“That was not what I meant!”

Li Hongxiu did not expect Miss Wu to be so eloquent since she always seemed meek. If she knew Miss Wu would retaliate, she would have picked an easier target.

“Then what do you mean? If you are worried, then why didn’t you carry the lion cat? How could you bear throwing her on the ground?”

Miss Wu refused to give up as she pulled Li Hongxiu and prevented her from running off. Li Hongxiu tended to be mean, but she didn’t expect Miss Wu to physically stop her.

Li Hongxiu didn’t know whether she ought to stay or leave now. She was so anxious and infuriated that her face flushed crimson and tears welled in her eyes.

“Stop it. I have sent people to bring Wan Xia back to her room. We have to send the lion cat back to His Highness immediately! You really don’t want to be late about this!”

Su Ninglan floated over in her white dress and looked at everyone coolly. Judging from the looks on their faces, it was clear that these women weren’t on the same side.

She stepped forward and carried the lion cat in her arms before the other women could say a word and left the garden with her maids following behind her.

“Hey! You can’t just take the cat…”

Su Ninglan cast a cold look at Wang Qingqing. Wang Qingqing’s voice became increasingly weak until she eventually swallowed her words as she looked at the pebbles on the ground uneasily.

Su Ninglan had no love for people like Wang Qingqing who picked on the weak. She stopped looking at the ladies and gathered her imposing aura before leaving with the lion cat.

By the time Cheng Xiaoxiao regained consciousness, it was already dark outside. The room was completely quiet and it seemed as though no one else was inside.

Someone had lit a candle. A light breeze had come in through the gaps in the windows and it was making the fire on the candle flicker.

Had she slept for a long time?

Hang on. Why was she asleep?

Cheng Xiaoxiao clearly recalled she was in the garden with Wan Xia and Xiao Yue and Xiao Qin…

Xiao Qin had just committed suicide by jumping into the lake…

Cheng Xiaoxiao felt depressed thinking about Xiao Qin.

Oh yes. Wasn’t she in deep thought by the lakeside earlier? How did she end up here lying in bed sleeping for so long?

“Chirp chirp!”

It was the baby birdl!

“Meow!”

Cheng Xiaoxiao stopped thinking about how she ended up in bed. She answered the baby bird quickly as she went over to the jade box which she had hidden in the birdcage.

“Meow meow!”

How did it do today?

Although Cheng Xiaoxiao was unable to touch the baby bird, she placed her paw on the box and stroked it.

“Chirp chirp!”

The baby bird sounded even happier when it heard Cheng Xiaoxiao meowing outside. She could even keenly hear the baby bird flapping its wings inside the jade box.

Why did she have a feeling that the baby bird sounded even more energetic than before?

Cheng Xiaoxiao felt puzzled when she heard the baby bird’s chirping. Why did its voice become so much deeper? It was starting to resemble the chirping of a large and ferocious bird.

Did the baby bird mutate or something?

Cheng Xiaoxiao anxiously patted the jade box. She could sense the cool texture of the jade box under her paw.

“Meow.”

Did something happen to it?

“Chirp chirp chirp chirp!”

The baby bird sounded even happier. It seemed nothing bad had happened to it.

Nothing was able to faze the baby bird.

Cheng Xiaoxiao told the baby bird to go play by itself.

Cheng Xiaoxiao spoke to the baby bird briefly before she walked over to the entrance. The moment she suddenly heard footsteps and voices outside the room, she wondered if she should pretend to sleep or hide.

Why did she instinctively hide?

This was strange.

Since Cheng Xiaoxiao had gotten caught several times, it was now reflex for her to hide.

Just as she hesitated about where to run, the door opened from outside.

……

Chu Yunshen, Mu Bai, and Cheng Xiaoxiao stood at the door and looked at each other.

Mu Bai was the first to break the silence. He smiled brightly as he teased the lion cat, “You are so smart. Are you here to welcome us?”

He was the last person Cheng Xiaoxiao wanted to welcome!

The moment Cheng Xiaoxiao saw Mu Bai, she turned around proudly and faced him with her bottom before heading back to the center of the room.

“Hmm? Why is she ignoring us?”

Mu Bai looked at Chu Yunshen perplexedly. He found the lion cat’s aloof reaction inexplicable.

“She is only ignoring you.”

Chu Yunshen answered Mu Bai coolly before he carried the lion cat in his arms.

Cheng Xiaoxiao nodded in agreement when she heard what Chu Yunshen said before she stuck her tongue out at Mu Bai.

How could the lion cat be so intelligent?

Mu Bai watched as the lion cat made a monkey face at him and rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

By the time he entered Chu Yunshen’s room, Chu Yunshen had already sat down in front of the table and was combing the lion cat’s fur tenderly. Mu Bai looked like he had seen a ghost again.

Cheng Xiaoxiao couldn’t stand how stupid Mu Bai was. She glared at Mu Bai angrily, but Chu Yunshen quickly straightened her head.

Fine. He could stroke her if he wanted.

Did he have obsessive-compulsive disorder or something?

Since Chu Yunshen had a domineering personality, Cheng Xiaoxiao was powerless. She could only obediently let him have his way.

“Is she okay?”

