Princess Syndrome - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Meow

Before Ji Zhiyi could speak, a cat meowed from behind. Su Lingyue relaxed and turned to look at the cat.

The black and white cat didn't seem to be afraid of them, or perhaps it was well-fed by the people nearby, it wasn't afraid of strangers. It sat in front of Ji Zhiyi and Su Lingyue, tilting its head slightly. It looked to weigh around five or six pounds, small and skinny, but its fur was in great condition. Its cat eyes were bright and piercing, and they glowed in the darkness.

It let out a soft meow.

Its voice was cute and a little squeaky.

Su Lingyue's hand, which was hanging by her side, twitched but didn't reach out to touch it.

Ji Zhiyi watched her, standing silently.

Seeing that neither of them were reaching out to touch it, the black and white cat went up to Su Lingyue and rubbed against her calf. Su Lingyue's face paled for a moment before regaining its color. Ji Zhiyi asked, "Are you afraid of cats?"

Su Lingyue said, "No."

In reality, she wasn't afraid of cats at all.

After her mother passed away, she had refused to communicate with people for a while. Later, a friend gave her a cat. She loved it very much and would hold it every night while sleeping. The cat was also very affectionate towards her, but it didn't last.

Later, the cat died.

Then, she bought another cat.

It wasn't long before.

That cat was also gone.

Since then, she had never had another cat.

The cat rubbed against her for a while, then looked up. When Su Lingyue didn't touch it, and Ji Zhiyi didn't touch it either, it became bored, meowed, and ran away. Su Lingyue watched its agile figure, and then she heard Ji Zhiyi say, "Let's go back."

She snapped back to reality and followed Ji Zhiyi back to the apartment.

Neither of them spoke on the way. Su Lingyue didn't know what she was thinking, she was very quiet. After they returned, she was going to the study as usual to tidy up, Ji Zhiyi looked at her and brushed past her, returning to her room.

After a while, she came out after showering.

Su Lingyue was still busy in the study.

Ji Zhiyi walked inside, knocking on the door.

Su Lingyue turned her head. Ji Zhiyi had showered and was wearing a light gold silk pajama. The material was fine and smooth, like moonlight draped on her body. Her hair was wrapped in a dry towel, exposing her long and slender neck. But her face was still cold and indifferent. She said, "I'm going to rest."

Alright, so you're resting. Why are you specifically informing me?

Do you want me to warm your bed?

Before Su Lingyue could speak.

Ji Zhiyi said, "You can tidy the rest tomorrow."

Oh—

It was because she was being too loud and was affecting her sleep.

Su Lingyue glanced at the bookshelf, less than a tenth of which was organized, and finally realized Ji Zhiyi's intentions. She didn't actually want her to organize the bookshelves. She just wanted an excuse to have her stay here.

So that she could order her around at will.

That's what it meant...

She understood.

Su Lingyue nodded. "Okay, President Ji."

She readily complied. Ji Zhiyi glanced at her and returned to her room. Su Lingyue also returned to her room, took clothes from her luggage and went to shower. Before showering, she sent a message to Yang Zhizhi's assistant, asking if she was free tomorrow, as President Ji wanted to invite Yang Zhizhi to dinner.

The assistant was rehearsing lines with Yang Zhizhi. Yang Zhizhi was not in good condition today, mispronouncing several words. She didn't dare correct her. She was actually thinking of letting Yang Zhizhi rest when Su Lingyue messaged her.

Thinking of what happened tonight, she didn't know if she should tell her or not.

Her expression was conflicted, hesitant.

Yang Zhizhi, seeing her expression, frowned. "What are you doing? Are you constipated?"

The assistant said, "No..." She gritted her teeth. "It's Su Lingyue."

Hearing Su Lingyue's name, Yang Zhizhi's heart felt uneasy. She didn't speak. The assistant didn't dare speak either.

After waiting for a long time, she didn't get the next sentence.

Yang Zhizhi couldn't help herself. "Speak!"

The assistant: ...

She thought that Yang Zhizhi didn't want to hear it.

The assistant said, "She said that President Ji wants to invite you to dinner."

Yang Zhizhi nodded.

