Chapter 244: Little Kitten Tuan Tuan
Feng Jingcheng, following behind Zhou Baiyu, paused in his steps and turned on his heel: “I’m going to play with Perfection and Wenxuan. You two chat.”
Zhou Baiyu nodded slightly and said to Xie Shuyao, “Wait a moment first.”
Xie Shuyao softly hummed in acknowledgment. When she saw Zhou Baiyu go to the bar to pour hot water and then test the temperature with the back of his hand, her eyelashes trembled slightly. She forced herself to lower her head and not look at him anymore.
Zhou Baiyu seemed unaware of Xie Shuyao’s emotional fluctuations. After confirming the water wasn’t too hot, he brought it over and handed it to her: “Your face doesn’t look good. Drink some warm water first. In a bit, I’ll call the family doctor to check on you. Maybe your period is coming early.”
Xie Shuyao’s expression froze slightly: “You remember when my period comes?”
“My dear Yao Yao, how could I forget something so important to you?” Zhou Baiyu said somewhat helplessly.
Xie Shuyao opened her mouth, then silently took the water cup from his hand. Zhou Baiyu sat beside her, looking at her with concern and asking, “Yao Yao, what do you want to ask me?”
Xie Shuyao didn’t speak immediately. For a moment, the living room was filled only with the sounds of Feng Jingcheng playing with the two little ones.
In her mind, she kept recalling Zhou Baiyu’s action of testing the water temperature just now. Such thoughtful gestures had been something Zhou Baiyu had been doing ever since they started dating.
Not just testing the water temperature—he also remembered when her period came, personally bought whatever she casually mentioned wanting to eat, and researched lipstick and clothes pairings for her.
During seasonal changes, he would prepare and match the clothes she needed to wear in advance. Holiday gifts and surprises never missed a beat; he practically kept her in his heart.
Such a man who was gentle and considerate to her, always putting her first—could he really be an abuser of cats?
Xie Shuyao’s thoughts, which had finally calmed down, became chaotic again. She clearly understood that as soon as she asked Zhou Baiyu that question, the relationship between them would no longer be as stable as it was now.
This relationship might end right there, and her peaceful life would be thrown into turmoil.
She couldn’t help thinking, maybe… just let it go? Maybe the real culprit wasn’t Zhou Baiyu?
Maybe… he was innocent?
But in a daze, Xie Shuyao heard Tuan Tuan’s crisp meow by her ear again, tinged with a bit of coquetry.
Xie Shuyao subconsciously gripped the water cup in her hand, as if trying to draw some warmth and strength from it.
Zhou Baiyu furrowed his brow slightly, looking at the suddenly silent Xie Shuyao, and gently called her: “Yao Yao?”
Xie Shuyao snapped back to reality. She slowly raised her head, looking at Zhou Baiyu with a complex expression, her slightly parted lips finally speaking: “Back then, did Tuan Tuan really run out on its own when you opened the door?”
Her throat was dry as she continued asking: “You really didn’t secretly take Tuan Tuan away without telling me?”
Zhou Baiyu’s expression changed slightly. He hadn’t expected that after so long, Xie Shuyao was still thinking about that animal.
He looked helpless, moved closer to Xie Shuyao, and gently held her fingertips: “Of course it ran out on its own. Didn’t I explain this to you back then? I even hired many cat-searching teams to look for it.”
As he said this, Tuan Tuan on Xie Shuyao’s shoulder bared its teeth and roared angrily: “Meow woo meow woo! Liar! It wasn’t Tuan Tuan running out on its own! This bad guy clearly kicked Tuan Tuan at home, and Tuan Tuan ran out to escape his harm!”
“Mommy, don’t believe him meow! He’s lying!”
But no matter how Tuan Tuan roared and explained, Xie Shuyao couldn’t hear anything. She could only hear Zhou Baiyu’s explanation:
“Yao Yao, you know I have asthma. I couldn’t possibly risk my own life by bringing a cat home…”
“Liar meow woo! You don’t have asthma at all meow woo! You’re deceiving my mommy meow woo!”
Xie Shuyao felt a moment of confusion. Was it really her who had thought wrong and wrongly blamed him? But what about the pool of little cat ghosts and little dog ghosts that Perfection mentioned?
