First, going by the usual logic, there was no way anyone could be knocking on the window from the courtyard.

Hadn’t Ye Zhibai just looked out into the courtyard? There was no one there—just potted plants, flowerbeds, and a stone path!

For a moment... poor Ye Zhibai couldn’t help shivering.

Don’t get the wrong idea. The air-conditioning was just too cold.

Hah. I’ve seen every kind of storm in my past life. I was poor enough to starve, and I’m supposed to be scared of something this trivial?!

Let’s see who’s over there playing ghost.

Ye Zhibai braced both hands against the floor and struggled to her feet.

Still feeling a little uneasy, she went to stand in front of the curtains.

She took a deep breath and grabbed one side of the curtains in each hand.

Then...

She gathered her nerve and yanked them open!

Swish—

Sunlight streamed through the glass and into the room, opening up the view of the courtyard outside once more.

But...

There was no one there.

“...”

There was no one there, but the soft tapping continued.

The sound... seemed to be coming from below.

Ye Zhibai lowered her gaze a little.

She looked at the very bottom of the floor-to-ceiling window.

“Uh...”

This... was the source of the tapping.

Ye Zhibai blinked in surprise.

The one knocking on the window wasn’t a person.

It was... a cat.

On the other side of the thin pane of glass, a little orange-and-brown cat was pressing the soft pads of its furry paw against the window, tapping gently and rhythmically.

No, no... For a cat, making that much noise probably counted as pounding on the window!

The cat didn’t look very big. Maybe it was only a year old...?

Wait, there was a cat in the courtyard?!

Ye Zhibai looked back out into the courtyard.

She definitely hadn’t seen it there just now...

Where had it slipped in from?

If it hadn’t been hiding in the flowerbed, then it must have just climbed over the wall from the estate next door.

Yun'er had mentioned that there were quite a few stray cats around the estate.

This brown-furred little cat seemed remarkably clever.

It saw that Ye Zhibai had noticed it but still wasn’t opening the window. So it stuck out its paw again, showed off its little paw pads, and gave the glass another determined smack.

And it meowed loudly while it was at it!!

“Meow, meow, meow, meow!!”

It was as if it were saying, “Hurry up and open the door!”

Ye Zhibai started to panic!

Hey, don’t break my window! This kind of glass has to be expensive!

Surely a cat couldn’t break glass...

But why did Ye Zhibai feel like this cat had the nerve—and the potential—to do it?!

With no other choice, Ye Zhibai hurriedly turned the latch on the small door beside the floor-to-ceiling window and opened the door leading to the courtyard.

A breath of floral fragrance drifted in from the courtyard.

At last, the little cat stopped.

It lowered its paw, padded gracefully through the little door, and sauntered into the room as if it owned the place.

Ye Zhibai was stunned!

Hey! You could at least pretend to be a little embarrassed!

I haven’t even checked you for fleas yet!

Once inside, the cat looked this way and that, then leaped onto the head of Ye Zhibai’s bed. It curled up into a little ball and struck a pose that said it was ready for a nap.

It even swished its tail at Ye Zhibai.

Holy crap, it wasn’t enough that this cat wasn’t afraid of people—it was acting like they were old friends.

Ye Zhibai was at a loss. She wanted to scold the cat, but she knew...

Trying to reason with a cat never got you anywhere.

Everyone knew that.

Ye Zhibai could only let out a long, weary sigh, walk back over, and sit on the other side of the bed to watch the cat.

Its tail swayed lazily as it closed its eyes, looking ready to fall asleep.

What should she do now? Ask Yun'er to come and shoo it out...?

Or buy some cat food and litter later and keep it?

Ye Zhibai had never had a pet in her past life. Someone who could barely afford to take care of herself had no energy to look after an animal, too.

But... she’d fed plenty of stray cats and dogs on the street with ham sausages.

You could say Ye Zhibai was very much the type to love cats and dogs.

She couldn’t have a pet before, but things were different now.

This time around, she probably had the means to keep one.

So why not...

Give it a try?

Once the thought had crossed her mind, it was hard to rein in.

That’s right!

This cat and I are both lost souls, cast adrift in the world—one human, one feline.

I’m uneasy in this new place. I bet this cat... feels the same way.

Though it seemed to be sleeping pretty soundly...

