Chapter 56

Ruan Nianchu froze for a moment.

Although she had always been aware of the connection between Lain and Tori, hearing it stated so bluntly caught her off guard. It took Ruan Nianchu a few seconds to regain her composure. She forced a stiff smile and lowered her voice, “How did you know that I already knew you were Tori?”

Lain said, “Actually, I was just guessing earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

Lain raised an eyebrow, his smile carrying a hint of childish pride. “But now I’m sure you know.”

Ruan Nianchu was caught off guard. The previous statement had only been a test, but she had unwittingly fallen into the trap. It seemed that what Li Teng had said was true; she was indeed naive.

She narrowed her eyes and spoke with a cool tone, “Sure enough, people nowadays are so immoral and unprincipled. Tori has grown up and learned how to play tricks on people.”

Lain made her feel embarrassed, he pursed his lips and whispered, “I’m sorry, Ruan. I won’t do that again in the future.”

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Swyd Lkydnbw pxkzle yde vyrrle bkp qsalblye, “R oyp fwpv jkeekdt okvb usw, yde usw vssj kv plakswpzu?”

Nykd aykple bkp byde vs awc bkp vlxrzl, pxkzkdt pbuzu yp bl eke ps, “R oyp yqayke usw’e cl ydtau.”

“R’x dsv vbyv rlvvu.” Swyd Lkydnbw oyhle bla byde nypwyzzu yde zywtble, “Ebyv es usw oydv qasx xl? Frkv kv swv.”

“Tlal’p vbl vbkdt.”

Nykd qkdkpble prlyjkdt, pokvnbkdt cynj vs bkp xsal qzwldv Odtzkpb, “G qlo eyup yts, Kkydt Tys qswde y pvayu nyv swvpkel vbl pswvb tyvl sq P Bdkhlapkvu. Rv oyp kdfwale cu y nya, yde vbl kdfwau oyp iwkvl plakswp, ps ol vssj kv vs vbl rlv bsprkvyz qsa valyvxldv. Mbl esnvsa rlaqsaxle pwatlau sd kv, pvkvnble wr vbl oswde, yde dso kv’p cypknyzzu swv sq eydtla.”

Swyd Lkydnbw dseele, “Gde vbld?”

“Mbyv nyv byp clld ekpnbyatle qasx vbl bsprkvyz.” Nykd qasodle pzktbvzu, bkp lmralppksd nzlyazu pbsokdt psxl ekqqknwzvu, “Jwv yp usw jdso, R’x nwaaldvzu sd lmnbydtl yv P Bdkhlapkvu yde zkhkdt kd vbl pvweldv esaxkvsau, ps R alyzzu nyd’v yesrv kv. Kkydt Tys pllxp vs cl kd y pkxkzya pkvwyvksd.”

Gqvla blyakdt vbkp, pbl kxxlekyvlzu wdelapvsse, “Xb. Zsw oydv vs ypj kq R nyd blzr usw twup yesrv vbyv nyv?”

“Yeah.” Lain nodded, pursing his lips, “I’ve already bought all the necessary supplies, they’re ready to go. If it’s inconvenient for you too, I’ll ask Jiang Hao to ask Yufei again.”

“I know Qiao Yufei’s mom is allergic to cat hair, so there’s no need to ask her.”

He was a bit puzzled, “What do you mean?”

Ruan Nianchu said, “Where’s the kitten now? Give me an address, and I’ll come pick it up after work.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lain immediately grinned happily, his eyes bright, “That’s great! Ruan, thank you on behalf of that cat. You’ll definitely be rewarded for your kindness.”

“It’s no trouble at all.” She sounded casual, “And you, coming all the way to our unit, making it seem like a big deal. You could have just messaged me on WeChat or called, couldn’t you?”

Lain’s face reddened slightly, scratching his head, “I was afraid I wouldn’t express myself clearly.”

Ruan Nianchu couldn’t help but find this boy’s innocence cute, so she smiled lightly and tapped his head, “Silly boy. Well, I’m practicing singing and can’t be away for too long. Just send me the address on WeChat, and I’ll go.”

“No need for you to come pick it up. What time do you get off work? I’ll bring it over to you.”

“Okay.” Ruan Nianchu grinned, raising her hand and gesturing a number, “Five. See you here at half past five in the afternoon.”

Sure enough, at sunset, Lain brought the stray cat and all the cat supplies.

The stray cat was placed in an airline crate.

Through the cage door, Ruan Nianchu saw that the stray cat was about seven or eight months old, with round eyes, chubby cheeks, and a fluffy white fur, looking extremely cute. The only downside was a noticeable wound on the kitten’s abdomen, which had been stitched up and the stitches had recently been removed, leaving behind pinkish new flesh.

