Inside a Two-Story Villa in Zitong City
Jiang Qian sat on the sofa in her pajamas, her long black hair draped over her shoulders. Her gaze was cold as she sipped her coffee, watching the scene unfold in front of her.
In the middle of the living room, Fang ng held a deadly weapon—a freshly peeled carrot—and had a suited man pinned against the wall.
"Miss Qian, Miss Fang, I swear I don’t know anything!" The man pleaded, sweating nervously.
Jiang Qian lazily lifted her coffee cup and took another sip.
"Keep questioning him."
Fang ng, seemingly out of nowhere, pulled out a vegetable peeler and started shaving the carrot into thin strips.
The man gulped hard in fear.
Despite Fang ng’s usual plain and harmless appearance, she was far from ordinary. As Jiang Qian’s assistant—and part-ti bodyguard—she had more than enough skill to handle situations like these.
"I’ll give you one more chance," she said coldly. "Tell us everything about the eldest Miss Jiang’s schedule, or else..."
She carved the carrot into a sharp dagger shape, its tip gleaming under the light, and held it just inches from the man's throat.
"Hurry up, or it’s Nei Yi Zu Te for you!"
The man was so terrified that he nearly blurted everything out—except…
"Uh… Miss Fang? What does Nei Yi Zu Te even an? I don’t understand school slang!"
Fang ng retracted the carrot knife and said in the scariest tone imaginable:
"It ans that this month, Miss Qian has decided to give everyone a bonus, except you."
"NOOO! Please, Miss Qian! I’m a hard worker! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! But… I really don’t know much!"
Jiang Qian wasn’t surprised.
She knew her sister—Jiang Jingshi wouldn’t be careless enough to reveal her schedule to random employees.
In fact, she often spread false information on purpose, just to keep people guessing.
But sowhere in all those fake details, there had to be a thread of truth.
Jiang Qian narrowed her eyes.
"Tell everything you know. Since the start of the National Day holiday, where has she been? The more details, the better."
The man nodded frantically. "O-okay! I’ll start from October 1st…"
The Investigation Begins
After gathering thirty-seven reports from different people, Fang ng compiled the information and handed Jiang Qian a thick notebook.
"Qianqian, I’ve written down everything they said. Want to take a look?"
Jiang Qian took the notebook and started reading.
A deep frown ford on her face.
*"So… on October 1st, my sister first drove to a public restroom. Then she went to an amusent park and bought an ice cream. Then, she went back to the restroom outside the park, bought a bowl of snail noodles, and then went back inside… to buy another ice cream?
Then, she had soone drive her to a snail noodle factory, bought a whole box of chocolates, and gave them to the kids at the amusent park?"*
She slamd the notebook shut.
"What kind of ridiculous schedule is this?!"
Fang ng shrugged. "Miss Jiang's actions are always hard to predict. Plus, everyone’s version of events had contradictions, so I had to rge them. So details are probably false—she might’ve spread fake info on purpose."
Jiang Qian pushed the notebook back.
"Xiaong, find out her real schedule. Quickly. Today is the 5th—the day she’s eting Lin Zhengran. We need to get there before she does."
"Got it."
Fang ng imdiately got to work, filtering out impossible routes—ones that didn’t match in timing or made no logical sense.
Soon, she extracted the most likely real locations.
She handed the revised list to Jiang Qian.
"These are the most probable routes."
Jiang Qian examined them. None of the schedules overlapped, aning she’d have to check multiple locations.
She stood up.
"I’m going to change. Let’s take the car and track them down—one by one."
Fang ng nodded but hesitated for a mont.
"But, Qianqian… if we do find them together, what are you planning to do?"
Jiang Qian paused mid-step.
"You were the one who voluntarily gave up the childhood engagent to your sister," Fang ng reminded her. "She even asked you twice, and you agreed. Now that she’s eting Lin Zhengran… what’s your reason for interfering?"
Jiang Qian stood still for a few seconds before replying:
"I don’t have to do anything, because I know my sister won’t actually like Lin Zhengran. They won’t end up together. I’m just stopping her from bothering my classmate."
"We agreed not to interfere in each other’s personal lives. She’s breaking the rules."
Jiang Qian then went upstairs to change, shutting the door behind her.
Fang ng stared after her and sighed.
"Stopping her from bothering your classmate? Yeah, sure… not a jealous bone in your body, huh?"
Monts later, Jiang Qian flung the door open again.
