Chapter – 02
The Uniform
When Bai Yiyi woke up again, the first thing his senses picked up on was a familiar aroma in the airâspecifically, the classic Master Kong braised beef flavored instant noodles.
Opening his eyes, he found himself lying inside his bird nest. This coconut-shell nest had been completely bare before, but now the bottom was lined with plenty of cotton threads and flannel. It was much more comfortable, likely added by his keeper when placing him back inside.
Slipping out of the nest’s opening, he stood on the wooden perch to steady himself and look out. In the fresh morning light of summer, by the dining table near the window, that man was wearing a tank top and shorts, “slurping” down his instant noodles.
The earthworms in the food box were nowhere to be seen. Bai Yiyiâs mood lifted. He fluttered his wings a few times, made a light landing, drank a few sips of fresh water to soothe his throat, and pecked at a few oat grains before finally taking his time to properly observe his keeper.
Their first meeting yesterday had been too awkward, and the latter half too terrifying. It was only now that Bai Yiyi could see the person outside the cage clearly.
He looked to be around 30 years old, exceptionally tall with long arms and legs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. He had a healthy, wheat-colored complexion and a clean, sharp buzz cut. Only a white scar at the tail end of his right eyebrow gave his demeanor a slightly fierce and cold edge.
Driven by his professional habits as an artist, Bai Yiyiâs gaze shifted back and forth, repeatedly taking in every detailâthe perfect body proportions, the muscle lines of the shoulders and back, the slender fingers, and the posture when walking or sitting. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, he stubbornly refused to look the man straight in the face.
It wasn’t until the man put down his instant noodle bowl, took two large strides over to the cage, and bent down to bring his eyes level with his, that Bai Yiyi was forced to face reality. Staring at the magnified face in front of the cage for a good while, only one thought remained in his mind:
He’s so freaking handsome.
It was the kind of god-tier visage that even a grandpa-style tank top and baggy boxers couldn’t hide.
Unable to handle the manâs burning gaze, Bai Yiyi lowered his head slightly, letting his bowl-cut feathers conceal the starstruck look in his eyes.
Perhaps the man was just curious about his condition. Seeing that the bird was eating and drinking fine, he didn’t say anything more. He headed straight into the bathroom, and a moment later, the pitter-patter of running water echoed outâthe rhythm of a morning shower.
A few minutes later, Bai Yiyiâs little bird eyes suffered a critical hit. The tall man walked out shirtless, wrapped only in a bath towel. Droplets of water that hadn’t been wiped away rolled down his firm chest, instantly radiating an overwhelming, sultry aura.
Watching the man walk to the wardrobe, pull out a set of clothes and place them on the edge of the bed, and get ready to pull off the towel right then and there, Bai Yiyi felt his legs go weak. His heart began to thud wildly. Unconsciously, he spread his wings to block his eyes, executing a bashful face-palm.
Covering his eyes tightly, a lingering sense of regret and “what a waste” bubbled up inside him.
Dammit, Iâm a bird right now! There’s no risk of getting caught peeping, and I won’t face any social death since no one will ever know. Why on earth am I giving up a perk like watching a handsome guy fresh out of the shower? Life as a bird is already this hard, shouldn’t I just enjoy the view while I can?
After turning it over in his mind for a moment, Bai Yiyi successfully convinced himself. He squinted through a tiny gap between his feathers, only to find that the man outside the cage had already swiftly pulled on his pants and was methodically buttoning up his shirt.
From his current angle, he could only see the manâs profile, but it was still mesmerizing. The upright, rigid posture exuded a commanding presence, while the deep contours and sharp jawline delivered a flawless side-profile kill.
Squinting his little bird eyes and watching the man get completely sorted out and ready to head out, Bai Yiyi suddenly snapped to attention. The style of those clothes? Those two bars and two stars on the shoulders?
His keeper was a police officer? A Second-Class Superintendent at such a young age?
The infatuation in Bai Yiyiâs eyes instantly sublimated into pure adoration. He was a sucker for uniforms, and held a deep, profound love for the police profession. This young, capable, tall, and handsome superintendent in front of him had struck the absolute bullseye of his personal preferences.
All the dissatisfaction and complaints he had harbored over the past three days toward his keeper seemed to vanish into thin air the moment he saw that uniform.
The apartment was messy? He disappeared for days? Totally normal! He’s a cop. Everyone knows that when police officers get busy, they completely lose track of everything else.
And wild guessâhe was a criminal detective. Because the keeper’s physique and aura didn’t look at all like a civil affairs cop who sat in an office all day. His casual clothes and utter exhaustion from yesterdayâs first meeting also supported this theory.
