I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

After being pulled out of the corner by Paddo, Swire lowered her voice and asked again with a somewhat resistant expression.

"Oh, of course I'm going out with you, Swire. Didn't you not find anyone to go with?" Hearing Swire's question, Patto turned her head slightly and said matter-of-factly.

"?"

Upon hearing this, a question mark slowly appeared above Swire's head, and then she said with a somewhat surprised expression, "How did you know I didn't find anyone? Have you been spying on me?!"

"You mean this? I ran into Gretchen before, and she told me you were looking for someone to play with."

"Then when I came over, I found you were still alone, so I guessed you hadn't found anyone to keep you company, and that's why I showed up!" Pado explained, half-jokingly.

"You actually tried to get information out of a kid?" After hearing Paddo's explanation, Swire's lips twitched, and she complained speechlessly.

"We called it asking around, not trying to get information!" Padre retorted seriously after hearing Swire's complaint.

"Alright, let's hurry up and go. Let's go buy Swire a drink first. I remember you didn't drink much of the one you ordered earlier." With that, Pado pulled Swire along and continued on their way.

Cat Cat still remembers that because of her, she left without even having a few sips of the drink she ordered.

"So you remember too, what a waste... No, that's not the point! Padrephilis, are you really going out to play?! With us handcuffed together?!" Swire, forced to keep up with Padrephilis, suddenly realized what was going on and asked in a slightly panicked tone.

As for why she felt panicked, it was because Swire was afraid of losing face! If it were just a matter of a police officer handcuffing a "criminal" and escorting him back, she wouldn't feel anything; on the contrary, she would be very happy because she had avenged her "great grudge".

However, the meaning of two people going shopping handcuffed is completely different! Just thinking about that scene makes the little tiger feel dizzy and suffocated.

"Is there a problem? Didn't Swire bring this for us yourself?" Patto said, gently shaking her hand and looking at Swire with innocent eyes.

Of course, if she could suppress the involuntary upturn of her lips, she might appear even more innocent.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Swire was first taken aback, then angrily squeezed Patto's soft hand hard and said, "Did I handcuff you so you could drag me around? I did it to escort you back to the Guard Bureau!"

"Hmm... Is Swire really bothered?" Patto touched her chin with her unshackled left hand, thought for a moment, then suddenly took a step back and grabbed Swire's right arm, using the intimate gesture and her sleeve to cover their handcuffed hands.

"Hehe, that's perfect, no one will notice now!"

"!"

The moment Swire's body was embraced and pressed close by Patto's warm body,

She froze, and it took her a while to react. With an unnatural expression, she gritted her teeth and said, "Are you an idiot? Don't get so close to me!"

Honestly, this is the first time in my life that I've been subjected to such frequent and intimate contact by someone. The person on the other end was completely oblivious and acted quite naturally!

She could accept one or two things individually—the previous hug, the recent hand-holding, or the current closeness—but when they were combined, she couldn't handle it!

No, she's never done anything like that with Lao Chen, Xingxiong, or even Lin Yuxia! Although if they had, she would definitely be extremely disgusted...

"Ugh...?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of confusion flashed in Paddy's beautiful eyes, but she did not let go of Swire's arm. Instead, she just stared at her blankly, as if she did not understand what she had done wrong.

Chapter 114 Swire: "Confess, Padrephilis!"

"Ugh...?"

"..."

When Swire met Patto's puzzled look, her already somewhat unnatural expression, caused by the intimate contact, became even more unnatural.

Especially when someone has an adorable cat clinging to their back with the same expression as them...

"Um……?"

Looking at Swire, whose expression had become even more "strange," Pato couldn't help but tilt her head slightly.

However, after thinking about it for a while, she still couldn't figure it out, so she could only attribute it to the person not wanting to go out with her, without considering the possibility of physical intimacy.

After all, in Maomao's opinion, it's normal for girls to be a little intimate, and she didn't do anything that crossed the line.

"Oh dear, am I really that annoying? I admit I went a bit too far before... but! I absolutely didn't mean it!"

"How about this, Swire, you play with me for a good time, and I'll tell you some of my secrets later!" After making a concession, Patto turned her gaze back to Swire, waiting for her next answer.

To be honest, if it were anyone else here, the cat would have run away the moment she started to get angry. She wouldn't have stayed to get scolded and bitten. She's not a masochist!

All I can say is that Pado knows she went a bit too far before, and she's genuinely guilty... otherwise, she wouldn't have avoided Swire before.

But whatever the reason in the beginning, once it's done, it's done, and the cat acknowledges it!

So when she realized that Swire might be in a bad mood because of her actions, Patto immediately stepped in. And wanting to use this opportunity to ease tensions, she cowardly chose to stay and "take all the blame and insults."

Besides being a hero and rescuing a damsel in distress, what could be more endearing than offering to go shopping with a girl when she can't find anyone to go with? Nothing!

Although she was still scolded in the end... there was nothing she could do but lament that she had brought this upon herself and compromised.

"?"

Still feeling uncomfortable and out of place due to Pado's close contact, Swire was suddenly startled by what she said. Instantly, she put all those messy thoughts aside, came back to her senses, and said, "Your secret? What secret could you possibly have that I care about?"

Looking at Swire, who was unusually calm, Patto smiled mysteriously, then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "For example, what exactly did we steal when we broke into Wei Yanwu's house?"

"!"

Upon hearing these words, Swire, who had initially been filled with curiosity, instantly widened her eyes in shock and stared at the person beside her, "What...what did you do?!"

"Oh dear, look, aren't you interested now?" Seeing Swire's shocked expression, Patto couldn't help but reveal a bright smile and tease her.

"This is no longer a question of interest! It's about why you're even standing in front of me now!" Upon hearing this, Swire looked at the person smiling so brightly in front of her and couldn't laugh at all.

