The entire hall was silent.
Although most of the people present were rough types who had never seen any formal regulations, there was an unwritten “rule” that everyone had internalized long ago—
The Regional Chief’s “Life Assistant” was not allowed to leave the Administrative District.
No one knew whether this rule was written into the “District Law” agreed upon by all in District A, nor whether it existed in the “Independent District Law” of every other district.
This rule was more like common sense than law.
It was roughly equivalent to “lions eat meat.”
Perhaps the lion wouldn’t eat meat today, or perhaps not this particular piece of meat.
But if you dared to approach the lion under its very eyes, or even tried to reach for a piece of meat in its mouth…
That would be extremely dangerous.
At this moment, no one dared utter a word.
Everyone craned their necks to look at the “lion” standing on the platform.
At first, Mr. Lion’s tone had seemed tinged with District anger, but now he had calmed down, looking down on the crowd in the hall as if he had eaten his fill and was leisurely watching the small animals fight over his territory to amuse himself.
Ah Zhao’s face turned bright red.
He wanted to argue something, like “Xia Xiaoxi hasn’t officially joined yet, so she can’t be considered a Life Assistant…”
But in reality, Xia Xiaoxi was wearing a neat assistant uniform.
It was this uniform that caught his eye and, for someone already impulsive, pushed him to step on the accelerator full force.
“Mr. Bo,” he took a deep breath and mustered his courage to look up, “if Xiaoxi goes out into the world, she could have a warm and happy family, a healthy and adorable child—things she cannot have within the Administrative District. She hasn’t officially joined yet; I hope you can let her go. She’s still young, and in the future…”
Bo Yutong’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at Ruan Tao and directly interrupted Ah Zhao: “Am I the one stopping you from leaving?”
Ruan Tao secretly drew in a shallow breath.
Bo Yutong’s lack of expression was the most terrifying expression, because no one knew what he was thinking.
She was no exception.
The question seemed casual, but if the answer displeased him…
“No, it’s not that,” Ruan Tao turned to Ah Zhao and said, “Ah Zhao, thank you for your kindness. But I’m the one who chose to stay here.”
Ah Zhao’s face instantly became extremely awkward.
Ruan Tao felt a little embarrassed, thinking she seemed to owe him. But in truth, she had only spoken a few words to Ah Zhao and asked him for help on a single hunt—how could she have predicted things would escalate like this?
“I like it here, and Mr. Bo is also a very good person,” Ruan Tao said carefully, trying to measure her words. “I am willing to offer my loyalty to Mr. Bo.”
What he wanted was loyalty.
Bo Yutong had said so before, hadn’t he?
Ruan Tao believed she had chosen an excellent word, then turned to the man on the platform.
Bo Yutong still wore the same expression, which now seemed even less pleased than before.
“Disperse,” he said. “From now on, add a rule when recruiting: no emotional people.”
The blonde lady reacted first, lowering her head to answer “Yes” before turning to organize the crowd in the hall to leave quickly.
On the other side, the black-haired lady contacted the psychic operatives within the Administrative District.
Short-term memory could be interfered with by psychics. Once this group left, those with strong mental powers could retain vague impressions of what had happened today; those with weaker powers might only feel a headache, like waking up groggy after taking cold medicine.
Ah Zhao was probably a target for serious supervision.
His gaze at Ruan Tao was full of disappointment, as if he hadn’t expected her to voluntarily give up freedom just to enjoy life in this cage.
Ruan Tao herself was not this type of person. If Bo Yutong hadn’t been here, she would have flown far away long ago. How could she be willing to stay happily locked up?
—No, even with Bo Yutong present, she had repeatedly tried sneaking out.
What appeared as prison-like high walls to others were merely mouse holes to her, everywhere she could slip through.
Of course, she didn’t need to explain any of this to a stranger.
Bo Yutong, who had achieved a complete victory in this incident, didn’t seem any happier.
Especially when he noticed the subtle changes in his daily life.
With the effect of transforming into a small leaf, “Xia Xiaoxi’s” face was just an ordinary, forgettable face. In school, no classmate would remember her name for an entire semester.
But it could not change Ruan Tao’s body or expressions.
The young girl was short, with a small frame.
Her delicate limbs were still slightly plump; her long socks left marks on the pale, soft flesh.
