Le Zhuo was extremely guilty, so guilty that he kept scratching the carpet with his claws.
Bai Jiao only glanced at him, his reaction completely unlike the warmth he usually showed toward mental bodies.
Le Zhuo tilted his head in confusion. Seeing that Bai Jiao had no intention of coming over to pet him and instead walked toward the door, he immediately deflated.
What exactly was wrong?!
Le Zhuo racked his brain but still could not figure it out.
Bai Jiao opened the door and the two “illegitimate children” standing outside both looked over at the same time.
It had to be said that Bai Father and Bai Mother had a remarkably consistent naming sense when it came to these so called illegitimate children, their names sounded like they all belonged to the same family.
“I’ve remembered you both. You can leave now.”
Bai Jiao merely swept them a cold glance and issued a direct order to leave without any politeness.
The two of them panicked immediately.
“Brother Jiao, Mom… my godmother asked me to come see you and bring you something.” Lan Tingxue stepped forward, holding two large boxes of expensive supplements.
“Uncle also told me to bring something. He said you must accept it.” Bai Xiu Zhu refused to be outdone.
“At the academy, you should address me as Lieutenant General,” Bai Jiao said flatly, not even looking at the so called gifts. “I will not accept anything. Take them back. Just report in on time tomorrow.”
His attitude was extremely clear.
Do not try to build connections, keep it strictly professional.
“This…”
Bai Jiao directly shut the door.
His behavior was perfectly reasonable. Very few people would be happy to deal with their parents’ illegitimate children, even if he himself was not the original Bai Jiao.
After turning around, Le Zhuo was still scratching at the carpet.
Bai Jiao ignored him and went straight to take a shower.
When he came back, Le Zhuo was still scratching and the brand new white plush carpet was already looking as if it had been turned into a mop.
Bai Jiao lay down on the beanbag chair and started shopping online. Only then did Le Zhuo slowly shuffle over, cautiously rubbing against his leg.
Bai Jiao patted his head once. The soft, furry texture made him want to keep petting, though he restrained himself.
Le Zhuo seemed to take this as encouragement and began enthusiastically rubbing against Bai Jiao’s legs. Bai Jiao continued stroking him, which only made him even more energetic.
“A’Yue, what is your true form doing?”
Bai Jiao asked casually, pretending not to notice anything.
Le Zhuo froze mid rub and immediately began scratching at the carpet again in guilt.
“Stop scratching. You’ve ruined the carpet.” Bai Jiao patted the side of the beanbag. “Come up.”
Le Zhuo glanced nervously at the slightly wobbling beanbag chair, worried that he might crush it.
He cautiously lifted a paw and slowly shifted his weight onto it.
Fortunately, the beanbag was sturdy and showed no signs of collapsing.
Le Zhuo quietly rested his chin on Bai Jiao’s leg while Bai Jiao’s hand moved over his fur in a steady, soothing motion.
“Good baby.” Bai Jiao naturally praised him.
“Awuuu…” Le Zhuo sounded displeased with such a childlike form of praise but his body honestly pressed further into Bai Jiao’s abdomen.
Bai Jiao smells so good. So nice. So warm. So comfortable. His voice is also nice. So gentle.
Le Zhuo was completely immersed in Bai Jiao’s embrace, almost to the point where he wanted to lick his hand but he remembered the barbs on his tongue and tightly closed his mouth.
“You’re much more obedient than your true form. Your true form loves to go against me.”
“Awuuu…” Guilty.
“I’ll buy you a large scratching board,” Bai Jiao said, pinching his paw and inspecting it. “And also a big nail clipper.”
Although he knew Le Zhuo would not scratch him, he was still curious how he would react to nail trimming.
It was said that most feline type beasts disliked having their claws cut.
As he spoke, Bai Jiao also began ordering other items, large climbing frames, brushes, feather toys, teasing wands…
As for why he even ordered a teasing wand, it was purely out of curiosity.
“Baby, what color do you like?” Bai Jiao tilted his light screen, showing a blue interface in front of Le Zhuo.
Le Zhuo had already adapted to being called “baby” and shyly covered his eyes.
He pointed toward the beanbag chair, indicating he liked white. Bai Jiao immediately changed all the items to white without hesitation.
Le Zhuo glanced at what had been purchased.
“……”
Was he being raised like a pet cat?
“Awuuu!” Le Zhuo protested.
“Good that you like it.” Bai Jiao lowered his long lashes, hiding the faint smile in his eyes as he deliberately misinterpreted him.
Le Zhuo: “……”
He was very annoyed now!
