Chapter 12: A Scandal in the Cloakroom

The morning light poured down like flowing water, blanketing the floor in a pale golden glow.

Song Jin had slept peacefully through the night. Her eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes, only to find that Duan Yan was already gone from her side.

Her heart tightened. Song Jin immediately leaped off the bed to search for her.

‘Hmph, working behind my back, are you!’

The door to the second-floor cloakroom wasn’t closed, which must have been left open for her by Duan Yan on purpose.

Sure enough, a rustling sound was already coming from the cloakroom. It was Duan Yan.

Her figure appeared slender in the soft light as she focused on selecting clothes in the cloakroom.

Evening gowns lay on the table, custom creations from a French fashion master, each one a meticulously crafted work of art.

That vibrant shade of red was like a flame dancing in the night. The pattern was simple, yet it didn’t lack style.

Song Jin took advantage of Duan Yan’s preoccupation with the clothes and slipped in quietly. Her cat-like steps were light, and her curious gaze wandered over each piece of clothing.

‘Mm,’ Song Jin nodded to herself.

‘Duan Yan does have taste. The style of the clothes perfectly matches her image—elegant and noble, yet with a cool aloofness. She even had some dresses of the same style, just in different colors. She didn’t like red, preferring purple, a color with a hint of mystery.’

Her gaze lingered on the fringed red dress—that was the one Duan Yan had worn to the awards ceremony a few days ago, seeming to still carry the starlight and applause of that night.

‘Despicable!’

The memory instantly flooded Song Jin’s mind. Her cat paw swiped fiercely at the red dress, as if to vent her frustration at Duan Yan for ignoring her that night.

The “pat-pat-pat” of footsteps approached, the owner of the sound coming very, very close.

Song Jin was startled. Her cat paw slipped accidentally, and her sharp nail lightly grazed the soft fabric, leaving a fine yet noticeable tear.

‘It’s over!’

Song Jin’s eyes instantly widened. She was an educated person; she couldn’t just damage other people’s things.

Duan Yan noticed the little cat’s strange behavior and squatted down:

“What’s wrong, my little baby?”

Following the little orange cat’s gaze, she saw the snag and tear on the dress.

The little orange cat’s ears drooped listlessly, its body shrinking. Its large, watery eyes were filled with remorse, looking utterly pitiful.

‘What more is there to say? The little cat already knows it was wrong, what more do you want? You’re going too far! Are you going to make the little cat compensate you for a dress?’

It was just a dress. Compared to her manager’s bizarre black-and-white cat, with its arrogant “I broke it, so what?” attitude, and then looking at Song Jin’s current flustered and pitiful state…

‘Of course, the choice is to forgive immediately!’

‘What bad intentions could a little kitten have? It’s so cute~’

“It’s okay, baby. If you like it, I’ll give it to you~”

Duan Yan took the dress down and placed it in front of the little cat, mischievously covering the kitten with it.

The vibrant red completely covered the little cat, revealing only its round little head. Its watery eyes stared blankly at her, reflecting only her.

And Duan Yan herself was also dressed in a stunning red.

This scene, this moment, didn’t seem like a master and a pet, but rather like a newlywed couple exchanging vows at a wedding.

‘Marrying a little cat?’

Duan Yan was startled by this thought. She let out a light laugh, stroking the little cat’s head, her fingertips feeling the softness of Song Jin’s fur, savoring the delicate touch.

Song Jin sniffed the scent from the red dress. It was a lotus fragrance, very, very faint.

But she could still identify it. It was the scent on Duan Yan from spending their days and nights together. It was so familiar that she could recognize it instantly, even if it was very faint.

She secretly took two sniffs, immersing herself in Duan Yan’s scent.

Although Duan Yan didn’t blame her, she felt bad for doing this to someone else. She made a mental note to compensate her with a new dress later.

Duan Yan watched the little cat lie obediently in her dress and continued to try on clothes.

Song Jin, having had her fill of the scent, began to look around.

Her eyes were sharp, and she immediately noticed a pink box lying quietly in the corner.

Song Jin curiously poked it with her paw. The box seemed unable to withstand the force and suddenly opened, its contents spilling out.

‘A soft piece of silicone?’

It was about the length of a finger, probably something worn on the hand. But it also had some raised dots on it. What was this for?

Song Jin had only seen something like this near her aunt’s one-year-old baby—a silicone material with a row of soft bristles on it, used for brushing a baby’s teeth.

But this, clearly, didn’t look like that. Its function didn’t seem to be for brushing teeth. So what was it for?

Song Jin was really curious. Why would Duan Yan have such a strange thing in her cloakroom?

