Given Xiao Bai’s current size, he couldn’t fit through the main entrance of the IOA headquarters, let alone enter a regular apartment complex. Han Xingqian gave Lan Bo the keys to his downtown villa, allowing them to stay there temporarily until Xiao Bai returned to normal. During this time, the Medical Association could send a car daily to pick up doctors to examine Xiao Bai.
In the villa complex where Han Xingqian lived, each detached villa was set far apart from the others, and every one came with a sizable private garden. Fortunately, the other residents in the complex were also colleagues from the Medical Association, so they shouldn’t cause too much trouble for the neighbors.
Lan Bo sat on the bed in the second-floor bedroom, a first-aid kit by his side. His fishtail had transformed into two legs, and he was wearing the lounge shorts Dr. Han had sent over. With the hem of a short-sleeved shirt clenched between his teeth, he looked down and used alcohol to disinfect the wound on his chest.
Dr. Han had instructed him to disinfect the wound with povidone-iodine before bandaging it, but Lan Bo wasn’t quite sure of the difference between alcohol and povidone-iodine. In truth, he possessed a natural purification ability, so infection was impossible and disinfection unnecessary. But since Dr. Han had specifically instructed him to do so, he followed the advice.
“Ouch…” Lan Bo bit down hard on the hem of his T-shirt and let out a muffled groan. The alcohol stung the wound, causing his body to shudder with pain.
Never mind. Lan Bo wrapped the wound with medical bandages to prevent it from reopening and bleeding before it healed.
“Ouch.”
A rustling sound came from outside the second-floor window. Lan Bo turned to look at the balcony, where a pair of large, moon-like blue eyes were gazing at him with crystal-clear clarity.
The white lion’s two front paws rested lightly on the wall outside the balcony. Its pink nose was pointed directly at Lan Bo, its nostrils quivering as it sniffed; the warm breath it exhaled lifted the curtains in the room and sent Lan Bo’s golden hair flying wildly.
“Sit.” Ranpo let go of the hem of his robe, walked over barefoot, braced himself against the railing, and swung himself onto it.
The great white lion obediently sat down, curling its tail forward to wrap around its two front paws.
“Good boy.” Ranpo lifted one foot and placed it on the white lion’s large pink nose. It was slightly damp, very soft, and cool to the touch.
The white lion moved its head aside, lowering it to sniff around in circles in the garden, After a moment, it lifted its head from the flowerbeds, a few leaves stuck to its fur. Holding a wreath woven from two Sasha Angel roses between its lips, it carefully placed it around Lan Bo’s ankle, then sat down quietly, gazing at Lan Bo with a devout expression.
Lan Bo leaned down and stroked the white lion’s large head: “ “I’ll treasure this.”
The moisture within the veins of the white blossoms hardened, preserving their original colors in a form as strong as steel, yet without becoming hard or prickly.
He cupped the white lion’s massive cheek, gave its large nose a light kiss, and whispered softly with his cheek pressed against it: “Thank you for coming to help me. I need you, Randy.”
The white lion blinked, its ghostly blue eyes flickering on and off. It lowered its head, circling and sniffing the grass, then began digging frantically at the ground in shy excitement.
Before resting, Lan Bo injected the dissociative agent he’d hidden in the white lion’s fur into the back of its neck. He then curled up in the hanging chair on the balcony, falling asleep there with the lion, hoping that by morning, Xiao Bai would return to normal.
The white lion curled into a little mound on the lawn in the courtyard, its head covered by a small jacket Lan Bo had given it.
The next morning, Han Xingqian drove over to examine Xiao Bai. Xiao Xun helped him carry the equipment, while Lu Yan and Bi Lanxing rushed back from Liutanshan. They had just reported on the status of the experiment to eliminate the dragon-turtle specimen when they heard that Brother Chu’s condition had nearly worsened and that Lan Bo had been injured. The two immediately panicked and insisted on coming to check on them no matter what.
Bi Lanxing held a folder in his arms, filled with reports he had organized and prepared for the Chief of the Search Division to sign. With Brother Chu ill, he had voluntarily taken on most of the reporting work and was thoroughly familiar with the situation both inside and outside the Search Division. This way, when Brother Chu returned, he could quickly hand over the work.
Lu Yan sat in the back seat, clutching her phone with a worried expression. She aimlessly opened and closed a few apps, her eyes red-rimmed. Unable to hold back, she looked up and asked, “My dad called yesterday to ask about him. I just brushed it off. Is he going to be okay…? Isn’t he supposed to be pretty tough…?”
“The situation isn’t too bad yet. We’re still figuring things out. At least there won’t be any major problems in the short term.” Han Xingqian pulled the car up outside the courtyard, with no intention of lingering.
The group got out of the car one by one and walked into the courtyard. Han Xingqian looked around and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, knocked on the door.
