Just then, his cell phone, which he had slipped into his pocket, rang.
"Don't get angry~ Getting angry hurts your health~ Don't get angry when others are angry..."
The humming outside abruptly stopped, and Wen Zheng reached out and hung up the phone. His muscles tensed even more, a steel bar held horizontally in his hand. The person outside approached the door step by step, and the door was pulled open—
"Aaaaaah, brave warrior, spare my life!!!"
Wen Zheng held the steel bar to the man's neck, then recognized him and frowned: "It's you!?"
Just then, something fell to the floor from the living room dining table with a thud, followed by an annoyed yell—
"...Big Black!?"
Five minutes later.
Wen Zheng put on a t-shirt, hiding the pendant underneath, and sat coldly in the chair.
The pet shop owner, Little Yellow Hair, sat awkwardly on the soft sofa, facing him.
Dahei was pressed firmly against Wen Zheng's knees, and he stroked it from head to tailbone, making a snoring sound.
"So, Dahei found me, then came to you for help, and you brought me back?" Wen Zheng found it absurd: "How did you know where I live?"
"You said it." The blond-haired guy stood with his legs together like a little wife. Even though he was the one who saved the person, he seemed timid and hesitant, as if he was about to run away at any moment.
Wen Zheng: "I said? How could I say anything?"
The blond guy glanced at the black guy and said, "You're just talking nonsense. Tell me your address and I'll call you a taxi back."
Wen Zheng: "..." He was momentarily at a loss for words, the problem being that even after he fell unconscious, he couldn't be certain he hadn't been talking in his sleep. And why had Da Hei found him? How had he done it?
After an awkward silence, Wen Zheng frowned and asked, "Then how did you get in?"
"Uh, fingerprint and iris verification."
Wen Zheng's house didn't have anything of great value, and with the current high level of security technology, unless the person himself was truly unable to open the door, and he was confident in his own abilities, he had always kept it set up this way for convenience.
Although all the information matched, Wen Zheng still felt something was off. But the joy of finding his cat overshadowed all other worries, and seeing that the little blond didn't seem like a bad person, he invited him to stay for a meal.
Startled by the sudden surge of powerful demonic energy, the little blond cat jumped to its feet, shrieking in a high-pitched voice, "No need, thank you! Just let me know if you need anything next time. Free cat food, cat litter, and cat treats! Goodbye, my lucky customer—"
After saying that, he stepped onto the windowsill and jumped out of his window.
Wen Zheng: "!" His house is on the second floor!
I rushed to the window and looked down. Little Yellow Hair ran out whole. Despite his small size, he ran quite fast.
What's going on?
After a moment's reaction, Wen Zheng turned around and saw that Dahei had already curled up on the dining table, squinting its eyes and waiting for the food.
After days of anxiety, his heart finally settled, and he finally smiled.
Soon, his face darkened, and he strode up to Big Black, grabbing it by the scruff of its neck with one hand.
"Run away from home?" Wen Zheng's tone was dangerous: "You're really something, aren't you? One minute you're not eating, the next you're nowhere to be seen. Is it fun outside?"
"Roar roar roar—"
"Hmph? You're still yelling at me? You're not eating."
...
Fifteen minutes later, a plate of fried fish balls was placed on the table, and Wen Zheng said softly, "Eat."
Big Black didn't seem too happy. He looked at the plate and then at Wen Zheng, reluctantly jumped onto the table, rolled up a tender and juicy little fish ball, and put it in his mouth.
Just now, Little Yellow Hair was fiddling with Wen Zheng's pot in the kitchen, setting a timer. Now, the smart home system is sending a notification: [Your porridge is ready, please...]
Wen Zheng got up, slammed his hand on the wall, and forced the system to shut up again. He then ladled out a bowl of porridge and sat down opposite Da Hei.
The warm sunshine shone down as Wen Zheng drank his porridge, feeling a warmth that reminded him of when his parents were still alive.
However, some problems had to be faced. After Dahei finished eating, he reached out and held Dahei's head still, making it look at him.
