Chapter 9
Nighttime, at the police station.
An incident involving assault with a deadly weapon had occurred late at night—a very serious matter. However, after questioning, the police learned that Wen Xin didn’t know the man who had been following him.
Well, partially unacquainted; after carefully examining the man’s face, Wen Xin seemed to have a vague impression of him.
It wasn’t until his colleague received a phone call and hurried over, anxious and flustered, that he understood why he had been caught up in this misfortune.
The man’s face flushed red up to his neck. “You were pulling and tugging with this pretty boy in broad daylight and even let him touch your waist! Are you two secretly seeing each other behind my back?!”
“He’s just my colleague! At noon, I was moving things, and my bracelet fell out of my pocket. I asked him to pick it up and put it back!”
The female colleague argued loudly, her expression on the verge of collapsing. “How could you be like this? Following someone late at night with a knife—what were you planning to do?!”
The man’s eyes were gloomy. Under the piercing gaze of the police, he muttered defensively, “I… I just wanted to scare him a bit; I didn’t intend to hurt anyone.”
The officer taking notes couldn’t hold back.
“So, the wound on his hand—he cut himself, is that it?”
“His hand wasn’t injured by me! If you don’t believe me, you can check the surveillance cameras!”
“The surveillance footage shows you following him all the way home with a knife, and you still want to deny it!”
A policeman slapped the table in anger, speaking sternly, “As for the area where you had the altercation, the surveillance camera broke last month.”
The man stared in disbelief, turning his head to glare viciously at Wen Xin. “You live there; you knew the camera was broken! You’re framing me!”
Wen Xin lowered his eyelids, appearing uneasy as he held his wrist, his whole body trembling.
Seeing that the knife-wielding assailant still dared to threaten the victim right in front of them, the police became extraordinarily angry. “Even now, you won’t admit your mistake! Do you know that intentional assault—regardless of whether you injured someone—can get you sentenced to prison?!”
Realizing he was heading to jail, the man who had acted rashly finally sobered up, his face turning deathly pale.
The commotion continued until the middle of the night before it finally settled down.
Wen Xin and his colleague walked out together. He hesitated and asked the officer worriedly, “I think I might have bruised his wrist while struggling. Will that be a problem?”
The officer had noticed the bruises on the man’s wrist earlier. Thinking that the young man before him looked thin and weak but turned out to have quite some strength, he comforted him, saying, “It’s okay; that’s considered self-defense.”
Wen Xin immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at his own hand. The helpful police officer had bandaged his wound, and it was no longer bleeding.
Given the urgency earlier, he didn’t know if Linshu Kui had left any blood on the ground; he just wanted to do something to cover it up.
As for framing the man, he had been in shock at the time and hadn’t had the chance to think it through.
Beside him, his female colleague couldn’t hold back any longer and began to weep.
“He was always so nice—never hit or scolded me. How could he be so terrifying!”
The man had hidden his true nature too well, showing her only his gentle and considerate side.
Now, seeing his vicious and ruthless demeanor, recalling those moments she had thought were sweet, she felt a chill down her spine.
Wen Xin lowered his voice. “It’s okay. It’s better to see his true nature sooner.”
“I’m really sorry, I’m so sorry.” The female colleague looked at the bandage on his hand, tears falling again, apologizing incessantly out of guilt.
“It’s okay; don’t cry.”
Wen Xin felt that he was really not good with words; when comforting Xiao Hei, he always repeated the same two phrases.
He reached into his pocket and took out some candies he had bought earlier, speaking in a tone as if coaxing a child, “Have something sweet; it’ll make you feel better.”
The female colleague stared at him blankly for a moment and finally broke into a smile through her tears.
*
After helping his colleague into a taxi, Wen Xin turned and saw a small green figure peeking out from the corner of a wall. He couldn’t help but smile.
“Come here,” he extended his hand to Ah Lü.
Linshu Kui didn’t hesitate, running over in a few quick steps. After Wen Xin picked him up, he occasionally glanced at the man’s hand.
He grumbled unhappily.
Why did you hurt yourself? Is it because of human rules?
Ridiculous.
Having wasted so much time, Xiao Hei at home was surely anxious by now.
Wen Xin hailed a taxi and got off at the entrance of his community, hurrying back home.
He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he saw the expressionless black furball waiting by the iron fence.
Finally seeing Wen Xin return safely, Xiao Hei’s heart, which had been in his throat, slowly settled back into place.
However, in the next moment, he saw Ah Lü being held in Wen Xin’s arms, and his gaze immediately turned sharp.
“This isn’t the place to talk.” Wen Xin picked up Xiao Hei and said gently, “Let’s talk when we get home.”
At home, everything was the same as when Wen Xin had left that morning. After all, Xiao Hei wasn’t really a cat and wouldn’t wreck the house.
Just as he turned on the lights, he heard a deafening roar behind him.
Xiao Hei immediately noticed the bandage on Wen Xin’s hand, and since Ah Lü had come home with him, it was hard not to connect the two.
The anger he had been suppressing finally erupted, his killing intent so intense it almost became tangible. “Do you have a death wish?”
