When they returned home, it was still morning, and today was the last day of Shi Xinyu’s vacation.
She sorted and organized the local specialties she had brought back from her hometown, and the double-door refrigerator was stuffed full.
Ying Miaomiao was set aside, watching the empty refrigerator being filled. Besides marveling at Grandma’s love, she admired Shi Xinyu’s organizing skills.
Clearly, at the company, Shi Xinyu appeared to be the typical urbanite—a delicate woman who never did manual labor, only ate diet meals, and drank iced Americanos every day.
Indeed, one cannot judge a book by its cover. Ying Miaomiao apologized to everyone for her previous stereotypes.
Because the vet said she needed to recuperate recently, Shi Xinyu specifically woke up early to buy fresh chicken drumsticks from the market, preparing to use the food for restorative purposes.
Actually, Ying Miaomiao’s appetite wasn’t big at first, but Shi Xinyu’s regular cat meals had increased her appetite. Now, the amount she needed to eat for one meal was nearly the same as a person’s portion.
The chicken drumstick was carefully de-skinned and de-boned, leaving only the slightly chewy meat.
Chicken drumstick meat, chicken breast, egg yolk, carrots… were added sequentially, and a bowl of sophisticated cat food was placed in front of Ying Miaomiao.
Ying Miaomiao maintained her composure for a moment. She flicked her tail, and the tiny snowy tip gently hooked Shi Xinyu’s fingertip, seemingly expressing gratitude.
But in reality, the little cat couldn’t control her own tail.
…
With just a “meow,” everything she wanted appeared before her: delicious food, fun toys, beautiful things, and what she liked. But the only thing she couldn’t get was—turning back into a human.
The familiar alarm clock rang for a second and was then turned off.
Ying Miaomiao stretched, and her whiskers trembled slightly.
Today was a long-awaited workday.
Shi Xinyu was usually prompt in getting up and leaving, never agonizing over waking up or going out, but today, she was slow to move.
Although she was already fully dressed, Shi Xinyu still looked worried. Even though Ying Miaomiao’s health had improved significantly, the vet’s advice to observe her closely still concerned her.
The kitten was usually very lively. Would leaving her alone at home worsen her condition? Would she be scared?
After agonizing for ten minutes longer than usual, Shi Xinyu finally decided to take Ying Miaomiao to work with her for the foreseeable future.
Ying Miaomiao no longer needed the meritorious sofa towel for her outings.
The sofa towel was currently being washed and sun-dried outside.
Sitting in Shi Xinyu’s passenger seat, she was extremely excited.
Going to the company meant more people, and it also meant she might be able to sneak onto a computer and check in with Ms. Ying.
Ying Miaomiao and Ms. Ying’s long-standing understanding let her know that Ms. Ying had made ample preparations before leaving their hometown, otherwise, those shoes wouldn’t have been carefully sealed on the shoe rack.
Shi Xinyu drove very steadily. Her slender, pale fingers rested on the steering wheel, making her hands look even more aesthetically proportioned.
Because they left ten-odd minutes late, Ying Miaomiao and Shi Xinyu still ran into the dreaded morning rush hour.
They arrived at the company practically on the dot.
Department employees were briefly curious when they saw Shi Xinyu bring a cat to work.
When Ying Miaomiao was carried past her own cubicle, she peeked through the gap and found that her workstation was surprisingly dust-free, and the potted plant on her desk was still alive and thriving, renewed with vitality.
As soon as Shi Xinyu entered the office, she let the kitten out of the cat carrier. Although the journey was short, she was still worried: “Miaomiao, were you suffocated?”
She couldn’t resist, and Shi Xinyu played with the kitten for a while before officially starting her work.
Until a knock sounded at the door.
Only then did Shi Xinyu withdraw her hand from the kitten, her expression cool as she said, “Come in.”
Despite being away for several days, her desk was still very tidy, though a few piles of documents had accumulated. It was then Ying Miaomiao noticed that Shi Xinyu also had a succulent plant on her desk, just like hers.
The person who knocked came in. Ying Miaomiao recognized her; it was the HR manager from the Personnel Department. She had chin-length hair and wore gold-rimmed glasses, looking particularly intellectual and capable.
“CEO Shi, the new hire today has been mentioned before. What position do you think would be suitable for her?”
As she spoke, she handed a document to Shi Xinyu and introduced, “One option is your assistant, the other is a technical position, but she…”
The HR manager hesitated, but Ying Miaomiao understood the subtext from her troubled expression: if the person was incompetent, it could cause problems for others or even delay the project schedule.
However, Ying Miaomiao felt it was unlikely they would make such a person a mere assistant intern.
Sure enough, Shi Xinyu was silent for a moment, then checked a spot on the document. Her expression was slightly tired: “She’ll be my assistant. Her desk should be arranged outside, close to the office, just find any empty spot. Don’t move anyone else’s things. Tell her to report to me tomorrow morning before nine.”
Ying Miaomiao nodded mentally from the side. Since today was a workday, and everyone else was present besides her (the force majeure factor), Shi Xinyu’s instruction meant that the only empty cubicle—her own—would not be occupied or moved.
The HR manager naturally understood this logic. She nodded slightly, took the documents Shi Xinyu handed her, and then turned to leave.
It was a busy morning. To deal with the workload accumulated during her annual leave, Shi Xinyu relentlessly checked her inbox and the files on her desk.
