Jiang Lan’s gift was a pair of sapphire cufflinks. He bought these two sapphires from the Gemstone Goblin shop. He hand-cutted and polished the sapphires personally, revealing the shifting hues of ocean blue under the gem surface. Then he hired a jeweler to make a pair of cufflinks with these sapphires.

When he presented the box containing the cufflinks to Ying Qiao, Jiang Lan watched his face with excitement and anticipation.

“Can I open it now?” Ying Qiao received the delicate wooden box, smiling.

Then he opened it with Jiang Lan’s nodding.

On the black velvet laid a pair of sapphire cufflinks made with exquisite craftsmanship.

The blue sapphires were held by a silver snake curled around the gemstone.

The dragon race was always susceptible to the allure of sparkling gemstones. So Jiang Lan’s gift was precisely the type of thing Ying Qiao loved. Of course, it would be even better if the cufflinks weren’t made in the shape of snakes…

He took off his cufflinks on the spot and replaced them with the sapphire cufflinks Jiang Lan gifted him.

Caressing the cufflinks, Ying Qiao gazed at Jiang Lan with a warmth in his heart. Like a quilt just baked under the sunlight, he felt soft and warm.

It had been a long time since he last felt in this way

No wonder Geng Chen always mentioned his wish to raise a cub.

Raising a cub could indeed cheer him up.

“Thank you, I really like it.” Ying Qiao solemnly declared.

Wearing clothing discarded by his wealthy cousin, the Little Monster chose to spend a fortune buying him a pair of cufflinks.

As a veteran gemstone collector, he certainly knew how much these seemingly small sapphires were worth, which conveyed to him clearly the depth of the Little Monster’s feeling for him. 

This pair of cufflinks would become his favorite item on the top of his collection list from this day on.

Knowing Ying Qiao apparently liked his gift, Jiang Lan’s smile in his eyes became more sparkling, and two dimples appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Ying Qiao wanted to touch these two dimples. Maybe he can next time.

……

Jiang Lan carefully tried to gauge Ying Qiao’s reaction to his newly renovated home in the following conversation. After confirming he didn’t pay too much mind to it, Jiang Lan felt relieved.

In the end, three people and a “cat” shared the pastry Ying Qiao brought and was ready to go to work.

Before they went out, Jiao Tu transformed back into his gem-imbedded conch and stayed hidden.

Despite the fifth brother’s assurance that today’s visitor was just a normal snake monster, Jiao Tu felt something scary about this snake monster and didn’t even dare to speak in his presence.

Jiang Lan put his two brothers in his backpack and went downstairs with Ying Qiao.

Ying Qiao drove a new car he just bought, an ordinary black Honda.

Sitting in the passenger seat as usual, Jiang Lan continued his talk with Ying Qiao, who mentioned how the Bureau was going to deal with Qin Shuyi.

Infused with the energy from the Sunny Doll, Qin Shuyi’s current state closely resembled that of a zombie but lacked a zombie’s viciousness. So he was still classified as a human and transferred to the Special Human Bureau next door, where the human cultivators would teach him to follow the correct path of cultivation.

As to the Sunny Doll, the Justice Department had brought it to trial. The Sunny Doll volunteered the information that the two missing officers were trapped in the old site of He Village. Since it displayed the correct attitude during the trial, the Justice Department deemed it appropriate to reduce its sentence.

Those two missing officers had initially been sent to maintain surveillance on the apartment complex. One of them was Wang Qing’s childhood friend Wang Changan.

In the early morning, when the truth of this case finally emerged, shattering those officers’ world views, Captain Cheng and his colleagues were so shocked that they even forgot to ask the Sunny Doll the whereabouts of their missing colleagues. After they finally thought about them and contacted Cheng Hua, the Sunny Doll told them via Cheng Hua that it had moved them to the old He village and locked them up together with the heads of He Laoer and his cousins.

Following Jiang Lan’s advice, Captain Cheng had already dispatched a team to track down the missing heads in the old He village. After receiving the news about their missing colleagues, this team liberated them.

Since this Sunny Doll didn’t kill innocent lives, its sentence was reduced from ten years imprisonment to five years. Once it had served its sentence and passed the evaluation, it would regain its freedom. Before that, Qin Shuyi, who was cultivating in the Special Human Bureau, could visit the Sunny Doll anytime.

Jiang Lan thought this arrangement was very suitable for them.” This Sunny Doll was born of Qin Shuyi’s stubborn will, so its temperament tends to be excessive. The time in the prison might soften its edges.”

Hearing this, Ying Qiao smiled.

“This Sunny Doll must have annoyed you?”

The Little Monster always appeared amiable. Ying Qiao had never seen him hold a grudge against anyone.

Jiang Lan snorted and began to brag.” It tried to lay traps for me. But I have already seen through its little tricks. This miscreant is so wily, a proper lesson in prison suits it perfectly.”

While saying these, he raised his chin, acting like a victorious rooster.

A cub this cute needed to be indulged unconditionally, and his every word had to be responded to positively. Ying Qiao said.” You are absolutely right.”

***

Ying Qiao drove him to the office and watched his backside until he was out of sight.

He drove at a normal speed. When they arrived, it was almost office hours. So he didn’t follow him into the office.

When Jiang Lan disappeared into the office, he caressed his cufflinks and smiled. In the company of the Little Monster, he was always in a good mood.

