[Miss Qilan, if my assistant hadn’t mentioned you in passing, I wouldn’t have known you had come. To be honest, I was undergoing treatment a few days ago, my vision was blurry, and my hearing seemed to be affected as well. I was busy with work during that time and wore Bluetooth headphones for easier communication. I thought my assistant was the one attending to me; I never realized it was you, Miss Qilan. I’m sure I must have been quite negligent. I apologize and ask for your forgiveness.]
Attached below is a medical record.
Qilan stared at the beautiful, slender gold script on the note, feeling a complex mix of emotions.
So it had all been a misunderstanding, such an absurd misunderstanding. She had spent all that time feeling slighted by Liang Jianshi’s indifference, never knowing that he hadn’t even been able to see her clearly that day, thinking she was his assistant. His hearing had been poor too; he hadn’t heard a single word, let alone responded.
Days had passed since then, and Qilan had forgotten the details, but she still remembered how dark the room had been when she first met Liang Jianshi, and that something had felt strange. Now she understood why.
Looking at the medical record, Qilan decided not to flip through it. But the fact that he insisted on providing evidence, even for something trivial, that was certainly Liang Jianshi.
The director had said Liang Jianshi preferred quiet, so Qilan never went to his room when he was working. She grew drowsy by the phone, and when she opened her eyes, she was back in the townhouse.
Before her, Liang Jianshi was leaning on the sofa reading documents, his brow furrowed, his expression serious. His suit was neatly pressed, and he looked like he had just returned from a banquet at the hotel.
Remembering how poorly she had treated him, Qilan felt a pang of guilt. She took the initiative to approach and rubbed her cat’s head against Liang Jianshi’s pants.
Feeling the soft brush of fur, Liang Jianshi looked away from his documents and found the little cat at his feet, acting coy.
Meeting his gaze, the kitten lifted her head. Her lake-blue eyes were round, sweet, and adorable.
The way she stared at him without blinking seemed to say, “Can we make up?”
The cat’s tail stood up, the tip curling slightly like a little sprout, swaying back and forth in front of Liang Jianshi.
From head to tail, she was nothing but adorable. Even the tiny floating hairs in the air seemed sweet.
Liang Jianshi’s expression softened, the corners of his mouth curving into a gentle smile. He reached down and scooped the cat into his arms.
First, he ruffled Qilan’s fluffy little head, then he scratched the softest, fullest part under her chin. He brought his fingers near her teeth, as if waiting for her to do something.
Qilan looked at Liang Jianshi with a questioning expression.
Liang Jianshi looked back at her, equally puzzled.
After a moment of silent staring, Liang Jianshi raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Not biting anymore? Isn’t playing with my hand your favorite?”
Qilan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
So all those bites she had inflicted had only seemed like the harmless play of a young kitten to him.
Liang Jianshi hooked his finger slightly, gently touching Qilan’s upper palate, signaling she could start biting.
He was so eager that Qilan felt almost rude not to.
She opened her mouth, wrapped her front paws around the man’s wrist, and slowly ground her teeth against the back of his hand.
Liang Jianshi frowned and looked at her silently.
Qilan closed her mouth, gathered strength for a few seconds, and increased her bite pressure, putting on the ferocity of a little tiger pouncing. She left a pattern of red marks on Liang Jianshi’s hand, and he finally smiled with satisfaction.
Qilan: …
It seemed he had perfected the art of being a cat servant.
Liang Jianshi yawned wearily. Qilan thought he must be tired from work and ready to rest, so she politely tucked her tail and prepared to jump down. But just as she did, a hand accurately caught her belly, turned her around, and firmly placed her back.
She had jumped, but also hadn’t.
The man who had securely captured the cat grabbed a nearby brush and started grooming Qilan. Tufts of fur fell to the floor and floated in the air, making Liang Jianshi sneeze several times.
Watching him, Qilan felt exhausted on his behalf. Since he was reacting so strongly, why not just stop? She could manage to groom herself when no one was around.
But Liang Jianshi refused to delegate the task. Perhaps, in his mind, grooming the cat himself every day was the only way to express his deep affection.
This little stray cat was growing well. She looked different every day and had already gotten quite plump, curled up in Liang Jianshi’s arms like a little fur ball.
Liang Jianshi groomed her with tears streaming down his face from sneezing, while Qilan drifted off to sleep, thoroughly content.
In her half-dream state, she seemed to hear someone enter.
Two company executives had come to discuss work with Liang Jianshi.
The highly experienced gentleman sat in the room filled with floating dandelion-like fur. With every sentence, they sniffled. After analyzing each set of data, a tear would roll down. Each had a trash can at their feet; by the time they finished speaking, their bins were full of tissues.
It was a meeting that left everyone deeply moved. When the assistant saw them leaving, their noses were red, their eyes were red. They reached the garden gate and let out a loud, echoing sneeze.
Only after everyone had left did the culprit emerge from Liang Jianshi’s arms and stretch on the carpet, gracefully doing a downward dog yoga pose.
While Liang Jianshi went to the balcony to make a call, Qilan amused herself by swinging from his tie like a little pendulum. After playing for a while, his call still wasn’t finished, and he was saying things she didn’t understand, so Qilan abandoned him and jumped onto the room’s robotic vacuum cleaner.
It was like a little baby driving an electric car; riding the robot vacuum was great fun. She glided from the bedroom to the kitchen, from the living room to the dining room. Qilan had clearly learned to entertain herself.
