Chapter 11

At the end of September, the temperature dropped sharply between morning and evening. Kong Xiyan hurried toward the apartment holding Yanyan, the cool wind chilling her to the bone.

At the apartment entrance, she spotted a pair of blue stilettos—Chi Wanzhao's. She had seen them this morning.

Pushing the door open, the apartment was silent. Frowning suspiciously, she saw the woman sitting on the sofa.

Her hair was tied up, revealing a slender neck and delicate back, outlining a somewhat lonely silhouette. Before Kong Xiyan could say anything, Yanyan jumped out of her arms, meowed twice, leaped onto the sofa, and pawed at Chi Wanzhao's wrist.

Chi Wanzhao turned her head, and from Kong Xiyan's angle, she could see her pressed lips and tense jaw.

"You're back."

It was the same greeting as yesterday, but Kong Xiyan felt the temperature around them drop a few degrees. She rubbed her arms, thinking it must be from the cold wind outside.

She nodded with a smile. "Mm."

Chi Wanzhao put Yanyan down and headed to the kitchen. Just as she passed the living room, she halted, her tone cold and hard. "Your phone rang."

Kong Xiyan met her gaze and replied, "Okay."

She hurried to the coffee table, picked up her phone, and saw it was a reply from Wang Haining: I'll take good care of the children.

Reading those words, she could almost see her gentle smiling face, and Kong Xiyan unconsciously relaxed her brow, her expression softening.

Chi Wanzhao, who had just entered the kitchen, turned around and caught that expression, unable to stop herself from slamming a cucumber onto the cutting board with a loud crack. With a swift hand, she sliced the cucumber into pieces in the blink of an eye—her knife skills still superb.

The kitchen echoed with thumping sounds. Each time Kong Xiyan heard one, her heart jumped. She stroked Yanyan's head and asked, "What's wrong with her?"

Yanyan's blue eyes looked toward the kitchen, and she lifted her head. "Meow..."

Kong Xiyan thought back—she had been moody since morning. Was it because she had accidentally messed up the kitchen earlier?

Probably.

With that thought, she nudged the culprit. "Go apologize to her."

After all, the woman was fluent in cat language, so she would definitely understand.

But Yanyan stayed put, coiled on the sofa, turning her head away and closing her eyes to sleep.

Kong Xiyan considered. "I'll give you extra food tomorrow."

Yanyan's ear tips twitched. She let out a meow, slowly stood up, and reluctantly padded to the kitchen door.

The kitchen door wasn't fully closed; there was a gap in the sliding door big enough for a cat to squeeze through. Yanyan stood at the entrance and poked her head in. Chi Wanzhao didn't notice her. She raised the cleaver and chopped through bone without blinking.

Yanyan's cat eyes widened, her white fur standing on end. She took two steps back, let out a meow, turned, and dashed back, leaping straight into Kong Xiyan's arms.

Kong Xiyan had to catch her, the weight heavy in her embrace.

She looked down and saw Yanyan's expression—like she was scared out of her wits.

Kong Xiyan: ...

Yanyan shifted in her arms, placing her front paws on Kong Xiyan's wrist, burrowing deeper into her embrace. Seeing the little pitiful look, Kong Xiyan sighed and rose, walking to the kitchen door. She slid it open and said seriously, "President Chi, I'm sorry about this morning."

Chi Wanzhao put all the bones into the pot, added seasonings, pressed the setting with practiced ease, and set the timer. Then she turned to look at Kong Xiyan.

"It's fine."

Kong Xiyan twitched the corner of her mouth.

That act of pretending everything was fine when it clearly wasn't—it made people uncomfortable.

Kong Xiyan had always been blunt, known in the industry for her straightforward persona. Seeing Chi Wanzhao take off her apron, she stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Then maybe I can buy you a new kettle."

Chi Wanzhao halted, arms crossed over her chest, and parted her thin lips. "Buy a new kettle?"

Her face was set, her aura suddenly pressing down. Her lips were taut, and her voice was cool, laced with frost.

"Miss Kong really is generous."

"But I hope Miss Kong remembers her status and duty."

"You are now Mrs. Chi. Your duty is to take good care of Yanyan. If Yanyan had been harmed even slightly because of Miss Kong this morning—how do you plan to make amends?"

Her tone was aggressive, and Kong Xiyan stepped back step by step until her calves hit the edge of the sofa. With no room to retreat, Chi Wanzhao kept closing in. Kong Xiyan stumbled and fell back onto the sofa. Chi Wanzhao reached out, bracing her arms on either side of her shoulders, her face frosted, her words icy. "Miss Kong, how do you plan to make amends?"

Kong Xiyan hugged Yanyan tightly, a trace of guilt flickering across her face. She truly hadn't considered the scenario Chi Wanzhao described.

It was indeed her fault.

She lowered her head. "I'm sorry."

Chi Wanzhao straightened up. "No need."

"Please, from now on, spend more effort on Yanyan."

"Don't forget your status and duty."

Kong Xiyan slumped. "I'll be careful."

Chi Wanzhao stared at the crown of her head, that little swirl of hair utterly endearing. Her hair was jet-black like ink, cascading down both sides of her face, hiding her expression completely.

She averted her gaze and headed to the bathroom.

Closing the door behind her, she pressed her fingers to her temples—they were throbbing. After she had just filled the tub with water, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw it was Zhou Sheng.

