First, then, love.

At three in the morning, the streets were empty and deserted, desolate and quiet.

He Zheng floored the accelerator.

Shu Yao sat in the passenger seat, holding a flight case in her arms.

Inside the box, the princess's screams grew fainter and fainter.

"He Zheng...it's silent...is it dead...?"

Shu Yao cried so hard she could hardly breathe, her fingers gently touching the cat's cold paws through the mesh.

"He won't die."

He Zheng's eyes were fixed on the road ahead, and the veins on the back of his hands, which were gripping the steering wheel, were bulging.

He managed to compress a ten-minute journey into five minutes.

"Sizzle!"

The SUV made a violent drift and came to a stop across the entrance of the "Pet Love" 24-hour animal hospital.

He Zheng pushed open the car door, strode around to the passenger side, and grabbed the airline case from Shu Yao's arms.

He kicked open the glass door of the hospital.

The lobby was quiet, with only a few hospitalized cats and dogs purring peacefully in their cages.

The young male doctor on night shift was dozing off at the front desk.

"Bang!"

The flight case was placed heavily on the marble triage table.

The male doctor shuddered and suddenly woke up, looking up.

"Who's there! What are you doing!"

He Zheng placed his hands on the table, his tall figure exuding an intense sense of pressure as he stared directly at his opponent.

"It's a difficult birth, it's stuck."

The vet's expression changed drastically when he saw the calico cat lying in the box, barely alive and covered in blood from the waist down.

He quickly put on gloves, opened the box, and reached out to examine the princess's abdomen, his brows instantly furrowing.

"No, the fetus is too big and is completely stuck in the birth canal. The mother cat is in shock and her heartbeat is very weak."

The doctor looked up at the two men with imposing presences before him, his tone grave.

"An immediate cesarean section is necessary, otherwise both the mother cat and her kittens will die. Who among you will sign the critical condition notice?"

Shu Yao's legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the chair at the front desk.

"Incision... Immediately..."

Her voice trembled incoherently, her face was covered in tears, and she looked utterly disheveled.

The doctor quickly printed out the form and handed over a pen.

"The surgery carries risks; anesthesia allergies or massive bleeding could lead to death. The owner's signature is required for confirmation."

Shu Yao reached out to take it, but her hand trembled so violently that she could barely hold the light ballpoint pen.

The pen fell to the ground with a "thud".

"He Zheng..." She looked up at the man beside her, her eyes filled with helplessness.

He Zheng bent down to pick up the pen and signed his name in a bold, flowing style in the lower right corner of the document, his handwriting penetrating the paper.

He gently patted the receipt on the doctor's chest.

"Money is not an issue, I don't care about the kittens, the mother cat must be brought out safely."

His tone was arrogant and completely unreasonable.

The doctor swallowed hard, not daring to say anything, and quickly carried the princess into the sterile operating room at the back.

The red warning light in the operating room suddenly lit up, glaring and cold.

The hall fell silent once again.

Shu Yao sat on the cold plastic chair, shivering uncontrollably.

She was wearing a thin silk nightgown, standing in the air-conditioned hospital lobby, her lips turning purple from the cold.

The God of War squatted at her feet, resting his large, warm dog head on her lap, letting out anxious whimpers.

He Zheng stood outside the operating room door, his back to her, his broad shoulders taut and stiff.

He reached into his pocket with his right hand in frustration, only to find it empty.

He turned around again, walked up to Shu Yao, and frowned as he looked at her trembling appearance.

Without saying a word, he took off his black short-sleeved T-shirt and put the still-warm T-shirt over Shu Yao's head.

The large clothing covered most of her body, carrying a faint warmth that dispelled the chill around her.

"What's with the shaking? It's just a cat. We can always buy a new one."

He pulled up a chair and sat down opposite her, legs spread wide, his tone curt.

Shu Yao looked up, her eyes red and glaring at him.

"What nonsense are you spouting! The princess is family; no one can replace her!"

