Right on Target (TARGET)
Su Heting instinctively pulled his hand back, then felt he was overreacting.
What’s the big deal about boys holding hands? It’s not like it’s something shameful.
With an utterly unbothered expression, he declared, “We’re arm wrestling!”
Hermit, seeing Su Heting lying on his side with one arm wrapped up like a rice dumpling, was skeptical of his answer. But to avoid making things awkward, he nodded and played along. “Oh, great! Count me in.”
“No room, you can’t join,” Su Heting abruptly sat up. “Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour—”
His forehead smacked into the ceiling with a loud thud, sending him flopping straight back onto the bedding with his face twitching in pain.
Hermit said, “I’m not coming up, don’t get worked up!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Su Heting saw Xie Zhenshu move and quickly stopped him with his uninjured hand, insisting stubbornly, “I’m fine! It doesn’t hurt!”
Suddenly, the lights below blazed on.
Su Heting thought, Oh no, and without bothering about the other two, yanked the blanket over his head. The next second, a roar erupted from the living room: “Lights out means no noise!”
Hermit tried to slip away, but it was too late. He heard the wooden floorboards creak under heavy footsteps, and then his collar was grabbed, lifting him clean off the ground.
“Hey!” Hermit pleaded, “Sorry, Mom! I’ll go to bed right now!”
“Too late!” Mom Fu bent down and rapped hard on the attic floor. “Su Heting, stop pretending to sleep! Get down here now!”
Su Heting’s cat ears twitched. Even under the blanket, he couldn’t escape notice.
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Fuma stood three meters and twenty centimeters tall, sporting a golden wig.
Biologically male, she disliked the fact and insisted everyone call her “Mom Fu.” When Xingtian began centralizing the management of Hybrids, she underwent modification surgery and moved here specifically to settle down.
Her back was entirely mechanical, capable of transforming into a mechanical octopus when needed, though she usually required no assistants.
Most Hybrids in the Black Market with any experience had heard of Mom Fu. Rumors claimed she was the best doctor in the Black Market, but her temper was unpredictable—she performed surgeries based on mood, not money. When she refused, no one could force her; her mechanical arms were all equipped with cannons.
Today, Mom Fu wore a new dress with its hem dragging on the floor as a cat chased and pounced at it. She scooped up the cat with one arm, cooing, “Tsk tsk tsk,” and nuzzled it affectionately with her face. “My sweet little darling…”
On the opposite sofa sat three people in a row, all with impeccable posture. Su Heting, in particular, kept even his tail perfectly still.
Mom Fu squeezed the cat’s paw pads, her voice raspy but gentle. “So adorable, much cuter than your brother.”
Su Heting, sensing the jab, rolled his eyes and stole a glance at Xie Zhenshu, who was deep in thought and frowning at the cat in Mom Fu’s arms as if it were a bomb.
Mom Fu snapped sharply, “What are you looking at him for? Instead of staring, you should reflect on yourself!”
Su Heting flinched, his cat ears twitching again. “What’s wrong with looking? I didn’t do anything. Wait—why should I reflect on myself?”
"Got your hands chopped off like trash, how shameful is that?" Mom Fu cradled the cat in her arms while still glaring at Su Heting with a suddenly fierce expression. "You think you’re all grown up now, running around wherever you please and picking fights left and right—don’t think I don’t know. You’ve got some nerve, especially provoking Wei Zhixin! What kind of man is he? Surrounded by nothing but hired killers who’d slit throats for cash. Good job—this time it’s your hands, next time, watch your head gets lopped off!"
Her words were harsh, leaving no room for mercy.
Hermit squirmed in his seat, wishing he could vanish into the ground, regretting ever coming here. He glanced sideways at Su Heting, but instead caught sight of Xie Zhenshu’s furrowed brow. He mouthed to Xie Zhenshu: Don’t worry, she’s all bark.
Su Heting, incapable of staying well-behaved for more than a few minutes, slumped onto the sofa with a careless shrug. "Fine, call Wei Zhixin over right now and let him chop my head off."
Outside, he cared deeply about face, but the moment he stepped into the rundown Alley 101, he turned into a shameless brat—because this was his first real home.
The Great Explosion had left Su Heting severely injured. Xingtian’s rescue teams had limited capabilities, only able to place survivors like him in Survival Zone hospitals. Back then, he’d lost an eye, couldn’t stand, and his memory was shot, wasting away on a hospital bed waiting to die—until Mom Fu took him in and performed the modification surgery on him.
The two were thirty years apart in age, barely qualifying as "mother and son," but their temperaments clashed, leading to constant arguments. Su Heting never stayed long, eventually moving into the tenement buildings. Mom Fu called him an ungrateful wretch and forbade him from returning. They rarely even spoke on the phone—Mom Fu would hang up the moment he called. Usually, it was Jiali who mediated, smoothing things over between them.
Hermit, self-proclaimed "Second Brother," trembled as he tried to mediate. "Xie-ge is here today, let’s not argue—"
"Who dares argue with him? He’s invincible now." Mom Fu patted the cat in her arms, and it leaped onto the table before stretching lazily.
She sat down, the oversized chair designed specifically for her creaking under her weight. Tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear with elegant poise, she turned to Xie Zhenshu. "Xie, was it? Make yourself at home."
Mom Fu was in her fifties but well-preserved as the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes faint. Beneath her puffed sleeves were muscles—not modifications, but the result of years of daily training.
The table was draped with a lace tablecloth, adorned with a vase holding over a dozen white peonies—not holograms, but real ones, their fragrance rich. The cat strolled across the table, nuzzling the flowers before squinting at Xie Zhenshu.
