We Monsters Are Not Allowed to Be Single

After the meal, they came back for a nap.
The second Jiang Lan sat down, his phone rang. Wang Qin sent him a message.
Wang Qin was the young police officer they just met. They had added each other as friends on WeChat.

On the phone screen was a string of messages from Wang Qin:
[The Captain told us the case was almost concluded. But because it involved supernatural forces, the public announcement has been “embellished”.]
[Zhao Qunfang has confessed to being the Tai Su’s associate. She said she had a habit of buying lottery tickets. After she bought a bracelet from that jewelry shop, she won the lottery. At first, she simply attributed her winning to her good luck. But on the night she won the lottery, she dreamed of meeting the Tai Su, who asked her to make a wish. Being always cautious, she didn’t make a wish right away. But after witnessing the power of lucky gems, she somehow convinced Li Chunhua to test it without risking herself.]
[After Li Chunhua divorced his husband, she had harbored hatred for his ex-husband’s wife. After being led by Zhao Qunfang to buy lucky gems, she made a wish to the Tai Su, wishing her ex-husband’s wife would die a terrible death.]
[We went immediately to Li Chunhua’s ex-husband’s home to verify, only to discover that his wife had a traffic accident two days before Li Chunhua’s death and barely survived it. After Li Chunhua read the news, she told Zhao Qunfang but died mysteriously two days later. Zhao Qunfang was terrified and became more unwilling to make a wish to the Tai Su. But she was equally reluctant to abandon the benefit lucky gems would bring her. In the end, she cut a deal with the Tai Su, promising to get more followers to him.]

In the message, Wang Qin’s tone grew angrier.”
[Sometimes, I think the human heart was even scarier than an evil monster. Zhao Qunfang hustled most of the lucky gems sold in her apartment complex. More people will fall victim to their scheme if you don’t step in. At the moment, Zhao Qunfang was in City Jail. A criminal charge will be brought against her.]

After reading the message, Jiang Lan signed.
The fact that Zhao Qunfang being the Tai Sui’s associate didn’t surprise him. Still, he didn’t expect she would develop a following for him, making her an accomplice to murder.
No wonder Wang Qing sounded angry in the messages.

He replied: [The Heaven is always watching and will hold them accountable for every evil deed. There is nothing we can do about the human heart. But we can prevail over crimes. Don’t lose heart. Let’s fight for the righteous cause .]

Wang Qing seemed to be encouraged:
[Brother Jiang, well said. I will consult you when we have a case like this again. See you.]

Pocketing his phone, Jiang Lan smiled. Suan Ni jumped from his nest to his brother’s lap. After letting out a soft meow, Suan Ni curled on his lap and started to nap.
Pinching his soft ear gently, Jiang Lan’s eyes softened.

After the fall of gods, Heavenly law[1] still remained in force. Even though he was favored by Heaven, the Tai Su was not above the Heavenly Law after he had so much blood on his hand. The Tai Su and Zhao Qunfang will be severely punished. But the Heavenly law was merciless; those weak-minded people also paid terrible prices for their greed.

Jiang Lan posted a picture of Suan Ni curling into a ball on his WeChat Moments feed[2] together with a sentence: Serve the righteous cause and people.

Jiang Lan didn’t have many friends on WeChat. Except for a few relatives, he recently added Ying Qiao, Xue Meng, Wang Qing as his new friends.

Bixi, his oldest brother, was the first to comment: [Little eighth brother was getting fat?]
Jiao Tu came next: [I will come to see you, brother.]
Even Chief Cheng left a comment: [Well Said, young man. ]

Half an hour later, Ying Qiao read the new update and picture on Jiang Lan’s WeChat Moments. He rarely commented on Moments feed. But this time, he liked the post, then hesitantly added his comments:
[Are you still angry? Can you let me buy you dinner tonight as an apology?]

Jiang Lan woke up from his nap and checked the time on his phone. At this time, WeChat comments notifications had taken up the whole phone screen. He began to reply one by one until he got to Ying Qiao’s comment.

After a night, his anger had already melted away.
After all, Ying Qiao didn’t know he was a Tao Tie. He just acted like other monsters, believing a rumor and becoming its spreader.

As a forgiving monster, Jiang Lan no longer held a grudge after Ying Qiao’s apology.
So he sent him a message:
[Not at all, where do we go tonight?]

On reading the reply, Ying Qiao grinned.
The advice in the book really came in handy.

This was the advice in the book: If you hurt the feelings of rebellious cubs by accident, you have to muster up your courage to admit your mistake and apologize. Only in this way, you have the chance to open up the heart of your cubs. Otherwise, you will risk distancing them.
So he apologized, and sure enough, the little monster was no longer angry.

