367: Chapter 367 Possessiveness

Wei Ziqing sat on the sofa, watching the scene before him, his eyelid twitching slightly.

Qing Lian was hanging all over Long Qingyun, her face rubbing against his cheek, a purring sound coming from her throat. A furry tail had emerged at some point, swaying gently behind her. Long Qingyun held his hands up, completely unsure where to put them, his face red all the way to the base of his neck.

Are the two of them in that kind of relationship?

The thought flashed through Wei Ziqing's mind.

“Qing Lian—Qing Lian—” Long Qingyun finally couldn't take it anymore, his voice cracking slightly. “Get down, get down, you're too close—”

“No,” Qing Lian didn't let go; instead, she hugged him a little tighter, her face pressed against his ear as she spoke softly. “Give me a hug.”

Long Qingyun froze there, at a loss for what to do.

Watching him, another thought flashed through Wei Ziqing's mind:

Hmm... he's not very good at saying no. Or is it that he wants this deep down?

Whatever.

“Qing Lian,” he spoke up.

Qing Lian turned her head, glanced at him, then let go of Long Qingyun, hopped down lightly, and walked over to him.

“What is it?”

Wei Ziqing looked at her, his gaze steady.

“If you don't mind, I need to conduct an evaluation regarding your situation,” he said. “Whether you plan to live with him or whatever else, you must go through Official registration and review.”

He tilted his head and looked at Long Qingyun.

“I can act as your guarantor.”

Long Qingyun was stunned for a moment.

“Is that really okay?” he asked, his voice hesitant. “Isn't that a bit too much trouble? And...”

“Don't worry about it,” Wei Ziqing interrupted. “This sort of thing was bound to happen sooner or later. Once intelligent beings emerge, all of this is inevitable. I'm just going through the process ahead of time.”

Qing Lian tilted her head and looked at him, her eyes sparkling.

“Wow,” she said, “that's great, how responsible. As expected of Long Qingyun's good friend.”

The corner of Wei Ziqing's mouth twitched, but he didn't smile. He stood up and brushed off his clothes.

“In any case, I'll call you when the time comes.” He looked at Long Qingyun. “Remember to bring Qing Lian. We'll come here to perform the evaluation in person, so you won't have to bring her to our place—the journey would be an issue.”

Long Qingyun nodded, his expression becoming serious.

“I understand.”

Wei Ziqing headed for the door. Qing Lian waved behind him.

“Bye-bye—”

The door closed.

The room fell silent.

Qing Lian turned around and looked at Long Qingyun. Long Qingyun was still standing there, a lingering flush on his face.

“So, what do you think?” Qing Lian asked.

Long Qingyun blinked.

“What do I think about what?”

“Just...” Qing Lian took a step closer and looked up at him. “The future. Living together. What do you think about it?”

Long Qingyun was silent for a few seconds.

“Well, of course...” He scratched his head, his voice softening. “We'll just get along naturally. An equal, natural way of living together. I think living together is quite nice.”

Qing Lian's eyes curved into crescents.

“What a wonderful virtue,” she said.

She raised her hands—two furry paws gently resting against the sides of his face—her amber pupils reflecting his image.

“I just love this about you humans.” Her voice was soft, with a hint of raspiness. “I just love humans.”

Long Qingyun's face began to heat up again.

Wei Ziqing returned to the base. While passing through the training area, he saw Li Zhe.

The young man was standing by the edge of the training field, with an Orange Cat—the "Big Orange" he had seen before—crouched beside him. A few low obstacles were set up in front of the man and the cat. Li Zhe made a gesture, and the Orange Cat leaped over them gracefully, landing and looking back at him as if waiting for the next command. A uniformed Official stood nearby with a clipboard, occasionally looking down to jot something down.

“Training?” Wei Ziqing walked over and stopped.

Li Zhe turned his head, recognized him, and smiled: “Yeah. If I work a bit harder, I'll be able to head out to battle soon too.”

Wei Ziqing nodded: “Then keep it up.”

He turned to the Official and briefly recounted the situation with Long Qingyun and Qing Lian. The man listened and nodded.

