Chapter 83

Ling Yue glanced at the clueless Sangsang and told Orange Cat Grandpa, "It's leukemia, early stage."

Orange Cat Grandpa stared in shock: "How could that be!"

Sangsang's maternal grandmother couldn't accept it, stood up and shouted: "Impossible! My Sangsang is so healthy, it must be a mistake, the diagnosis must be wrong!"

She looked hopefully at the doctor: "Doctor, the diagnosis is wrong."

"The result is wrong, there must be an error—my Sangsang is so young, she used to be in excellent health, how could she get leukemia!"

The doctor frowned: "Please calm down; our hospital just replaced a batch of equipment, and this is also the result after the doctor's careful re-examination—there could be no mistake."

"As for leukemia, its causes generally fall into two main categories: first, congenital—family history of leukemia, genetic inheritance of leukemia; second, chemical factors—long-term exposure to benzene and benzene-containing organic solvents can cause leukemia. Physical factors: X-rays, gamma rays, and other ionizing radiation."

The doctor explained patiently, the patient's family members' faces grew worse, and she cut him off: "Don't be so pessimistic; early-stage leukemia can be cured."

"Husband, Sangsang and they are over there!" a female voice broke the silent atmosphere; everyone turned toward the sound, and the beautiful, gorgeous woman instinctively stepped back: "You... you guys, what do you want to do?"

"It's all your fault!"

Sangsang's maternal grandparents looked at the young stepmother, rushed over but were blocked by a pair of arms; the middle-aged man furrowed his brows tightly, staring at them: "Mom, Dad, why are you hitting Xiao Rong?"

"Get lost! I don't have a son-in-law as beastly as you!"

"I should have known—once there's a stepmother, there's a stepfather; Sangsang will eventually be killed by you! Get out!"

Such a commotion drew many people to gawk at the farce; Ling Yue's eyes turned cold as she swept over the seemingly clueless man and the chubby little boy hiding behind him.

She covered Sangsang's eyes: "Don't look, this isn't for you to see."

Sangsang tugged at her hand: "Sister."

"Hmm?"

"Is what Grandma said true? Once there's a stepmother, there's a stepfather?"

Ling Yue stayed silent, not knowing how to answer, her palm scorched by a wave of heat.

Only someone who has experienced this has the right to speak about it.

Orange Cat Grandpa, furious, kicked the man's face with a cat-punch; the young stepmother beside him screamed in fright, yet didn't forget to shield her son: "Where did this wild cat come from? Crazy cat! Get out! Get lost!"

Orange Cat Grandpa kicked several times before darting away; before disappearing, he glanced at Ling Yue: "I'll sneak back later."

Ling Yue gave an OK sign.

Not long after, hospital security arrived, stopped both sides, and moved the scene from the hallway to the security room.

Sangsang's maternal grandfather's phone suddenly rang; it was the two testing personnel he had hired: "Boss, the report is out."

"The house has excessive radiation, benzene and formaldehyde severely exceed standards; I've never seen such a toxic house in my life. Boss, you must absolutely not let your granddaughter live there—she'll die!"

As workers with many years of experience, they have seen countless clients who got cancer from houses with excessive formaldehyde.

Some people don't understand; they move straight into newly decorated homes, and even worse, pregnant women who don't know better move in, give birth, and often their children develop leukemia and die young.

The matter ends here; the truth is now clear.

Sangsang's maternal grandparents glared angrily at the son-in-law: "This is what you called protecting Sangsang? Among all those houses, only Sangsang's has excessive formaldehyde, benzene, and radiation—how could you bear it?"

"Sangsang is your only daughter—how could you turn a blind eye to her?"

"You vixen, you won't die well! I'm calling the police! I'm calling the police to arrest you!"

The young stepmother ignored the first remark, but upon hearing the second, she plopped down on her knees, face ashen: "I didn't mean to—it was my friend, my friend sold the materials; I had no idea they'd exceed limits. Will you forgive me? Look, I also have a young child; please forgive me."

