Chapter 08
Under the watchful eyes of President Cheng the Cat, Shen Yunmiao replied to the message. The gist of it was thanking Jian Shen for her kindness while politely declining the invitation.
Little President Cheng was fairly satisfied. She flicked her tail, scoffed at the cat bed, then kicked off with her hind legs and leapt straight onto the bed.
Fine, if she was going to sleep on the bed, then she would do it proudly. Her big fluffy tail swayed back and forth like a white feather duster, flaunting itself triumphantly.
Shen Yunmiao couldn’t bring herself to scold her and only said helplessly, “Guai Guai, make sure your head stays outside the blanket later, okay? You’ll suffocate if you hide completely under it.”
“Meow?”
Do you think I’m stupid?
Little President Cheng huffed and settled onto the only pillow. Immediately she was enveloped by that faint scent of fresh snow. At first it carried a cold aloofness that kept people at a distance, yet the longer she breathed it in, the sweeter the lingering fragrance became.
Just like Shen Yunmiao herself. She looked distant and pristine on the outside, yet she was so gentle, so kind…
Wasn’t this just tempting a cat?
President Cheng covered her face with a paw, trying to make her suspiciously obsessive sniffing seem less obvious.
After a long while, hearing no sound, she lowered her paw and peeked out, only to discover Shen Yunmiao was no longer in front of her.
Hm?
Was she talking to that old geezer Jian Shen again?
For some reason, irritation welled up inside her, and Cheng Jianian sprawled flat on the bed in a sulk.
At that exact moment, an icy hand suddenly touched her belly.
The unexpected contact made every strand of her fluffy fur stand on end, and a startled “Meow!” burst out of her.
It wasn’t just her voice that escaped.
Her soul nearly did too.
Little President Cheng glared indignantly at the culprit.
Completely oblivious, Shen Yunmiao continued rubbing her belly with smiling eyes.
“Did I scare you?”
“…”
Childish.
Little President Cheng couldn’t be bothered to argue, though Shen Yunmiao’s hands really were cold.
Was this another standard trait of a female lead? Permanently icy hands and feet?
How pitiful.
Fine, out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll warm your hands.
She crossed all four paws over Shen Yunmiao’s hand, surrounding it completely.
A warmth spread through Shen Yunmiao’s heart as she watched the gesture.
Her life had always been simple. She had few friends and was used to being alone.
This little cat was the first thing that had ever made her life feel real.
And… the first warmth she had felt in a very long time.
Using her other hand, she lifted the little cat and rubbed her cheek against the soft fur.
“Thank you, my Guai Guai.”
President Cheng the Cat awkwardly turned her face away.
A strange feeling rose inside her.
She had never wanted to become a cat.
Yet somehow, she simply couldn’t stop herself from doing things only cats would do.
From now on, absolutely no more acting like a real cat.
And she couldn’t keep being so nice to Shen Yunmiao either.
Humans were all like that. Once they got something, they stopped cherishing it.
She absolutely couldn’t become some meek little cat that accepted everything.
Silently, Cheng Jianian established a new set of rules for herself.
At the same time, her desire to contact her subordinates became stronger than ever.
Night was perfect for doing things no one else needed to know about.
After confirming Shen Yunmiao was completely asleep, Cheng Jianian quietly slipped out from under the blanket.
Brr…
The heating really wasn’t very good. The cold air outside the blanket nearly froze her to death.
Shivering, she jumped onto the bedside table and finally reached the phone.
Thankfully, she wasn’t so weak that she couldn’t jump anymore.
Cat paws felt different from human fingers. She fumbled for quite a while before finally managing to wake up the screen.
But whose phone nowadays didn’t have a passcode?
She circled around the locked phone several times without accomplishing anything.
President Cheng had never been someone who gave up easily.
After painstakingly finding the right angle, she bit down and actually picked up the phone in her mouth before wobbling off the table with it.
Fortunately, the bed was soft.
The impact wasn’t too loud.
Shen Yunmiao merely stirred from the sound. In the darkness, Cheng Jianian could vaguely see her long eyelashes flutter before becoming still once more.
…Her sense of caution was terrible.
No wonder this female lead always ended up suffering random disasters.
Her safety awareness was practically nonexistent.
Complaining inwardly, Cheng Jianian carefully dragged the phone toward Shen Yunmiao’s hand.
One step.
Two steps.
Almost there.
Looking at those soft fingertips only inches away, Little President Cheng began worrying again.
How could she unlock the phone without waking Shen Yunmiao?
She absolutely couldn’t let Shen Yunmiao discover she wasn’t an ordinary cat.
At best she’d be sent to a laboratory.
At worst…
Humans were always crueler toward things they couldn’t understand.
The longing to return to her human body became overwhelming.
Twisting her neck into an impossible angle, the little white cat finally managed to line the phone up with Shen Yunmiao’s finger.
Her heart thundered as she slowly moved closer.
Damn it.
Just a little more.
President Cheng nearly exploded with frustration.
She tilted her head slightly and strained to make contact.
“Woo woo woo…”
Without warning, the phone suddenly erupted into an alarm.
A countdown flashed on the screen.
That startled not only the humanā
It stunned the cat as well.
