Cheng Mingjiao vanished without warning and then reappeared just as suddenly, startling Zhang Xiyue so badly that by the time she snapped back to her senses, she had already stunned him with the device.
Fortunately, the electronic riot-control device was running low on battery, and the raincoat had blocked most of the shock. Cheng Mingjiao only lost consciousness briefly—before she could even crouch down to check on him, he was already groaning and waking up.
After the initial fright, Zhang Xiyue had calmed down. The moment she saw him struggling to get up, she quickly held the umbrella over him and reached out to help.
"President Cheng! Are you alright, President Cheng!" Her voice was full of sincerity.
In the few seconds he had been down, the rain had soaked his hair through, leaving it dripping and plastered across his forehead beneath the hood of his raincoat, looking rather disheveled.
"You…" Cheng Mingjiao pointed at her with a trembling finger.
Zhang Xiyue immediately grabbed his finger. "I'm fine."
Cheng Mingjiao: "You…"
"Take a moment to catch your breath. Don't talk." Zhang Xiyue interrupted him again.
Cheng Mingjiao took a deep breath.
Zhang Xiyue pretended not to notice his resentful glare. She tried pulling him up a couple of times but couldn't budge him, so she set the umbrella aside and used every ounce of strength she had to help him sit up.
The rain was coming down too hard—in just a short while, her hair was soaked too.
Once he was sitting steadily, Zhang Xiyue quickly picked up the umbrella and asked with concern, "President Cheng, are you feeling any better?"
Cheng Mingjiao's face was expressionless as he sat on the ground, completely devoid of dignity.
Another rumble of thunder gave Zhang Xiyue a flash of inspiration.
She cleared her throat. "President Cheng…"
Cheng Mingjiao: "I saw you electrocute me."
Zhang Xiyue: "…"
Alright, so much for trying to say he'd been struck by lightning.
Cheng Mingjiao: "Have you ever used that thing on anyone else?"
Zhang Xiyue: "…No."
Cheng Mingjiao let out a cold laugh. "Wonderful. A weapon meant to protect me ended up being used on me and me alone."
Zhang Xiyue: "…President Cheng, listen to me. I really didn't mean to. I was so worried when I saw you going up the mountain alone that I followed you, but I lost you along the way. I thought you'd run into some bad people, and I was so anxious—and in my panic… I mistook you for one of them."
She rambled on messily, but Cheng Mingjiao's lower abdomen was numb and stinging, his heart racing, his whole body uncomfortable.
So he didn't listen to a single word.
Zhang Xiyue could tell he wasn't feeling well and didn't dare say much more. She crouched beside him, holding the umbrella so that it covered him too, even though he was already wearing a raincoat.
The night was deep and still. Outside the umbrella, the heavy rain softened to a drizzle. Beneath the umbrella, the air was thick with dampness.
Zhang Xiyue waited for a while until Cheng Mingjiao's complexion improved, then quietly pulled a piece of candy from her pocket.
It was round again. Lemon flavored.
Cheng Mingjiao had just been electrocuted, and his heart was as hard as iron: "You're using this as a get-out-of-jail-free card?"
Zhang Xiyue: "…"
She'd been found out.
She had to admit, His Majesty could be quite perceptive sometimes.
Cheng Mingjiao refused to take it, so Zhang Xiyue had no choice but to put it back in her pocket. "President Cheng, why did you come up the mountain in the middle of the night?"
Cheng Mingjiao refused to speak to her.
Zhang Xiyue was at a loss. "President Cheng, don't be like this… If it's really that bad, I'll let you electrocute me back."
Cheng Mingjiao's eyes flickered.
Zhang Xiyue quickly tried to dodge the situation: "But I think you probably wouldn't want to…"
"Give it to me." He cut her off directly.
Zhang Xiyue: "President Cheng…"
Cheng Mingjiao narrowed his long eyes, his threat unmistakable.
