Chapter 65: Little Orange Cat

Xiong Yibai pulled into the parking lot of a large chain supermarket with practiced ease.

“Quick in and out,” Xiong Yibai said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

The four of them got out of the car and headed into the supermarket.

Four women, each with a distinct style, drew quite a few admiring glances.

Zhao Shutong made a beeline for the health supplements and fruit section. She picked up a nicely packaged box of protein powder and asked Ren Queyue, “What do you think of this? Suitable for the elderly?”

Ren Queyue glanced at the ingredients list. “It’s fine, but calcium tablets and vitamin D would be more practical.”

She grabbed a bottle off the shelf. “This brand’s good.”

Feng Miwan, meanwhile, suffered from decision paralysis as she hovered around the nutrition products, pastries, and tea aisles. She picked one up to inspect it, then touched another. “Which one would Grandma like? This one’s got nice packaging, but that one supposedly tastes great…”

Xiong Yibai followed behind her, watching her agonize. “Her teeth are in good shape. She likes crispy snacks.”

“Really?”

Feng Miwan grabbed two boxes of the crispiest-looking almond cookies and egg rolls and tossed them into the cart.

Ren Queyue added some shelf-stable milk suitable for seniors.

Zhao Shutong insisted on carrying two bottles of red wine from a prestigious-looking brand.

Finally, when no one was looking, Feng Miwan snuck a bunch of chips, jelly, ham sausages, and other snacks into the cart for the road.

They checked out and stuffed the bags into the trunk.

Feng Miwan patted her hands in satisfaction as she eyed the packed trunk.

Back at the car, Feng Miwan looked at Xiong Yibai with concern. “Yibai, you’ve been driving for so long—are you tired? Want me to take over for the rest of the way?”

Xiong Yibai opened the car door. “I’ll drive. The road into the village is a bit winding, and I know it well. You can memorize the route and drive on the way back.”

Feng Miwan thought about it and nodded obediently. “Okay!”

The four of them climbed back into the car.

None of them noticed that, not far away in the supermarket parking lot, a pair of eyes watched their every move through the tinted window of a gray sedan.

As Xiong Yibai’s car pulled out of the lot, the man took out his phone and dialed a number.

The call connected quickly.

The man in the gray sedan said in a low voice, “They’re almost here.”

A deep male voice came from the other end. “Got it.”

In Xiong Yibai’s car, the GPS showed half an hour to go.

The car gradually left the city behind and entered a winding mountain road flanked by scattered houses—the quintessential rural lane, with hardly any other vehicles in sight.

“The air here smells so good!”

Feng Miwan rolled down the window and took a deep breath of the fresh, grassy scent.

“Yeah, way better than city air,” Ren Queyue agreed.

Zhao Shutong was just about to tease them when—

“Screech—!”

A sudden brake!

The car lurched forward sharply!

Fortunately, they weren’t going fast, and everyone was buckled in, so they only jolted forward from the inertia without injury.

Zhao Shutong clutched her chest. “What happened?”

Feng Miwan pointed ahead. “A cat! It darted out from the roadside! Yibai braked to avoid hitting it.”

Everyone looked closely and saw a little orange cat, only two or three months old, lying squarely in the middle of the road.

Xiong Yibai honked the horn to shoo it away.

The little orange cat merely twitched its ears and buried its head under its paws, refusing to budge.

Zhao Shutong chuckled. “Hey, this little guy’s pulling a scam, huh?”

The four exchanged glances and decided to get out and check.

Xiong Yibai shifted into park and unbuckled.

The other three followed suit.

Feng Miwan approached cautiously, softening her voice and waving. “Little guy, move along—it’s dangerous here.”

The little orange cat looked up at her, meowed once, then slowly stood and ambled a few steps forward.

Just as everyone thought it was leaving, it flopped back down and licked its paw, showing no intention of getting out of the way.

Zhao Shutong eyed the little orange cat. “Is it hungry? Or hurt?”

Xiong Yibai observed it. “Doesn’t look injured. Probably just timid… or maybe it just wants to nap here.”

Ren Queyue glanced up and down the road. “So what do we do? We can’t just sit here forever.”

Feng Miwan gazed at the little orange cat, her heart softening more by the second. She suggested, “How about… we take it with us? We can use one of the boxes from our stuff. A stray this young has it rough out here. I’ll keep it!”

She looked to Xiong Yibai, who met her eyes and nodded. “Sure.”

With that, Xiong Yibai turned to grab a box from the trunk.

Feng Miwan rummaged through her pile of snacks and pulled out a ham sausage, peeling it open.

She crouched down, broke off a small piece, and offered it from her palm. “Hey, little orange cat? Hungry? Come eat.”

The little orange cat sniffed warily, but the aroma quickly won it over. It scooted closer and nibbled daintily.

Feng Miwan gently stroked its head.

The little orange cat was probably starving and didn’t flinch.

Soon, the sausage was gone.

The little orange cat licked its lips lingeringly, then stood and meowed at Feng Miwan twice.

It took a few steps toward a mountain bend ahead, stopped, looked back at her, and meowed again.

Feng Miwan stood. “Huh? Is it… telling me to follow it?”

Zhao Shutong crossed her arms. “What’s that mean? Leading us to its secret base for a tour?”

Ren Queyue frowned. “Be careful—wild animals can be unpredictable.”

But the little orange cat persisted. Seeing Feng Miwan hadn’t moved, it padded back a few steps and meowed louder.

Feng Miwan took a step forward. “I’ll check it out. It seems like it really wants something.”

The little orange cat led the way around the blind curve behind the bend.

Feng Miwan muttered as she followed, “Little Orange, where are you taking us? Please don’t say a rat hole…”

When she rounded the curve, blocked from view by the mountainside, and saw what lay on the road ahead, her steps halted abruptly. She gasped.

Scattered across the road ahead was a glittering array of objects!

Dozens of triangular tire spikes!

They were strewn irregularly across the pavement, covering the entire lane!

If the little orange cat hadn’t stopped them, and they’d driven through at normal speed,

rounding this blind mountain curve with no time to react, the tires would have been shredded instantly!

On this unguarded mountain road, the consequences didn’t bear thinking about!

Feng Miwan’s mind buzzed. Her racer’s instincts for danger made every hair on her body stand on end!

This was no accident! It was an ambush!