After Qin Shou left, Su Yu squatted on the chair, feeling uneasy.
He glanced at the surrounding crowd and stealthily slipped outside.
Qin Shou and the others were by a window at the other end, not far, but the hall was noisy, and Su Yu couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Frustrated, little Su Yu decided to sneak under the window to eavesdrop.
However, perhaps it was bad luck; he was only halfway there when he was stopped by someone.
This person was none other than Su Yu’s youngest aunt, Su Wanwan.
Su Wanwan was Old Master Su’s late-born daughter, a full twenty years younger than Su Qingwen, and only a few years older than Su Yu.
She had been spoiled rotten since childhood, almost to the point of having a lawless personality.
Su Yu stood a few steps away, his body slightly arched, warily watching the smiling Su Wanwan.
“Where did this cat come from?”
Su Wanwan looked at Su Yu (the “rustic cat”) with disdain.
Her female companion beside her also seemed a bit puzzled, looking at the people around her, but no one could explain it.
“Even though it looks like a common house cat, it’s quite plump and cute,” Su Wanwan said, trying to reach out and touch him.
Su Yu instinctively retreated a few steps.
This aunt had never favored him and his mother, and she never showed a pleasant face when they met.
So, their relationship wasn’t exactly tense, but it certainly wasn’t close either.
Moreover, Su Yu had personally seen his aunt frequently entering and exiting the Su family villa, clearly having a good relationship with Shi Jing’an.
Su Wanwan saw that she had condescended to tease the cat, yet this cat didn’t know how to appreciate it and even dared to run away?
Su Wanwan’s smiling face turned cold.
“A mongrel is a mongrel, can’t even bother to please people.”
“Butler, find someone to throw this cat out. Don’t let just anything run in here and dirty the Su family’s ground for no reason.”
The butler, hearing the call, meekly stepped forward, bending down to grab Su Yu.
Su Yu naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to wait there to be caught.
He turned and ran into the banquet hall, ready to call for backup.
The butler missed his grab and immediately called other servants to help, cornering little Su Yu in the garden.
Seeing Su Yu hunching, hesitant, Su Wanwan pursed her lips and smiled.
Her voice was low but full of malice, “Su Quan, grab it for me!”
The encircling people began to close in.
Su Yu fiercely bared his teeth, letting out a piercing howl.
“What are you fools standing there for?! Grab it for me!”
Su Yu darted left and right, but ultimately couldn’t escape the pursuit of four adults.
He was caught by the neck and lifted up.
He struggled uncomfortably.
Since becoming a cat, Su Yu had never been lifted like this.
His small eyes glared fiercely at Su Wanwan.
Su Wanwan calmly watched the cat in the servant’s hand and smiled at the person beside her, “Look at this cat, its eyes are quite fierce. Maybe it’s a stray from somewhere. Who knows if it has any infectious diseases.”
As she spoke, she deliberately covered her mouth.
Su Yu rolled his eyes.
Unable to break free, he simply gave up and started howling at the top of his lungs.
His mother and Qin Shou were both inside; they should come quickly if they heard the noise.
The cat’s cries were sharp and piercing, making the female guests present cover their ears.
Su Wanwan’s smiling face completely sank.
She felt that this cat was deliberately trying to annoy her!
Taking a few steps forward, Su Wanwan gently stroked Su Yu’s head, a smile appearing on her lips.
Her tone was very gentle, “Little thing, don’t be scared.”
Su Yu felt his fur bristling and couldn’t help but struggle even harder.
Su Wanwan’s face held a smile, but the force in her hand grew stronger.
Her sharp nails dug fiercely into Su Yu’s flesh.
“It seems this cat and I are not compatible. Throw it out.”
The servant holding Su Yu was bewildered.
He woodenly lifted the cat, ready to head towards the door, but the butler pulled him aside and took Su Yu.
The butler, who had been with the Su family for decades, knew Su Wanwan’s personality best.
Her words were far from simple; she clearly meant for the cat to be “dealt with.”
Su Wanwan was ruthless, and cat ears are fragile.
Su Yu was pinched painfully, the entire cat was a bit bewildered, dizzily held in the butler’s hand.
Su Wanwan clapped her hands and called to the people behind her, “Alright, never mind this beast, let’s go inside.”
“Miss Su, who are you calling a beast?”
A man’s sharp, angry voice came.
He had only left for a short while, returned to find his kitten missing from his seat, and then heard faint meows from the garden outside.
Worried, Qin Shou had just arrived at the garden when he heard Su Wanwan’s words.
The once lively crowd suddenly quieted.
Su Yu heard his owner’s voice, used all his might, and bit the butler hard.
Taking advantage of the butler’s pained loosening of his grip, he broke free and bolted towards his owner.
Qin Shou picked up the stumbling Su Yu, finding the entire cat trembling slightly, his smooth fur messy, and faint bloodstains showing on his ear.
His eyes darkened, and Qin Shou’s tone became even calmer, “Just a cat, yet Miss Su makes such a big fuss.”
Su Wanwan also realized at this moment that this common house cat was actually Qin Shou’s!
She looked at the cat nestled in Qin Shou’s arms with jealousy, her expression wronged, “This is all a misunderstanding. We thought it was a stray cat that ran in, so we were just going to have someone take it out.”
