There was a murderous aura!

Ferran lifted his head alertly and saw Lion standing to one side, stunned.

Why was Lion here?

Fenix, this little kitten, had been raised by Lion, and his original scent was almost entirely covered by Lion's.

Otherwise, how could Ferran, an awakened canine, not have sensed Lion's presence?

... Oh, actually, the key point wasn't that Lion was here.

But rather, Lion was here and personally witnessed him inhaling the kitten.

It seemed...

That wasn't quite appropriate.

With a sense of unease in his heart, Ferran maintained a composed demeanor on the surface.

Fenix hopped off Ferran's hands, scampered to Lion's side, and hooked Lion's trouser leg with his paw, looking up and mewing at him.

Lion lowered his gaze, bent down to pick up Fenix, and placed him into his pocket.

Then, he looked up at Ferran with cold eyes, filled with the displeasure of being offended.

It was like a territorial lion, rubbing against the ground, ready to pounce on its opponent!

Ferran paused, wisely replying, "Sorry."

He would be foolish to confront Lion, the former space pirate king, head-on.

In any case, an apology was the right move.

However, Lion was not satisfied with Ferran's verbal apology.

He looked at Ferran's hands, narrowing his eyes slightly, brewing a dangerous idea in his mind.

Ferran vaguely caught a whiff of gunpowder and blood.

He felt Lion wanted to chop off his hands. If possible, he might even want to cut off his head directly.

Ferran was a bit flustered and felt a chill down his neck.

Fenix poked his head out of Lion's pocket, looking up at Lion and meowing.

Lion gave a forced smile as he looked at Ferran, "It seems you're fine now."

Ferran nodded, "Thank you."

Lion instantly retracted his smile, his eyes sharp like blades, giving Ferran a cold glance for two seconds before turning and striding out of the ward.

Only when he felt Lion's presence gradually fade did Ferran reach up to touch his neck.

Good.

His hands were still there!

His neck was still intact!

His head was still firmly on his neck!

Ferran breathed a huge sigh of relief, reaching out to grab the pillow he had previously pushed to the foot of the bed.

As soon as he lifted the pillow, he smelled the faint milk fragrance from the kitten.

And the warm aroma of pastries from Cloud House clung to it.

When Lion went to the restroom, he must have casually placed a pillow on Ferran, and then placed Fenix on top of the pillow.

Ferran hugged the pillow, took a deep breath, and pressed the button to call the healthcare staff.

The nurse arrived within seconds, startled by the empty ward, "Mr. Ferran, your friend left?"

Ferran kept a straight face and nodded, "Just left, please process my discharge, I'm going home."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Alright." The nurse nodded, operating the panel and casually adding, "Is your friend just back in Marina City? I've never seen him before."

Ferran didn't respond.

The nurse was accustomed to his reticence and didn't press further after receiving no answer.

For Ferran to have someone stay with him was unprecedented during her tenure at the hospital.

Ferran was the youngest prince of the Fernando Group, with two elder brothers.

While the family was large, the relationships weren't particularly close. Whenever he fell ill, no one ever came to keep him company.

No relatives, no friends.

Occasionally, an assistant would visit, usually to consult him on company decisions or deliver documents requiring his signature.

These visits were always brief.

Today, having someone stay with him from start to finish was truly unprecedented.

"The paperwork is done, Mr. Ferran," the nurse said, "Please take care and get plenty of rest. Don't work too hard, and it's good to connect with friends."

Ferran's expression remained unchanged, but he inwardly agreed.

He quite liked Lion's little brother.

A child untainted by reality and interests, sincere and considerate.

A bit silly too.

Compared to his two brothers, he'd prefer to have such a little brother.

Unfortunately, Lion was obviously very protective of the kitten.

He only wanted to sneak a sniff, and Lion already wanted to cut his hands off.

If he dared to take the kitten as his own, he might be ground into dust by an enraged Lion.

But was Ferran someone who gave up easily?

Of course not.

Being caught in the act of sneaking a sniff was his mistake.

Next time, he wouldn't be discovered!

He was wrong, but he would dare to do it again.

...

Lion brought Fenix back home in the car. The little kitten crouched on one side, gnawing at his paw, seemingly troubled by his teething.

But there was nothing to be done.

For Fenix, this was already quite good.

As Lion knew, there was an awakened being whose entity was an elephant, who experienced growth pains almost daily during their awakening period.

During the awakening phase, awakened beings rapidly experience the growth of their entities.

An elephant takes roughly 6-9 years to reach semi-maturity.

For an awakened being, that would mean experiencing 6-9 years of growth in a mere six months or less.

Human children feel pain from bone stretching during growth spurts, let alone an elephant undergoing rapid development.

So Fenix's situation was actually ideal.

Lion carried the paw-gnawing kitten into the house.

As expected, the items he had ordered had been delivered.

"Take a look," Lion said, shaking the kitten in his hand.

Fenix lifted his head from his paw, immediately spotting a massive solid wood cat tree that almost occupied half of the living room.

Sloping ladders, spiral towers, hammocks, caves, and tiny nests – it had it all.

There were some slight indentations where cat grass was planted in nutrient soil.

Even the wall adjacent to the cat tree was equipped with several small wooden boards and cages.

Fenix: "..."

Wow.

The term "cat tree" didn't do justice to this wall.

