Chapter 18

Sheng Qingli truly did not expect that the “person” Pei Qingci mentioned wanting to meet her would turn out to be a cat named Trophy.

During their last video call discussing the script, Sheng Qingli had already noticed… it seemed like Trophy recognized her. When it saw her on camera, it was visibly excited and joyful.

Now, as Trophy circled her pant legs, tail high and meowing at her, she could finally confirm 100%—it really did remember her.

The two stood in the silent hallway, with Sheng Qingli staring at the little cat looking up at her. She couldn’t resist the urge to squat down and pet it.

“Wait.” Before Sheng Qingli could touch Trophy, Pei Qingci suddenly spoke, “Are you sure you’re not allergic anymore?”

Sheng Qingli hummed in response, not catching the subtlety of his words.

More than two years ago, Sheng Qingli had taken on a role where she had to interact with many animals. Since she liked the character, despite knowing about her allergies, she had visited numerous doctors and stocked up on allergy medicine.

At first, she felt uncomfortable if she went a day without taking her medication.

As the filming progressed, Sheng Qingli realized that even when she touched cats without taking the medicine, she didn’t break out in hives.

After the shoot, she had gone for a thorough check-up.

Naturally, the results showed that her condition had improved, and she had somehow overcome her cat allergy.

Pei Qingci lowered his lashes, watching as she carefully extended her hand, first poking Trophy’s cheek to test it. After getting a response, she finally opened her hand and gently stroked its head.

“Meow…” Trophy raised its neck and nuzzled against her palm.

“Oh my…” Sheng Qingli couldn’t help but exclaim, “You’re so well-behaved.”

Trophy seemed to understand her words and grew even more affectionate toward her.

Pei Qingci stood by, watching the interaction between the two, smiling silently. He didn’t bother to expose Trophy’s “act of cuteness.”

Trophy, the cat, was quite intuitive. It always behaved more gently toward people who were good-looking. Moreover, it remembered Sheng Qingli as its first owner.

After a while, Pei Qingci spoke, “Sheng Qingli.”

Sheng Qingli, squatting on the ground, looked up. “What?”

She was clearly unhappy about Pei Qingci interrupting her bonding time with Trophy.

Noticing her displeasure, Pei Qingci spoke softly, “How long do you plan to squat there with it?”

Sheng Qingli: “…”

If Pei Qingci hadn’t reminded her, she would have forgotten that they were still standing in the hotel hallway.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Sheng Qingli looked up, “Why did you bring it here?”

“It was causing too much trouble at home,” Pei Qingci said concisely.

Sheng Qingli nodded, thinking that some pets do indeed struggle when they leave their familiar surroundings and are left with unfamiliar people.

She didn’t think much of it but suddenly recalled another key point, “Was it shipped here?”

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingci glanced at her, “No.”

Sheng Qingli blinked in confusion.

Pei Qingci informed her, “Xiang Rong drove it here.”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Sheng Qingli slowly let out an “ah” and hesitantly asked, “It’s over a thousand kilometers from Beicheng to Ancheng, isn’t it?”

Pei Qingci responded, “He likes road trips.”

Sheng Qingli suddenly understood. “I see.”

Xiang Rong must have a lot of energy, to drive over a thousand kilometers with a cat.

Taking in the confusion on Sheng Qingli’s face, Pei Qingci responded faintly. He glanced at Trophy, still nuzzling her pant leg and asking for more affection, and said in a low voice, “It can’t stay out for too long.”

Sheng Qingli was puzzled. “Why?”

Generally speaking, most cats fear going outside. But some do enjoy it.

Trophy wasn’t exactly the type to love going out, but it certainly didn’t fear it.

It had been a stray cat from a young age, so going outside didn’t trigger any stress for it. Trophy wasn’t afraid of the outside world; it just sometimes felt too lazy to go out.

Sheng Qingli had known this for a long time.

Pei Qingci lowered his gaze, “Do you really want to stay squatting here with it?”

“…” Sheng Qingli didn’t want to, especially since the hallway was empty now with just the two of them and the cat. But later, there was no guarantee other hotel guests wouldn’t appear.

After a moment of thought, Sheng Qingli changed the topic and asked, “When we were on set, you told me it wanted to see me, right?”

Pei Qingci raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded calmly, “So?”

“Then hand me the leash.” Sheng Qingli reached out to him, “I’ll take it to my room to play for a while and return it later.”

After all, their rooms were across from each other, so it was convenient.

Pei Qingci: “…”

He looked down at her outstretched hand, his eyes flickering slightly, “Are you sure?”

Sheng Qingli was confused, “What’s there to be unsure about?”

Pei Qingci reminded her, “…Your room doesn’t have its toys.”

“Well, you can bring the ones from your room,” Sheng Qingli was too lazy to argue with him, so she directly bent down to pick up Trophy. Then, she took out her room key and opened the door, turning back to say, “Hurry up, it doesn’t need many toys anyway. Just bring a cat teaser.”

