Kong Ruilan and Bai Jun exchanged a few pleasantries before she turned to Ye Yang. “This young friend looks unfamiliar.”
“Oh, this is my friend, Ye Yang. ‘Yang’ as in ‘rippling waves.’ He’s not part of the scene—still a student.”
“I see,” Kong Ruilan said, giving Ye Yang a friendly smile.
Kong Jiamu finally recovered, tugging at his mother’s sleeve and murmuring, “He’s my classmate.”
Kong Ruilan understood and grew even warmer. The group chatted happily for a while, mostly Bai Jun and Kong Ruilan doing the talking. Before they parted, Kong Ruilan slipped Ye Yang several invitations, telling him to bring friends to her fashion show next week.
“My first show in Dongzhou—what a coincidence, don’t you think?”
Ye Yang couldn’t refuse, so he politely thanked her and took them, even though he had no idea what a fashion show even was.
Kong Jiamu exchanged several words with Bai Jun and even got his contact info. Thoroughly satisfied, he now looked kindly upon everyone and volunteered to keep Ye Yang company.
Bai Jun thought it over. Although his original intention wasn’t just to bring Ye Yang along to eat and drink, Ye Yang was only interested in that anyway, so he had no choice. Having a familiar classmate accompany him worked.
Kong Jiamu started off like a mother taking her child out to see the world, a bit disdainful. “Look around—how many people here are actually eating? Just you.”
But soon enough, he turned into, “Hey, try this. This one’s good. Don’t just stare at the cheap stuff.”
He had to admit—when someone could stay so focused on eating at an event like this, and was such an adorable person to boot, it was hard not to keep feeding them.
Ye Yang kept thanking him as he accepted the food, his mouth too full to speak clearly, yet somehow never seeming rude.
Before the banquet was even half over, he was already full.
Kong Jiamu didn’t know why he felt so satisfied. He propped his chin on his hand and pondered—was this how his sister felt when she fed her niece?
Whatever, not important. He needed to send Ye Yang off quickly so he could get to his real business.
…
The dinner wasn’t over yet, and Bai Jun couldn’t leave. Ye Yang said goodbye to him and headed out first—he had class tomorrow.
As he passed through the parking lot, Ye Yang suddenly stopped and took two steps back.
If his perception wasn’t wrong, that little otter playfully begging for attention from the beautiful woman was none other than Little Thirteen.
What a coincidence—running into two classmates today. Kong Jiamu he could understand, since he’d always been in the human world. But Little Thirteen? What was he doing here?
Taking a closer look, Ye Yang’s mouth twitched. The little otter was clinging to the woman’s arm with all four paws, eyes closed and face full of bliss, making whining sounds so dramatic that even a stray cat passing by stopped in shock. Where did this little flirt come from, making such shameless noises?
At the exit of the hotel’s open-air parking lot, a stylish woman with big curls was standing by her car, chatting with another woman in an updo. They were talking about Little Thirteen.
Ye Yang eavesdropped and heard the curly-haired woman raving to her friend: “I wasn’t planning on getting a pet, but Little Thirteen is just too cute! You won’t believe it—I was just passing by, and suddenly he crawled out of the water and latched onto me. Scared me half to death at first.”
Ye Yang: … Same name and everything. No doubt about it.
Little Thirteen immediately lifted his head and let out two indignant squeaks, which made the curly-haired woman laugh. “See? I told you he’s really smart. He knows I’m talking about him.”
The woman with the updo: “Really? Probably just a coincidence.”
“No, really! Animals might not understand words, but they can sense your tone! When I was sad, Little Thirteen even brought me a gift.”
“That impressive?” The updo woman was starting to waver. “Where did you say you bought him? I’m kind of tempted to get one. Is quarantine a hassle?”
Ye Yang’s expression grew more complicated by the second. What on earth are you doing, Little Thirteen? Since when did you become someone’s pet?
The two women chatted and laughed as they drove off. Ye Yang headed toward the subway station, pulling up his chat with Little Thirteen.
The last time they’d talked was just two days ago, about what happened in Luo Yang City.
Little Thirteen had been lamenting that even a city like that could have something so horrific happen, and that the demon realm was getting more chaotic. But at least where they lived was pretty remote—no rare treasures, no powerful demons—so life was stable.
Wait. Ye Yang scrolled up through their chat history. Something was off.
Little Thirteen used to invite him to his clan’s territory all the time, consistently for nearly two years. But starting three months ago, he hadn’t mentioned it once.
Not only that, but Little Thirteen had also stopped talking about how beautiful and comfortable his clan’s territory was.
Could something have happened?
But Little Thirteen seemed otherwise fine—other than being way too clingy…
Whatever. He’d send a message and ask.
·
The next day, Ye Yang finally received a reply from Little Thirteen.
“Ye Ye, what are you talking about? I don’t get it.”
Ye Yang narrowed his eyes. Playing dumb, are you?
Ye Yang hadn’t thought much of it at first, but now he couldn’t help but be suspicious. He immediately video-called him.
