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Through the glass window, he could see a little room of its own, complete with a small wooden bed, a soft little sofa, large toys, a water basin, a food bowl, and other pet essentials.

There were several little wooden houses in other colors beside it, making the place look just like a dog bed-and-breakfast.

"Your young master," Li Yi suddenly asked, "is actually raising a virtual dog online, isn't he?"

"He's been keeping other virtual pets behind my back?" Yingjun instantly flew into a rage, flames blazing in his electronic eyes. In less than a second, he had called Shi Yan.

The phone rang for over ten seconds before the call was hung up.

Yingjun didn't dare make a peep after that. Usually, the young master only hung up when he was in a bad mood.

"Why don't you put Sheriff in and give it a try?" Yingjun knew when to back down and swiftly changed the subject.

"Oh, okay." Like a thief, Li Yi glanced around, took the cat carrier off his back, unzipped it, lifted Sheriff out, and stuffed him into the little wooden house.

"-Meow!" Sheriff was extremely unwilling to be shut inside the little wooden house. He hissed fiercely at Li Yi through the glass window, scratching at the glass with alternating front paws as though dancing.

"Calm down. I'll open a can for you." Li Yi took a can of cat food from the mesh pocket on the side of the carrier, pulled the lid off, and set it to one side. Only after Sheriff gave a haughty meow and went over to eat with his tail raised did Li Yi coax him softly, "Just play here for a while. I'll take you home after work."

"Meow, meow, meow..." Sheriff ignored him, his furry head lowered as he chowed down!

"All done." Li Yi stood up, set the carrier aside, and looked at Yingjun. "I can start working now. Where are the tools?"

"In the little white house over there." Yingjun led the way, and Li Yi followed. Only once inside did he discover that the pretty little white house was actually a tool shed, stocked not only with a full set of tools but work clothes as well.

"The uniforms on this top row were urgently arranged on the young master's orders yesterday." Yingjun blinked his electronic eyes. "They were bought especially to fit your build~"

"..."

Weren't these just aprons?

Didn't they usually come in one size?

Why did he make them sound like some sort of custom-made clothing?

Li Yi casually picked out a hard-wearing, coffee-brown apron with plenty of pockets and tied it on, then took several pairs of scissors in different sizes, a small trowel, a small hoe, and similar tools from the rack and put them in his pockets.

He was just about to head outside with a watering can when he saw Yingjun circling him, taking photos from every angle and even recording a short video.

"What are you doing?" Li Yi asked.

"Documenting it! It's your first day at work. Of course we need pictures to remember it by." Yingjun smugly browsed the hundred-plus photos and dozen or so short videos he had just taken.

Satisfied, he selected the photo with the best composition and lighting and sent it to a certain phone number.

He even did a simple edit of the short video and added music before sending it.

"Oh." Li Yi didn't think much of it and went outside with the watering can to work.

"Wear a hat. It's over thirty degrees today." Yingjun followed him with a straw hat.

"Thank you." Li Yi took the hat and casually put it on.

Yingjun followed behind and took a few more photos. The light was better outside, and with the garden full of flowers, it made for a naturally perfect composition. Every shot looked like a professional photograph.

In a flash, he sent over several more photos.

-Beep, beep, beep!

Shi Yan's phone kept chiming on his desk. He impatiently opened it, waving away the branch manager he had just finished berating.

Dozens of messages had come from the same account, belonging to that stupid robot at home.

[Idiot]: [Hello~] A little gardener in a tempting uniform, for your viewing pleasure.

[Idiot]: [Photo] x30 [Short video] x3

[Idiot]: Send 50 to unlock more exclusive photos and videos. [Send money-the shameless version]

Shi Yan sneered, moved his fingers, and sent one word: Scram!

[Idiot]: [Haughty cat face] Hmph! Don't regret it.

Shi Yan put his phone down without opening any of the photos or videos.

Just then, his assistant brought in some documents. "Mr. Shi, there's been progress on what you asked me to investigate. We got it wrong last time and misunderstood Li Yi."

"Bring it here!" Shi Yan immediately sat up straight.

"Li Yi went missing when he was five, not six. The year he went missing, the Lu family never used any public channels to search for him. They only sent people to look privately for a year before giving up.

"The following year, they adopted Lu Junjia. He was already seven then, but they simply gave their younger son's identity to their adopted son, which was why Lu Junjia's age was lowered by a year.

"Li Yi was already eight when he arrived at Nanshan Orphanage. He spent the three years in between somewhere else. I haven't found out where yet."

The assistant handed him the documents. "Nanshan Orphanage was established ten years ago. It and the South Mountain Nursing Home across from it belong to the same person: the Pei family's Thirteenth Young Master, once a legend in the business world.

"Everyone thought the old gentleman had emigrated and retired to an estate abroad. Who knew he'd set up a nursing home right here in Beicheng for his retirement?

"The couple also specifically built an orphanage, taking in quite a few homeless children and supporting them all the way through university. Even if they wanted to pursue master's degrees or doctorates, the couple would pay for that too.

"The orphanage has very stringent adoption procedures. They won't even receive most people.

"The nursing home is even stricter. Most people can't even get through the gates. It's extremely secure inside, fully equipped, and covers a huge area-at least an entire hill. It could basically be considered a large resort."

"Was it a coincidence?" Shi Yan frowned. "Why was the orphanage finished just when Li Yi arrived? It's as though it was built specifically for him."

"Surely not. If Li Yi knew the Thirteenth Young Master, why would he have had to suffer so much?" the assistant said. "The old gentleman could have simply adopted him and given him a few assets. That would have been enough for Li Yi to live without a care for the rest of his life."

"Mm." Shi Yan closed the thin, two-page file and thought for a moment. "Look into it more carefully. Find out whether Li Yi ever stayed in Miao'an Town during those three years before he went to Nanshan Orphanage."

"All right." The assistant turned and left the office.

Shi Yan picked up his phone again and opened the photos Yingjun had sent.

The young man was slender and very fair-skinned, dressed in a plain white T-shirt and light blue jeans, his hands raised as he put on a coffee-brown apron. Sunlight cast a white halo over the side of his face, revealing the fine down on his skin.

His features were delicate, his bone structure pronounced. In profile, the contours of his face were so distinct that they looked perfectly sculpted with a ruler to the classical proportions of three facial sections and five eye widths.

As though he had noticed the candid camera, his hands paused while tying the apron, and he tilted his head down to look over. His peach-blossom eyes widened slightly, his lips parted, and the little mole beneath the corner of his mouth stood out clearly.

Outside the tool shed lay a garden full of flowers. Beneath the blue sky and white clouds, the young man standing among the blooms in his coffee-brown apron looked less like a gardener than an innocent young painter.

The last photo showed him from behind. The low angle made his legs look longer and the curve of his buttocks look rounder.

"What kind of rubbish photos are these?" Shi Yan complained as he saved them.