At the moment, the little fellow was lazily curled up in the cage, looking a bit dejected. When it saw Ruan Nianchu, it seemed a bit scared and timidly mewed, “Meow…”

Ruan Nianchu didn’t have much contact with animals usually, nor had she ever had a pet, but at the sight of this cat, her heart still overflowed with love.

“Hello there,” she teased the cat through the cage and asked Lain, “It’s really good-looking. What breed is it?”

“It should be a British Shorthair gradient,” Lain chuckled.

Ruan Nianchu clicked her tongue in half-jest and sighed, “In this day and age, it seems not only humans are having a hard time, even cats are struggling. Such a beautiful little thing and no one wants it.” As she spoke, she reached her index finger into the cage and gently touched the kitten’s ears, her voice softened, “Don’t worry, I won’t be heartless like your previous owner and abandon you. You’ll stay with me from now on.”

The kitten wagged its tail as if understanding, “Meow.”

Ruan Nianchu’s smile widened even more.

Lain also smiled, but a few seconds later he said, “Ruan, where do you live? I’ll take a taxi and send you home.”

“No need.”

“It’s inconvenient for you to carry the cat and so much stuff alone.”

“Li Teng will come pick me up later.” Ruan Nianchu raised her eyebrows playfully, “Do you want to join us for dinner?”

“… ” Lain pushed his glasses and pondered for a moment, then shook his head somewhat helplessly, “Let’s forget about it. If Li Teng sees me, he probably won’t be happy again.”

At this mention, Ruan Nianchu suddenly realized. She stared at Lain, puzzled, “I’ve been wanting to ask you for a long time. What happened between you and Li Teng?”

Lain’s expression became a bit more subdued, “I’m not too sure myself.”

“You’re not sure?”

Then, Lain fell into silence for a while. After an unknown amount of time, he lowered his eyes and smiled faintly, “Maybe Li Teng has some misunderstandings about me, or maybe, all along, I’ve had misunderstandings about him.”

This statement was truly strange. Instantly, a knot formed between Ruan Nianchu’s eyebrows, “What do you mean, you have misunderstandings about him?”

“It means,” Lain’s tone was calm, but beneath that calmness, there was a hint of disappointment, “Perhaps Tori was never an important person to him.”

“… ” Ruan Nianchu’s gaze flickered for a moment.

And Lain continued, “Back then, BOSS, Grandpa, Grandma Axin, me… everyone in Cambodia was just a pawn in his actions.” He smirked self-deprecatingly, “Who knows what I meant to him.”

“You don’t understand him,” Ruan Nianchu said without hesitation, “He has always treated you like a little brother, otherwise he wouldn’t have saved you, helped you go to school, and done so much for you. You shouldn’t overthink things…”

“The one who treated me like a little brother was Lee.” Lain interrupted softly, “But it’s sad, Lee is a nonexistent person.”

She said in a low voice, “Lee is Li Teng.”

There was a hidden sadness in his tone, “If that’s true, maybe the current situation wouldn’t be like this.”

After this statement, there was a lull between them.

Ruan Nianchu was good at guiding herself, but not so good at guiding others. Facing Lain, who spoke in such a literary manner, she was a bit both unable to understand and helpless. After a moment, she raised her hand to pinch her eyebrows and advised, “Li Teng might indeed have some misunderstandings about you, but remember, misunderstandings are temporary, brothers are for a lifetime. It’ll get better slowly.”

“Yeah.”

After chatting for a few more sentences, Ruan Nianchu accompanied Lain to the roadside to hail a taxi.

Lain left.

Watching the receding tail lights of the car, she shook her head, lifted the cage high and looked at the chubby cat inside, sighing, “It’s a good thing your new owner isn’t an artsy type.”

The chubby cat lazily glanced at her, “Meow…”

“It’s good that it’s me.” She smiled, “Foolish youths have more fun, you know.”

*

Ruan Nianchu didn’t tell Li Teng in advance about adopting the chubby cat. It wasn’t because she had any reservations, she simply was busy with other things all day and forgot.

However, the consequences of not informing in advance seemed quite dire.

Li Teng’s first expression upon seeing the chubby cat was a furrowed brow, and his first words were, “What’s this thing?”

“A cat. Oh, I forgot to tell you, sorry.” Ruan Nianchu’s tone was casual. She sat in the passenger seat, carefully took the chubby cat out of the cage, placed it on her lap, and pinched its chubby paws. Soft and fluffy, very cute.

“Where did it come from?” His face was expressionless, calm to the point of being unsettling.