Duan Yan also heard the sound of the box opening. Fearing the little orange cat might get hurt, she looked over at it—

Then she saw what the little orange cat was playing with, and Duan Yan’s breath hitched.

‘Who put that there?’

Duan Yan felt the blood rush to her face, her cheeks so hot they could probably cook an egg.

Duan Yan was a standard Eastern woman, not only in appearance but also in her relatively conservative personality. Having such a private item played with by her little cat right in front of her was clearly beyond what she could accept.

Duan Yan didn’t even know how she walked over. She couldn’t bear to think about it. She gathered up the whole box of finger sleeves and put them in a place the little cat couldn’t reach.

All she could remember was her extreme embarrassment, as if her whole being was about to combust.

Fortunately, the little orange cat didn’t stop her from taking those things. Otherwise, she really would be…

Seeing Duan Yan in this state, Song Jin was greatly surprised.

When had she ever seen Duan Yan so flustered?

Although Duan Yan often showed a dazed, infatuated look in front of her, this time was different. It was a fluster mixed with panic.

‘What was going on? Was this some kind of secret? But it was just a very ordinary piece of silicone?’

‘Could it be?!’

A thought flashed through Song Jin’s mind. Oh my god!

‘Duan Yan is a lesbian? No wonder she’s never had any dating rumors with male stars. But she hasn’t had any with female stars either. For so many years, the paparazzi have never caught her with any secret partner.’

To this day, her fans still thought she was asexual.

Tsk tsk, who would have thought that someone as cool as Duan Yan would keep something like this in her cloakroom.

Waves stirred in Song Jin’s heart, her thoughts began to spin rapidly.

‘Wait—Duan Yan couldn’t possibly have any improper intentions towards her, could she!!!’

Once this idea popped up, it grew like weeds in Song Jin’s heart.

She began to analyze, why would Duan Yan recommend resources for her?

‘Because she had taken a fancy to her. She wanted to use the guise of being a senior to pursue her with both soft and hard tactics. After unintentionally hearing about Song Jin’s background, she could only temporarily give up.’

‘This is entirely possible!’

The way Song Jin looked at Duan Yan changed. She never expected Duan Yan to harbor such thoughts about her. It was so filthy!

Duan Yan had no time to pay attention to the little orange cat’s mood. She was about to explode, desperate to know who did this.

[Was it you who put it there? 🙂 🙂 :)]

Duan Yan took out her phone and sent a message to her best friend, He Qing.

The emoji used was the system’s default yellow face, which perfectly matched Duan Yan’s current mental state.

[What? You only just found it? :eat_melon:]

The other party quickly replied with a teasing smile.

[:)]

[What? Being passive-aggressive with me? I was kind enough to send you s*x toys, and you don’t want them? I specially brought these back for you from the US, okay? Can’t you have a little gratitude? :cat_angry: JPG]

The moment Duan Yan saw this cat emoji, her breath caught. She continued to type:

[Very good, thank you so much. You’re not welcome in my house anymore. :)]

[What’s wrong? Did the girlfriend you got misunderstand? It’s fine, give me her WeChat, I’ll help you explain. :smirk:]

[What girlfriend? It was found by the cat I’m raising. You have no idea how embarrassed I was.]

Seeing the other party’s teasing tone, Duan Yan thought, when she comes back, she would definitely make her pay.

[It’s fine, cats can’t understand.] He Qing didn’t seem to think it was a big deal. 

[Where else did you put them? If I find them, you’re done for!]

[There are also some s*x toys in the room I stayed in last time. Don’t worry, they’re all unused. I specially left them for you. You don’t have a partner, you can’t just keep bottling it up.]

He Qing’s reply made Duan Yan even more helpless, but she also knew the other party meant well. After all, she had never had a girlfriend and had been chaste for so many years. It was inevitable that she would have some desires.

[Next time we meet, you’d better watch out. :cat_furious:]

Duan Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was just finger sleeves. If it had been something else, she really would have been too ashamed to face anyone.

Seeing Duan Yan constantly fiddling with her phone, Song Jin guessed that she must be interrogating her girlfriend.

Seeing how embarrassed Duan Yan had been before, she deduced that it probably wasn’t Duan Yan herself who had put them there. But if it wasn’t Duan Yan, such private items could only have been placed by a girlfriend.

Thinking this, Song Jin felt a little disappointed for some reason.

‘D*mn it, she doesn’t even like Duan Yan, what’s wrong with her?’

She shook her head, pushing the strange emotions to the back of her mind, and focused on figuring out which of Duan Yan’s career skills she had yet to steal.