The little chubby boy seemed to just realize what was happening, startled by his mother, he clung to the man's leg and wailed: "Dad, Mom, scared... waa waa waa..."

The stepmother clung to her son and wailed: "My son is still little—he can't be without a mother!"

She cried until her heart felt ripped apart; her miserable sight made everyone present feel unbearable—yes, the child is still young.

The middle-aged man also stared shocked at his wife: "How could you be so careless!"

He slapped her face; half of her face swelled visibly at an astonishing speed, the exaggerated action stunned the crowd—Sangsang's maternal grandparents even more so, staring blankly at the man.

He frantically apologized, even making a motion to kowtow: "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry to Sangsang, I'm sorry to Yunyun; please forgive me this time, please forgive me, okay?"

Ling Yue's pant leg twitched; the Orange Cat Grandpa, who had appeared from nowhere, grabbed at her pant leg: "Don't believe his words—when Sangsang fell ill earlier, this guy was busy celebrating his stepson's birthday; they went to the amusement park as a family, and didn't even glance at the feverish Sangsang!"

"If it weren't for the fact that this guy's wife had been married before, I'd sometimes suspect that the little chubby boy is actually his son; otherwise he's remarkably broad-minded—he's literally cuckolding himself!"

Ling Yue pondered for a moment: "Maybe... he really is?"

Orange Cat Grandpa looked at her, bewildered.

Ling Yue lowered her gaze slightly, only one question puzzled her: since he already had a son, why would he still want Sangsang—a daughter without a mother—to someone who values his son so much, it seemed utterly unnecessary to take her back.

After a long silence, Sangsang's maternal grandfather finally spoke: "We can't forgive you; we've already lost our only daughter, and we don't want to lose our granddaughter too."

"And everything Yunyun left behind—we'll take it all back. The house you live in now was earned by Yunyun herself; before she died, she made a will leaving the house to Sangsang. Sangsang surely doesn't want to see you and that woman again—move out, you and your family."

"Anyway, you've grown wings now."

Hearing this suddenly, Ling Yue's brow twitched, she rubbed her forehead, and looked at Orange Cat Grandpa: "Is there really a will?"

Orange Cat Grandpa thought: "Yes!"

It described its former owner in the most fervent, passionate language: "It's the best owner Cat has ever seen—she's incredibly capable, a, a female mogul!"

"Cat remembers: before, the male owner did the housework; after the owner became pregnant with Sangsang, she began to rest, and the male owner went out to look after the company. Later, when the owner's health deteriorated, she left all her possessions to Sangsang; the male owner knew, as did the grandparents—there were two copies, one with the grandparents, one with the lawyer."

Orange Cat Grandpa licked his paw pad, looking certain: "Cat didn't get it wrong—why are you asking about this?"

Ling Yue said nothing, then turned her gaze to Sangsang's father.

He wore a high-end custom suit, immaculate and distinguished, with an outstanding demeanor, about forty years old, resembling those successful people in society.

What a fine appearance.

At this moment, the man's face was ashen, all his hopes pinned on Sangsang: "Sangsang, I'm your dad."

Sangsang looked up at him: "Dad."

A flicker of joy crossed the man's face, then he heard her voice: "Are you really my dad?"

Sangsang shook her head: "You're her husband, Xuanxuan's dad—you're not my dad. I don't want you; I want my grandparents."

"Sangsang." The man burst into tears, dropping to his knees: "Dad is sorry to you—it's all Dad's negligence toward you."

Even the security guards couldn't help but sigh.

"Really negligent?" Everyone looked over, Ling Yue stared at the man: "Is it really negligence, or just letting things slide?"

The man stared at her in shock, utterly failing to grasp her meaning, only with his gaze, not daring to meet Ling Yue's dark eyes: "Who are you?"

Ling Yue blinked: "What are you thinking now? Are you telling yourself not to panic, not to mess up, anyway there's no evidence, anyway no one can find anything, a nobody who rises by riding on his mother's coattails—at worst you could just find another."

Her voice was soft, but her tone was piercingly harsh, probably because that sentence carried too much sarcasm.

