The silver-haired cat and the cat on him stared at each other. After a long while, he let out a low sigh, then unceremoniously stood up, picked the cat up by the scruff of its neck, and placed it on the ground to the side.
“Meow.” The sudden movement caused the little ragdoll to let out a soft cry.
Lin Xiansheng ignored the kitten and instead turned to look at himself in the full-length mirror in the living room. Although the figure in the mirror still looked somewhat pale, he was doing much better than before.
Even though he had fainted from dizziness, Lin Xiansheng hadn’t completely lost consciousness. Just a short while ago, he had heard the doctor invited by the old man say: “…The patient’s physical condition is very poor. Fortunately, this fever didn’t trigger other complications. Once other symptoms are triggered, I’m afraid…”
The rest of the doctor’s words were left unsaid. Then came a click, and with the sound of the door closing, the old man and the doctor left the living room together.
It was precisely this conversation between the old man and the doctor that gave Lin Xiansheng a brief illusion—such as being sent to the hospital.
Lin Xiansheng fell silent for a few seconds and glanced around the living room again. Well, he shouldn’t have expected the old man to send him to the hospital.
Just as Lin Xiansheng was pondering how to leave politely and without awkwardness, the neglected little ragdoll glared with its blue eyes, exerted a slight force with all four paws, and jumped to Lin Xiansheng’s side. It rolled over, shoved the terminal resting next to the young man toward the edge of the sofa, exposed its soft belly, and let out another persistent “Meow.”
Right at this moment, the old man, who had finished seeing off the doctor, returned to the living room and happened to witness this scene. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but he quickly concealed his expression: “It seems to really like you.”
Lin Xiansheng raised his head slightly and smiled, “It seems so.” With that, he tentatively reached out a hand and stroked it.
The little ragdoll immediately narrowed its pupils, affectionately rubbing its head against the young man.
Looking at this peaceful scene, the old man stood to the side with an increasingly amiable demeanor, unable to help lamenting: “Aside from the General, this is the first time I’ve seen Little Frost stick to someone else like this.”
The young man paused, the silver hair in front of his forehead drooping down accordingly, and his expression showed a subtle change.
Keenly perceiving something, the old man paused, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Xiansheng gazed at the pretty cat, though he quickly raised his head and smiled, “No, nothing. It’s a very nice name.”
Meanwhile, the little ragdoll snuggled up next to Lin Xiansheng, completely unable to understand what the two were talking about. It only noticed that the young man’s gaze had shifted away from it, so it let out a wronged “meow”, stubbornly bit the quilt covering the young man’s legs, and pulled hard, trying to attract the young man’s attention.
However, with this hard pull, the terminal that was already teetering on the edge of the sofa finally lost its balance and fell down!
At that very moment, a pair of pretty, delicate hands caught the falling terminal just in time.
Lin Xiansheng glanced at the terminal. At this moment, the front of the terminal flashed with a faint light from time to time; this was the reminder that only occurred when someone sent a message.
Moreover, the light for this reminder was one he had specially set for Zhang Zhou.
Lin Xiansheng petted the little ragdoll, smiled apologetically at the old man, and only after the old man smiled and nodded did, he open the terminal to check the message.
All morning, Zhang Zhou had sent him no less than fifty messages. Amidst a bunch of exclamation marks and wails of “Teacher, you missed out, the General is so handsome” rambling, Lin Xiansheng quickly found a crucial message:
I don’t know what happened, but the General left early!! Wuwuwu, I haven’t seen enough yet!
This message was sent an hour ago, and afterward, Zhang Zhou unhappily wuwuwud for a long time, subsequently sending over some other photos.
However, none of these were the main point. The main point was that Lu Xincheng had left the school early.
Could it be that he came back?
Lin Xiansheng’s eyelids twitched slightly. He flipped open the soft quilt still covering his legs and got up from the sofa.
Seeing the young man’s movement, the old man looked surprised and asked, “What’s wrong?”
After a brief moment of rest, Lin Xiansheng had recovered some strength. Although his body was still somewhat hot, feverish was feverish… In short, he didn’t want to run into Lu Xincheng.
However, outward etiquette still needed to be maintained. Lin Xiansheng suppressed the urge to leave quickly, and thanked him gently, “I’m much better now. Thank you so much for the trouble today.”
“It’s fine. Aren’t you going to rest a bit longer?” the old man asked again.
Better not.
When it came to making excuses, Lin Xiansheng was always on point. Completely without drafting any notes, he casually fabricated a line: “I have an appointment with a doctor for a physical checkup today. If I rest any longer, I’m afraid I’ll miss the appointment. I won’t disturb you any further.”
Things having reached this point, the old man naturally saw that Lin Xiansheng was firmly resolved to leave and found it difficult to keep urging him to stay. However, he did develop some interest in the doctor Lin Xiansheng mentioned.
“A person who shouldn’t have survived.”
This was the comment made by his friend when simply checking Lin Xiansheng’s physical condition.
Lin Xiansheng’s physical condition could only be described with the two words “terrible.” It could be said it had reached the point where living was completely impossible without lying in a culture tank.
Yet under long-term, perfect, and exquisite medical skills, he not only lived to this day, but could even leave the culture tank and live normally.
Extremely strong; that doctor was much stronger than even himself. This was his friend’s evaluation of that doctor.
To be able to make his friend say such things—although he didn’t know who that doctor was, their medical skills could definitely rank in the top tier of the empire. Doctors in this rank were almost national treasure-level figures, conducting research year-round. Even he found it difficult to see them, let alone anyone else.