As expected, Little Thirteen didn’t pick up. So Ye Yang sent a photo instead—the picture he’d taken the day before in the parking lot of Little Thirteen acting all cute and clingy.
There was a long silence on the other end. Ye Yang didn’t receive a reply until after two classes had ended.
Unexpectedly, Little Thirteen was still playing dumb.
Staring at the message “Who’s that? They look just like me,” Ye Yang laughed in spite of himself. So he wanted to play hardball, did he?
Ye Yang ignored Little Thirteen’s increasingly obvious attempts at misdirection. After school, he contacted Lu Xun directly: “Brother Lu, I need a favor.”
A packet of spiced beef later, he had Little Thirteen’s current location—a wealthy villa district in Dongzhou, not far from the banquet hall from the night before.
Ye Yang climbed over the wall to avoid the security at the neighborhood entrance, deftly evaded the patrols, and found Little Thirteen in less than three minutes.
Little Thirteen was in the yard, hiding in a blind spot of the security cameras, playing on his phone.
He was living the good life. The back fence was low, and Ye Yang could see that the villa’s uniquely shaped outdoor pool had been completely transformed into an otter habitat. A massive log spanned the middle, a half-built nest sat nearby, and branches were piled along the shore.
There was even a large tank filled with shellfish, so the little otter could enjoy the freshest seafood anytime.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Ye Yang could also see a room inside filled with various objects he didn’t recognize, along with a crib. But judging by the many photos of Little Thirteen around the room, it was almost certainly his room. The unfamiliar items were pet supplies bought for him too.
“Man, you’ve really got her wrapped around your little finger. Impressive as always, Little Thirteen.”
Little Thirteen’s paw twitched. Out of habit, he stuffed his phone into a plastic bag, quickly tossed it into a deep hole in the corner, and lifted his leg. A lid disguised as a landscaping feature flipped over and covered the hole.
The whole process took less than half a second. Ye Yang watched in awe.
Only after finishing did Little Thirteen cautiously turn around, hesitating. “Ye Ye…”
Ye Yang crossed his arms. “Not pretending anymore?”
Little Thirteen gave a silly, sheepish laugh, avoiding eye contact. “Ye Ye, you’ve leveled up again, haven’t you? You walk without a sound, your aura doesn’t leak at all—you didn’t even trigger my sensing array. You’re so amazing!”
“Cut the flattery. Just tell me—what’s really going on? Don’t lie to me anymore. I know you.” Little Thirteen loved freedom above all else. There was no way he’d become someone’s pet unless he had no choice… even if this pet life was more comfortable than many humans’.
“I—I had no choice!” Little Thirteen wailed and suddenly burst into tears.
Large teardrops rolled down his increasingly round little face, sliding past the enormous gemstone collar around his neck, and disappearing into fur that the beautiful lady had kept glossy and sleek. Ye Yang’s eye twitched as his feelings swung between sympathy and envy.
“M-my family’s having some problems. We need money urgently.”
Ye Yang was even more confused. “But you’re someone’s pet. Pets don’t get paid. How are you making money?”
Little Thirteen coughed a couple of times, a bit guiltily. “Well, you’ve seen it yourself—my owner really loves me, so she’s happy to spend money on me. My family… did some things.”
After listening for a while, Ye Yang finally understood. Little Thirteen and his family had orchestrated something like a “pig-butchering” scam.
They sold Little Thirteen for a sum of money. Then Little Thirteen’s food and supplies all had to be bought from their store—more money. Occasionally, Little Thirteen would pretend to be sick, and a “otter expert” would come by for a house call.
Between one thing and another—a few thousand here, a few thousand there—they had already made tens of thousands of dollars from Little Thirteen’s owner.
After expenses, they’d cleared forty or fifty thousand.
Ye Yang thought for a moment, then smacked his fist into his palm. “That’s fraud.”
“No, no, no—how is that fraud!” Little Thirteen protested loudly. “It’s a willing transaction with clear prices!”
“If anything’s wrong, it’s that I’m not imported from abroad—I’m locally sourced. But the emotional value I provide is way more than a regular pet’s. Plus, I don’t poop or pee everywhere!”
Ye Yang: “…” He’s completely internalized being a pet, hasn’t he?
Still, he accepted Little Thirteen’s logic. Then his concern returned. “How much money do you need? Isn’t this method too slow?”
“Haha, don’t worry about that. We only need thirty thousand more. That’s it!” Little Thirteen waved a paw cutely.
“Only that much?!” Ye Yang nearly shrieked. “If it’s only that much, why not just borrow from any classmate? Borrow from me! Doesn’t YCG have support channels too? Go find Teacher Yu—would he really leave you hanging?”
Little Thirteen rubbed his face with both paws and suddenly went quiet. The exaggerated, difficult expression on his face slowly faded, replaced by a sadness he was desperately trying to hide.
Ye Yang frowned. He had never seen Little Thirteen like this. The Little Thirteen he knew was always carefree, lively, and cheerful. If something was bothering him, he wore it on his face.
But this forced smile…
Ye Yang: “What’s really going on?”
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