Even if Sangsang's grandparents were utterly dense, they should have sensed something was wrong, let alone that they weren't stupid to begin with.

At this point, rather than trusting the unreliable son-in-law, they believed Ling Yue more, perhaps recalling the doubts they themselves had overlooked.

Ling Yue continued: "Your father is truly great—his biological daughter has a near-forty-degree fever, yet he doesn't rush her to the hospital; instead he celebrates his stepson's birthday, and the family even has time to go to an amusement park..."

As her words grew more numerous and detailed, the man's façade finally couldn't hold: "Shut up!"

You're spitting blood and talking nonsense!

Ling Yue clapped and smiled: "Bravo, truly a great father of someone else's family!"

Ling Yue continued speaking, her voice to the man like a devil's low growl: "Covering marble with wallpaper, using paint that's a first-class carcinogen—you're quite practiced at that. I've observed your and Sangsang's rooms, one on the first floor, one on the second, really far apart."

Moreover, leukemia—just like leukemia—Miss Yunyun also died of leukemia, but as far as I know, the Sang family has no history of leukemia.

Hiss—

Someone sucked in a breath of cold air, and everyone felt a chill surge from the soles of their feet to the crown of their heads, cold sweat breaking out across their backs; looking again at Sangsang's father, their eyes were filled with utter terror.

I didn't! This is all your speculation, you're alarmist, you're smearing my reputation—I'll sue you!

At this moment, Sangsang's grandfather suddenly stood up, speaking righteously: "We believe you. But others don't, and since we're in a hospital, come, let's first have the little fatty undergo a DNA test."

The man froze on the spot.

Sangsang's grandfather then smiled; Yunyun was their only daughter, she loved sports and had excellent constitution—even now they couldn't believe she had died of a serious illness, how could such a healthy person suddenly be gone?

That's how the truth turned out to be.

Don't dare? Then what she said is true; we'll sue you, and we'll make you spit out everything you took from Yunyun, item by item!

Sangsang's grandmother had already dialed the police: "Officer, I want to report a crime, I want to report that someone has committed murder!"

They're going to sue!

Whoever harmed Yunyun and Sangsang, they will let none of them go!

The man was startled by his expression, then immediately reacted, sobbing: "It's not like that, Dad, Mom, believe me, I was forced, I didn't harm Yunyun!"

He knelt on the ground, almost about to clasp Sangsang's grandfather's thigh, his eyes full of hatred—if he had acted earlier, would Sangsang's death have meant fewer troubles? The legacy left by that woman Yunyun could also be his to inherit!

Too bad there are no 'ifs'; having done it, the truth will eventually come to light.

Daju looked at his pretentious act, couldn't help but tilt his head and open his mouth: "yue!"

Only an idiot would believe you!

Ling Yue paid no further attention to what happened afterward; she still accompanied them to give a statement, the man and his vicious wife were temporarily listed as suspects, and the little fatty suddenly became an unwanted orphan, sitting on the ground wailing loudly.

Sangsang froze for a moment, stopped walking, and the little chubby one ran over quickly: "Sister, sister, take me away… sob sob sob please sister…"

Sangsang jumped in fright, being hugged by her worried grandparents who asked after her warmth; the little fatty looked on with a pout—before, it was always him being shielded in his parents' arms.

How could there be such a money-losing good-for-nothing?

He still begged for tears, but Sangsang, who had been in her grandmother's arms, suddenly poked out her little head, blinked, and asked him: "Your surname is Chen, mine is Sang—how could I be your sister?"

The little fatty looked at her and opened his mouth. This was a phrase he often had on his lips; he thought Sangsang was a wild bastard, and only he was his father's son.

Mom also said, he's a boy who can carry on the family line, a precious treasure!

Too bad now, this precious little boy is about to lose everything; maybe the next time we meet, it'll be at an orphanage.

Sangsang's leukemia is only early-stage, detected early, with a ninety percent chance of cure, and her grandparents will spare no effort to treat her.