Qin Shou scoffed, “Just take it out?”
Su Wanwan’s eyes flickered, confident that Qin Shou wouldn’t cause unpleasantness with the Su family over a cat.
She became even more aggrieved, her eyes even red, “Mr. Qin, this really is a misunderstanding. If I offended you, I apologize.”
The people gathered behind them, unaware of the situation, saw Su Wanwan crying beautifully and Qin Shou looking menacing.
They only thought the two young people were having an unpleasant dispute, and began to chime in with advice, “Mr. Qin, Miss Su is young, why bother arguing with her?”
“Exactly, why would a grown man argue with a young lady?”
Someone even joked, “Mr. Qin is too unromantic, haha.”
Qin Shou watched Su Wanwan’s act with cold eyes, stroked little Su Yu’s fur, gave Su Wanwan a meaningful look, and turned to leave.
Su Wanwan wiped away her fake tears, a sigh of relief in her heart, and closely followed Qin Shou into the banquet hall.
During this time, she occasionally cast shy, timid glances in Qin Shou’s direction.
Thus, everyone’s gaze became even more ambiguous.
Even if some people knew the truth, who cared?
Gossip about wealthy families was what everyone truly cared about.
***
Qin Shou silently returned to the banquet hall with his cat.
Su Yu had already gotten over the pain and was feeling much better.
He belatedly realized his owner’s anger and cautiously peered at his owner’s face from the corner of his eye.
His shifting gaze met Qin Shou’s.
Little Su Yu’s heart trembled, and he quietly buried his head under his belly.
“I was wrong, please let me go QAQ”
“Do you know you were wrong?”
The man’s voice was flat.
Su Yu fawningly stuck out his head and licked his owner’s hand, his expression extremely flattering, showing a very good attitude towards admitting his mistake.
“Do you know where you went wrong?”
Little Su Yu was bewildered for a second, then continued to nod vigorously.
Although he didn’t actually know where he was wrong, nodding was definitely not wrong.
Qin Shou gritted his teeth, wanting to pick up this disobedient kitten and spank his bottom.
But when his gaze fell on the injured furry ear, he softened again.
His expression softened, and Qin Shou began to patiently educate the child, “Next time I’m not by your side, you’re not allowed to run off, understand?”
Su Yu immediately nodded.
“If you encounter bad people and can’t beat them, run away quickly and I’ll deal with it.”
Su Yu looked embarrassed, but still nodded.
“The most important point,” Qin Shou emphasized, “next time, don’t let yourself get hurt again.”
“It will pain me.”
Su Yu froze, then belatedly felt a little wronged.
From childhood to adulthood, when he was bullied outside, no one had ever said such words to him.
Perhaps his mother would have, but he never told her these things.
His mother was already unhappy, so why add to her troubles?
Sniffling, Su Yu affectionately rubbed against his owner’s arms, softly meowing twice to express his grievances, and deliberately exposed his injured furry ear, rubbing it against Qin Shou’s hand, actively seeking comfort.
Qin Shou lowered his eyes, seeing the wound on his little one’s ear, his heart ached.
He couldn’t help but lean closer and gently blew on the injured furry ear a couple of times.
Little Su Yu couldn’t help but twitch his ears, feeling them tingly, and his heart pounded uncontrollably.
Shaking his head to dispel his strange reactions, Su Yu looked at his owner with starry eyes, wanting to go home.
Successfully understanding little Su Yu’s thoughts, Qin Shou’s lips subtly curled.
He gently caressed Su Yu’s spine, coaxing, “Good A’zai, we’re going home soon.”
Comforted by his owner’s touch, little Su Yu narrowed his eyes contentedly and obediently lay in Qin Shou’s arm.
Qin Shou surveyed the room, found the two people in the corner, and walked over with little Su Yu in his arms.
They were acquaintances after all; he should at least say hello before leaving.
Moreover…
Madam Luo’s reaction to seeing the kitten in his arms should be very interesting.
With a slight smirk, Qin Shou walked towards the corner, filled with mischievous glee.
Luo Xiaoman and Cui Mingbo were relentlessly pestered by people trying to ingratiate themselves, so they simply used feeling a bit drunk as an excuse to hide in the corner.
Thus, they naturally didn’t know what had happened in the garden on the other side.
Seeing Qin Shou approach them calmly, holding a cat, Luo Xiaoman’s lips twitched, feeling a headache coming on.
Qin Shou clearly knew something and was there to test her.
Her foolish son, however, didn’t notice anything, and was sleeping soundly in someone else’s arms, completely ignoring his own mother.
She glared at a certain cat with a “disappointed in you” look.
Luo Xiaoman’s smile was polite, giving the impression that they weren’t very close, “Mr. Qin, is something the matter?”
“I came to say hello to Madam Luo and Mr. Cui. My cat had a small issue, so I’m taking him to the hospital first.”
Luo Xiaoman, hearing this, nervously looked at the cat in Qin Shou’s arms, unable to see anything wrong.
She could only smile and say to Qin Shou, “He looks fine to me, is he sick?”
Qin Shou looked at Su Yu with a doting gaze, “No, it’s nothing. He was just too naughty and got a little hurt.”
Then he nodded to the two of them and turned to leave.