Although Yun Mian herself didn’t understand, clearly it was Shen Zhixing involved in the dating rumors, so why was she the one feeling guilty?

She looked at Shen Zhixing and came to her senses, feeling a little annoyed.

Even if she had now turned into a cat, why couldn’t she be a cat with high intelligence and cleverness?

Moreover, judging from the current situation, she would likely have to live with Shen Zhixing for some time before finding a way to turn back into a human. Since that was the case, it was impossible to keep it hidden from him all the time. She might even need his help later. At the very least, letting him know that she was a “very smart and understanding” cat was necessary.

For example, letting him discover that she liked playing with the tablet.

Just now, when she pulled the tissue box, Shen Zhixing hadn’t stopped her. Now, when she stepped on the tablet, judging by his character, he would probably treat the tablet as a toy for the cat too, right?

With this thought in mind, Yun Mian decided to do something bold.

She observed Shen Zhixing’s reaction while unlocking the iPad screen with her paw right in front of him.

Sure enough, Shen Zhixing was stunned for a moment.

But his surprise only lasted a brief instant. More than that, he seemed pleasantly surprised.

He smiled and walked over, gently patted her head, and said, “Why do you like to play with everything? This isn’t a toy.”

He casually handed her a piece of catnip, trying to exchange it for the iPad under her paw. But Yun Mian stood firmly on it, showing no intention of letting go.

Shen Zhixing tried pulling it a couple of times and, seeing the little one reluctant to part with her newly discovered “toy”, he felt somewhat helpless and gave up.

“All right, you can play with it.”

At this moment, Yun Mian was sure that Shen Zhixing’s tolerance for this cat still had plenty of room.

That meant she had more freedom.

Yun Mian deliberately, in front of him, stepped around the iPad screen with her paws, pretending to be very curious about the flickering images and sounds on the screen.

Shen Zhixing simply raised his eyebrows calmly, poured her a bowl of water, placed it on the coffee table, and returned to the study.

Very good. Now, Yun Mian could openly and justifiably play with the iPad.

She had too many gaps in knowledge and common sense to make up for during the seven years she had been gone. Unable to speak and unable to return home, she now had to rely entirely on this to learn about the outside world.

…

The clock on the wall of the living room had reached 9:00 p.m.

Shen Zhixing came out of the study, pressing his tired temples. When he looked into the living room, he saw that Xiaobai was still playing with the iPad.

She used her paw to swipe the screen from time to time, and the screen would switch to a new short video. The kind of three-minute cut that sounded completely mindless.

Shen Zhixing paused and couldn’t help but chuckle.

He walked over, picked up Yun Mian, tapped her forehead with his finger, and said in a low, amused tone, “You’re just a little cat. How are you also addicted to short videos like a human?”

Yun Mian yawned: “Meow～”

She hadn’t expected short videos after seven years to come in so many varieties either. She got hooked without even realizing it.

“All right, eat something. Time for bed.”

Shen Zhixing went to the cat house and fetched some beef jerky and dried chicken breast, placing them into her designated food dish.

When Yun Mian began eating, he went into the bathroom to take a shower.

The sound of running water soon came from the bathroom.

Yun Mian bit into a piece of beef jerky, but for some reason, the image of Shen Zhixing coming out that night with only a towel wrapped around his waist and a bare upper body suddenly popped into her head.

“……”

She shook her head, quickly trying to shake that image out of her mind.

Although her body had turned into a cat, her soul and thoughts were still human. Shen Zhixing’s unguarded intimate gestures while being unaware of her true identity really left her feeling… overwhelmed.

To avoid such situations from happening again, she figured she’d better hurry and finish eating, then go to bed.

Yun Mian quickly finished the jerky, ran to the guest bedroom, burrowed into the blanket, and forced herself to close her eyes and block out everything.

Not long after, Shen Zhixing finished his shower and came out.

He still only had a towel around his waist. Water droplets had yet to be wiped off his body, and he walked to the living room.

Thinking Xiaobai was still there playing, he was surprised to find the food bowl empty, the water bowl half drunk, but no trace of her.

