The two of them looked at each other, standing quietly for a moment.

Yu Bao cupped its chin in thought for a moment before its eyes lit up with understanding. It trotted over to big brother Xiaoyue.

This time, Xiaoyue didn’t look annoyed. Instead, it patted Yu Bao’s head in satisfaction, a clear sign of praise.

’Good job!’

Then, the two Pet Beasts ran upstairs, one after the other.

Su Zhi’s lips curled up slightly. "Looks like I’ll have to go up, too."

Shao Ya covered her mouth, chuckled lightly, and nodded.

The young man stepped through the moonlight, and the two of them ascended the stairs together.

Both of them felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, the residential buildings in Wudu New Village were an older type and lacked elevators. This meant they could spend more time on their way up.

When they reached the door to Shao Ya’s home, the voice-activated light timed out and went dark.

"Hoo!" "Hey!"

The voice-activated light turned on again, and it was unclear whose voice had triggered it.

The young man and woman looked at each other and shared a smile.

"See you tomorrow! Good luck!"

"Yeah! You too!"

This time, the voice-activated light seemed to stay on for a long time.

·

「A residential building in the suburbs—」

TAP TAP TAP

Fang Yuan knocked lightly on his front door. 004 floated behind him, feeling a little anxious, a hint of nervousness swirling in its pale pink eyes.

’If we go home, we’ll see Fang Yuan’s father, won’t we?’

’He’s incredibly strict and won’t tolerate a single mistake from me. If he finds out my Nether Flame Body is injured, will he force me and Fang Yuan to terminate our contract?’

The door opened, and Fang Yuan’s mother was there to greet him.

instinctively tensed up, but then slowly relaxed after realizing Fang Lihua didn’t seem to be there.

"Mom, I’m home."

"Xiaoyuan..."

Wang Guixiang threw her arms around Fang Yuan and, sobbing uncontrollably, told him about Fang Lihua’s arrest.

Fang Yuan remained calm the entire time, only occasionally patting his mother’s shoulder to comfort her.

But 004 could sense that Fang Yuan was also very sad. He was just trying his best not to show it.

It seemed Fang Lihua wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon.

For 004, this seemed like a good thing. But Fang Yuan was sad, so she felt sad too.

"It’s okay, Mom."

After calming his mother’s crying, Fang Yuan tried to sound as calm as usual. "We can get through this. We have to look forward."

"Yes!" Wang Guixiang wiped away her tears, also trying to look strong. "I can support you through school on my own... We’ll live a good life!"

"Yeah."

Dinner was simple. The mother and son boiled a pack of dried noodles, sliced some spinach and shredded carrots, and added a fried egg.

Wang Guixiang gave the egg to Fang Yuan.

While his mother was washing her hands, Fang Yuan buried the egg at the bottom of her bowl, then quickly finished his own food so she wouldn’t have a chance to give it back.

After dinner, Fang Yuan stayed in the study, looking something up on his computer.

hovered at the study’s doorway, watching his back with a sense of unease.

Usually at this time, Fang Yuan would have her train, but he didn’t today.

’Why is this happening?’

’Or... has he already started looking for a new Pet Beast, so it doesn’t matter if I train or not?’

At the thought of this possibility, 004 suddenly grew tense. Her little paws, resting on the doorframe, unconsciously tightened their grip.

Fang Yuan heard the sound and turned his head.

quickly tried to hide, but realizing she had no reason to, she peeked half her head back out.

Her pale pink eyes blinked, looking at her Beast Tamer with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity.

"Come in," Fang Yuan said without any expression.

quickly nodded, floated in, and hovered primly and properly in front of Fang Yuan.

"...Chirp?"

was cautiously asking what she should do now.

Fang Yuan looked around, found the bag of snacks Su Zhi had given him, and handed two Telekinesis Crisps to 004.

quickly took them and popped them into her mouth.

’I didn’t eat any Telekinesis Crisps this morning, so I have to eat them quickly now. Otherwise, if Fang Yuan thinks I’m refusing to eat, he might not want me anymore!’

"...Ahem... ahem!" Before she had even eaten a few, 004 coughed twice.

Telekinesis Crisps contain some Telekinesis Energy, which is released when they are chewed. If you eat them too quickly, it’s easy to choke.

’Coughing is also a sign of weakness!’

frantically covered her mouth, trying hard to hold back her coughs.

Seeing her act this way, Fang Yuan, who had remained expressionless the whole time, let the corners of his mouth lift in an almost imperceptible smile.