As for scaring him unconscious by feeding him earthworms… well, it came from a place of good intentions after all. As the saying goes, “ignorance is a virtue.” Being the magnanimous person he was, he could naturally overlook it entirely!
Bai Yiyi quickly finished his mental adjustments. He watched his keeper put on his police cap, change into his shoes, pause slightly at the door, and then trudge back to the cage with two heavy steps.
“Bai… Bai-what-was-it again? What a crappy name, how did I fail to remember it…”
“Is he talking to himself?” Bai Yiyi, who had rapidly evolved into a total fanboy, nodded repeatedly. He was absolutely thrilled by their shared aesthetic tasteâboth of them had complained about the bird’s original terrible name.
The owner pondered for a few seconds before continuing, “Emm, youâre crouching there like a white little fluffball, except for the grayish-black top of your head. Heh, you look just like a black sesame tangyuan (sticky rice ball) that was just poked open. Let’s call you Tangyuan for now. Don’t worry, Tangyuan, I won’t leave you behind for days again. I’ll be back today.”
The owner looked tough and cold on the outside, but who would have thought he could be this gentle with a bird? He even went out of his way to report his whereabouts, and the name he casually came up with was so cute.
If Bai Yiyi were an actual tangyuan, he probably would have melted from the sweetness right then and there. He answered “yes” in his heart, but what actually came out of his mouth was a sharp “Chirp!”
After the owner left for work, the apartment became empty once again, leaving behind only a single, solitary bird.
However, Bai Yiyi’s mood was completely different from the previous few days. He felt a sense of leisurely acceptance, and even had a strange, paradoxical feeling that he had actually hit the jackpot.
Given his hardcore homebody nature and mild social anxiety, if he hadn’t been forced into this “winning lottery ticket” of turning into a bird, where else would he have gotten the chance to get close to a top-tier male god like his owner? Let alone live under the same roof with him in such intimacy?
Before he could fully savor the feeling, a pleasantly surprised voice echoed in his mind: “Oh my god, Yiyi! Your satisfaction level actually jumped to 0! The negative value was wiped out in an instant! What kind of incredibly happy thing did you run into?”
This was getting a bit awkward. Bai Yiyi grumbled internally, Because I met my male god, and I’m thirsting after his body? How am I supposed to explain that out loud?
But he forgot that the system was soul-bound to him. As long as the system wanted to, it could instantly read his thoughts. It questioned, “So that’s how it is. Yiyi, do you not love dominating CEOs anymore?”
Bai Yiyi practically gnashed his teeth. Is there no right to privacy around here anymore?
He quickly shifted the blame, thinking fiercely, I do love them! Of course I love dominating CEOs! If you’re so capable, why don’t you turn one out for me?
The system immediately shut down and stalled, “Ah, Yiyi, it doesn’t matter what kind of owner he is. As long as you are happy and satisfied, that’s all that matters.”
Bai Yiyi couldn’t be bothered to respond further. In a great mood, he hopped onto the swing and swayed back and forth to pass the time.
It was already his fourth day here. Counting it all up, there were at most three people in his life who maintained enough contact to notice his disappearance.
His mom was an easy case. Two months ago, she was sent abroad for a project and was supposed to stay there for a year. Due to the time difference, they only contacted each other about once a month now. They had just had a video call the day before he turned into a bird, so she probably wouldn’t notice anything amiss anytime soon.
Shi You was his most frequently contacted friend right now, and they exchanged messages almost every day. Luckily, they were just online friends and Shi You didn’t know his actual physical address. Even if Shi You noticed something was off, there was nothing he could do about it.
The most troublesome one was actually He Ze. It had been nearly half a month since he last turned in a draft to him. The agreement to submit one hand-drawn draft a month had been strictly followed for over two years without a single delay. Now that the deadline was up and there was no news from him, He Ze would definitely come banging on his door to demand the draft. When that happened, the secret would definitely be out.
Bai Yiyi simply didn’t dare to imagine how panicked his mom would be if she found out he was missing.
As for his hand-drawing livestreams online, he did intend to treat it as a serious job for his future development. However, as a newbie who hadn’t signed an official contract yet, he didn’t face any pressure to update regularly, so the impact there could basically be ignored.
After thoroughly calculating all the potential problems on his human side, Bai Yiyi actually felt a bit glad for a moment about his shut-in, socially anxious nature. Otherwise, if his disappearance were noticed immediately and a report was made to the police station, who knew how much trouble it would cause when he eventually turned back into a human.
The top priority right now, however, was to increase his satisfaction level as quickly as possible. Even if he couldn’t reach a perfect score anytime soon, he needed to at least hit the passing line quickly, so he could temporarily return to human form and let everyone know he was safe.
Thinking about the possibility of breaking out of his cage and flying straight home, Bai Yiyi asked, “Tongzi (System), we are currently in J City. Exactly how far away is it from my house?”
