Chapter 40

Chapter 40

"No need to walk me through it, I've got this. Later." Su Xingze hit the end button and tossed his phone aside.

He'd originally called Xiaolu out of boredom, but now he wasn't bored anymore—his head was full of nothing but dirty thoughts.

It'd been a while since he'd taken care of things himself, so he was a little rusty. More than once he nearly threw in the towel.

Then he hit on something wild: thinking about Xiaolu—and the way Xiaolu made him feel—made the whole thing way better.

When he was done, Su Xingze flopped onto his stomach and dozed off, but Lu Xingwen, back at the office, was far from finished.

Screw work for now—Lu Xingwen pulled out his laptop, brought up the security feed, and watched the Omega on screen.

The Omega clearly hadn't done this in ages. He was slow, taking forever to get there. Then Lu Xingwen heard the guy on screen moan his name.

It was faint, barely a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear.

Lu Xingwen's fingers went still as he stared at the Omega on the screen.

Chen Chen was thinking about him while doing that. Did that mean Chen Chen missed him? That he had even a sliver of feelings for him?

Lu Xingwen reached out and touched the figure on the screen, then shut his laptop.

Once he wrapped this up, he'd go home and stay by Chen Chen's side for good.

The next morning, Su Xingze overslept again. When he came downstairs, Yin Zhi and Xu Xiaoping were already waiting.

They both gave him that weird look again. Yin Zhi was genuinely curious and asked, "The boss isn't even here, so why are you so tired too?"

Su Xingze smiled and took a sip of his iced juice. "Modern technology is just too advanced."

Assistant Yin scratched his head. "What does that mean?"

"Don't ask." Assistant Xu patted his shoulder. "Keep asking and the boss will have our heads."

Assistant Yin wisely kept his mouth shut.

They had two storefronts to check out that afternoon. They weren't far from each other, and the square footage was about the same. The first was in too remote a spot with hardly any foot traffic; the second was surrounded by cake shops. But both landlords were willing to cut him a deal.

Su Xingze mulled it over and ended up going with the one he'd seen yesterday. It cost more, but it hit every mark otherwise.

Yin Zhi and Xu Xiaoping dropped Su Xingze off at the villa and headed back to the office since they had stuff to do.

Su Xingze chatted with the cake shop owner, then filled Master Li in on the situation.

Master Li set up a meeting at a cake shop to talk about next steps and the future.

This time, Master Li showed up in a hat and mask, with only his eyes showing.

Su Xingze had booked a private room with no cameras. Only then did Master Li take off his hat and mask, speaking carefully: "The Su family's been looking for me lately. My son's in college, not in Zecheng City—he only comes back once a semester, so he's fine. But my wife and I keep getting followed by random people, so I've gotta be careful."

"Uncle Li, have your wife come stay at the villa. She can keep Aunt Zhang company. And you should quit your current job too—come help me run the cake shop. Once it opens, I'll make you the assistant manager."

"About the Su family—there's something else I need to tell you." Master Li leaned in and whispered so only the two of them could hear: "I found that auntie who got let go. She used to work in the Su family kitchen, then got fired. Now she's working in a big restaurant's kitchen."

"Can you bring her on? Have her learn cake-making with you." Su Xingze remembered an auntie who cooked really well. He never got why Su Ping had let her go—none of the ones who came after could match her cooking.

Master Li said cheerfully, "Sure thing! She said there's something she can only tell you face to face."

"Thank you, Uncle Li." Su Xingze ordered a slice of every cake, covering the whole table, and said, "Let's try them together. See how today's cakes stack up against the old ones."

"I was thinking the same thing. I'm planning to do some research on what cakes and breads sell best these days. Times have changed—I gotta keep up with the trends too." Master Li tried a slice of mango cake, looking impressed. "It's not as sweet as before, and the texture's finer. Seems like they've shifted toward texture and health."

"Uncle Li, I want to keep the prices reasonable." Su Xingze showed him the menu. "Cakes and breads are way too expensive now. They're practically luxury items at this point—soon nobody'll be able to afford them."

Master Li smiled and said, "You really take after Ms. Su. She used to say the exact same thing."

There was no way they could finish all those cakes, so Su Xingze boxed some up to take home.

He made it home before dark. Xiaolu had texted saying he'd be home in half an hour and had picked up stuff for dinner—he was gonna make bubble wontons for him.

But on the way home, Su Xingze got sidetracked. By the time it got dark, Xiaolu texted that he was already home, but Su Xingze still wasn't done.

He was crouched by a flower bed near home, shining his phone's flashlight into the bushes. It was October, and the weather was turning cold, but from the bushes came a steady meowing—soft and faint, clearly a kitten that'd been starving for a while.

Su Xingze searched around a few times. The kitten was too skittish and kept hiding. He almost caught it a couple of times, but it slipped away at the last second.

