Ling Xing discovered that the hamster Ruan Tao was wandering around inside their base, running here and there. She had not escaped; instead, it seemed as if she was looking for something.
However, at this moment, Lu Yingzhu no longer had the mood to search for his “hostage mouse.”
He questioned Ling Xing several times and finally confirmed that the person Ling Xing had encountered was very likely Ruan Tao.
But if it really was her, why had she not come to find him?
And how had she ended up in Ling Xing’s room?
Lu Yingzhu scratched his hair irritably. Gao Yang walked into the room and announced another unfortunate piece of news.
“Mr. Lu, Bo Yutong wants to see you.”
“I don’t have time right now,” Lu Yingzhu snapped. “Gao Yang, hurry and arrange it—don’t let even a mosquito leave the base. Then check the surveillance for me. We’re looking for a brat, about—”
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked at Ling Xing.
“What was she wearing? Say it again.”
Ling Xing: “…………… N-not wearing anything?”
Lu Yingzhu took a deep breath and stared at Ling Xing.
“Say that again?”
Ling Xing stopped what he was doing and hid behind Gao Yang.
Gao Yang said speechlessly, “How is that possible? Ling Xing, did you see it wrong?”
“Let me clarify first—I didn’t see anything clearly!” Ling Xing said. “I wasn’t wearing clothes either at the time. My first reaction was to wrap myself in a bath towel. She also grabbed a cloak…”
Lu Yingzhu gritted his teeth. “You also what?”
Ling Xing: “…………”
“Calm down, District.” Gao Yang stepped in to smooth things over. “Mr. Lu, your sister was wearing a cloak, and Ling Xing had a bath towel wrapped around him.”
Lu Yingzhu stared at Ling Xing. “You really didn’t see anything?”
Ling Xing nodded quickly. “Really, really.”
Gao Yang said, “I already had someone check. A little girl wearing a cloak—there shouldn’t be a second one like that in our base.”
But how she had sneaked in was still something that needed careful investigation.
Several people busied themselves searching for the so-called younger sister, temporarily throwing the priceless little hamster completely out of their minds.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ruan Tao scurried all the way around and ran straight into Bo Yutong’s room.
Lu Yingzhu had intended to drag out negotiations with Bo Yutong, wearing down his patience while raising the price.
But Bo Yutong was not in the mood for that.
The room Lu Yingzhu had prepared for him was fully equipped, even containing various entertainment facilities.
He sat in a single armchair and closed his eyes.
Lu Yingzhu hated those fluffy creatures. Even if they were stored in a beast stone, he would not keep them by his side. And the only two people around him whom he truly trusted were Ling Xing and Gao Yang.
He was currently using his search ability to check Gao Yang’s room.
Search abilities also had many variations. Ling Xing’s type involved setting up an array first, then conducting a radar-style search that could scan the entire space without missing any corner.
Bo Yutong’s search ability, however, involved sending out his spiritual consciousness, more like letting his soul leave his body.
Supporting his chin with one hand, Bo Yutong kept his eyes closed while searching. Suddenly, he sensed that something had entered his room.
He did not move and instead observed the room with his ability.
…It was actually that little fellow returning.
The little creature had already climbed to his feet and stepped onto the top of his shoe, wiggling her round little backside as if trying to attract his attention.
Bo Yutong still did not move.
He wanted to see what else the little fellow would do.
Ruan Tao jumped around on his shoe for quite a while without getting any reaction from him. She grew so angry that she lost her footing, slipped, and rolled straight back onto the floor.
If she had transformed into a cat or some other animal, she would have leaped up in a single bound long ago.
Ruan Tao sat on the ground in confusion, questioning her life.
Bo Yutong sighed and finally opened his eyes, looking at the little mouse ball sitting on the carpet.
“You’re back?” he said softly.
Ruan Tao’s eyes immediately lit up, and she waved her two pink paws at him.
She had run all over the base and was exhausted. The tip of her pink nose had even gotten dusty, making her look travel-worn and pitiful.
When Bo Yutong had been unable to find her earlier, he had been anxious and angry. But now, seeing her like this, all his temper completely disappeared.