This was a cat villa!

Ah!

Damn it!

Capitalism attack!

Corrosive copper smell attack!

Was Fenix the kind of cat to be moved by a mere cat... villa?

Well, you could say that.

Owing Lion so much already, he figured he might as well enjoy the moment.

Fenix's eyes lit up, jumping down from Lion's pocket and approaching the cat tree, sniffing around it.

Turning to confirm with Lion, "For me?"

Lion replied slowly, "This thing is so small, I can't play with it."

So it's for me!

Fenix happily wagged his tail, instinctively rubbing against various parts of the luxurious cat villa.

Sitting on the sofa, Lion watched Fenix circle the cat tree, leaving his scent everywhere.

Unexpectedly, Lion didn't feel offended at all by Fenix marking his territory.

It seemed Fenix liked his gift.

"Satisfied?" Lion asked.

"Miao!"

Fenix was indeed satisfied.

He chose the smallest cage and crawled inside.

Cozy.

Dark.

More secure than a cardboard box.

Through the cat-paw-shaped holes in the cage, Fenix saw the maintenance robot carrying boxes to be thrown away outside the window.

Startled, he quickly crawled out of the cage, running with short legs to catch up with the robot, fiercely urging it to bring the boxes back.

The fierce-looking kitten was adorable, so Lion didn't stop him. He watched Fenix direct the robot to place the boxes under the cat tree.

"A cat tree isn't enough?" Lion glanced at the various caves and cages.

Fenix asserted, "Want all."

Kids make choices.

Adults want it all!

Lion chuckled, "Come here."

Fenix rubbed against the cat tree once more, then hopped towards Lion.

Lion lifted the kitten, hesitating for a moment, unable to mimic Ferran's cat-sniffing behavior.

Confused, Fenix tilted his head.

Abandoning the idea of sniffing Fenix, Lion put the kitten down expressionlessly, feeling a bit like beating a dog and craving dog meat hotpot.

Fenix, observing Lion's changing expressions, was alarmed.

Lion must be losing it!

Panicked, he slowly backed away, slipping out of the room unnoticed.

Lion watched the kitten disappear, pausing but not chasing after him, heading to the study instead.

Even though he acted like a hands-off boss, he couldn't neglect everything.

As a boss, he still had documents to sign and review.

Plus, he had been slacking off for half a month, accumulating a pile of work.

Fenix crouched in the bushes at the edge of the estate's green belt, cautiously observing the situation inside.

After waiting for over an hour and finding no unusual commotion, he crawled out of the bushes.

The white ball of fluff shook his fur, preparing to head home, when he sensed a shadow looming over him.

Shocked, Fenix turned and saw a big golden retriever squatting behind him.

The golden retriever held a bag in its mouth, its coat shiny and well-groomed, indicating it was well-cared for.

There was a familiar scent.

Before Fenix could identify the scent, the golden retriever leaned closer.

"Miao!"

Fenix let out a fierce hiss.

Damn.

Who walks their dog without a leash?

Scaring a cat!

The golden retriever barked.

Fenix jumped in fright.

Bark what!

Like you're the only one who can bark!

Let me tell you,

Fenix can bark too!

"Miao ao wang!"

Fenix mimicked a bark, his fur standing on end, slowly backing away from the dog, whose legs were larger than his entire body.

Ferran, seeing Fenix, who didn't recognize him and was on high alert, felt a bit hurt.

But it was understandable.

A newly awakened being wouldn't be used to identifying people by scent.

Ferran lowered his head, trying to pull out his terminal to explain, but realized he had left it at home when he transformed into his awakened form.

He paused for a moment, set down the bag he was carrying, and pawed it open.

Fenix's gaze followed his movements to the bag the golden retriever had opened.

Inside were some small cakes and cookie boxes with cat faces, labeled as cat teething biscuits.

Fenix was stunned.

He looked up at the golden retriever in front of him.

Fenix: ...

Wow.

Could it be Ferran?

Fenix: "Ferran?"

The golden retriever nodded.

Fenix typed, "What are you doing wandering around in your awakened form?"

Ferran, without his terminal, couldn't explain, simply flipping through the contents of the bag.

Actually, Ferran mainly came out to sneak some small cakes. Initially, he planned to drop off some teething biscuits for Fenix after eating. Running into Fenix was a pleasant surprise.

His robot housekeeper's primary authority for health monitoring wasn't him but his family doctor.

Almost immediately after he touched sweets, he received a warning.

But he couldn't eat in human form, as it would attract attention, so he came out as his awakened form to sneak a few cakes.

Ferran had done this many times, not thinking it was a problem.

But Fenix was terrified.

He immediately kicked over the cakes with his paw.

The golden retriever stared in shock, whimpering in disbelief.

Fenix sternly said, "No eating!"

The kitten tilted his head, thinking for a moment, then stretched out his fluffy paw and patted the dog's nose.

"Next time, I'll join you for sweets." Fenix felt like he was constantly worrying, "Don't sneak sweets in your awakened form."

The golden retriever sniffed the kitten's paw, about to raise his paw to give Fenix a high-five, when he suddenly felt a chill run through his body.

Ferran looked up and met Lion's icy gaze from the balcony of the second floor.

Lion glared at him, making a throat-slitting gesture.

Ferran: "..."

Damn.

I only sniffed once!

What a loss!