Xie Shuyao pursed her lips, lowered her gaze, and said, “It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that earlier, I seemed to see a cat by the swimming pool… Hiss!”
Before she could finish her words, a sharp pain suddenly came from her fingertips, making her involuntarily gasp.
“Sorry.” Zhou Baiyu quickly released her fingertips and rubbed them for her, his voice still calm and steady, as if that momentary loss of control was just Xie Shuyao’s illusion: “Maybe you haven’t rested well these past couple of days and saw wrong.”
“Or maybe it’s a stray cat that ran in from outside. In a bit, I’ll have the butler look for it.”
His sudden intense reaction made Xie Shuyao’s heart instantly go cold.
Her original 10% suspicion now rose to 80%.
She didn’t dare provoke Zhou Baiyu. She subtly withdrew her hand from his, softly hummed in acknowledgment, leaned back against the sofa backrest, raised her hand to cover her eyes: “Maybe I saw wrong. But I kind of miss Tuan Tuan…”
She sighed heavily, shoved the water cup in her hand to him, and lay down on the sofa: “Sorry, Baiyu. I’m a bit tired and want to rest. Don’t take what I said earlier to heart.”
Zhou Baiyu forced a smile: “I won’t.”
“It was my fault that Tuan Tuan ran away back then. It’s only right for you to blame me. Rest well first. I’ll go arrange afternoon tea.”
Xie Shuyao: “Mm.”
Zhou Baiyu caringly draped a thin blanket over her, then got up to instruct the overexcited Nan Yuanman and the others to be quieter before hurriedly leaving.
As soon as he left, Xie Shuyao tremblingly removed the hand covering her eyes, sat up from the sofa, staggered toward Nan Yuanman, and asked her with the last shred of hope: “The little cat ghost clinging to me—is it Tuan Tuan, right?”
Nan Yuanman put down the building blocks in her hand and nodded at her.
Xie Shuyao’s mind went blank, her whole body stiffening in place.
Zhou Wenxuan, puzzled: “What little cat ghost? What Tuan Tuan?”
“Oh, forgot there’s an ordinary person here. Then I’ll make you sleep for a bit first.” Nan Yuanman muttered to herself, rummaging in her small shoulder bag with her little hand, pulling out a sleep talisman and slapping it onto Zhou Wenxuan’s head.
Zhou Wenxuan’s eyes rolled up: “What is this…”
Before he could finish his words, his eyes closed, and he fell to the ground with a thud, passing out asleep.
After he fell asleep, Nan Yuanman finally told Xie Shuyao what she had heard the little cat ghost Tuan Tuan on her shoulder say.
The little cat ghost Tuan Tuan nodded emphatically: “That’s right, that’s right.”
It couldn’t help complaining to Nan Yuanman: “This isn’t the first time he’s bullied Tuan Tuan meow. When Mommy went to the company to work and asked him to come feed Tuan Tuan, he also grabbed Tuan Tuan into the room and pricked Tuan Tuan with a needle. It hurt so much meow!”
Nan Yuanman grew furious inside, clenching her little fists tightly, her steamed bun face darkening: “Too much! Unforgivable!!”
“Right! Too much!” Tuan Tuan nodded in agreement, then suddenly reacted: “Meow?!”
“You can hear me speak?”
Nan Yuanman nodded: “Yeah, I can hear.”
“Then can you help me catch that big bad guy? Make Mommy stay far away from that big bad guy?” Tuan Tuan’s tail stood high, looking at Nan Yuanman expectantly.
Before Nan Yuanman could respond, the shocked Xie Shuyao staggered and sat down on the ground, her eyes welling up with tears: “How is this possible? How could he kick Tuan Tuan? I clearly installed surveillance cameras at home, and the surveillance didn’t show him bullying Tuan Tuan…”
“He seems…” Not like that kind of person either.
“You know the face but not the heart. Some people seem to love their wives devotedly on the surface, but actually have a second family outside.” Feng Jingcheng curled his lip and said.
“If you think he’s really not that kind of person, didn’t you just lie to him saying you saw a cat by the swimming pool? Let’s go check now—did he go to the swimming pool or the kitchen.”