"Family? I'm your family." He Zheng sneered, reached out and pinched her cold chin, gently wiping away her tears with his thumb. His words were harsh, but his actions were extremely gentle.

"How pathetic, crying like this over a cat."

"If anything happens to it, it must be the fault of the young master of the Qiao family!" Shu Yao sniffed, rambling incoherently as she tried to find someone to hold accountable.

The God of War barked softly beside her, as if echoing her words.

Time ticked by, and the red light in the operating room felt like a sharp blade hanging overhead, suffocating and agonizing.

A full hour and a half later.

"Click".

The operating room door was finally pushed open from the inside, and the warning red light went out.

The young male doctor came out, took off his mask, and was covered in sweat, with bloodstains on his white coat.

Shu Yao suddenly jumped up from the chair and rushed forward.

Her legs suddenly went weak, and she almost fell. He Zheng reacted quickly, reaching out to grab her waist and supporting her steadily.

"Doctor...Princess, it..."

The doctor let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and revealed a tired smile.

"Mother and child are safe."

He stepped aside to give way to the view.

"The mother cat successfully delivered four kittens via cesarean section. The kittens were too large, which caused the difficult delivery and the kittens got stuck. The anesthesia had not completely worn off, and the mother cat was still being stitched up inside. You can take a look at the kittens first."

Shu Yao's body went limp, and she collapsed completely into He Zheng's arms. The heart that had been in her throat finally settled back into place.

"Look...look..."

The nurse pushed the incubator out, which was lined with clean diaper pads.

Four tiny creatures, no bigger than mice and soaking wet, huddled together tightly. They were hairless, with pinkish skin and closed eyes.

They looked like four skinned ugly toads, chirping weakly as they wriggled and searched for milk.

Shu Yao leaned over and pressed her face against the glass of the incubator, looking at the four tiny cubs. Tears streamed down her face again as she wept with joy.

"So ugly... how can it be so ugly..."

She stopped crying and smiled, gently tapping the little ones through the glass with her fingertips.

He Zheng stood behind her, looked down and peeked out, his brows furrowing instantly, his face full of disgust.

"You call this a cat? Anyone who doesn't know any better would think it's four water rats pulled out of the sewer."

"Shut up!" Shu Yao turned around and glared at him. "Newborn kittens are all like this. They'll look nice when their fur grows out in a few days!"

The war god came closer, placed its two front paws on the edge of the incubator, and sniffed the exhaust vent with its huge nose.

The faint smell of blood on the kitten filled it with confusion. The dog tilted its head and barked softly, "Woof?"

"Get out of the way, don't scare them to death." He Zheng gently pushed the God of War aside with his foot.

In the operating room, the nurses wheeled the princess out after her stitches were completed.

The calico cat lay quietly on the stroller, its abdomen wrapped in a thick white bandage. Its eyes were half-open and half-closed, still under the effects of the anesthesia, and it looked extremely weak.

Upon hearing the kitten's cries from inside the incubator, its ears immediately twitched slightly, and it struggled to lift its head.

"Put the mother cat in to rest. She needs to rest after surgery and will need to stay at the hospital for observation tonight," the veterinarian explained carefully.

Looking at the princess in the incubator, protecting her four cubs under her belly, Shu Yao was deeply touched.

She turned to look at He Zheng beside her. The man was shirtless, his coldness from before still lingering, but his gaze remained gentle on her, showing no sign of impatience.

"He Zheng," she called softly.

"What are you doing?"

"How does it feel to be a father?" she suddenly asked, a mischievous smile playing in her peach blossom eyes.

He Zheng was slightly taken aback.

He looked down at the four ugly "little water rats," then at the charming and willful woman in his arms, and chuckled softly.

His large hand suddenly gripped the back of her head, pressing her tightly against his hard chest.

"In my entire life, I've only ever been your father, never a rat's grandfather."

He spoke through gritted teeth, his voice low and hoarse.

"Let's go, pay up, go home and sleep, I'm exhausted."