Chapter 10: Little Calico Arrives Home

The next morning, Ye Fengwan was in the middle of an experiment when Ye Jianggui wheeled her chair into the room.

“I heard you took that little calico from the lab?”

“News travels that fast to you?” Ye Fengwan didn’t look up, continuing her work. “Good timing, you’re here. Sign the release form for me.”

Ye Jianggui’s face was etched with displeasure. “That was the best mutant cat in our lab! I was planning to let it grow a bit more, then use it to breed a new generation of specimens. What are you planning to do with it?”

Ye Fengwan finally looked up at her and smiled. “A cat’s natural duty is to catch mice, not to lie in a lab and be experimented on. I’m merely letting it return to nature.”

Ye Jianggui huffed. “I only intervened with semi-artificial breeding. I wasn’t going to experiment on it.”

“Any artificial intervention is still a form of experimentation. Besides, with so many cats, I’m only taking one. Did you really need to come here just to scold me for this?”

Ye Jianggui let out a soft grunt, her gaze falling on the release slip near her sister’s hand. “If I didn’t come, who would sign your form?”

Everything registered in the Research Institute required proper documentation to move in or out. Ye Jianggui would review it, but it still needed approval from the Dean, Qu Ning, to leave storage.

Hearing this, Ye Fengwan immediately put down her tools, peeled off her gloves, and slid her office chair over with a grin. She wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulders. “Sis, you’re the best.”

Ye Jianggui pushed her away with a blank expression, picked up the release slip, and frowned. “Why didn’t you write your own name as the applicant?”

Ye Fengwan grabbed her arm, trying to ingratiate herself. “Anything under my name always has some unscrupulous people prying into it. You’re different. Everyone knows you never take sides, that you’re selfless and impartial. I’m giving this cat to someone, just an ordinary person. I don’t want the Qu family bothering her because of me.”

Ye Jianggui lifted her eyelids, eyeing her with disbelief. “An ordinary person, worth all this trouble to send my favorite cat away? A man or a woman?”

“A woman.” Ye Fengwan answered crisply.

“How old?” Ye Jianggui pressed.

“Uh… twenty-three.”

“…Can you not interrogate me like a criminal? I just took one cat, is that such a big deal? Last time, Qu Wu took two dogs from our institute, why didn’t you stop him!” Ye Fengwan interrupted, changing the subject.

Ye Jianggui lowered her eyelashes. “He had a warrant from the Base Chief.”

Ye Fengwan clicked her tongue and didn’t pursue the topic further.

It was pointless.

Ye Jianggui then picked up her pen and swiftly signed her name on the release slip. “Have Ruonan take it to Dean Qu for final approval and release.”

Only then did Ye Fengwan’s expression soften, a smile curving her lips. “Thank you, Institute Director Ye.”

Ye Jianggui ignored her, turning her wheelchair and slowly leaving the lab.

Over in New Land, Ruan Ming had been so excited by Ye Fengwan’s words from the night before that she hadn’t slept well. She was still thinking about it when she woke up, regretting that she hadn’t asked when the cat would be delivered.

But she also felt it might not be real.

She had no connection to that person, didn’t even know if they were a man or a woman. Why would they be so kind as to give her a cat?

That thought was like a splash of cold water, extinguishing the fire of her excitement.

It wasn’t until two in the afternoon, when the Patrol Team suddenly contacted her to pick up a cat at the territory entrance, that her spirits soared again.

It was real. That person really sent her a cat.

She ran towards the entrance at what felt like the fastest speed of her life.

The Patrol Team’s vehicle was already waiting.

Seeing her emerge, Wei Heng jumped down from the truck, carrying an iron cage and a large bag of cat food.

Inside the cage was the little calico, about as thick as an arm, meowing irritably.

Ruan Ming quickly took them, thanking the man.

Wei Heng looked her up and down. “How do you know Institute Director Ye? She personally arranged to send you a cat.”

Ruan Ming froze, quickly realizing what he meant. Her heart suddenly pounded.

Could it be that the person answering her questions these past few nights was Ye Jianggui herself!

But she dismissed the thought almost immediately. Ye Jianggui had her own forum account; she wouldn’t log into someone else’s to answer questions. Moreover, as the director of the First Research Institute, she was incredibly busy and had very poor health. It was impossible for her to be on the forum answering questions for days and nights on end.

The person must have used her name to send the cat.

Thinking this, she replied, “We chatted a bit on the forum when I was asking some questions. Institute Director Ye is concerned about crop cultivation on the territories. Knowing I have a rat problem, she arranged for a cat to be sent.”

Wei Heng didn’t really believe it, but the explanation was plausible. He simply nodded. “Alright, the stuff’s delivered. We’re off.”

He turned and got back into the truck.

In the driver’s seat, Liu Guang grinned and waved at Ruan Ming.

Ruan Ming had overheard this man making remarks about her from the truck several times and deeply disliked him. She only regretted not having put on her reflective face mask in her rush, which would have spared her the need to be civil to these two.

She forced a slight curve of her lips, then picked up the cage and headed home.

