“…Chirp?” the little phoenix tilted its head, full of confusion.
The surroundings were silent, and then, like cold water poured into a hot oil pan, an explosion of sound erupted: “Phoenix!”
“Phoenix!”
“That’s the real Phoenix!”
Camera flashes flickered, turning into a sea of light. Yu Jingzhong rushed out of his office, yelling: “Just take pictures! Don’t upload them to WeChat Moments!—Confidentiality rules! Do not upload to WeChat Moments—!” Unfortunately, his voice was immediately drowned out by the thunderous sound of footsteps.
“Boss, you’re finally back—!” The young men of Team One rushed out like tigers descending a mountain, some wailing, some hugging his legs, all pouring out their grievances.
The handsome young men of Team One usually found it difficult to find girlfriends due to the confidential nature of their work. Their lives were as lonely and empty as snow, so they could only follow their boss around doing private jobs to earn money. Unfortunately, after Zhou Hui left, their boss was replaced by Jia Louluo, a strict and unyielding Golden-winged Great Roc. He drilled them so hard they cried for their mothers, and now seeing their boss return was more joyous than seeing their own fathers.
Zhou Hui held the little phoenix with both hands and solemnly said, “This is your Team Leader Phoenix Four. Come over and get to know him… Just get familiar with his face! I’m talking to you! You can only look, not touch!”
The young men bowed in unison: “Hello, Team Leader Four—!”
“…” The little phoenix: “…Chirp?!”
The Phoenix, mysterious and aloof, having rebelled twice, had become the unspeakable NO.1 in the legends of the Special Affairs Office. It was generally believed that no matter what form or manner he appeared in, it would not be surprising. Now, let alone turning into a chick, even if he suddenly transformed into a golden Bodhisattva statue sitting in the office one day, people probably wouldn’t find anything strange.
However, there were some who couldn’t accept it, like Shenwan Tiansi:
“Mama, why did you become like this! Don’t you recognize me?! I’m Shenwan! Don’t you remember anything?!”
In Zhou Hui’s office, Shenwan trembled like a sieve, pointing at the little phoenix, his face full of heartbroken grief. The little phoenix, meanwhile, remained motionless, nestled in Zhou Hui’s arms, returning an innocent gaze to the little Living Buddha.
“Look at me, look at me! Do you really not remember? Don’t you even remember me?!”
Yu Jingzhong, having appeased the excited crowd outside who wanted to see the true rare bird, happened to push open the door and entered. Hearing this, he immediately clapped a hand over Shenwan’s mouth, dragged him behind, and whispered an admonition: “The Phoenix doesn’t even recognize Zhou Hui now, let alone you… Say less of that in front of Zhou Hui next time, it will make him sad…”
Shenwan Tiansi stood leaning against the wall, his face showing a deeply struck expression.
Yu Jingzhong patted Shenwan Tiansi’s head, pushed him out of the office to face a crowd of eager onlookers, and then walked to the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down, frowning as he stared at the little bird chick quietly nestled on the desktop.
The little phoenix’s round eyes met his gaze, filled with curiosity.
“…Is that really Phoenix Four? Wasn’t it supposed to take hundreds of years to hatch?” Thirty seconds later, Yu Jingzhong finally couldn’t help but ask suspiciously: “Are you sure you’re not just missing Phoenix Four too much and picked up some random bird outside to pass it off as him?!”
“Hiss—!”
The little phoenix fluttered its wings, ready to charge and slap Old Yu, but Zhou Hui quickly held it down, stroking its feathers and hastily comforting it. After a long while, the ruffled feathers on the little phoenix’s nape slowly settled, but it still couldn’t help glaring at Yu Jingzhong, its black-bean-like eyes filled with resentment.
Yu Jingzhong was utterly terrified: “It…it understands? Oh my god, I didn’t offend Phoenix Wisdom King, did I?! Your Highness, I’m sorry! Your Highness, I didn’t mean it! You, you, you, I was very good to you in your previous life, you must believe me!!!”
Zhou Hui caressed the little phoenix in every way until it finally tucked its head into his palm and stopped moving, then he said, “Half a month ago, it was still ignorant, but now it’s getting smarter and smarter. It might be due to its nature as a divine bird. However, it can only truly awaken its intelligence when it transforms into human form, and who knows when that will be… I heard it could be anywhere from a few years to hundreds of years.”