The flashlight caught the kitten's butt and tail a few times—it was a brightly colored calico, with a tail that was a mix of three colors in a tabby pattern and a yellow patch on its back leg.

The patches on its body were ridiculously cute, each one perfectly placed. It was a long-haired kitten, so it looked all puffy, and it waddled when it walked, tail sticking up like a little antenna—fluffy and adorable.

"Here, kitty, come home with me." Su Xingze called for ages, but it wouldn't come out—it just ran deeper into the bushes.

He loved animals, but ever since he was a kid, Su Ping and his stepmom never let him keep pets. Now that he'd finally found a kitten—and a gorgeous long-haired calico, no less—he had to catch it and give it a life of luxury.

His phone buzzed.

Lu: [Chen Chen, you almost here?]

Xingchen: [Not yet, I'm busy. Do we have a fishing net at home? Or cat food?]

Lu: [Are you catching fish? Wait—are you catching a cat?]

Xingchen: [Yeah, I heard meowing on my way home and found an adorable little calico in the bushes. But it's super scared of people and won't come out no matter how I call. It's so tiny, and it's supposed to rain today. If I don't save it, it definitely won't make it through the night.]

Lu: [Okay, send me your location. I'll bring some jerky to help.]

Su Xingze sent his location and kept searching, only to find the little calico had crawled into a cardboard box. Then another meow came from inside. The two kittens called back and forth, like they were talking to each other.

Su Xingze's heart melted. He went "meow meow meow" for ages, but neither kitten budged.

The weather wasn't cooperating—a light drizzle started, gradually picking up, and before long the concrete was soaked.

"Looking for a cat?" A young voice suddenly came from behind him. The rain over his head vanished, blocked by a big clear umbrella.

Su Xingze stood up and looked at the neatly dressed kid in front of him. He was in a school uniform, backpack slung over one shoulder, holding the umbrella casually, eyes fixed on the bushes.

Su Xingze nodded. "I want to adopt them, but I've been trying to catch them for ages with no luck."

The kid gave him a once-over. "They've been messed with before, so they're really skittish around people. I've been feeding them for a week, so they're kinda used to me. If you can promise you'll take good care of them, I can help you catch one."

"Really?" Su Xingze said excitedly. "I swear I'll take great care of them! I'll buy them so much canned food they'll never run out!"

The kid handed him the umbrella, crouched down, and pulled out some kitten food from his bag, adding a few scoops of goat milk powder.

The kittens had been starving. As soon as they caught the smell, they came out one by one, tentatively licking a few bites before digging in.

Su Xingze finally got a good look at both kittens. They looked a lot alike. Both had "eight-character" face markings, heads split half black and half orange, with thick patches of color on their bodies—except one had simpler markings and the other's were more complicated.

"This one with the more intricate pattern, I'm taking it home." The youth pointed, not leaving Su Xingze any room to argue.

Su Xingze had initially spotted the one with the simpler pattern; guess it was meant to be—this kitten was destined to go home with him.

The kitten finished its meal, and Su Xingze scooped up his kitten: "Thanks, without you, I definitely wouldn't have caught it."

"Yeah, if you like it, you can come check out my cat café." The youth pulled out his phone, offering a QR code: "This is my WeChat. If you have any questions, just hit me up."

Su Xingze glanced at it, thinking the cat café's location looked really familiar—had he seen this spot before?

When Lu Xingwen showed up with the landing net, he happened to see this exact scene: Chen Chen chatting and laughing with a young Alpha, exchanging WeChat contacts, both huddled under one umbrella, each cradling a calico kitten, deep in conversation.

That image really stung Lu Xingwen; it was like he'd watched this same thing happen years back.

Lu Xingwen dropped the net, went straight over, and pulled Su Xingze close, asking with a wary look: "Who are you?"

The youth glanced at Lu Xingwen's gesture, immediately figuring out it was a territorial move. He carefully calmed the kitten, explaining, "My name is Ying Yue, a senior in high school."

Lu Xingwen narrowed his eyes; he disliked that surname.

"Surname Ying?" Su Xingze's hand, which was soothing the cat, froze. He looked up. The surname was rare—he'd never encountered it before in his life; this was only the second person he'd met with it.

The youth's expression remained indifferent: "My dad's coming home today; he texted me to head back for dinner, so I'll be off."

Lu Xingwen suddenly asked, "Do you know Ying Ying?"

The youth halted, turning back: "Never heard of him."

Then he walked away without looking back.

Su Xingze held the kitten, having caught some rain; his shoulder was damp, but the kitten was unharmed, burrowing into his chest and letting out a cutesy, high-pitched meow.

Su Xingze patted its back: "Be good, we'll find you a little nest once we're home."

Lu Xingwen wasn't sure which jealousy to address first; he tugged at Su Xingze, asking, "Who was that guy just now?"