Zhang Xiyue was speechless for a moment, then had no choice but to hand over the electronic riot-control device.
This was Cheng Mingjiao's first time fiddling with such a thing. After studying it for a while, he successfully powered it on and looked at Zhang Xiyue with a cold smile.
Zhang Xiyue stared at the blue glow on the device, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "Go ahead!"
Cheng Mingjiao: "Heh."
Zhang Xiyue clenched her jaw, bracing for the pain to come.
One second passed.
Ten seconds passed.
A minute passed.
She waited for what felt like an eternity, but the pain she imagined never came. Instead, Cheng Mingjiao's breathing grew clearer and clearer.
She couldn't help but crack her eyes open just a sliver, only to see that the device that had been glowing blue moments ago was now powered off, and Cheng Mingjiao was looking at her with a mocking expression.
Zhang Xiyue's heart settled, and she feigned regret: "Out of battery?"
Cheng Mingjiao: "It has battery."
Zhang Xiyue's heart shot back up.
Cheng Mingjiao: "But it's low."
Zhang Xiyue's heart settled again.
Cheng Mingjiao: "I'll wait until it's fully charged, then electrocute you."
Zhang Xiyue: "…"
What a vicious emperor.
With her heart rising and falling on repeat, Zhang Xiyue was exhausted.
But regardless, Cheng Mingjiao was finally willing to talk to her, and aside from the future electrocution, he didn't seem to plan any other punishment.
Well, at least her job was safe.
The thought that she was about to be electrocuted and was still worried about her job made Zhang Xiyue's heart neither rise nor fall—just ache.
Cheng Mingjiao, on the other hand, was in a good mood. Once he recovered, he picked up his black bag and walked off full of energy.
Zhang Xiyue quickly followed. "President Cheng, you still haven't answered me. What are you doing here so late?"
Cheng Mingjiao said nothing, just kept walking.
The plastic bag in his hand was heavy, occasionally making clinking sounds as it bumped against things. She had no idea what kind of weapon was inside.
Zhang Xiyue's heart was uneasy, and she said as tactfully as she could: "I don't know what's going on with you, but those cats are private property of the camp. I think it's best not to…"
Before she could finish, Cheng Mingjiao pulled a cat food can out of the bag.
The can was fully sealed, so it probably hadn't been poisoned.
Zhang Xiyue shut her mouth just in time.
"Don't what?" Cheng Mingjiao turned around and asked.
Zhang Xiyue: "…Don't feed them randomly. What if they get diarrhea?"
"They eat the garbage freeze-dried food you feed them without any problem, but they'd get diarrhea from my seventy-yuan-a-can food?" Cheng Mingjiao said disdainfully.
Zhang Xiyue: "…"
He'd been holed up in his tent the whole time, yet he knew she'd been feeding the cats?
The Emperor truly had eyes and ears everywhere.
Cheng Mingjiao placed the opened can in front of a cat shelter. The kitten inside twitched its nose, then immediately dragged the can into its shelter despite the rain.
He opened a second can and walked toward the second shelter.
Zhang Xiyue followed behind him: "So you ran out in the middle of the night… just because you're overflowing with compassion?"
Cheng Mingjiao countered: "Do I look that idle?"
He did look idle.
But he didn't seem like the compassionate type.
Zhang Xiyue smiled: "Then what exactly are you doing, sir?"
Cheng Mingjiao: "Bribery."
Zhang Xiyue: "?"
Ten minutes later, the rain stopped.
Every cat had gotten a can of food.
Zhang Xiyue looked at her own wet, dirty shoes, then at the mud caked on Cheng Mingjiao, and felt that everything before her was utterly absurd.
"So what you're saying is," she tried to make sense of Cheng Mingjiao, "you feed the cats, and the cats will lead you to the little bear… What's the basis for this?"
Cheng Mingjiao crouched on the ground, urging a small calico to eat faster, and explained: "When I was seven, I lost a pencil. The cat my grandmother kept at the time helped me find it. Before that, I'd fed it a sausage."
