Shi Xinyu raised her eyes. She clearly showed no expression, yet it made the “slacker buddy” (Móyú Dāzi) feel a wave of nervousness. “She is hospitalized in her hometown, it should be a while longer.”
“Okay, thank you, team leader.”
The slacker buddy was about to quickly slip away, but Shi Xinyu called out to her.
She picked up a pencil and drew a few circles on the work summary the slacker buddy had submitted. Her voice was calm and even, “This part can be handled this way…”
As Shi Xinyu explained, sweat beaded on the buddy’s forehead, and she nodded repeatedly, her eyes once again becoming incredibly clear.
“Lou Jia, do you understand?”
Lou Jia ‘ah-ed’ once, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and nodded repeatedly again, “I understand.”
Shi Xinyu gave a slight nod, “Give it back to me after revision this afternoon.”
Hearing this, Lou Jia scurried out of the office as if her feet were oiled, not forgetting to gently close the door behind her.
Ying Miaomiao felt completely dizzy from listening, and even the food in her bowl didn’t seem appetizing anymore. Couldn’t she just avoid being around Shi Xinyu when she was in work mode?
But now, Shi Xinyu was clearly immersed in her work.
Their company’s morning meeting was only held at ten o’clock every Monday, but today was Tuesday, so she shouldn’t have to see those annoying colleagues.
At this moment, Shi Xinyu had her long legs crossed, her slender fingers occasionally tapping on the keyboard, and the corner of the screen was plastered with dense schedules and checklists.
Ying Miaomiao felt that Shi Xinyu’s handwriting was very much like the person herself—like running script, neat and clear with a hint of elegant freedom—a very typical adult’s handwriting.
She felt a bit dazzled.
Shi Xinyu deserved to be this leader.
She worked at this high intensity all morning.
Shi Xinyu’s lunch was packed from the company cafeteria. The meal was a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, colorful and flavorful, making Ying Miaomiao a little envious.
It had been a long time since she had eaten real human food. Although the cat food Shi Xinyu made was also delicious, its lumpy shape really affected her appetite.
After Shi Xinyu finished eating and rested for a while, she opened the small cubicle in the office. The rest room, though small, was fully equipped with a toilet, a shower, and a small bed.
Ying Miaomiao darted onto the small single bed. She leaned against one side of the pillow, patted it, and signaled for Shi Xinyu to come up and sleep.
In fact, Ying Miaomiao had been very sleepy this morning, but besides Lou Jia, her good buddy, several other people had come in, especially intermittently, which greatly affected her sleep.
Just watching them made her mentally exhausted.
But now she could finally understand why Shi Xinyu was called a strict boss; the title was well-deserved.
She held everyone who came to her to a high standard. If they didn’t meet it, although she would clearly provide guidance, they would also be rewarded with a death stare and a sigh.
Seeing the kitten inviting her on the bed, Shi Xinyu closed the cubicle door, finally liberating herself completely. She buried her face in the pillow and let out a long sigh.
“Miaomiao…”
Her voice was very soft, just a murmur. If Ying Miaomiao hadn’t had sharp ears and sensitivity to her own name, she might not have heard it.
“Meow-meow?”
Did you call me for something?
“Sleep now.”
Ying Miaomiao felt a little annoyed. Shi Xinyu hadn’t called her while she was bouncing around for so long, but now that she was almost asleep, she called her to wake up and sleep again?
Anger surged, and Ying Miaomiao ran over and gently bit Shi Xinyu’s fingertip.
The kitten’s canines were not very sharp, and she controlled her strength, so it didn’t hurt at all, but rather tickled a little.
Shi Xinyu casually stroked the kitten’s head. Her voice was slightly hoarse: “Why are you biting me all of a sudden? Do you want your older sister to spend more time with you?”
This oblivious human.
Ying Miaomiao’s teeth felt even itchier. She wanted to bite this oblivious human to death…
Forget it. Although she had awakened a bit of the cat’s wild instinct, she hadn’t reached that level yet. But Ying Miaomiao’s teeth were still very itchy.
She gnawed on the corner of Shi Xinyu’s clothes, wanting her to give her more food. Was she hungry?
As soon as she exerted a little force, the kitten tumbled backward.
The small single bed instantly lost one cat.
The loud thud completely startled Shi Xinyu. She sat up, looked at the corner of her clothes, then looked at Ying Miaomiao lying, rolling, and then in a cat posture on the floor.
A small baby tooth was clearly embedded in the corner of her clothes.
Ying Miaomiao would never smile again.
Shi Xinyu was stunned. She first pried open the kitten’s mouth to check, then hesitantly opened up Baidu (search engine).
Ying Miaomiao was already completely depressed.
After confirming with the doctor that Ying Miaomiao was naturally losing her baby teeth, Shi Xinyu finally relaxed. She gently patted Ying Miaomiao in her arms.
“It’s okay, it’s normal for kittens to lose their teeth.”
But she felt a bit strange internally. After sending Miaomiao’s current situation to the doctor, the doctor’s first reaction was how the cat had grown so big. After answering her question, she even complimented her on how well she had raised the cat.
Ying Miaomiao’s heart had died.
She felt like all the embarrassment she had experienced in the first half of her life was less than the shame she had endured in front of Shi Xinyu these past few days.
The kitten’s sapphire-like eyes were full of dead silence. Shi Xinyu didn’t know how to coax her.
She poked the kitten’s chubby body, satisfied with her cat-raising results, “Miaomiao?”