“It’s a stray cat.”

“Did you pick it up?”

Ruan Nianchu didn’t hesitate, speaking frankly, “It was injured a few days ago, Lain and them took it to the animal hospital for treatment, just had the stitches removed. They couldn’t find anyone to adopt it for a while, so they gave it to me.”

“… ” Li Teng didn’t say anything more, squinting his eyes, clenching his teeth. After driving for a while, he suddenly slammed on the brakes.

The car came to a sudden stop.

The wheels screeched against the ground, producing an ear-piercing noise, and the asphalt road was scraped with several white marks.

Ruan Nianchu’s body was thrown forward by the immense inertia, but she was restrained by the seatbelt and bounced back. She was fine, but the chubby cat on her leg was quite frightened, its big eyes filled with fear, struggling with its four paws to escape.

She frowned, quickly hugged it tightly, and turned to look at Li Teng, “Don’t you know that cats are easily scared? You slamming on the brakes like that scared it.”

Li Teng took a deep breath and exhaled, enduring it, his tone calm, “Where does that kid live? Give me an address.”

Ruan Nianchu didn’t understand, “What are you going to do?”

Li Teng’s voice turned cold, “Return this thing.”

“What do you mean by ‘this thing’?” Ruan Nianchu sounded a bit angry, “This is my cat. Why would I return it? To whom?”

“Whoever gave it to you, return it to them.”

“I’ve already told you this is a stray cat. It’s an adoption, not someone giving it to me.”

“Is there a difference?” He turned his head to stare at her, leaning in close, his tone gentle yet ominous, “Ruan Nianchu, whether you like cats, dogs, or rats, I can give you as many as you want. But this one,” he pointed forcefully at the chubby cat in her arms, “is not allowed.”

The chubby cat shrank in Ruan Nianchu’s arms, trembling pitifully, “Meow…”

She gritted her teeth, hugging the cat even tighter, her voice low, “Why is it not allowed?”

Li Teng: “Why it’s not allowed, you don’t know?”

“I don’t know! Who knows what’s gotten into you.” She was infuriated by his tone and attitude, “It’s just a cat, barely escaped death from a car accident, can’t you have a little compassion for animals? If it weren’t for Lain saving it, it would be dead by now.”

Li Teng sneered, “I don’t have compassion, that kid does. I have a heart of stone, that kid has a good heart. Is that right?”

“What exactly happened between you and Lain? If you treat him like this, then all the efforts I’ve made to repair your relationship over the years have been in vain.”

“Thanks for your kindness, but I’ll pass.”

“… ” Ruan Nianchu felt choked up. She took a deep breath and exhaled, pressing her forehead, trying to suppress her anger. “Forget it. I don’t want to argue with you on the street. Let’s go home first.”

Li Teng’s lips tightened, his gaze sharp as he stared at her, but the girl stubbornly turned her head straight ahead, her neck stiff, not even looking at him. He then lowered his eyes and glanced at the chubby cat in her arms.

The thing was trembling, looking at him, its whole body fur standing on end in fear.

After a few seconds, Li Teng started the engine with a cold face, slammed on the gas pedal, and drove straight back to the military dormitory.

The car came to a stop.

Ruan Nianchu expressionlessly held the cat in one hand and the cat’s nest litter box in the other, not waiting for him, she walked straight towards the entrance. With too many heavy things, and her strength being small, she dropped everything with a clang before even reaching the elevator.

“… ” She muttered in frustration, gritted her teeth, and first put the chubby cat back into the cage, then bent down to pick up the fallen items. Looking disheveled.

Li Teng saw it from behind, clenched his fists, made a tough decision, and forced himself to ignore her coldly.

“Meow…” The chubby cat looked at her through the cage, then glanced at the tall man coldly observing on the side, showing its teeth, making a growling sound.

However, as soon as the chubby cat showed its claws, it was scared back by a glance from Li Teng.

In a few minutes, everything was picked up. Ruan Nianchu stood up straight. But somehow, within just a couple of seconds, something else fell.

“… ” Ruan Nianchu sighed inwardly, looking to the side in frustration. The man stood there calmly, showing no intention of helping. Feeling embarrassed, she suddenly felt a bit sour in her nose.

Adopting a stray cat was obviously a trivial matter, but he insisted on making a big deal out of it and deliberately misinterpreting her words to provoke her. She couldn’t understand why he acted this way. He knew Lain’s background, he knew her relationship with Lain was purely emotional, usually it was fine, but at the slightest hint of trouble, he acted like a lion invading his territory, ready to devour someone.