Before President Cheng even understood what had happened, she was scooped into someone’s arms and hurried outside, dizzy from the sudden movement.
“…Meow…”
My phone…
Gradually, the countdown ended.
It was replaced by an even more piercing alarm.
The hands that had finally warmed up beneath the blanket gently stroked her.
“Don’t be afraid, Guai Guai. Big Sister is here. Don’t be scared. Everything will be alright.”
Cheng Jianian wasn’t stupid.
She immediately realized it was an earthquake.
Even so, she was still shaken.
Their apartment wasn’t very high up, and Shen Yunmiao had reacted quickly.
By the time they reached downstairs, almost no one else had arrived yet.
Gradually more and more residents poured out, filling the brightly lit courtyard with endless complaints.
Numbly, Little President Cheng poked her head out from Shen Yunmiao’s long coat.
Her ears twitched lifelessly.
What kind of luck was this?
She had finally been about to accomplish something, and then an earthquake happened.
Didn’t animals supposedly sense earthquakes beforehand?
Why hadn’t she noticed anything?
And there wasn’t anything like this in the original story either.
She didn’t remember Shen Yunmiao ever experiencing an earthquake.
Little President Cheng grumbled inwardly.
Still, after looking around at everyone else, she felt a bit better.
Take that useless owner over there.
He had rushed outside shirtless and even dragged his cat out into the freezing cold.
Unlike her owner.
The world’s beloved daughter.
Even during an earthquake, Shen Yunmiao had remembered to put on a thick coat and carry her cat outside.
Thinking that, she let out two soft little meows.
The familiar hand, already cold again, gently rubbed her head.
“Don’t be afraid, Guai Guai. We’ll be alright.”
Of course you’ll be alright.
You’re the Chosen Daughter of Heaven, the protagonist of this world.
Even if volcanoes erupted, glaciers melted, or the oceans flooded, you’d still come through safely.
The little white cat rubbed against that hand, letting her know she was fine.
Just then, a phone call came in.
Shen Yunmiao answered first, calmly saying,
“Hanfeng, I’m alright. Don’t worry.”
Even through the phone, Ji Hanfeng’s anxious voice sounded piercing.
“Alright? It’s almost a magnitude-seven earthquake! Wait for me! Don’t go back to that apartment. I’ll return to the country right now and come get you.”
Shen Yunmiao’s voice remained as gentle as ever.
“You really don’t need to worry. I’m fine. Besides, Hanfeng, by the time you get back, the earthquake will already be over. Just stay there and focus on your studies.”
Ji Hanfeng had been panicking earlier.
Now that he’d calmed down, he realized how unrealistic his words had been.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed heavily.
“You’re right. Then… I’ll call my family and have them send someone to pick you up.”
“There’s really no need. Things between you and your family are still very strained. Calling them now won’t do you any good.”
Another long silence followed.
Just when Cheng Jianian assumed the useless male lead had already hung up, he finally spoke again.
“Yunmiao, you’re an incredibly important friend to me. I can’t stand by while you’re in danger and do nothing. Forget the Ji familyāeven my life, I’d give it up for you.”
His affectionate confession made noble President Cheng shudder in disgust.
Suddenly, she remembered this part of the story.
During Shen Yunmiao’s university years, she and Ji Hanfeng had indeed met again.
In Ji Hanfeng’s second year abroad, he had a huge fight with his family and returned to China regardless of the consequences to find Shen Yunmiao.
It was then that the original “Cheng Jianian” realized Ji Hanfeng’s feelings for Shen Yunmiao and immediately pressured Jian Shen into replacing Shen Yunmiao.
But Jian Shen had backbone.
She completely ignored the warning, insisted on finishing the movie with Shen Yunmiao, and even decided that Shen Yunmiao would star as the female lead in her next film.
Driven mad with jealousy, the original “Cheng Jianian” deliberately staged a car accident that left Jian Shen in a vegetative state.
After that, no one dared cast Shen Yunmiao again.
The reason Cheng Jianian hadn’t connected this scene before was because most of the story she had received was from the perspective of “Cheng Jianian,” the supporting villain.
She hadn’t known Ji Hanfeng’s motives and had therefore overlooked the events leading up to it.
An intense wave of frustration surged through her.
She cursed Ji Hanfeng for being a walking disaster.
Then she cursed this ridiculous plot.
Poor Shen Yunmiao.
Every day it was either bullying, attempted casting couch harassment, or earthquakes.
And after enduring all those misfortunes, all she got in return was this useless male lead descending from the heavens…
Only to create even more disasters.
If only I could change the story…
The instant that thought crossed her mind, Cheng Jianian froze.
What was wrong with her?
Had Ji Hanfeng’s foolishness become contagious?
How could she start entertaining such unrealistic fantasies?
With the situation as it was now…
Forget rescuing Shen Yunmiao from her suffering.
She couldn’t even change her own fate.
Right now, she was nothing more than a cat that could be bitten to death by stray dogs or abused by children.
And even if she somehow returned to her own body, what could she actually do?
In this world, “Cheng Jianian” had only one purposeā
To create hardships for Shen Yunmiao and Ji Hanfeng.
Discouragement.
Confusion.
Pain.
All of those emotions surged over her at once.