Chu Yunshen head was lowered, so his voice came out slightly stifled and didn’t sound as distant as usual.

“I already told you she is fine when she fainted. She is simply a little depressed.”

Mu Bai waved his hand nonchalantly before he sat down on the stool beside Chu Yunshen.

Mu Bai did not know what to say when he saw Chu Yunshen standing over the bed looking worried after the lion cat fainted.

He glanced at the lion cat in Chu Yunshen’s arms furtively and said to himself, “I wonder why a lion cat could end up depressed just like a human?”

Mu Bai raised his hand and wanted to touch Cheng Xiaoxiao’s head as he spoke.

Chu Yunshen used his arm to block Mu Bai altogether and looked at him threateningly.

“What are you doing? I just wanted to touch her!”

Mu Bai almost wanted to jump up and explain when he noticed Chu Yunshen’s childish reaction.

How dare he?

He had been lusting after her all this time!

Cheng Xiaoxiao huffily scratched Mu Bai’s hands when Chu Yunshen wasn’t looking.

“Ow!” Mu Bai held his hand and stood up. “Look at what your cat just did!”

“What?”

Chu Yunshen acted as though nothing happened as he looked at Mu Bai coolly. Mu Bai was so infuriated by Chu Yunshen’s fake innocent tone that he almost stormed out of the room.

Cheng Xiaoxiao burst out laughing in Chu Yunshen’s arms and kept trembling. Chu Yunshen reached his hand out to help calm her down.

Mu Bai felt deeply hurt when they acted as though he was not there. He covered his hand and almost pointed at the lion cat as he scolded, “Aren’t you an intelligent cat? I am a doctor, so I need to use my hands to examine patients! What if I got hurt?”

“Since she is fine, you are excused.”

Chu Yunshen chased Mu Bai out of the room. Mu Bai promptly looked furious and powerless. Cheng Xiaoxiao laughed so happily that tears oozed from the corners of her eyes.

“Did you have to take her side?”

Mu Bai covered his hand as he left the room miserably and closed the door loudly behind him.

Cheng Xiaoxiao belted out laughing once more. For some reason, she was absolutely tickled when Chu Yunshen bullied Mu Bai.

“Are you happier now?” asked Chu Yunshen out of the blue when the lion cat lay in Chu Yunshen’s arms completely sapped after she finally had enough of laughing.

Even though it was such a short sentence, Cheng Xiaoxiao felt completely stunned and did not react for some time.

After the smile dissipated from her face, tears welled in her eyes.

Was Chu Yunshen trying to make her happy?

She was not sad at all. Why did he have to tease her?

Cheng Xiaoxiao turned her head and buried it in Chu Yunshen’s arms.

She felt it wasn’t enough, so she nudged him a couple of times and buried herself even deeper.

Chu Yunshen did not forcibly turn her around this time. Instead, he hugged the lion cat with a large hand as he stroked her gently with the other.

Cheng Xiaoxiao’s eyes felt teary and she wanted to cry. She did not understand why she was so emotional today.

Perhaps she was unable to accept Xiao Qin’s death. Cheng Xiaoxiao felt surrounded by a sense of powerlessness and was trapped in a tiny box.

The box was dark. It was so small that Cheng Xiaoxiao had trouble turning. It was impossible for her to escape.

Xiao Qin’s suicide had genuinely taught Cheng Xiaoxiao a lesson about this era and was a clear warning to her.

Anyone who was unable to catch up would get eliminated.

She was so small and powerless that she was unable to protect the people she loved, let alone defend herself.

She could only gain true freedom when she became as strong as the martial arts grandmasters in kungfu novels.

Cheng Xiaoxiao wailed uncontrollably as she secretly swore in her heart. She had to study the “Miracles of Magic Book”. Also, she had to work on the jade box and find the missing jade disc.

Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t want to continue loafing around!

She wasn’t going to be a pet cat anymore!

She was human! Since she was human, she certainly had to live like one. She didn’t want to get pushed around. She didn’t want her fate to lie in the hands of others.

One day when she was strong enough, she would be able to stand in front of Wan Xia and Chu Yunshen with confidence and composure as she said, “Don’t worry. I have your back!”

After Cheng Xiaoxiao had made up her mind and was done crying, she felt happier now.

Chu Yunshen was still stroking her. Cheng Xiaoxiao felt a little embarrassed.

After all the crying, her tears and snot had gotten on Chu Yunshen.

Cat tears and snot genuinely sounded disgusting.

Cheng Xiaoxiao awkwardly refused to turn her head and continued to bury it in Chu Yunshen’s embrace against his damp robes.

Chu Yunshen could sense how emotional the lion cat was, but he continued keeping the same posture and stroking the cat on her back patiently. Every now and then, he patted her tiny head to comfort her.

Cheng Xiaoxiao waited, but Chu Yunshen didn’t force her to turn around and simply stroked her without saying a word. Perhaps all the crying had managed to relax her, so she surprisingly fell asleep at Chu Yunshen’s waist.

Chu Yunshen listened as the lion cat’s breathing gradually became consistent. Before long, the lion cat started to gurgle.

Was the little fellow asleep already?

She certainly had a big heart. After the lion cat was done crying, she fell asleep.