The heavy curtains blocked out the sunlight from outside, leaving the room illuminated only by the faint, warm glow of a crystal ball. Tong Yuwu sat at the desk, her black wavy hair cascading over her shoulders and accentuating the creamy smoothness of her skin. After transmigrating, Meng Yiran’s senses had sharpened far beyond her previous life. Even from several meters away, she could count every one of the other woman’s eyelashes, yet she couldn’t spot a single pore on that exquisite face.
At first, Tong Yuwu neither spoke nor moved. Meng Yiran assumed she was merely a BJD doll(Ball-Jointed Doll)—one of those pinnacle masterpieces she could never afford, even if she worked for a hundred years without eating or drinking. Thrilled, Meng Yiran leaped to her feet and even spun in a circle within the confines of her cage. She couldn’t help letting out two meows.
Yes, she hadn’t only transmigrated; she’d also changed species. Now she was a little white cat who could only meow.
The two meows shattered the room’s silence. The beautiful BJD doll turned her head, her purple pupils fixing on Meng Yiran.
Only then did Meng Yiran realize that this BJD doll was alive.
It was a little embarrassing, but the first thought that flashed through her mind was this: if she’d turned into a cat just to become this woman’s pet, she’d gladly accept it!
In her previous life, Meng Yiran had been a corporate drone. She possessed the face of a stunning imperial sister, but inside, she was a die-hard doll fanatic! Her income was decent, yet she always lived paycheck to paycheck because every time she scraped together some savings, she’d blow it on dolls and their endless array of accessories.
She balked at spending more than ten bucks on a cup of milk tea but stayed up all night snagging five-figure limited-edition dolls. Who cared if her own clothes were last season? Her dolls got fresh outfits every month! Gazing at that cabinet full of her meticulously dressed and utterly adorable BJD dolls always made Meng Yiran feel like she owned the world.
It was all to fund her doll habit that she’d started a side hustle, becoming a popular doll-circle creator on a certain short-video platform. The gig took off, demanding more frequent uploads. One night, as usual, she burned the midnight oil editing footage until her body finally gave out—she dropped dead on the spot.
When she awoke, it was to this unfamiliar world, trapped as a little white cat in a silver cage.
She’d figured turning feline meant eternal separation from her beloved dolls—a heartbreaking divide between cat and porcelain. But no—her new owner turned out to be a living, breathing doll. The mere thought of being cradled in those arms, petted and kissed, basking up close in this real-life doll’s devastating beauty, filled Meng Yiran with bliss. She wanted to roll for joy!
“Meow—”
The maid carrying the cat cage couldn’t fathom why this once-quiet, well-behaved little white cat had suddenly gone berserk, frolicking like she’d been dosed with catnip. She steadied the swaying cage and halted two meters from Tong Yuwu’s desk, dropping into a deep curtsy.
“Miss, this is a gift from the Aibute Family—a rare Ancient Earth feline pet.
“How shall we dispose of it?”
Meng Yiran couldn’t contain herself. She reared up against the cage bars, mimicking the cute pets from her past life’s videos, and waved a paw at the stunning doll behind the desk, eager for any response.
Tong Yuwu lowered her gaze to meet Meng Yiran’s.
Her lashes were long and curled, casting shadows over gentle, rippling eyes that evoked a fragile vulnerability, as if weighed down by their own delicacy. Even a stranger couldn’t help but feel a surge of pity upon meeting that look, terrified that a single heavy breath might shatter the exquisite porcelain figure before them.
The next moment, the beautiful doll spoke. “From the Aibute Family? I’ve never seen a pet like this before. It’s so cute.”
Her voice was exquisitely melodic, clear as a mountain spring—though tinged with chill, like snowmelt in early spring. Meng Yiran drowned in the sound and the praise, euphoric to the brink of delirium, brushing off the faint hint of something off.
The maid smiled and nodded. “Yes.”
She raised her hand higher, offering a better view. “Its temperament is gentle too—perfect for keeping by your side to ease your boredom.”
“Keep it by my side?” The beautiful doll seemed abruptly troubled, her brows knitting faintly. “But Meili, I’m afraid I can’t care for it properly.”
With that, she gripped the wheels and rolled forward from behind the desk.
The faint scrape of the wheelchair against the floor reached Meng Yiran’s ears. Craning her neck, she finally beheld Tong Yuwu’s full form.
The doll-like beauty sat in a wheelchair, her lower half concealed beneath billowing classical skirts, revealing only slender ankles and feet shod in round-toed boots, limp against the footrest. Her impaired mobility only heightened the impression of a fragile masterpiece—lovely and pallid, aristocratic yet breakable.
The maid named Meili offered some reassurance. “You don’t need to worry about that, Miss. We’ll feed it on a regular schedule and take care of cleaning it. All you have to do is play with it.”
Tong Yuwu reached out a hand toward the cage, seemingly wanting to touch Meng Yiran, but she pulled it back halfway.
She shook her head with a touch of pessimism. “No. I can’t even take proper care of myself. I don’t want to keep it with me and make it suffer alongside me. I think… if it stays with you, it’ll get much better care.”