"And don’t overthink it! I’m not jealous! I just don’t like her getting involved with people around —especially not like this!"
She slamd the door shut again.
Fang ng wiped the sweat off her forehead.
Then, the door opened a third ti.
"Fine. Lin Zhengran and I aren’t friends, per se, but he’s still a classmate. I just don’t want her affecting my social circle, that’s all!"
SLAM.
Fang ng wiped more sweat off her forehead.
"She’s definitely jealous."
Lin Zhengran’s Blind Date
That night, the sky was full of stars.
Lin Zhengran changed his clothes and pulled out his phone, checking the location sent by his mysterious "date."
It wasn’t far—just a ten-minute taxi ride away.
But…
The eting spot was…
A Lanzhou noodle shop?
A little weird for a blind date, but whatever.
Lin Zhengran hailed a taxi and headed over, curious about who he was eting.
When he arrived—
The noodle shop was closed.
The street was mostly empty.
Just as he was about to take out his phone to text—
The neighboring cat café suddenly opened its door.
A young woman in a work uniform stepped out. She looked nervous but polite.
"Excuse , are you Mr. Lin? You’re here for a eting, right?"
Lin Zhengran raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that’s . And you are…?"
The girl blushed slightly and pointed to the cat café.
"Your eting is inside. I’ll take you there."
Inside the Cat Café
Lin Zhengran followed her through the cozy guest area—temporarily closed to custors—and into a hidden backroom.
Unlike typical cat cafés, which had small backrooms for feeding and cleaning, this one had a massive, luxurious space, even bigger than the guest area.
The walls were decorated with artistic pink cat-thed murals, and tiny star-shaped lights hung from the ceiling.
Over twenty cats lounged around the room—napping, stretching, yawning.
And in one corner…
A woman in silver heels and an elegant white gown sat gracefully, feeding a few cats by hand.
Her long, wavy silver hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her long lashes fluttered as she looked down at the cats.
Her red lips curved slightly.
Even from the side—
She looked like a work of art.
Then, she turned her head and smiled.
"Zhengran, you’re here?"
Jiang Jingshi.
Lin Zhengran laughed helplessly.
"Yeah… I had a feeling it was you."
The Cat Café and a Subtle Ambush
The kittens in the café seed to be naturally drawn to Lin Zhengran. They owed at him in their soft, high-pitched voices, squeezing closer as if trying to get his attention.
Jiang Jingshi observed this and glanced around at the other cats in the room.
To her surprise, nearly every single one was curious about Lin Zhengran—so even approached him on their own.
She chuckled and said, "Zhengran, animals really seem to like you. You know what they say—guys who attract animals are usually kind-hearted. The type of man a girl can entrust her life to."
Lin Zhengran smirked as he gently stroked the large cat beside him. "You believe everything you read online, Jiang Jie?"
Jiang Jingshi moved a little closer, her tone soft.
"Not everything. Only what I choose to believe. And in my eyes, Zhengran, you really are the kind of guy girls dream about."
She paused, then added slowly, "Do you know how many girls at the competition today were talking about you? Even though you weren’t on stage? I lost count."
Jiang Jingshi let her words linger, watching his reaction.
"Hearing all those girls talk about you, I couldn’t help but feel a little... jealous. After all, Zhengran, you are my fiancé~"
Her teasing tone made Lin Zhengran turn his head toward her. Their eyes t.
Jiang Jingshi held his gaze, smiling.
"Soone like you, Jiang Jie, actually believes in childhood engagents?"
She turned away and reached down to scratch a kitten’s chin.
"Didn’t I say? I only believe what I choose to believe. But what do you an by ‘soone like ’?"
Jiang Jingshi glanced at him sideways, voice carrying a hint of challenge. "Are you saying I don’t deserve to like soone? That I can’t fall in love? I'm still a girl, you know. I need soone to cherish too."
Lin Zhengran shifted his gaze to the cats. "Of course, you can. But judging from how you usually handle things, love has never been your priority. You always co across as gentle and kind, but your ambitions are written all over your face. You care about business more than romance."
Jiang Jingshi laughed and gave him a playful glare.
"You really do understand , huh? It’s true—I’ve thought about love before, but I never took it seriously. Maybe it’s because I never t anyone worth my ti... until I t you, Zhengran."
She smiled aningfully.
"There’s just sothing about you that makes people curious. Even I can’t help but be intrigued."
Her tone was unreadable.
*"Ever since I t you, my career has been full of setbacks.
