ITOTIABSAM | Interstellar Orcs | 117
Without mentioning the speculation about the cat demon transforming into a human based on Xie Ye's photos, the need for absolute secrecy regarding the illegal drugs in the young man's body was apparent.
Naturally, Gu Cong reached out and pressed down the small head under the jacket. Taking advantage of the fact that the young man hadn't revealed his face just now, Gu Cong pretended to be clueless and said, "Boss?"
"You must have mistaken, this is my boyfriend."
Otherwise, there would be no explanation for why the other person had gotten up from his lap.
Even though he was just innocently being a cat and incidentally acting as a pillow.
Secretly adjusting the angle of the video call, Gu Cong remained composed. He used his hand to pull down the jacket. As expected, with a smoother breath, the young man immediately settled down, his pointed ears even lightly brushing against Gu Cong's palm.
Anna, shaken to her core: Not Xie Ye?
She wouldn't mistake that face even if it turned to ashes.
Moreover, in recent days, although all the documents that needed Xie Ye's attention had been approved, his apartment where he usually resided had been empty. With the permissions given by Xie Ye’s alter self when he was awake, she had to contact the security guard every time to ensure that he safely returned home and hadn't been sleeping outside without waking up.
If it weren't for seeing the familiar signature and the content of the emails written in Xie Ye's style, Anna would have called the police after three whole days of him not returning to the apartment.
But... boyfriend?
Headhunting Gu Cong was the responsibility of the Human Resources Department. As far as Anna knew, the boss had been busy advancing cooperation projects with the federal government during that time and had not been involved in the process at all.
As the assistant manager, she couldn't find any connection between the two of them.
Seeing Anna furrowing her brows and remaining silent for a while, Gu Cong worried that she might delve deeper into the matter. However, he remained calm on the surface and reminded her, "The client."
Yes, the client.
Due to the unpleasant experiences in his youth, even during the brief periods of clarity after the sleeping beauty syndrome episodes, Xie Ye still refused to let anyone unfamiliar get close to him. He alternated between being irritable and hiding, making it impossible for Anna to enter the apartment to take care of him.
Yet just now, the young man had allowed Gu Cong to press down on his head and had even slept on his lap. At least, this new employee in front of him seemed to have gained more trust from Xie Ye in their private life than Anna herself.
As Anna's thoughts raced, she made up her mind. She temporarily gave up on questioning the young man's identity and adjusted her expression before returning to the topic of work.
The Xie family had been restless lately, especially the scumbag older brother of the boss. He had been secretly scheming and had even sent subordinates to loiter near Xie Ye's apartment, thinking he was being discreet. Perhaps the boss had changed his residence without a sound in order to lure the snakes out of their holes and had moved in with a "friend" who could take care of him.
Yes, friend.
Anna couldn't imagine what it would be like for their boss, who was like a rare flower on the high mountain, to fall in love.
Having known him since college, Anna was all too familiar with the troubles of the Xie family. She had been keeping an eye on things for the small entity, both openly and secretly. After ending the video call with Gu Cong, she dialed another number. "Hello?"
"Help me check on Xie Tianhua."
1101, who was observing in secret, gave a thumbs up. "Truly deserving of the assistant manager title. Reliable."
Although it was a bit late, and his alter self had already been kidnapped once, as long as Anna investigated, she could always follow the clues to uncover the truth and deal with those people under Xie Tianhua who were searching for the cat all over the world.
After all, no one would have thought that Xie Tianhua, who was brainless, would impulsively decide to kidnap someone randomly one morning before something actually happened.
Meanwhile, Xie Ye, who was at the center of the vortex and was being worried about by many people, was sleeping peacefully in Gu Cong's arms.
During the video call, his ears were covered by the jacket, so Anna didn't notice anything unusual about his body. She only thought that Xie Ye was experiencing a sleeping beauty syndrome episode.
It seemed that because of the jacket that carried Gu Cong's scent, when the young man breathed steadily, Gu Cong got up again, and the other person only moved his ears slightly without waking up.
Gu Cong prepared a box of instant microwave rice for dinner. After tidying up the utensils, he followed his usual routine of exercising and washing up. When he came out of the bathroom, the old-fashioned digital clock happened to jump to nine o'clock.
The young man on the sofa hadn't changed his posture at all.
This seemed a bit odd.
Although cats were generally known for being very sleepy, two-thirds of their time was spent in shallow sleep, remaining alert and responsive to the slightest noise from the outside world, in a semi-awake state.
Their own cat seemed to be sleeping too deeply.
Although he usually made an exception to allow the clean-loving cat to sleep on the bed, now that the other person was human, Gu Cong had to be cautious. After getting more acquainted with each other, Gu Cong bent down, reached out, and carefully carried the young man into the bedroom.
After the other person crawled into the blanket on his own, Gu Cong found another blanket and closed the door, preparing to spend the night on the sofa.
There was no other choice; it was a single-bedroom apartment, and there was only one bed.
In his heart, Gu Cong was convinced that the young man was not dangerous. With the addition of a person in the house, Gu Cong continued to sleep soundly. It wasn't until midnight that he felt a gentle and cool breath hitting his face. In a trance, it seemed like someone was gazing at him in a mysterious and profound manner, binding him tightly like shackles.