Raising his wrist, he admired his new cufflinks under the sunlight.

As if these were not enough, he took out his phone and snapped a few shots of his new possession.

On the snow-white shirt sleeve, a sapphire the color of ocean blue was sparkling.

Ying Qiao chose the best of those shots and uploaded it to the group chat:[ Isn’t it pretty?]

Then he noticed the group chat had been renamed by Tai Feng as “Who first raised a cub is a dog.”

He was the only one in the group chat who had a cub. Apparently, this name was meant for him.

Ying Qiao thought they were just jealous.

So he renamed the group as “The pleasure of raising a cub is beyond your reach.”

Tai Feng responded in a second:[ I am blind now. I can’t see anything.]

[Lu Wu: Please refrain from displaying your affection publicly; otherwise, please compensate us financially for causing us psychological trauma.]

[Kai Ming: What’s this? New cufflinks? What’s so special about them?]

[Lu Wu: @Kai Ming, why do you pay attention to him? Let him be. We are all blind now.]

[Kai Ming: ????]

Ying Qiao chuckled and continued to type:

[@Kai Ming, this is the gift my cub gave me(Proud Emoji)]

[The soft and cute little monster is the cutest being in the whole world.]

[I sincerely advise you to adopt a cub, you will thank me later.]

[Lu Wu:@Kai Ming What did I just tell you? See what you just got us into.]

[Cheng Hua:@Ying Qiao, when will you return to the company? I am struggling to handle the volume of work alone!! (Cry Emoji)]

[Tai Feng: @Cheng Hua I have already asked you to jump ship to work for me. @Ying Qiao doesn’t treat you like a human being.]

[Ying Qiao: but he is not a human being!]

[Cheng Hua:@Tai Feng The salary you offered is too low. I wouldn’t even think about it. (goodbye emoji)]

Tai Feng sent a string of question marks and ended with a giant emoji depicting rolled eyes.

Cheng Hua ignored him and again mentioned Ying Qiao repeatedly. Glancing again at Jiang Lan’s office, Ying Qiao finally took pity and answered.” I will be right back.” Starting his car, he headed back to the company.

****

Jiang Lan received a warm welcome when he returned to the office.

Especially the cool guy Zhan Tianxing, who was eyeing his backpack the moment he walked in.

After greeting all the colleagues, he let Suan Ni and Jiao Tu out.

Suan Ni jumped onto the desk, wagging his tail, and meowed.

Now he could mimic a cat so expertly that Jiang Lan suspected his old brother would have trouble recognizing his little brother.

This little cat’s attention was immediately drawn away by the cool guy’s snacks.

Glancing at his little brother’s bulging belly, Jiang Lan thought that at the rate Zhang Tianxing was feeding him, Suan Ni would soon turn into a giant furball.

While considering the suitable weight-reducing program for Suan Ni, Jiang Lan put Jiao Tu inside the aquarium.

Jiao Tu extended out his horn, hid among a cluster of colorful corals, and settled down in a comfortable position.

After taking care of his brothers, Jiang Lan began his day’s work.

He started by dealing with the work accumulated from the morning. After that, Xiao Xiaoyu called him through the intercom, asking him to come over.

A little surprised, Jiang Lan walked out to see an auntie in her fifties speaking angrily before the reception counter.” Little Comrade, you must help me solve this problem. I have never been bullied like this. Our dance group has always been dancing on this spot. They suddenly came and occupied half the area. Yesterday, their lead dancer even dared to provoke us with an outrageous proposal! She said the dance group with the best skill should have the best spot. I turned her down outright. But then she performed magic tricks to scare me. Perhaps she thought if she could conjure up nine heads, she could do whatever she wanted!”

The Auntie continued her accusation.” I can swap faces^[1]A dramatic art in a Sichuan opera, but I have never used this trick to frighten people! They are unbelievable.”

Xiao Xiaoyu was trying to appease her.” Rest easy, Auntie. We will send someone over to mediate. The group dancing is for fun. There is no need to get angry over this. Anger is not good for your health. We will try to solve this to your satisfaction.”

Then she waved Jiang Lan over.” Jiang Lan came here. After getting off work, please come with Auntie Xu to Yu Wan Plaza, to help resolve a dispute over the use of a dance spot.”

Jiang Lan:????

Xiao Xiaoyu pushed Jiang Lan forward to face Auntie Xu:” Look Auntie Xu, this is my colleague named Jiang Lan. He will help you deal with this problem, ok?”

Then she whispered to Jiang Lan.” It is time to use your charm!”

Jiang Lan:????

Xiao Xiaoyu said before that Jiang Lan had a face that appealed to middle-aged women. As expected, Auntie Xu reacted enthusiastically to Jiang Lan’s appearance.” Every young person in this office is so good-looking. Are you Xiao Jiang? Do you have a girlfriend?”

Looking at Auntie Xu’s eager smile, Jiang Lan’s survival instincts kicked in. He nodded.

Auntie Xu was disappointed.” Oh, you have a girlfriend.”

Jiang Lan smiled embarrassingly while giving Xiao Xiaoyu a pleading look, asking for her help.

Xiao Xiaoyu gave him a look, which meant she couldn’t help him cheer up. Then she averted her eyes remorselessly.

Jiang Lan……

Suddenly it occurred to him he had been trapped by his colleague.