Chapter 11: Family
“You’re Opal. And you’re Diamond.”
As soon as he got home, Lin Jiangye promptly named the two crows. The little crow became Opal—because compared to diamonds, it liked opals more. The diamonds he bought at the jewelry building, on the other hand, were Big Crow’s favorite.
The two crows happily rubbed against him, making Zang’ao so jealous he could hardly stand it.
“Meow-ow!” An indignant cry rang out in the living room. Zang’ao leapt forward and threw himself into Lin Jiangye’s arms, conveniently driving the two birds away.
[He’s my human!]
Just as Zang’ao was hissing at the crows, he suddenly felt something heavy around his neck. Lowering his head—eh? There was something sparkly there!
Then he felt warmth on the tip of his ear—his human was kissing him!
“This is a gift for Zang’ao. Officially welcoming you as my family.”
When buying diamonds for the crows, Lin Jiangye had accidentally spotted a pearl necklace with an emerald pendant. At a single glance, he knew—it was perfect for Zang’ao.
Zang’ao was a pure tabby, deep brown with black stripes. At night, his eyes shimmered like emeralds.
A tabby like that was meant to wear an emerald necklace.
As for the length being too long? Easy—have it altered.
Zang’ao raised a paw to touch the necklace, looking up in disbelief.
[I get one too?]
He shook his head, ear tufts swaying.
[But I didn’t help you… I can’t even hunt properly.]
Compared to the little snakes and bugs he caught, his human could casually bring back dozens of pounds of meat.
Lin Jiangye smiled and kissed the cat’s forehead.
“As long as Zang’ao stays home and keeps me company, you’re already helping.”
Just thinking about a little cat waiting for him at home softened his heart instantly.
His relationship with the crows was more cooperative. He liked Opal very much—but Opal didn’t necessarily have to stay with him.
At least, that’s what he thought.
He had completely underestimated his own pull on animals.
Or rather, he hadn’t realized that even after returning to the real world, he could still attract them in droves.
Hearing that, Opal immediately exploded.
[Human! You can’t like the old and abandon the new! You gave us names—we’re staying with you!]You gave us names, and now you say we’re not family? How dare you!
“Eh?”
Seeing Opal’s feathers puffed up in outrage, Lin Jiangye finally realized—naming them meant belonging.
Wasn’t that something from the other world? So even real-world birds thought the same?
That didn’t matter.
What mattered was that Opal wanted to stay.
He turned to Diamond.
“Caw!” [Human, since you’re so generous, this crow wouldn’t mind staying with you either.] And he extended a claw.
Listen to that tone—so noble.
Lin Jiangye suppressed his laughter and shook Diamond’s claw solemnly.
“Then thank you for your gracious favor, Diamond.”
With two more family members (birds), he didn’t neglect Zang’ao. He patiently explained what had happened while he was out and how the crows had helped him.
Zang’ao might be jealous, but he understood—there were things he couldn’t do that the crows could. He had no real objection to these new “family members.”
His human was so good. It was only right to have more creatures protecting him.
That night, Lin Jiangye’s villa was filled with a black mass of crows. They gobbled up their feast with loud caws, then happily carried their diamonds home to admire.
[Human, call us next time you need help!]
They were so thrilled they wished they could help again tomorrow.
After they left, only one man, one cat, and two crows remained.
Since Opal and Diamond were staying, the shared birdcage he’d prepared wouldn’t do anymore.
That was a dormitory! His own birds deserved luxury accommodations.
Over the next few days, Opal and Zang’ao quickly grew close.
Zang’ao had just moved in and wasn’t fully familiar with the territory. Both he and Opal were young and playful—naturally, they bonded fast.
As for Diamond—he was the elder. Opal’s elder, and now Zang’ao’s too.
With Diamond watching over the house, Lin Jiangye felt that even if he went away for several days, things wouldn’t fall into chaos.
—
Meanwhile, the entire criminal investigation division of Yue City had launched a joint investigation into the child trafficking ring.
Using the guise of family members to forcibly take children—this “scheme” had appeared more than once in Yue City.
But in previous cases, the traffickers had fled before real police arrived. The group Shang Fuyan caught were the first apprehended on the spot.
Under interrogation, they admitted that a trafficking organization indeed operated within Yue City.
However, when police raided one of their dens, it was already empty.
As for other locations—they didn’t know.
“We’ve got different bosses, each with their own spots. Only the boss knows the others’ locations. They’re all in Yue City or nearby. The headquarters… we don’t know exactly where. Just that it’s definitely in Yue City.”
The revelation enraged the entire city police force.
Yue City was one of the country’s four top-tier megacities.
And traffickers had chosen it as their base?
Hiding in plain sight?
All criminal divisions mobilized.
As the first captain to capture traffickers, Shang Fuyan’s district bureau earned major merit. He was appointed deputy lead for the operation.
“The abandoned site still had a lot of documents. They left in a hurry,” someone reported.
Hurry meant that the moment those three were arrested, word had reached the den.
Was someone watching them?
Or watching the police station?
“Release a wanted notice based on the suspects’ information. Alert the entire city,” the chief ordered.
Transportation hubs and exits were immediately put under stricter ID checks.
Shang Fuyan thought, inevitably, of Lin Jiangye’s crows.
There were at least tens of thousands of crows in Yue City.
With their help, perhaps the police could locate the traffickers faster.
Beyond facial recognition, he also wondered whether crows could track scent from items left at the abandoned den.
After the meeting, Shang Fuyan immediately contacted Lin Jiangye, inviting him to a private restaurant.
Lin Jiangye initially didn’t want to reply.
Five minutes later—his phone chimed repeatedly.
He opened it.
Photos. Real-life shots of signature dishes.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
Before deciding whether to respond, another photo came through.
A majestic raven.
“My friend’s friend is going abroad. They need to rehome their raven. Interested?”
Lin Jiangye: “…”
He laughed in disbelief.
This man had pinpointed his weakness perfectly.
No wonder he’d become a criminal investigation captain before thirty.
When they parted earlier, he had asked why Shang Fuyan used a raven to tempt him. Back then, the man simply asked, “Don’t you like ravens?” without answering directly.
Now Lin Jiangye threw the question back.
Perhaps because he truly needed help this time, Shang Fuyan gave a proper answer.
“I checked. Ravens are the largest crow species and extremely intelligent. Most crow enthusiasts dream of raising one. So I assumed you’d like one too.”
Nowadays, the hardest part wasn’t the permit—it was finding a legitimate breeding source.
Lin Jiangye had been an ordinary person. He had no idea where to get one.
And the regulation allowing captive breeding had only been implemented in the last two years. Such facilities were rare.
Now Shang Fuyan was placing a raven right in front of him.
One nod—and it would be his.
Who could resist that?
He certainly couldn’t.
Lin Jiangye took a deep breath, huffed, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door.
Halfway there, he stopped.
Turning back to look at one cat and two crows at home, he lowered his head and texted:
“Can I bring pets?”
At the private restaurant, Shang Fuyan’s lips curved upward when he saw the message.
Hooked.
