Spring was approaching before they knew it. Qilan had been in Finland with Liang Jianshi for nearly a month.
After her identity had been exposed, Qilan no longer feared switching between human and cat. Even acting like a cat and cuddling in Liang Jianshi’s arms was fine.
Like the time she got tired of the hotel food and volunteered to cook. Love must make people foolish, she poured oil into a pan that still had water in it. Oil splattered everywhere, and a frightened Qilan leaped onto Liang Jianshi.
Liang Jianshi had grown accustomed to her antics; he instinctively dropped what he was holding and caught her.
When the fire was out and the kitchen was quiet, they looked at the eggshells left in the bowl and the spilled egg liquid in the trash, and both burst out laughing.
“What can I do? I can’t change.” Qilan wrapped her arms around his neck, looking innocent. “Before, when we weren’t together, I could keep some distance and stay alert. Now I can’t switch back.”
Liang Jianshi held her legs, wrapped around his waist, and leaned back slightly, a deep smile curving his lips. After she finished pretending to be troubled, he coaxed her like a child, “Can’t you act cute as a human, just like a little cat?”
Qilan: “But a little cat is so small. I’m so big.”
Liang Jianshi carried her to the sofa. “No matter how heavy you are, I can catch you. If I ever drop you, it’ll be because I haven’t exercised enough, not because you ate too much.”
Qilan laughed. “I’m very slim, okay?”
Liang Jianshi nodded in agreement. “Yes, you’re too thin. You need to eat more. Trust my ability, alright?”
Qilan tilted her head, her arms still around his neck, emboldened to look closely into his eyes. “What ability?”
Liang Jianshi raised an eyebrow meaningfully, indulging her playful teasing. He leaned in, almost touching her soft lips. “When you first latched onto me, you were all skin and bones. Now, anyone who sees you would say I’ve raised you well. I’m experienced at raising animals. I’m good at raising pigs, too.”
Qilan blinked, then realized what he meant. Pretending to be angry, she opened her mouth and bit his jaw.
Liang Jianshi was startled for a moment. “My poor teaching skills. This cat of mine is too spoiled.” He set her down on the sofa, bit her back, and added some extra interest.
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
Late at night, Liang Jianshi led Qilan down the streets. The shops on both sides were still open, but the streets were empty.
Qilan looked around, puzzled. “Why are they still open so late? There’s no one here.”
Liang Jianshi held her hand tightly, looking warmly into her confused, lively eyes. “Aren’t we people?”
Qilan: “But it’s not lively. It’s so quiet and boring. Why do we never go out during the day?”
Liang Jianshi’s answer was vague. “Because within the Arctic Circle, the night is the main event.”
He slipped her cold hands into his jacket pocket.
Qilan had a feeling Liang Jianshi was up to something significant.
When he took a sapphire necklace from a display window and fastened it around her neck, she finally spoke up.
“A-Shi… did you book the whole place?”
Liang Jianshi lifted her hair, leaning close to fasten the delicate clasp. “No.”
Qilan tilted her head, exposing her pale neck. “You’re not telling the truth.”
After fastening the necklace, Liang Jianshi stepped back to admire it, then told her, “I didn’t book it. I just bought everything.”
Qilan was stunned.
“So that was why they could just take things without any shop assistants!!!”
Overwhelmed by his extravagance, she didn’t know what to say.
Ignoring her speechlessness, Liang Jianshi smiled devastatingly. “Lanlan, from now on, wear this always. Don’t take it off, okay?”
Qilan: …
“Liang Jianshi, when she was a cat, he couldn’t keep her tied down. Now that she was human, he was putting bracelets on her wrists and ankles, and now a collar?”
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
The Spring Festival was approaching.
Liang Jianshi’s business had long been finished. Qilan wanted to celebrate their first New Year’s Eve in China, so they left Finland early and arrived in Yicheng just before the Lunar New Year.
As the car drove through familiar city streets, the trees on either side were beautifully decorated. Qilan pressed her face to the window, her heart full of joy like a child who had never celebrated a holiday before.
She had always avoided festivals, afraid of the liveliness. But now things were different; she had family now. She could celebrate.
Liang Jianshi noticed her little thoughts and arranged everything personally, not letting Assistant Wu interfere.
At Liang Jianshi’s stage in life, money had long ceased to be as important as time. He was willing to spend time with Qilan, postponing any other matters.
Assistant Wu often wondered what had happened to his boss. The phrase “I’m busy” was uttered more often than ever, yet Assistant Wu knew Liang Jianshi wasn’t busy with work. So what was he busy with?