As expected, the men in the truck started talking again.

“How could Ye Jianggui send her a cat? Boss, do you really believe she just met her on the forum? Who gives away a top-tier mutant cat after just a few chats? I want an online friend like that.”

It was Liu Guang’s voice.

Wei Heng’s reply quickly followed: “Ye Jianggui’s affairs are not for you to discuss.”

Seeing the others silent, he patiently explained, “When the Evolved Cactus and Purification Grass were first developed, Commander Meng promised her every luxury to lure her to Central City, and she refused. Let alone giving away one cat, even if she gave away a dragon, the Base Chief wouldn’t ask a single question!”

Liu Guang couldn’t help but mutter quietly: “Then why are they so strict with Ye Fengwan?”

Wei Heng replied: “Back when Ye Fengwan was still at the Second Research Institute, an experiment she was involved in killed several important figures, including the Base Chief’s own younger brother, Qu Baichuan. Around the same time, a batch of people collected for the project disappeared without a trace. The higher-ups suspect she was involved with the Rebel Alliance during that operation, but they’ve never found evidence. If not for Ye Jianggui protecting her, with the Base Chief’s ‘better kill a thousand innocents than let one guilty go free’ attitude, she’d be dead long ago!”

Liu Guang sucked in a breath of cold air, but still asked, puzzled, “How come we never heard about this?”

Wei Heng replied, “If you haven’t heard, it’s because the higher-ups don’t want it spread.”

Liu Guang wanted to ask more, but Wei Heng cut him off impatiently.

“Enough. Ye Jianggui has the people’s hearts in this base. From now on, keep your mouths shut about her matters.”

Liu Guang quickly said, “Yes, yes, yes, we listen to the boss.”

…

Ruan Ming had stood still, listening to the entire conversation. Only then did she walk towards her small courtyard.

Aside from her usual admiration for Ye Jianggui, she couldn’t help but feel a trace of curiosity and attention towards her younger sister.

But she didn’t know Ye Fengwan, so dwelling on it was useless.

Now that the patrol was gone, she finally relaxed, teasing the kitten in the cage as she walked home.

Meeting her for the first time and having been shaken in the truck for half a day, the little calico had no good temper for her, yowling fiercely.

Ruan Ming didn’t mind its fierceness. She tapped a tiny paw perched on the cage and said, “Little Calico, from now on, you’re mine. I’ll let you be fierce for a couple more days.”

This was no old cat; it was clearly a lively, cute kitten, barely a year old at most.

The kitten exceeded her expectations, and Ruan Ming couldn’t suppress the grin spreading across her face.

Once home, she set down the cage. Opening the cat food bag, she noticed a sheet of A4 paper folded on top, filled with handwritten notes about caring for the little calico.

A thought struck her, and Ruan Ming took this note and compared it to the release slip attached to the cage.

It was obvious the applicant’s signature and the handwriting on the care note were written by two completely different people. Ye Jianggui’s signature was meticulous, stroke by stroke. The care instructions, however, were written with sweeping, flamboyant strokes, completely unrestrained.

So, who exactly was the staff member who had been answering her questions these past few days?

Following the instructions on the note, she didn’t release the little calico immediately. Instead, she moved it to the large iron cage that had previously held the rabbits, gave it a bowl of water filtered through a Level 1 Filter Chip, and poured some cat food in.

Perhaps exhausted from the journey and unsettled by the new environment, the little calico didn’t eat right away. It only lapped a few sips of water before starting to scratch at the iron cage, wanting Ruan Ming to let it out.

Ruan Ming wagged a finger at it. “No way. You’re new here, still unfamiliar. If I let you out now, you’ll run off. Where would I find such a cute little calico again?”

She got up and went to the kitchen, picking up a few leftover pieces of rabbit meat. She rinsed off the seasoning and salt and placed them next to the cat food.

The little calico didn’t appreciate her gesture, leaning against the cage and crying incessantly.

Ruan Ming stood up and hid behind the kitchen door.

Seeing the two-legged creature leave and realizing no one would pay attention to its cries, the little calico—perhaps truly hungry—turned to the cat food.

It sniffed the familiar food but didn’t eat it.

Then it raised its head to check the doorway a few times. Seeing no one, it turned to sniff the pieces of rabbit meat. Cautiously, it stuck out its tongue for a tentative lick. Finding the taste agreeable, it curled up a piece and devoured it ravenously.

Ruan Ming, watching from behind the door, tiptoed out.

Walking up to the cage, she grinned. “Look at you, so tsundere. You ignore it when I’m here, but as soon as I leave, you eat. Caught you red-handed.”

She reached out quietly to pet its head.

The little calico, probably long tired of cat food made from fairy peaches and nutrient solutions, was now actually eating real meat. It was chewing with little mewls of satisfaction, too busy for her teasing.

It turned its head away from her evil grasp, presenting its backside, and wolfed down its delicious meal.

“I’m too lazy to think of a name. I’ll just call you Little Calico.” Ruan Ming looked at the little cutie, unable to tear her eyes away.

Little Calico meowed.