“Does he really not remember anything?” Yu Jingzhong asked.
Zhou Hui shook his head.
“Then you…”
“I’ll just wait, for a hundred, eight hundred years, I can afford it,” Zhou Hui picked up the little phoenix and kissed it, saying, “When he regains his intelligence, we’ll start over from scratch, little by little. I succeeded in snatching him at the battlefield last time, so why wouldn’t a slow and steady approach work this time? Even if his memory has been wiped clean, his soul is still the same person, and he’ll recognize me one day.”
“Besides, even if he doesn’t recognize me, it’s fine.” The little phoenix affectionately rubbed Zhou Hui’s face with its round head, emitting faint chirping sounds. A smile involuntarily appeared in Zhou Hui’s eyes: “His childhood was so bitter, and later he was deeply entangled in this treacherous situation, exhausting his mind and cautiously planning every step, never having a day of true peace… It’s better if he forgets it all now. Life must pass for a new beginning.”
Outside, it was noisy, with the sounds of Team One members running around and shouting while moving things.
However, the office was very quiet. Red lines crisscrossed high on the ceiling, and the roller balls moved back and forth, each following its own trajectory, like a vast star map in the night sky.
This office had been completely sealed during the six months its owner was away; no one had ever stepped inside. Yet now, Zhou Hui had opened the door and walked in. He sat there as if the heavy smoke of war and displacement in between had never happened, everything just like yesterday.
The little phoenix didn’t understand what Zhou Hui said, but instinctively flapped its wings twice, chirping to express agreement.
Zhou Hui smiled.
There was an inherent aura between the man and the bird; that intimate atmosphere seemed to subtly exclude everyone else around them, forming an independent yet warm little world. Yu Jingzhong stood up from his chair, watching the scene across the desk, wanting to say something but forcefully holding back.
Although Zhou Hui’s expression was as usual, after so many years of acquaintance, he could feel something heavier and more desolate behind that smile.
—What Zhou Hui said was not his true feelings.
Zhou Hui, carrying the little phoenix, moved back to his renovated duplex apartment in the Third Ring Road of Beijing.
As for Zhang Shun and Jia Louluo, who came back with him, one was taken away by Fox Six, and the other could only live in the office.
When Chu He left the Zhang family back then, Zhang Shun inherited all the assets and stocks his brother held. However, Zhang Shun had neither the ability nor the inclination to manage a company, so he simply sold off most of his shares, became a nominal director who collected dividends, and then came to the Beijing Special Affairs Office to muddle through life.
Second Young Master Zhang was a lone wolf. At the time, he hadn’t decided whether to stay in Beijing or return to H City, so he hadn’t bought property in Beijing. Later, he stayed in hotels for a couple of days, partied at nightclubs for a couple of days, and then stayed at Situ Yingzhi’s place for a couple of days. His bachelor life was quite carefree, and the thought of buying a house drifted away like a wandering cloud.
Now, the true Golden Buddha descended into the human realm, and suddenly found that he didn’t even have a place to stay in Beijing.
Nightclubs were definitely out; if Venerable Bhadra found out, he would surely rush down the mountain, spitting blood, and commit suicide by wielding a knife in front of Zhang Shun. Situ Yingzhi’s house was about to be sold to raise money to buy a bigger one in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong, and currently, the house was a mess, even Hou San himself was staying in a hotel.
Although Second Young Master Zhang had spent a long time in the human world and had some issues with his divine nature, he was still suspected to be the genuine Buddha. Therefore, he was still highly regarded by the higher-ups, who specifically cleared out a building in a politically important area to serve as a Buddhist temple—but Second Young Master Zhang now shuddered at the sight of a Buddhist temple, and facing Yu’s enthusiastic invitation, he almost wanted to leap up and sneak away along the wall.
