Inside a Two-Story Villa in Zitong City


    Jiang Qian sat on the sofa in her pajamas, her long black hair draped over her shoulders. Her gaze was cold as she sipped her coffee, watching the scene unfold in front of her.


    In the middle of the living room, Fang Meng held a deadly weapon—a freshly peeled carrot—and had a suited man pinned against the wall.


    The man pleaded, sweating nervously.


    Jiang Qian lazily lifted her coffee cup and took another sip.


    Fang Meng, seemingly out of nowhere, pulled out a vegetable peeler and started shaving the carrot into thin strips.


    The man gulped hard in fear.


    Despite Fang Meng’s usual plain and harmless appearance, she was far from ordinary. As Jiang Qian’s assistant—and part-time bodyguard—she had more than enough skill to handle situations like these.


    she said coldly.


    She carved the carrot into a sharp dagger shape, its tip gleaming under the light, and held it just inches from the man''s throat.


    The man was so terrified that he nearly blurted everything out—except…


    Fang Meng retracted the carrot knife and said in the scariest tone imaginable:


    Jiang Qian wasn’t surprised.


    She knew her sister—Jiang Jingshi wouldn’t be careless enough to reveal her schedule to random employees.


    In fact, she often spread false information on purpose, just to keep people guessing.


    But somewhere in all those fake details, there had to be a thread of truth.


    Jiang Qian narrowed her eyes.


    The man nodded frantically. ""


    The Investigation Begins


    After gathering thirty-seven reports from different people, Fang Meng compiled the information and handed Jiang Qian a thick notebook.


    Jiang Qian took the notebook and started reading.


    A deep frown formed on her face.


    *"So… on October 1st, my sister first drove to a public restroom. Then she went to an amusement park and bought an ice cream. Then, she went back to the restroom outside the park, bought a bowl of snail noodles, and then went back inside… to buy another ice cream?


    Then, she had someone drive her to a snail noodle factory, bought a whole box of chocolates, and gave them to the kids at the amusement park?"*


    She slammed the notebook shut.


    Fang Meng shrugged. ""


    Jiang Qian pushed the notebook back.


    Fang Meng immediately got to work, filtering out impossible routes—ones that didn’t match in timing or made no logical sense.


    Soon, she extracted the most likely real locations.


    She handed the revised list to Jiang Qian.


    Jiang Qian examined them. None of the schedules overlapped, meaning she’d have to check multiple locations.


    She stood up.


    Fang Meng nodded but hesitated for a moment.


    Jiang Qian paused mid-step.


    Fang Meng reminded her.


    Jiang Qian stood still for a few seconds before replying:


    Jiang Qian then went upstairs to change, shutting the door behind her.


    Fang Meng stared after her and sighed.


    Moments later, Jiang Qian flung the door open again.


    She slammed the door shut again.


    Fang Meng wiped the sweat off her forehead.


    Then, the door opened a third time.


    SLAM.


    Fang Meng wiped more sweat off her forehead.


    Lin Zhengran’s Blind Date


    That night, the sky was full of stars.


    Lin Zhengran changed his clothes and pulled out his phone, checking the location sent by his mysterious "date."


    It wasn’t far—just a ten-minute taxi ride away.


    But…


    The meeting spot was…


    A Lanzhou noodle shop?


    A little weird for a blind date, but whatever.


    Lin Zhengran hailed a taxi and headed over, curious about who he was meeting.


    When he arrived—


    The noodle shop was closed.


    The street was mostly empty.


    Just as he was about to take out his phone to text—


    The neighboring cat café suddenly opened its door.


    A young woman in a work uniform stepped out. She looked nervous but polite.


    Lin Zhengran raised an eyebrow.


    The girl blushed slightly and pointed to the cat café.


    Inside the Cat Café


    Lin Zhengran followed her through the cozy guest area—temporarily closed to customers—and into a hidden backroom.


    Unlike typical cat cafés, which had small backrooms for feeding and cleaning, this one had a massive, luxurious space, even bigger than the guest area.


    The walls were decorated with artistic pink cat-themed murals, and tiny star-shaped lights hung from the ceiling.


    Over twenty cats lounged around the room—napping, stretching, yawning.


    And in one corner…


    A woman in silver heels and an elegant white gown sat gracefully, feeding a few cats by hand.


    Her long, wavy silver hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her long lashes fluttered as she looked down at the cats.


    Her red lips curved slightly.


