Chapter 21 New Parents: A cat, a dog, a family of four? ...

This brand of strawberry milk is delicious, sweet but not cloying, with a rich milky flavor, but it's a bit pricey. Li Baidong only occasionally puts a dozen in his shopping cart when the supermarket has a sale.

Li Baidong didn't know when Xing Lan discovered he liked this drink, nor did he know when he bought it. No matter how you looked at Xing Lan, he didn't seem like the type to carry a bottle of strawberry milk with him.

Li Baidong held the milk, looked up at Xing Lan, and his expression changed quickly. Just a moment ago he was gloomy and depressed, but now he smiled brightly: "Thank you, brother, this is my favorite drink."

Xing Lan crossed her arms, didn't even glance at him, and coldly turned her face away, as if the bottle of milk had nothing to do with him and had just fallen from the ceiling of the pet hospital.

A short while later, the operating room door opened.

The vet came out carrying the kitten: "Are the fox's parents here?"

"Yes," Li Baidong and Xing Lan said in unison, turning their heads to speak.

Li Baidong stepped forward first and carefully took the fox from the doctor's arms.

Xing Lan immediately followed and stood beside Li Baidong, looking down at the kitten with concern.

The fox had an Elizabethan collar around its neck. Because it was anesthetized during the surgery, its eyes were still not very clear, and its little head was swaying, as if it were drunk.

Li Baidong gently stroked its head, wrapped it in a soft blanket, his brow furrowed, his eyes filled with heartache.

"Observe it for another half hour. If there are no problems, it can be discharged," the doctor instructed. "Do not feed it for six hours after the operation. Pay close attention to its condition these few days. If there are any special circumstances, contact us immediately."

"Okay, thank you, doctor." The two hurriedly replied, carrying the kitten to the side like a pair of novice parents.

Half an hour later, the doctor saw that the fox had recovered and was fine, so he told them they could go home.

On the way back with the kitten, Li Baidong suddenly discovered that a large park had been built nearby. It was quite beautiful and had just opened, but many people were already camping there.

He turned his head, like a child seeing a new toy, and said to Xing Lan with anticipation, "Brother, when can we bring the fox and the little prince here to play too?"

Xing Lan, driving the car, didn't even lift her eyelids before saying, "I'm not going."

Most of the people camping on this lawn are young couples who bring their second or third child to play with their kids on the weekend. He and Li Baidong brought two animals to figure out what was going on.

A cat, a dog, and a family of four?

Li Baidong lowered his eyes in disappointment and sighed softly.

Xing Lan is always a bit cold during the day, saying one thing but meaning another, tough on the outside but soft on the inside. But it is precisely because of this that Li Baidong feels his blood surging and his heart burning whenever he recalls Xing Lan's vulnerable and clingy appearance at night.

On the way, Xing Lan received a work call.

After hanging up the phone, he told Li Baidong, "I have a business dinner tonight, so I might be back a little late."

Li Baidong said with some surprise, "You have to socialize on weekends too? Brother, you must be working so hard."

Working overtime on weekends might be something others complain about, but Xing Lan is already used to it.

He doesn't have any hobbies; he works seven days a week, either at work or overtime.

If he's not allowed to work, he doesn't know what he should be doing. Idleness is not his preferred lifestyle; he desperately needs positive feedback and a sense of accomplishment in his position.

After dropping Li Baidong off at home, Xing Lan intended to drive directly to the social event location, but Li Baidong suddenly stopped him, looking mysterious.

"Brother, I want to show you something."

"What?"

He followed Li Baidong for a while and soon arrived at the deepest corner of the garage, an area specifically for parking motorcycles.

Under the dim, cold lights, rows of sleek, shiny motorcycles were parked. One of them was carefully covered with a dust cover, which Li Baidong walked over to and ripped off with a whoosh.

"My new car, isn't it cool?" Li Baidong smiled and raised an eyebrow, tapping the hard front of the car with his long knuckles.

"Actually, I got my driver's license a while ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy one. Recently, I really got the urge, so I bought a used one. It's not the best, but it's not bad, right?~"

Perhaps every man has a natural interest in and longing for something as exciting as a motorcycle. Xing Lan looked at the black motorcycle carefully for a couple of seconds and couldn't help but nod.

“Brother.” Li Baidong paused, then suddenly had an idea and said to Xing Lan, “Where are you going to eat tonight? How about I give you a ride? You can also try out the new car.”

Xing Lan hesitated for a moment, glanced down at the flashy motorcycle that seemed to be full of passion but also harbored hidden dangers, and then silently assessed Li Baidong's driving skills in her mind. She said tactfully, "Forget it, I can go by myself. You stay and take care of Fox."

Li Baidong frowned, seemingly very considerate of his feelings: "I can ask the aunt next door to help look after Fox, but brother, what if you have to drink at your social event today? What if you drink too much? Will someone bring you back?"

"A designated driver will bring me back."

“…Okay.” Li Baidong reluctantly accepted, raising his hand to lovingly touch his new motorcycle, which looked super cool but was now completely useless, his tone revealing a hint of regret.