Lain’s background was special, she had suspected that his aversion to Lain might be because he thought Lain had issues and was worried about Lain’s connection with that guy, Da En.

But from his subsequent actions, this suspicion was quickly overturned — if Lain really had ulterior motives, with Li Teng’s means, how could he not be aware, and how could he let her have contact with Lain knowing the danger?

In short, he was just being paranoid and jealous. To put it bluntly, no one is wrong in this matter and no one is to blame, it’s just that he doesn’t trust her enough in his heart.

He always said she was foolish, but she actually saw through everything.

Ruan Nianchu squatted on the ground, holding back tears, feeling more and more aggrieved, her vision blurred, but she bit her lip tightly, refusing to make a sound.

Seeing her unmoving for a while, Li Teng furrowed his brows, then couldn’t resist and also knelt down.

Looking up, he saw tears on her face.

In an instant, the icy wall in his eyes trembled and collapsed.

“… ” He murmured, his brows furrowing tightly, leaning closer, his voice involuntarily softened, “Why are you crying?” Reaching out to wipe her tears.

“… ” Ruan Nianchu turned her head away, avoiding him, rubbing her cheek against her shoulder to wipe away the tears, completely ignoring him. Then she reached out to pick up the fallen cat litter scoop.

Li Teng gritted his teeth, scooped up the items with a sweep of his big hand, and went to grab the things she was holding, “Give them to me.”

Ruan Nianchu dodged again, without saying a word, picked up the cat cage, and went straight into the elevator.

Inside the elevator, neither of them spoke to each other, one kept their head down, the other wore a grim expression. Only the chubby cat in the cage meowed a couple of times.

Back at their place, Ruan Nianchu wiped her face with a tissue, sniffed, and turned to enter the bedroom.

Li Teng stood still for a moment, furrowing his brows, following her to the bedroom door. Seeing the girl with red eyes, rummaging through the closet.

He leaned against the door and watched her. After a few seconds, he relented, “If you really want to keep the cat, then keep it.”

“No need for you to reluctantly agree.” She dragged out a large suitcase from the closet, purely venting her anger, “Nothing major has happened recently, so I guess I’m not in any danger. I’ll move back home tomorrow, with the cat.”

Hearing this, Li Teng laughed angrily, stood up straight, and spoke calmly, “What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” She finished, then continued to pack clothes into the suitcase.

As soon as her hand touched the nightgown on the bed, her wrist was forcefully grabbed. She winced in pain and subconsciously turned her head to look, seeing Li Teng stepping over the suitcase on the floor, approaching aggressively, emanating a strong aura of menace.

“You…” She was frightened by his appearance, “What are you doing?”

“What am I doing?” He smiled without humor, then grabbed her waist and hips with one hand, and placed her on the nearby vanity table. He pinched her chin with his fingers, squeezing out three words from between his teeth, “What do you think?”

Ruan Nianchu panicked, pushing him hard, “Let go of me…”

Before she could finish her words, Li Teng pressed his lips down on hers, fiercely, as if he wanted to devour her alive.

She struggled and pushed, but couldn’t break free. Her lips and tongue were bitten so hard they tingled and went numb. For a moment, all the suppressed grievances burst out.

So she stopped struggling, stopped avoiding, and let tears flow down her cheeks.

Feeling the dampness on her face, Li Teng froze, as if he had been splashed with cold water. All his actions came to a halt.

After a moment, he furrowed his brows, pressed his forehead against hers, and held her face in his hands, closing his eyes and murmuring, “I’m sorry, Nian Nian. Don’t cry.”

“You go away. You always bully me…” His comfort made her even more upset, sobbing harder, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, “It’s just a cat, just Lain, why are you so nervous, acting like I’ve done something behind your back? You said you would treat me well for a lifetime, is this how you treat me? You don’t trust me at all.”

“I don’t distrust you.”

“Then why did you get mad at me?” She stared at him wide-eyed, almost shouting.

“I’m mad that you took that kid’s stuff. Mad that you compared me to that kid. Mad that you said I’m not as good as that kid.”

“…” Ruan Nianchu was momentarily choked up by this uninterrupted series of three sentences.

He wiped away the tears from her cheeks with rough fingertips, then kissed her forehead gently, coaxing softly, “I’m overly jealous, I can’t stand that guy, and I can’t stand how you’re always so good to him. But I’ll change all of that, alright?”

Ruan Nianchu’s eyes shimmered slightly, as she somehow sensed a subtle plea in his words. Her heart trembled, and she bit her lip, “I… actually didn’t have any intentions…”

“… ” He rubbed her soft white earlobes with his thumb, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, “Seeing you picking up things, you probably thought I was going to be kicked out by you again.”

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