Chi Wanzhao suppressed the turmoil in her mind and said flatly, "Hello."

Zhou Sheng's voice was calm and even. "President Chi, we've found her. Miss Wang is the one who lived in the countryside with Madam before."

Though she had anticipated it, a surge of gloom welled up in Chi Wanzhao. "When did they meet?"

Zhou Sheng: "Three years ago, after Madam's incident."

Chi Wanzhao fell silent.

Zhou Sheng hesitated for a moment before continuing, "President Chi..."

Chi Wanzhao: "Go on."

Zhou Sheng: "Also, Madam has been living with Miss Wang for the past three years. Their relationship seems... quite close."

"Understood."

Chi Wanzhao's tone was unreadable. She hung up calmly, stripped off her clothes, and stepped into the tub to soak.

Madam has been living with Miss Wang for the past three years.

Their relationship seems quite close.

Those two sentences echoed in her mind.

She knew she shouldn't lose her composure over a single message from Wang Haining, but she couldn't help it.

The water in the tub slowly cooled, yet she remained soaking. Finally, a knock came at the door. "President Chi?"

Kong Xiyan called out softly. Chi Wanzhao had been in the bathroom for over half an hour, and there was no sound of water or movement. After pouring the soup, Kong Xiyan sat on a stool and waited for quite a while before thinking it odd, so she knocked.

Just as she was about to knock a second time, the bathroom door suddenly opened. Chi Wanzhao stepped out in a bathrobe, her long hair damp, wrapped in a towel. Her makeup was off, revealing delicate features, fair skin—soft and smooth, with a rosy tint from the long soak.

Water dripped from the tips of her hair onto the robe, faintly outlining the rise and fall of her chest.

Perhaps from good childhood nutrition, Chi Wanzhao had a well-proportioned figure—narrow shoulders, slim waist, long legs, with curves in all the right places and a lovely face.

But she often wore a stern, expressionless look, adding an air of noble aloofness.

Kong Xiyan couldn't look away for a moment.

Chi Wanzhao glanced at her, then lowered her gaze. "Let's eat."

After saying that, she pulled her robe closer. Kong Xiyan retracted her gaze, lowered her head, and followed Chi Wanzhao to the table.

Sensing Chi Wanzhao's bad mood, Yanyan sat quietly on the table, not meowing, just staring with wide round eyes at Kong Xiyan.

Kong Xiyan: "Yanyan..."

Chi Wanzhao cut in. "Eat."

Kong Xiyan: "Oh."

Yanyan was utterly ignored, marking the first real diet plan in her cat life.

After the meal, Kong Xiyan cleaned up the dishes and went to wash. When Yanyan saw her close the bathroom door, she dashed over to Chi Wanzhao's feet. Chi Wanzhao was reading the newspaper, and as she looked down, she saw Yanyan's raised head.

And a face full of utter misery.

Chi Wanzhao calmly averted her eyes and continued reading. Yanyan couldn't believe her infallible trick had failed. She rubbed her chubby body against Chi Wanzhao's calf, licked her ankle, and finally swiped a paw to knock the newspaper right out of her hands.

The bathroom door was knocked on, and Kong Xiyan's frustrated voice came through. "What's wrong?"

Chi Wanzhao: "Open the door."

Kong Xiyan placed her hand on the handle, pressed it down, and opened a crack. Chi Wanzhao shoved Yanyan through, and Kong Xiyan found herself holding the cat, stark naked.

In the bathroom, the two stared at each other.

Both utterly bewildered.

After bathing with Yanyan, Kong Xiyan came out of the bathroom and found Chi Wanzhao had already gone upstairs. Her phone buzzed—it was Tong Yue, saying she needed to be at the filming location by five tomorrow morning and that Fu Qiu would pick her up.

Over the past couple of days, Kong Xiyan had chatted a few times with Fu Qiu. She was a sunny girl who also loved cats, and some of the cat food recipes she'd used were taught by her.

After hanging up, Kong Xiyan saw a message from Fu Qiu on WeChat.

—Sister Kong, official filming starts tomorrow. Do you need me to take care of the cat for you?

Kong Xiyan's fingers flew across the screen: No need, thanks.

Fu Qiu replied quickly: Okay. 【Smiley】

Kong Xiyan put down her phone and carried Yanyan back to the room. As she went up to the second floor, it suddenly struck her—last night she had slept in the guest room, so how had she woken up in her own room this morning?

Had she misremembered?

Or—had Chi Wanzhao carried her?

Impossible. First, that icy woman wouldn't do such a thing, and second, even if she wanted to, she wouldn't have the strength.

Kong Xiyan pushed open the bedroom door, still deep in thought. Chi Wanzhao glanced at her contemplative expression and moved over a little on the bed.

Yanyan sprawled right in the middle of the bed, listless from missing dinner—she didn't even have the energy to look at Chi Wanzhao, curled up like a snowball.

Kong Xiyan stroked her white fur, then looked sideways at the woman reading beside her. "President Chi."

Chi Wanzhao: "Mm."

Kong Xiyan bit her lip and asked, "I remember I slept in the guest room last night."

Chi Wanzhao's fingers held a page of her book as she replied calmly, "Miss Kong, aren't you aware that you sleepwalk?"

Kong Xiyan: "Ah??"