Feng Jingcheng, who was following behind Zhou Baiyu, paused and turned his toes: "I'm going to find Yuanman and Wenxuan to play. You guys chat."
Zhou Baiyu nodded slightly and said to Xie Shuyao, "Wait a moment."
Xie Shuyao softly hummed in agreement. When she saw Zhou Baiyu go to the bar to pour hot water and then test the water temperature with the back of his hand, her eyelashes trembled slightly. She forced herself to lower her head and stop looking at him.
Zhou Baiyu seemed oblivious to Xie Shuyao's emotional fluctuations. After confirming that the water wasn't too hot, he handed it to her and said, "You don't look well. Drink some warm water first. I'll call the family doctor over to check if your period is coming early."
Xie Shuyao paused slightly: "Do you remember when my period is?"
“My dear Yao Yao, how could I possibly forget something so important to you?” Zhou Baiyu said with a hint of helplessness.
Xie Shuyao opened her mouth, then silently took the water glass from his hand. Zhou Baiyu sat beside her, looking at her with concern, and asked, "Yaoyao, what do you want to ask me?"
Xie Shuyao didn't speak immediately, and for a moment the only sounds in the living room were Feng Jingcheng and the two little ones playing around.
She kept replaying Zhou Baiyu's gesture of checking the water temperature in her mind. This thoughtful action was something Zhou Baiyu had been doing since the beginning of their relationship.
Not only does he measure the water temperature, but he also remembers when her period is due, and he will personally buy her whatever she casually mentions wanting to eat. He will also research lipstick and clothing matching for her.
He would help her choose and coordinate her clothes in advance when the seasons changed, and he never forgot to give her holiday gifts and surprises. He really cared about her.
Could a man who is so gentle and considerate towards her, always putting her first, really be a cat abuser?
Xie Shuyao's thoughts, which had finally calmed down, became chaotic again. She knew clearly that as long as she asked Zhou Baiyu that question, her relationship with him would not be as stable as it was now.
This relationship might end here, and her peaceful life will be disrupted.
She couldn't help but think, maybe... we should just let it go? Perhaps the real culprit isn't Zhou Baiyu?
Maybe... he's innocent?
But in a daze, Xie Shuyao heard Tuan Tuan's clear, slightly coquettish meows again.
Xie Shuyao subconsciously gripped the water glass in her hand, as if trying to draw some warmth and strength from it.
Zhou Baiyu frowned slightly, looking at Xie Shuyao who had suddenly fallen silent, and gently called her, "Yaoyao?"
Xie Shuyao snapped out of her daze, slowly raised her head, looked at Zhou Baiyu with a complicated expression, and slowly spoke through her slightly parted lips: "Back then, did Tuantuan really... run out by herself when you opened the door?"
Her throat was dry as she continued, "You really didn't hide it from me and take Tuantuan away?"
Zhou Baiyu's expression changed slightly. He didn't expect that after so long, Xie Shuyao was still thinking about that beast.
He looked helpless, moved closer to Xie Shuyao, and gently held her fingertips: "Of course it ran away on its own. Didn't I explain this to you before? We even found a lot of cat search teams to look for it."
As he said this, Tuantuan on Xie Shuyao's shoulder bared its teeth and roared angrily, "Meow meow! Lies! Tuantuan didn't run out on its own at all! This bastard kicked Tuantuan at home, and Tuantuan ran out to avoid being hurt by him!"
"Mom, don't believe him! He's lying!"
No matter how much Tuantuan screamed and explained, Xie Shuyao couldn't hear anything; she could only hear Zhou Baiyu's explanation:
“Yaoyao, you know I have asthma. I can’t possibly risk my own life by bringing the cat home…”
"Liar meow! You don't have asthma at all, meow! You're lying to my mom, meow!"
Xie Shuyao was momentarily confused. Had she really misunderstood him? But what about the pool full of cat and dog ghosts that Yuanman mentioned?