Meng Yiran grew anxious at those words. She squeezed her paw through the bars of the cage, desperately trying to touch this little owner she’d just met, to convey her eagerness to follow. But a distance always separated them, and her cat paw swiped futilely at the empty air, touching nothing. After several failed attempts, all she could manage was a helpless “meow” before flopping back into the cage in exhaustion.
Meili tried persuading her a few more times, but seeing that Tong Yuwu’s mind was made up, she had no choice but to relent. “Miss, your kindness is enough to light up the entire territory.
“For now, let this kitten stay with me. Once it grows a little bigger and doesn’t need such special care anymore, I’ll bring it to you.”
A faint smile of happiness finally crossed Tong Yuwu’s face, and she nodded. “Mm.”
Meng Yiran knew the matter was settled. She let out a frustrated sigh. When Meili carried her away, she paced restlessly inside the cage, clinging to the bars with reluctance, unwilling to leave. Though she had transmigrated into a kitten, she hadn’t seen herself in a mirror and had no idea of her exact size. Kittens grew quickly, though, so she figured it would be no more than two or three months before she could return to Tong Yuwu’s side.
Meng Yiran resolved that when the time came, she would do everything in her power to fulfill the healing role of a perfect pet. She would help her beautiful owner forget the pain of her immobility and fill her days with joy.
But what she didn’t know was that the moment they left, Tong Yuwu immediately schooled all expression from her face.
If Meng Yiran had still been there, she would have been stunned. Alone, Tong Yuwu resembled a lifeless mannequin doll. The depth vanished from those mysterious purple eyes, leaving them as cold and inorganic as glass beads. They turned slowly, finally fixing on a spot on the carpet below. Amid the ornate red patterns, a single discordant white strand stood out—barely noticeable unless one looked very closely. But Tong Yuwu knew exactly what it was: a cat hair that had no business being there.
She wheeled her chair back to the desk, opened a drawer, and retrieved a small jar of inky black potion. Then she returned to the carpet, right beside that errant cat hair.
Just before uncorking the lid and pouring, she muttered to herself, “Naughty children deserve to vanish from this world.” In the next instant, the potion touched the carpet. The luxurious weave let out a piercing sizzle as the spot it contacted corroded into black ash. Tong Yuwu hated the noise, but she was quite satisfied with the potion’s effect. She stared silently at the large hole burned into the carpet, a expression that could only be called one of pleasure creeping across her face.
Jenny, the head maid in charge of her daily needs, arrived with an afternoon tray of sweets. After receiving permission, she pushed open the door—and caught a faint, foul stench at the tip of her nose. Puzzled, she looked up to see Tong Yuwu slumped helplessly in her wheelchair, her face full of bewilderment.
“Miss?”
“Jenny…” Tong Yuwu clutched the empty medicine bottle, her expression one of panic. “I… I spilled the potion. The carpet got burned.”
The room’s lighting was dim, but Jenny finally spotted the hole in the carpet at Tong Yuwu’s feet.
She set the tray of sweets down carelessly, hurried forward, tossed the empty bottle aside, and wheeled Tong Yuwu out of the room.
“Forget the carpet for now, Miss. Are you alright?” Jenny asked with concern.
Tong Yuwu kept her head bowed, her face hidden, but her voice betrayed her low spirits. “I’m fine.”
Jenny let out a breath of relief.
She glanced back at the carpet. “I’ll get someone to take care of it. You can’t stay in the study for the time being. How about I wheel you back to the bedroom to rest?”
Tong Yuwu nodded.
The wheelchair rolled forward once more. Tong Yuwu was admiring her own fingers with her head down when she suddenly heard Jenny speak from behind her. “Miss, why on earth did you take out the potion?
“You’re not well. You have to stay away from dangerous things like that.”
Tong Yuwu stroked her fingertips.
Her fingers were slender, but every nail had been trimmed impeccably clean, without the slightest hint of menace. At Jenny’s words, she hunched her shoulders, and her body began to tremble faintly. “I know…” She bit her lip. “But I can’t go anywhere… I, I don’t know what I can even do…”
No one could bring themselves to blame a girl who had made such an innocent mistake. Jenny began to regret if she’d spoken too harshly and hurried to comfort her. “I’m not blaming you at all. What I meant was… sigh, it’s the fault of those subordinates for leaving something so dangerous in the study. I’ll give them a proper scolding tonight!”
Tong Yuwu seemed utterly exhausted. She didn’t respond to Jenny’s words and simply curled her body up even tighter.
Jenny escorted her back to the bedroom and helped her settle into bed. It wasn’t until she was about to close the door that she heard Tong Yuwu’s voice again.
“Jenny, have that rug burned.”
Jenny halted mid-step. “Burn it completely?”
Anything placed in the study was of considerable value. She remembered the hole wasn’t that large; with a little trimming, the rug could probably still be used elsewhere.
“Mm.” Tong Yuwu rolled over on the bed, turning her back to the door. “I don’t want to see it anymore…”
Jenny hesitated for a few seconds. She saw no reason to defy the castle’s young mistress over a single rug, so she nodded. “Understood. I’ll see to it right away, just as you wish.”
Before long, a servant collected the innocent rug from the study and fed it into the incinerator.
As the flames consumed it, they gave off faint crackling sounds—the only backdrop to the gloom of the castle.
Amazing, what a unique hyper-fixation for the mc