medicinal powder into a porcelain bottle and capped it.
The gaze behind him still hadn’t moved.
Bai Yanzhou frowned almost imperceptibly.
Even having denied the most impossible guess, the anomaly of this cat made it impossible for him to completely ignore it.
I’ll observe a bit longer. If there’s really something wrong with it, it will reveal itself sooner or later.
In the clinic, Bai Jimu hummed as he mopped the floor, and Ming Shu watched the medicine pot in the backyard.
Everything seemed to return to its usual rhythm.
Only between Bai Yanzhou and Coal Ball on the counter was there a subtle tension.
Coal Ball looked at Bai Yanzhou’s seemingly calm back.
Deep within his golden pupils, a complex emotion flitted by.
There was the bitterness of a thousand years of waiting, the torment of being so close yet unable to acknowledge each other, and a trace of… a secret, almost masochistic satisfaction upon seeing the other person become suspicious because of him.
At least, you can no longer completely ignore my existence, Bai Yanzhou.