Fortunately, at a crucial moment, Li Hu took pity and said:
“Since Second Young Master Zhang is unwilling to stay in the Buddhist temple, then he can stay at my place. It’s not too late to buy a house later. Coincidentally, I have a large empty bedroom, and at the end of the month, he can help me pay for utilities, gas, property fees, and such…”
Second Young Master Zhang hastily expressed that it was no problem, that it was his honor to live with a beautiful woman with a 36DD. Besides, as a Buddha, one should always remember to save all sentient beings. If he stayed in the Buddhist temple too long without contact with the grassroots, he would become detached from the people.
So the genuine Golden Buddha ran off hand-in-hand with the fox spirit, leaving Deputy Yu behind, who watched Li Hu’s particularly joyful and unrestrained cleavage as she ran, feeling his eyelids twitching.
As for Jia Louluo, he had always slept in the office, so continuing to sleep in the office was no problem.
He slept in the former office of Team Leader Phoenix Four, a top-floor suite with three large open rooms, complete with a bedroom, living room, and a small kitchen. The conditions were absolutely nothing to complain about. Zhou Hui was happy not to live under the same roof as his son, and was about to leave with the little phoenix, when he was suddenly stopped by Jia Louluo’s initiative: “Wait… Dad.”
“Hmm?”
Jia Louluo stepped forward and meticulously smoothed the little phoenix’s slightly ruffled feathers, a calm expression showing in his eyes beneath the bandages. After a moment, he stepped back, looked at the little phoenix, and then raised his eyes to say, “Dad, there’s something…”
Zhou Hui’s tone softened slightly: “What’s wrong?”
“Lend me some money,” Jia Louluo said, “my salary isn’t enough.”
Zhou Hui: “…”
“My internship salary is four thousand five, and a steamed whole snake at the snake meat restaurant starts at one thousand two. Although Hou San and Shenwan’s salaries are higher than mine, they’re not much higher. I don’t know how they manage to balance their income and expenses? I heard I could take on private jobs to earn some extra money, but that day I looked up the disciplinary regulations, and it said taking on private jobs is against unit rules.”
Jia Louluo paused, then calmly said, “My salary for this month is already spent… Lend me some money, I’ll pay you back when I get paid.”
Father and son looked at each other, and a gust of wind blew between them.
“…” Zhou Hui slowly said: “I remember when you came out of the snow mountain, you withdrew the safe your mother had deposited there from a local bank. It had eighty thousand yuan in cash…”
“When the train crashed into the Demon Realm, my bag was swallowed by Maha in a frenzy, and later in the human world, I was robbed.”
“Then you later…”
“Prices in the human world are too expensive. I’ve been relying on my salary to eat at the unit canteen. Luckily, I can live in the office, which saved me rent money.”
Zhou Hui stared at Jia Louluo, looking at his son’s young face, so similar to his own, and his old athletic T-shirt and last year’s out-of-season Adidas shoes. For the first time in his life, a sense of fatherly responsibility welled up in his chest.
He took out his wallet, pulled out a card, and handed it to his son, saying, “Take this, swipe as much as you want.”
The little phoenix had a natural closeness to Jia Louluo. Before leaving, it circled Jia Louluo twice, seemingly reluctant to part. Its magnificent tail feathers swept around him like ribbons, scattering countless brilliant specks of light.
The light was like countless leaping sprites. Jia Louluo affectionately reached out his hand—but the next moment, Zhou Hui hastily scooped up the little phoenix and left without touching the ground.
“Chirp?” the little phoenix, tucked into the car, blinked its eyes in confusion and asked.
Zhou Hui quickly got up and drove off, pretending not to see. He thought to himself that if Phoenix were to regain his memories in the future and remember that he almost made his second son beg for food, he might get angry enough to make himself beg on the streets… So, the heartbreaking mother-son farewells could wait.
After half a year’s absence, Zhou Hui finally returned to his and Chu He’s home in Beijing.
Although no one had lived there for such a long time, Yu Jingzhong often sent his subordinates to clean, so it was spotless, without a speck of dust. However, a long-empty house always had a slightly uncomfortable smell in the air. Zhou Hui opened the balcony door, pulled back the floor-length curtains, allowing the setting sun to pour into the living room and bedroom. The solid wood floor reflected a lustrous, warm glow in the afterglow.
“Oh, there are even flowers.” Zhou Hui looked at the glass vase on the coffee table, with a few unknown pink and white small flowers in it. He presumed Yu Jingzhong had someone place them there when he sent people to clean.
