Xu Yinsheng came out of the restroom, the cat ears that had been perched on her head had already vanished.
Inside the psychological therapy room, a man in a white coat was holding Yanqing the cat, while Zhao Yicheng sat in a chair with two large bags of medicine at his feet.
It looked like everything had been settled.
When Xu Yinsheng emerged, the man in white picked up the two large bags of medicine and motioned for her to follow as he headed outside.
But Xu Yinsheng didn’t follow; instead, she walked over to the man in white’s side.
“Ms. Mu, is there something you need?”
The man looked at her with a puzzled expression, his hands never stopping stroking the cat’s head.
It was clear he was a genuine cat enthusiast.
“You…”
Xu Yinsheng faltered the moment she opened her mouth, unsure how to persuade him to take the collar off Yanqing.
She couldn’t very well say, “Your cat made me plead tearfully to remove the collar from its neck.”
Tsk… if she said that, she’d sound even crazier than Zhao Yicheng.
“Your cat… has depression.”
The man in white looked at her as if she were a patient, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
“If you keep that collar on it like this, it will develop depression sooner or later.”
Seeing that the man didn’t believe her, Xu Yinsheng pointed to herself and explained,
“It’s like this, I… I’m an animal trainer. I can understand what animals feel.”
“Don’t you think ever since you put the collar on it, it’s become listless?”
The man lowered his head to look. Indeed, the shiny black eyes of the cat were dull and lifeless. The entire cat lay limply in his arms, only showing some spirit when it saw small fish crackers.
“Here, Yanqing, nod once if you want the collar off, nod twice if you don’t.” Xu Yinsheng pressed her advantage.
Under the man’s gaze, the cat in his arms glanced at Xu Yinsheng, then obediently gave a single nod.
“See? Even Yanqing wants this.”
Xu Yinsheng pointed to the cat’s head and said, “Look how cute it is now, so well-behaved. It’s not like other little animals who are mischievous, nor like other cats that easily go into heat. It doesn’t even eat mice. No germs on it—clean and hygienic.”
Xu Yinsheng then pointed to the collar on the cat’s neck.
Yanqing rubbed its head against her, then looked up at its owner with teary, pitiful eyes.
“Meow~ meow~”
The man gently patted the top of the cat’s head and placed it in Xu Yinsheng’s hands so she could stroke it properly.
Yanqing quickly calmed down.
Xu Yinsheng stroked the cat’s paws, then looked up at the man.
“The collar is a restraint on the animal’s nature… Mr. Zhang, you wouldn’t want your cat to get depression, right?”
“I have a friend who didn’t know how to love his cat, ignored its feelings, and forcibly put a collar on it.”
As she spoke, Xu Yinsheng seemed to empathize deeply.
She glanced toward the man waiting at the door, sarcastically mocking.
“Want to know what happened to my friend?”
“A selfish person like him never has a good ending. The cat ran away, he went mad, went bankrupt, ended up on the streets, was humiliated by eighteen big men, and finally jumped from the top of a financial tower.”
At the door, Zhao Yicheng set down the two bags of medicine.
Hearing Xu Yinsheng’s nearly “named” curse, he shrugged innocently, even leisurely lighting a cigarette.
Anyway, after Xu Yinsheng’s tirade, the man in white did take the collar off Yanqing—well, maybe he was just annoyed by her constant nagging.
Once the collar was removed, Yanqing looked around curiously, its tail wagging like crazy, almost doing a backflip on the spot.
At a glance, you couldn’t tell if it was a dog or a cat.
In the end, the man in white picked it up again.
“Yanqing, you don’t like the collar?”
He looked directly into those pale blue cat eyes, his gaze calm and gentle.
“Meow!”
Yanqing nodded, its slender blue-and-white tail curling around the man’s wrist as it rubbed its head twice.
“Really don’t like it?”
“Meow! Meow!”
“Then don’t wander off anymore. If some scoundrel kidnaps you for cat meat hotpot, I won’t know where to find you.”
The man in white doted on the cat, poking its forehead gently.
“Meow meow~”
Yanqing cried softly in protest.
This warm and peaceful scene was pleasant to watch.
Xu Yinsheng felt her heart soften, as sweet as having eaten a big White Rabbit candy.
Damn, she felt like she shipped them.
No, no, definitely no shipping—this is the real world, not some anime!
After fulfilling Yanqing’s request, Xu Yinsheng and Zhao Yicheng walked out of Zhang’s clinic.
They placed the two large bags of medicine into the trunk.
Xu Yinsheng took the passenger seat, and Zhao Yicheng started the engine, stepping on the accelerator and finding a good route to speed along.
“You’re not going to ask me anything?”
Xu Yinsheng crossed her arms and glanced at Zhao Yicheng.
“If I ask, will you tell me?”
Zhao Yicheng countered.
“No.”
“Then no need to ask.”
He turned the steering wheel left and merged into the left lane.
A black BMW took the opportunity to overtake and sped past them.
“Is this amount of medicine for a month?”
Xu Yinsheng asked suddenly.
“A week.”
Xu Yinsheng nodded but muttered inwardly: taking this much medicine—does he want to die?
“How’s life in the villa this month?”
