Shi Xinyu pressed the answer button but didn’t speak.
Ten seconds later, the person on the other end deliberately lowered his voice, “You are more impatient than I imagined.”
The sunset was intense, but it was slowly sinking. The afterglow passed through the glass, giving the living room a layer of warm light.
“Did you call just to criticize me?”
Shi Xinyu’s words were blunt, and the other party was momentarily choked. He chuckled a few times before saying, “Based on seniority, you should still call me Uncle Zhou. Young people need to be patient and composed to achieve great things.”
“Xinyu, let’s be frank. I know that rotten kid of mine offended you. I will have him come to apologize in person another day.”
“But words cannot be carelessly spoken. Listen to your uncle; withdrawing the lawsuit is good for everyone.”
Shi Xinyu chuckled, but her eyes were dark and unclear. Her voice was devoid of emotion, “Uncle Zhou, I’m not a child anymore. Don’t try to put on the pretense of an elder with me. The fact that he used contraband for profit has caused immense mental damage to me.”
Shi Xinyu emphasized the pronunciation of ‘contraband.’
The other party’s voice suddenly sank. He subtly threatened, “Niece, if you continue to be so immature, I will have no choice but to notify my subordinates to withdraw funds and, incidentally, evaluate Qiming’s commercial value with my industry friends.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Of course not. This is just a piece of advice and counsel from an uncle to a junior. As long as the case is withdrawn, it will be good for everyone. Qiming will also receive an investment, which can be seen as a small compensation from your uncle.”
Shi Xinyu lowered her eyes, lightly tapping the table, seemingly deep in thought, but Ying Miaomiao could clearly see the mockery in her eyes.
The other party waited for a moment and added, “Xinyu, it’s not easy for you to start your own business. Opportunities are scarce in the commercial world. You are a smart person, and Uncle believes in your choice.”
“Understood, I’ll consider it.”
The call ended, and the mockery in Shi Xinyu’s eyes became even more pronounced.
Hengyu Group, that behemoth, is not something the Zhou father and son, those two fools, can control.
She locked her phone screen and casually placed it on the table.
Shi Xinyu sighed lightly, picking up Ying Miaomiao’s front paws, which were leaning against her. She gently rested her face against the pink paw pads—soft and cool.
“Miaomiao was so anxious that day to save her sister. It’s a pity her sister didn’t realize it.”
Ying Miaomiao’s paws trembled, offering only a silent response.
It was her own impatience; otherwise, Shi Xinyu wouldn’t have drunk that little bit of water just to take her away.
“Good Miaomiao.”
Shi Xinyu put Ying Miaomiao down. Her massage technique had become increasingly refined, and Ying Miaomiao couldn’t help but let out purrs from her throat.
Her hands were warm and strong, and the massage pressure was just right.
Ying Miaomiao felt like she was soaking in warm water; her whole body softened, seemingly about to melt.
She lay on Shi Xinyu’s thigh, her paws blooming open, the soles feeling soft and resilient until they wrinkled Shi Xinyu’s clothes.
Wait.
What was she doing?
Ying Miaomiao suddenly sprang off Shi Xinyu as if fitted with a spring. Her tail fur stood on end, like a blooming dandelion.
Shi Xinyu was used to Ying Miaomiao’s behavior, as the eccentricities of the Tuxedo cat were nothing new. She just quietly took out her phone to take a picture as a memento.
The sky gradually darkened.
Ying Miaomiao’s dinner tonight was unusual.
Shi Xinyu changed her to a new tableware—a taro purple plate. With new tableware comes a new atmosphere; the food’s appearance in the plate was also quite different.
Tonight’s cat food was shrimp and chicken breast paired with a few florets of broccoli. Although it looked like a diet meal, Ying Miaomiao was inexplicably tempted.
However, her limited culinary vocabulary could only describe the shrimp as sweet, the chicken breast as easy to chew, and the broccoli as… broccoli.
But Ying Miaomiao was very appreciative, quickly devouring the food in the plate.
…
The next morning.
By routine, Shi Xinyu was still on vacation, but she woke up and got ready at the usual time this morning.
After preparing food for the little cat, she left the house with a bag slung over her shoulder.
The weather was getting warmer. By nine in the morning, the sun was already a bit glaring. Shi Xinyu wore sunglasses and a thin, white sun-protection jacket, looking particularly fresh.
She sighed lightly, still very bothered by yesterday’s events.
Before going to the hospital, Shi Xinyu clearly remembered having a vague impression of the stranger who helped her, though she couldn’t clearly see the kind person’s face.
However, one thing Shi Xinyu was absolutely certain of was that she knew this person and had interacted with them. But without concrete evidence, she dared not jump to conclusions.
Yet, going out today wasn’t about this matter.
After fastening her seatbelt, Shi Xinyu stepped on the gas. She planned to visit her hometown today.
She was raised by her grandmother and grew up in her hometown. Since she finally had a rare holiday and hadn’t seen her grandmother in a long time, it was right for her to visit.
Shi Xinyu’s hometown was only about thirty kilometers from the city. Driving quickly, she could arrive in less than an hour.
Coincidentally, Ying Miaomiao’s hometown and Shi Xinyu’s were not far apart. A middle school and a hospital were located at the junction of the two towns.
After driving for forty minutes, Shi Xinyu felt a bit tired.
She went to pick up the pre-ordered flowers—Eustoma (Lisianthus), her grandmother’s favorite. The fragrance was rich, the flowers large and beautiful, neither too flamboyant nor too garish.
Upon arriving at the old house, Shi Xinyu handed the packaged flowers to her grandmother, who smiled brightly and eagerly accepted Shi Xinyu’s gift.
Although her grandmother was old, she had always been very healthy. She arranged the Eustomas into vases, and with just a glance, she noticed that Shi Xinyu had something on her mind.
“Is something bothering you?”
Shi Xinyu paused for a moment. She smiled and shook her head, a hint of a smile on her lips. After beautifying the experiences of the past few days, she recounted them all to her grandmother, “Nothing is bothering me, I’m just a little tired.”
Her grandmother sighed. She trimmed a few thick stems and tucked a Eustoma bloom into Shi Xinyu’s hand, speaking gently, “You’ve always kept everything bottled up since you were little. I know you won’t talk about it. Why don’t you take this flower and go out for a walk, so you don’t spend all day thinking nonsense at home.”
After some more banter, Shi Xinyu was officially ‘mercilessly’ chased out of the house by her grandmother after lunch.
The Eustoma trimmed by her grandmother was in her hand. The single flower had a delicate scent, mixing with the faint orchid fragrance on her body; the two did not interfere with each other.
Shi Xinyu suddenly felt a strong urge to go and see Ying Miaomiao.
In fact, Shi Xinyu had always been suspicious. After Ying Miaomiao was injured, apart from Ms. Ying, almost no other colleague or anyone else had contacted or seen Ying Miaomiao, even Lou Jia, with whom she had a decent relationship.
Shi Xinyu, holding the Eustoma, decided to be rude for once.
Since she had chatted with Ms. Ying on the phone before, Shi Xinyu had intentionally learned about Ying Miaomiao’s location, so finding it now wasn’t difficult.
The smell of disinfectant in the hospital constantly permeated her nostrils.
Shi Xinyu quietly arrived at the nurse’s station and asked them to help find a patient named “Ying Miaomiao.”
“There is no patient named Ying Miaomiao here.”
The nurse didn’t even look up, which left Shi Xinyu in great astonishment and uncertainty.
How could there be none?