Shen Zhixing casually tidied up a bit, then checked the cat house.

Xiaobai wasn’t there either.

Thinking for a moment, he returned to the bedroom. She wasn’t in his room either. That only left the study and the guest bedroom.

He pushed open the guest bedroom door, and sure enough, the bed was bulging slightly. The little one was curled up under the blanket, seemingly already asleep.

Shen Zhixing stood there for a moment without entering to disturb her. Since Xiaobai liked sleeping here, then so be it.

He gently closed the door and returned to his room.

Yun Mian had been listening intently the whole time.

When she heard Shen Zhixing opening the door, she feared he would carry her back to his room again… That would be way too awkward.

Fortunately, he didn’t come in.

Yun Mian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After waiting a while and estimating that Shen Zhixing was probably asleep, she leapt off the bed.

She ran to the living room and turned the iPad back on.

When Shen Zhixing had been around earlier, there were many things she didn’t dare search for. And her cat paws weren’t as slim and flexible as human fingers. When she tried to press keys, she often mis-tapped, which made her actions clumsy. Now that Shen Zhixing was asleep, she could finally search without worries.

Yun Mian opened a search engine.

News about the Yuntian Group, sponsored charity events, occasional financial reports, and a few interviews with blurred photos of her father.

After reading those, Yun Mian searched for news about the plane crash from seven years ago.

It had crashed near an island across the Atlantic Ocean. With over 300 passengers on board, none survived. It was a tragic and heartbreaking incident. The news caused a huge stir back then.

In one of the articles, Yun Mian even saw footage of her parents covering their faces in grief, being blocked by bodyguards from the reporters.

Although it had been seven years since the incident,

To Yun Mian, it still felt like it had just happened yesterday.

Looking at those reports, she choked with emotion.

Time unknowingly passed into the second half of the night. Yun Mian was still immersed in her emotions.

She kept watching until morning. When she guessed Shen Zhixing was about to get up, she finally turned off the iPad and hurried back to bed to pretend to be asleep.

The result of staying up all night was that she didn’t need to pretend—once she touched the bed, she fell into a deep sleep.

…

On the other side, Shen Zhixing also woke up.

He picked up his phone and glanced at it. Ten minutes ago, Zuo Yao had sent him a message saying he and the driver would arrive downstairs in half an hour.

Today, there was a last-minute schedule to go to City C.

It was an acting reality show that He Guang had accepted on his behalf, inviting him as a guest for the first episode.

Originally, when this offer first came, Shen Zhixing had declined. But somehow, He Guang accepted it anyway.

Yesterday, He Guang called him to talk about this matter, reasoning with him emotionally and logically, saying how he had barely had any exposure this year and no new works released. If he wasn’t even willing to show his face in popular variety shows like this, it would negatively affect his future career planning. In short, he said a lot.

Shen Zhixing didn’t argue with him and just asked him to send the contract and work terms over so he could prepare in advance.

He got up and went to the bathroom to wash up and check his wound. After a few days of recovery, the scab had already fallen off. With the makeup artist’s help, it shouldn’t be a problem.

After getting dressed, Shen Zhixing went to the guest bedroom for a look. Seeing the little cat still lazily curled up beside the pillow, sleeping soundly, he turned to the cat house and refilled the food and water.

After confirming there was no issue, he left the house.

While waiting for the elevator, he called Aunt Liu, the hourly cleaner, and asked her to come around noon to check in and feed the cat.

When the elevator arrived at the garage, his assistant Zuo Yao and the driver were already waiting. In the car was also a girl, the makeup artist from his studio.

“Boss, the plane ticket’s already booked. Nine thirty.”

Shen Zhixing got in the car, closed his eyes, and said, “Let’s go.”

…

Yun Mian slept all the way until noon.

She stretched with a big yawn. Seeing that the sun outside had already shifted south, shining through the white blackout curtains, golden dust motes floating in the air, even the cold-colored tiles in the room looked bright.

Yun Mian jumped down from the bed, walking lightly to the living room.

