Carefully picking up the crumbs from the floor.
Placing them with utmost tenderness on a snow-white handkerchief.
Hua Zhi’s heart ached as if crushed by a hand into broken petals. “These were all made for me by my sister…”
With just a light touch, the crumbs shattered further.
Shattered like her own sincere heart.
Xie Shimian watched the young girl on the ground from behind, a cold sweat breaking out on her palm inside her black half-gloves.
She… didn’t like them?
Ke Rong came running, panting heavily: “Miss, I just checked the surveillance. It was Zhong Sha who smashed the coffee and pastries, even stomping on them. That must be why Hua Zhi lashed out.”
Xie Shimian gave a soft hum in response.
Ke Rong couldn’t discern any clear emotion from her mistress’s face.
Xie Shimian’s leather boots stepped into the filthy water on the floor, the overwhelming stench of blood filling the classroom.
Hua Zhi sensed someone approaching from behind, a shadow stopping before her.
She looked up, unable to make out Xie Shimian’s expression against the backlight.
It was as if the shadow of a deity had fallen upon her, pronouncing her final sentence.
“Stop picking them up. Come home with me.”
Hua Zhi shook her head. “No, I can’t…”
A soft sigh came from above. Xie Shimian’s voice was beautiful, even her sighs carrying an inexplicable fondness and indulgence.
“I’ll make you more when we get home. The ones on the floor aren’t clean.”
Hua Zhi’s eyes brightened, like a stray cat that had finally been picked up by a kind soul.
“What are you waiting for? Stand up.”
Xie Shimian lifted her own cat. “Or do you not want freshly baked ones?”
Hua Zhi tucked the handkerchief close to her chest. “Sister, you’re not angry with me anymore?!”
Overjoyed and disbelieving, she thought that even the most benevolent deity in the world couldn’t compare to Xie Shimian’s patience.
Xie Shimian patted her shoulder, wrapping the blood-splattered cat in a blanket before pulling her into her arms with a long reach.
Her Zhizhi nestled in her embrace, her breathing utterly disordered.
The short five-minute walk from the classroom to the car felt longer than a century.
The fruity rum scent of her savior’s pheromones, no matter how many times she smelled it, intoxicated her to the bone.
It was her favorite fragrance, leaving her legs weak as if they weren’t her own.
Xie Shimian patted the cat, thinking that the current big boss was still just a child who loved pastries, a far cry from the obsessive neurotic in the original story.
Ke Rong, noticing Xie Shimian sighing, asked, “Miss, is the Zhong family causing trouble?”
Xie Shimian settled the cat in the back seat of the car. “No.”
Ke Rong stepped on the gas. “Is the tutoring agency trying to raise prices and leak it to the media?”
Xie Shimian: “No.”
Ke Rong made a puzzled sound. “What are you worried about, then?”
Xie Shimian: “Washing the cat.”
Zhizhi was a long-haired cat. It wouldn’t be easy to clean her, would it?
Ke Rong: ?
What the—?
In the bathroom of the luxurious estate.
Hua Zhi sat naked in the bathtub, a floor-to-ceiling window to her left.
Beyond the window stretched an endless forest, white doves flapping their wings as they soared into the sky.
The cat curled up in a corner of the tub, the clear water gradually turning pale red.
Xie Shimian rolled up her sleeves, her long, curly hair tied into a ponytail, a few strands falling by her ears.
“Is our Zhizhi shy?”
Xie Shimian replaced the bloody water with fresh. “We’re both girls. What you have, I have too.”
Hua Zhi whimpered. “Sister… don’t look.”
The scars on her body had all healed, leaving faint pink marks that would soon vanish without a trace.
White bubbles lathered over the girl’s skin, peach and jasmine shampoo worked into her long hair.
Hua Zhi felt like her soul was about to leave her body.
Her savior was bathing her!
The cat girl stiffened in stunned silence, her clear blue eyes filled with both panic and honor.
