6:30 PM.
Binjiang Mansion No. 1 District.
In front of apartment 305, Unit 3, Building 7.
"Meow~"
A little white kitten was standing at the door, its gaze drifting toward the stairwell from time to time.
That’s right!
Yan Luoxi had turned into a cat again.
Just a moment ago, she had been sitting in her car when a countdown suddenly sounded in her ears. Yan Luoxi immediately sensed something was wrong.
So, without the slightest hesitation, she immediately ordered her assistant to turn around and get her to Binjiang Mansion No. 1 District as fast as possible.
As a result, they even ran several red lights along the way!
Heedless of anything else, she rushed into the residential complex and immediately ran toward Building 7, Unit 3.
The moment she set foot on the stairs, a wave of dizziness hit her again.
She suddenly felt the world spin, and her vision went black.
A few seconds later, when she opened her eyes again, she found that she had turned into a little white cat once more!
’Just as I thought!’
’My premonition was right. I still turn into a cat!’
And at that moment,
The time was exactly 6:30 PM.
At the same time, Gu Yizhou, who was riding his motorcycle home from work, had also just arrived back at the complex.
And just like that, the two of them perfectly missed each other.
...
After returning to his residential complex, Gu Yizhou didn’t go straight upstairs. Instead, he started searching in the garden downstairs. He wanted to take advantage of the remaining daylight to see if he could find Xiaobai’s figure in the flowerbeds or bushes.
After all, the complex was huge. Even if Xiaobai had run out of his apartment, she might not have left the district yet.
"Mimi~"
"Xiaobai, Xiaobai...?"
...
Clinging to a sliver of hope, Gu Yizhou called out as he peered into the complex’s flowerbeds.
How he wished he could hear a meow in response!
But contrary to his wishes, the only reply was the BUZZ of mosquitoes by his ears.
While he was feeding the mosquitoes and searching for Xiaobai in the complex...
At the door of apartment 305.
Yan Luoxi stared toward the silent stairwell, not knowing whether to stand or lie down.
Her feline instincts made her want to lie on the ground, but the pride in her bones forced her to straighten her cat legs right at the moment she was about to do so!
’That’s right!’
’I, Yan Luoxi, am the president of Tidal Group, for crying out loud! I have integrity! How could I really act like a cat, lying here with my paws tucked in, waiting for my master to come home?!’
And so, she stood motionless at the door, her eyes fixed on the stairwell.
After a while, there was still no movement from the stairwell.
’So tired!’
’Why isn’t this jerk back yet?’
’I clearly saw him leave work before me!’
’Did he stop to hit on some girl on the way?’
’Or did something happen on the road that delayed him?’
’A car accident?’
’Ugh... probably not. Don’t they say bad people live long lives? This jerk is so bad, nothing should happen to him!’
...
Yan Luoxi’s mind raced with wild thoughts, her beautiful, sapphire-blue eyes filled with helplessness.
But!
As a cat, just standing like this was making her so tired!
’So tired!’
’I really want to lie down!’
’Sob...’
She had rushed up here in such a hurry to get back to her own apartment, 306, to rest. Her plan was to sneak into Gu Yizhou’s place later.
But she never expected to transform the moment she got on the stairs!
’A miscalculation!’
And now that she was a cat, she couldn’t open the iris and fingerprint combination lock on apartment 306!
’Looks like I’ll have to change it to a lock that I can open from the outside even after I turn into a cat!’
’But if I change to a lock that can be opened anytime, it wouldn’t be safe.’
’What a hassle!’
Yan Luoxi silently pondered how to solve this problem.
As she thought, she felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
She had gotten back after midnight last night and had been busy all day today. Wrangling with those city officials had been draining enough, and then she had just rushed over here.
Now, after relaxing her mind just a little, a wave of drowsiness washed over her.
In the end!
Drowsiness won out over dignity. Yan Luoxi collapsed onto the doormat and fell asleep...
*
*
*
Nine-thirty in the evening.
The sky had grown completely dark, and the streetlights in the complex had started to turn on.
Under the dim yellow glow of a streetlight, Gu Yizhou held his phone, a helpless expression on his face.
By now, more than three full hours had passed since he started searching for Xiaobai in the garden. He had scoured every flowerbed, every corner, and even every trash can in the complex. His body was covered in a fresh batch of mosquito bites, yet he still hadn’t seen any sign of Xiaobai.
He couldn’t find even a single one of Xiaobai’s hairs.
He gave up.
It seemed Xiaobai really wasn’t in the complex anymore. Or perhaps she had run out and been picked up by someone else.
’If only the complex had security cameras.’
But the complex he was currently renting in was an old one. It didn’t just lack security cameras; it didn’t even have a property management office. So even if he wanted to ask for help, there was no one to ask.
The only thing he could do was go find a print shop later, print some "Missing Cat" posters, and post them around the complex to see if anyone had seen Xiaobai.
It was already so late!
’For now, I’ll head back, order some takeout, and then think about what to do next.’
"Sigh~"
Gu Yizhou let out a soft sigh and shook his head helplessly. He turned off his phone’s flashlight and headed toward his own unit.
As he walked, he checked the unread messages on his phone that he hadn’t had a chance to look at earlier.
He opened WeChat and saw that besides one or two messages from his mom, the rest were basically all from a group chat called "Dept. 2 Chow Down Squad."
He glanced at his mom’s message first. As expected, it was another one of those passive-aggressive "get married" messages.
He casually replied, "Mom, have you eaten?"
Then, Gu Yizhou opened the "Dept. 2 Chow Down Squad" group chat.
7:08 PM.
Li Mingyi: "Yizhou, all the dishes are here. Did you find the cat? @Gu Yizhou"
Luo Cheng: "Yeah! Leader Chen is really splurging tonight. It’s a shame for you to miss out on such good food! @Gu Yizhou"
Song Sisi: "Brother Yizhou, did you find the cat? They tricked me and said you were coming tonight, but when I got here, I found out you weren’t! Come save me! @Gu Yizhou"
Chen Yuqi: "Yizhou, you’re the only one missing. Hurry up and come! @Gu Yizhou"
Chen Dong: "Yizhou, come over once you find the cat. We saved some food for you! @Gu Yizhou"
...
Taking a look, Gu Yizhou realized all the messages were @’ing him.
He checked the time and saw that these messages were all from over two hours ago. Back then, he was still digging through flowerbeds looking for his cat!