Watching Liang Jianshi on the balcony, Qilan experimented with new moves whenever he wasn’t looking. While the vacuum moved, she would push off with her back legs, sending the machine in a different direction. She was having so much fun that she could have worn a hole in her paw pads on the carpet.
She declared that from now on, Little Red the robot vacuum would be her primary mode of transportation!
When Liang Jianshi returned from his call, the cat was riding backwards on Little Red. The changing scenery felt like being on an amusement park ride.
Going from the stairs to under the table was like passing through a tunnel. She was having so much fun, she didn’t notice the sofa getting closer behind her.
Liang Jianshi put away his phone, strode over, and placed his hand in front of the sofa. The vacuum wedged itself under the sofa, and Qilan bumped into his palm.
She sat in his hand, her tail dangling, as he lifted her to face him. The man, at eye level, wore a serious expression as he scolded her.
“You can play with Little Red, but watch your surroundings. I don’t want you bumping your head and turning into a silly cat.”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Qilan shyly lowered her head and mewed in response.
At lunchtime, Liang Jianshi fed Qilan slices of melt-in-your-mouth Kobe beef until she was full. Then he lay down on a rocking chair for a nap, holding her on his chest.
It was meant to be a nap, but more accurately, Qilan dozed while Liang Jianshi read reports on his tablet.
She wasn’t really asleep. Her curled paws rested on Liang Jianshi’s abdomen, and she cautiously kneaded, feeling the hard muscles beneath.
The rhythmic rocking made her feel a little dizzy, her heart tingly with a strange sensation.
Qilan lay there, her eyes wide as a dragon’s eyes.
She couldn’t help but replay moments with Liang Jianshi, his relentless gentleness, his undisguised favoritism…
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
Back in her human body, Qilan timed her visits for when Liang Jianshi was out. She only entered to do the turndown service.
While folding the sheets, she found herself distracted. “Why was it that she only ever came in after Liang Jianshi left? Couldn’t he ever be just a few minutes late?”
Then they might meet.
She wanted to see him, see him in her human form.
A warmth spread through her heart. She quickly patted her cheeks with her cool hands, willing those thoughts away.
When she finished and was about to leave, she noticed a note from Liang Jianshi on the table, along with a plate.
[An urgent matter came up, so I might not have time to eat the food that was delivered. If Miss Qilan sees this, could you help dispose of it?]
Qilan read Liang Jianshi’s beautiful handwriting over and over, almost forgetting the food he had asked her to handle.
When she finally looked up and lifted the cover, she saw a chicken burger.
Qilan was more than happy to help Liang Jianshi dispose of food. Soon enough, the food had been “disposed of” in her stomach.
The dorm door was locked, and she didn’t have a key, so she ate in the staff break room.
Colleagues on the night shift drank coffee and chatted about gossip. Qilan sat three meters away, looking at the scenery, but couldn’t help overhearing.
“Have you heard the hotel is haunted?”
“The Taoist priest in room 5301 was brought down from the mountain by the general manager.”
“That’s so scary. We night shift workers need to be careful. Will the ghost eat people?”
“I heard there’s a fierce ghost in our hotel. The other day, I saw the priest’s apprentice near the underground storage. Do you think the ghost could be in the storage room?”
“The storage room… could it be the procurement manager who jumped from upstairs not long ago? The way they died was really tragic.”
“Stop. I’m getting chills just thinking about it…”
Ghosts? There was no such thing as ghosts. Qilan smirked, thinking how imaginative young women could be. Spreading rumors in a hotel like that, they’d better hope management didn’t find out.
ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
After helping Liang Jianshi “dispose of” many meals, Qilan had basically confirmed she could rely on him to keep her fed.
Being Liang Jianshi’s cat was certainly happy, but she hadn’t expected being his private butler to be so enjoyable as well.
He didn’t eat regularly, and his stomach seemed weak. Sometimes he ate what was delivered, sometimes he didn’t. But the restaurant had to keep sending food, who knew when he might want to eat?
So, when Liang Jianshi could eat, he ate. When he couldn’t, Qilan ate.
That was Qilan’s logic.
During this time, Qilan found notes from Liang Jianshi almost every day.
Each time, he left them under the small vase on the bookshelf. After many exchanges, they had established a designated spot for leaving messages.
[Reba, what time do you usually come to my room? I’d like to ask for your help tomorrow evening. I’m wondering if you’re available.]
Since it was an international hotel, primarily serving foreign guests and business travelers, staff were accustomed to using English names.
In the early exchanges, when they weren’t yet familiar, Liang Jianshi had politely addressed her as Miss Qilan. The change in address now made Qilan feel something wonderful.
Liang Jianshi’s handwritten English was smooth and elegant, like the quill-written scripts of medieval dukes. Especially the way he wrote her name, it seemed practiced.
As Qilan thought about this, she noticed the corners of her mouth lifting. She firmly pinched her burning cheeks twice, pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and picked up a pen from the holder on the desk. On the paper, which felt like rice paper, she wrote very carefully.
[I usually come around 9 PM to tidy up. I’m happy to help. See you tomorrow at 9.]
As she wrote the last words, her heart raced.
According to what Liang Jianshi had said, their first meeting had been affected by his vision and hearing problems; he hadn’t seen her face or heard her voice. Tomorrow would be his first time truly seeing Qilan.
For some reason, she was nervous.
Strange. This felt like two people who had been corresponding for days finally setting a time and place to meet in person.