Watching his expression soften, a shop assistant in a retailer flushed and asked him.” Sir, do you need me to have these shoes wrapped up in a bag?”
The girls in the retailer noticed him the moment he walked in. He stood more than 6 feet tall with a slender body and a handsome face. But he had a cold and arrogant air to him, making him seem unapproachable.
Not to mention the clothing he wore. To the discerning eye, the cost of his clothing could run up to six figures.
This retailer sold high-end brand shoes but was still within reach of the general public.

So when he walked in, no one even dared to receive him. It was only after he checked his phone and his facial expression softened that a girl walked up to talk to him.

He nodded.” Please.”
The girl wrapped up the shoes quickly while Ying Qiao paid for these shoes.

He had come to buy a pair of shoes for Jiang Lan. Even though they are not on friendly terms now, he promised him a pair of shoes, and he didn’t intend to walk back on his promise.
After putting the shopping bag in the passenger seat, he wanted to drive straight to Jiang Lan’s office to wait for him. But it occurred to him that this sports car was probably a little too much for an office slave like himself.

He had already taken the trouble to go to a department store to buy a pair of shoes. Why not order a more appropriate car? It was not a good time to put strains on their relationships with a sports car.

So Ying Qiao decided to drive back to his villa. After ordering on the phone a black Honda from the dealership he knew, he took the shopping bag and walked to the subway station.

After waving goodbye, Jiang Lan walked briskly out of the office with Suan Ni in his arms.

Ying Qiao waited at the gate with his shopping bag. On seeing Jiang Lan, he waved to him with a smile on his face.
Jiang Lan walked over with joyful steps.” Let’s go. Where do we go?”

Ying Qiao passed him the shopping bag together with a peach-flavored lollipop.” It’s my apology.”

Jiang Lan accepted the lollipop but declined the shopping bag. He recognized the brand. Shoes of this brand usually cost a couple of hundreds, almost half Ying Qiao’s monthly salary.

“It was too expensive; I am not angry anymore.” Jiang Lan shook his head, returned the shopping bag, and asked Ying Qiao to return it.
Ying Qiao smiled, patting his head.” I have already promised you a pair of shoes. Don’t worry. Today I got my bonus.”

Jiang Lan looked at him suspiciously as if to assess whether he was indulging him.
With arms around Jiang Lan’s shoulder, Ying Qiao said.” An application for a bonus has been filed on your behalf. But it takes time. The bonus should be in the range of ten thousand. My bonus is more than yours.”

Thus Jiang Lan accepted the gift. With a lollipop in his mouth, he said.” When my bonus comes, I will also buy you a gift.”
Ying Qiao agreed with a laugh.

They went to the hot pot restaurant they chose the last time. Because pets were not allowed in the restaurant, Suan Ni had to hide in the backpack.
Jiang Lan comforted his little brother while holding back his laughter at his whining.

It took an orange-flavored lollipop from Ying Qiao to get Suan Ni to calm down.
After a look at Ying Qiao’s pocket, he widened his eyes.” How many candies did you bring?”

“It’s all gone now.”
He bought them from a convenience store in a subway station, a kind of spur-of-the-moment purchase.
Noticing his apparent taste for candies, Ying Qiao mentioned it casually.” I have other sweets at home. If you like them, I will bring them to you.”
He was, after all, a little cub; it was only natural that he liked candy.
Jiang Lan brightened.” Good.”

After the hot pot was served, Jiang Lan chose his favorite raw beef tripe and duck intestine to put in the spicy boiling broth. After a quick-cooking, he picked them up with a small colander and dropped them on the plates in front of Ying Qiao.” This restaurant is famed for its beef tripe and duck intestine. They are very crispy and fresh; try them.”
He cooked them for Ying Qiao before he had the time to cook for himself.

Ying Qiao tried to avoid this food if he could manage it. But facing Jiang Lan’s expectant smile, he hesitantly picked up a piece of hot beef tripe with chopsticks.
He forgot the taste of beef tripe when the broad smile on Jiang Lan’s face brightened the room, more brilliant than the flower blooming in spring.

He slowly ate all the food on his plate, thinking: No wonder parents couldn’t help indulging their cubs. It is not because these parents are not principled, but because these cubs are too cute.

If all the cubs are as cute as this little monster, moderate indulging is not a big deal.

References↑1Original text is 天道, I translate it literally as Heavenly Law, it could mean the way of Heaven or the natural law↑2WeChat Moments is where users could share pictures, video and status update with friends or selected group