From birth until now, Zhu Heng had always skirted the edge of lawlessness without ever getting caught. He never expected that this time, he’d gone too far and ended up trapping himself.
Following Bo Jin into the Zhangwei Group building, his legs turned to jelly the moment he saw the words “Supernatural Management Bureau” posted inside the elevator.
Before returning to the country, he’d heard rumors that China had a formal department for managing non-humans. He’d assumed it was similar to the Vampire Alliance or the Wizard Alliance abroad, organizations that only looked after their own and ignored everyone else. Now, it seemed he might have been mistaken.
As the elevator ascended, Zhu Heng nearly collapsed to the floor. Zhen Zhizhang wasn’t faring much better, his eyes rolling back in his head as if he might pass out at any moment.
A single icy glance from Bo Jin froze them both stiff, leaving them standing rigidly in the elevator.
Bo Jin led them into his office, where a white-haired young man was sitting in his chair.
Seeing Bo Jin enter, the young man immediately straightened up. “Oh, you’re back?”
Bo Jin frowned. “What are you doing in my office?”
The white-haired young man pouted and obediently moved to the side. Though Bo Jin didn’t have a cleanliness obsession, his territorial instincts were strong. If it weren’t for the fact that he, as the deputy director, still had his uses, he might have already been thrown out by Lord Zhulong for lacking territorial awareness.
Bo Jin’s brow remained furrowed. “What are you here for today? Don’t just come in whenever you feel like it next time.”
The white-haired young man crossed his legs. “Just a reminder. That person’s observation period ends in a week. You should prepare the risk assessment report. I need to file it in the archives next week. Oh, who’s this?”
The white-haired young man was Bai Jue, the deputy director of the Supernatural Management Bureau. As a divine beast descended from the lineage of Bai Ze, all the bureau’s records passed through his hands. He had countless names memorized from the archives, but the person Bo Jin had brought today clearly wasn’t registered with their bureau.
Bai Jue waited a moment. But when Bo Jin didn’t respond, he looked up in surprise.
Bo Jin paused as he turned on his computer. Before returning to the bureau, he had been discussing the video matter with Pei Shiyi. It felt as though the three-month deadline was still far off, but now Bai Jue was telling him there was only a week left.
The screen flickered to life as the computer finished booting up. For a moment, Bo Jin made no move.
Bai Jue prompted, “Boss?”
“Hmm,” Bo Jin grunted, opening the risk assessment report document.
What did that “hmm” mean? He should say something.
Bai Jue sighed inwardly and repeated his question.
Bo Jin replied, “He tried to steal a cat from a cat café and claimed to be a foreign national. There’s been a group of troublemakers lately. Check if he’s connected to them.”
When it came to official matters, Bai Jue’s expression grew more serious. “I was just about to tell you. This morning, we picked up a lead and have already sent people to follow it. Guess what those things are doing here?”
Bo Jin sat in the sunlight. Without Pei Shiyi around to annoy him, he found it hard to stay alert and soon began to feel drowsy. With great effort, he mustered a bit of focus to listen to Bai Jue’s rambling.
Bai Jue continued, “The black market abroad is much more rampant than here. Wizards and elves over there have always been into keeping pets, right? Some of the unscrupulous ones don’t want to spend money, so they go around capturing cats and dogs that show signs of intelligence. Once they’ve exhausted their own country, they stretch their claws over to our side, engaging in all sorts of shady activities. We’re playing the long game now, letting the line run to catch the big fish and uproot the whole operation to send them back to the West.”
Hearing this, Zhu Heng’s legs went weak, and he collapsed right onto the floor.
Bai Jue was startled. “What’s wrong with him?”
Bo Jin had already pieced together Zhu Heng’s overseas connections based on the information Bai Jue provided and Zhu Heng’s actions from the previous night. At the sound of the thud, he merely lifted his eyes to glance over. “I just said these two went to the cat café last night to steal cats.”
Bai Jue froze for a moment, then immediately narrowed his eyes. Oh, right, that meant these two were likely part of that group!
He clicked his tongue twice. “I was just worried about not having enough evidence to act, and here comes a pillow when you’re sleepy. Boss, I’ll take these two away now.”
Bo Jin said, “Do a thorough check on the fat one first, then hand him over to me later. He’s useful.”
Bai Jue acknowledged with an “oh” and reminded him before leaving, “Boss, don’t forget to write the risk assessment report. It needs the signature of that rare species. Once the observation period is over, I’ll file it away.”
He took the two away for documentation, detained the nearly unconscious Zhen Zhizhang, and sent Zhu Heng back.
Bo Jin casually pulled a report from the printer, folding it lightly twice. “I’m heading back to the cat café now. You guys continue investigating over here. Call me if you need me.”
With that, he walked over, grabbed Zhu Heng by the collar, and vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Bai Jue scratching his head, feeling something off about Bo Jin’s words. Why did he say “back” to the cat café?
