"Alright everyone, great job today! Xixi is treating us; let's go have Thai food next door," Tao Jinxin's assistant called out to the crew.
A cheer erupted from the group.
Luo Li turned to find her little cat, who was curled up on her lounge chair, presenting only the back of her head. The fluffy ball had been quietly napping there, not once disturbing Luo Li's work. Whether hungry, thirsty, or needing something else, the cat had simply gone to the rest area by herself.
But...
Just as Luo Li was about to approach, Tao Jinxin's voice rang out from behind, "Luo Luo, it's been so long since we've gone to that restaurant together. Want to go tonight?"
"I went yesterday. The owner mentioned you brought your boss there last time," Tao Jinxin chuckled, "Not very loyal of you, considering we said it was our little secret."
The cat's ears twitched but she still didn't turn around.
"Did I?" Luo Li picked up the cat, who, for some reason, was sulking in her arms, curled up like a sticky little marshmallow.
Luo Li recalled, "What I said was, 'For now, only you and I know about this place.' I never said I wouldn't tell anyone else."
This person was getting more possessive by the day.
"Sorry, I need to go home and feed my cat," Luo Li declined without hesitation.
But her little cat refused to get into the cat carrier, looking pitifully aggrieved, as if someone had stolen her favorite fish.
"Alright, alright, you don't have to go in," Luo Li relented. Sometimes having such a clingy cat was a sweet burden.
Tao Jinxin thought Luo Li was spoiling the cat a bit too much. It wasn't good, as it could interfere with her daily life.
"Luo Luo, just this once," Tao Jinxin's expression softened. "I'll be flying abroad again soon. Who knows when we'll meet again? Can't we just go together before I leave?"
She couldn't rush things; she needed to lure Luo Li in slowly.
Of course, she couldn't let Luo Li hold her back either.
"This is a reasonable request, even between friends, right?"
Luo Li hesitated, "Really? Just once?"
If it meant that this person wouldn't interfere in her life anymore, a meal together wouldn't be so bad.
There were many things they needed to talk about.
A subtle smile flickered in Tao Jinxin's eyes, "Mhm." She had only said she didn't know when she'd return, not that she wouldn't be coming back.
—Luo Luo was still as easy to fool as ever.
"But my—"
"You can go home, feed her, and then we can go out together."
And so, the easily convinced Luo Li took the cat home, spending a long time patiently explaining things to her. The cat just sat on the table, quietly nibbling on her shrimp, eating slowly and listlessly.
"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" The human's furrowed brow and worried expression made the cat's heart clench.
The cat thought back on everything that had happened that day, on the silent understanding shared between them with just a glance, and once again felt the urge to retreat.
She meowed softly, stepping down from the table and padding into the bedroom on her little legs.
Luo Li noticed that the cat's gait was always unsteady, her head swaying like a little drunkard.
"Be good, I'll be back soon." Luo Li picked up the cat hiding under the covers, cleaned her up, and tucked her back in, not resisting the urge to squeeze her soft little paws.
The cat turned her head away, ignoring her, curling up into a tight ball.
Luo Li chuckled, stealing a quick kiss on the cat's face before gently closing the door.
The cat never fell asleep. Around nine o'clock, she heard the sound of the front door unlocking and quickly shut her eyes to feign sleep.
The first thing Luo Li did upon returning was check if her little cat was asleep.
After all, since she'd known this cat, she had never let the little one sleep alone.
But the cat seemed to be sleeping soundly.
Satisfied, Luo Li grabbed her clothes and headed for the bathroom. After relaxing in a bath, she carefully slipped into bed, still unable to resist grumbling to the "sleeping" cat beside her.
"Tao Jinxin is getting stranger and stranger. She used to hate spicy food, but now she can handle more heat than I can. Was she replaced by a doppelgänger while she was abroad?"
Luo Li snuggled closer, rubbing her face against the cat's soft pink paw pads. "Tsk, I actually think it might be possible."
Even more unsettling was that the cold, aloof fairy had claimed she started eating spicy food because she knew Luo Li liked it.
Luo Li remembered clearly how just five words had made Tao Jinxin's face stiffen again.
"Don't get involved."
"Pfft." Luo Li couldn't help but laugh, even now.
She might not be too bothered by it, but the cat pretending to sleep beside her was growing increasingly frustrated.
By the cat's careful calculations, they had been out for exactly two hours, thirty-seven minutes, and forty-two seconds.
What interesting things could have happened during that time to make Luo Li so amused?
Perhaps because she was genuinely exhausted, Luo Li quickly fell into a deep sleep after turning off the lights.
The little furry bundle beside her clumsily and cautiously got up.
Her first instinct was to snuggle into the human's arms, but her little paw hesitated, rising then falling.
The small cat transformed into a slender human figure.
Lu Cixue gazed at the sleeping Luo Li, gently moving the arm that had been dangling off the bed back under the covers.
She wanted to leave, but her legs wouldn't move.
She should leave. Staying by Luo Li's side as a cat had already brought her so much love and care.
That person had known Luo Li for a long time, and they understood each other deeply.
Lu Cixue might not fully grasp the look of love in someone's eyes, but the way Tao Jinxin looked at Luo Li was different from how others did.
It was filled with tenderness.
She called her "Luo Luo," and they were so in sync, understanding each other's thoughts with just a glance.
She had no confidence, none at all.
"You two are so close..." The cat unconsciously muttered, her fingers gently stroking Luo Li's delicate, porcelain-like face.