Leaving the hospital to part ways, Ling Yue lowered her gaze; opposite, Sangsang hugged the orange cat grandfather, smiling happily: "Thank you, sister."

She said, handing over a ticket: "This is Sangsang's favorite circus ticket; I want to give it to you, sister."

Ling Yue blinked slightly; Sangsang thought she was doubtful and explained: "This circus is super awesome, with lots of animals; Sangsang loves the unlucky bear inside, sister, you definitely have to go see it!"

Ling Yue blinked, seeing a familiar name, couldn't help but blink again; she remembered clearly, it was the circus of that Li boss who once wanted to buy the Tiger Garden brothers.

Sister?

Ling Yue took it, bent down, and rubbed the little girl's head: "Then sister thanks you, Sangsang."

The little girl was led by her grandparents' hands, slowly walking forward.

Suddenly she heard a heart-rending scream; the man in a suit shouted and struggled, like a fat pig about to be slaughtered desperately thrashing: "I didn't! I didn't kill anyone!"

"Whether you killed someone or not, the police will find the evidence—don't rush."

Ling Yue couldn't help but laugh.

Suddenly, it heard the system's mechanical voice prompt: Daju's wish—protecting the world's best Sangsang completed, 3/6 Detective's Eye fragments distributed.

Ling Yue rubbed her stomach, feeling a bit hungry; she always felt she had forgotten something, and she was missing something in her hand.

Big Black left at the aquarium shop: o>_

Forgot me! Master, you still forgot me, woo woo woo!

Finally, Ling Yue still remembered; after picking up Big Black, she went to enjoy that belated lunch, and by the time she got home it was already past afternoon.

Buzzzz~

Ling Yue's ears twitched; before she even entered, she heard the bees' buzzing, mixed with their quiet discussion.

"So fragrant, so fragrant, when will the master come back?"

"I don't know; I finally made it home, that guy is really too much of a troublemaker, my stomach's about to be hollow from hunger."

"It's so exciting; this is my first time performing such a mission—I've almost been spotted several times, relying solely on my wit and bravery!"

"Aren't you hungry?"

The dozens of bees discussing in midair all turned in unison, their gaze lowering; the treasure-hunting mouse holding a honey lollipop suddenly felt a chill on its back, licked it, looked around, and there was nothing there.

Why does it have an ominous premonition?

「Buzzzz~」

「Come on, it's honey! 」

「Whoa, quickly snatch the honey back from the mouse's mouth! 」

The treasure-seeking mouse finally heard the buzzing sound, looked up, and its fur instantly stood on end as it squealed: 「I'm off! Bees! 」

Ling Yue cried out urgently, saving the treasure-seeking mouse that was about to be frightened to death.

Even if the treasure-seeking mouse knows these owner-trained bee squads won't sting people, having that thing crawl on its body, who wouldn't be scared if it got out of control?

It was about to sneak away when Ling Yue called out: 「Duo Duo. 」

Ling Yue: 「There's a jar of honey next to the wine bottle; please bring it over for me. 」

Treasure-seeking mouse: 「QAQ」

In the end, it still brought it over, seeing dozens of bees swarming the honey, densely packed with little colorful balls, the treasure-seeking mouse fled as fast as it could.

Xiao Mi Feng ate their fill beautifully, lying on the towel unable to turn over.

「So sweet and fragrant, I don't know what kind of honey this is; if I could eat it every day, I'd work for my owner a lifetime! 」

「Me too! 」

Ling Yue couldn't help laughing as she listened, so she sat on the lawn: 「Now that you're back, tell me what you discovered while following. 」

The little bees instantly perked up; it was time to report.

Everyone chattered at once, making Ling Yue's head swell; after a pause she said: 「Come one group at a time! 」

She remembered she had organized the bees into teams, each with a team leader; if not now, when?