Going home or back to the bureau was normal, but “back” to the cat café… How strange. Has the boss started treating the cat café like home?
…
The cat café was especially crowded today, mostly with people coming to see the little tortoiseshell cats.
These two little creatures had rubbed their scent all over the café’s floor, with a crowd of people following them, phones raised to snap pictures.
Their wiggling little bottoms as they walked.
Their plump tails held high.
And… ahem.
As soon as Bo Jin entered, Dai Dai, who was by the door, spotted him immediately and rushed over with a series of meows. Bo Jin bent down, and Dai Dai promptly climbed up his sleeve to perch on his shoulder, curiously eyeing Zhu Heng behind Bo Jin.
Dai Dai tilted his little head. “Meow?”
He felt this chubby uncle looked familiar.
For a cat this size, whose mind is mostly filled with thoughts of what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to still recognize a human he’d only seen once the night before was definitely a sign of a good memory.
Bo Jin reached out and gently lifted him down. “He’s here to shoot a video for our cat café. Where’s your boss?”
Zhu Heng was on the verge of tears. Were they really going to film?
Of course, they were. As the saying goes, make the best use of everything. Since Zhu Heng could no longer work on the documentary, he might as well shoot a promotional video for the cat café.
Though Bo Jin was serious about it, Pei Shiyi had only mentioned it casually.
Facing the trembling Zhu Heng, Pei Shiyi pinched his chin thoughtfully. He had only been teasing in the heat of the moment and hadn’t actually intended to follow through. He hadn’t expected Bo Jin to take it seriously.
Pei Shiyi said, “Forget it. I was just joking. I don’t even have a camera for him to use. You should take him back and question him properly. Focus on your official duties first, Director. Don’t let those people run around causing trouble again.”
It seemed he couldn’t have a proper conversation with Bo Jin without finding some excuse to give him a light jab. Like the latter half of his sentence just now. It had slipped out without much thought. It wasn’t that Pei Shiyi actually wanted to pick a fight. It was just a habit.
Pei Shiyi pressed his knuckles to his lips, feeling like he had too much time on his hands.
Bo Jin very skillfully pressed Pei Shiyi’s teasing back down: “Then we’ll need enthusiastic citizens like Boss Pei to lend a helping hand.”
It takes mortals only twenty-one days to form a habit. Bo Jin, a divine being by nature and far removed from mortal flesh, had somehow developed a peculiar “proficiency” in less than three months.
Pei Shiyi snorted with a laugh: “Such a hypocrite.”
The cat café was open for business, so Pei Shiyi couldn’t stay in the corner chatting with Bo Jin. Just as he was about to turn away, he suddenly remembered something and fished a dark green scale from his pocket.
“Here, your scale.”
Bo Jin recalled the risk assessment report he had just printed and paused. “Keep it. It might come in handy later. You should stay extra vigilant around the cat café these days.” It wouldn’t be long before the Supernatural Management Bureau rounded up the foreigners who had been stealing cats and dogs everywhere and kicked them out. This was the time when they’d be desperate to make one last haul. The number of missing pets in Yuchuan City had skyrocketed.
As the saying goes, it’s not the thief you fear but the thief who has you in mind. Pei Shiyi wasn’t familiar with the foreign system and could easily be taken advantage of.
After giving his warning, Bo Jin rubbed his fingers over the paper for a moment before pulling out the report. “By the way, there’s only one week left in the three-month observation period. I’ve finished printing the report. If everything looks fine, just sign it.”
Pei Shiyi was almost caught off guard: “Huh?”
He blinked, processing the words a beat slower. “Alright, I understand.”
Frowning slightly, he slowly took the report, his expression unusually hesitant, as if holding something back.
Bo Jin’s heart stirred faintly: Could it be that Pei Shiyi had grown accustomed to his presence? It made sense. He had been at the cat café for three months, appearing before Pei Shiyi day after day. Even a plant turned spirit would have developed some attachment.
Once this subtle thought took root, it immediately sprouted, pushing up a lively, spirited shoot.
Divine beings who could swallow rivers and drink seas often had a tendency toward overflowing compassion. Pei Shiyi was like this, and Bo Jin was no exception. The thought that Pei Shiyi might feel even a little reluctance made Bo Jin subtly flex his fingers, preparing to say something comforting.
Pei Shiyi unfolded the report and skimmed through it in seconds. He held back for a moment, but couldn’t contain himself any longer. Turning his shoulder away, he suddenly laughed: “Great… I can order a cake tomorrow.”
Bo Jin expressionlessly plucked that triumphant little shoot.
Author’s Note:
Bo Jin: I’m leaving…
Pei Shiyi: Good!
Bo Jin: ??
Author Yu: I feel like their development is a bit off… All this bickering now will become black history later.
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152