"Eat slowly, there’s plenty more."

Fang Yuan said softly, his gaze returning to the computer screen.

blinked, looking from Fang Yuan to the colorful bag of snacks, and froze on the spot, at a complete loss.

Fang Yuan really wasn’t making her train.

’Is it because I’m going to be abandoned soon?’

’Are these snacks my last meal before he sends me away?’

quickly floated over to Fang Yuan’s side and cautiously extended a little paw to poke him.

"Hm?" Fang Yuan stopped what he was doing and looked down at 004.

"Chirp!"

gestured with great conviction.

’I’m fine now! I can train!’

She immediately started practicing shuttle runs in the room. This was her most routine exercise, and the one that best showcased her abilities.

’I have to show Fang Yuan with my actions that I’m still capable! That he doesn’t need to replace me with a new Pet Beast!’

However, after only a few runs, 004 suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain. It was the self-preservation mechanism of her not-yet-fully-healed Nether Flame Body kicking in from the strenuous exercise.

Unsteady for a moment, 004 lost her balance and slammed into the bookshelf next to Fang Yuan with a THUD.

CRASH—

The bookshelf, struck with great force, shook violently, and every single book on it tumbled down.

THWAP THWAP THWAP THWAP—

The books hit 004 on the head one by one before falling to the ground, scattering everywhere.

"Chirp chirp!"

quickly scrambled up to clean up the mess, her pale pink eyes filled with anxiety.

However, a White Flame Battle Spirit’s paws are very short and not well-suited for gripping large, slippery objects.

The more panicked 004 became, the more the books slipped through her paws like slippery eels, one after another.

"I’ll get it." Fang Yuan bent down to pick up the books, placing them back on the shelf one by one in their original order.

"Xiaoyuan? What happened?" Wang Guixiang’s voice came from outside the room.

"Just dropped a book. You can go back to what you were doing," Fang Yuan replied calmly.

watched him restore the books to their places one by one, her little paws anxiously poking at each other.

After he finished, Fang Yuan turned his gaze to 004.

"Chirp!" 004 bowed her head to apologize again, on the verge of crying from anxiety.

"The doctor said you need to rest for a while, so you don’t have to do any training for now."

Fang Yuan said softly, "We can talk about training after you’ve recovered. If you don’t recover well..."

’...the contract will be terminated, and I’ll be sent away, right?’

looked at her Beast Tamer, her pale pink eyes trembling slightly.

Fang Yuan avoided her gaze and sighed softly.

"I still have some things to take care of. You should go rest for now. That’ll help you recover faster, too."

With that, he sat back down at his computer desk, his gaze returning to the dense text on the screen.

·

returned to the bedroom alone.

The bedroom light was off. The faint light emanating from the White Flame Battle Spirit’s body cast a soft glow in the dim surroundings.

She huddled in a corner, surrounded by darkness.

She could vaguely hear sounds coming from the study next door:

"It’s just the Nether Flame Body that’s injured, that shouldn’t be enough, right?"

"So I wanted to ask what I should do next... Are you also suggesting I replace my Pet Beast?"

"But if I don’t replace it... Mm, what you’re saying does make sense."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you."

’He’s really going to replace me.’

Listening to the conversation from the next room, 004 clenched her paws into fists. They trembled slightly, and even the White Flame on her body seemed to dim considerably.

A moment later, 004 lowered her head, a trace of disappointment showing in her pale pink eyes.

’Then again, what right do I have to feel wronged?’

’Since I’ve lost my former abilities and potential, it’s only natural that I’d be replaced. I can’t blame Fang Yuan.’

’I just... I really don’t want to leave Fang Yuan...’

CREAK—

The door was suddenly pushed open, and a piercing light flooded the room.

"What are you doing over there?" Fang Yuan, having finished washing up, walked into the bedroom and looked curiously at 004, who was huddled in the corner.

quickly shook her head, as if to shake off her dejected expression.

She floated in front of her Beast Tamer and blinked her pale pink eyes.

’Do you have any orders for me?’

’Do you need me to train?’

’I can do it! I’ll be fine this time, I promise!’

"It’s late. Let’s rest. I have school tomorrow," Fang Yuan said calmly as he got into bed.

could only nod uneasily before returning to the Beast Taming Space in a flicker of pale white light.

The night passed without another word, the quiet, starry sky enveloping the bedroom.

·

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Thirteenth day of updating 10,000 words daily!