    Even from the side—


    She looked like a work of art.


    Then, she turned her head and smiled.


    Jiang Jingshi.


    Lin Zhengran laughed helplessly.


    The Cat Café and a Subtle Ambush


    The kittens in the café seemed to be naturally drawn to Lin Zhengran. They meowed at him in their soft, high-pitched voices, squeezing closer as if trying to get his attention.


    Jiang Jingshi observed this and glanced around at the other cats in the room.


    To her surprise, nearly every single one was curious about Lin Zhengran—some even approached him on their own.


    She chuckled and said,


    Lin Zhengran smirked as he gently stroked the large cat beside him.


    Jiang Jingshi moved a little closer, her tone soft.


    She paused, then added slowly,


    Jiang Jingshi let her words linger, watching his reaction.


    Her teasing tone made Lin Zhengran turn his head toward her. Their eyes met.


    Jiang Jingshi held his gaze, smiling.


    She turned away and reached down to scratch a kitten’s chin.


    Jiang Jingshi glanced at him sideways, voice carrying a hint of challenge.


    Lin Zhengran shifted his gaze to the cats.


    Jiang Jingshi laughed and gave him a playful glare.


    She smiled meaningfully.


    Her tone was unreadable.


    *"Ever since I met you, my career has been full of setbacks.


    Take today’s competition, for example—I’ve invested far more money in this than I did in the Taekwondo event. But the moment I saw you at the venue this morning, my heart skipped a beat.


    Because for the first time... I wondered if I might lose again."*


    Lin Zhengran was about to reply when Jiang Jingshi cut him off.


    Lin Zhengran hesitated, then nodded.


    Jiang Jingshi let out a soft chuckle.


    A cat jumped onto Lin Zhengran’s lap, rubbing against his chest.


    Jiang Jingshi noticed some cat fur sticking to his shirt and reached over to gently pluck it off.


    Her fingers brushed lightly against the fabric as she spoke.


    She let out a small sigh.


    *"Strangely enough, though… When you and He Qing won against my Taekwondo team last time, I was a little angry. You cost me a lot of money, after all.


    But this time… even after hearing people whispering that my team might lose again… I wasn’t that mad.


    Instead, I found myself thinking—will Zhengran show up at my next project, too? If he does… will I lose again?"*


    Lin Zhengran narrowed his eyes.


    Jiang Jingshi smirked.


    Lin Zhengran: "..."


    Jiang Jingshi noticed his expression and arched a brow.


    Just then, several of the cats in the room started sniffing the air.


    They looked at Jiang Jingshi, then at Lin Zhengran.


    As if they sensed something, they suddenly rushed toward her, jumping into her arms all at once.


    The sudden weight threw her off balance—and before she knew it, she was falling straight into Lin Zhengran’s chest.


    Lin Zhengran instinctively caught her.


    Jiang Jingshi let out a surprised yelp, leaning heavily against him.


    As she steadied herself, she turned back to glare at the cats—only to find them scattered, pretending as if nothing had happened.


    She frowned.


    She sighed, about to get up—


    Then she turned her head and found herself face-to-face with Lin Zhengran.


    Their noses were inches apart—so close that from a distance, there was barely a strand of hair’s width between them.


    Jiang Jingshi’s eyes softened. Her cheeks flushed slightly.


    At that exact moment—


    The door suddenly swung open.


    The staff member froze mid-sentence.


    She blinked at the scene in front of her.


    Jiang Jingshi… lying in a man’s arms… faces dangerously close.


    The realization hit her like a truck.


    She whipped around, clamping her hands over her eyes.


    Jiang Jingshi quickly pulled away, standing up while covering her lips with the back of her hand.


    Her heart was pounding, and the heat in her face refused to fade.


    To regain composure, she forced her voice into its usual firm, calm tone.


    The staff member nearly panicked. Sёarch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She bowed repeatedly.


    Jiang Jingshi took a slow breath.


    Lin Zhengran, who had been watching the scene unfold, finally stood up.


    Jiang Jingshi’s smile returned—though there was still a hint of rosy warmth in her cheeks.


    The staff member quickly scurried out.


    Lin Zhengran raised an eyebrow.


    Jiang Jingshi exhaled slowly, still suppressing the lingering embarrassment from earlier.


    Then, she smoothly changed the topic.


    She smiled.


    Jiang Jingshi led him toward a hidden kitchen behind a sliding panel.