Purrfect Romance

Of course, Fenix knew that cats shed.

Any animal with fur sheds, especially during the seasonal transition from summer to autumn, when even humans experience increased hair loss.

But Fenix hadn't anticipated that the shedding would be so severe!

Was this really shedding?

It seemed more like the precursor to baldness!

Fenix held the clumps of cat fur, feeling as though half of his life had crumbled.

How could this be?

For the first time, he had a job to make ends meet and had successfully awakened.

Two joys that should have overlapped to create a dreamy period of happiness.

How did it turn out like this!

Heaven above!

Fenix was prematurely balding!

Fenix sobbed silently, gathering the clumps of fur and rolling them into a ball.

They were Fenix's treasures.

Once he learned to sew, he'd stitch these little treasures together.

QAQ

Lion glanced at Fenix, who was busy with the cat fur, and noticed that the kitten had become fully engrossed in the sewing tutorials. He opened his terminal and began handling his own affairs.

Fenix didn't dare scratch himself anymore.

He feared that if he scratched, he might lose the remaining hair too.

He carefully sifted through the tutorials, saving the ones that seemed genuinely useful to his favorites.

Of course, he could only save them in his favorites!

Could a little kitten actually sew?

Looking at those paws, did they look capable of threading a needle?

Fenix smacked his right paw with his left in frustration.

Bah!

Useless!

I could have been so happy, all because of the awakening!

Forget it.

Fenix gnawed on his tail in anger, his paws flying as he browsed through sewing and craft tutorials.

The bodyguard sitting in the front seat occasionally checked on his boss through the rearview mirror.

Lion was contacting his fleet captains, his expression calm, showing no signs of emotion.

The bodyguard retracted his gaze, marveling inwardly.

To put it mildly, today the boss's mood was the best it had been in a decade.

He had prepared for a storm of rage from Lion, but not a single measure was needed.

On the other side of the car, where the little one hadn't touched, Lion was carrying enough weapons to topple half of Marina City.

Ideally, nothing would happen.

But when Lion was unhappy, shooting one or two people who annoyed him was a common occurrence.

Today, despite being blocked and personally negotiating, Lion didn't even wrinkle his brow and seemed rather content, which was akin to seeing red rain for the bodyguard who knew Lion's temper well.

Too rare.

The leader of the Lionheart pirates was always associated with terms like "tyrant" and "cruel."

But Lion was strong.

And thieves, living on the edge, always followed the strongest.

The bodyguard couldn't help but glance at the rearview mirror again.

Lion was looking down, gently petting the kitten.

The little one was very seriously browsing through web pages.

So seriously that when Lion tried to pet his belly, he kicked away the hand in annoyance.

The bodyguard gasped, but found that their boss wasn't the slightest bit angry.

He didn't even wrinkle his brow after being kicked away and continued to pet the cat's back happily.

The bodyguard: "..."

He was almost doubting if their boss had been replaced.

At this moment, Lion seemed to sense his gaze and looked up.

His eyes still held the familiar raging storm, but the clouds above had been driven away by sunlight, and the storm lay dormant.

The bodyguard retracted his gaze.

Confirmed.

The boss was still the same, but the sight of him regaining his composure was unfamiliar to him.

Lion guessed his subordinate's thoughts but didn't bother with them.

He felt that his current state was unprecedentedly good.

Clear-headed, smooth thinking, the usual anxiety and urgency vanished without a trace.

Comfortable.

"Boss."

"Speak."

"Ferran mentioned wanting to send... your brother a small gift."

Lion glanced down at his brother, who was absorbed in sewing and crafts.

Fenix twitched his ears, taking a couple of seconds to realize that they were talking about him.

He suddenly lifted his head: "What kind of gift?"

The bodyguard, noticing Lion's displeased expression, swallowed the names of luxury brands and instead said, "Some small accessories."

Things like pins, tie clips, and cufflinks.

But anything Ferran sent certainly wouldn't be cheap.

However, Fenix, a little alley cat, didn't understand these things.

Disappointed, he withdrew his gaze.

Satisfied, Lion scratched Fenix under the chin. "Don't like it?"

Fenix sighed: "I'm not a girl, why would I need accessories?"

Poor little cat.

Lion smiled and nodded. "Right, you don't need them."

Fenix dejectedly continued browsing sewing tutorials.

Lion searched for some cat room designs and dragged them in front of Fenix.

"Look, which one do you like?"

Fenix looked up: "What are these?"

Lion teased him: "Your office."

Fenix was surprised: "I have an office!"

Lion didn't bat an eye. "Yes, employee benefits."

Fenix stared wide-eyed, completely immersed in disbelief.

Something was off.

This isn't right!

Fenix became alert.

The photos on the Lion Corp. website were similar to other companies', with only managers having private offices, while everyone else worked in regular cubicles.

No matter how rich Lion Corp. was, they couldn't possibly provide every employee with an office!

Unless everyone had an office!

Fenix thought for a moment and typed: "Boss, why should I have my own office?"

Lion was a bit surprised that the kitten wasn't fooled.

"I approved it." He still didn't blink. "Awakeners get special treatment."

Grass.

Another privileged class!

Damn.

I'm so envious!

Oh, wait, Fenix was now part of the privileged class!

Realizing this, Fenix was instantly corrupted by privilege, joyfully choosing his setup.

