A large hand landed on Qin Sisi's lower back. She shivered, chilled to the bone. Just as she was about to turn and evade, she heard Wang Ji'an scream out in agony. He faltered backward, a look of disbelief and humiliation on his face as he glared at the ground beneath Qin Sisi's feet.
What had happened?
Confused, Qin Sisi looked at Wang Ji'an who had gone from smug to a total mess in an instant. Following his angry gaze, she noticed a proud, imposing black cat at her feet. The cat's back was to Sisi, standing tall and alert. Even though she couldn't see its eyes, she could picture the pair of violet eyes vigilantly watching Wang Ji'an.
Standing behind the cat, Qin Sisi got the distinct feeling of being protected by it.
But when she looked at Wang Ji'an, she realized she was in trouble. His right forearm bore three ghastly scratch marks extending to his hand. It was a gruesome sight.
Xiao Hei had been... too fierce...
Qin Sisi shot a complex look at Xiao Hei and silently praised its courage. However, in order to keep her job at the company, she mustered up a facade of concern and asked, "Manager Wang, are you ok?"
Wang Ji'an glared resentfully at Xiao Hei and barked, "Where on earth did this stray come from? Just wait for my punishment!" He took a couple of steps forward, ready to deliver a vengeful kick.
Worried Xiao Hei might suffer, Qin Sisi quickly scooped him up and said to Manager Wang, "I'm really sorry, Manager Wang. This is my cat. I'd like to apologize on his behalf."
"Your cat?" Wang Ji'an seemed taken aback, looking at Qin Sisi suspiciously.
Qin Sisi mustered up her courage to explain, "Yes, he's my pet. He's very attached to me and often waits for me outside the company."
Wang Ji'an didn't respond. His plans to take advantage of Qin Sisi that night had been ruined by this creature, killing his mood. Though he was tempted to strangle the black cat in anger, he knew he had to win Qin Sisi over first and swallowed his rage. Plus, he had no idea whether the creature carried any diseases. It was best to go to the hospital for safety's sake.
So Wang Ji'an took on a softer tone and said, "Since it's your cat, I'll let it pass. But be careful. It's a good thing it injured me and not someone else. Otherwise, you'd be in big trouble."
Qin Sisi nodded her head obediently, "Yes, I understand. Thank you, Manager Wang."
"Just go. I need to go to the hospital," Wang Ji'an said, preparing to leave.
"Ok, goodbye, Manager Wang," Qin Sisi replied tactfully.
Wang Ji'an gave Qin Sisi another look and left without another word.
Once Wang Ji'an was out of sight, Qin Sisi lifted Xiao Hei to look him in the eye, a relaxed smile on her face. She said sweetly, "Well done, Xiao Hei. You're my hero."
"Meow," Xiao Hei meowed, seemingly pleased with the compliment.
For some reason, a famous line came into Qin Sisi's mind: My prince charming is a superhero. One day, he'll come in his golden holy armor on a rainbow cloud to marry me.
Laughing at her own wandering thoughts, Qin Sisi gave in and turned her attention back to Xiao Hei, stroking the top of his small head. She continued, "But next time, don't be too fierce. You might get in trouble with real bad guys."
In his mind, Xiao Hei rolled his eyes: Fat chance! If I'm not fierce, you'll be the one in trouble.
If Wang Ji'an had attacked him, Xiao Hei would have given him a few more scratches without hesitation. Lucky for him, he had backed down! But the way Qin Sisi had defended Xiao Hei made the cat feel pretty good.
Qin Sisi returned home with Xiao Hei, stopping by the supermarket in her residential area to buy some vegetables and a bag of cat food for Xiao Hei.
Once home, Qin Sisi poured the cat food into Xiao Hei's porcelain bowl and beckoned him over, expecting him to gobble it up and perhaps make a cute face of gratitude.
But Xiao Hei lazily strolled over, gave the bowl one cursory glance, and turned around uninterestedly to walk away.
A little dumbfounded, Qin Sisi picked up the bowl of cat food and put it in front of Xiao Hei again. But Xiao Hei's reaction was the same as before.
In the end, Qin Sisi had to admit that Xiao Hei simply did not like cat food.
Stumped by this revelation and remembering how Xiao Hei had wolfed down millet porridge the previous night, Qin Sisi complained, "So, you prefer porridge! I wouldn't have gotten you cat food if I knew. It's so much more expensive than rice!"
As she placed the cooked rice porridge and stir-fried vegetables on the table, Xiao Hei jumped onto the table even without her beckoning, ready for his meal. Taking one look at Xiao Hei's excitement, Qin Sisi filled his porcelain bowl with porridge without hesitation.
Xiao Hei immediately dug in with gusto. After a while, he stopped, his round eyes focused on the vegetables on the table while he meowed incessantly.
Taken aback, Qin Sisi tried scooping some vegetables into Xiao Hei's bowl. Sure enough, Xiao Hei happily dug in again with relish.
As Qin Sisi watched Xiao Hei relishing his meal, she couldn't help but feel there was something different about him. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it and quickly turned her attention back to her own meal.
At bedtime, Xiao Hei hopped onto the bed early, curling up at the head of the bed. His small head was resting on his fluffy paws and his violet eyes sparkled like jewels, blinking occasionally, looking all adorable and well-behaved.
Qin Sisi stared at him for a while, hesitating several times to throw him into the cardboard box. In the end, she let out a resigned sigh, deciding to compromise.
"Okay, since you're not taking up much space, you can sleep on the bed!" she gave in.
Having said that, Qin Sisi changed out of her white T-shirt and jeans and put on a soft, loose nightgown.
Xiao Hei's eyes twinkled, watching Qin Sisi while pretending to look in the other direction. After a moment, his gaze returned to Qin Sisi, his eyes unblinkingly taking in the sight of her slender, elegant figure.
Before going to bed, Qin Sisi peered out the window. The weather was nice that night, the deep blue sky speckled with numerous stars that twinkled like fireflies.
A content smile curled at the corner of Qin Sisi's mouth. Mom, dad, you're watching over me, aren't you?
That night, both Qin Sisi and Xiao Hei had a particularly sweet slumber.