Judging from both her abilities and personality, the little tiger believed that Pado was the kind of person who would do something like breaking into the Dragon Gate Governor's Mansion at night... But it was precisely because she believed that her current state of mind was incredibly shocked and complicated, even with a hint of disappointment in her gritted teeth.

Does this bastard even know what he's doing? This isn't some trivial squabble in his own home; challenging the authority of those in power will most likely get him crushed! Even she can't protect him!

Swire also wanted to arrest Padrephilis and throw her in prison, but she never intended to kill her…

Although she was reluctant to admit it, even though she had been robbed so many times, and even though she was furious every time, Padofelis still held an extremely complicated place in her heart.

"Huh, is Swire concerned about me?" Hearing Swire's words, Padre, who was holding Swire's arm, couldn't help but gently shake her long tail and said with a smile in her ear, "Don't worry, have a little faith in me too!"

"I won't do anything I'm not sure I'm doing!"

"Is this the kind of confidence you have for something like this?!" Swire couldn't help but raise her voice as she listened to Patto's confident whisper in her ear.

"Did Governor Wei Yanwu discover you or not? Never mind, that's not important anymore... You just need to..."

"I'll go back to the Guard Bureau and turn myself in! Maybe they can ask for leniency and spare your life..." As she spoke, Swire didn't care that the handcuffs on her hands had been seen by others, and pulled Paddo away.

At this moment, all anger, embarrassment, and complicated feelings were thrown to the back of the little tiger's mind. She only had one thought in her mind: to find a way to keep this bastard next to her alive.

As a child from a large family, Swire knew certain things all too well…

So how did they even dare to do that? They're such a brainless idiot! No matter how strong or good at escaping, one person couldn't possibly handle so many people...

Swire knew that someone above had intervened in last night's piano incident, but apart from Lin Yuxia's group, they didn't know much about the final outcome behind the scenes... There was no indication that the higher-ups wanted to reveal anything.

So the four of them, including her, only guessed that last night's actions were just a test and that there was no major conflict.

Their guess was not without basis. For example, the higher-ups had clearly noticed Padofelis, the "Dragon Gate Thief," and had witnessed her provocative "theft."

Logically speaking, her arrest warrant should have been posted by now, but it wasn't... it was suppressed.

Until Patto revealed that she had stolen from Governor Wei Yanwu, Swire still didn't know the reason. Now, she felt she probably knew why no arrest warrant had been issued…

This isn't about being too lazy or having any reservations about posting! It's clearly about secretly crushing them from the shadows!

"?"

Padre stared at Swire, who seemed to be conjuring up some wild idea and was about to drag her to the police station to turn herself in. A question mark slowly appeared above her head, and she quickly said:

"There's no need to turn myself in. If I really did, Miss Wenyue would surely laugh at me..."

"Don't worry, I'm really fine. So, Swire, aren't you curious about this secret?"

"In that case, let's go out and have some fun together! I'll tell you what happens next, hehe~"

P.S.: I'm meeting a friend to watch a Miyazaki Hayao movie tomorrow morning, and I'm still awake at this hour, oh no... Goodnight everyone, I'll correct the typos tomorrow.

Chapter 115 Hoshiguma, completely baffled

“What a joke, Miss Wen Yue…? Do you know that person?” Upon hearing this, Swire and Pado paused in their tracks. She quickly extracted the key words from the string of words and asked in return.

"Hmm...of course I know him, let's just say he's the boss who's already booked a room." Faced with Swire's question, Patto stroked her chin and gave an ambiguous answer.

If everything is revealed now, it won't be interesting later, so the cat plans to keep it a secret for now.

“Boss…” Swire muttered, glancing at the smiling Patto, then suddenly changed the subject, as if she had thought of something, and said, “Let’s go.”

"?"

Padre was taken aback by Swire's sudden words and looked at her in confusion.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go shopping? What are you standing there staring at me for? Let's go!"

Seeing the dumbfounded look on Patto's face, Swire was furious. "Of course, in exchange for shopping with you, you have to explain this to me later, and I also have some other questions for you. You have to answer honestly!"

“Ah…oh, no problem! Hehe~ Let’s get started!” With that, Pado gently swayed her long tail, gave Swire a bright smile, and then stepped forward to get closer again, blocking the handcuffs that had just been exposed.

"……Um."

Swire's eyes flashed with a hint of helplessness as Patto once again drew close and held her arm. This time, although she wasn't as resistant and awkward as before, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable…

"Hmm, let's go then. What would Swire like to drink this time?"

"Let's have juice this time."

"okay!"

----------------

Meanwhile, on the other side, within the Guard Bureau—

"So, Old Chen, you just brought this kid you've only known for two days back with you?" Hoshiguma looked at the blue-haired little girl who was drawing in the office and couldn't help but tease Chen with a smile.

"Watch your words, Hoshiguma, you're making it sound like I'm a human trafficker." Hearing this, Chen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and correct him.

"Yes, yes, what are the arrangements for tomorrow? Do you need me to come along?"

Hoshiguma leaned back in her chair, turning to look at Chen Dao: "Didn't I promise this child I'd go out and play with her?"

“No need, I already asked Gretchen for her opinion. It’s not your turn to rest tomorrow, and it would be too much trouble to make an appointment. Let’s wait for next time.” As he spoke, Chen looked up at Gretchen, who was already engrossed in her drawing, and gently shook his head.

"Alright then, have fun playing with this little guy tomorrow." Hoshiguma had no objections to this arrangement.

"Yes, thank you for your kind words." Chen nodded, sat up straight again, and went back to his work.

Rather than worrying about tomorrow, she was more eager to finish her work quickly and figure out what to take Gretsch out for dinner that evening. After all, she couldn't rely on her...