“—Tsk tsk, Old Yu’s been tamed by the little beauty and now has a taste for life’s pleasures, truly rare… Remember? You used to pick wild flowers from the garden downstairs and put them in the house, and you even thought about cultivating a ginseng plantation on the windowsill…”
The little phoenix hopped onto the table, sniffed the wild flowers for a while, then opened its beak and took a bite.
“Ptooey! Ptooey!” The little phoenix immediately spat out the bitter petals, flapped its wings for a while, and then crashed back into Zhou Hui’s arms.
Zhou Hui laughed heartily, one hand holding his car keys, the other holding the little phoenix. He circled the living room once, then went into the bedroom. Sunlight streamed in from the balcony connected to the bedroom. The soft, snow-white pillows on the bed shimmered with a golden-red hue, and a black casual suit jacket hung on the corner of the bed—it was Chu He’s, not put away when he left, and still hanging there.
Zhou Hui placed the little phoenix on the bed, picked up the jacket, casually wrapped it around its head, and laughed: “This is yours, do you still want it? If not, I’ll give it away.”
The little phoenix struggled to poke its head out from the pile of fabric. Upon hearing it might be given away, it immediately chirped and huddled the jacket into a pile, spreading its wings to tightly embrace it, glaring at Zhou Hui. The implication was, since it’s mine, you’re not allowed to give it away. What’s mine is mine, and no one is allowed to take my things.
Zhou Hui laughed, embracing the little phoenix along with the jacket.
“No, no, no, your things will always be yours…” Zhou Hui paused, burying his face in the jacket, and muffled with a smile, “Even until you die, they’ll still be yours. No one can take them away, don’t worry.”
Only then was the little phoenix satisfied, shrinking its neck under Zhou Hui’s continuous petting.
There wasn’t much food in the fridge, but fortunately, there was half a bag of milk powder. Zhou Hui boiled water to make a strong cup of milk, added sugar and honey, adjusted it to the most suitable temperature, and brought it to the bedroom for the little phoenix to drink obediently, while he went to the bathroom to shower.
The master bedroom was connected to the bathroom, and Zhou Hui hadn’t closed the door. The little phoenix stood on the rim of the glass cup, and from its angle, it could see Zhou Hui’s shadow reflected on the bathroom’s glass door, revealing his strong, muscular upper body and thighs.
The little phoenix, with its round, black eyes, watched silently for a while before slowly lowering its head to take a few more sips of milk. Zhou Hui’s absence quickly made it feel bored. It hopped off the cup’s rim, bounced around on the bed, flapping its wings a few times, and then looked up to observe this “home” that was supposedly its own.
The high ceiling provided a wide view, with thick, light golden curtains, a beige carpet, and all the furniture and bedding being custom-made high-end solid wood, clearly designed by a master. The little phoenix strained its small head, its gaze wandering vaguely over the framed photo on the nightstand, pausing on Chu He’s face in the picture, and then unknowingly moving away.
Its gaze shifted to Zhou Hui’s nightstand, settling on one of the drawers.
A scent that felt incredibly familiar seemed to emanate from that drawer. The little phoenix instinctively took a step forward, then another, standing by the drawer, craning its neck to look inside.
The drawer was closed, so it naturally saw nothing. However, the little phoenix pondered for a while, and that immensely familiar yet indescribable feeling grew stronger. Finally, it cautiously extended a claw and, as if by some strange impulse, laboriously nudged the drawer open.
The sound of splashing water still came from the bathroom; Zhou Hui was humming Turandot, his singing particularly resonant in the echo.
The little phoenix’s eyes were tinged red by the brilliant light that greeted them.
—Inside the drawer was a glass jar, and within it, a red, spherical bead was precisely and securely held by an intricate lotus-shaped stand. The bead was about the size of a thumb, crystal clear, smooth, and flowing, shimmering with a light as bright as the cold stars of the nine heavens in the twilight world and the increasingly dim bedroom.
Several fragments of ancient memories flashed through its mind, but then they faded, leaving no faint image behind—
This was the Phoenix Pupil.
The little phoenix stared at the glass jar, dazedly frozen in place.