“Meow.”

There was no one in the living room.

Shen Zhixing had gone out?

Yun Mian was now very sensitive to sounds, scents, and pheromones. She looked around and confirmed Shen Zhixing wasn’t home.

Good. There were some things she could do more easily alone.

Yun Mian went to the bathroom. Fortunately, much of Shen Zhixing’s home equipment was smart, which made it convenient even for her as a cat.

She raised the faucet, carefully washed her paws, and scooped water to wash her face.

She looked up at the mirror.

Sigh, Yun Mian’s eyes instantly drooped.

A round face, pure white fur, dark blue pupils, pointed ears, and two tufts of long whiskers by the nose.

No matter how she looked at it, it felt strange.

This is not her face at all!

Yun Mian looked at the mirror and recalled her original appearance. Usually, after washing her face, she would apply some skincare products and have sparkly decorations done on her nails…

“Ka-da”—

Just as Yun Mian was facing the mirror in distress, a noise suddenly came from the front door.

Yun Mian quickly jumped down from the washstand and ran out.

She thought it was Shen Zhixing coming back, but the person who entered was a middle-aged woman she didn’t know.

“Meow?” Who are you?

Yun Mian looked at her with slight wariness.

The middle-aged woman stood at the entrance, and when she saw the little cat running into the living room, she grinned. “Oh, so this is the new cat Mr. Shen raised. It’s quite pretty.”

Seeing that she knew Shen Zhixing, Yun Mian guessed, based on her age and clothing, that she was probably a housekeeper, so she turned around and jumped onto the sofa.

As expected, once the woman entered the house, she began cleaning and tidying the place.

After finishing the cleaning, she went into the cat room to clean the litter box, refill the cat food, change the water, and then came out.

Yun Mian behaved very quietly and obediently the entire time, lying on the sofa, waiting until the housekeeper finished and left before turning the iPad back on.

…

Shen Zhixing’s schedule today was originally to finish filming around 6 in the evening and then take the night flight back to City A.

But it suddenly started raining heavily in C City.

By the time his car reached the airport, he was informed that the flight had been delayed.

Helplessly, Shen Zhixing had to call the housekeeper and inform her that his flight was delayed, asking her to go over in the evening to help take care of the cat.

The housekeeper agreed on the other end. Shen Zhixing asked about the kitten’s condition and felt at ease after hearing that everything was fine.

As soon as he hung up the phone, there was a sudden commotion outside the waiting hall.

A group of fans somehow found out his travel schedule and chased him to the airport. They screamed and blocked the hall completely.

It was already raining outside, and many people were taking shelter or waiting for their rides. Now with fans crowding in, the scene became chaotic instantly. The airport deployed security and guards, but the situation remained out of control.

“What do we do, boss?” Zuo Yao was a bit flustered.

Shen Zhixing frowned at the scene in front of him.

Now that the flight was delayed and it was unclear when it would depart, staying here would only cause further disruption to public order.

“Guide everyone to disperse first.”

Shen Zhixing instructed Zuo Yao to get the car, then turned to the crowded fans and said, “Everyone, please don’t push. Be careful. I’m leaving soon. You should all go back too.”

After calming the fans, he entered the parking lot through the VIP passage under the escort of security.

It was difficult for the group to get back into the car; even the luggage was almost squeezed out. Zuo Yao was still nervous. “Boss, we can’t get into the airport now. Looks like we’ll have to stay in C City for the night and go back tomorrow morning.”

Shen Zhixing looked at his watch. It was already past 9 in the evening, and he had no choice.

Zuo Yao quickly booked several hotel rooms in C City, and the group drove over.

…

Yun Mian had been alone at home all day and felt a bit bored.

By 6 or 7 in the evening, the door finally made another sound. Her spirits lifted, and she quickly straightened up and looked over.

Even she didn’t realize there was anticipation in her eyes.

But it turned out to be the same housekeeper from earlier. Yun Mian felt a bit disappointed.

She slumped weakly on the sofa.

…Where did Shen Zhixing go?