The assistant looked at her. Sister Lin had said that Yilin Group had very good conditions, in comparison to the other companies asking for endorsements, and also that Yilin had great prospects, so cooperating with them would be a win-win.

But she didn't dare force Yang Zhizhi.

Yang Zhizhi said, "I haven't seen the cooperation letter of intent yet."

The assistant: ...

Wasn't that because you threw it back?

She whispered, "Then should I ask Su Lingyue to send it?"

"Send it over," Yang Zhizhi said. "Tell her to send it over tomorrow."

The assistant took a deep breath. "Okay."

She asked, "What time?"

Yang Zhizhi said, "Send it over in the morning." Then she paused. "No, tell her to send it after work."

The assistant said, "Okay. Then I'll contact Assistant Su."

Afraid that Yang Zhizhi would change her mind, she waited for half a moment before contacting Su Lingyue. The other side didn't reply. The assistant held her phone, glancing at Yang Zhizhi, who was looking at the script. Actually, according to Yang Zhizhi's previous personality, if there was any intention of cooperation, they would just meet and discuss the contract details with the lawyers. She had never taken out her anger on other people before.

But the two had old grudges, and Su Lingyue was in this state now. It was understandable that Yang Zhizhi wanted to let out some anger.

Su Lingyue obviously understood too.

She was out of the shower and saw the assistant's message. She immediately replied. [Okay, thank you.]

There was no awkwardness or complaint in her tone.

It made the assistant a little embarrassed.

She scratched her head and looked at her phone.

After making the appointment, Su Lingyue looked at the letter of intent. It was very sincere. Aside from the generous conditions, the endorsement fee was also the highest, eight million. Su Lingyue had known many artists before, and the endorsement fees for first-tier celebrities were usually between five and six million. She had never heard of an eight million one. Yang Zhizhi's previous business quote was also only at six and a half million.

It could be seen that Ji Zhiyi really wanted to cooperate with Yang Zhizhi.

Besides her, Su Qi's side had also heard about this. The fact that Ji Zhiyi was willing to spend so much money to get Yang Zhizhi for an endorsement, making Su Lingyue apologize twice, had spread throughout the industry. Zhou Shiyu sat in her office, listening to her secretary report Ji Zhiyi's recent schedule, asking, "Have Yang Zhizhi and them signed a contract yet?"

The secretary said, "Not yet, Miss Yang is still considering it."

"What about Zhou Yan?" Zhou Shiyu said, "Let him in."

Zhou Yan was on the phone with a new acquaintance, and he was a little unhappy when he got a call from the secretary. "What is it now!"

Zhou Shiyu called him to the office and asked him how the invitation for Ji Zhiyi to have dinner was going. Zhou Yan spread his hands, "She doesn't agree." He was even a little angry when he said that. If it wasn't for Ji Zhiyi, he would be able to sleep with Su Lingyue right now!

Zhou Yan said, "She really doesn't know what's good for her!"

Zhou Shiyu said, "Have you heard about her recent invitation for Yang Zhizhi to do an endorsement?"

"I've heard about it." Saying that, he scoffed. "She's really an amateur doing business. She's not contacting Baoshun, but she wants to sign a contract with Yang Zhizhi. I really don't understand what she's thinking."

Baoshun was the mall with the most customer traffic in the whole country, with more than two hundred shops now. No matter if it was size or customer traffic, it was considered one of the best in the country. Zhou Yan had heard that in the second half of the year, they would be opening three more large malls in Jian Port City.

Jian Port City had developed about six years ago. It was originally just a second-tier city, but it later became a hub city after a high-speed rail line that connected north and south passed through it, causing the city to develop overnight. The prices of houses and transportation had risen so much that in a few short years, the city had become a grand palace. At the end of the year, Baoshun had bought three pieces of land to build large malls, and one of them was near the high-speed rail station.

There were too many people who wanted this piece of meat, and Su Qi was one of them.

After the new year, Zhou Yan had been frequently contacting the investment director of Baoshun. He had recently even made an appointment for a dinner, but the director wasn't able to make a decision either, so it hadn't been settled yet.