Her slightly short top exposed her waistline as she moved.
She appeared both alluring and pure.
On top of that, the girl loved to smile, was friendly to everyone, and never complained while working.
Everyone, young and old, could see her charm, and within three days, she had won the praise of the entire Administrative District.
At some point, wherever Bo Yutong went, he could hear people talking about Xia Xiaoxi.
His sense of touch was dulled, but his hearing and vision had sharpened.
In the past, walking around the Administrative District, he often heard people whispering about him—cold, ruthless, unreasonable—but he never forgot these comments.
Now, wherever he went, he heard people talking about Xia Xiaoxi—how cute, interesting, and energetic she was…
He was not pleased.
It happened to be mealtime, and Xia Xiaoxi brought over the dishes.
These past few days, he had been busy running around, dealing with Fang Shan Huai and Lu Yingzhu.
Even so, Bo Yutong returned here every noon. Even if he didn’t need to eat, he had to check what dishes were prepared today and taste them one by one.
This gave Ruan Tao a headache.
She had been looking for a chance to sneak out for several days and never expected him to return every day.
Ruan Tao dared not throw down a bowl, so she slightly increased the weight of her steps when turning, subtly expressing her strong displeasure that someone would not eat but still waste food and her time.
Of course, the main issue was her annoyance at him wasting her time.
After several days, her transformation had stabilized: three hours per day, with a storage limit of five hours—no more.
If she had to cook for him every day and personally serve it without him noticing, then there would be virtually no chance to sneak out anymore.
Ruan Tao put more weight into her steps, and as she turned, the hem of her skirt swayed, nearly lifting.
The soft, snow-white skin between her skirt and thigh-high socks was exposed.
Bo Yutong’s temple twitched, and his gaze darkened.
“Xia Xiaoxi,” he suddenly called.
His voice was lower and more restrained than usual.
Ruan Tao froze for a moment, not noticing the subtle details, and turned to ask, “Mr. Bo, do you have something else?”
She still wasn’t very used to the name. At first, when many people called her this, she didn’t even react. Fortunately, they just thought she was a bit silly, but cute, and didn’t overthink it.
Bo Yutong frowned at her. “Go change your clothes.”
Ruan Tao: “……”
This time, she was genuinely startled.
She thought Bo Yutong was dissatisfied with something she had done and would no longer let her be a Life Assistant. For a moment, she didn’t even feel angry; all she could feel was a surge of grievance.
“Sir,” she softened her voice, almost on the verge of tears, “I just put on this outfit a few days ago, and you already want me to take it off?”
Who said he wanted her to take off her clothes?
Bo Yutong furrowed his brows.
Seeing his brows drawn into a clear frown, Ruan Tao felt even more wronged and began to whine, babbling stubbornly: “If you want me to take it off, then fine. If you really make me take it off, I can’t say anything. Isn’t it all because you want your way…”
…the more she spoke, the more ridiculous it became.
Bo Yutong’s face grew cold. “I said go change yourself.”
Ruan Tao’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to be so merciless.
“Then I’ll take it off!”
Ruan Tao decided to play her last card.
She gripped the hem of her top with both hands, making a motion as if to lift it completely off—
The next second, a hand pressed down on the back of hers.
Bo Yutong’s face remained cold as he finally finished the sentence properly: “I said go change into another set of clothes yourself. I am not asking you to strip, nor am I asking you to leave, and definitely not to undress here. Understand?”
It was rare to hear him speak such a long sentence to someone.
Ruan Tao blinked and slowly nodded.
Bo Yutong released his hand and stepped back. “Go ahead.”
Ruan Tao asked quietly, “Why do I need to change? Does this outfit look bad?”
Bo Yutong: “……”
It wasn’t a question of looking bad or not.
It was really the kind of… rare type…
A scene he didn’t want anyone else to see.
“Not suitable,” Bo Yutong said, “and it’s easy to get dirty, with oil stains.”
Ruan Tao: ???
She washed her clothes every day, and now, with the cleaning technology in the Administrative District, it was like brand-new—how could there be oil stains?
Maybe this guy had eaten too much recently and, with nothing else to do, was picking fights everywhere?
Ruan Tao didn’t want to change the uniform; she liked the style, and she could wear little shorts underneath the skirt, so running and jumping was fine.
