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Chapter 319: Chapter 319: Lin Man started working at Si Chen’s hospital.
Noting Yuan Caizhen’s odd expression, Tong Yao didn’t point it out. She figured her uncle could sort out the mess he’d made himself!
She had her own pile of problems to tackle, after all.
Yuan Caizhen stayed in the milk tea shop for more than an hour before returning home. After seeing her off, Tong Yao returned to her apartment, only to receive some infuriating news from her pet cat.
Lin Man started working at Si Chen’s hospital.
To sabotage her relationship with Si Chen, Lin Man was truly pulling out all the stops. Tong Yao had to admire Lin Man’s shameless determination.
The more Tong Yao thought about it, the angrier she became. Taking advantage of Si Chen’s absence, she sent her pet cat to Lin Man’s house with instructions to leave some ’gifts’ and then wait for her at the apartment entrance the next day.
When Tong Yao returned home, Si Chen had just come back from work. This time, without waiting for her to ask, he proactively mentioned that Lin Man had started working there. Remembering her cat’s mission, Tong Yao chuckled and said, "That’s okay, I trust you."
Noticing Tong Yao’s cheerful demeanor, Si Chen raised an eyebrow and asked, "Something good happened today?"
Tong Yao shook her head, fluttering her large eyes, "Nothing particularly joyful, but some unpleasant events occurred between mom and my aunt."
Hearing it was about Lin Fengying, Si Chen frowned, "What happened now?"
"Didn’t mom spend the night at my aunt’s place yesterday? She left her underwear under my aunt’s pillow and didn’t take it away. Today my aunt freaked out when she saw it, went to the rental room to confront mom with the underwear. Out of nowhere, my uncle sprang out of mom’s room. Anyway, there was a quarrel between my uncle and aunt because of mom, it’s a bit confusing, but that’s the general gist," Tong Yao recounted the whole incident, leaving Si Chen frowning deeply. He seemed unsurprised and replied, "Let her be. Don’t bother with her affairs in the future."
Taking a sip of the lukewarm water on the table, Tong Yao pondered, "I suspect if mom and Xiaohui continue with their meddling, my aunt will divorce my uncle."
Si Chen squinted his eyes, hinting, "The bitter fruit he is bearing is from the seeds he once sowed. There’s no need to pity him."
Tong Yao felt that if they continued discussing, the matter concerning her uncle and mother-in-law would be brought into the light. Isolating the topic seemed the prudent choice, so she quickly changed the subject,
"You should hit the shower, and then read for a while. The graduate school entrance exam is not far off, make the most of your time and study!"
Si Chen nodded, then his gaze shifted to the cat’s lair. He quirked an eyebrow, "The cat hasn’t come back?"
Usually, around this time, the cat is in its lair, constantly meowing at Tong Yao as if they were having a conversation. Sometimes, Tong Yao would even display an eccentric smile akin to the cat’s.
Si Chen wasn’t interested in pets, but since Tong Yao liked them, having a pet around was good company for her and prevented monotony and loneliness. Thus, having a small animal at home did seem quite reasonable.
Surprised that Si Chen would pay attention to the cat, Tong Yao tried to brush it off, "It must be out playing and hasn’t come back yet. It might be in heat and might have been whisked away by a female cat. It should be back by tomorrow."
Si Chen glanced at Tong Yao. She felt increasingly guilty and could barely meet his gaze. Using the excuse of helping him change his clothes, she quickly stepped inside. He followed her into the room, and thankfully, did not ask about the cat anymore.
Tong Yao was exhausted from running around all day. While Si Chen was still reading, she fell asleep like a log.
The next day.
Tong Yao woke up when Si Chen was just getting out of bed. Looking at the wall clock, he whispered, "Sleep in a bit more. It’s only half-past six."
Tong Yao couldn’t sleep anymore with the cat business in mind. She stretched, pulling aside her blanket, "I won’t sleep anymore, I still have things to do today."
Si Chen paused as he was doing up his buttons, raising a brow, "Is the milk tea shop unusually busy lately?"
Usually, people don’t drink milk tea in the morning, and the shop opens at nine-thirty. There was no need for Tong Yao to get up so early.
Tong Yao lied without a tinge of guilt, "Not at all. I just want to go out and have breakfast earlier. A new bun shop has opened next to the milk tea shop. The steamed buns and soy milk are delicious, but if you go late, they are sold out."
Si Chen was doing up his last button leisurely. He nodded and said, "Next time, mention it to the shop owner to have a portion reserved for you. The weather is hot these days, the early mornings are pleasant and a good time to sleep."
Tong Yao laughed it off and quickly freshened up. She left with Si Chen, but instead of going to the milk tea shop, she hailed a taxi to the vicinity of Lin Man’s house. Upon reaching the entrance of the apartment complex, her pet cat scurried out from a corner.
The master and pet swiftly left the scene of the crime.
Tong Yao hailed another taxi to send her pet cat back to their apartment. On the way, the cat was enthusiastically boasting about its accomplishments from the night before.
It had lived up to her expectations. The cat had caught more than a dozen mice from next to the apartment complex’s dumpster, all of which ended up dead inside Lin Man’s house. The dead mice were hidden under the living room table, inside pots, rice bags, under the bed, and inside the wardrobe.
Given the hot weather, within a day, Lin Man’s house would be filled with the smell of decaying mice.
Listening to her pet’s cat’s achievements, Tong Yao was in high spirits. She stroked the cat’s head and promised it an unlimited supply of little dried fish.
The taxi driver, hearing the constant meowing, thought it was the cat’s first time in a car and was scared. However, the cat stopped meowing as soon as Tong Yao mentioned buying little dried fish, causing the driver to throw a puzzled glance.
Cats are believed to have psychic abilities and here, he was dealing with one early in the morning. How odd!
All the to and fro travel took time, and by the time Tong Yao arrived at the milk tea shop, it was already nine o’clock. She was planning to buy some breakfast first, but as soon as she got out of the car, she saw Si Xiaohui and Lin Fengying coming out of the breakfast shop next door.
Seeing Tong Yao, Si Xiaohui immediately complained, "Sister-in-law, you really are too lazy running a business! It’s so late, and you haven’t even opened up. We’ve been waiting here for you for over half an hour."
Lin Fengying also felt that Tong Yao was late, but she didn’t say anything.
Tong Yao took out her keys, opened the shop’s door and said, "Who drinks milk tea so early in the morning? Why open the shop so early?"
Si Xiaohui retorted grumpily, "Of course, businesses open early for customers. Who doesn’t do that? What if someone wants to drink?"
Tong Yao opened the door and turned back to look at Si Xiaohui, "There’s no such ’what if’, I’m the boss, and I’ll open the shop when I want. Don’t go looking for trouble so early in the morning."
Song Yu also felt that Si Xiaohui was behaving excessively, and pulled at her clothes, muttering for her to tone it down.