Zhao Yicheng asked in turn.
“Not bad. I work out every day, keeping busy. If you installed a computer for me, that’d be even better.”
Zhao Yicheng didn’t answer directly. Instead, he brought up another topic: “Your food expenses have gone up quickly lately.”
“Really?”
Xu Yinsheng thought of the Iberian ham, A5 Wagyu, caviar, Tania blue lobster, and other luxury ingredients in her fridge.
She nodded, conceding Zhao Yicheng’s point.
“It’s definitely a bit high.”
“But I’ve been working out lately, so eating well is normal. You’re not so broke you can’t even pay for cat food, are you?”
“You eat too much.”
“Oh great owner, are you planning to abandon me?”
“No, I found you a job.”
“A cat café job? Master, can you bear your beloved cat smelling like others?”
“No, and it’s not a cat café.”
Zhao Yicheng made a symbolic inquiry for Xu Yinsheng’s opinion.
“A secretary?”
“No.” Xu Yinsheng stopped joking and shook her head decisively.
Eat and drink well and still look for a job?
She wasn’t crazy.
Besides, whatever job Zhao Yicheng had in mind was probably just a fancy title to keep her tied to him.
Better to stay in the villa and enjoy working out.
“Then a personal secretary. Social insurance and housing fund included, ten thousand yuan a month, meals and lodging provided, with medical and social security, plus a car and a house.”
Zhao Yicheng ignored Xu Yinsheng’s refusal and went on about what he could offer.
“I’ll sort out a new identity for you.” He paused. “Use ‘Mu Qingwan.’ It suits your new form.”
“You don’t want to be an illegal resident forever.”
“No way!”
Xu Yinsheng got a little angry.
“Are you deaf? I already said no. If you want to go, you go. I absolutely won’t!”
“And being a secretary for a mentally ill person—that’s just pure brain damage. Who knows when you’ll be pinned against a glass window and humiliated?”
Xu Yinsheng still hadn’t forgotten the punishment on the cruise ship!
Zhao Yicheng listened quietly until she finished.
He opened the sunroof and rolled down the windows.
The howling wind rushed in from all directions, making Xu Yinsheng’s emerald green hair flutter wildly inside the car.
“Really won’t go?”
“No!”
“Really?”
“No!!”
“Okay.”
Zhao Yicheng nodded.
Just as Xu Yinsheng thought the matter was settled, Zhao Yicheng slammed the steering wheel.
A screech of tires pierced the air as the black Bentley spun sharply like a racehorse, the rear tires smoking as they rubbed against the pavement.
The scenery outside blurred by at high speed.
The violent inertia slammed Xu Yinsheng back into the leather seat, her muscles instinctively tensing, forcing everything inside her to compress.
“Many roads… but safety is the first rule.”
Xu Yinsheng came to her senses and quickly buckled her seatbelt.
“Where are you going?”
“Outskirts. I’ll take you for a vehicle bungee jump.”
He said it calmly.
Xu Yinsheng paled.
She certainly knew what “bungee jump” meant. She thought of the soaked, ruined pants in the back seat and clutched her legs tightly. “Hey hey, don’t play like this. You’re threatening me, forcing me—this is pure exploitation of my labor!”
“I don’t care. You say I’m crazy, fine. I’m in a bad mood, and I’m going to make you unhappy too.”
Zhao Yicheng said with shameless bravado.
“You…”
Xu Yinsheng was too angry to reply.
She’d never seen such a shameless Zhao Yicheng before.
But she had no way to refute him since she was the one at fault for calling him crazy.
No, it was her fault for calling a crazy person crazy!!
Since it was afternoon, few cars were leaving the city, and the road was quiet.
But Zhao Yicheng floored the accelerator.
The usually empty highway suddenly became congested.
At such speeds, overtaking one car meant soon encountering the next.
The smooth road now felt like a bumpy go-kart track!
Zhao Yicheng was doing this on purpose—no doubt about it!!
Xu Yinsheng’s face quickly flushed, her breathing growing heavier.
With only three traffic lights left before leaving the city, Xu Yinsheng suddenly clutched her stomach, bent over, and begged pitifully, “Okay, okay, I admit defeat—secretary it is.”
“Give me some paper. No, pants. No, turn your head away, don’t look!!”
The black Bentley slowed down and pulled over.
Zhao Yicheng glanced at Xu Yinsheng and handed her a bottle of mineral water, then pulled out his phone to take some photos for memory.
After all, he was crazy; crazy people doing anything was normal.
Xu Yinsheng took a sip, her dry lips moistening as the water replenished her lost fluids.
Zhao Yicheng turned the steering wheel gently, made a U-turn, and re-entered the city on another road—this time at a much slower speed.
“I’ve changed my mind. Double location tracking is safer. You’d better prepare a few more pairs of pants.”
“You!”
Xu Yinsheng glared at him, chest rising and falling with anger.
She had never met such a shameless man.
“You said it yourself—I’m crazy. I don’t need to keep my word or make sense.”
He rubbed his chin.
“Maybe triple insurance is even safer than double. When we get back, I’ll have a friend custom-make one for you. My little Yin’er, do you prefer cube, pyramid, or polyhedron?”
As expected, you hold grudges.