He held a certain curiosity about the fact that Lin Xiansheng might know such a person, but everyone had their own stories, and the old man wouldn’t privately pry into other people’s secrets. He didn’t say much else, only stating, “Alright, then I’ll see you out.”
“Okay, sorry to bother you.” Lin Xiansheng picked up the brown scarf that had been unwrapped and placed on the other side by the maid, wrapped it around his neck again, then rubbed the little ragdoll’s head and slightly curved the corners of his lips: “I’ll be leaving first.”
“Meow meow!” The little ragdoll was unhappy, shaking its head and looking anxious. Meanwhile, the silver-haired young man’s expression was gentle, but the amplitude of his head shake was extremely firm. The little ragdoll became even more anxious. It immediately jumped onto the floor, wanting to follow behind the two to go out together, but just as it followed to the living room door—with a “bang,” the living room door was mercilessly closed, leaving only the poor little kitten inside…
Lin Xiansheng followed the old man familiarly down from the second-floor living room. The two left the house, and outside was a long white corridor with spacious courtyards on both sides, featuring a bamboo forest in the distance.
Other than being a bit large, this place looked like an ordinary villa courtyard. It was hard to imagine that this was where a renowned Imperial General lived.
If there was any difference from an ordinary villa, it was probably the lack of human presence. Aside from them, there were no other figures in the massive courtyard, making it extremely desolate.
Before the two had walked far, a maid suddenly jogged over from behind and stopped beside the old man.
After stopping the old man, the maid whispered something, though Lin Xiansheng didn’t hear it clearly. Even though this place looked like an ordinary villa, it was after all the territory of an Imperial General. No one knew if any special security equipment was installed, and he wouldn’t dare casually release his spiritual power.
Compared to what those two were saying, Lin Xiansheng still wanted to leave quickly. Thinking of this, he glanced toward the direction of the bamboo forest planted in the courtyard.
Fortunately, not long after, the maid turned away and left. At this moment, the old man said to Lin Xiansheng, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“It’s no problem.” Lin Xiansheng still wore an amiable smile on his face, making it hard for people to see his true inner thoughts.
“Alright, let’s keep going.” The old man nodded, but after taking only a few steps, he suddenly said, “It feels like Mr. Lin isn’t very unfamiliar with this place.”
His pupils shrank slightly, but when speaking, Lin Xiansheng’s tone still didn’t show much fluctuation. He asked curiously, “Why would you think that?”
“Haha, who knows? Perhaps I’m getting old and it’s just an illusion.” The old man smiled, stopped continuing the topic, and asked instead, “Do you know what we were talking about just now?”
Lin Xiansheng couldn’t gauge the old man’s attitude for a moment, so he pondered a bit before giving a vague reply, “Since you put it like that, it looks like it wouldn’t be any classified secret.”
The old man smiled helplessly: “Indeed it’s not a secret, or rather, most people in our empire know about this matter.”
Lin Xiansheng remained silent, waiting for the old man to continue speaking.
At this moment, the old man sighed again, “Alas, the General is not young anymore, but his family matters remain unsettled. Over the years, His Majesty has always wanted to arrange a marriage for the General.”
This matter truly wasn’t a secret. The Imperial Emperor’s single-minded desire to arrange a marriage for the Imperial General could even be said to be known to everyone, and it had caused quite a stir in the empire.
However, this marriage-matching business had never gone smoothly, and the one obstructing the marriage over the years was none other than the General himself.
“Today, His Majesty originally held a banquet for the General, but because of the invitation from Mr. Lin’s school, the General didn’t go to attend.” Hearing this, the old man helplessly shook his head: “These days, nobles who attended the banquet have constantly been calling to express their dissatisfaction. Just now, our house maid told me that a noble young lady is blocking the main entrance, wanting to wait for the General to return. Let’s head out through the side door instead.”
Lin Xiansheng remained silent.
Speaking of this, the old man’s expression became profound. The two came down from the corridor and passed through the bamboo forest in the courtyard, behind which was abruptly a sci-fi-feeling light door!
As the two stepped through the light door, the scene suddenly shifted. The villa, which originally covered a massive area, directly vanished, and the two appeared in a park somewhere in the center of the Imperial Capital.
Lin Xiansheng wasn’t surprised by the change of scenery. The place where the Imperial General lived definitely had special protective measures to prevent ordinary people from knowing the true location.
The old man asked again, “Do you need a car arranged to send you back?”
“No need.”
The old man wasn’t surprised by Lin Xiansheng’s reply. Right before the young man said his farewells and prepared to leave, he suddenly spoke up: “Does Mr. Lin know why the General has always refused blind dates?”
The young man, who had already turned around, seemed to pause for a moment, then nodded.
What was the reason? I’m afraid no one in the empire wouldn’t know. Their empire’s General had once publicly stated that he had a sweetheart, except that his sweetheart had passed away many years ago.
Regarding this claim, some believed it, while others thought it was merely an excuse Lu Xincheng used to avoid being urged into marriage by the emperor.
As for what the truth was, only the parties involved knew.
“I wonder what your view on this reason is, Mr. Lin…” The old man didn’t wait for the young man to answer and vanished on the spot, leaving only a slightly ethereal voice echoing in circles in the air.
Lin Xiansheng stood alone beside the pool in the small park. His silver hair was blown by the breeze, and even though he wore a heavy windbreaker, his figure remained slender and frail.
He didn’t know how long had passed before he left this uneventful small park. However, before he had walked far, the young man suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eye color constantly shifting before finally turning into a beautiful yet slightly eerie hint of deep blue.
Almost at the same time, a black car came to a halt. Inside the dim carriage, a pair of golden-yellow pupils shimmered with a faint light.