Do you want freedom?
Big Black looked at him and swished its tail.
Wen Zheng opened the window again and pointed outside: "If you want to leave, stand outside the window now, and I'll take you to the countryside. If you don't want to leave, you can't go out without my knowledge in the future."
Whether Dahei understood or not, it jumped down from the dining table, strolled into the bedroom, and jumped onto the bed as if it were going to sleep.
“…No.” Wen Zheng pulled it up: “Are you going out or not? Give me a straight answer!”
"Roar!" Big Black wriggled, and Wen Zheng picked it up and placed it on the windowsill, pinching its paws and pointing them out: "Look! It's outside! You promised me you wouldn't walk like this by yourself anymore..." Its paws were forcibly pressed outside, and Big Black struggled wildly, the two wrestling amongst themselves: "You have to tell me! Okay! You have to tell me!" "Awooo—" "Tell me and I'll take you there!" "Heavenly Awooo—"
After a while, Wen Zheng calmed down, panting, and sat on the ground laughing for a bit.
"I'm impressed, you're really my ancestor."
Big Black's fur stood on end, and it glared at him angrily, but still longed for his bed, so it went back to its bedroom.
With the cat found, a major concern was relieved. Wen Zheng changed his clothes and went to the research institute.
Before the examination, he told the researcher about what happened yesterday, and the researcher asked him worriedly if he needed any help.
“I know,” Wen Zheng said. “If there are still traces of the drug in my body, I’ll get a test report.”
"Evidence, right? Okay." The researcher smiled and gave him some more medication to promote circulation: "Take a short nap. If you're not feeling well, reduce the number of times you draw blood today."
No matter how many times he lost blood, he could never get used to it. Wen Zheng's thoughts gradually became scattered, and countless bizarre fragments flashed through his mind.
As he drifted into unconsciousness, a stunningly beautiful face appeared before him. The person was as beautiful as a celestial being from a literary work, with a bright white moon behind them, flowing black hair, and dressed in a wide-sleeved ancient robe. They bowed closer to him—
Your Majesty?
"Wen Zheng, Wen Zheng!" The researcher checked his pulse with one hand, while holding a small inhaler bottle under his nose with the other. He said anxiously, "Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well? I just asked you, don't be stubborn."
"It's nothing." Wen Zheng turned over and sat up, his breathing rapid. After a while, the blackout felt much better. He took the sweet juice the researcher offered and drank a few sips to suppress the nausea.
The researcher said seriously, "You don't value yourself enough. Although the institute is working hard for the future of the next generation, if you're all gone, where will the next generation come from?"
The researcher felt increasingly distressed as he looked at Wen Zheng, thinking that he was just a kid in his early twenties and that he was too soft-hearted.
"Don't come next week, take a good rest. Don't work too hard, you're here on vacation... Look at you, catching bad guys on your vacation? If it really comes down to it, I'll tell your superiors, there's a department that takes care of this."
Wen Zheng put on his clothes, smiled at the researchers, and said, "If I can't figure it out, I'll contact them. For now, just treat it as a game."
"Be mindful of your behavior." The researcher handed the pendant on the table to Wen Zheng and said, "If you don't want your master to nag you, come to my house for dinner next time." He even winked at the end.
Wen Zheng chuckled: "Alright."
The image of the man who looked so much like the king kept lingering in his mind until he stepped out of the elevator and into the mall. Only then did Wen Zheng realize that he hadn't greeted his master. He decided not to go and made up an excuse that he had something to do.
With the cat back, the king has become the second most important thing.
Could it be that I'm dreaming about something I've been thinking about during the day?
In reality, the king could never look like that...
However, the moon, the night sky, the treetops—the surrounding scenery was strikingly similar to what he had seen before he lost consciousness the previous night. Questions arose: How did Big Black find its way back? If it had been wandering the city the whole time, why couldn't the police find it at all? Was Little Yellow's pet shop still open so late last night?
Also, why did I dream of a king wearing clothes I've never seen before?
Wen Zheng took a limp and went to the police station.