-

Although Xing Lan disliked the drinking culture in the industry, she had no choice but to attend in order to conduct business.

The VIP room was filled with portly middle-aged men in suits. There were only two young people in the room: him and Lu Yan, a female intern from the company.

When Xing Lan first saw Lu Yan here, she was actually a little surprised. She wondered why President Liao had chosen to bring her along when there were so many people in the company.

Although Lu Yan usually works hard, she has only been with the company for a short time and has not been exposed to many of the business operations. She is also not very familiar with the cases the company has handled before. When she gets nervous, she is more likely to be clueless when asked questions, which is obviously not conducive to her professional image in the eyes of the client.

As for social interactions at dinner parties, whether it's chatting with those bloated old men or taking the initiative to drink on behalf of her boss, this introverted and shy young woman doesn't seem to play any significant role.

However, these are all things that General Manager Liao needs to consider. As the company's director, Xing Lan only needs to fulfill his responsibilities; nothing else is his concern. Besides, he is not one to meddle in other people's business. Those doubts only flashed through his mind for a second before quickly dissipating.

The client they were meeting this time was Liu Heyang, the president of Heyang Group. This old man had thick eyebrows and a heavy accent. Although he kept forcing a smile that he thought was kind, his eyes revealed a shrewdness that Xing Lan couldn't hide, which made her subconsciously feel disgusted.

Seating was supposed to be arranged according to rank, but the vice president sitting next to President Liu had to leave temporarily. President Liu said he didn't like having an empty seat next to him, as he felt it had a bad omen, so he called Lu Yan, who was originally sitting in the far corner, over to fill the seat.

This was Lu Yan's first time attending a social event, and she ended up sitting next to the client's big boss. She was so nervous that her face turned red, and she didn't dare to lift her head for the entire time. General Manager Liu, on the other hand, seemed quite happy, with a rosy complexion, and he smiled and praised her for being beautiful.

He asked Lu Yan, "Little beauty, what's your name?"

"Lu...Lu Yan..." Lu Yan pursed her lips and replied cautiously.

"The deer cry 'yoyo,' as they graze on the wild apples." Mr. Liu drawled out the words, smiling broadly. "No wonder I felt so good about coming here for dinner today. It turns out you're here, my adorable little deer. Haha."

As he spoke, he suddenly reached out and gently flicked Lu Yan's nose, then burst into laughter, as if he had just made a harmless joke with her.

Lu Yan's expression instantly turned awkward and froze, but she still forced herself to say, "Th-thank you, Mr. Liu..."

Xing Lan watched the commotion over there without showing any emotion, her brows slightly furrowed.

The phone on the table suddenly lit up.

Xing Lan clicked on it and found it was just a spam ad promoting a shopping festival.

Since she had already picked up her phone, Xing Lan thought for a moment and then sent Li Baidong a message: [Is Fox feeling better?]

Li Baidong was lying on the sofa at home and replied to him quickly.

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All three photos are of him with a fox.

Xing Lan clearly just wanted to check on the fox's condition, but in the three photos Li Baidong sent in a row, his handsome face was far larger than the cat's face in every single one. They looked more like his personal selfies showing off than group photos.

Xing Lan thought that Li Baidong must have always gone off-topic when writing essays in school, and he couldn't even tell the main point when taking a picture.

He had to drag his finger to zoom in on the right side of the photo until he could see the helpless look in the kitten's eyes after it had just been spayed.

Xing Lan checked the time; several hours had passed since the fox's surgery. He instructed Li Baidong via WeChat to give it some water and to pay attention to its condition.

Li Baidong replied to him: 【I know everything, don't worry, bro. (kiss)】

Less than a second later, another message appeared: [Wrong emoji sent, bro, don't mind (sad face)]

"It's nothing." Xing Lan replied and then turned off her phone.

Compared to the complex relationships between people, the relationships between people and small animals are always much easier to establish.

Xing Lan had never owned a cat before and was always afraid that a cat's sharp claws would hurt people, but the docile fox shattered his previous stereotypes about kittens.

Whenever he worked late into the night, the fox would always come over with light, cat-like steps, lie down next to his laptop, and quietly keep him company, making soft, adorable purring sounds.

As the weather grew colder, the fox increasingly preferred to snuggle in his arms. Its warm little belly, its throbbing heartbeat, and its round head resting against him always made him feel incredibly tender.

Fate can be truly wondrous sometimes. Without realizing it, he seemed to have become the fox's second owner. Just like how Li Baidong took the little prince for walks every day, rain or shine, chatting and making friends with other dog walkers, those dog walkers also regarded Li Baidong as the little prince's second owner.

As Xing Lan was pondering this, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sound from not far away.

With a loud "bang," General Manager Liu slammed the wine glass in his hand onto the table.

"You won't even drink a glass of wine? Are you trying to disrespect me?" He slammed his hand on the table, turned around, and glared angrily at Lu Yan beside him.

A note from the author:

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