Chapter 23: ◎The Premonition Finally Comes True◎

Sleeping amid the Rose Thicket, her every breath mingled with the enchanting floral fragrance.

Meng Yiran pinned Tong Yuwu beneath her, lips closing gently around the other’s exquisite earlobe. She felt a sudden, delicate tremor ripple through Tong Yuwu’s entire body. With the tip of her tongue, she teased that tiny pearl of an earlobe, her touch even lighter than the way Tong Yuwu usually pinched her own cat ears.

Even so, Meng Yiran still heard Tong Yuwu whimper “It hurts” in that warm, soft voice.

Meng Yiran pushed herself up on her elbows and pressed a soothing kiss to Tong Yuwu’s lips. “Where does it hurt?”

Tears brimmed in Tong Yuwu’s eyes, submerging her pair of radiant purple pupils—brilliant as priceless gems.

She wrapped her arms around Meng Yiran’s neck but offered no answer to the question. Instead, she only murmured again, “It hurts so much…”

Meng Yiran moved to return the embrace, only to catch sight of several bloody punctures marring Tong Yuwu’s raised arm. She jolted in alarm and finally noticed the dense cluster of tiny thorns covering the rose branches beneath them.

Blood seeped from wounds on Tong Yuwu’s back. In a desperate bid to help, Meng Yiran reached out—only to discover similar punctures blooming across her own skin.

Crimson flooded her vision, gradually deepening into an impenetrable black. Meng Yiran thrashed her limbs, her struggles tearing through some fragile membrane. Bursting free, she found the dawn light of morning streaming through the window of an unfamiliar bedroom, shining straight into her eyes.

The little white cat rolled over, her memories slowly resurfacing.

Tong Yuwu, who had slept beside her through the night, was gone. Shadows of the roses outside the window danced across the floor, swaying in the breeze like something pitiable and forlorn.

Meng Yiran lifted a front paw to rub her eyes. She suspected the flickering rose shadows had played tricks on her. After all, what should have been a dream bursting with the promise of spring had twisted into something eerie and horrifying by the end.

She gave her face a quick cat-style wash, hopped down to the floor, and childishly pounced on the flower shadows a few times before slipping out through the half-open bedroom door.

She had just reached the stairwell when her keen hearing picked up voices drifting from the living room downstairs.

“Hello, I’m Ming Yi. Guess whether I’m the older brother or the younger one.”

“Ming Ke.”

“Haha, I’m the older brother! I was born a full ten minutes before Ming Ke—isn’t it obvious? Mother said we’re close enough in age that we should take good care of you. You’re new here, so don’t hesitate to ask us about anything you don’t understand. Make yourself at home.”

“When do we head over to enroll?”

“…”

One voice was warm and lively, the other cool and clipped—the pair belonged to twin brothers. Meng Yiran didn’t interrupt them. Instead, she found a spot with a clear view of the living room and committed their faces to memory. Their outfits and accessories were understated but far from cheap. She pegged them as the little young masters from the Ming Family’s main branch.

Ming Yi, the outgoing older brother, kept chatting amiably even as Tong Yuwu responded only with curt “Mm”s and “Oh”s. Nothing could deter him from rattling off an overview of Clarity Magic Academy and Clarity Town. Ming Ke, by contrast, was cut from a different cloth. He sat slumped in his chair, the tips of his shoes pointed toward the door, his impatience growing more evident by the second.

Meng Yiran settled into a comfortable sprawl to eavesdrop, but whether it was the hypnotic cadence of Ming Yi’s voice or her own recent bout of excessive sleepiness, drowsiness soon washed over her. Before she knew it, she had drifted off.

Tong Yuwu was just starting up the stairs—her foot on the first step—when she spotted the little white cat dozing contentedly around the corner. She scooped the little white cat into her arms and carried her all the way back to the second-floor bedroom without the sleepy creature stirring once. Tong Yuwu frowned faintly as she laid her companion beside the pillow. Only when she saw the little white cat’s chest and belly rising and falling in steady rhythm did the tension ease from her brow.

