Chapter 144: Just a Small Cat
Meng Xiaobo was stunned by his words, even starting to wonder if there was really a tenant with the same name.
After all, their boss was still a single, respectable young woman.
Meng Xiaobo, being straightforward, couldn’t make sense of it and simply frowned. “Just say why you’re here.”
Su Zhenglan, intimidated by his harsh tone, stammered, “I… I want to find a job in Taoyang and was hoping she could introduce me to one…”
Like a message relay machine, Meng Xiaobo called Qi Yunlan. “Boss, he’s here looking for a job.”
Qi Yunlan immediately understood—just another freeloading relative. “Find an excuse to send him away.”
Unable to think of an excuse, Meng Xiaobo simply hung up the phone and said bluntly, “Leave.”
Su Zhenglan was taken aback. “Huh? But you haven’t even called her—”
Meng Xiaobo raised a fist the size of a sandbag and glared. “Are you leaving or not?”
Su Zhenglan, frightened, glanced one last time at Taoyang’s grand entrance before reluctantly walking away.
When Su Tao heard that Su Zhenglan had left, she didn’t give it another thought and went back to work.
Right before the end of the workday, Qian Lin stopped by Taoli Building, carrying something wrapped in scrap paper in her arms. As soon as she sat down, she beamed.
“Boss, remember that guest named Zhang from Panliu Mountain who introduced us to a transport team for buying seeds?”
Su Tao nodded.
“They’ve arrived at Panliu Mountain. We originally scheduled a meeting for this afternoon, but their captain had a rough journey and wasn’t feeling well, so they postponed. They felt bad about it, so they sent over a bundle of lily bulbs as a gift.”
As she spoke, she unwrapped the package, revealing three fresh white lilies, their petals still speckled with tiny droplets of water, exuding a delicate fragrance.
Su Tao immediately sat up straight.
Qian Lin smiled. “Wu Zhen got the bulbs and couldn’t wait to cultivate them. He asked me to bring these to you—he said they can last about two weeks in the office.”
Su Tao happily took the flowers, sniffing them with delight. “They’re beautiful and smell amazing.”
Seeing Zhuang Wan’s eager eyes, she handed her one. “Just one, no more.”
Zhuang Wan, a typical girly girl with a love for beautiful flowers, treated it like a treasure. She happily called out, “A thousand blessings upon you, boss!” three times before immediately looking for a vase to put it in.
Qian Lin warned her, “Put it somewhere safe. Be careful that Black Sesame doesn’t knock it over.”
Zhuang Wan instantly became alert, placing the vase against the wall. Then, she suddenly asked, “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Hei Dou all day. That’s rare. Usually, that little troublemaker is here messing around in the office.”
Hei Dou was a nickname she had given him, saying he was like a little black bean, always running off as soon as he hit the ground.
Su Tao paused, a cold feeling creeping up her spine. Not just today—Black Sesame hadn’t come home last night either.
Although it had occasionally stayed out overnight before, it always came back for food in the morning.
But now it was already afternoon. Something was definitely wrong.
Panic surged in Su Tao’s heart as she rushed upstairs to ask Qi Yunlan to check the surveillance footage.
Eight people searched for over an hour, but they found nothing—not in Taoyang or Panliu Mountain.
Su Tao guessed that Hei Zhima must have wandered outside after dark.
That made it much harder to find. In the night, the little black cat was practically invisible.
She even tried sharing its vision, but there was no response at all.
By ten at night, Su Tao was so anxious she had lost her appetite, her legs felt weak, and her mind was filled with worst-case scenarios—what if someone had caught it? Hurt it? It was just a tiny cat…
Old Mei, hearing about the situation, was so worried he wheeled himself out, calling Black Sesame’s name as he searched.
Grandma Cen was also alarmed, gathering her elderly friends to search every corner.
By 1 AM, nearly all of Taoyang’s tenants had joined the effort, flashlight beams sweeping through the nearby Dongyang area.
Everyone loved that little cat. It let people pet it and hold it, had a fearless personality, and had become part of the daily routine—greeting it as it lounged by the fountain sunbathing.
If something had happened to it, no one would be able to bear it.
