When Li Mengjue woke up, the first thing she saw was a heavy rain warning flashing on her phone.
By 8:00 AM, the sky was still leaden and gloomy. Outside the window, a downpour hammered against the glass, sounding like handfuls of transparent beans being hurled from the heavens. This was not the kind of weather for going out.
Having no work today, Li Mengjue decided to simply stay in bed.
Yu Siqing was currently away on a business trip. Seeing the news about the storm in City A, she was immediately fraught with worry about her kittens. After over a month of persistent stakeouts, Yu Siqing had finally discovered a litter in a hole under the neighborhood perimeter wall.
However, the kittens were newborns, and the mother cat was exceptionally fierce. Yu Siqing had failed several “ambush” attempts, earning herself a couple of nasty scratches that required a series of rabies shots. But the woman, usually known for her three-minute attention span, was being unusually stubborn. Since she couldn’t “kidnap” them, she switched to a policy of soft persuasion.
She began carrying cat food and sausages every day to feed them. Even while on business trips, she hired someone to feed them at specific times, hoping that after touching the mother cat’s heart, she might be granted a kitten for free.
Li Mengjue’s role in this was usually limited to encouragement and comfort. When invited to join the “Cat Heist,” she had decisively declined. While she enjoyed the occasional cuddle with a cute kitten, she was a “dog person” through and through. Furthermore, given the nature of her job, she wasn’t in a position to keep pets.
As noon approached, Li Mengjue began to regret not getting up earlier. If she had, she might have beaten the worst of the rain to buy some groceries.
Now, the fridge contained only two lemons and a tin of tea leaves. The freezer held a single milk popsicle with a production date from two years ago. She had been away for events recently and returned so late last night that she completely forgot to restock.
The rain outside was now even heavier than in the morning. Looking out, the nearby tree branches were barely visible through the grey curtain of rain, illuminated only by occasional flashes of lightning. The emergency alerts continued to escalate, advising citizens to stay indoors and prepare for potential flooding.
Li Mengjue thought of Yu Siqing’s kittens. In this weather, it was doubtful the hired feeder could make it, and the nest itself might be washed away. After a moment of hesitation, she grabbed an umbrella and a waterproof shoulder bag and headed out.
The world in the storm was deserted. The drainage system in the complex was decent, but the water had already spread from the asphalt to the sidewalks. Li Mengjue passed through the main gate. The supermarket was in the opposite direction, but she decided to check the nest first.
The only upside to this weather was that she didn’t need to wear a disguise; no one would recognize her. Occasional cars crawled along the road like yachts on a shallow sea.
Meow—
A faint cry came from the flowerbeds. Li Mengjue bent over, carefully parting the damp foliage. After a few minutes, she found two shivering kittens huddled in a corner—one black, one calico. The mother and the other two were nowhere to be seen.
She waited under her umbrella for a while, but the mother cat didn’t return. As the kittens’ cries grew weaker, Li Mengjue finally reached out, scruffed them, and tucked them into her bag. She planned to head to the supermarket; she had nothing at home to feed them.
Just as she stood up, she heard a faint moan through the roar of the rain. At first, she thought she had misheard. Thinking it might be the mother cat returning, she took a few more steps toward a deserted intersection.
There, she caught sight of someone collapsed on the ground.
Li Mengjue froze for a second before running over to check the person’s pulse. It seemed they were just unconscious. She breathed a sigh of relief. There was no blood in the surrounding puddles, suggesting it might be low blood sugar or a sudden fainting spell.
Judging by the long hair and slender frame, it was a young woman—wearing a very expensive coat. To prevent her from drowning in a puddle, Li Mengjue flipped her over while dialing emergency services.
“Are you okay?” Li Mengjue brushed the wet hair away from the woman’s face and gently patted her cheek.
But the moment her eyes fell upon the woman’s full face, she went numb.
“Ruan Qingxiao?”
The face was as pale as paper. Even her lips were bloodless, turned white from the soaking rain. Li Mengjue had only met her a handful of times; seeing her this weak—looking as if she might die at any second—made her almost unrecognizable.