Jenny hurried after her, clutching a coat. “Miss, if you’re heading out, you should wear this.” Her expression was troubled. “The school doesn’t allow servants inside. What are we going to do? Can you handle the enrollment on your own?”

Tong Yuwu pressed her index finger to her lips with a soft “Shh,” her voice dropping to a whisper. “Don’t we have them to help?”

“Those two young masters have been pampered their whole lives. I don’t know if they’ll…” Jenny trailed off as she helped Tong Yuwu into the coat, catching herself before her words turned too impertinent. She switched topics. “What if I follow along behind you? I won’t go inside the school—just wait right outside the gate. That way, if anything comes up, you can find me immediately.”

Tong Yuwu bent down and stroked the little white cat’s ears, replying offhandedly, “Suit yourself.”

Jenny let out a relieved breath and nodded before hurrying off to get ready.

Tong Yuwu gazed at the little white cat slumbering peacefully on the bed, lost in thought for a moment. At last, she straightened up, glanced around the room, and decided against whatever she had considered. She walked to the door and closed it softly behind her.

Footsteps echoed briefly before fading away, leaving the Tong Family Villa in silence once more. A breeze rustled through the Rose Thicket outside the window, drawing the little white cat on the bed into one fantastical dream after another.

Meng Yiran had no idea how long she had slept or how many dreams she had endured. When she finally woke, those fragmented images had already faded from her mind. She lifted a hand to rub her temples, only to be reminded by the smooth sensation that she had somehow returned to her human form. Too startled to dwell on it, the completely naked girl hurriedly burrowed under the covers. With clumsy movements, she bundled the bedding into an improvised bathrobe and managed to wrap it around herself.

For some time now, she had sensed that her transformation back into a human was imminent. She just hadn’t expected it to happen today.

Her first instinct was to find Tong Yuwu. But when she opened the bedroom door, her feline senses immediately told her that aside from herself, the small building was empty.

She walked out to the balcony overlooking the corridor and peered toward the garden through the dense cover of the rose thicket. All she saw was Meili tending to the flowers alone.

The roses grew thick and tangled, making Meili look utterly diminutive as she stood amid the blooms. She clutched a pair of gardening shears in her hand, exerting considerable effort just to snip through the stems. The thorns pricked her as she gripped the flowers to pull out the severed branches, inevitably crushing petals in the process. After several such cycles, the pile of dead leaves and blossoms reached her knees, and her fingertips were stained bright red by the roses.

Meng Yiran withdrew her gaze and glanced down at her makeshift bathrobe. She turned and headed toward a room at the end of the second-floor corridor.

Tong Yuwu’s clothes would never fit her, but yesterday Jenny and Meili had sorted through the small building’s old belongings. Among them were spare garments left behind by several of Tong Yuwu’s elders.

Ten minutes later, Meng Yiran emerged from the room in a fitted dress cinched at the waist and a pair of worn leather boots. Her long silver hair was pulled into a high ponytail, with a few loose strands framing her face. Paired with her golden eyes, the look made her seem both dashing and strikingly beautiful.

A breeze swept through, carrying the faint scent of flowers. Meng Yiran inhaled deeply, shivering with pleasure.

This was the fragrance of freedom!

She simply couldn’t bear to stay cooped up in the small building waiting for Tong Yuwu to return. After a moment’s thought, she took a risk, slipping past the engrossed Meili and sneaking outside.

Her spirits lifted, and even the scenery seemed more vibrant. The massive rose bushes she had complained about yesterday for crowding the space now struck her as quite lovely, bursting with passionate, unrestrained color.

As she left Rose Street, two butterflies fluttered low along the roadside, dancing in lazy circles. She knew she couldn’t stray too far and needed to return soon to meet up with Tong Yuwu, so she chose a straight avenue ahead and strolled along it idly.

This was a residential area too, with few people about, lending the place a serene, leisurely air. Halfway down the street, she decided to turn back the way she had come. Without warning, a pair of hands reached out from behind and yanked her into a shadowy alleyway nearby.