After talking herself into it, Ye Zhibai finally made up her mind.

I’ll keep it!

A new life calls for doing some things differently!

She raised her left hand and carefully reached for the curled-up ball of fur, hoping to stroke its coat.

"Little one... please take care of me from now on... hiss...!"

“Meow!!”

Ye Zhibai yelped in pain and snatched her hand back.

She stared at the finger that hurt.

It... it bit me!!

We’re both lost souls, one human and one cat, and it still bit me!!

Stay calm... stay calm...

I can’t stoop to a cat’s level!

Ye Zhibai blew a few warm breaths over the finger the cat had bitten, her cherry-red lips pursed, and kept reminding herself of that.

—If you get mad at a cat, you’ve already lost the moment you start acting like a person.

At least it didn’t break the skin...

I’ve never met a stray kitten this bad-tempered in my past life!

Now... Ye Zhibai needed to reconsider whether she wanted to keep a cat.

Who could put up with getting bitten every day?!

The cat was completely unreasonable. It ignored the icy aura around Ye Zhibai and kept lying there, sleeping.

Ye Zhibai frowned.

She took out her new phone again.

When someone gets bitten, it’s only natural to want to rant about it in the group chat!

She opened the only group chat she belonged to and, out of habit, dropped a message.

She’d been muted before.

At this hour, the mute had probably worn off.

A White Leaf: “I’m so mad! I was being nice and trying to take in a cat, and it bit me! How dare it!”

She attached a sobbing-shark sticker.

The people in this group were lightning-fast at replying.

Kaguya Eats the Moon: “Holy crap, Yezi bro, you’re hardcore. Kidnapping instead of buying—you caught a stray?”

A White Leaf: “No... You probably won’t believe this, but it walked into my house by itself...”

Cold Night: “?! That can happen? Yezi, do you think your cat will turn into a catgirl?!”

A White Leaf: “No! Have you watched so much anime that you’ve lost it? Sigh... I haven’t even decided whether to keep it. I’m just venting—it almost bit through my finger.”

Kaguya Eats the Moon: “Ehehe, finding a cat is fate. You should keep it!”

Keeping it... would be fine, I guess.

Ye Zhibai looked toward the bed.

After biting her, this little white cat was acting like nothing had happened.

Can you really keep this thing...?

Sigh. I’ll ask Yun'er in a bit.

Only then did Ye Zhibai remember that whether they could keep a pet wasn’t something she could decide on her own.

She hadn’t forgotten that this was a living space she shared with Yun'er.

Just as Ye Zhibai was about to leave the group chat, the group owner appeared.

With a golden icon and the flashy entrance effect of a VIP 10, the group owner was always the most dazzling one in the room!

Autumn Wind Rises: “Yezi, Yezi! Finding a cat is great! I’ll send you a few links for cat food and litter. If you’re thinking of keeping it, I recommend these brands! Didn’t you say money was tight before? These are all great value for the price!”

Right after that, Xiao Qiu sent several shopping links for different brands to the group.

See? The group owner really knew how to get things done.

Maximum practical value!

Although she hadn’t decided whether to buy anything yet, Ye Zhibai went ahead and changed Xiao Qiu’s contact name to “Reliable Xiao Qiu.”

Reliable!

A White Leaf: “You really know your stuff, Xiao Qiu.”

Autumn Wind Rises: “Of course! I have six cats at home, and they’re all healthy and happy. I’m a cat-raising master—that’s me!”

Wow, they really were an expert.

Six cats at once? You’re a total cat servant!

Ye Zhibai just sent Xiao Qiu a “Nice!” sticker.

But then the group’s resident shipper, always going on about couples, suddenly showed up.

Spring Breeze Awaits Cute Girls: “Waaah, you’re talking about cat food, but somehow I’m getting fed Yezi and Xiao Qiu fluff again. I’m crying. Old comrades sharing cat-raising tips—so heartwarming!”

“Spring Breeze Awaits Cute Girls” was an alt account belonging to “Clear Breeze Awaits Cute Girls.” Their main account had been muted for five days, so they’d had to bring out a backup to keep shipping couples.

—Spring Breeze Awaits Cute Girls has been muted for fifteen days.

Bro!!

Beautiful. Pop the champagne.

That’s what you get for shipping people out of nowhere!