Then he added deliberately, "A sausage handmade by a German artisan. Very expensive."
Zhang Xiyue ignored his flexing and tactfully reminded him: "…Mr. Cheng, you should know that was just a coincidence. You can't treat it as a reliable method, right?"
Cheng Mingjiao glanced at her: "Of course."
Zhang Xiyue breathed a sigh of relief.
The next second, Cheng Mingjiao: "But no matter how coincidental, the probability isn't zero."
Zhang Xiyue: "…"
Cheng Mingjiao: "Besides, the cat that stole Liang Youyou's bear is a kitten just six months old. Cats at that stage are full of energy. After a meal, their blood sugar rises, and they'll be more eager to come out and play. We just need to follow them, and we'll find their favorite activity area. The bear is most likely there."
His logic was clear, and Zhang Xiyue found herself listening and even thinking he made sense.
Realizing she'd been easily persuaded, her rebellious streak kicked in: "If that's your reasoning, why not just feed the tabby thief? Why feed all of them?"
Cheng Mingjiao narrowed his eyes: "Am I short on food?"
Zhang Xiyue: "…"
He wasn't, indeed.
"Besides, it just rained. Most cats don't like getting their fur wet. Even if they want to come out and play, they'll hold back. Rather than only feeding the thief cat and betting it can't resist coming out, it's better to feed all of them. There are bound to be a few lively ones that come out to play even after the rain. They all roam the same area anyway, so it doesn't matter which one leads the way."
After the rain stopped, the mountain forest became especially quiet, leaving only Cheng Mingjiao's calm, steady voice.
Listening to him, Zhang Xiyue also calmed down.
The cats ate slowly and needed plenty of time.
Zhang Xiyue crouched beside Cheng Mingjiao and chatted with him while waiting: "When did you come up with this idea?"
Cheng Mingjiao: "The moment the thing went missing."
Zhang Xiyue: "Why didn't you come look for it then?"
Cheng Mingjiao: "First, Liang Youyou was crying too loudly. The camp atmosphere was tense, and the cats were on alert. They wouldn't let humans get close."
Zhang Xiyue smoothly prompted: "Second."
Cheng Mingjiao shot her a sideways glance: "The weather forecast said it wouldn't clear until nine-thirty. Cats aren't smart, but they're not stupid either. No matter how full they are, they won't come out during the rain. So coming early would've been useless. Right now is just right."
Zhang Xiyue: "Is there a third?"
Cheng Mingjiao: "The cans at the camp are too cheap. It took time for the nearby pet store to deliver premium cans."
The third point was clearly the most important.
Zhang Xiyue laughed as soon as she heard it.
She'd known Cheng Mingjiao for less than a month, and while she didn't fully understand him yet, in certain ways, she could already read him well.
For instance, in the Emperor's rulebook, anyone who served him—human or cat—had to be rewarded handsomely. Otherwise, it would lower his standards.
While the two chatted, cats gradually finished their cans and lazily retreated into their shelters to lick their paws. For now, none seemed interested in going out.
Zhang Xiyue was getting a bit bored waiting. She turned her head and caught sight of Cheng Mingjiao's serious, focused expression.
He'd rolled around on the ground earlier, and now his clothes were covered in mud. A man who normally couldn't tolerate the slightest bit of dirt was now completely unconcerned about it.
Ha, just as Zhou Ce said—he didn't have a cleanliness obsession. He was just being pretentious.
"What are you looking at?" Cheng Mingjiao suddenly asked.
Caught in the act, Zhang Xiyue blinked: "Nothing. Just thinking you're really handsome."
Cheng Mingjiao furrowed his brow.
That was the second time she'd complimented him today.
Perhaps he should keep a lower profile in the future, so his employees wouldn't lose their sense of propriety so easily.
The air fell silent again after Zhang Xiyue's compliment.