***
Rongcheng First People's Hospital.
"It's that kid! That kid is terrifying!" Hong Zhi cried, tears streaming down his face, looking utterly pathetic. Leaning against the hospital bed, he appeared even more haggard. He gripped Jin Fanrong's hand tightly: "Brother, what's the background of your colleague?!"
Jin Fanrong shouted, "How should I know? Brother-in-law, let go! He's just an ordinary contract worker; he's taken the exam for two years and still hasn't gotten a permanent position!" He pulled his hand away, winced in pain, and said aggrievedly, "Why didn't you call the police?"
"Oh, you don't understand!" Hong Zhi's eyes darted around, and he was very agitated.
Jin Fanrong's cousin came in carrying a lunchbox, glared at Jin Fanrong, and then smiled broadly as she touched her husband's belly.
"Oh, my poor Xiao Zhi, he looks so haggard... so thin..."
Jin Fanrong: "…………"
Jin Fanrong left the ward in a daze and sat on a bench outside, still completely bewildered.
Yesterday, everything was fine at first, but then my brother-in-law suddenly needed to go to the restroom. After that, I heard that he was beaten up in the restroom, and his stomach was so badly dented. A bunch of people, including the waiters and the manager, rushed him to the hospital.
In the chaos of war, no one noticed where the remaining guests had gone. The police came to investigate and waited for the unconscious Hong Zhi to wake up.
Who would have thought that when he finally woke up, Hong Zhi immediately grabbed Jin Fanrong and kept asking Wen Zheng about his origins.
What kind of background could Wen Zheng have? He's just an ordinary office worker!
But Jin Fanrong became more and more panicked as he thought about it. Two details that he hadn't noticed, or rather, that he had deliberately ignored, surfaced in his mind.
One reason was that he had seen him in a mysterious elevator in the central shopping mall, and the other was the request his brother-in-law made to him.
One day, he accidentally saw Wen Zheng's photo from a friend and heard that he was an internet celebrity. Curious and jealous, he searched for him and found that it was true, and that he was even playing his brother-in-law's game.
He told his brother-in-law about it as a compliment, and his brother-in-law immediately expressed his appreciation upon seeing the photo, saying that he would love to see him at a banquet and would like to get to know him.
My brother-in-law is going to give me a house, so I have to give him priority in fulfilling any request he makes! So Jin Fanrong would often go over to Wen Zheng and try to get involved in any conversation he had... Finally, he managed to persuade him to come over.
He had a vague feeling of unease, but the apartment in Pingshan hung in his mind like a huge, glittering trophy, within reach. So he put that vague feeling out of his mind.
It wasn't until now that he realized, in a daze, that the one who beat up his brother-in-law yesterday must have been Wen Zheng.
And what does it mean that my brother-in-law didn't dare to call the police? It means he's in the wrong!
What did my brother-in-law do? Or rather, what was he planning to do? Jin Fanrong thought frantically, "I just want a house! A house! A house! Not a 'state-allocated collective house'! But what if I lose the house..."
The ward door clicked open, and Jin Fanrong shuddered.
My cousin's gentle voice rang out: "Fangrong, want to come in for a moment? Your brother-in-law wants to talk to you about the house..."
House, house, house… Jin Fanrong’s heart pounded, and he gritted his teeth as he entered the ward.
"Brother-in-law, what's the order?"
Hong Zhi finally calmed down a bit and touched his stomach, which was wrapped in bandages: "When the police come later, don't mention your colleague."
"Okay, sure."
Hong Zhi's eyes darted around, seemingly surprised that Jin Fanrong had suddenly become obedient. He then said with satisfaction, "Don't overthink it, that apartment is definitely yours, you'll get your share..."
Jin Fanrong thought to himself: Of course I can't be left out. I've been bragging to my parents, my uncles and aunts, my great-uncle, my grandparents, my classmates from elementary school, middle school, high school, and university. What if people ask me about this house if it doesn't end up in my hands?
Even if I work for another hundred years, I still can't buy this house with my salary!