Luo Li searched the entire apartment but couldn't find her little cat.
Finally, in the kitchen, she discovered a note alongside a homemade breakfast.
—Why did she leave so quietly without saying anything?
Luo Li couldn't figure it out and texted Lu Cixue, asking if she had any free time. The reply came back quickly, curt and simple: a last-minute business trip.
[Okay (crying) When will you be back? Should I pick you up?]She couldn't be gone for the entire break, could she?
The reply was swift, almost as if Lu Cixue was holding her phone: [Not sure, no need, thank you]
[Please stay safe and remember to eat properly]
[Mhm, thanks]
—She had explicitly said not to say "thank you" anymore.
Luo Li slumped on the sofa, feeling deflated. She wasn't naive; the brief, curt responses clearly indicated that Lu Cixue didn't want to talk to her.
Maybe she was busy. After all, this sudden arrangement must have been unexpected. Luo Li knew better than to disturb her work.
After sitting quietly for a while, resting her chin in her hand, Luo Li picked up the phone.
Thirty minutes later...
"You, you, you... how could you?!" Luo Li's eyes and mouth formed an 'O' shape, "How could you dare?!"
The woman across from her glanced up nonchalantly, lifting the warm glass of water before her. Luo Li was being a bit noisy.
Jing Yao leaned back lazily, her voice thick with congestion from a cold, "What's there to be afraid of? Nothing even happened."
Luo Li's expression grew dark with disbelief. "You better hope nothing happened."
Jing Yao's gaze flickered, a hint of guilt crossing her face as she mumbled, "It was just a kiss... it's not like I'm missing a piece of myself..."
This might be the first time she'd ever felt guilty about something like this.
"Sit still!" Ji Qiubai's voice rose as she tried for the third time to push the woman clinging to her back onto the sofa.
"Wu... Don't be mad at me..." The normally imposing and intelligent vice president now had teary eyes, sitting obediently but looking pitiful. "I'm sorry, I'll just go home."
—Playing the victim was one of Jing Yao's well-practiced tricks.
Ji Qiubai remained unmoved, not wanting to indulge her drama, and got up to make some honey water in the kitchen.
Tangyuan had been excited to see this new visitor, running around Jing Yao in circles.
When Ji Qiubai returned, she found her short-legged corgi blissfully enjoying a head pat from Jing Yao.
Someone once said, "Pets and their owners often resemble each other."
—That was definitely nonsense.
Ji Qiubai set down the cup, her long hair falling free from its updo, exhausted from caring for both a drunk vixen and her work duties.
"If you can't handle your alcohol, don't drink such strong liquor."
The woman beside her stayed silent, head bowed.
Tangyuan had already wandered off to play elsewhere.
Drunk people often get strange ideas, and Ji Qiubai had to lean forward to feed her a drink, but suddenly her hand was grabbed.
The boundary-less woman boldly straddled Ji Qiubai's lap, slurring two words into her ear, "A secret..."
Ji Qiubai's hand froze midair as she tried to push the woman off, feeling the warmth of her breath against her skin.
"What are you doing—" But her words were cut short as she stared down at Jing Yao's flawless body, momentarily speechless.
The nights in Jianghuai City during early autumn carried a slight chill, and the woman's skin, as delicate as jade, shivered in the cool air. She lazily tried to snuggle into Ji Qiubai's embrace, seeking warmth.
This time, Ji Qiubai didn't push her away.
Calling this woman a fox was no exaggeration.
Her skin was as delicate as jade, contrasting starkly with the black clothing that barely restrained it. Further down, her belly was flat.
Nüwa really made her as fragile as a porcelain doll.
But that long, pink scar on her lower abdomen, stretching down to her inner thigh, was like a crack in the porcelain.
Prominent and jarring, it was an imperfection that shouldn't have marred such beauty.
"Is it ugly?"
Ji Qiubai heard the woman's question, her voice unusually clear.
—Why hadn't she had the scar removed? For Jing Yao, that should have been a simple procedure.
Ji Qiubai answered her own question.
Because it was a secret, there must have been a story behind it.
"Did it scare you?"
Ji Qiubai heard the woman laugh—a cold laugh.
As someone she barely knew, Ji Qiubai felt that it was inappropriate for Jing Yao to share something like this with her.
It was also inappropriate for her to be sitting on Ji Qiubai's lap like this.
Oh, wait, this woman never knew what was appropriate.
But Ji Qiubai could sense the trembling person was deeply sad, her sorrow tinged with bitterness.
—How was she supposed to comfort her?
Ji Qiubai was at a loss. She had been by Lu Cixue's side since graduation, assisting her boss. Their work ethic was all about efficiency, making emotional support a tricky business.
"I... you should put your clothes on. You'll catch a cold." Ji Qiubai awkwardly tried to wrap her back up, but the woman resting against her shoulder didn't move an inch.
The silence lasted for a long moment before Ji Qiubai spoke, her voice uncharacteristically hesitant.
"It must have... hurt a lot, right?"
Ji Qiubai had a strange quirk—when she got nervous, she tended to ramble.
"Everyone has their own pasts that they don't want to talk about. If you're feeling sad, it's okay to cry; I won't laugh at you. But you should be more cautious. We haven't known each other long, and yet—"
Ji Qiubai's string of anxious babbling was abruptly silenced as Jing Yao's face filled her vision, the soft, moist sensation of her lips pressing against hers. She felt the gentle tug as her lower lip was bitten lightly before they pulled away.
"Idiot, that's how you should comfort someone."