Zhou Yan said, "Sister, if you ask me, you should let them cooperate. Anyway, when we get Baoshun, are we still afraid of her?"

Zhou Shiyu was about to be angered to death by Zhou Yan.

He was so short-sighted!

If Zhou Yan wasn't her younger brother, she would have kicked him out a long time ago!

She glared at Zhou Yan. "You keep an eye on her, and find out what's going on."

Although Zhou Yan didn't really agree, he didn't dare to retort and could only ask people to watch her.

Before he left, Zhou Shiyu asked, "How's Su Lingyue doing recently?"

Zhou Yan thought about what he had heard that day, and said, "She's in a pretty bad state."

The expression on Zhou Shiyu's face softened, looking like she was smiling but not quite.

Su Lingyue was having a dream. She dreamed of the second cat she owned, the one she bought from the pet store. It was a pure white cat, and it meowed clearly and energetically. She was standing outside the cage, watching that cat, not moving for a long time. Her father's secretary had smiled and asked, "Do you like this one?"

She nodded, looking at the secretary.

The secretary told her boss the price. When she came out, she was holding the cat, and she handed it to her. She held it carefully, not wanting to let it go. When she got home, she insisted that the cat stay in her room, refusing to let her father see it.

The little cat would sleep on her pillow at night. She could see it as soon as she opened her eyes. She loved it so much.

But.

One day after school, when she got home.

She saw the housekeeper standing at the door, acting hesitant when he saw her. She kept asking him what was wrong. The housekeeper avoided her eyes. She returned to her room and didn't see her cat. Later, the housekeeper told her that they were worried that the cat was sick, so they had taken it to the hospital for a checkup, and had gotten it vaccinated. But, when it came back, it got stressed and died soon after.

It was Zhou Shiyu who had taken the cat away.

She went crazy and found Zhou Shiyu, hating her so much that she wanted to hit her, but her father stopped her, saying that Zhou Shiyu was only trying to help her and asked why she was blaming Zhou Shiyu. If not for Zhou Shiyu, they wouldn't have found out it was a sick cat.

He couldn't see her roars and cries, he couldn't see how wronged she was. He only thought she was being childish, thinking it was only a cat.

She hated her father so much!

She also hated Zhou Shiyu so much!

Su Lingyue opened her eyes and sat up on the edge of the bed. The intense hatred in her dream had startled her awake. She paced to the window, looking outside. It was all dark, she couldn't see the stray cat, she couldn't see anything. Remembering the white cat she had seen in her dream, she put on her clothes carefully and walked out of the room.

The door closed with a click.

She walked to the trash station.

In the distance, she saw the cat sleeping on the flower bed, not moving. Her face turned pale, and she walked over quickly.

The cat was just sleeping.

Su Lingyue breathed a sigh of relief, reaching out to touch the cat.

The black and white cat opened its eyes as soon as she got close, but it didn't sense any danger, so it didn't move. When Su Lingyue touched it, it purred comfortably and let out a soft meow.

Su Lingyue touched it for a while and then picked it up. The cat rubbed against her cheek. Its fur was soft, and a smile appeared on her face.

After holding it for a long while, a gust of wind blew, it felt a little chilly, and she sneezed. Startled, the cat tried to run away, but it was reluctant to leave her warmth, so it was stuck between wanting to go and not wanting to go.

Su Lingyue found it even more adorable.

Then, she let it go.

It was reluctant to leave and still looked up at Su Lingyue.

Su Lingyue squatted down. "I'll bring you some food tomorrow."

The cat wagged its tail, as if it understood.

It was so cute.

Su Lingyue touched it for a long time before heading back.

When she lay on the bed, she kept thinking about the cat she used to own, and it felt like she could still hear its meows.

A meow?

Was she still dreaming?

Su Lingyue sat up. It sounded like she really heard a cat meowing. The voice was quite loud, and it was outside!

She didn't have time to put on her shoes and ran out barefoot, passing through the living room and opening the door.

The black and white cat she had just held was squatting at the door, looking up at her. Seeing her come out, it purred affectionately, "Meow~"

Su Lingyue grabbed the door handle tightly.

Her eyes were red.

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