Linshu Kui had successfully entered Wen Xin’s home but didn’t feel as happy or proud as he had imagined, mainly because the other’s hand was injured.
Unlike his usual self, he didn’t hold back his anger and retorted sarcastically, “This is a human’s home, not your territory! If you can stay here, why can’t I?”
“Because you’re poisonous!”
Xiao Hei roared, pouncing on Ah Lü and pressing him to the ground. The two furballs immediately tangled together in a scuffle.
With Wen Xin watching nearby, they couldn’t truly go all out, but the commotion was intense.
Xiao Hei shouted, “Just a tiny drop of your venom can kill hundreds of humans! Human bodies can’t withstand your antics!”
“And what about you?” Ah Lü was also furious. “You’ve hurt him when you’re not in control! Your immense strength can kill a weak human in an instant!”
“I can control myself!”
“So can I!”
“No, you can’t!”
“Don’t underestimate snakes! Why can’t I?!”
Xiao Hei’s gaze suddenly turned extremely dark. He pressed Ah Lü firmly to the ground.
Ah Lü’s eyes were bloodshot. After struggling to no avail, he still glared fiercely at Xiao Hei, baring his sharp teeth. His face faintly showed the ferocity and hysteria characteristic of mutants.
“You… can’t,” Xiao Hei said word by word.
He took a deep breath and finally revealed his deepest fear: “Do you remember what you did during Mutant Lethality Test No. 72?”
Ah Lü was stunned, the ferocity in his eyes dissipating, replaced by indescribable panic.
That had happened when they were still trapped in the base.
As fellow mutants, Xiao Hei couldn’t have witnessed other mutants’ trials. But he had formed self-awareness earlier and had overheard conversations among the researchers.
He still remembered how those people had whispered in fear.
“Clearly, five could have survived, but Number Seven bit all the remaining mutants in the arena to death. Tsk tsk, so vicious—can it even be tamed?”
“I think it’s unlikely. That mutant modified from a sheep even cried—it was so pitiful that I felt sorry for it, but it still couldn’t escape death.”
“If it can’t be tamed, then so be it. Anyway, there are plenty of test subjects… What’s happening up ahead?!”
“It’s Number Seven! It woke up and is attacking people! Damn it, someone help!”
These mutants, modified based on one or several animal genes, inherited some of the original genes’ instincts.
And snakes were too fierce and difficult to tame.
Perhaps Ah Lü could suppress his instincts, but Xiao Hei couldn’t gamble on such a tiny, nearly nonexistent possibility.
Watching Ah Lü’s trembling face, Xiao Hei lowered his eyes and issued a final warning: “Get out.”
He stepped back.
Ah Lü’s body quivered. Finally, he stood up dejectedly and used his long tail to twist open the door handle.
Wen Xin didn’t have time to stop him and watched as he ran out.
His outstretched hand froze mid-air, deeply feeling the inconvenience of not being able to communicate. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been left bewildered, watching them argue and fight.
In the current situation, it seemed Ah Lü had lost the argument and ran out in anger.
Wen Xin rubbed his forehead and didn’t rashly chase after him.
The conflict between the two furballs was too great; even if he brought Ah Lü back, they would continue to argue—a vicious cycle.
But perhaps some things weren’t as either of them thought.
Wen Xin extended his hand in front of Xiao Hei. “Xiao Hei, look.”
Xiao Hei stared at the bandage on his hand, his irritable emotions rising again, flicking his tail in annoyance.
Finally, he lowered his head and gently nuzzled Wen Xin’s wrist. “Meow?” Does it hurt?
Wen Xin shook his head.
He knew Xiao Hei could understand him, so he told him what had happened that day.
“Someone tried to hurt me; he saved me.”
Xiao Hei was a bit surprised; the speed of his tail flicking visibly slowed.
“I know you don’t like him getting close to me and don’t want me to bring him home because you’re worried about me.”
Wen Xin didn’t hide anything and openly admitted his vulnerability. “After all, compared to you, I’m too easily hurt.”
“But, Xiao Hei, I can’t blame others for being strong because of my own fragility.”
Xiao Hei was slightly taken aback.
When the young man said this, his gaze was firm. Even though his body seemed so weak compared to mutants, there was an unshakable strength in his eyes.
“Moreover, he hasn’t hurt me so far and even saved my life.”
He rubbed Xiao Hei’s head again. “I want to repay him by bringing him home. If you’re worried, I’ll start morning exercises tomorrow to make myself stronger. What do you think?”
Wen Xin didn’t make a unilateral decision or use an authoritative tone because Xiao Hei, to him, was family—a member of this household.
When a second child is born, the first child might feel very upset. As a younger brother, Wen Xin didn’t know that feeling.
But he thought that his elder brother, Wen Jinfeng, had ignored him for so many years because there was resentment.
He didn’t want Xiao Hei and Ah Lü to end up like that.
Xiao Hei’s face was sullen, his thoughts unreadable. After a long while, he still didn’t relent and turned away.
Wen Xin paused, unable to suppress a sigh.
In the latter part of that night, it started to rain again.