Fingers massaged her scalp, and Hua Zhi let out a soft whimper.
This was the first time someone had bathed her!
Last time, her savior had waited outside, why was she doing it herself this time?
Could it be that she was going to eat here?
But she hadn’t even been thoroughly cleaned inside and out yet…
The atmosphere in the bathroom grew increasingly warm, the white foam suddenly rinsed away by the showerhead, revealing the girl’s fair, glowing skin.
Then, Xie Shimian suddenly embraced Hua Zhi from behind.
Her breath was so scorching it felt like it could melt Hua Zhi in her arms.
“Zhizhi, do you know what day it is today?”
Hua Zhi’s voice trembled. “December 15th, Tuesday?”
A soft, snow-white towel wrapped around her body, turning her into something like a sushi roll.
Xie Shimian had almost lost control and kissed her in the classroom earlier. She considered herself a hypocrite with no bottom line, if her cat bullied someone, it was always the other person’s fault. The cat could never be wrong.
Even if the cat was wrong, it was the fault of the owner for not raising her properly.
Xie Shimian’s crimson lips nearly brushed against Hua Zhi’s ear. “Zhizhi, today is your birthday.”
Hua Zhi jolted, trying to pull away. “What?!”
Xie Shimian repeated gently, “Happy 18th birthday, my Zhizhi.”
Hua Zhi was in disbelief. “But I just turned seventeen, that can’t be.”
Truthfully, she didn’t even know her own birthdate. She didn’t have an ID until after coming to the Xie household, and she hadn’t even received it yet.
The moment she spoke, she regretted it. How could she be so rude to her savior?
Would Xie Shimian get angry and abandon her?
Xie Shimian smiled, carrying the freshly bathed girl to the bed.
“Here’s the information. See for yourself.”
She handed Hua Zhi a stack of documents, pressing a kiss to the top of the cat girl’s head. “I’m going to shower. Take your time reading, no rush.”
The sound of the showerhead echoed from the bathroom as Hua Zhi stared blankly at the documents.
The name of the birth clinic, medical records, the doctor’s credentials.
Hua Zhi’s heart pounded violently, nearly making her faint.
Xie Shimian had investigated everything so thoroughly so thoroughly that Hua Zhi had almost no secrets left. Just a little more digging, and Xie Shimian would have discovered that Hua Zhi was actually the illegitimate child of a wealthy family, not some stray orphan.
But the records stopped there.
Was it a coincidence?
In the bathroom, Xie Shimian stood under the cold water, her raging hormones from her heat cycle hitting her mercilessly,
Tch, her headache was back.
She wondered if her little cat was mentally prepared.
Xie Shimian had to bite down on her wrist to suppress the overwhelming urge in her teeth.
Crimson blood dripped from her wrist.
When she went to pick up Hua Zhi earlier, her headache had been unbearable. Everyone thought she was in a bad mood even Hua Zhi had been afraid of her.
Leaning against the tiles, Xie Shimian’s face was flushed. The cold water did nothing to calm her; instead, it only fueled the fire.
This damn heat cycle, what’s the difference between this and an animal in rut?!
And to make things worse, Hua Zhi hadn’t even presented yet. Biting her would be useless.
Xie Shimian slammed a fist against the wall, her wet hair clinging to her cheeks as water dripped down.
She really wished she had some kind of chronic illness.
“Elder sister, are you done bathing? May I come in?”
Xie Shimian’s voice was hoarse as she replied, “Don’t come in.”
Outside the door, Hua Zhi’s legs went weak, her voice turning sweet. “Elder sister, I can smell your pheromones. Holding back isn’t good for your health.”
Smell? How could she detect pheromones without having presented yet?
Xie Shimian began to question the ABO encyclopedia entries on the star-net.
At the same time, a bitter lemon scent seeped through the door crack.
Xie Shimian’s fraying self-control nearly snapped.