As if waking up from a nightmare, Gu Cong suddenly opened his eyes and met a pair of jade eyes that were very close. Under the moonlight, there were no terrifying ghosts pressing on the bed, just a beautiful cat demon.
Probably having just been to the bathroom, the young man's forehead was still damp, and his breath carried the scent of mint toothpaste. He quietly leaned down, imitating Gu Cong's posture from the afternoon, observing face to face.
Seeing that he was awake, the other person leaned forward again, almost bumping his nose against Gu Cong's.
As if a slight movement could bring them even closer.
For a moment, Gu Cong's thoughts were led astray by the moist red lips of the young man. He noticed the distance between them and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "What's wrong?"
The young man didn't speak, but took out a familiar pillow from behind and placed it beside the man.
Waking up to find himself lying in a pitch-black room, with a disrupted sense of direction, Xie Ye stumbled around for a while before, relying on habits formed during his waking hours, finding the bathroom. Following the guidance of the "strange thing" in his mind, he washed his face and brushed his teeth. Afterward, guided by the scent, he found Gu Cong on the sofa.
Now, he was a bit tired.
In his subconscious, he still considered himself as a cat. He relaxed his limbs and leaned downward against Gu Cong, just like he used to when lying on a man's chest, squeezing onto the couch together.
Gu Cong reflexively reached up to catch him.
Even the most spacious couch would feel cramped with two normal adult men lying on it, although the youth was very slim, with a waist so narrow that Gu Cong could easily encircle it with one arm.
Xie Ye’s legs naturally found a place between Gu Cong's knees, as he settled comfortably, his cheek pressed against Gu Cong's chest, his cat ears brushing against his chin with each breath.
Almost involuntarily, Gu Cong's left hand reached down and stroked the large tail protruding from behind his waistband.
Then he was lightly patted.
The posture was incredibly ambiguous, especially considering the young man's appearance after transforming into human form, which was strikingly different from a cat's sweet features.
However, his demeanor and actions were all innocent, creating a conflicting yet harmonious charm between his appearance and temperament, like a truly naive fairy.
It was only at this moment, as he glanced down at Xie Ye beneath the couch, that he realized the young man wasn't wearing the slippers he had purposely left by the bed. No wonder his steps were so light, without making a sound that would wake him up.
The other rooms had wooden floors, but the bathroom had cold, hard tiles. Gu Cong hesitated for two seconds before exerting some force to pull the blanket separating them, covering the young man.
With the absence of the blanket, only two layers of fabric remained as barriers. As expected, the young man's feet were very cold, and the chill could be felt clearly through his pajamas.
With a faint sigh, Gu Cong began to ponder whether he should order some children's enlightenment books online for tomorrow. He wondered if he had already been completely treated as a baby by someone.
Sleeping Beauty Syndrome had varying durations, with no regularity, but once one cycle passed, the frequency would significantly decrease for the following weeks or even months.
This time, Xie Ye had slept for three full days. If it weren't for 1101, posing as a therapeutic device, and the remnants of illegal potions, Gu Cong would have taken him to the hospital long ago.
After regaining consciousness, Xie Ye rarely experienced the feeling of wanting to bury himself alive.
He felt so foolish.
How could he have done so many silly things?
1101 weakly commented, "Actually, it's quite cute..."
It couldn't resist recording and taking pictures, but considering the current situation, it might be better not to show them.
【It's okay, Snowball is Snowball, Xie Ye is Xie Ye,】a storm surged in his consciousness, and 1101 quickly changed its tune to comfort him, "After all, your mask is still intact. You're just an innocent little cat."
Xie Ye: ...
Having received all the memories of the alternate persona, he could somewhat guess Anna's thoughts.
Fortunately, the other party had also conjured up a bunch of scenarios in their own mind, without delving deeper, and chose to gloss over the matter.
Feeling irritated, Xie Ye rubbed his brow. "How much longer until this body stabilizes?"
1101 replied, "One month."
This wasn't based on physiological data but rather the setting of the original story: the hero rescues the beauty, spends enough time together, and then the antagonist inevitably falls in love with the protagonist.
Struggling to keep his tail from moving erratically with his mood, Xie Ye asked, "How do I turn back into a cat?"
If he continued to play the "cat demon," he would inevitably have to continue pretending to be foolish during his Sleeping Beauty episodes.
Xie Ye refused.
But due to the damned setting of the original story, even though he had been a monster, a fairy, and a demon cultivator, he couldn't freely transform.
"This... " After a failed attempt to choose words carefully, 1101 quickly replied, "It's up to fate."
What a convenient excuse.
Xie Ye laughed bitterly in frustration.
Xie Tianhua, huh? When he completely turned back into a human, it would be the end for the other party.
Two flowers bloomed, each showing its own beauty.
In the company, Gu Cong glanced at the diagnostic device connected to Xie Ye's brain, confirming that all indicators were normal. He was about to pour a cup of coffee and continue working when suddenly, he noticed another person entering the pantry.
"Are you available? Let's talk," Anna casually closed the door, blocking any potential exit routes, and calmly addressed him.
Gu Cong raised an eyebrow. "About?"
"For example," although Anna had prepared several sets of scripts to handle different situations beforehand, she faltered for a second when speaking, "When did you and your... I mean, your boyfriend start living together?"
The author's note:
Anna: Well, it's not gossip, I just want to confirm the timing of the boss's disappearance.
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