Missing Pet - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A Young Master moved in next door.

Every day, people delivered delicacies from the mountains and the seas to him.

He barely touched a bite, but the aromas wafting over made me, living next door, feel faint with longing.

I survived on half a steamed bun a day, and I spent my nights drooling in my sleep.

That day, I climbed up the wall, wanting to see where the Young Master’s leftovers were being tossed.

As it turned out, I lost my footing and tumbled down.

The impact on the hard ground made my bones ache.

As I was whimpering in pain, a foot gave me a little nudge.

“Beggar?”

I looked up and met the Young Master’s gloomy eyes.

“I am not a Beggar!”

Though I didn’t have enough to eat or wear, I still had my pride.

After snapping that, I began to quietly size him up.

The young boy was thin and frail, exquisitely pale, with eyes that slanted slightly upward at the corners.

He was the best-looking person I had ever seen.

Yet, even standing in the bright sun, he was shrouded in such a heavy air of melancholy that it inspired a sense of inexplicable dread.

But I was the fiercest kid on this street.

And I was so hungry that my eyes were practically flashing with predatory light.

The scent of the fine cuisine was enough to make my soul leave my body.

I licked my lips and gave him a brilliant smile. “You can’t finish all this by yourself, can you?

“How about I keep you company while you eat?”

The Young Master looked at me expressionlessly.

After a long silence, his lips suddenly curved into an abrupt, strange arc. “Fine.”

Sitting at the table, I stared at the spread of delicious food, my mouth watering.

“Do you want the fish congee?”

The Young Master sat across from me, staring at me as he shook his head.

“Do you want the braised pork?”

He shook his head.

“Do you want the big crabs?”

Another shake of the head.

Great! It was all mine!

I ate until my cheeks puffed out, my eyes sparkling.

Compared to this, the cold, hard steamed buns I ate before were practically stones!

No wonder the Young Master thought I was a Beggar.

When I was about eighty percent full, my pace slowed down.

“Young Master, my name is Tangxi. What’s yours?”

I asked him while gnawing on a pig’s trotter.

He had been staring gloomily at me the whole time I ate, his gaze intensely focused.

If I hadn’t failed to sense any actual malice in those eyes, I would have suspected I was being stalked by a venomous snake.

“Liu Yu.”

Liu Yu, huh.

I nodded. “Good, good. That’s a nice name. You really are as beautiful as a piece of fine jade.”

Liu Yu didn’t say anything.

He continued to watch me gnaw on the pig’s trotter.

He watched everything in meticulous detail-from the movements of my mouth to my hands, my expressions, and my eyes.

Fortunately, I was the kid all the other children in this alley looked up to.

A gaze like this was nothing special!

Once I had finished feasting on the entire table of food, Liu Yu suddenly beckoned to me.

Having eaten his food, I naturally had to follow his lead.

I leaned in proactively and gave him a wide grin.

Liu Yu remained expressionless.

However, he pulled a handkerchief from somewhere and actually reached out to wipe my mouth.

I froze.

When I realized what he was doing, I waved my hand to show him I could do it myself.

But a flash of displeasure crossed Liu Yu’s eyes. “Don’t move.”

Fine.

I complied.

Liu Yu wiped my mouth with such meticulous care, as if he were dusting a precious antique.

The feather-light pressure made my lips feel itchy.

I thought to myself, this Young Master is a really good person.

He gives me food, wipes my mouth, and he’s gentle too.

So, I smiled at him again, my eyes curving into little crescent moons.