Lion had approved an outrageously spacious office for him, over 200 square meters, far larger than a typical four-bedroom apartment.

After much deliberation, he chose one filled with wooden tunnels.

Such small spaces gave cats a sense of security.

The tunnels had many holes, inviting cats to poke their paws through.

Lion glanced at it. "Nope."

Fenix was taken aback, slowly typing a question mark.

"There's no space for my desk," Lion explained.

Fenix: ?

What?

Wait.

Why does my office need your desk?

Lion looked at Fenix, who was tilting his head. "We share an office."

Fenix: ?

What did you say?

Say that again?

Did you say we share an office?

Fenix was confused for a while, looking at Lion's sincere expression, gradually deleting the joy he had felt upon becoming privileged.

Fenix typed painfully: "I think I don't need to be so extravagant."

Lion raised an eyebrow. "Extravagant?"

Fenix felt even more pain. "Yes, besides, a psychological comforter should be in a place where everyone can see."

Grass.

Big cat room.

Fenix's heart ached.

Fenix almost choked up. "Dedication to the job, right?"

Lion looked at Fenix on his lap, narrowing his eyes. "You don't want to share an office with me?"

Fenix tensed up.

"You obviously don't want to." Lion snorted lightly. "Why?"

Fenix closed his eyes. "Boss! No employee wants to work under the boss's watchful eyes!!"

Can't even slack off!

Though Fenix didn't know what a meowing psychological comforter would slack off doing.

But working under the boss's watchful eyes was like being surrounded by three invigilators during an exam!

Lion didn't expect such an answer.

He was momentarily stunned, then pointed at the bodyguard in the passenger seat. "He works under my watchful eyes all the time, not just as a bodyguard but also as a special assistant."

Suddenly implicated, the bodyguard was taken aback, turning to nod at Fenix.

Fenix: ...

Grass.

Great miscalculation.

There really was someone like that.

You are a real firecracker.

Lion put the cat room design back in front of Fenix.

Fenix didn't dare mess with Lion's office.

He was very sensible, very restrained, and also very heartbroken: "Just give me a few cardboard boxes, the small kind."

Lion remembered the square-shaped Fenix Pancake from last night and noted Fenix's request, putting his terminal away.

Following Lion's movement, Fenix noticed that Lion's cuffs and jacket were covered with white fur, clearly his own.

Fenix was choked up.

Trembling, he typed: "Boss, how do you usually wash your suits?"

Lion was stumped by Fenix's question.

He had never really thought about it.

He looked at the passenger seat.

The bodyguard responded diligently: "Usually, formal wear isn't worn twice, so it's not washed."

Fenix: ?

What the hell?

Clothes worth millions aren't worn twice?

Grass.

You must have...

Damn, Lion really had a mine.

What did Lion Corp. do?

Developed clean energy!

Where did clean energy generally come from?

From various resource planets!

Lion owned dozens of resource planets, and many types of clean energy were often intertwined with rare mineral veins.

Lion not only had mines but dozens of planetary mines!

Fenix felt like he was going to faint.

All humans!

How could there be such a huge gap!

Fenix tried to hold back but couldn't: "What happens to clothes worn once...?"

"Usually thrown away, or sent to specialized cleaning stores for care and storage if they're rare."

Fenix sucked in a breath.

"This suit needs to be stored," the bodyguard added.

Fenix sucked in another breath.

He quickly gathered the clump of fur he had dropped, jumped off Lion's lap, and was horrified to find that Lion's pants were also covered in fur.

Fenix tried to mend the situation, extending his paws to remove the fur stuck to Lion's suit.

Lion watched the paws rubbing against his lap, unable to figure out what Fenix was doing.

"What are you doing?"

Fenix pushed the clump of fur to the front, tearfully typing: "Boss, I'm losing hair, I'm going bald, my fur is dirtying your clothes."

Lion glanced at the fur. "Normal growth phase, you're shedding because you're getting the nutrients you need."

Fenix was stunned. "?"

Lion: "All awakeners go through this phase, shedding baby fur, marking the transition to maturity."

Fenix understood.

Got it.

Commonly known as the awkward phase!

Fenix let out a long sigh, asking knowingly: "Boss, what's your awakened form? A lion?"

Lion nodded, unsurprised that Fenix guessed it was a lion.

His name gave it away.

Fenix looked up at Lion, opened his terminal, and secretly searched for pictures of male lions shedding their fur behind Lion's back.

Male lions growing their manes start with the cheeks and chin, with a tuft of dark brown fur standing up on top of their heads, resembling a mohawk.

Fenix looked at the pictures, then at Lion, and then back at the pictures.

Fenix: ...

Wow, wow.

Lion was alert. "What are you looking at?"

Fenix instinctively tried to close the page, but before he could press the button, he was picked up by Lion.

Lion took his terminal.

Fenix retracted his paws and neck, guiltily looking at his tail tip.

Lion looked at the lion pictures Fenix had just searched, shaking the audacious kitten in his hand, his tone dangerously: "Nice?"

Fenix nodded reluctantly.

"Nice?" Lion chuckled. "I'll give you one too."

????

Are you kidding me?!

Fenix struggled wildly.

Let go!!

What are you going to do to Fenix?!

Dare you touch a single hair on Fenix's head!