Regardless of the Fat Boy’s tantrum and wailing, Tong Yuwu did not change her mind.
The Doll Lady, beautiful enough to seem unreal, focused on stroking the Little White Cat, automatically tuning out all the noise around her. Even when Tong Rencheng, her elder, stepped forward to speak, she acted as if she heard nothing. She held Meng Yiran close and calmly instructed Jenny to push her away.
The Steward and servants blocked Tong Rencheng and his son, who still refused to give up. Meng Yiran nestled contentedly in Tong Yuwu’s arms and let out a purr.
Noticing Tong Yuwu looking down at her, Meng Yiran raised a paw and played cute.
Tong Yuwu was delighted. She reached out, grasped Meng Yiran’s raised little paw, and gently squeezed the pink paw pads.
Jenny, pushing the wheelchair from behind, clicked her tongue in wonder.
“What’s the deal with this white cat? She was so fierce back in the restaurant, not letting anyone near her. But now that she’s in your hands, Miss, she’s perfectly obedient.”
Her words broke the silence along the way. Tong Yuwu slipped her hands under Meng Yiran’s armpits and lifted the Little White Cat right up to her face. Gazing at her, she said, “She doesn’t want to end up with those two. She’s afraid I’ll hand her over.”
Meng Yiran felt her secret thoughts exposed and let out a timid “meow.”
But Jenny didn’t buy it. She laughed and countered, “But she’s just a little kitten. Where would she get all these ideas from?”
Feeling a bit guilty, Meng Yiran buried her head in her front paws and went silent.
Her mind was full of ideas, actually.
She stuck to Tong Yuwu not just because she didn’t want to fall into the hands of that Little Boy who seemed to have a tendency to abuse cats, but mainly out of greed for the woman’s beauty. Tong Yuwu’s looks hit her aesthetic dead-on. In her previous life, Meng Yiran wouldn’t have dreamed of owning such a perfect BJD doll.
But the innocent Noble Miss saw none of the Little Kitten’s lustful intentions. Tong Yuwu fell silent for a long moment before speaking up in agreement with Jenny. “You’re right.” She stared into Meng Yiran’s eyes. “She’s just a little kitten…”
Meng Yiran was instantly captivated by those purple pupils, lost in a daze of infatuation. When Tong Yuwu set her down, she threw shame to the wind, rolled over to expose her snowy white belly, and sprawled out like a soft, squishy little pastry, begging to be petted.
Tong Yuwu took the hint and gently rubbed Meng Yiran’s little tummy.
She asked again, “Then why is she only obedient to me?”
Jenny thought for a moment. “Didn’t Meili bring her to see you once before?”
She guessed, “Maybe this little thing is especially smart. She remembered you and knows you’re her owner.”
Tong Yuwu’s hand paused on the Little White Cat. “She doesn’t know who her owner is.”
Then she suddenly added, “She would like Meili more.”
Jenny couldn’t follow her train of thought at all and didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
She coughed lightly and changed the subject. “Speaking of Meili… that girl is too careless. She didn’t even notice the cat had slipped away.”
Tong Yuwu released Meng Yiran and casually folded her hands over her chest. She made no reply and fell still.
Meng Yiran, who had been enjoying a full-body massage from the beautiful lady, opened her eyes and looked up in confusion. She met Tong Yuwu’s two gem-like purple pupils.
A shiver ran through her for no reason, and a thought popped into her head belatedly—
Her noble owner wasn’t… jealous, was she?
The Little White Cat began pacing in place.
She looked up and rubbed against Tong Yuwu’s hand of her own accord, but Tong Yuwu deliberately raised it higher, resting it just out of reach. This didn’t stump Meng Yiran, though. The Little White Cat reared up on her hind legs, balancing on them alone, and planted her front paws right on Tong Yuwu’s chest.
While desperately trying to ignore the softness under her paws, she widened her big, watery eyes and unleashed a barrage of meows at Tong Yuwu.
“Meow~ Meowr—”
If Tong Yuwu understood cat language, Meng Yiran’s shameless confession would probably have turned her face red. Unfortunately, she didn’t.
But Meng Yiran figured it didn’t matter if language was a barrier—her actions had fully expressed her love for Tong Yuwu.
Unfortunately, her thinking was far too naive. Tong Yuwu wasn’t soothed. She merely reached out with great restraint, tapped Meng Yiran lightly on the forehead, and quickly withdrew her hand to rest it back on the wheelchair.
From then on, Tong Yuwu turned her head to one side, idly admiring the exquisite decorative paintings lining the corridor.
A short while later, the wheelchair came to a stop before a wooden door carved with ornate floral patterns.
Meng Yiran had just started wondering if this was Tong Yuwu’s bedroom when her attention was drawn to the figure waiting by the door. She looked up.
Meili soon emerged from the shadows, holding the silver cage Meng Yiran knew so well. She curtsied to Tong Yuwu.
“Miss.” After the greeting, she immediately began apologizing. “Meili has been negligent and failed to look after the owner’s pet cat properly. Please punish me, Mistress.”
Tong Yuwu looked at her without a word, though one hand unconsciously pressed against Meng Yiran’s back.
Jenny adopted the authoritative demeanor of the head maid. “You still know you were negligent? Do you have any idea how close this cat came to causing a disaster in the restaurant today?”
In the castle, the delicate young lady rarely offered opinions of her own. As Tong Yuwu’s personal maid, Jenny had grown accustomed to handling minor matters in her stead whenever Tong Yuwu fell silent.
Meili didn’t dare respond. She only hunched her back lower.