Her expression was indifferent, but occasionally, a truly outrageous document would still make her raise an eyebrow slightly. Ying Miaomiao found this expression—which seemed neither angry nor amused—difficult to interpret.
She couldn’t tell if it was more surprise or more annoyance.
Ying Miaomiao didn’t interrupt, but quietly crept closer for a look. A single glance made her vision go dark. Who came up with the idea to reduce the budget for afternoon tea?
Someone like her absolutely cannot live without afternoon tea!
Fortunately, Shi Xinyu didn’t say much and just directly rejected it in the main work group chat.
CEO Shi is mighty!
Lying on the desk, which felt like a bed, was especially comfortable. Coupled with the ‘tap-tap’ sound of Shi Xinyu’s keyboard as she worked, Ying Miaomiao felt slightly tipsy and sleepy.
For lunch, Shi Xinyu added food to Ying Miaomiao’s bowl but only ordered a cup of coffee for herself, looking as if she had no intention of eating.
Although there was still a lot of work, since it couldn’t be finished in a short time, it would be better to eat something and take care of her health.
Hesitating for a moment, Ying Miaomiao resisted her hunger and didn’t eat the cat food. On the desk, she walked past the keyboard and flopped down in front of Shi Xinyu.
Shi Xinyu was intently focused on the document. A fluffy cat head suddenly plopped down by her hand, and her other hand was lightly touched by the cat’s tail, which felt a bit ticklish.
She curled her fingertips, but still put down her work, raised her hand, and, as Ying Miaomiao wished, rubbed her head.
“Why are you so clingy to big sister? Big sister has to work hard to earn money to support our Miaomiao.”
She said a whole basketful of words trying to get the kitten to leave, but her actions showed no sign of wanting her to go. Ying Miaomiao leaned on one of Shi Xinyu’s hands, purring, pretending not to understand her.
“Meow~”
You should go eat too.
“Why are you suddenly acting spoiled with big sister? Is today’s food not to your liking?”
“…”
Ying Miaomiao decided to use a primitive method. She pawed at Shi Xinyu, then walked toward the cat food.
Seeing that Shi Xinyu immediately immersed herself back into work, Ying Miaomiao was truly defeated. There was nothing she could do.
She jumped off the desk and waddled out of the office.
It was lunchtime, and there were few people around the office area. Ying Miaomiao decided to first take a detour to the pantry and decide whether to use a computer now based on who was there.
Inside the pantry.
A few people were gathered, chatting casually. The aroma of coffee beans was strong. Separated by a half-closed door, Ying Miaomiao could hear the conversation inside.
“I heard someone with ‘connections’ is starting tomorrow. Is it true?”
Another voice replied decisively, “Didn’t you hear what Sister An said? Giving her a separate workstation near CEO Shi, and she’s an ‘Executive Assistant.’ If that’s not ‘connections,’ what is?”
Ying Miaomiao squeezed into the pantry, wanting to hear more clearly, but was spotted by a sharp-eyed person: “Ah! It’s the kitten!”
She put down her coffee cup and squatted down very affectionately, “Mimi, come here quickly and let Auntie pet you.”
Ying Miaomiao stepped back two paces, looking at the person warily. She had already lost all dignity in front of Shi Xinyu; she absolutely couldn’t let another person pet her.
“Don’t mess around, that’s CEO Shi’s cat.”
Another person interjected, “Yeah, I’ve never seen CEO Shi treasure anything so much, and it’s a tuxedo cat, no less.”
After all, the reputation of tuxedo cats isn’t great; they are generally considered to be “crazy.”
Seeing them so engrossed in their conversation, Ying Miaomiao felt relieved. This time, she sauntered toward the office area, confident that no one would bother her for a while.
After turning on the computer host, Ying Miaomiao jumped onto the desk. The items on the desk had been neatly organized, making it convenient for her to sit there and look at the screen.
Before entering the password to unlock the computer, Ying Miaomiao carefully scanned her surroundings. Only after confirming no one was present did she turn on the computer.
Because it hadn’t been turned on for a long time, the computer was slow to boot up, but the moment the familiar desktop appeared, Ying Miaomiao felt she was about to cry.
This simple step had taken her a month to achieve.
The login for one of the software applications had expired, making it inconvenient to use. After a moment’s hesitation, Ying Miaomiao decided to log into Penguin (QQ).
The QQ account and password were rote memory, but Ying Miaomiao clearly remembered that she hadn’t logged into this account for years as she prepared for the college entrance exam.
The moment she logged in, the computer lagged for a second, and dozens of messages popped up from one account sequentially.
Ying Miaomiao was stunned. With the account login, she seemed to recall a friend who had been lost deep in her memory.
Ying’s last message: Happy New Year.
After a brief hesitation, Ying Miaomiao still didn’t click on that message. She found Ms. Ying’s account and quickly drafted a message.
“Mom, it’s Ying Miaomiao. I went back for the Qingming Festival, but no one was home. If you see this message, please wait for me by the entrance of the rental house on April fourteenth.”
The kitten’s typing speed was a bit slow. The instant the message was sent, Ying Miaomiao heard a noisy commotion approaching from not far away. She quickly logged out and shut down the computer.
She made it just in time.
But Ying’s message still lingered in her mind.
It turned out that in the corner she had forgotten, there was still someone waiting for her.