Take today’s competition, for example—I’ve invested far more money in this than I did in the Taekwondo event. But the mont I saw you at the venue this morning, my heart skipped a beat.
Because for the first ti... I wondered if I might lose again."*
Lin Zhengran was about to reply when Jiang Jingshi cut him off.
"You’re still planning to win, aren’t you?"
Lin Zhengran hesitated, then nodded. "It’s not about beating you. It’s about winning the competition."
Jiang Jingshi let out a soft chuckle. "That, I believe."
A cat jumped onto Lin Zhengran’s lap, rubbing against his chest.
Jiang Jingshi noticed so cat fur sticking to his shirt and reached over to gently pluck it off.
Her fingers brushed lightly against the fabric as she spoke.
"I always thought I was good at reading people. But it turns out, there’s always soone better. Right now, that soone is you, Zhengran."
She let out a small sigh.
*"Strangely enough, though… When you and He Qing won against my Taekwondo team last ti, I was a little angry. You cost a lot of money, after all.
But this ti… even after hearing people whispering that my team might lose again… I wasn’t that mad.
Instead, I found myself thinking—will Zhengran show up at my next project, too? If he does… will I lose again?"*
Lin Zhengran narrowed his eyes.
"Your next project? What is it?"
Jiang Jingshi smirked.
"An online gaming tournant. I’m setting up a leaderboard."
Lin Zhengran: "..."
Jiang Jingshi noticed his expression and arched a brow.
"No way. Don’t tell —this is another coincidence? Are we really this fated?"
Just then, several of the cats in the room started sniffing the air.
They looked at Jiang Jingshi, then at Lin Zhengran.
As if they sensed sothing, they suddenly rushed toward her, jumping into her arms all at once.
The sudden weight threw her off balance—and before she knew it, she was falling straight into Lin Zhengran’s chest.
Lin Zhengran instinctively caught her.
"Jiang Jie! Be careful!"
Jiang Jingshi let out a surprised yelp, leaning heavily against him.
As she steadied herself, she turned back to glare at the cats—only to find them scattered, pretending as if nothing had happened.
She frowned. "What’s with them today?"
She sighed, about to get up—
Then she turned her head and found herself face-to-face with Lin Zhengran.
Their noses were inches apart—so close that from a distance, there was barely a strand of hair’s width between them.
Jiang Jingshi’s eyes softened. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
At that exact mont—
The door suddenly swung open.
"Miss Jiang! Are you okay?! I just heard—"
The staff mber froze mid-sentence.
She blinked at the scene in front of her.
Jiang Jingshi… lying in a man’s arms… faces dangerously close.
The realization hit her like a truck.
"Oh. OH. I—uh—"
She whipped around, clamping her hands over her eyes.
"S-sorry, Miss Jiang! I didn’t see anything! I promise!"
Jiang Jingshi quickly pulled away, standing up while covering her lips with the back of her hand.
Her heart was pounding, and the heat in her face refused to fade.
To regain composure, she forced her voice into its usual firm, calm tone.
"Did you knock before barging in?"
The staff mber nearly panicked.
"I—Miss Jiang, I was going to knock! But then I heard you yell, so I thought maybe a cat scratched you or sothing, so I just—"
She bowed repeatedly.
"I’m so sorry! I’ll never enter without knocking again! Please don’t be mad!"
Jiang Jingshi took a slow breath.
"Fine. Just be more careful next ti. What did you co here for?"
"Oh! Your phone has been ringing nonstop. It’s your younger sister."
Lin Zhengran, who had been watching the scene unfold, finally stood up.
Jiang Jingshi’s smile returned—though there was still a hint of rosy warmth in her cheeks.
"Ignore it. I’m not answering any of her calls tonight."
"Understood, Miss Jiang!"
The staff mber quickly scurried out.
Lin Zhengran raised an eyebrow. "Jiang Qian is calling you?"
Jiang Jingshi exhaled slowly, still suppressing the lingering embarrassnt from earlier.
"Nothing important."
Then, she smoothly changed the topic.
"Zhengran, have you eaten yet?"
"Not yet. I was planning to grab sothing on the way."
She smiled.
"Perfect. I’ll cook for you."
"Huh?"
"What’s with that reaction? It’s normal for a girl to know how to cook, isn’t it? Besides, I wanted to talk to you about sothing important anyway—sothing about today’s competition."
Jiang Jingshi led him toward a hidden kitchen behind a sliding panel.
"Let’s eat first. Then, we’ll talk."
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