Mr. Lu Got Off Work Early

How could Ruanruan have known that Lu Linyuan would return early? After waking from her afternoon nap and having a bite to eat, she began swaggering around the floor. First she went next door, where there was an unoccupied guest room. No one lived there, but someone cleaned it every day. Taking advantage of the cleaner's presence, she slipped inside and wandered around, looking this way and that. Everything fascinated her.

As she looked around, she clicked her tongue in amazement.

Wow, wow! Even the guest room was this huge! Though the sheets and duvet covers were white, making it look like a hotel room, they looked so comfortable and fluffy. The room was regularly aired out and sunned, and it smelled of sunshine.

The whole house had a fresh-air ventilation system and central air conditioning, so even with the doors and windows shut tight, it never felt stuffy. Instead, it was wonderfully cool and refreshing.

Ruanruan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Ah, was this the legendary smell of money?

Even the air smelled sweet!

Following the servants as they cleaned, Ruanruan toured nearly every room on the second floor, even Lu Linyuan's bedroom. She had been to the study before, and given the less-than-pleasant experience she'd had there, she didn't go in this time. She was just planning to saunter back to her cat room to listen to music and dance. In her previous life, she had been busy as a dog and had never even visited a bar before she died, much less gone dancing. Now she could go wild along with the TV and do whatever made her happy.

She had just closed her eyes and was about to slip through her little door when her body suddenly rose into the air.

"Meow-" Ahhh! Ruanruan cried out and turned to look.

Who was that? You scared me to death!

What came into view was a young girl with fair skin and a ponytail, dressed in the same uniform as the servants. Huh?

Why was someone so young doing cleaning work? Was the job market really that tough now?

While Ruanruan was wondering, Sister Liu heard her cry and hurried out. When she saw that someone had picked Ruanruan up, she breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Lili, you little rascal, you gave me a fright!" Clearly, she knew the girl.

The girl was called Cheng Li. Smiling, she held Ruanruan, stroked her fur, and greeted Sister Liu.

"Auntie Liu, is this the cat Mr. Lu keeps?" she asked curiously.

"That's right. Cute, isn't she? She cost quite a bit, and Miss Lu brought her here."

"She certainly looks expensive. I have to pet her a few more times. Out there, I'd never get to touch such a cute, pretty little kitty."

Sister Liu asked with a chuckle, "How's your mother? Is she feeling better?"

"She's still coughing a little. The housekeeper didn't dare let her work while she was sick, so I came to cover for her. I happened not to have class, and this way her pay won't get docked."

So she was still in school.

"Exactly. Mainly, it's because we all watched you grow up. Usually, we wouldn't let just anyone come and cover a shift. The housekeeper wouldn't feel comfortable with someone he knew nothing about."

"Hehe, I know you all dote on me. Wow, this kitty is so soft and cute, and she's so pretty. Can I hold her and take a few pictures?"

"Of course you can. Go ahead. I took some last time and posted them on my Moments. Even the housekeeper gave them a like. Everyone thinks this cat is cute. Last time, this little one even peed all over the young master's hand and knee. Whew, that gave me a fright. I was so worried the young master would dislike her, but who would've thought he actually liked her quite a lot? He didn't stop touching her because of it."

"Ah, she actually peed on Mr. Lu's hand? With his temper, he was that tolerant of her?" Her face was full of disbelief.

"Exactly. So be gentle and careful with her. Mr. Lu may look cold as ice, but he's actually very attentive to this cat."

The two of them made Ruanruan terribly embarrassed. The unpleasant experience from that day flashed through her mind again, leaving her feeling very much like, I can't stay here anymore. I have to leave right now. So she struggled to get down.

"Meow-"

"Meow-"

"Be good, kitty. Let big sister take a few pictures, and I'll give you some dried fish later." While Cheng Li took pictures, Auntie Liu continued with the work at hand.

She held Ruanruan up in front of her face, took out her phone, and made cute expressions at the camera.

Besides taking photos, she also shot short videos.

Sitting on the genuine leather sofa in the main hall, she captured herself and the cat, as well as the house's expensive ornaments and exquisite vases in the corners of the frame.

Ruanruan, however, struggled with all her might, wanting only for the girl to put her down quickly. But the girl held her so tightly that she couldn't budge her grip at all.

"Meow, meow, meow-" Ruanruan could only meow some more to express her discomfort. The grip was so tight that her belly was starting to hurt.

She wanted the girl to know she was uncomfortable and didn't want this.

Cheng Li, however, was absorbed in the world of her phone and even began to complain about Ruanruan.

"Oh, why won't you behave? I'm almost done. Let me take a couple more." As she spoke, she lifted Ruanruan up again and pressed her against her face. She had a layer of foundation on, and with her face so close to Ruanruan's head, its faint fragrance rushed into Ruanruan's nose, irritating even her eyes. She stretched her head out, trying to move away.

She really liked girls, but being treated like this was genuinely uncomfortable. How she wished the young lady would take into account that she was still a tiny kitten and couldn't withstand such treatment.

"Meow-"

Cheng Li turned a deaf ear and clicked the shutter several more times.

"What are you doing?" A voice even colder than usual, as though shrouded by a frozen mountain, rang out behind the girl and the cat.