He decided to rub against Bai Jiao more to comfort his wounded heart.
“Baby, you’re much cuter than your owner,” Bai Jiao stretched lazily. “Sleep with me tonight too.”
As soon as those words fell, if not for his fur covering him, Le Zhuo would have been completely exposed, his entire body would surely have turned bright red.
“What, you don’t want to?” Bai Jiao said faintly. “That time, you were the one who voluntarily exposed your belly and invited me to sleep with you. Why are you acting so differently today?”
“Awuuu…”
In order not to reveal anything, Le Zhuo shamefully exposed his soft looking belly.
“Go to the bed first.” Bai Jiao patted him lightly, then stood up and walked toward the bedroom.
Le Zhuo truly seemed like a little fool, he couldn’t even act properly as his own mental body.
Looking reluctant, he slowly followed behind Bai Jiao. Only after getting onto the bed and imitating his mental body by exposing his belly for Bai Jiao to bury himself in did he finally lose control and reveal his true nature.
His tail curled around Bai Jiao’s arm as he whined softly, acting spoiled, urging Bai Jiao to pet him a little more.
Bai Jiao obliged, stroking him a few times before pulling the blanket over them. “Why aren’t you twisting around like you did last time?”
“……” Le Zhuo felt like he had been rendered speechless far too many times today but he still stiffly began to twist his body.
The corner of Bai Jiao’s lips lifted slightly. Using his terminal, he turned off the lights, letting the faint smile on his face melt into the darkness.
A little silly but truly adorable.
Le Zhuo could, in fact, grow bigger.
Right now, he very much wanted to transform into a huge leopard, one big enough for Bai Jiao to lie on his belly and sleep but he didn’t want to frighten Bai Jiao, so he could only give up the idea.
Besides, if he really did grow that large, Bai Jiao’s bed might collapse under the weight.
He had already ruined Bai Jiao’s carpet, he couldn’t very well destroy the bed too.
Bai Jiao had taken a nap earlier that afternoon and had only been awake for a short while; there was no way he could fall asleep now.
He grabbed Le Zhuo’s tail and played with it. The tail swayed left and right, frantically trying to escape yet completely in vain, firmly trapped in Bai Jiao’s grasp.
“Aowu…”
Le Zhuo voiced his protest.
The protest was ineffective.
He drooped his head weakly and rubbed himself back and forth against Bai Jiao’s chest.
“Stop acting spoiled. It’s time to sleep.” Bai Jiao pushed his head away.
Le Zhuo froze for a moment, thinking to himself, how is this acting spoiled? This is clearly resistance!
Sure enough, he stopped rubbing, turning into a block of wood, quiet and still as a chicken.
“Last time when I pushed you away, you came right back on your own. Why aren’t you coming closer now? Could it be…”
Before Bai Jiao could finish questioning him, Le Zhuo immediately moved back and started rubbing against him again.
Le Zhuo thought he was cleverly covering his tracks.
Damn it! Has my spirit form really become this spineless? I’ll have to teach it a lesson when I get back.
……….
When Bai Jiao woke up the next day, Le Zhuo had already slipped away quietly.
The large bed was left with only him.
Still, Le Zhuo had been considerate enough, before leaving, he had adjusted Bai Jiao’s sleeping position.
After washing up, Bai Jiao changed into a crisp military uniform, one unique to guides. The silver white fabric accentuated his pale, snow like skin, while his silver hair lent him an air of mystery and elegance. The tailored cut outlined his perfect figure, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, making him look more like a powerful sentinel than the soft, delicate image of guides in traditional memory.
And precisely because of this, Bai Jiao was exceptionally popular.
The moment he stepped outside, nearby sentinels turned their heads one after another, with quite a few approaching him to strike up a conversation.
Those living in this area were all of the same rank as him or higher.
This alone spoke volumes about Bai Jiao’s popularity.
“Major General! We brought you breakfast!”
From afar, his subordinates came running toward him excitedly.
“Eat, eat! You might get so angry training the new recruits later that you’ll lose it, better fill up first so you have the energy to be mad!”
The sentinels gathered around him, each looking at their Major General with sparkling eyes.
“I’ve already eaten. You all can have it.” Bai Jiao had trained recruits before and didn’t think he would be angered by them at all.
After all, he never let outsiders influence his emotions.
The sentinels watched his departing figure, then slowly turned to one another, exchanging puzzled looks.
“Is the Major General in a bad mood today?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. Ever since he got injured last time and woke up, he’s been like this.”