Lan Bo opened the door.
Lan Bo was wearing a loose T-shirt and shorts, holding a towel as he dried his wet hair.
“You’re just in time. I just gave him a bath—he was covered in mud.”
“A bath? You gave him a bath…” Lu Yan’s cheeks flushed, and his rabbit ears twitched.
They stepped inside, with Xiao Xun following behind carrying the medical kit. Dr. Han began asking Lan Bo about Xiao Bai’s condition from the night before.
Bi Lanxing trailed behind carrying a briefcase. Lu Yan wasn’t carrying anything; she jogged along, peeking into every room in search of Bai Chunian.
Lu Yan pushed open the bedroom door and glanced inside. Bai Chunian wasn’t there. Just as he was about to step back out, he turned around and found a snow-white, blue-eyed creature standing on a low cabinet, staring intently at him with its face pressed close.
The species-based dominance of a predator over a rabbit is quite intense, Lu Yan felt a sudden chill run down his spine. A “rabbit hole” appeared out of nowhere beneath his feet; he fell into it, only to emerge from another “rabbit hole” two meters away. He stared blankly at the white lion—a predator—sitting on the low cabinet, licking its paws with noble elegance, its fur still fragrant with the scent of body wash.
“Huh? Bai Chunian?” Bai Landi’s pheromones hadn’t changed, so Lu Yan still recognized him.
The white lion continued to lazily lick its fur, not even lifting its head.
Lu Yan turned back dejectedly and asked Lan Bo, “Can’t he hear me anymore?”
Lan Bo pulled back the curtains to let the light in: “He can hear you; he’s just ignoring you.”
Xiao Xun exclaimed in surprise, “He hasn’t recovered yet?”
Lan Bo walked over and struggled to lift the freshly bathed White Lion onto the bed. The lion was limp as a rag; as he was hauled down from the low cabinet by his armpits, his body stretched out like a rubber band.
“He’s recovered, but not fully yet.” Lan Bo nonchalantly removed the claws hanging from his own body, pinched the pink pads to make him extend his claws, then took out a pair of hydrocarbon steel scissors to trim his nails, followed by a hydrocarbon steel file to smooth them down, so he wouldn’t tear up Dr. Han’s furniture.
“I injected him with the de-transformation agent last night, and this morning I noticed his size had shrunk. He’s now about the size of an ordinary white lion—maybe even a little smaller—but he hasn’t returned to human form yet.”
Han Xingqian jotted down the description Lan Bo had provided; this was important clinical data for the Medical Association.
He glanced at *The Habits of Lions*, tossed in the trash can, and *How to Care for Kittens*, lying on the bed with a water-hardened steel bookmark, then rested his chin in his hand and analyzed, “Clearly, neither his intelligence nor his cognitive functions have returned.”
Lan Bo held the white lion between her legs to keep it from running off, using two cotton swabs to clean its ears. The white lion felt very uncomfortable; it let out two cries before running away, shaking its head vigorously.
It was still young, and its cry lacked the intimidating power of a true adult male lion’s roar; though it looked fierce, its voice sounded somewhat whiny.
Lu Yan tentatively reached out to touch it. The white lion proudly puffed out its chest, displaying the still-faint mane on its neck.
Xiao Bai was familiar with their scents, so he showed no hostility. Instead, he flopped onto his back, exposing his belly and pink paw pads.
Lu Yan cautiously asked Bi Lanxing, “What’s he doing? Does his back itch?”
Bi Lanxing crouched down as well and observed, “Mm-hmm, lying like this means he wants me to rub his belly.”
Lu Yan often visited Lanxing’s house and knew that Lanxing kept a Bernese Mountain Dog, which he had even named himself: Ge Wuen.
“So it wants to be petted.” Bi Lanxing slowly reached out to stroke Xiaobai’s belly, but unexpectedly, Xiaobai suddenly turned on him. It wrapped its front paws around Lanxing’s hand and bit down, while its hind legs kicked wildly in a whirlwind of kicks.
“Brother Chu, Brother Chu…” Bi Lanxing froze in place, too afraid to move or pull his hand away, his vision spinning with stars from the kicks.
“Randy! Let go!” Lan Bo noticed the commotion and immediately stood up, shouting sharply to stop him.
After being scolded, Xiao Bai rolled over and ran off, leaping lightly onto the bay window. It lazily raised one hind leg and lowered its head to groom its fur with its tongue.
Fortunately, Xiao Bai hadn’t truly intended to attack them. Bi Lanxing wasn’t injured, but he was still startled. He asked Lan Bo, “Did I do something wrong just now?”
Lan Bo nodded, holding the *Cat Care Guide*—a book filled with hydrocarbon steel bookmarks that he couldn’t quite make sense of—and put on a pair of hydrocarbon steel glasses. He flipped to a page: “When it lies down and shows you its belly, that’s a sign of trust. But reaching out to pet it is just being inconsiderate. It actually wants you to pet its head.”
