Jiang Yanyi brought a bamboo basket to the Feng Residence to catch some cats.

While Feng Shuo was discussing matters with his advisors in his study, she headed straight to his courtyard.

The guards at the gate, evidently informed by Feng Shuo, respectfully let her in, even though he wasn’t in his quarters at the time.

She placed the jerky and dried meat she had brought on the table in the inner room and told the servant at the door, “These are for the Prince. Please inform him.”

Last night, Feng Shuo had surprisingly mentioned wanting some snacks, so Jiang Yanyi couldn’t ignore his request.

She had wrapped some jerky and dried meat in oiled paper for him before coming over.

The servant, well aware of how much Feng Shuo valued Jiang Yanyi, smiled warmly and replied, “Don’t worry, Miss Jiang. As soon as His Highness returns, I’ll let him know.”

A bit embarrassed by the servant’s enthusiastic response, Jiang Yanyi nodded and said, “Thank you,” then went to the bamboo grove to collect the cats.

It was bitterly cold, and though there was underfloor heating, a thin layer of snow covered the bamboo outside the wall.

The top of the cat’s shelter had been covered by boards to keep out the snow, thanks to Feng Shuo’s instructions.

With the heavy snow making food scarce and Jiang Yanyi bringing food daily, the mother cat had stopped venturing out, staying in the shelter to nurse her kittens.

When Jiang Yanyi lifted the mother cat, she merely meowed softly and showed no sign of hostility, unlike before.

The mother cat was well-fed, and her kittens were chubby and round like little fur balls.

.There were four kittens in the shelter, but the little ginger one was nowhere to be found.

Jiang Yanyi looked around the courtyard and even checked inside Feng Shuo’s room, but there was still no sign of the chubby ginger kitten.

“Ziba, where are you?” she called, using the nickname she had given the kitten.

She checked all the usual spots where the kittens played, growing increasingly worried that the kitten had wandered outside and gotten lost in the snow, perhaps even frozen.

Just then, a guard at the entrance announced, “Your Highness.”

Jiang Yanyi turned and saw Feng Shuo striding into the courtyard. He wore a luxurious robe embroidered with golden threads, his black hair tied with a golden crown, exuding an air of authority. Xing Yao, who had been following Feng Shuo, stopped by the entrance upon seeing Jiang Yanyi in the courtyard.

Feng Shuo seemed surprised to see her, and his gaze quickly shifted to the cats in the basket, an understanding look crossing his face. “Are you taking the cats with you?”

Jiang Yanyi nodded, explaining, “There are sausages hanging in the kitchen, and they’ve attracted mice.” She then added, somewhat disheartened, “But I can’t find Ziba.”

Feng Shuo’s brows furrowed as he recalled the kitten’s name. “Did you check inside the room?”

“I looked under the desk, behind the cabinet, and even under the bed.”

Feng Shuo’s expression turned a bit peculiar as if something had occurred to him. “Wait here,” he said.

He entered the room, with Jiang Yanyi following behind.

She watched as he pulled out a clean pair of indoor cotton boots from the corner of the bed and shook out a small, slumbering orange kitten from one of the boots.

The little orange cat, having been suddenly tipped out of its warm resting spot, rolled over on the ground and then lazily blinked its sleepy eyes.

With a soft meow, it wobbled its tiny legs, trying to crawl back into the boot to continue its nap.

Jiang Yanyi couldn’t help but laugh.

She picked up the little fat orange cat and said, “You little rascal, I’ve been calling you for so long and you didn’t even respond.”

The chubby kitten let out a couple of soft meows as if it were being affectionate.

Jiang Yanyi placed the kitten into the bamboo basket and smiled at Feng Shuo, “So that’s where it went, hiding in your boot. I was wondering why I couldn’t find it.”

Feng Shuo, with his usual stern face, seemed unwilling to deal with such small creatures. “Annoying little thing,” he muttered.

But Jiang Yanyi knew that he didn’t mean it.

She had seen him working before, with the kitten climbing up onto his desk and laying down on the official documents he was reading, as if deliberately seeking attention.

He would pick the kitten up and set it aside, only for the fluff ball to waddle right back to its original spot and lie down again.

Feng Shuo would glare at the kitten, and the kitten would respond with a soft series of meows.

In the end, he would merely sigh and switch to another document to read.

Jiang Yanyi didn’t expose him. Instead, she picked up the bamboo basket and smiled. “I’ll head back now.”

Feng Shuo nodded, his gaze darker than usual as he watched her.

Just as she reached the doorway, he suddenly called out, “Jiang Yanyi.”

“Hmm?” Jiang Yanyi turned around in response to his voice.

He always called her by her full name, as if by doing so, he could distinguish her from everyone else, as if there was some inexplicable emotion tied to it.

The cold wind blew in from the door, carrying snowflakes with it.

The gust made the peony-colored gown she wore flutter slightly.

There was still a trace of a smile on her face, bright and vivid.

Feng Shuo stood in the shadowed room, while she stood in the light at the doorway—one in darkness, one in light, as if they were two worlds that would never intersect.

Feng Shuo asked, “You once said that you hid many things from me. What about now?”

Jiang Yanyi was taken aback for a moment, her gaze dimming as she thought about how she was nothing more than a lone soul from another world. “There’s just one thing, about my past. When I feel the time is right, I’ll tell you everything, without holding anything back. Is that okay?”

Feng Shuo’s lips twitched slightly, and he replied, “Okay.”

Hearing his answer, Jiang Yanyi walked out, carrying the basket full of kittens, without turning back.

She sighed softly.

She knew how Feng Shuo felt about her, but she still wasn’t sure how deep his feelings ran.

People of this era feared the supernatural.

If she revealed her true identity to him, would he be able to accept it?

Jiang Yanyi felt like a character straight out of a strange tale, much like a spirit in a folktale.

The only difference was that no one would ever see through her unless she revealed herself.

But if, in a moment of impulse, she exposed her true nature, she couldn’t predict what would happen.

She might lose everything she now had.

Whether it was family, love, or friendship, people would fear her, distance themselves, and perhaps even seek to destroy her to eliminate any potential threat.

Chu Changping treated her well, but his kindness wasn’t meant for her. It was meant for his real niece.

Jiang Yanyi longed for family, but she was also clear-headed.

While she treated her original body’s family as her own, she also regarded them as benefactors.

She tried to give back as much as she could to repay the kindness her new family had shown her.

This was why, even though Chu Changping wanted her to live the life of a wealthy young lady, she still insisted on earning her own living by opening a shop.

To simply enjoy the privileges of the original body’s identity without effort would make her feel like a shameless thief.

If she were selfish, she could probably deceive Feng Shuo for the rest of her life and never reveal that she was a soul from another world.

But she couldn’t bring herself to do that.

After all, she had chosen to walk the path of life with him, and there should be no deceit between them.

Telling or not telling him would reveal her attitude toward their relationship, and whether to accept or reject it would be Feng Shuo’s choice.

Now wasn’t the right time, though.

She was still hesitant, and she needed to figure it all out before choosing the right moment to confess everything to him.

The courtyard, which had been swept earlier that morning, was now covered in a fresh layer of snow.

Her footprints left shallow and deep imprints in the snow as they stretched into the distance.

What Jiang Yanyi didn’t know was that Feng Shuo sat inside the room, his gaze fixed on her retreating figure, his eyes dark and intense.

Xing Yao entered with a stack of records in his arms. “Master, we’ve searched all night. Most of the streets and neighborhoods have been covered, and only the southern part of the city remains to be searched house by house.”