“It’s all our fault for not protecting the Major General properly, otherwise he wouldn’t have become like this, wuwuwuwu…”
“Stop crying! It’s not like there’s no chance for the Major General to recover his memory!”
“Then what should we do? Help him get his memory back?”
“Is it really necessary for him to recover it?”
“Why?”
“When the Major General was injured, it must have been terrifying and traumatic. Losing his memory might be his way of protecting himself. If we force him to recover it, wouldn’t that just make him relive the pain?”
“You’re right! I’d rather the Major General forget us than suffer again!”
“Good! In that case, let’s all work together to make sure the Major General doesn’t recover his memory!”
“Agreed!”
“What are you all standing around for? You’ll be training with the recruits today as well.” Bai Jiao’s voice came from afar yet it rang clearly in each of their ears.
“Yes, sir!” they replied in unison, unable to hide the shock in their eyes.
Their Major General’s mental power seemed to have increased!
…
There were twelve recruits under Bai Jiao’s command, among whom Lan Tingxue and Bai Xiuzhu stood out the most.
From the moment they arrived, they were at odds with each other, faintly giving off the impression of sworn rivals yet when they saw Bai Jiao, both wore ingratiating smiles.
Bai Jiao showed no mercy. “Form up. Ten laps around the training ground.”
After a full day of training, Bai Jiao remained clean and composed, while the sentinels were drenched in sweat, barely able to straighten their backs.
Once Bai Jiao dismissed them, he returned to his residence and, as expected, found that snow leopard waiting for him.
It was still Le Zhuo this time. The way he “played” his spirit form had clearly improved, he rushed forward and began rubbing against Bai Jiao like mad.
“I’m going to take a shower. Go wait for me in the bedroom.”
Bai Jiao patted his head.
Le Zhuo stiffened all over, letting out an “aowu” before continuing to rub against Bai Jiao’s pant leg.
He had been craving this touch the entire day!
Seeing him follow into the bathroom, Bai Jiao paused for a moment, then switched from preparing a shower to drawing a bath.
“You have to bathe before sleeping, baby. Don’t you think so?”
He crouched down, his cool gaze falling on Le Zhuo, gradually warming.
Le Zhuo nodded, not quite understanding.
“In that case, you need a bath too. We’ll wash together.”
“……” Le Zhuo stared in disbelief, head tilted upward, as if a giant question mark hovered above him.
“Good boy. Go in.”
Bai Jiao crouched and gently patted his paw.
“……” Le Zhuo refused.
Not to mention that spirit forms didn’t need baths, he wasn’t even a spirit form at all!
Bai Jiao stood up and began to undress, unfastening the buttons one by one. Le Zhuo grew so embarrassed he couldn’t bear to look, immediately turning to leave the room.
The door had already been pulled shut at some point and somehow it had been locked. Even tugging at the handle did nothing.
“If you don’t bathe, then you can’t sleep with me tonight,” Bai Jiao said, his clothes half undone as he walked over and placed a hand on the doorknob. “Are you sure you want to go out?”
For once, Le Zhuo hesitated. Then he nodded frantically.
“Go on, then.”
Bai Jiao opened the door and let him out.
Le Zhuo stepped forward, halfway across the threshold, when one paw froze midair. He turned his head back for a glance.
Bai Jiao’s collar was wide open now, with only the last button still fastened. Everything across his chest was exposed.
His delicate collarbones, the smooth, elegant lines of muscle, every feature was something Le Zhuo himself possessed yet somehow Bai Jiao’s looked far more beautiful, making him want to reach out and touch.
Right now, he was just a snow leopard.
What bad intentions could a snow leopard possibly have?
“……”
Le Zhuo withdrew his paw.
He lifted his head and let out a guilty little “aowu.”
“Get inside.” Bai Jiao shut the door again.
Le Zhuo glanced at the oversized bathtub, squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to dash straight in, only to slam headfirst into the side of the tub. “Aowu!” It hurt!
“Why are you just as foolish as your main body?” Bai Jiao stepped over to check his head, parting the fur to see that it was completely unharmed before gently rubbing it.
“Aowu!” Le Zhuo protested.
Then it occurred to him, he was supposed to be acting like a silly little fool. If Bai Jiao called him stupid, wasn’t that praise for how well he was playing the role?
Thinking this, Le Zhuo suddenly felt pleased. He leapt swiftly into the bathtub, splashing water all over Bai Jiao, looking rather proud of himself.
Bai Jiao didn’t argue with him and continued undressing. This time, Le Zhuo felt too embarrassed to look, turning his back and presenting Bai Jiao with nothing but his rear.