Why would the eldest Miss Ruan be in a place like this?
The emergency operator’s voice came through: “Hello, how can we help you?”
Snapping back to reality, Li Mengjue reported the address. After confirming the details and dispatching an ambulance, the operator asked one last question: “What is your relationship to the patient?”
Li Mengjue looked down at the unconscious woman. “I am… her friend.”
It was evening by the time Ruan Qingxiao woke up.
The rain had slowed to a drizzle. The private room was well-insulated, or perhaps there were just few people around; the only sound was the faint echo of rain against the window.
Drip, drop.
Beyond the rain, she heard a faint meowing. It was coming from outside. She instinctively looked up and saw someone standing by the window under a small tree, the delicate branches swaying in the drizzle.
The person outside was draped in the mist. Long black hair clung to her face, and water droplets slid down her cheeks to gather at her chin. Despite being soaked, she didn’t look disheveled; rather, she looked like a piece of high art. Her smiling eyes were like precious gems—simply because their owner had a smile so beautiful it made one feel intoxicated.
At that moment, the woman outside seemed to sense something. She turned her head and met Ruan Qingxiao’s gaze. She blinked, then habitually offered a smile.
Ruan Qingxiao, feeling an instinctive panic, felt a wave of inexplicable comfort. Her cheeks grew warm, yet she couldn’t look away. She tried to mimic the woman, pulling the corners of her mouth into a faint smile.
The woman outside froze. Her eyes widened in surprise. But quickly, she hid her shock and deepened her smile as if in response. She stepped closer to the window, tapped the glass, and pushed it open just a crack.
“Miss Ruan,” the woman said. “There’s a button by your bed. Press it to call the nurse.”
Her voice was warm and lazy, drifting in with the sound of the rain. The gloomy, rainy day suddenly felt fresh and bright.
Ruan Qingxiao’s face turned even redder. Her head was still ringing, and while the gentle tone entered her ears, it didn’t quite register in her brain. She only knew the voice was beautiful.
Seeing Ruan Qingxiao’s confused and helpless expression, the woman outside sighed. Ruan Qingxiao, still in a daze, had only one thought swirling in her mind:
Mom… I think I’m in love.
“Miss Ruan—Ruan Qingxiao?” Li Mengjue realized something was off. She opened the window a bit wider. “Can you hear me?”
Ruan Qingxiao waited a beat before nodding.
“Then do you see that button?” Li Mengjue spoke slowly, guiding her step by step. “Just reach out and press the middle one.”
Li Mengjue was holding the damp kittens and didn’t want to enter the sterile room. Once the nurse arrived and figured out what happened, she could finally take the cats home. She tried to ignore the subtle strangeness of the situation—Did Miss Ruan always smile at people this brightly?
No, she was probably just groggy from being unconscious. Even if she had turned a bit “slow,” it was none of Li Mengjue’s business.
Li Mengjue watched her until Ruan Qingxiao successfully pressed the call bell. The mission was over. Now, she just had to wait for the nurse and doctor to arrive…
Li Mengjue reached out to close the window. But before she could, Miss Ruan spoke.
“What is your name?”
Li Mengjue froze.
Did the heiress hit her head and get amnesia?
She couldn’t interpret that pure, innocent gaze as sarcasm. Ruan Qingxiao took her silence the wrong way. Her expression became apprehensive, though she tried to keep smiling.
“I’m sorry… I seem to… I seem to have forgotten a lot of things,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. Can you tell me your name again? I promise I won’t forget it again.”
The voice, once cold and aloof, now carried a trembling hint of timidity. Meeting Li Mengjue’s eyes, Ruan Qingxiao looked away out of shame, her long eyelashes quivering. Her pale fingers gripped the edge of the blanket tightly.
This body language screamed anxiety and guilt. Forgetting the name of the person in front of her seemed to be causing her immense pressure.
Li Mengjue felt her conscience twinge—and her own head began to throb.
Damn it. The heiress really did turn stupid!