As their chat dragged on, dawn was almost breaking.

Xiaojiu’s ears twitched twice. Her eyes were barely slits, no matter how hard she tried to open them. She mumbled, "Grandpa, I’m so sleepy."

Grandpa Cat glanced at Xiaojiu’s exhausted face and smiled at Luo Yu and Meizi. "After all, I’ve taken her door-to-door all night, asking if anyone would adopt her. We haven’t slept a wink."

"Luckily, you found me, right?" Meizi said, hand on her hip, a hint of worry on her brow. "How can a woman like me raise a kid?"

"Meizi, you’ll take her, won’t you? I don’t want money. Just treat Xiaojiu well—let her grow as tall and beautiful as Luo Yu. You raised Luo Yu that way. You’re amazing…"

Hearing this, a slight curve lifted Meizi’s lips. She straightened her back proudly.

"Hmph. Who else but me, Meizi, born capable? Even such a useless, naughty kid I turned into a beauty…"

"You mean me?" Luo Yu pulled the smug Meizi aside and whispered, "Did you forget how terribly you treated me as a kid?"

"What was so bad?" Meizi frowned, racking her foggy memories. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh right—you were kidnapped a few times as a child, had all sorts of accidents… I guess it was kinda rough."

"You birth-giver! You locked me in the house for three days and nights, went skydiving yourself, and forgot to feed me. I almost starved!"

Luo Yu dredged up painful childhood memories, voice bitter. "And after you found out I could cook, Sister Meizi made me—just six years old—cook for you for eight straight years…"

"Eight years! Making a kid serve you—doesn’t your conscience hurt? Even a nanny gets paid!" Luo Yu’s voice rose, an invisible flame of revenge flaring within her.

Bigger. Fiercer.

"Oh no."

In the crisis, Meizi clamped a hand over Luo Yu’s mouth, sealed it with tape, and cut off her rant. She flashed a bright smile.

"Since the past is so painful, Luo Yu, let’s skip it. We’re discussing what to do with this kid."

Meizi stood, pacing as she thought. "Hearing you say that… I guess I really don’t know how to raise children."

"Mmm… mmm."

Luo Yu’s taped mouth muffled her sounds, but she tried to beam her fury through their decade-long bond: "You don’t just not know how—you’re so bad that any kid surviving a month with you is a miracle…"

Grandpa Cat watched the bickering women from the doorway. He raised a hand, unsure where to put it, then pulled it back. Softly, he asked, "Does Luo Yu have something to say…?"

Luo Yu nodded frantically. "Mmm… mmm…"

"Oh dear."

Meizi shoved the struggling Luo Yu to the ground, wrapped two extra layers of tape around her mouth, and ensured it was airtight. She turned to Grandpa Cat. "Luo Yu says she’s thrilled to have a new sister. I raised her well since childhood—she’s deeply grateful."

"?" Luo Yu jumped up and down, teeth grinding, muffled sounds bursting out.

"Mm." Meizi beamed at Luo Yu’s reaction, giving a thumbs-up. "She’s so happy now, she wants to dance for us."

"Happy my ass!" Luo Yu screamed inwardly, hair nearly standing on end. "Dance my ass."

"See?" Meizi pointed at the furious, speechless Luo Yu and laughed. "She’s overflowing with gratitude."

…

"Then I’m completely relieved." Grandpa Cat sighed as if a weight lifted, wiping tears from his wrinkled face. "Luo Yu spent eight years with you and says you’re great with kids. I have no objections."

Luo Yu: "I said my ass!"

"Good, good, good."

Grandpa Cat left his granddaughter behind, walking away with a relaxed step. He hummed a carefree tune, utterly unaware of the ordeal awaiting Xiaojiu under Meizi.

Xiaojiu padded softly beside Meizi, whispering, "Sister." Their bond was sealed.

"How was the kid’s food arranged? Eating once every three days shouldn’t kill her. That’s how I raised Luo Yu—she foraged and grew into a beauty." Meizi tapped her lips, calculating the tightest budget to keep Xiaojiu alive.

"Mmm… mmm…"

"Huh?" Meizi turned at Luo Yu’s muffled sounds from the chair. "Luo Yu, why are you just mumbling? Don’t you like talking?"

Luo Yu: "…"

"Forgot to untie you." Meizi helped tear off the forty layers of tape wrapped around Luo Yu’s face.

"Holy crap." Luo Yu gasped free, stumbling back to the wall. Her eyes turned hollow, radiating quiet resentment. She pulled a small notebook from her bosom and scribbled vicious curses in messy handwriting.

"Luo Yu, must you hold grudges like this?"

"Absolutely necessary." Luo Yu nodded fiercely.

"Anyway," Luo Yu stuffed the notebook into her bra, crouched before Xiaojiu, and eyed Meizi warily. "You’re not planning to raise her like you did me—completely neglecting her, right?"

"I can learn from my mistakes," Meizi murmured, rubbing Xiaojiu’s ears. "When you know your time is short, you think deeply. Thinking deeply makes you gentle… not as cruel as before."

Meizi’s gaze drifted to Xiaojiu, who was daydreaming nearby.

"Xiaojiu."

"Xiaojiu!" Meizi’s shout made Xiaojiu’s fur stand on end, ears folding flat. She bowed her head quickly. "Xiaojiu here."

"You know what your Sister Meizi does for work, right?"

"Grandpa told me," Xiaojiu stammered, avoiding eye contact. "It’s like… for men… giving…"

"Surrendering my body for their pleasure." Meizi’s tone turned sharp. "In these wasted years, my youth turned to dust. Love never touched me. All I believe in is the gold and cash men hand me at the end."

Xiaojiu mumbled, head down. "Sister Meizi… Xiaojiu feels you’re… so pitiful…"

"Then do you think Sister Luo Yu is weird?"

"A bit…" Xiaojiu blushed. "She touches things… all the time…"

"Hey hey hey," Luo Yu groaned. "No need to drag me into this."

Meizi pinched Xiaojiu’s chin, lifting her timid face. "The men you’ll meet will be far worse than her, Xiaojiu. At least Luo Yu never harms others with true malice. No matter how I treated her as a kid, she’d grumble awhile… then smile at me again."

Meizi’s voice hardened. "But when you grow up, those men will inflict real cruelty on you."

Her volume rose. Xiaojiu tried to cover her cat ears, but Meizi slapped her hands away with a smack.

"Don’t dream of escape." Meizi’s smile looked like a sob. "I’ll only do this job all my life, Xiaojiu. Since you’re with me, yours will be the same. Death is the only escape. This is the fate of Lower Demons in old Lan City—no dignity at all."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Because you’re a Lower Demon. I’m a Lower Demon. We’re all Lower Demons."

Miss Meizi gritted her teeth, forcing a smile. "Precisely because life is worthless, we need no dignity. Just smile and be happy every day, yeah."