“……” So silly.
Bai Jiao stepped into the tub and leaned directly against Le Zhuo.
After a long, busy day, he was already a little drowsy. Soaking in the warm water made him want nothing more than to fall asleep right there.
With his thick coat of fur, Le Zhuo couldn’t feel much anyway. He quietly turned his head to glance back. Seeing Bai Jiao with his eyes closed, he lay down, adjusting himself into a comfortable position to serve as a cushion.
“Can you use human body wash?”
Bai Jiao picked up a bottle of body wash from the side and examined its ingredients.
“Aowu.” Yes.
Whether as a spirit form or as himself, none of these things would harm him.
Bai Jiao sat up. “Then come here. I’ll apply it for you.”
“Aowu?” Le Zhuo grew shy.
If he moved to the front, wouldn’t he see everything?
He wanted to run again but then he remembered he was currently a leopard. Gritting his teeth, he circled around to face him.
He would see everything!
But before he could even open his eyes to look, Bai Jiao smeared body wash all over his face.
“Wash properly. Your main body has probably never bathed you before,” Bai Jiao said. It was his first time bathing a “snow leopard,” and the experience felt quite novel. “I’ve heard many cats are afraid of water but you don’t seem afraid at all.”
Le Zhuo swished his tail.
Of course he wasn’t afraid. He was a leopard, no, he was a human.
Bai Jiao asked, “Good boy. After the bath, should I use a hairdryer for you or will you shake yourself dry?”
“……” Le Zhuo could technically turn human and dry himself off but that clearly wasn’t an option right now.
So he shook his fur.
“Mm. Lift your left paw.”
Bai Jiao extended his hand and Le Zhuo’s left paw immediately rested in it.
“Aowu?” Le Zhuo was puzzled.
Why was he being so obedient?
“This one’s clean.”
The moment Bai Jiao finished speaking, Le Zhuo instinctively lifted his right paw.
“……” There must be something wrong with Bai Jiao.
“So well behaved. Turn around, your back paws need washing too.”
Le Zhuo was actually spotless, not a speck of dirt on him but the process of bathing him seemed to amuse Bai Jiao.
Especially when he squeezed those soft, plump paw pads, it was impossible for him to stop.
Too adorable.
Bai Jiao had already lost count of how many times he had praised Le Zhuo in his mind.
After washing his paws, Bai Jiao began cleaning the rest of Le Zhuo’s body. Inevitably, he touched certain areas that Le Zhuo considered quite private.
“Aowu!” Le Zhuo instinctively tried to flee, only to realize that Bai Jiao’s grip was far too strong. There was no escape. He could only curl up pitifully, whining softly.
“Be good. It’ll be over soon,” Bai Jiao coaxed.
“Aowu, aowu, aowu!”
Le Zhuo was far too embarrassed. Even knowing he was currently a leopard didn’t help, at his core, he was still a human.
“Don’t make so much noise. If someone hears and comes over, they might think I’m abusing you.”
Le Zhuo felt that this wasn’t much different from abuse, it was making him wish he could disappear.
“Aowu…”
“Go rinse yourself.” Bai Jiao had already lathered him thoroughly from head to toe and gave his paw another squeeze.
The moment Le Zhuo realized he could move freely, he leapt out of the tub and rushed to rinse himself.
Bai Jiao didn’t bother with him and simply continued washing himself.
By the time they were both done, Le Zhuo, his mind completely muddled from the entire experience, finally realized that he hadn’t seen anything at all! Instead, Bai Jiao had seen everything and touched everything.
“Aowu!”
A hand smacked lightly against his head.
“Stop yelling. Shake off the water in the bathroom, then go to bed.”
“Aowu…” aggrieved.
Bai Jiao was so fierce!
Even though Le Zhuo grumbled about Bai Jiao in his heart, his actions betrayed him. After shaking his fur dry, he immediately climbed onto Bai Jiao’s bed.
Bai Jiao smelled wonderful, he loved sleeping with him!
Le Zhuo happily used his belly as a pillow for Bai Jiao, his tail once again curling around Bai Jiao’s arm, his entire being filled with dizzy contentment.
Bai Jiao closed his eyes. “Let me tell you a story.”
Le Zhuo’s ears perked right up. “Aowu?” Bai Jiao could tell stories too?
“Long, long ago, there was a snow leopard who cultivated into a spirit, becoming a leopard demon who could even take on human form…”
“Aowu? Aowu?” And then? What happened next?