「We followed that person to a place with many animals, where there was a big brown bear with the worst temper, beaten with many whips! 」

「I know what place that is—it's a circus! 」

「I hid in his collar, followed him as he met a human; later I didn't leave, hearing other humans shout at him, shout at him… Captain Li! 」

「That Captain Li is especially fierce! When I tailed him, he was still beating the brown bear, making it howl horribly—it was awful! 」

「Not only is it awful, that big brown bear is especially unlucky; I heard people say the bear was just captured recently, and if it doesn't train well it'll be eaten! 」

「Ahhh, how scary! 」

Ling Yue raised her brows—good grief—she never imagined she had already met this person; according to Xiao Mi Feng's account, the circus, Team Leader Li, isn't that the very circus team leader she had a brief encounter with before?

Ling Yue felt it was odd, and she even sent birds to investigate, but to no avail—there were many fierce beasts inside, their oppressive aura frightened the birds, after all, they are naturally timid creatures.

After twists and turns, she ended up back where she started.

Boss Li, Muzi—Muzi stands for Li—such a simple splitting of the surname that it's almost unbelievable made Ling Yue almost curse.

As for that unlucky bear, Ling Yue always felt it was a bit odd; after thinking, she recalled that among the brown bears she knew, only one had never been found, and it had already fled into the Mianyun Mountain Range—given its strength, it should easily escape into the old forest.

It probably isn't it.

Ling Yue furrowed her brows; the most troubling thing now was how to approach the other party… wait… she scratched her head, still needing to organize the clues she had gathered and hand them to Captain Lin to devise a plan.

At that moment, Da Lao Hu Junjun roared at her: "Master, it's time to eat!"

The big tiger's long, pure-white fur was beautiful and ethereal; a single look made it strikingly handsome, and Ling Yue suddenly felt enlightened—Tiger!

At that moment, in the zoo, the laid-back tiger brothers all shivered, a chill running down their backs.

The eldest tiger raised his head, looked at the sky: "What's going on? Autumn's here—I've caught a cold!"

The second tiger nodded, deeply agreeing.

The tiger: "... Ah, Ah Qiu!"

The other two brothers stared for a moment: "Holy shit, little one, you've caught a cold?"

Hu Shan nodded, eyes welling with emotion: "Yeah, brothers, I've caught a cold—what do you want to say?"

The two male tigers split apart, their roars shooting straight to the heavens: "Little one, come over—just don't give me your cold!"

What a plastic brotherhood.

"Hello." Ling Yue's phone rang, an unknown number showing location Jing Shi; she instantly perked up: "I am Ling Yue."

It should be the person in charge of the recording studio she had booked, Ling Yue thought, when she heard the other end switch to a new speaker whose tone instantly became warm: "Hello, I am Mr. Jonathan's private assistant; you can call me Simple."

Ling Yue: "Um… what's up?"

She was about to hang up, thinking it might be a nuisance call, but the other party seemed to anticipate her thought and hurriedly said: "Miss Ling, please don't misunderstand—my boss, Mr. Jonathan, is the chief photographer for October Fashion Magazine; he wants to invite your cat to participate in the magazine cover shoot."

Ling Yue blinked: "Do I have to pay a photography fee? Don't try to scam me!"

Having said that, she hung up immediately.

On the other end, the assistant Simple stared at the disconnected screen, momentarily stunned: "A scammer?"

He muttered to himself, doubting life.

What's worse, beside him a strangely accented Mandarin rang in his ears; the man's eyes were full of stars—even a blind man could see his anticipation: "Simple, did she agree?"

Simple: "QWQ"

Not mentioning how chaotic things are here, for the muse capable of giving him inspiration, Jonathan has already given his all; in his single-minded pursuit, even the fashion industry's top brass have accepted that the cover model is a cat—only a few phone calls remain.

Having taken ninety-nine of a hundred steps, Jonathan is determined to take the final one.

Thus, in the time that followed, Ling Yue received the previous call again; she sensed something was amiss, answered, and this time a man with a strange accent spoke. Ling Yue struggled to make out from his accent the words 'invite' and 'cat', and finally couldn't help but say: "Put that other person back on."

She said while checking: "Is there really such a fashion magazine?" She pressed enter, and the search page filled with entries—'Fashion Magazine,' founded in…

Ling Yue froze; Simple's words continued, and after a moment she reacted, repeating: "You're inviting my cat to participate in the magazine cover shoot?"