“…”

As soon as she finished speaking, Sheng Qingli carried Trophy into the room and shut the door behind her.

Looking at the closed door and herself locked out, Pei Qingci laughed in frustration.

A minute later, the doorbell rang.

Sheng Qingli opened the door, holding trophy. “Give it to me.”

Pei Qingci placed the cat teaser in her palm, his fingers brushing against hers unintentionally, leaving a warm, tingling sensation.

Sheng Qingli’s long eyelashes fluttered, and she instinctively pulled her hand back.

“What are you doing?” She glared at him.

It was hard not to suspect that Pei Qingci had done it on purpose.

Pei Qingci looked confused. “What?”

Seeing his indifferent expression, Sheng Qingli wondered if she had overthought it. “Nothing.”

She took the cat teaser, then closed the door again.

This time, Pei Qingci didn’t feel annoyed. He stood there for a while, silently curling his lips into a smile.

–

Inside the room, Sheng Qingli, who had experience with small animals, found it easy to play with Trophy for a while.

Trophy was more obedient and clingy than many other cats she had seen.

Wherever Sheng Qingli went, Trophy followed, like a little tail.

After playing with the cat teaser for a long time, Sheng Qingli thought of something. She grabbed her phone, recorded a video, and sent it to Li Yuwei.

Li Yuwei replied instantly: “???”

Sheng Qingli: “Didn’t you recognize it? This is Trophy.”

Li Yuwei: “No, I recognized it, that’s why I’m full of questions. Why is Trophy with you? Did you return to Beicheng? Did you and Pei Qingci secretly reconcile?”

Weren’t they still in a cold war yesterday?!

Sheng Qingli admired Li Yuwei’s imagination. “What are you thinking? Of course not.”

Sheng Qingli: “Pei Qingci’s agent came to Ancheng to visit the set and brought Trophy along.”

Li Yuwei: “So why is Trophy with you now? Are you and Pei Qingci together?”

Sheng Qingli: “Of course not. I just borrowed Trophy to play with for a bit.”

Li Yuwei: “…”

Li Yuwei: “After not interacting for years, Pei Qingci has gotten even more cunning.”

Sheng Qingli was no match for him.

Sheng Qingli ignored that comment, focusing on her main point: “You haven’t praised Trophy yet. Isn’t it cute?”

Li Yuwei: “Yes, yes, very cute.”

Sheng Qingli: “You sound so insincere.”

Li Yuwei wanted to say more, but her assistant called for her.

She had no choice but to quickly type a response: “Don’t let a cat steal your heart. I have to go film now. Talk tonight.”

Seeing Li Yuwei’s message, Sheng Qingli was slightly speechless. How could she be that easily fooled?

After ending the conversation with Li Yuwei, Sheng Qingli messaged Lin Lin: “Want to see a cat?”

Most people, when they get a cute and clingy kitten, have the urge to share it with the world.

Sheng Qingli was no exception.

Right now, she wanted everyone to know she had a cat in her room, a cat that was so attached to her and even cuddled with her.

Of course, she kept her circle limited.

She only shared it with friends who knew about her and Pei Qingci’s past.

Lin Lin was probably busy and didn’t reply.

So Sheng Qingli hugged Trophy, collapsed onto the sofa, and rubbed its big head. “They’re ignoring you. Next time, we’ll ignore them.”

Trophy seemed to understand, snuggling against her chest and meowing.

Perhaps it was tired from playing with the cat teaser because it soon fell asleep on her, even snoring softly.

Sheng Qingli found herself stifling a laugh as she listened.

Suddenly, her phone dinged.

She picked it up and saw a message from him: “I need to step out for a bit. When Trophy tugs at your pant leg, it means it needs to eat or use the bathroom. When that happens, bring it back to my room.”

Trophy was a smart and clean cat.

Pei Qingci had already set up a litter box, cat food, and bowls that afternoon.

Their suite was spacious enough, more than enough room for a kitten.

Reading the message, Sheng Qingli instinctively replied: “How do I bring it back?”

She didn’t have his room key.

Pei Qingci: “Come out and get my key?”

Sheng Qingli paused, looking at the message, then at Trophy, sound asleep on her chest. She replied: “Slide it under the door. Trophy’s asleep on me. If I move, it’ll wake up.”

Pei Qingci: “?”

Sheng Qingli: “It’s sleeping on me. I can’t move.”

Pei Qingci: “…”

Staring at that message for half a minute, Pei Qingci raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, unable to stop the image of Trophy curled up on Sheng Qingli’s chest from coming to mind.

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly involuntarily, his eyes darkening as he replied: “Don’t spoil it too much.”

Sheng Qingli: “I like spoiling it.”

Pei Qingci had nothing more to say.

In that moment, he slightly regretted having Fang Xiangrong bring Trophy to Ancheng.