Mom Fu glanced at Xie Zhenshu and pointed at her own neck. "No surveillance here. No need to keep that nebulizer on."
Xie Zhenshu gave his usual excuse. "I’m ugly."
Mom Fu lit a slender cigarette, holding it between her fingers, her expression unreadable—impossible to tell if she believed him or not. She nodded casually, as if uninterested in pressing further, and said politely, "No need to take appearances so seriously. You came from the Colosseum?"
"Yes, Mom," Hermit replied deferentially, his tone almost singsong. "My head—my virtual head—got blown off by Xingtian’s people in the Safe Zone. It’s not fixed yet, so I couldn’t compete. I asked Xie-ge to stand in, but who knew we’d run into Wei Zhixin? I can vouch for it, Mom! It wasn’t cat who provoked Wei Zhixin first..."
His voice trailed off into silence.
"You really are his brother, talking half-truths like this. Was tonight really your first time running into Wei Zhixin?" Mom Fu tossed an old-fashioned lighter onto the table. "You’ve crossed paths with Wei Zhixin more than once, haven’t you?"
The lighter startled the cat, which let out a "meow" and leaped into Xie Zhenshu's arms. Xie Zhenshu stiffened slightly, locking eyes with it.
That was a mistake—the cat seemed to take it as some kind of invitation and began rubbing its face vigorously against Xie Zhenshu's hand, looking utterly lazy and content.
Xie Zhenshu quickly glanced at Su Heting, who had been watching the scene with amusement but somehow read a hint of nervousness and helplessness in his gaze.
Hmm—
Su Heting thought.
Could the boss be afraid of cats? Then is he afraid of me? If he’s afraid of me, why did he grab my hand earlier? Because I’m not a real cat?
"Lulu," Su Heting leaned over, using his own tail to tease the cat, trying to lure it out of Xie Zhenshu's arms. "Come here."
The blue cat, named Lulu, barely spared Su Heting a glance, showing little interest in the tail. Instead, it stretched out a paw to bat playfully at the buttons on Xie Zhenshu's collar.
"Hey," Su Heting said, wounded, reaching out to wedge himself between Lulu and Xie Zhenshu. "Come here."
Xie Zhenshu felt a weight settle on his lap, then lift just as quickly—Lulu had already been scooped up by Su Heting. Su Heting nestled the cat in his own arms and leaned back into the sofa until he was practically sinking into it. He teased Lulu with his uninjured hand with his own tail twitching slightly in response.
"...That’s how it is," Hermit had just finished recounting the whole incident with Wei Zhixin. "He’s got a grudge against us now, always causing trouble. There’s nothing we can do about it."
Mom Fu threw an empty cigarette box at Su Heting, who was too busy playing with the cat to bother dodging. The box bounced harmlessly off his head. "What? I already told you I didn’t start it. Is Wei Zhixin your relative or something? Why are you so biased?"
"My bias leans toward Wei Zhixin, toward Wei Da—just not toward you!" Mom Fu snorted, standing up and straightening her long dress as she strode toward the other side of the sofa. "Get up. Come with me to the basement."
Su Heting, ever mischievous, was lifting the hem of Lulu’s floral dress when he suddenly got a smack on the head.
"You little pervert!" Mom Fu snapped. "Lulu’s a girl!"
"Oh." Su Heting let go, and Lulu scampered off with a series of indignant meows. He slowly got to his feet and said to Xie Zhenshu, "Wait here for a bit."
The two of them headed down to the basement, leaving Xie Zhenshu and Hermit alone in the living room.
Mom Fu’s home was lavishly decorated, with paintings from the old world adorning the walls. Vases filled with peonies, lisianthus, and baby’s breath sat atop every display cabinet, all fresh flowers. The cat sprawled on the carpet, looking ready to doze off.
Hermit found the silence unbearable. He cleared his throat and turned to Xie Zhenshu before forcing a laugh. "Hahaha..."
Meeting Xie Zhenshu’s gaze, he immediately forgot what he was going to say and resorted to awkward chuckles.
After a long pause, Hermit said sheepishly, "Mom’s just going to give cat a check-up. He hasn’t been here in a while, and his eyes haven’t been serviced."
Xie Zhenshu’s expression remained cold. He opened his mouth to speak but sneezed instead.
Hermit blinked. "Are you allergic to cat hair?"
"No," Xie Zhenshu denied. "I’m not."
"Oh..." Hermit was half-convinced, half-doubtful. "Right, you're not allergic to kitten fur." Finding himself quite humorous at this point, he chuckled again, "That Xiao Guy sheds too!"
Xie Zenshu took out a handkerchief and pressed it against his nose. His sharp gaze fixed on hermit, effectively silencing him.
Hermit sensed Xie Zenshu's displeasure but couldn't pinpoint the reason.
Help.
Hermit thought to himself.
He wasn't like this when Su Heting was around!
Xie Zenshu asked, "How would you know?"
"Huh?" Hermit was still lost in thought.
"Shedding," Xie Zenshu enunciated clearly, "Cats shed fur."
"Well, cats just... shed fur," hermit forced a cute tone, "It's common knowledge."
Xie Zenshu remained silent.
Hermit continued, "Alright, it was Mom who mentioned it. Su Heting had his neural responses enhanced but had to rely on implants as a central system. Mom didn't want him to feel self-conscious about his appearance, so she added lots of cute designs. But Su Heting hated being cute—he argued with Mom every day, and they even got into fights."
Though it was more like Su Heting getting thoroughly beaten by Mom.
As he spoke, hermit noticed Xie Zenshu's expression softening.
He secretly clenched his fist, determined to press his advantage.
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