CHAPTER 88: 085 KNIFE AND CUTTING BOARD, FISH AND MEAT (SECOND UPDATE)

Just now the sky was clear and boundless, but in the blink of an eye, it was overcast with clouds; the sky of Jiangzhou was like a child’s face, changing in an instant.

The long, quiet alley paved with bluestone slabs, with walls on both sides overgrown with vines, struggling to grow upwards. When the wind blew, a white plastic bag fluttered by, like a white butterfly, gradually disappearing into the gray sky.

Soon, a drizzling rain began to fall, with transparent raindrops smashing on the bluestone road, splashing small beads of water.

"Meow..." A little calico cat hid under the eaves, its feeble meow overshadowed by the sound of the drizzling rain. Listening carefully, it was so helpless and desperate.

The boy walked slowly out of the curtain of rain with an umbrella. He was very thin, looking rather frail, yet his frame was like a bamboo joint, tall and gracefully elegant. He walked very slowly, as if enjoying the rain, his features casually graceful and warm.

Hearing the kitten’s meow, he stopped, his lips curving into a light smile. That smile seemed like the moon breaking through the clouds, instantly brightening this cramped and narrow place.

He walked over and squatted next to the little calico cat, his slender fingers gently stroking the kitten’s wet fur, his voice tender and soft, like the gentle rain, stirring up soft ripples in one’s heart.

"Are you lost?"

The kitten responded with a confused meow.

The boy chuckled, taking the kitten into his arms, gently patting its fur. The kitten looked at him timidly, perhaps finding the boy’s aura too gentle, with no threat, and cautiously licked the boy’s fingers with its tongue.

The boy smiled, "You are quite a mischievous kitten, how about coming home with me? No more wandering and homelessness."

The kitten did not understand but snuggled more closely against his hand.

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps approached, and the boy narrowed his eyes slightly. The kitten shrank back, nestling further into the boy’s embrace.

A group of kids ran quickly towards them, the dark-faced boy at the head wiping the rain from his face, saying, "Brother Han, we’re back."

"How did it go?" asked the boy in a voice so gentle it betrayed no emotion, although all the children present bowed their heads at the same time.

The dark-faced boy spat fiercely, "Ning Zijin didn’t give us any trouble as expected, but she did say some things to sow discord. I don’t believe her, Brother Han, what should we do next?"

"Did you shake off the tail?" asked the boy nonchalantly, the corners of his lips curling with a chill that seemed out of place in the night.

"Brother Han, you’ve already instructed us, don’t worry, we’ve taken care of it."

The boy picked up the cat and turned to leave, with the dark-faced boy immediately coming over to hold the umbrella for him, while the children behind looked up at the boy’s figure with admiration and reverence. This boy was their god...

"Brother Han, what should we do next? Do you think the Qinglong Gang will really come to us on their own? What was that you were saying? ’If you don’t enter the tiger’s lair, you won’t get its cubs...’ Ah, my blockhead, I forgot what you said just after you said it." The dark-faced boy scratched his head in frustration, losing his fierce edge in front of the boy, acting like a child.

"Yuesheng." The boy stopped and glanced sideways at him, those eyes clear and fetching, as if washed with water, dark and crystal-clear as gems. When he looked at people, there was always a layer of faint haze, as if he were both seeing and not seeing you, that sense of being close yet distant, like a cold wind in the spring, a warm sun in the winter, simultaneously startling and unconsciously chilling.

"If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you get the tiger’s cubs? I tell you to study hard, but you just don’t listen." He shook his head with a look that seemed disappointed yet caring.

Yuesheng gave a sly smile, saying carelessly, "My brain isn’t made for studying. I’m not like you, Brother Han, always topping the exams."

The boy petted the kitten nestled in his arms and set off again, with Yuesheng closely following.

Looking at the boy’s profile, as cool and serene as jade, Yuesheng marveled inwardly at how someone could be born so handsome and so smart. Such a person seemed destined to stand at the top.

Since he met the boy, who had casually said, "You’re without a name, how about I give you one?"

"The teacher said you were abandoned at the orphanage doorstep on a night with a full moon. The past is untraceable; from now on, your name will be Yuesheng."