“Every night, the leopard demon would sneak into a human’s home and serve as that human’s pillow.”
“Aowu!” What a foolish leopard, after cultivating into a spirit, it ended up becoming a pillow for a human!
“Later, the leopard demon heard that the human was going to marry his fiance. In a fit of anger, the leopard demon transformed into human form and accused the human of being heartless.”
“Aowu?” Why? Did the leopard demon like the human?
Le Zhuo listened with great confusion.
“Yes, that’s right. The leopard demon liked the human, which is why it reacted that way,” Bai Jiao said with a soft laugh, gently squeezing his paw. “But since the leopard demon had never shown its human form before, the human felt no romantic love for it and so rejected the leopard demon.”
“Aowu?” After using it as a pillow for so long, the human still rejected it? How heartless!
Le Zhuo felt indignant, though when he thought about it more carefully, it seemed the human hadn’t actually done anything wrong yet the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
“However, the human didn’t like his fiance either and eventually broke off the engagement.”
“Aowu?” If that’s the case, why didn’t the human end up with the leopard demon?
“Matters of the heart can’t be forced. Liking someone means liking them; not liking them means not liking them. If the leopard demon had taken human form earlier and built a relationship with the human, would things have turned out this way?”
“Aowu…” That actually made a lot of sense.
“This just goes to show, if you like someone, you should take the initiative sooner rather than later. Otherwise, once you fall into a passive position, it’ll all be too late,” Bai Jiao said. “Do you understand?”
“Aowu!” Got it!
“Good. Time to sleep,” Bai Jiao said, tucking in the blanket. “Good night.”
“Aowu.” Good night.
Bai Jiao fell asleep quickly but Le Zhuo couldn’t.
This story was obviously something Bai Jiao had made up! And it felt so unresolved!
So what happened afterward? Did the human remain alone forever? Where did the leopard demon go in the end?
Only then did Le Zhuo start feeling annoyed. The story Bai Jiao told had too many gaps, it wasn’t even finished, leaving him restless and unsettled.
There was no conclusion, nothing at all, just that one lesson about taking initiative when you like someone.
He wasn’t a child anymore; he didn’t want to hear such preachy reasoning.
Le Zhuo tilted his body and rubbed his head against Bai Jiao’s cheek. As he continued rubbing, he suddenly froze.
Wait…
Was Bai Jiao implying something about him?
But he was in his spirit form right now, he wasn’t some leopard demon!
He must be overthinking it. He didn’t even like Bai Jiao and he wasn’t a leopard demon either.
“Aowu…” Le Zhuo let out a soft sound, wagging his tail to express his dissatisfaction with Bai Jiao.
But before long, he pressed his head back against him again.
How strange. Did Bai Jiao have a natural body scent? Why did he smell different from the body wash?
Sniff, sniff.
It smelled so good!
Le Zhuo, freshly bathed and fragrant, slept soundly with Bai Jiao and ended up oversleeping, failing to sneak away early the next morning.
However, Bai Jiao didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, he appeared to be in a good mood as he brushed Le Zhuo’s fur before getting up to change his clothes.
Everything he had ordered yesterday had arrived today and once he left the house, someone would come by to install it.
Bai Jiao first prepared himself a simple breakfast, then asked, “Do you want some?”
“Aowu!” Yes!
He wanted to taste Bai Jiao’s cooking.
Bai Jiao made an extra portion. After finishing, he looked at Le Zhuo for a moment, then placed the plate on the floor.
Since Le Zhuo wanted to be a leopard, then he could eat like one.
It wasn’t that Bai Jiao wouldn’t allow him at the table, he just felt it would look strange. Climbing up and licking food off the table would probably be quite uncomfortable.
“……” Le Zhuo fell silent.
He was a leopard! Of course he had to eat on the floor!
Bai Jiao had already started eating, not paying any attention to whether he had begun or not. “From now on, this will be your bowl. After you finish, carry it to the dishwasher yourself.”
“Aowu!” Le Zhuo indicated that he understood.
He tentatively stuck out his tongue and, in one swift motion, swallowed the soy sauce coated omelet.
“Mm…” It was so delicious, he had never tasted an omelet this good before.
That single bite opened the door to a whole new world. Although he still wasn’t entirely used to it, he had already learned to gobble it down like a leopard.
At that moment, the sound of the doorbell rang from outside.
Bai Jiao assumed it was the installation workers and remotely unlocked the door.
But the ones who walked in were a stunned looking Le Shan, followed by Bai Feng and another person who looked exactly like Le Zhuo.