He picked up the little mouse and placed her on the coffee table.
A drop of water popped out from his fingertip and landed on Ruan Tao’s little flower-stained face. He gently washed her face with his finger.
Ruan Tao rubbed against his moist, pleasantly scented fingertip and immediately relaxed, her whole body going soft.
Bo Yutong’s slight germaphobia was widely known, yet he was willing to wash her dirty little face.
Ruan Tao’s heart softened as well.
“I should give you a name,” he said. “Otherwise, next time when I want to find you, I won’t even know what to call.”
The moment he said that, Ruan Tao’s imagination ran wild.
Bo Yutong, unable to find her, wanting to call her name but not knowing what it was, standing anxiously and helplessly in the middle of the road…
It was too heartbreaking.
She looked around and happened to see a fruit plate on the coffee table.
—A fruit plate.
In this world, fruit had already become extremely rare and expensive. Yet someone had actually used a fruit plate to entertain Bo Yutong… That rotten bamboo had actually done a rare good deed.
Already very tired, Ruan Tao gathered a bit of energy, climbed to the edge of the fruit plate, and nudged the peaches inside it with the tip of her nose.
Bo Yutong said, “Hm?”
Ruan Tao straightened up and patted her own chest with her paw.
Then she lowered her head and nudged the peach again.
“Peach?” Bo Yutong roughly understood her meaning. “Your name is Peach?”
Ruan Tao thought about it, then nodded and shook her head.
“Taotao?” he guessed.
He had actually guessed correctly by accident. Ruan Tao immediately smiled and nodded vigorously.
“Is that so?” Bo Yutong asked. “Who gave you that name?”
His fingers curled slightly, and an expression of displeasure had already appeared on his face, as if he might rush out at any moment and smash Lu Yingzhu’s head.
Although her relationship with her big brother was tense, he was still her real brother after all.
Ruan Tao quickly shook her head and pointed at herself.
“…You named yourself?” Bo Yutong asked.
Ruan Tao nodded.
“Do you like peaches?” he asked.
Ruan Tao nodded repeatedly again.
“Alright,” Bo Yutong said.
Ruan Tao: “…?”
What? What was alright?
Before she could figure out what was happening, Bo Yutong reached out again, picked her up, and placed her into his coat pocket.
This time he slid his finger across it, covering the pocket with a layer of protective film.
“Taotao, you may not know this, but my patience isn’t very good,” Bo Yutong said, lowering his head to look at her.
A faint smile appeared on his face. He looked very gentle, and his voice remained soft.
“I also have beast stones, but I really don’t want to lock you inside one.”
Ruan Tao’s fur stood on end.
Bo Yutong’s finger passed through the protective film and reached inside, gently stroking the top of her head.
“Do you understand what I mean?” he asked warmly.
Ruan Tao nodded repeatedly and obediently rubbed her face against his fingertip like an extremely eager follower.
They had not seen each other for such a long time—she missed him too.
Bo Yutong withdrew his finger and stood up, leaving the room.
The residential area where Lu Yingzhu and Bo Yutong discussed matters was not the largest territory under Lu Yingzhu’s control, but it was the place he had lived in the longest.
At the center of the base, he had a villa. In front of the door, he had even planted two mutated peach trees.
The trees were heavy with fruit, full of pink, tender peaches.
Bo Yutong moved freely through the base and quickly found the two peach trees.
These things were rare commodities with no market supply. They were difficult to obtain and not even necessities for daily life.
Unless someone had a special preference, no one would go through such trouble to plant peach trees at their doorstep… let alone two of them.
Bo Yutong took out a ring from his pocket and slipped it onto his index finger, then moved his fingers.
Several small whirlwinds spun out, quickly knocking seven or eight ripe, plump peaches off the trees.
He extended his hand and drew them over through the air, and they all fell into the spatial ring on his finger.
Ruan Tao: “…”
So when he had said “alright,” he had meant coming over here to mess with Lu Yingzhu’s peach trees.
Lu Yingzhu would probably be furious.
But this person probably was not that careless, Ruan Tao thought silently. Based on her understanding of him, either there was some trap or backup plan around these peach trees…
Or he would soon come personally.