Chapter 443: First Time Doing Something Like This

"Female master, leaving everyone else for me... Is that okay?"

On the other end of the video call, the young man tilted his head slightly. Strands of his pale blond hair slid down his shoulder, making him look like a beautiful, questioning kitten.

Jiang Qingli was standing on the terrace, enjoying the night breeze while video-chatting with Yuan Shimo.

She hadn’t expected him to say something like that the moment she answered.

Hearing this, Jiang Qingli blinked.

She frowned, feigning distress. "Actually, it might be a problem... The Marshal and the others are still here. I should probably go back now."

The words had barely left her mouth when she saw Yuan Shimo press his lips together, a flash of regret in his turquoise eyes.

He looked as if he was kicking himself for saying the wrong thing.

A subtle smile played on Jiang Qingli’s lips. Just as she was about to tease him a bit more, a soft meow sounded.

A fluffy little paw hooked onto Yuan Shimo’s hair ribbon, and the cat scrambled up to his shoulder. From that vantage point, it shoved Yuan Shimo aside.

The next second, Xiao Xue’s face filled most of the screen.

Yuan Shimo’s voice came from off-screen. "Female master, Xiao Xue misses you a lot."

Xiao Xue began to MEOW, seeming to agree wholeheartedly.

Jiang Qingli’s heart melted. "Sweetie, you’ve gotten even more beautiful! So adorable..."

Xiao Xue had always been a clever cat. It could accurately gauge Jiang Qingli’s favoritism from the way her voice grew sweeter and softer every time she saw it. Thus, it meowed with even more gusto, even rubbing its head against the camera as if it desperately wanted to crawl right through the screen.

Jiang Qingli could almost feel the cat’s soft fur, and her voice became even more affectionate. "Baby, Mommy misses you too. I’ll come see you the very first thing when I get home, okay? ...Yes, such a good baby..."

Xiao Xue rubbed against the camera for nearly a minute with no signs of stopping.

Suddenly, a faint sound was heard.

Before Jiang Qingli could see what was happening, Xiao Xue leaped aside.

Yuan Shimo was once again in control of the camera.

The young man’s previously immaculate hair was now slightly disheveled from Xiao Xue’s paws, and his handsome face wore a sulky expression.

Holding back a laugh, Jiang Qingli asked, "Where’s Xiao Xue? What trick did you use to lure it away?"

Yuan Shimo sighed. "I wouldn’t dare use any tricks."

He turned the camera, revealing Xiao Xue a short distance away, eating from a freshly opened can of food. It kept glancing over as it ate.

It was as if it was afraid Yuan Shimo would steal its beloved’s affection by saying a few more words to Jiang Qingli while its back was turned.

Yuan Shimo only let Jiang Qingli watch for a moment before turning the camera back to himself.

In just a few seconds, his slightly messy hair was already perfectly neat again. Gold-rimmed glasses rested on his high-bridged nose, giving him an air of asceticism.

However, Jiang Qingli’s gaze drifted downward.

Perhaps because of Xiao Xue’s excited scrambling, the top button of his pajamas had come undone, revealing his delicate collarbones and a patch of snow-white chest. A few fresh red marks from the cat’s paws added a suggestive, ravishing allure.

Noticing her gaze, Yuan Shimo felt a pang of shame and unconsciously hunched over slightly.

And yet, he could still feel an invisible hand slowly gliding over his skin, leaving a trail of tingling weakness in its wake.

A long-absent emotion that he found difficult to resist silently began to fill the air.

He lowered his eyes, his long lashes trembling.

The girl’s smiling voice was teasing. "Why aren’t you looking at me? Is the little cat the only one who misses me?"

"I thought the other little cat missed me, too."

At her words, the young man’s fingertips tightened, and he unnaturally pressed his lips together. "Don’t."

’Don’t say any more...’

But Jiang Qingli wouldn’t let him off the hook. She continued with a grin, "If not, then why did you deliberately call me ’female master’? And dress like that..."

Before she could finish, Yuan Shimo turned most of his face away, leaving only a bright red ear visible.

It was his first time doing something like this, and Yuan Shimo was truly inexperienced.

His attempt was clumsy and obvious.

But Jiang Qingli loved him this way.