More cats had finished eating and were lying in their nests, refusing to move. A few smaller ones poked their heads out hesitantly, and finally couldn't resist extending their little paws, stepping cautiously onto the muddy ground.
Cheng Mingjiao and Zhang Xiyue both held their breath, watching the kittens chase and play before running deeper into the mountain forest.
"Now!" Cheng Mingjiao chased after them without a second thought.
Zhang Xiyue quickly grabbed the umbrella and followed.
Watching his hurried retreating figure, she thought with satisfaction—although he didn't get along with Youyou, he could still go this far for her. It showed that his yandere nature wasn't so bad after all.
Unfortunately, that thought had barely formed when Cheng Mingjiao ahead of her let out a cold laugh: "Dare to put salt in my water? Just wait until I find that damn thing, then I'll show you how I torment you!"
Zhang Xiyue: "…"
The kittens ran with boundless energy, Cheng Mingjiao chased with boundless energy, and Zhang Xiyue trailed behind half-dead, falling further and further behind.
Just as she was about to give out, they finally arrived at a patch of muddy ground.
The mudflat wasn't too large, surrounded by trees whose branches stretched out and intertwined, forming a bridge of branches above the muddy ground.
The kittens were playing on the branch bridge while Cheng Mingjiao searched beneath it. Man, nature, and animals coexisted peacefully, none of them paying attention to the others.
Zhang Xiyue turned on her phone flashlight and joined the search.
Cheng Mingjiao, who was wading forward bit by bit, glanced at her but said nothing discouraging.
The two searched inch by inch, and by the time they'd covered the entire area, forty minutes had passed.
"Didn't find it," Zhang Xiyue said, her feet covered in mud, barely able to move. "Could it be somewhere else?"
Cheng Mingjiao: "They still have plenty of energy, but they only ran around near here. They probably like this spot the most. Statistically speaking, it's most likely here."
"But we didn't find it," Zhang Xiyue reminded him again.
"Maybe we missed a spot. I'll search again," Cheng Mingjiao continued wading through the mud. "You go back first."
Zhang Xiyue: "…"
To win back his pride, His Majesty was really persistent.
In the middle of the night, she definitely couldn't leave him here alone. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Sister Wei said the kittens here are quite playful. They might have already torn the plush toy apart."
Cheng Mingjiao: "The little bear is made of special material. It's hard to tear."
Zhang Xiyue: "How do you know?"
Cheng Mingjiao: "Because I gave it to her."
Zhang Xiyue was stunned.
Cheng Mingjiao looked up, pride in his eyes: "A birth gift."
Zhang Xiyue was silent for a long moment, then continued searching with him.
After the rain, even the wind in the mountain forest was fresh, mixed with the scent of earth, blowing away the dampness, blowing away the dark clouds, and bringing out the moon.
The kittens had all left, but they still hadn't.
After another half hour of searching, Zhang Xiyue suddenly froze: "President Cheng."
"Hm?" Cheng Mingjiao looked up.
In the moonlight, Zhang Xiyue stared at him intently: "President Cheng… don't move."
Cheng Mingjiao was startled, his body gradually tensing: "Is there something behind me?"
Zhang Xiyue didn't speak, approaching cautiously.
Cheng Mingjiao slowly clenched his fists, his whole body sinking into a state of unknown tension.
"What is it?" His voice was hoarse. "…A snake? Wild boar? Leopard? Hog badger?"
Cheng Mingjiao listed all the dangerous animals commonly found on Lanlan Mountain, but Zhang Xiyue still didn't respond.
"What exactly…"
Cheng Mingjiao's patience ran out. Just as he was about to turn his head, Zhang Xiyue suddenly jumped in front of him.
"It's a bear!"
In the instant mud splattered everywhere, a dirty little bear nearly poked Cheng Mingjiao right in the face.
"Rawr~"
The filthy Zhang Xiyue emerged like a beast from the mountains.
The filthy Cheng Mingjiao's heart raced.