“How about I give you a big meal tonight?”
Sensing the kitten’s increasingly resentful gaze, the smile on Shi Xinyu’s lips was almost uncontrollable. She coughed lightly to hide it.
“Then how about Older Sister sings a song for you?”
Seeing Ying Miaomiao’s tail flop once, Shi Xinyu lovingly rubbed the kitten.
Ying Miaomiao had heard Shi Xinyu sing before, but the distance was far then, and the speaker was slightly distorted, so it was definitely not as clear as it was now.
Her voice was very suitable for singing lyrical songs, as gentle as silk. Ying Miaomiao felt sleepiness rush over her like a tide, easily stealing all her consciousness.
Before falling asleep, she vaguely felt as if she had returned to the days when her mother held her in her arms and sang her to sleep.
…
When Ying Miaomiao woke up, only she, a single cat, remained in the rest room. Lying alone on the single bed was spacious, completely lacking the cramped feeling from before, but Ying Miaomiao inexplicably felt that something was missing.
The cubicle door wasn’t tightly closed, and an orange-yellow light subtly seeped through.
Ying Miaomiao jumped off the bed and pushed the door open with her paw.
Shi Xinyu was still sitting at her desk working diligently, with a half-empty cup of coffee beside her.
She didn’t notice Ying Miaomiao had run out.
The office door wasn’t securely latched either, and Ying Miaomiao easily slipped out through the gap. Returning to a familiar place, she briefly forgot the sadness of losing her tooth.
Her goal was very clear now.
Her own workstation.
Ying Miaomiao’s size wasn’t large, and her black and white coloring provided a somewhat camouflaging effect. Coupled with the small office area, she soon reached her workstation.
Everything felt like it was just yesterday.
Her mug was on the desk as usual, along with a cute mouse pad and a pot of thriving small succulents—it was still alive even after so many days without water.
She jumped onto the chair and, following her memory, opened the computer.
A familiar desktop came into view.
With an excited heart, she was about to type in her password when Lou Jia from the adjacent workstation suddenly let out a loud exclamation, “Oh my god, my colleague turned into a cat!”
Ying Miaomiao instinctively flinched, urgently withdrawing the paw she had extended.
Another colleague looked over at the sound. Seeing a little tuxedo cat, she was a bit speechless, “Are you dreaming?”
“Mind your own business. Mimi, why are you at Ying Miaomiao’s workstation? Is this the first step of cats replacing humans?”
Lou Jia made kissing sounds while glaring at Zhong Ying.
Ying Miaomiao wanted to switch slacker buddies. Waiting online, urgent.
Lou Jia clearly hadn’t noticed Ying Miaomiao’s disdain. Seeing the kitten ignore her, she rummaged through her own workstation for a long time but couldn’t find any cat treats. Finally, she had to go to Zhong Ying’s workstation to grab one.
“Mimi, do you want a cat treat? Come to Older Sister, I have yummy things!”
Zhong Ying snatched the cat treat away and flicked Lou Jia’s forehead, “Dummy, this is Shi Xinyu’s cat. It’s best not to randomly feed unfamiliar cats snacks.”
“Fine, fine.”
During their conversation, Ying Miaomiao knew she had lost the best opportunity. She jumped off the desk, ready to retreat.
The office door suddenly opened. Shi Xinyu’s brows were slightly furrowed, looking a little worried. She looked around and finally locked onto Ying Miaomiao running toward her.
Her tightly locked brows suddenly relaxed a lot, and she immediately scooped the kitten into her arms.
Seeing Lou Jia and Zhong Ying’s attention focused on her and the cat, Shi Xinyu’s expression was composed. She slightly raised her head and asked, “Is there something you need?”
The two shook their heads, though Zhong Ying held up the cat treat, “Can your little cat eat this?”
Shi Xinyu glanced at it and refused, “My little cat is a picky eater. Thank you for your kindness.”
Zhong Ying was a little flattered. She hadn’t seen Shi Xinyu this polite before.
However, Shi Xinyu clearly had no intention of making small talk. After a few polite words, she took Ying Miaomiao back to the office.
Inside the office.
Ying Miaomiao was placed on the desk by Shi Xinyu. She saw that the schedule and checklist pasted in the corner of the computer screen had all been completed. She was somewhat dumbfounded.
This speed—truly worthy of Shi Xinyu.
She was then drawn to the coffee. Smelling it up close, the aroma seemed even mellower, but although Ying Miaomiao liked the smell, she could not accept the coffee’s strangely bitter taste at all.
Shi Xinyu, however, straightened Ying Miaomiao’s head and made her look at herself.
The kitten didn’t understand why, but still obediently looked into her eyes.
She cupped Ying Miaomiao’s face and said seriously, “Miaomiao, next time Older Sister is away, you mustn’t run around, understand? What if there are bad people?”
Ying Miaomiao thought it didn’t matter. She was probably more familiar with this office area than Shi Xinyu. It was no exaggeration to say that even if a mouse asked her for directions, she could tell it where the mouse hole was.
But Shi Xinyu clearly didn’t believe her and lectured the kitten for a long time. If a phone call hadn’t come in, Shi Xinyu would probably have continued.
Ying Miaomiao was overwhelmed. Where had her cold, aloof boss gone?
After answering the call, Shi Xinyu barely responded except for the initial greeting, only occasionally acknowledging a few words.
“Shi Xinyu, I’m giving you a final ultimatum. You must go and meet…”