Miss Cat listened to the message Su Li had sent her.
Then, she looked at the characters on the screen over and over again.
She felt like she was finally becoming familiar with these few words.
Even though she had no pen or paper, Miss Cat used her finger to trace the characters in the air.
“Keep it up. If there is anything you don’t understand, just ask me.”
Miss Cat muttered the words Su Li had said to her, feeling as if she already recognized the characters.
‘I have to work hard!’
‘I need to learn more characters!’
‘At least then I can communicate normally with Su Li.’
Miss Cat cheered herself up this way. She felt that even living in such a dilapidated room wasn’t much of a problem anymore.
***
Seeing that Cat had stopped sending messages, Su Li knew she had returned to her studies.
She didn’t continue to disturb her.
However, thinking about the little kitten who used to follow her around, occasionally pouncing into her arms and sleeping on her lap, and who was now starting to read because she wanted to enter her world…
It made Su Li’s heart feel warm.
Bai Huizi, who was driving, noticed Su Li staring at her phone in a daze and felt a bit puzzled.
However, she didn’t say anything.
She didn’t care about Su Li’s private life.
As long as Su Li prioritized her when they were together, that was enough.
She had no time or energy to waste on other things unless they were interesting enough.
Looking at her chat interface, Su Li seemed to remember something.
She sent the photos of the wounds MOKA had left on her back to MOKA.
Originally, she had intended to teach MOKA a lesson.
But later, because of Cat’s situation, Su Li had forgotten about it.
Although things had been unpleasant between them, MOKA had, after all, paid the reward.
The transaction between them was not yet over.
To give Cat a better life, Su Li still had to work hard to earn more money.
After sending the message, she put her phone away, closed her eyes, and began to rest.
Even though she was still full of energy after providing so much service to Bai Huizi, she wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to let her body recover from fatigue.
***
Inside MOKA’s room.
Glass shards and dried wine stains were scattered across the dark Persian carpet.
The leather sofa sat crooked in the middle of the living room, its surface marked by the dark yellow stains of spilled whiskey.
Beside the armrest, several crumpled pieces of music score paper were discarded.
The glass coffee table was mostly occupied by empty wine bottles, their openings rimmed with amber residue that looked like syrup.
The air was a mix of malt fragrance, mint tobacco smoke, and the scent of the leather sofa.
A Band-Aid with peeling nail polish was stuck to the edge of the table, next to broken guitar picks and sticky notes covered in scrawled notes.
It looked like a creative workspace hit by a hurricane.
MOKA was slumped over the table, which was buried under crumpled scores.
The empty wine bottle leaning next to her hand was on the verge of falling off the edge.
She grabbed a bottle with less than half of the whiskey left and drank directly from it.
She didn’t even bother to wipe the amber liquid as it dripped down her chin and into her collar.
She felt like she was going crazy.
The melody of her new song was stuck at the chorus, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t force it out.
Frustrated, she scratched the tabletop with her nails, making a piercing sound.
She still couldn’t forget the score and melody she had branded onto Su Li’s back.
She wanted to remember it, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall exactly what she had written.
It was clearly a song she had created herself, yet it felt as if it didn’t belong to her.
She didn’t understand why.
Why was it that something clearly hers was impossible to remember?
Since Su Li hadn’t replied to her messages, she had been forced to push herself over and over to create and write.
But no matter how she wrote, she was never satisfied with the results.
This unnatural creation felt like being constipated on a toilet, trying to force something out that simply wouldn’t come.
She missed the feeling of smooth, flowing comfort she had experienced when Su Li provided her service.
That feeling was what music was supposed to be!
It wasn’t this forced grinding that left her in a state of agitation.
She remembered the physics and math problems she had done in high school.
No matter how long she stared at them, she couldn’t solve them.
That was exactly how she felt now.
Furthermore, she had a manager who acted like a Teacher, constantly calling to pressure her, wanting her to hand in her “homework.”
She couldn’t do it!
She clearly loved music!
But at this moment, she was filled with loathing for it.
She wanted to escape this feeling!
But she couldn’t get away!
She couldn’t violate her contract with the company.
Nor could she go back to a life without money.
She needed money!
She needed a lot of money!
She had to earn enough money to maintain her current lifestyle!
Without money, she wouldn’t even be able to have Su Li provide services for her.
Without Su Li, she wouldn’t even have an opportunity for a comeback!
‘But I already apologized to her. Why is Su Li still unwilling to forgive me?’
MOKA couldn’t figure it out.
When her phone vibrated amid the pile of scores, she kicked the soda can at her feet, sending it flying against the wall.
The sound of metal clashing mixed with the buzzing vibration. She grabbed a cushion and covered the back of her head.
Every time the phone vibrated with a message, she couldn’t wait to grab it.
But it was always either the manager’s nagging calls, telemarketers, or spam texts.
Each time her hope flared up, it would be extinguished as soon as she saw the notification.
‘It’s not Su Li…’
‘It’s not Su Li…’
‘Why isn’t it Su Li?’
She didn’t want to answer anyone’s call except Su Li’s.
The vibration from the phone message stopped almost as soon as it started.
Before MOKA could get frustrated, hope flickered in her heart again.
If it were a call, it wouldn’t be that short.
Perhaps Su Li had sent her a message?
But besides Su Li, there was a high probability it was just spam.
However…
She had no other options left.
MOKA suddenly sat up so abruptly she nearly knocked over the wine bottle.
Her wine-stained fingers scrambled through the pile of scores.
She didn’t even bother to pick up the pen holder that had been knocked off the table.
The moment the screen lit up, she squinted her eyes, which were irritated by the alcohol.
Her fingers wouldn’t stop trembling. She even failed the fingerprint recognition three times before successfully unlocking it.
[Photo.jpg]
Looking at the message Su Li had sent her, MOKA felt her mind go blank for a moment.
It felt surreal.
She doubted if she was drunk.
Otherwise, why would she be seeing such a hallucination?
Did Su Li really send her a message?
‘Did she… forgive me?’