Chapter 73 A tentative probe: Warm blood seeped through Wen Han's fingers...

"Boss, I'm really sorry to trouble you again."

"Oh, please don't say that." The pet shop owner would unconsciously lower his head whenever he saw this Omega. This customer was clearly not very old, so why was he so beautiful? He didn't even dare to look at him.

Chu Ji smiled and said, "Let me go in and keep an eye on it. I'm afraid it might scratch people."

"It's nothing." Wen Han put on an apron and a mask and came out. "Just give me the cat."

"Chu Ji?" Wen Han asked in surprise upon seeing the person who arrived. "You keep cats too?"

Chu Ji was seeing Wen Han like this for the first time and found it quite novel. Wen Han felt embarrassed by his scrutiny and said, "I'm here to help, come in quickly."

The cat Chu Ji brought was a black and white cat. It was in a cat carrier and kept thrashing around, looking very timid.

Chu Ji handed him the cat carrier, and Wen Han noticed a faint but noticeable scar on his fair hand.

"Do you like cats too?" Wen Han led him to the cleaning room. Fei Nai'er, who had been lying on the table, immediately stood up when she saw Wen Han bring in a cat.

“This isn’t my cat,” Chu Ji said casually. “I don’t keep pets.”

Wen Han tried to unzip the zipper and let the cat out, but the kitten was very afraid of being attacked and scratched Wen Han's hand with its claws. If he hadn't been wearing gloves, it would probably have been a bloody hole.

"Ouch." Wen Han withdrew her hand and asked, "If it's not yours, then whose cat is it?"

"Boyfriend, I guess."

"Is it the one you went shopping with last time?"

"No." Chu Ji didn't seem to have much affection for the cat. He chuckled softly. "It should be... the second one after that? But soon it will be a stranger."

"But you still agreed to keep his cat," Wen Han whispered. "That cat has a bad temper, but you still took care of it for him, didn't you?"

"That's why we're breaking up." Chu Ji's eyes were cold. "I don't like people who can't read the room."

He chuckled, the warm sunlight seeming rather cold on him: "It's funny, isn't it? He probably watches too many short videos and thinks that because I've raised his pet for so long, I've developed feelings for him and won't want to break up with him."

The cat was very wary; as soon as Wen Han let it out, it arched its back, looking like it might attack at any moment.

"Is this how the cat was delivered to your home?"

"Yeah. I guess he just picked up a stray cat. It's too wild to be kept as a pet. When it came to my house, it was filthy and had fleas on it, so I had to take it to the pet store to get it cleaned."

This Alpha is so stingy! He just picks up a cat and gives it to his partner, but he's not even willing to give it a bath or take it to the vet for a checkup.

"Then let's break up." Fat Nai'er meowed, and the cow cat immediately shrank back and didn't move, letting Wen Han trim its nails.

Wen Han couldn't hold back: "Why did you agree to talk to him if he's so awful?"

"Hmm," Chu Ji joked, "Maybe the more vulgar he is, the more others feel sorry for him. Anyway, he's not my target, and I can get rid of him after I've used him."

Wen Han: "......"

Wen Han silently finished brushing the cat's fur, giving it a bath, and drying it before stroking its little head. The black and white cat was incredibly docile because it was frightened by Fat Nai'er, and Wen Han even felt a little sorry for it.

"Sorry, someone's calling." Chu Ji smiled the moment he answered the phone; Wen Han guessed that this was his real target.

However, the person on the other end of the phone, Chu Ji, seemed serious, showing a rare hint of warmth.

Who is it?

"Big dog." Chu Ji blinked. "You should know who it is, right?"

No. Wen Han thought, I don't want to know.

Wen Han put the calico cat into the cat carrier, and still reminded Chu Ji, "Jing Feng is a nice person, a good person."

Wen Han was initially afraid of Jing Yu's brother. She never expected that Jing Yu, despite his domineering exterior, was actually an honest and simple-minded person.

"I know, I've always liked him." Chu Ji exclaimed, "Now I like him even more. Have you bought any Jing family stocks? Although they've already gone up quite a bit, it's not too late now."

"I bought it." Wen Han was very happy about this, and handed the cat carrier to Chu Ji. He asked, "How much do you get paid to wash a cat?"

"The boss is very nice, I can get half."

"I thought you would hate me," Chu Ji said before leaving.

Upon hearing this, Wen Han asked in a daze, "Why?"

Chu Ji smiled but didn't say anything.

*

With Fei Nai'er around, Wen Han's work went very smoothly. Whether the cats were good-tempered or bad-tempered, they all automatically turned into wooden cats the moment they saw Fei Nai'er, letting Wen Han trim their claws, shave their fur, and give them a bath.

The boss bought them boxed lunches at noon. Wen Ruo's bruises were noticeably less today: "Why did you decide to come out and work?"

"Give me back the money." Wen Han blurted out without warning.

Wen Ruo frowned and asked, "Do you owe money?"

"The cat has been found by its original owner, so if I want to keep it, I'll have to pay them back."

"How much is this cat?"

"Three thousand." If he said twenty thousand, Wen Ruo would definitely think he was crazy.

Gu Zong has really gone mad. It's pure twisted taste! Why not just buy some antique vases to commemorate the occasion, instead of spending 20,000 yuan on a kitten?

Wen Han's phone rang in his pocket. He thought it was Fang Songxia who hadn't told anyone she'd changed her number: "Hello?"

"Wen Han." It was Gu Zong. "It's Saturday, shouldn't you be at work?"

"I've found a faster and freer way to pay back the money." And I don't even have to see those three dead men, Gu Cheng, Gu Yuan, and the housekeeper.