Just as she was about to say more, he suddenly warned her in a low voice, "I hear footsteps approaching."

He wanted to talk with Jiang Qingli, but if someone found them video-chatting, it might lead to gossip about her.

So, Yuan Shimo pulled his collar straight, wished Jiang Qingli a good night, and told her to hang up.

He couldn’t bear to be the first one to end the call.

He only urged her softly, "Qingli."

But Jiang Qingli didn’t move. "I’m not hanging up. Not unless you say it."

Yuan Shimo froze.

Then, a vibrant pink blush spread across the young man’s fair skin.

Just a moment before the person behind her stepped onto the terrace, Jiang Qingli heard a murmur in her earpiece, almost a whisper of breath:

"I... miss you a lot, too."

The call ended, and the screen went black.

The next second, the screen lit up again.

A message popped up in the chat window:

[I miss you a lot, too.]

[Qingli.]

...

After sending the two messages, Yuan Shimo turned off the screen and didn’t look at it again.

He felt a tug on the corner of his clothes and looked down to see Xiao Xue.

The little guy had already finished eating and was now sitting beside Yuan Shimo, staring at him with wide, pleading eyes.

His gaze swept over its black fur. Yuan Shimo paused, a sudden premonition striking him.

He opened his terminal and checked Yuan Shiyao’s location.

The next second, his eyes widened.

Yuan Shiyao was in Zone A, at the central building.

The same building Jiang Qingli was in right now.

-

The Cat Teacher’s seduction plan was declared a success, at the cost of himself turning red as a beet.

After texting back that she missed him too, Jiang Qingli turned off her screen and looked at the person who had arrived.

A uniformed waiter stood respectfully at the entrance to the terrace and asked in a low voice, "Hello, are you Miss Jiang?"

Jiang Qingli nodded.

The waiter said, "A gentleman would like to see you. Please come with me."

Jiang Qingli asked, "Where’s your manager?"

The waiter kept his head down, his expression unreadable. "The manager is busy. Please come with me, it’s just in A-03..."

A-03 was around a corner. The waiter led Jiang Qingli to the door, bowed, and then excused himself.

Jiang Qingli pushed the door open.

The lights inside were off, and the room was dim.

Jiang Qingli took two steps inside, and then—

The waiter hurried away from A-03, rounded the corner, and ran right into the frantic-looking manager.

He steadied the manager, but before he could speak, the man grabbed his arm and demanded anxiously, "Where is Miss Jiang? Have you seen Miss Jiang?"

Seeing the waiter’s blank face, the manager remembered he was an intern and described Jiang Qingli’s appearance to him.

The waiter realized who he meant and pointed in a direction. "Manager, I think she went downstairs." He glanced at him timidly. "Are you... looking for her for some reason?"

"Me, look for her? I wouldn’t dare!" The manager’s eyes widened as he lowered his voice. "It’s *that person* who’s looking for her! He’s been waiting for ten minutes, and she’s nowhere to be found, so I rushed out to look..."

The waiter froze.

"That person" was what they privately called their boss.

The manager walked a few quick steps, then noticed the waiter was still standing there. He turned back and ordered, "What are you standing there like an idiot for? Aren’t you assigned to A-03 today? Get over there and serve them before we get another complaint!"

The waiter quickly agreed, gave a few bows, and hurried away.

However, he didn’t go to A-03 to serve anyone. As soon as he was out of the manager’s line of sight, he bolted into the changing room, grabbed his bag, and ran. As he fled, he messaged his supervisor to say he was quitting, his frantic pace suggesting he’d be killed on the spot if he were any slower.

The bag he carried contained a change of clothes and a stack of cash—payment from the guest in A-03 as a reward for luring the girl there.

Once downstairs, the waiter looked up, a hesitant expression flashing across his face. But then he remembered the client’s fierce and menacing expression when he’d been given the money, and he shivered all over.

’This isn’t my fault, it’s not my fault...’

’If anyone’s to blame, it’s that unlucky Miss Jiang!’

Downstairs, the lights were brilliant. The waiter quickly vanished into the night.

「Meanwhile.」

Inside A-03, Jiang Qingli was forced into a chair, her eyes covered and her hands bound.