The answer, of course, was spending time with his girlfriend.
Qilan overheard Assistant Wu chatting with a secretary one day and was surprised to learn she had become a “femme fatale.”
As a sensible girlfriend, she urged the slacking Chairman Liang to go to the office. Liang Jianshi kept looking back, reluctant to leave, as if they were parting at a tearful farewell.
Waiting was rather boring. Later that day, Qilan came out of her room and saw a small gift on Liang Jianshi’s desk. Curious, she sat down to look at it.
The packaging and envelope were exquisite. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was the gift from the Duchess that Assistant Wu had mentioned that morning.
The embossed script on the envelope immediately caught Qilan’s attention. She looked at it from different angles, finding it oddly familiar, but couldn’t remember where she’d seen it before.
It wasn’t until she passed the hallway on her way to get water that she noticed the oil painting at the end.
Right, the pen.
The metal cap of the pen had a similar mark.
She wondered if Liang Jianshi’s pen had it too; her grandmother’s pen had a pattern nearly identical to this ducal crest.
Wanting to check, Qilan put down her water and walked into that room.
As before, the room was unlocked. Qilan pushed the door open easily.
It was as dark and dusty as ever. Qilan’s heart suddenly raced, as if something was guiding her…
That feeling was back.
Like a trance, as if something in the void was whispering a summoning spell, luring her to touch the spindle of the witch’s sleeping curse.
The pen hadn’t moved, still in its delicate copper box.
This time, she didn’t hold back. She picked up the pen and turned it slowly…
Her eyes widened gradually, showing disbelief.
This wasn’t Liang Jianshi’s pen; it was Qilan’s own.
She remembered the nib was worn. When she first started using a fountain pen, she pressed too hard and split the nib. After repeatedly adjusting it, it was barely usable.
Her heart pounding, she unscrewed the cap with trembling fingers. Unsurprisingly, the pen had the exact same flaw.
How strange.
Liang Jianshi had already returned her pen. It should be in her hometown house. How did it end up in Liang Jianshi’s room? And in such a beautiful box.
Emotions surged within Qilan. She couldn’t control the energy building inside her.
Suddenly, a small static shock stung her. Caught off guard, the pen fell. Its nib scratched her arm, then fell to the floor with a clatter, rolling a few times.
The lights went out. The large suite, usually bustling with visitors, fell into silence.
Soon, a gust of wind swept through, knocking over the lamp and sending the curtains flying.
A pained moan came from the depths of the room.
Qilan collapsed to the floor, her head splitting with pain. The scratch from the pen emitted a faint golden light. Shards of glass-like fragments fell from the crack in the light, merging into her body.
Flooding into her mind were countless memories, unfamiliar yet familiar, like someone else’s life poured into her head.
They were chaotic, voices overlapping and vibrating against her eardrums, causing her unbearable torment.
Qilan had no idea what she was doing. She just wanted to escape. Panic and a sense of crisis overwhelmed her, like when she was little and got separated from her parents while out, searching frantically for them, lost in the crowd.
She had had many nightmares like that, dreaming she was an unwanted child, then waking to find the nightmare was reality. Her fragile defenses would crumble, and she’d sob under the covers. But now, she couldn’t tell if she was dreaming or awake.
Stumbling, relying on her now-jumbled memories, she moved like a zombie. When she came to, she found herself on a street corner.
She didn’t recognize this place.
And… who was she?
How old was she now?
What was she doing?
Questions she’d never needed to think about now seemed like unsolvable advanced math problems.
She knew she couldn’t go on like this. At the very least, she knew she could ask the police for help if she couldn’t find her way home.
Summoning her strength, she tugged at a girl waiting in line to buy milk tea.
“Excuse me…”
The girl turned away, avoiding her hand while looking at her phone.
Pale and weak, Qilan tugged at her sleeve again.
The girl finally noticed her, glancing at her hand.
“Could I borrow your phone…”
Before she could finish, the girl let out a terrified scream, collapsing to the ground.
The bystanders stepped back, confused. The girl stared in Qilan’s direction, her eyes unfocused.
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
The door stood wide open. When Xiao Xi arrived, Liang Jianshi stood before it, his eyes dark.
Following his gaze, Xiao Xi saw the uncovered pen on the floor.
“Could it be… the pen?”
Liang Jianshi’s fists clenched, veins bulging as he trembled.
Xiao Xi gritted his teeth, his face pale. “Now that she knows the truth, what do we do?”
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
“The prize draw is open! Only one day left~.”
“The truth continues to unfold…”