Gu Zong didn't hang up the phone, nor did he say anything.

As Wen Han ate, she realized something was wrong and stopped eating her chicken leg: "How did you know this was my phone number?"

A soft laugh came from the other side.

"Wen Han," Gu Zong asked, "what did you do the night before last?"

——

"If you're half a day late, you'll have half a day's pay deducted."

"Oh." Wen Han gave him the money she had earned that morning.

"Where did you go?"

"Give the cat a bath." Wen Han thought he was going to hold her accountable for posting negative things about Gu Cheng, but she breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't mention it.

"You need to come on time from now on, okay?"

Afraid that he would bring up the matter of the negative posts, Wen Han quickly nodded.

The listening device that Wen Han had discovered last time was stuck on the table. Wen Han glanced at it and asked, "You just leave it here like this?"

Do you know what this is?

Wen Han asked warily, "I don't know, but it probably isn't anything good, is it?"

The butler brought in coffee, and when he saw Wen Han, his expression immediately turned sour. Wen Han took the coffee and said, "This coffee doesn't smell as good as the ones I've had before."

The coffee Jingyu brought him smelled wonderful, even though it tasted very bitter.

The butler said, "Oh, then tell me what brand of instant coffee it is?"

Wen Han knew he was doing it on purpose, so she deliberately placed the coffee next to the listening device and looked up at him.

The butler's pupils twitched slightly when he saw the monitor, but he didn't reveal anything.

After he left, Gu Zong picked up his coffee and took a sip. Wen Han asked curiously, "You still dare to drink the coffee he gave you? Aren't you afraid he might have drugged you?"

Why do you think that?

"Isn't he the only one who can enter your room?"

"He won't."

Wen Han couldn't be sure whether they wouldn't plant a listening device or tamper with the food.

Gu Zong told him to continue reading the book, but Wen Han started to feel sleepy again as she flipped through it.

He doesn't need to take these tests. Alphas and Omegas can just look at them, so why does he have to look at them?

He'd memorize one section and forget the next; if this continued, he'd be behind on his wages for the next day. Wen Han was about to beg him to stop torturing himself; he'd rather sweep the floor than memorize. Just as he opened his mouth, a loud bang startled Wen Han, and the book fell to the ground.

It's definitely Gu Cheng again. Wen Han opened the door and said irritably, "If you're going to go crazy, go outside—"

Upon seeing the scene before her, Wen Han let out a scream.

Wen Han ran to Liu Chuanze's side. He was lying on the ground, his glands were cut and bleeding profusely. The bellflower pheromones spread rapidly.

"Liu Chuanze, are you alright?" Wen Han tightly covered his gland. Liu Chuanze had lost too much blood, and his eyes were starting to glaze over. He couldn't even lift his hand.

Gu Cheng's eyes were bloodshot, he was breathing heavily, and his tobacco pheromones were becoming uncontrollable.

"You're insane!" Wen Han exclaimed in shock. "Do you know what you're doing? He's only in junior high school, several years younger than you! How could you be so cruel!"

"Am I crazy?" Gu Cheng sneered. "Don't think I don't know he's the good helper you found. What, finding a young one as a backer isn't enough, you have to find an old one too? Jing Yu doesn't have the ability, do you have to do it yourself? I think I'll just give you the Gu family's shares, so you won't keep thinking about it all the time."

Warm blood flowed through Wen Han's fingers. Wen Han watched as Liu Chuanze's face lost all color, and even his lips turned pale.

Gu Zong came out after hearing the commotion. Wen Han saw his deep gaze and said, "What are you standing there for? Call an ambulance!"

Gu Zong instructed, "Go and call the doctor over."

Wen Han couldn't believe her ears: "Why didn't you take him to the hospital?"

“This kind of wound just needs stitches.” Gu Zong’s eyes darkened slightly. “Go take a shower; you’ve got a lot of blood on you.”

Wen Han glared indignantly at Gu Cheng. Gu Zong knew what she was thinking and said calmly, "It has nothing to do with who he is. It would be troublesome if reporters took pictures of him. The Gu family's private doctors are no worse than those in hospitals."

The doctor arrived quickly, and Wen Han watched as they carried medical equipment. She first gave Liu Chuanze an injection.

He was sitting to the side when Gu Zong pulled him up: "Your presence will only interfere with the doctor's treatment."

Wen Han was led to change clothes. He closed the door, took out his phone, but didn't know what to do.

He paced back and forth anxiously, biting his fingers, oblivious to the blood still stained them with Liu Chuanze's. After thinking for a moment, he finally sent a message to Jing Yu.

Wen Han belatedly realized that the air was filled with the scent of bellflowers. If she had had the suppressive patch to protect her glands, things might not have gotten so bad.

*

After taking a quick shower, Wen Han, ignoring the water still dripping from her head, dried herself off with a towel and ran out.

The bloodstains on the ground had disappeared, and the chaotic pheromones in the air had dissipated, making it impossible to tell what had just happened.

Liu Chuanze's wound had been stitched up, and Wen Han asked cautiously, "Are you alright?"

Liu Chuanze smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'm just a little dizzy."

He asked softly, "Why are your eyes red?"

Wen Han suddenly regretted it: "It was too dangerous. I shouldn't have told Gu Zong. I should have waited for the right time, as Jing Yu said—"

"No," Yanagawa Ze comforted her. "Don't think like that."

"Gu Cheng is acting a bit strange today. He used to treat me like I didn't exist, and we've never really fought before."

Liu Chuanze laughed and said, "Anyone who didn't know better would think he was hallucinating from poisoning."

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Author's Note: [Dog head with rose in hand]