“Understood. I'll go assemble the evaluation team now.”

He put away the clipboard and left quickly. Wei Ziqing stood there for a while watching Li Zhe and the Orange Cat train, then turned and left as well.

About an hour later, a six-person team assembled at the base entrance. Two Psychological Evaluators in plain clothes, one Biological Researcher in a white coat, and three Combat Personnel in tactical vests. Wei Ziqing gave them a brief briefing and then set off with the team.

Two cars drove to the old residential building where Long Qingyun lived. Wei Ziqing led the team upstairs and knocked on the door.

When Long Qingyun opened the door, he looked a bit nervous. Qing Lian stood behind him, poking half her head out to peer outside.

“You're here?” Long Qingyun gave a dry laugh.

“We're here.” Wei Ziqing stepped aside, revealing the people behind him. “Let's go inside and talk.”

The living room was temporarily set up as an evaluation site. The three Combat Personnel took positions by the door and window, staying outside the main area to keep watch. The two Psychological Evaluators took Qing Lian into the bedroom and closed the door. The Biological Researcher sat on the sofa, flipping through the forms he had brought, occasionally looking up at Long Qingyun and jotting things down.

Long Qingyun sat on his own sofa, yet he felt like he was in someone else's house, not knowing what to do with his hands or feet. Wei Ziqing sat opposite him, silent.

Occasional sounds came from the bedroom—Qing Lian's voice, the Psychological Evaluators' questions, then Qing Lian's answers. The specific details were indistinguishable.

About forty minutes later, the bedroom door opened.

The two Psychological Evaluators walked out, and one of them beckoned to Wei Ziqing. Wei Ziqing stood up and followed him to the corner of the hallway.

“How is it?” he asked.

The Psychological Evaluator lowered his voice: “The evaluation results... are acceptable. For now, we've tentatively approved it.”

Wei Ziqing nodded and waited for him to continue.

“However,” the man paused, “there's a slight issue with her psyche.”

“What kind of issue?”

“Possessiveness,” the Psychological Evaluator said. “It's a bit excessive. Perhaps it's because she evolved from an animal; in their species, this might not be a big deal. But by human standards...”

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

“So far, she hasn't shown any particularly abnormal behavior, so it should be fine,” he finally said. “But still, pay a bit more attention. You know what I mean.”

Wei Ziqing was silent for two seconds.

“Understood.”

Just as he finished speaking, a sudden, urgent knocking sounded from outside the door.

Bang bang bang bang bang—

It was very forceful and frantic, as if someone were fleeing for their life.

The people in the living room all turned their heads at once. Long Qingyun was startled; he stood up, walked over, and pulled the door open a crack.

A figure squeezed right in, nearly knocking him over.

It was a man in his thirties, wearing a crumpled plaid shirt, his hair a mess, and his face covered in sweat. He grabbed Long Qingyun, his voice trembling:

“Brother, brother, save me!”

Long Qingyun was bewildered by the hug and struggled to ask: “What's wrong? What happened?”

“I don't know!” The man let go of him, his eyes wide. “My phone won't connect! It's incredibly dangerous out there! Just let me in first, I don't want to be eaten—”

“Alright, alright, alright,” Long Qingyun ushered him into the room. “Don't panic, come in first—”

The man stumbled inside and then froze.

In the living room, two Psychological Evaluators were sitting on the sofa, the Biological Researcher was standing nearby with his forms, three Combat Personnel in tactical vests were guarding the door and window, and Wei Ziqing was walking over from the hallway corner.

The man's mouth opened, closed, and opened again.

“Brother,” his voice wavered, “why... why are there so many people in your house?”

Long Qingyun scratched his head.

“Uh... these are all Officials.”

“Officials? That's great! That's great!” Upon hearing this, the man's eyes lit up instantly. He was about to lunge forward again but was caught by Long Qingyun.

Wei Ziqing had already walked over from the hallway corner and stood before the man.

“Eaten by what?” He stared at the man's face, his voice low but steady. “What exactly is going on?”