Inside the luxurious estate.
Xie Shimian casually reached for Hua Zhi’s bag as they stepped out of the car, but before her fingers could brush against the leather handbag, Hua Zhi snatched it away.
“Let me carry it, sister.”
Xie Shimian smiled. “Carrying a little one’s bag is a virtue of the elder.”
She noticed Hua Zhi’s bag was bulging, its once-elegant leather shape now distorted.
Hua Zhi hugged the bag awkwardly as she followed closely behind Xie Shimian, her face tinged with a suspicious blush.
Xie Shimian said, “There’s a banquet at the palace tonight, so our parents won’t be back. Go wash your hands and eat, Zhizhi.”
The butler took their heavy coats and briefcases. “Miss, dinner is ready.”
“Wait.” Hua Zhi called out softly. “I have something for sister.”
The kitten rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a crumpled paper bag, its layers of kraft paper peeling back to reveal a velvet handkerchief. Inside lay two chocolate butter cookies, one of them crushed from being squeezed.
Hua Zhi cupped them in both hands and presented them to Xie Shimian. “The afternoon tea at school was delicious, so I brought some for you to try!”
“I got full marks on my test today. I was the only one in class who did. I came in first.”
So, could she get a reward?
Her benefactor was too wealthy, too refined everything Hua Zhi had to offer seemed insignificant in comparison.
The broken cookies, now resting on the handkerchief, had lost their freshly baked crispness.
Meeting Hua Zhi’s shy gaze, Xie Shimian picked up one of the cookies.
Seeing her hesitate, Hua Zhi’s soaring heart plummeted. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think this through. Miss doesn’t like junk food like this.”
Xie Shimian popped both cookies into her mouth. “They’re delicious. I love them.”
Her kitten had gone out foraging and still remembered to bring her a share.
Hua Zhi suddenly brightened, her emotions dancing across her face.
“I’ll bring more for you tomorrow!”
Xie Shimian replied, “Keep them for yourself. And don’t call me ‘Miss.’ Call me ‘sister.'”
At the dinner table, Xie Shimian’s smart device buzzed twice.
Glancing at Hua Zhi, who was eating, she discreetly opened Ke Rong’s message under the table.
Ke Rong: Investigation confirms Hua Zhi’s actual birthdate is December 15th. Her 18th birthday is next Tuesday.
Attached was a medical record from a shady clinic.
Five days remained until Hua Zhi turned eighteen.
Xie Shimian’s rut was due in four.
Hua Zhi seemed to sense something. “Miss.”
Xie Shimian picked up her chopsticks. “Hmm?”
Hua Zhi mumbled, “Sister, what are you thinking about?”
Under the table, the girl brushed her foot against Xie Shimian’s thigh.
On the surface, the dinner table was calm, two people quietly enjoying their meal amid fine china and nutrient-rich dishes. But beneath it…
Xie Shimian’s breath hitched.
The butler asked, “Miss?”
At home, whether it was the butler, Ke Rong, or the servants, everyone addressed Xie Shimian as “Miss.” At the company, they called her “General Manager.”
Xie Shimian’s ears flushed, her expression strained. The chopsticks in her hand snapped and clattered to the floor, rolling twice.
Her breathing was uneven. “It’s nothing. I just have a headache.”
Hua Zhi quietly withdrew her mischievous foot. “Are you feeling unwell, sister?”
Xie Shimian shot her a glare. Don’t you know exactly how I feel?
The softest part of her inner thigh was pinched by playful toes.
The culprit blinked innocently at her, feigning ignorance.
After the butler left, Xie Shimian elegantly wiped her mouth and said, “I’m done eating. As for your test paper…”
She raised an eyebrow and glanced at Hua Zhi, “Since it’s a perfect score, you don’t need my signature, right?”
A little punishment was in order for the misbehaving kitten.
Hua Zhi panicked and instinctively hooked her foot around the hem of Xie Shimian’s skirt.
“I need your signature!”
From childhood to now, Hua Zhi had never once had a test paper signed by a guardian.
And she had never cared before.
But now Xie Shimian was her nominal older sister and legal guardian, she wanted to be looked after.
“Mmm!”
Hua Zhi let out a muffled groan, her sapphire-blue eyes widening in disbelief as she stared at Xie Shimian.
Her foot, it had been caught!
Xie Shimian kneaded the ankle in her palm, “Why so quiet now?”
Hua Zhi took deep breaths, her face visibly flushing red.
“Elder sister, don’t…”
A servant approached with after-dinner desserts, “Miss Xie, Miss Hua Zhi?”
An ambiguous atmosphere hung thick around the dining table, one whiff of it could instantly plunge someone into the throes of infatuation.
