Chapter 47: Your Choice
The next day was Saturday. At exactly seven o’clock, Yu Xin’s biological clock woke her up on time.
She lay there with her eyes closed for a while, then lifted the blanket and got up—washing her face, changing clothes, pulling open the curtains, and opening the windows to let in some air. Droplets clung to the glass; it had rained last night, and the morning sky was gray and hazy, with a fine drizzle still falling.
Yu Xin sat down at her desk to copy calligraphy from her practice book.
On Friday, Jiang Chuchu had said she’d be going fishing with her father over the weekend—Yu Xin wondered if they’d set out yet.
The week had passed rather peacefully, except for hearing from Gu Qinghuan that her grandmother had broken a bone. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious. She also mentioned they’d hired a housekeeper who was a fantastic cook.
Thinking of that made Yu Xin’s stomach growl twice. Her pen paused, and the ink spread on the paper, making the downward stroke she was working on much thicker than it should be.
With a small sigh, she set down the pen and went downstairs to get something to eat.
On weekends, Cui Wanning and Yu Yuan usually got up late. Yu Jinxin’s schedule didn’t change, but he often went out to meet friends on Friday nights and rarely came home, usually returning only by Saturday afternoon.
When Yu Xin went downstairs, the servants doing their daily cleaning greeted her softly. She nodded in response and headed into the kitchen.
Cui Wanning didn’t cook herself, but in a burst of enthusiasm had bought all sorts of small kitchen appliances—air fryer, steam oven, stand mixer, and so on.
After Yu Xin discovered this stash, she’d mentioned it to Cui Wanning, who casually told her to use them if she wanted—she considered them forgotten junk anyway.
Thanks to the money Yu Wenli had transferred to her last time, Yu Xin had bought a pile of semi-prepared foods online—Qinghuan Select, a brand she trusted.
She pulled a box of beef rolls from the freezer, put them in the air fryer to heat, and made herself a cup of soy milk powder.
It didn’t matter that no one prepared food for her—she could still make herself quite satisfied.
Looking at her breakfast with satisfaction, she took a picture before eating and sent it to the small group chat.
By the time she’d finished eating, the chat finally had new messages. Jiang Chuchu had sent a photo of a pond, with a fishing rod extending from the camera’s perspective into the water.
In the water near the bank swam a plump fish, opening and closing its mouth toward the camera.
[Jiang Chuchu]: Is this fish mocking me? Is it mocking me?!
[Jiang Chuchu]: Hold on, I’m getting the net! It can just wait there for me!
Yu Xin couldn’t help laughing. She returned to her desk, feeling calmer now, and continued practicing her calligraphy.
When she checked her phone again afterward, Gu Qinghuan had replied: Is that the beef roll I recommended last time? Tasty, right?
Yu Xin responded to Jiang Chuchu: It’s been almost two hours—where’s your fish?
Jiang Chuchu: It got away! Just as I brought the net over, it swam off!
Gu Qinghuan: Bring out your rich-lady aura—drain the pond and find it!
Jiang Chuchu: …Stop reading so many domineering-CEO novels.
Yu Xin sent a laughing emoji. Watching Gu Qinghuan and Jiang Chuchu banter was endless entertainment.
She also replied seriously to the earlier question: The beef rolls are delicious, and the soy milk is good too.
Gu Qinghuan: As expected of me.jpg
Putting her phone away, Yu Xin saw that the rain had stopped. She grabbed an umbrella and went out for a walk.
Unlike the Jiang family, whose estate was “separate from the district,” the Yu family lived in a recognized upscale residential area—though their villa wasn’t in the highest tier.
Of course, with Yu Wenli’s status, even with money he couldn’t obtain the top-tier villas.
Most residents traveled by private car, and while the community had designated leisure areas, few actually used them.
In fact, in the neighborhood, there were more servants walking dogs than residents strolling.
Which suited Yu Xin just fine—she only wanted a quiet walk, without bumping into anyone.
The ground was damp, but the drainage was good, so there was no standing water. Fallen leaves, yellow and red, were scattered like splashes of paint, forming bright patches on the path.
Finding it beautiful, Yu Xin took a picture and sent it to the group chat.
As she sent it, she realized she’d gotten used to sharing bits of her life with her friends.
Or rather, her life now contained things that made her feel happy—not just oppression, gloom, and sorrow.
Gu Qinghuan was the first to reply: I love that after-rain walking vibe! And the colors of the leaves are so pretty!
Yu Xin felt content. Gu Qinghuan always seemed to grasp exactly what she wanted to express—such a rare sense of mutual understanding.
Jiang Chuchu appeared after a while, but her focus was somewhere else.
She resent Yu Xin’s photo and circled a corner: What’s that over there?
At first glance, it looked like a small pile of leaves. But on closer inspection, there seemed to be something black-and-white between them.
By now, Yu Xin had walked some distance from where she’d taken the picture. But after Jiang Chuchu’s message, she immediately went back.
Getting closer, she noticed the leaves were trembling slightly.
There was no wind at the moment. With a hunch, Yu Xin lifted the leaves.
Sure enough, hidden beneath was a half-wet kitten, no bigger than the palm of her hand.
From its coloring, it seemed to be a “cow cat” (black-and-white), far too young—its eyes were tightly shut, its little body curled into a ball, trembling.
When she’d lived in the countryside, Yu Xin had encountered such “stray” kittens before. She guessed this one had been dropped during a move by its mother.
From the time she’d taken the picture until now, it had been a while, and she hadn’t seen the mother cat anywhere nearby. It was more likely this kitten had been abandoned.
Should I take it home?
She didn’t know how to care for a newborn kitten. Though she knew more now than when she was little, Yu Xin wasn’t confident.
Even if she brought it back, once Cui Wanning and Yu Yuan found out, their personalities meant they’d definitely make her throw it out.
Such a tiny kitten could die at any time. Most strays met such an end—one more or less wouldn’t change much.
She had barely enough space to stand in the Yu household; bringing home a stray would only make things harder for herself.
She had many reasons like this. Back in the countryside, she could only pretend she hadn’t seen such kittens and walk away quickly. Now, she only had to repeat her past behavior.
So why… why couldn’t she ignore it this time?
A new message popped up in the group chat.
Jiang Chuchu: Xin Bao, have you confirmed it? Is it a kitten?
Yu Xin, phone in hand, took a deep breath: Yes. It doesn’t look good.
After sending the message, she crouched down and took a photo of the kitten, sending it to the chat.
Gu Qinghuan: !!!
Gu Qinghuan: Xin Bao, stay there! I’m coming!
Jiang Chuchu: Wait—how are you getting into the Yu family’s compound?
This time, without the Jiang family’s car to clear the way, if Gu Qinghuan tried to come, security would definitely call the residents.
And speaking of residents, Jiang Chuchu doubted Cui Wanning would agree to let her in.
Gu Qinghuan: I’ll ping someone and try.
A few minutes later—
Gu Qinghuan: Found someone! Xin Bao, wait for me!
Jiang Chuchu: Uh… who’d you find? Qin Yue?
Gu Qinghuan: Xia He! He says he knows someone who lives there—he’ll come get me and bring me in!
Jiang Chuchu’s hand shook, and she didn’t notice the bobber dip and rise again—meaning a fish had taken the bait.
She was too focused on the group chat.
Knows someone there? The developer of that community was the Xia family, wasn’t it? More likely Xia He had a house there himself!
Gu Qinghuan had gone straight to ask Xia He for help. When had their relationship gotten that close?!
