Su Li let out a long breath.
That uncomfortable feeling finally began to fade away.
Ever since she came to this world, her emotions had always remained steady.
She remembered the first time she saw the abandoned kitten by the roadside, and felt this same sense of discomfort.
So she had carefully taken care of that kitten.
Now, seeing Miss Cat eating with such a sorrowful look, Su Li still felt that same unease.
She recalled seeing Miss Cat working hard at various jobs, remembered Miss Cat’s phone covered in cracks, and thought of the huge bag of things she always carried, as well as the carefully prepared Bento Miss Cat had once made for her.
Su Li let out a long breath, calming her emotions.
Clearly, for her, experiencing emotional ups and downs was supposed to be a good thing.
But now, like this…
She didn’t really want it.
She had always respected the fate of others.
But seeing Miss Cat working as hard as she once did, Su Li still very much wanted to help Miss Cat.
Just like how she donated some money every month to help those facing difficulties.
Su Li felt that she didn’t actually like cats that much—she just wanted to take good care of them, so that when her own cat faced hardships and needed help, someone else would be there to look after it too.
But what could she help Miss Cat with now?
Watching Miss Cat carefully eating the leftover food, Su Li felt a little troubled.
As for her own job, she didn’t recommend anyone else enter her line of work.
After all, other people didn’t have her stamina or capacity for recovery.
Similarly, she hoped Miss Cat could live happily, since she herself was quite good at handling pressure and rarely experienced mood swings.
But Miss Cat was different—she deserved better things.
Su Li recalled seeing Miss Cat lying on the Convenience Store counter watching Anime, and an idea popped into her mind.
She knew now how she could help Miss Cat.
But for that, she would need to earn more money.
“Mmm, I ended up finishing everything without realizing it.”
Miss Cat glanced at her bowl, now spotless, then looked somewhat embarrassed at Su Li.
She didn’t know why—she’d just kept eating, and before she knew it, it was all gone.
“It’s fine, I should thank you for helping me clear up the leftovers, Miss Cat.”
Su Li forced a smile onto her face, even though she knew it was a fake one.
“I’ll go wash the dishes for you,” Miss Cat said, then ran to the bathroom.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“It’s nothing. You treated me to a meal, after all. If there’s anything you need my help with, just let me know.”
Miss Cat sounded so happy, even though Su Li had just seen her secretly wiping away tears.
From her observation, Miss Cat seemed much like herself—an orphan.
No family.
Or perhaps, even if she did have family, things at home weren’t good, and it was likely that everyone relied solely on Miss Cat.
Su Li didn’t know which guess was right.
But Miss Cat seemed much stronger than she had imagined.
“I’m off to work at the Convenience Store now.”
Once everything was done, Miss Cat looked at Su Li and said.
“Alright, I’ll see you off.”
“No need, really. The Convenience Store is just downstairs, I’ll get there quickly. If you walk me down, you’ll just have to come back up anyway.”
Miss Cat shook her head. Su Li, just as last time, escorted Miss Cat to the door, then watched her figure gradually fade away into the distance.
Only after closing the door did she look around at the empty room, and a fresh wave of loneliness washed over her.
This feeling wasn’t the same as when she’d lived with Chi Qingya.
When Miss Cat was around, she felt at ease.
But living with Chi Qingya only made Su Li feel exhausted.
Su Li let out a long breath.
She sat on the sofa, still feeling a little worried inside.
People change.
When she first started living with Chi Qingya, things had felt comfortable enough.
But later on, as Chi Qingya’s many flaws started to show, Su Li gradually found it harder and harder to bear.
Perhaps distance really does breed fondness?
Su Li thought so to herself, and placed an order online for a New Phone.
Her own phone wasn’t broken, but if Miss Cat could use a phone without cracks to watch Anime, maybe things would be smoother?
Of course, Miss Cat could also use her current phone to learn to read.
There were still plenty of educational videos out there these days.
If Miss Cat had a good phone, she could learn all sorts of things if she wanted to.
When the time came, all Su Li had to do was find a reason to pass her current phone on to Miss Cat.
If she directly gave Miss Cat a new phone, Miss Cat would surely refuse, or maybe even give the money back.
Su Li looked at all the big and small bags stacked on the table, thinking this was a good enough reason.
After all, Miss Cat had bought her plenty of things, hadn’t she?
She didn’t know why Miss Cat was so reluctant to spend money on herself, but Su Li respected her, and understood her too.
Su Li glanced at her phone and finally noticed that MOKA had sent her an apology message at some point.
[Sorry!!!]
Her emotions didn’t waver at all. After thinking for a moment, she didn’t send the saved picture to MOKA right away.
She knew MOKA wasn’t really sorry—she just realized she was about to die.
Of course, she understood how important Song was to MOKA.
If it wasn’t for hitting a bottleneck, MOKA would never have sought her out.
And this time, MOKA didn’t even want the Song she’d composed herself.
Although she had accepted MOKA’s money, that didn’t stop her from giving MOKA a lesson.
……
Jin Family.
Jin Ke’er sat quietly by the window, letting the moonlight spill across her body.
In her mind, Su Li’s image appeared.
Just thinking of Su Li sent her emotions on a wild rollercoaster.
At first, there was the burning humiliation.
She was the dignified Big Miss of the Jin Family, yet this plaything who once grovelled at her feet had slapped her across the face.
Every time she remembered that crisp sound, a metallic tang of blood filled her throat.
Next, a dull ache would swell in her chest, as if someone was wringing her heart like a towel, making her want to crush Su Li’s pale face between her fingers.
But that anger, as it burned, would always morph into something else.
Whenever she remembered the cold grip of Su Li’s hand on her wrist, a shiver like an electric current would shoot up her spine.
Clearly, she ought to be furious, but her body felt as if she’d been tossed into boiling water— flushed and feverish from ears to knees.
Then she’d neurotically gnaw her nails, and only when she tasted blood would she realize she was still addicted to the pain of Su Li’s touch.
What drove her mad the most was Su Li’s complete indifference!!!
Scenes of Su Li ignoring her often played out in her mind.
And at those times, she’d notice her heart was always pounding wildly.