Xie Shimian rubbed Hua Zhi’s cat-like paw, “I noticed it at the company today Zhizhi seems afraid whenever I ask about your past.”
The color instantly drained from Hua Zhi’s face, “Elder sister, it’s not that I just, never mind.”
Just what? Just that she hadn’t only killed her brother, but also burned down the family ancestral home?
Just that she’d been used as target practice and a sparring partner by wealthy heirs since childhood, hence her decent combat skills?
Just that she’d pretended to be a refugee to be taken in by the Xie family?
If any of this came to light, being kicked out would be the least of her worries.
Xie Shimian thought Hua Zhi’s mood seemed off again was she scared once more?
Was she really that terrifying?
Xie Shimian lightly scratched Hua Zhi’s sole with her fingernail, enjoying the sight of her squirming helplessly while trying to pretend nothing was wrong.
“Don’t worry, I’m not interested in Zhizhi’s past. You can tell me whenever you’re ready. But I do have one question, how old are you this year?”
Hua Zhi shook her head, “I don’t know. No one ever told me.”
Xie Shimian hummed unsurprisingly, “No birthday either?”
Hua Zhi, “No. I’m probably seventeen this year. Why do you ask suddenly?”
She didn’t know her birthday was in just five days.
Xie Shimian chuckled softly, “Because I’m afraid if I hold Zhizhi while sleeping, I might get reported. Would you report me, Zhizhi?”
The girl’s soles were delicate, and soon turned red under her ministrations.
Just like a kitten’s paw pads.
Hua Zhi: “Report you for what? Why would sleeping get you reported?”
Xie Shimian: “…”
Her big boss was truly a lawless outlaw.
Xie Shimian released her foot and stood up from the table, picking up the perfect test paper with two fingers as she remarked casually:
“The Minor Protection Law, it’s illegal to harm minors physically or psychologically. Violators face severe legal penalties, with the worst cases punishable by death.”
This was the first time Hua Zhi had ever heard of such a law in her life.
Her beautiful peach-blossom eyes filled with regret and gloom, what did all the suffering she’d endured before count for then? No one had ever spared her based on so-called protection laws.
Xie Shimian’s gaze focused on the test paper.
The perfect score sheet contained not a single error, every answer was flawless, as if copied from a reference key.
The handwriting was elegant and neat, without any corrections.
Xie Shimian sighed inwardly, if she had to retake high school exams now, she’d probably struggle to even pass.
A person’s confidence and familiarity with exam questions can be discerned from their handwriting and the overall demeanor of their paper. Someone hesitant tends to linger too long on certain words, resulting in uneven ink shades. Hua Zhi’s test papers never showed such signs.
She was far too familiar with the exams so much so that it was as if she were copying from an answer key, even finding the steps too tedious and simplifying them in her writing.
Xie Shimian set down the paper and gently lifted a strand of Hua Zhi’s long hair. “You’ve really never attended school before?”
Today, the kitten was dressed in a light green checkered cheongsam, resembling the elegant female students from old photographs, perfectly fitting Xie Shimian’s tastes.
Hua Zhi’s gaze wavered. “Sister, I… had a good tutor. I studied late into the night. I didn’t copy the answers.”
Xie Shimian hummed noncommittally, her ambiguous attitude making Hua Zhi even more nervous.
Hua Zhi: “Could you please sign this, sister? The teacher will check tomorrow.”
Xie Shimian twirled a pen in her hand, amused. “When the Xie family adopted you, they never mentioned signing test papers as part of the parenting duties.”
Hua Zhi grew anxious, her small face looking up at Xie Shimian in confusion.
Her benefactor had just touched her feet earlier her mood should have been good. Why the sudden change?
Hua Zhi’s expression resembled that of a Ragdoll cat promised treats, only to be tricked by its owner her face full of grievance and disbelief.
“If you sign it, sister, I’ll sleep with you tonight. You can do whatever you want.”
Seduction aside, Hua Zhi didn’t realize she looked exactly like a stray cat bringing a collar to find an owner.
Xie Shimian couldn’t resist ruffling her head.
Hua Zhi stammered in her urgency, “Sister said you don’t like illiterates. I’m not illiterate, really! I can recite speeches, formulas, and I’m doing well in language class. Next month’s academy competition, I’ll definitely rank!”
Xie Shimian’s hand trembled slightly as she signed, murmuring, “The illiterate one is me.”
Hua Zhi didn’t catch it. “What?”
Xie Shimian smiled. “Nothing. Education changes destiny. Be good, study hard, and don’t work for others.”
Hua Zhi was momentarily bewildered. If not working for others, did that mean usurping the throne?!
But all she wanted was to be her owner’s little kitten.