She decided to just change the color, maybe black.
Black would make her figure look slimmer, and the exposed skin even whiter.
Unfortunately, Mr. Bo wouldn’t have the chance to see it at first.
The night before, he had received a message that Xia Xiaoxi had burned her hand while pouring water and would have to take the next day off from cooking.
Bo Yutong smiled at the message, closed the screen, and strode toward the study room.
At that moment, Ruan Tao’s hamster body was in the study room.
He approached the enclosure, picked up Ruan Tao in his palm, and examined her carefully.
Ruan Tao rested in his hand, her black eyes squinting into thin lines, her entire body relaxing into a tiny, pliable mouse.
His palm smelled pleasant.
This was the same hand that had pressed down on the back of her hand earlier. For her smooth, tender back, his palm felt slightly rough, tingling with a subtle, pleasant itch, cool in temperature, yet strangely warm.
Ruan Tao squinted and thought, this person probably had never touched a girl’s hand before.
Xia Xiaoxi was taking advantage of him—hmph.
Bo Yutong stroked her back gently and said in a warm voice, “Tao Tao seems quite tired lately.”
“Mm,” Ruan Tao seized the opportunity. “Maybe it’s from your Beast-Taming Formation, sir. Tao Tao seems to be growing, my back and waist ache, it’s so uncomfortable…”
Bo Yutong soothed her warmly, “Poor little thing, endure it.”
Ruan Tao: “……”
She wanted to take this chance to have Bo Yutong remove the capture net.
It wasn’t convenient to ask directly—if he asked why, she wouldn’t know what to say.
Yet unexpectedly, Bo Yutong was breaking the rules, being so patient and gentle even with Hamster Tao.
Having personally experienced his attitude toward Xia Xiaoxi and remembering how much colder he was toward others…
Without comparison, there was no hurt.
Now, Hamster Tao melted entirely in the warmth of his care.
Even if her back and waist didn’t actually hurt, just this gentle soothing from Bo Yutong made it bearable.
The next day, with no meals prepared, Bo Yutong simply didn’t return to the Administrative District.
Ruan Tao had been waiting for this opportunity.
Early in the morning, the moment Bo Yutong left, she sprinted along the newly discovered and organized VIP passage—A9 edition—escaping at lightning speed.
Bo Yutong was often around, but her human Big Brother was not.
Being with Bo Yutong every day made encounters with her human Big Brother rare and therefore precious.
Ruan Tao hurried, and once outside, used the Beast Stone to release Qian Bian.
Qian Bian stretched lazily, happy: “It’s been so long since I breathed fresh air, I missed it!”
Ruan Tao whispered back, “The dirty air full of smog?”
Qian Bian froze. “Smog? What’s that?”
“…Just dust,” Ruan Tao waved her hand in front of her nose, simply saying, “Feels like a lot of dust.”
“My silly Tao Tao, this is all energy element! Psychics love it,” Qian Bian inhaled deeply, “One breath to refine energy, two breaths to upgrade—”
Ruan Tao: “Then why does the ventilation system have dust filters at the outlets?”
Qian Bian: “……”
The question left him speechless, so he simply shut up.
The civet grabbed the hamster, placed it on its head, and changed the subject: “Let’s go, find your human Big Brother.”
It seemed Qian Bian genuinely took himself as the Big Brother role. Human Big Brother and Animal Big Brother had distinct roles.
Ruan Tao didn’t mind and happily said, “Okay!”
“I heard your brother is very capable,” Qian Bian asked, “Can he help dismantle your sir’s capture net? That thing terrifies the animals in Qi Yuan Forest—they can’t eat or sleep properly.”
Ruan Tao whispered, “I don’t want to trouble my Big Brother. I just want to report that I’m safe, not make him worry…”
“Alright,” Qian Bian sounded a bit disappointed.
Hearing his disappointment, Ruan Tao hesitated. Then she suddenly tapped Qian Bian’s head with her tiny pink paw—almost invisible—hard: “Wait, maybe I can ask someone else for help.”
Qian Bian felt an itch in his head. “Who?”
“Someone else who also doesn’t want to trouble my brother,” Ruan Tao smiled. “He might not help me, but he’ll definitely keep it from my brother. I can ask him.”