The system replied, “It’s 567 kilometers, you know.”
It wasn’t too far, but it certainly wasn’t close either. At the very least, Bai Yiyi had zero confidence that he could fly all the way back using the tiny wings of this pet bird.
“Sigh.”
After a heavy sigh, Bai Yiyi began to eagerly anticipate the owner’s return.
Just seeing his uniform male god made him happy enough to boost his satisfaction level by dozens of points. What if they became even closer and he got even happier? Wouldn’t his satisfaction level skyrocket through the roof?
Satisfaction level = Intimacy level? Bai Yiyi failed to notice that there was something completely wrong with his math formula…
Yan Tuo, who had been busy all day, had absolutely no idea that a “bird-man” was currently straining his neck waiting for him. Today had been a whirlwind of monthly meetings and case analyses; his body had rarely gotten a moment to sit still in his office, and his brain hadn’t stopped spinning for a second.
Right around the time he was off the clock, his personal phone began to ring.
Looking at the name “Yu Lian” flashing on his phone screen, Yan Tuo felt an instant, throbbing headache.
This woman was the wife of his direct superior (the detachment leader) and his own biological older cousin. She was the CEO of a matchmaking platform. Utilizing her professional convenience, she had become the ultimate representative of the family’s creative marriage-nagging brigade. She was also the main culprit behind the tragic reality that, despite only being in his early thirties, Yan Tuo had already been set up on nearly 40 blind dates without a single success.
It was entirely predictable that this phone call would carry the exact same theme. Furthermore, Yan Tuo could guarantee that until he successfully got married, these headache-inducing assignments would steadily increase at a baseline rate of one per month.
But what could he do? Though she was an older cousin by a dozen or so years, she had practically fulfilled the role of a mother to him since childhood, constantly looking after his well-being. She had shown him so much kindness that he couldn’t even bring himself to think of rejecting her.
The phone had already rung three times. Yan Tuo took a deep breath, picked up, and smiled, “Sis, what’s up?”
Sure enough, Miss Yu started rattling off a mile a minute, “Tuo-zi, let me tell you, I met a Miss Li today. She’s a primary school teacher, comes from a great family background, is incredibly gentle, and her looks are absolutely flawless. Seriously, it’s my first time seeing such a high-quality girl. Don’t give me any nonsense, you must give me a definitive time next week so I can bring the two of you together for a date.”
Before he could even reply, he had already been ordered not to talk nonsense. Yan Tuo gave up all resistance and replied helplessly, “Got it, Sis. Once I can confirm my schedule, I’ll send you a message.”
“Alright then. Also, don’t you dare forget Grandpa’s 80th birthday at the end of next month. Make sure to lock in your time off early, okay? Hanging up now.”
âYeah, alright.â
The moment he hung up, Hua Hongqing called right in.
âWhatâre you up to? Lineâs been busy this whole time.â
âMy sister.â
On the other end of the line, his childhood friend immediately let out a muffled chuckle. âOho, getting ready to take on another mission? What number is this now? 39? 40?â
Yan Tuo didn’t bother responding to the teasing, snapping back irritably, âGet to the point, cut the crap.â
â…Fine, fine, as if I care to talk about you. So, my… wait, no, your Prince Snow, he doing alright over there?â
Having completely forgotten about the little pet, leaving the starving bird to desperately break out of its cage, Yan Tuo felt a bit guilty. â…No wonder I couldn’t remember itâwhat kind of half-Chinese, half-Western crappy name is that anyway? He’s fine. If you miss him that much, I’ll bring him back to you tomorrow. I’m really not cut out for raising pets.â
âAh, don’t you dare. He’s yours now. I gave him to you to add a little living soul to a workaholic’s life. Otherwise, you’re away from home for weeks on end, jumping from one case to the next, grinding away until you don’t even seem human anymore.â
The words weren’t exactly pleasant, but his friend’s intentions were golden. Yan Tuo could only accept it again, letting out a low chuckle. âAlright then, but Iâm changing his name. He’s Tangyuan now.â
âTangyuan? Sure, that rolls off the tongue. You free tomorrow, Saturday? I’ll bring a little cutie over to your place to back-tread with your Tangyuan.â
âBack-tread? Whatâs that mean?â
âYeah, bird-keeper slang. It means the seasonâs here, so weâre gonna breed them.â
â…Fine.â
After hanging up, Yan Tuo stared at the ceiling, speechless. Within a mere ten minutes, both master and pet were facing the heavy burden of blind dates. Was it not summer right now, but spring all over again?
Returning home, the moment Yan Tuo turned on the lights and closed the door, he heard a crisp bird chirp, “Chirp, chirp, chirp,” as if saying, You’re back?