Xie Shuyao pursed her lips, lowered her eyes and said, "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I think I saw a cat by the pool just now... hiss!"
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her fingertip, causing her to gasp involuntarily.
"Sorry." Zhou Baiyu quickly released her fingertips and rubbed them for her. His voice remained calm and steady, as if the momentary loss of control was just Xie Shuyao's imagination: "Maybe you haven't been resting well these past two days and you saw it wrong."
"It could also be a stray cat that ran in from outside. I'll have the housekeeper look for it in a bit."
His sudden and intense reaction sent a chill down Xie Shuyao's spine.
What was originally a 10% probability has now risen to 80%.
Not daring to anger Zhou Baiyu, she subtly withdrew her hand from his, softly hummed in agreement, leaned back on the sofa, and raised her hand to cover her eyes: "Maybe I saw it wrong, but I kind of miss Tuantuan..."
She sighed heavily, handed him the water glass, and then lay down on the sofa. "I'm sorry, Baiyu, I'm a little tired and want to rest. Please don't take what I said earlier to heart."
Jason Chow forced a smile: "No way."
"It was my fault for letting Tuantuan run away back then, and it's understandable that you blame me. You should rest first, and I'll go arrange some afternoon tea."
Xie Shuyao: "Mm."
Zhou Baiyu carefully covered her with a thin blanket, then got up to tell Nan Yuanman and the others, who were having too much fun, to be quiet before hurriedly leaving.
As soon as he left, Xie Shuyao trembled as she removed the back of her hand from her eyes, sat up from the sofa, and staggered toward Nan Yuanman, asking her with her last hope, "The little cat ghost that's been clinging to me, is it Tuantuan, right?"
Nan Yuanman put down the building blocks in his hand and nodded to her.
Xie Shuyao's mind went blank, and she froze on the spot.
Zhou Wenxuan was confused: "What little cat ghost? What Tuantuan?"
"Oh, I forgot there's one more ordinary person. Well then, let you sleep for a while." Nan Yuanman muttered to herself, her little hands rummaging through her small bag, pulling out a sleeping talisman and sticking it on Zhou Wenxuan's head with a snap.
Zhou Wenxuan rolled his eyes upwards: "What...is this...?"
Before he could finish speaking, he closed his eyes, fell to the ground, and fell asleep.
After he fell asleep, Nan Yuanman told Xie Shuyao what she had just heard the little cat ghost Tuantuan on her shoulder say.
The little cat ghost nodded its head in agreement: "That's right, that's right."
It couldn't help but complain to Nan Yuanman: "This isn't the first time he's bullied Tuantuan. When Mom was busy at the company and asked him to feed Tuantuan, he dragged Tuantuan into the room and pricked Tuantuan with a needle. It hurt so much, meow!"
Nan Yuanman felt a surge of anger rising within her. Her little fists clenched tightly, and her round face darkened. "This is too much! It cannot be forgiven!!"
"Right! That's too much!" Tuantuan nodded in agreement, then suddenly realized, "Meow?!"
Can you hear me talking?
Nan Yuanman nodded: "Yes, I can hear you."
"Then can you help Mimi catch that big bad guy? So that Mommy can stay away from that big bad guy?" Tuan Tuan held her tail high and looked at Nan Yuanman with an expectant expression.
Before Nan Yuanman could respond, Xie Shuyao, agitated, stumbled and collapsed to the ground, her eyes brimming with tears: "How could this be? How could he kick Tuantuan? I clearly installed security cameras at home, and I didn't see him bullying Tuantuan in the footage..."
“He doesn’t seem like that kind of person either.”
"You can know a person's face but not their heart. Some people seem to love their wives dearly, but in reality, they have a second home outside," Feng Jingcheng said with a sneer.
“If you really think he’s not that kind of person, didn’t you just lie to him and say you saw a cat by the pool? Let’s go see where he went, the pool or the kitchen.”
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