After all, Meili had cared for her over the past several days, and Meng Yiran felt a pang of sympathy. She turned her head toward Tong Yuwu and let out a soft “meow,” pleading for Meili in her own feline way.
Tong Yuwu’s face remained impassive, betraying no hint of emotion.
Jenny pressed on. “Luckily, you’ve raised this cat well enough that it knows better than to attack its owner. Ahem. I suppose that evens the score between your merits and faults.”
The earlier sternness had been for show alone. With those words, Meng Yiran realized Jenny actually wanted to shield Meili. She breathed a quiet sigh of relief, no longer fretting that Meili might be punished on her account. Meili sensed it too and glanced up at Jenny with gratitude.
Tong Yuwu stayed silent, which told Jenny she had no objections. Confident in her understanding of Tong Yuwu—and aware that the young lady rarely punished slaves—Jenny had spoken those words with purpose. She continued, “Be more careful with your duties from now on. If anything like today’s mishap happens again, you’ll face punishment.” She gave the order. “Take the cat back at once and give it a thorough check. It was climbing and leaping all over the restaurant today—make sure it hasn’t been hurt.”
Meili let out an inward sigh of relief and bowed. “Yes.”
At that moment, Meng Yiran nestled in Tong Yuwu’s arms. As a mere maid, Meili could never presume to reach right into her mistress’s embrace and retrieve the cat for the cage.
She paused to think, then leaned down toward Meng Yiran and beckoned with a wave. “Little kitty, come here.”
Meng Yiran didn’t budge.
Tong Yuwu’s hand rested on her back without any pressure. If she wished, Meng Yiran could move about freely.
But she had no intention of returning to Meili’s side!
Never mind her fangirl crush on Tong Yuwu—even a fool could guess what came next if she went back. Meili would clamp down on her movements for ages, forbidding any more wandering. Meng Yiran had zero interest in enduring days cooped up in a cage, with barely enough room to roll over.
Instead, she arched her body and slipped out from under Tong Yuwu’s hand.
Tong Yuwu watched her every move in silence. As the little white cat stepped away from her palm, her gaze deepened for a fleeting moment. She had just begun to narrow her eyes when Meng Yiran spun in place, whipped her head around, and dove straight back into her arms.
“Meow—meow meow meow—”
I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go! I don’t want to leave the pretty lady!!!
Tong Yuwu wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Meili and Jenny stared in stunned silence.
Meili recovered first.
She lifted the cage, fished out a favorite treat from inside, and held it toward Meng Yiran while cooing softly. “Little kitty, here’s your favorite dried fish. Come to me.”
Meng Yiran swallowed hard, her resolve crumbling.
Meili kept tempting her. “You must be starving. You hardly ate at lunch, and now night has fallen.
“I’ve got fresh boiled chicken waiting for you. Come back with me, and you can have it right away. Won’t you come here?”
Meng Yiran wasn’t entirely immune.
A cat’s nose was far keener than a human’s. Waves of the dried fish’s savory aroma flooded her senses, stirring her primal instincts until she felt her very soul being reeled in!
To prove her determination, she clenched her jaw and extended the claws from her paw pads, snagging the lace trim of Tong Yuwu’s skirt with a firm hook. Her actions spoke volumes.
Meili gaped at the scene, utterly lost.
Helpless, she turned to Tong Yuwu. “Mi-Miss, could you perhaps…”
She never finished. Tong Yuwu cut in. “No.”
She ignored Meili entirely, her eyes fixed downward on Meng Yiran. The hand that had rested on her wheelchair now stroked rhythmically along the little white cat’s back. The soft, fuzzy texture under her fingertips appeared to delight the inscrutable noble miss. A distinct smile curved Tong Yuwu’s lips as she enunciated clearly, “It doesn’t want to go with you.”
Meili hesitated. “But it hasn’t eaten in ages, and it’s been roaming the castle all afternoon. It needs feeding… and cleaning…”
Tong Yuwu heard her out, then tilted up the little white cat’s chin. “Hungry?”
Meng Yiran mewed twice.
Tong Yuwu reached out her hand. Meili realized what she wanted and hesitated for a moment before handing over the dried fish. Tong Yuwu brought the treat right up to Little White Cat’s nose. Meng Yiran simply closed her eyes and played dead. Seeing this, Tong Yuwu reached out again to pry at her front paws, but the cat’s claws remained firmly hooked into her clothes, showing no sign of letting go.
Jenny couldn’t help but speak up. “Miss?”
She tried to help Meili out. “Why don’t you hand the little cat over to Meili for now? If you like her, you can have Meili bring her back tomorrow?”
The smile faded from Tong Yuwu’s face. She looked up at Jenny with utter seriousness. “I don’t like her.”
Jenny was utterly baffled. “Uh… then let Meili take her downstairs.”
“No.” Tong Yuwu could be stubbornly incomprehensible about certain things.
She turned to Meili, tilting her head in thought. “Bring her food over.”
With that, without giving the two women a chance to respond, Tong Yuwu wheeled herself around and pushed open the wooden door beside her, entering the room.
Jenny and Meili were left outside the door. Meng Yiran had no idea what they discussed, but soon she heard footsteps retreating.
Tong Yuwu offered the dried fish to her mouth once more. Meng Yiran considered for a moment, then lifted her head to lick Tong Yuwu’s fingertip before nibbling on the treat from her hand.
She ate with single-minded focus, feeling Tong Yuwu’s other hand resume stroking her back. She didn’t notice the smile that crept back onto Tong Yuwu’s relaxed expression.
But that smile quickly froze. Tong Yuwu blinked, then awkwardly turned her head away. Her purple eyes drifted into the void, lost in thought about who knew what.
