Chapter 3 The Golden and Silver Cat Cage, Yue Jin, you're shameless for lustful desires! ...

The young master's dressing table was in no way inferior to that of a lady from a prominent family. The semi-circular dressing table made of rosewood occupied almost half of the room. It was carved with seven or eight completely different techniques depicting mountains, rocks, bamboo shadows, snow-covered pools, and lone boats, clearly a three-dimensional miniature landscape painting, which complemented the lush green pine and bamboo on the dressing table.

It is magnificent and solemn, yet elegant and refined.

Beneath the three round mirrors sat a half-sized cage woven with gold and silver threads. But it seemed to have been unused for a long time, and it was impossible to tell what animals had been kept inside before.

When Le Jin received the jade hairpin that Meng Shutai had brought, her gaze was drawn to the gold and silver cage.

She quietly reached out, her fingertips hovering in mid-air, when Meng Shutai suddenly spoke:

"When I was a child, I had a raccoon dog that I kept in this gold and silver cage."

"But then it ran away somewhere and never came back."

His voice betrayed a barely concealed disappointment. "What a heartless little thing, how disgusting."

Le Jin smiled knowingly.

Just like that day when he scolded the maid beside him for neglecting her, it wasn't a real reprimand.

He must miss his little raccoon dog terribly, otherwise he wouldn't have kept its cage on his dressing table every day.

Le Jin held the jade hairpin and returned behind Meng Shutai. She bent down and used her little finger to hook the hair above his ears on both sides and braid it together.

Meng Shutai had a delicate sandalwood scent on him, which didn't overpower his medicine even when he was ill.

His ear tips were thin, his skin was white, and the fine, bluish-purple veins were clearly visible.

Le Jin's fingers occasionally brushed against him, causing Meng Shutai to flinch. From her perspective, his long, thick eyelashes also trembled.

His scent filled her nose, his black hair brushed against her fingers, and a dull, muffled buzzing filled her ears as her heart pounded.

Oh my god...

Le Jin, you're shameless for lustful thoughts!

She quickly shook her head, shaking off the romantic thoughts in her mind, and quickened her movements. Only after the jade hairpin was firmly inserted into her hair did she let out a long sigh of relief.

"My lord, you need not be too sad."

She used to work at a Hunan-style stir-fry restaurant, where they kept a tabby cat that would crawl under the tables every day.

That cat's only love in life was "wandering the world with a sword." At home, it was Mimi; outside, it was the boss. In places unseen by people, it lived a life of unparalleled success.

"Some cats are naturally free-spirited and enjoy themselves when they go out to play, but they suffer when they are kept as pets."

"Who knows, one day the young master might see the sparrows and mice it brought back by the window, and he might get a fright."

Meng Shutai swallowed a spoonful of bitter medicine, his brows furrowed, unable to tell whether it was from disgust or heartache, and remained silent for a long while.

"That cat was blind in one eye and was abandoned before I took it in. Will it really be comfortable running away on its own?"

See? They verbally insult someone as "annoying," but they actually care.

He's a hypocrite, saying one thing but meaning another.

“I’ve heard people say that it’s not the cat that needs the owner, but the owner that needs the cat.”

Sometimes, letting go is more worthwhile than holding on tight.

"Since it was able to escape from this secluded mansion, it must have some skill; abandoning its luxurious life must have been the cat's own decision."

It's unclear what tickled Meng Shutai's funny bone with that remark, but it made him choke on his medicine and cough incessantly.

"Cough cough cough..."

Le Jin gently patted his back to help him catch his breath, but was suddenly startled by his expression:

The person who was sickly just a moment ago seemed to have come back to life, his brows raised in smugness, his eyes sparkling with a charming arrogance, eerily beautiful and sinister.

The bluish medicine splashed onto Meng Shutai's eyes, mingling with the tears of laughter. His pale lips turned bright red from his panting laughter, as if he had come back to life.

However, this dazzling beauty was only fleeting.

He picked up the medicine and drank it all in one gulp. When he put the bowl down, it seemed to disappear back into the cool, lustrous glaze.

"Maybe."

"Perhaps the cat really did decide for itself and escaped from my little world."

A note from the author:

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Thank you everyone for reading this far! [laughing emojis] Thank you so much! [hands clasped in prayer emojis]