Bi Lanxing: “……”
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, Xiaobai tentatively reached out a paw to nudge the document folder Lanxing had placed on the windowsill. It nudged it once, then again; the folder barely managed to stay balanced on the edge of the windowsill without falling.
Bi Lanxing looked up in alarm: “Hey, Brother Chu, those are the documents you need to sign.”
Xiao Bai shot him a glance, knocked the folder to the floor, and then cheerfully began parkouring around the room.
Bi Lanxing covered his face in exasperation. It looked like he’d have to take over all of Brother Chu’s work for the foreseeable future.
Xiao Bai stopped when he got tired, plopping down on the bed. Everyone thought he’d had his fun and was finally going to rest, but he suddenly lunged forward and landed on Lu Yan, pinning him down with his front paws so he couldn’t get up. He grabbed one of Lu Yan’s rabbit ears and tugged on it back and forth, playing with it. This infuriated Lu Yan, who pounded the floor and shouted, “Bai Chunian! You’re so annoying!!”
Xiao Bai’s attention was drawn once again to Xiao Xun’s tail. He lowered his body into a crouching, predatory stance, then sprang forward, lunging at Xiao Xun’s tail.
Dr. Han stepped in front of Xiao Xun just in time, grabbing Xiao Bai by the collar. Beneath his gentle expression, his grip was incredibly strong as he lifted Xiao Bai off the ground and whispered softly in his ear, “ “It’s normal for a young male lion to be mischievous. Just get him neutered. Why wait for a better day? How about today?”
Xiao Bai shuddered, wriggled free from Han Xingqian’s grip, and hid behind Lan Bo, licking his paw as if nothing had happened. After a while, bored out of his mind, he wrapped his paws around Lan Bo and started nibbling on his head.
Han Xingqian had the others hold Xiaobai down while he drew several vials of blood to take back for testing, then administered another dose of the dissociation agent. Until they found the fusion-promoting hormone, the dissociation agent was crucial for controlling Xiaobai.
“It seems maintaining his human form consumes a significant amount of his excess energy, preventing him from going berserk due to an energy overload.” Han Xingqian placed the blood samples in a cooler and briefed Lan Bo on the next steps. “Stay here for a few more days and monitor his condition. I’ll come by every day to draw blood and administer medication. As soon as he returns to his human form, give me a call.”
Lan Bo nodded.
Han Xingqian waved his hand. Xiao Xun followed him out carrying the medical kit, while Lu Yan bolted out as if fleeing. Bi Lanxing picked up the document folder marked with claw prints and left with a resigned, wry smile.
After being injected with the separation agent, Xiao Bai became extremely lethargic. He lay limply on his side on the bed, limbs splayed, breathing weakly and shallowly.
Lan Bo lay beside him on the bed, one hand propping up his chin, the other gently squeezing the white lion’s pink paw pads. He pressed the palm to make the claws extend, then retract them, before pressing them against his lips for a kiss.
Xiao Bai lay there for a while, then laboriously lifted one hind leg to groom himself; his fur had become disheveled from being held down by a group of people for the blood draw.
Lan Bo watched him groom himself intently, chin in hand, then suddenly reached out and pinched the area between his hind legs.
The white lion’s testicles felt pleasant to the touch—a pair of snow-white balls hanging just below the base of his tail, round and fuzzy, with a slightly prickly texture.
The white lion, still grooming himself, froze, remaining stiff with one leg raised, the tip of his pink tongue still partially extended.
Lan Bo chuckled aloud. The white lion exhaled sharply, then turned his back to him and lay down.
“Don’t be mad. I was just curious.” Lan Bo reached out to stroke the furry side of his waist. The white lion let out a loud, contented purr, turned around, and snuggled up next to Lan Bo, forgiving him instantly.
In Lan Bo’s eyes, all living beings were equal. To him, Bai Chunian’s current state was no different from that of his former lover, and he still loved him dearly.
In the afternoon, Lan Bo opened his eyes from his lazy nap. A beautifully sculpted arm rested across his lower abdomen, and a young, handsome face was pressed close to him, sleeping soundly and defenselessly by his side.
The white lion’s form had faded from Bai Chunian’s body, and even his hair had returned to its normal black color. Bare-chested and half-reclining on the bed, he twisted his toned waist and abdomen slightly, his pale skin glowing with a faint orange-red hue in the afternoon sunlight.
Lan Bo breathed softly, his gaze tracing the Alpha’s features; even the finest vellus hairs were clearly visible in the blinding light. In the past, Lan Bo had often studied him like this. Whenever he did, he would forget the scorching sun and the truths he was bound to uphold, knowing only to love him.