Cheng Li had her back to the elevator. When she heard it open, she assumed it was another auntie coming upstairs to clean. After all, as far as anyone knew, this wasn't the time Lu Linyuan came home, so she could safely slack off in secret.

But the moment the voice rang out, Cheng Li jumped in fright. How could it be Mr. Lu's voice? So startled and guilty was she that, as she stood up, she let go and dropped Ruanruan.

Had Lu Linyuan not heard Ruanruan meowing and come striding over in time to see it happen, the little one would clearly have fallen heavily onto the floor. At the angle she was falling, she would very likely have struck the corner of the table on the way down. His expression tightened, and he swiftly bent his knees and reached out, catching Ruanruan deftly and gathering her into his arms. Displeased, he looked at Cheng Li, who had turned to face him.

"Meow!" Ruanruan had long since squeezed her eyes shut in fright, waiting for a sharp pain to strike. Instead, the next second, she landed in a not particularly soft embrace, a familiar scent at the tip of her nose.

Wow, this feeling of safety was so touching!

Ruanruan clung to Lu Linyuan with both paws, tears welling in her eyes. All sorts of feelings came together: the discomfort Cheng Li had just caused her, the fright, and the feeling of being moved at having been saved. Looking at her like this, the little one seemed frightened out of her wits and thoroughly aggrieved.

The tears were a natural physical reaction she couldn't control, but in her heart, she really wasn't that fragile. Now that Lu Linyuan was holding her, she felt much more secure.

"Mr. Lu!" Cheng Li glanced at Lu Linyuan, then quickly lowered her head, clutching her phone in both hands as though it were a hot potato. She fell silent as a cicada in winter.

She regretted running into Mr. Lu getting off work early.

"Where's Aunt Wang?" Lu Linyuan raised a hand and rubbed Ruanruan's head and back to soothe her, then looked at Auntie Liu beside him.

"My mom is sick and resting at home. I came to cover her shift," Cheng Li answered timidly.

Auntie Liu answered from the side, "Sister Wang has a bit of a cold and asked the housekeeper for time off, so Lili came instead."

"Am I so short of staff here that when someone takes time off, we have to get her daughter to cover for her? Is this what you call covering a shift, tormenting my cat?" His voice seemed steeped in ice and frost, and cold sweat beaded at Cheng Li's temples.

Auntie Liu lowered her head, not daring to say a word.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lu. I just thought the kitten was so cute, so I picked her up to take a few pictures. You suddenly came back and startled me, and she slipped out of my hands. Luckily, you caught her in time. It was all my fault. I'm sorry- I'm sorry-" Cheng Li apologized again and again, her tone sincere.

"You can go home now."

Cheng Li's heart tightened, and she asked fearfully, "What about my mom...?" Would her mother be dragged down by this? Panic rose in her heart.

Her father had long since lost the ability to work. Her mother had raised her and taken care of the family on the considerable wages she earned working for the Lu family. If her mother suddenly lost this job because of her, it would be a bolt from the blue for her-no, not just her, but the whole family.

"Since Aunt Wang isn't feeling well, she can rest for a few more months." After saying this as lightly as the wind and clouds, he turned to leave.

With a thud, Cheng Li actually knelt on the floor and kowtowed to Lu Linyuan. "Brother Lu, if you have to blame someone, blame me. Don't drag my mom into this. She's worked in this house since you were very little. I'm begging you." Hoping to win his forgiveness on account of their having known each other since childhood, she didn't hesitate to play the emotional card.

Ruanruan stretched her head over Lu Linyuan's arm to look at Cheng Li. Seeing her kneeling on the floor, tearfully pleading, she looked surprised and turned her head slightly toward Lu Linyuan. But all she could see was his perfectly shaped chin and his Adam's apple bobbing as he spoke.

Her paw itched. Like a cat spotting a mouse, she raised it as if guided by unseen spirits and, smack, grabbed at it.

"Don't stand here crying and sniveling..."

As soon as Ruanruan grabbed him, she distinctly felt Lu Linyuan's body pause, and he stopped halfway through his sentence. Recalling how cold as ice he had looked just now, she instinctively drew in her head and withdrew her paw in fright. Then she casually patted a button on his clothes, acting as if she had merely hit that spot by accident and he shouldn't mind.

The atmosphere had been heavy, but Ruanruan's interruption made it vanish in an instant.

Lu Linyuan covered Ruanruan's head with his hand and said to Cheng Li, "Did I say I was going to fire her? I don't want this happening again." He signaled for her to leave immediately, looking as though he couldn't be bothered wasting another word.

With that, he carried Ruanruan straight to his bedroom.

It rather looked as though, once inside, he would teach her a lesson that would have her meowing. Frightened, Ruanruan raised her paws to push at Lu Linyuan's palm, wanting to see whether she could escape.

But how could Sun Wukong escape Tathagata Buddha's Five Finger Mountain?

With a click, Lu Linyuan shut the bedroom door.

Trembling, Ruanruan immediately covered her head and curled into a ball, like a turtle retreating into its shell or an ostrich burying its head.

"Heh. You think you won't get a beating just because you do that? You're getting bolder and bolder."

Meow, meow, meow!

I was wrong, young master! Spare me this once!