"How do you know that's my cat?"

Ling Yue received a series of pictures; the first one stunned her immensely—completely different, the cat in the picture had an indescribable style and texture, very beautiful, each strand of its soft reddish-brown fur sparkled.

This is also the original shot Jonathan took at the beginning, unretouched, relying only on minimal lighting.

After looking at them, Ling Yue had only one sentence: "Where is the location, when is the time, and where is the photographer himself?"

She specially brought the Mystic Cat Queen to look: "Queen, look, your agile posture has been completely captured on camera!"

Handsome or not? It seems to be glittering!

The Mystic Cat Queen glanced casually, her long black tail curling up: "So-so."

Whatever it says carries a hint of arrogance and nobility, yet it evokes no dislike at all; after all, cats are animals born with elegance ingrained in their bones.

Ling Yue didn't care, pinching the cat's small ears: "I thought you, Queen, would show off your talents at the pet competition, but I didn't expect someone to have already recognized your worth; now you're going to become famous!"

The queen tilted her head to look at her, pale yellow cat pupils showing a hint of confusion: "Is being famous good?"

Ling Yue: "Great, this magazine's appearance fee should be enough to buy lots and lots of cat treats, cat food, and cat toys."

The Mystic Cat Queen looked at Ling Yue and slapped her mouth with a paw: "I'll take it."

The next morning at nine o'clock.

On the fifty-seventh floor of Jin Yun Building, also the main office of the fashion magazine, Ling Yue arrived after eight, entered the elevator, just as it was about to close, a woman wearing a fisherman's hat walked in, revealing a sharp chin and fiery red lips, and her strong perfume filled the elevator.

Ling Yue: "⊙ω⊙"

She could still tolerate it, but the Mystic Cat Queen in her arms, with a keen sense of smell, reacted strongly, almost flinging her arms open as if to escape, and the cat opened its mouth: "yue!"

The not-so-loud sound echoed in the elevator.

The woman, namely Xu Molii, was stunned for a moment; no one had ever dared to treat her like that!

Ling Yue, standing, could also feel her knife-like gaze, and she moved her mouth: "It's my cat."

Xu Molii: "What cat or dog, you just vomited? A poor wretch who can't even afford perfume!"

Ling Yue: "... Then what are you? A perfume spirit?"

As her words fell, the elevator doors opened; coincidentally, their destination was the same floor, just a little away from being the same room.

Ling Yue didn't notice; after she entered, the woman lifted her hat, and her gorgeous, exaggerated face showed uncontrollable jealousy and envy.

The person Jonathan chose turned out to be her!

This time Xu Molii came to apologize for previously offending Jonathan, seeking a chance to mediate, but she greatly underestimated his persistence.

He even refused to meet.

Assistant simply: "... Madam, Jonathan the photographer has already gone to work, it's really inconvenient to see guests."

But some people, no matter how many times you say it, they don't take a word to heart, firmly sticking to their own ideas; Xu Molii is such a person.

How could there be work? It must be that they look down on her!

The more she thought, the angrier she got; hiding in a corner to vent, she inadvertently overheard the staff's discussion.

"Mr. Jonathan's model, chosen against all opposition, is really good-looking!"

"I heard the surname Ling, she's a big internet celebrity."

"The fact that the cover model is a cat is currently top secret, so the discussing staff have no idea."

Xu Molii: "!!!"

She was so angry she felt like she'd blow up like a pufferfish; a top-tier starlet, actually can't compare to a cheap internet celebrity online?!

Xu Molii stormed into the stairs angrily, already thinking how to deal with the other party, when suddenly she recalled a face; she stared at the reflection in the elevator — wasn't that the person she'd just encountered in the elevator?

Inside the shooting studio, the designated female lead had just awakened.

The Mystic Cat Queen opened her eyes, faced a magnified human face several times larger, her limbs sprang up and she kicked out with fierce claws!

"Take this, monster! Eat my cat punch!"