Chapter 4: The Genius and the Cat Rescue

“Sister Meiyou… she really is a strange one.”

Walking along a campus path, Xiao Xi couldn’t help but sigh.

“Hee hee, actually, Sister Meiyou is a really amazing person.”

When Shi Meng spoke of Sister Meiyou, her eyes sparkled, and her tone was filled with admiration for the senior. Was she truly that impressive?

Xiao Xi recalled the senior he had just met. “Sister Meiyou is very beautiful. Hmm… she’s not inferior to Sister Yuan at all.”

“Right, right? Sister Meiyou is mixed-race, her mother is British, so her blonde hair and blue eyes are natural!” Shi Meng paused, glanced left and right, then leaned in conspiratorially to Xiao Xi’s ear.

“There’s always been a group of gossip-loving students on campus who rank the school beauties of First High, and my sister and Sister Meiyou have always been neck and neck.”

Ah, this…

Such a thing existed? Why had no one ever mentioned it to him?

But purely in terms of looks, well…

Xiao Xi still found Sister Yuan more beautiful. Compared to Sister Meiyou, Sister Yuan felt more mature, possessing a reassuring charm.

Yet, these two women actually had many commonalities. For instance, they were both ‘big sister’ types, and both… wait, Xiao Xi suddenly realized a huge commonality between them!

Neither of them attended classes!

“It’s already class time, isn’t it? Why is Sister Meiyou occupying such a large office all by herself and not going to class?”

Xiao Xi asked curiously. Logically, a volunteer club was, at best, just a school club. It shouldn’t be powerful enough to allow its members to ignore regular classes and just slack off here.

“Well… because Sister Meiyou’s family is wealthy, much like ours. Her father is also a famous entrepreneur in Lihua City. Plus, Sister Meiyou is a genius; she was already accepted into a top university abroad. Now, she’s just idling away her days at First High. The school can’t control her, so she found an abandoned office, created the volunteer club, and started helping others.”

Shi Meng explained to Xiao Xi, who nodded as he listened. ‘This… Sister Meiyou and Sister Yuan really are alike in some ways.’

Sister Yuan was also chosen early as the heir to the Shi family due to her outstanding abilities. Getting into a prestigious university was effortless for the Shi family. As a result, Sister Yuan rarely attended classes at First High these days, spending most of her time outside school managing the family business.

Hiss—

‘Is this the world of the wealthy? While ordinary people are still working hard in class, these geniuses have already started their side hustles.’ It just seemed their chosen paths were a little different.

Sister Yuan was busy with her career, while Sister Meiyou chose to be a volunteer, helping others daily.

Different people found joy in different things.

Then…

“Why do we two still have to go to school every day?”

Xiao Xi sighed, a hint of melancholy in his voice. Shi Meng chuckled awkwardly beside him. “Us… Brother, your parents have been working hard abroad. Perhaps they’re planning a surprise for you when you turn twenty? As for me… I’m too clumsy. My mom probably hopes to cultivate my independence more.”

“So… should we go to class now?”

Xiao Xi asked tentatively. Shi Meng froze. ‘There are actually people in this world who actively want to go to class? How terrifying! My leave hasn’t even ended yet.’

‘Actually, in this moment, Xiao Xi had a sudden realization. Was it because he was incompetent that his parents and Aunt Shi had conspired to arrange his marriage to Sister Yuan?’

‘Surely his parents weren’t truly considering his well-being?’

[Xiao Xi, at your level, you’ll probably only be able to live off Aunt Shi’s daughter. You should just stay home and take care of the children in the future.]

‘Were his parents really thinking that?’

‘No, Xiao Xi felt he had to work hard. He would study diligently. As long as he proved himself, perhaps he could escape the fate of becoming a child groom!’

“But…” Shi Meng hesitated. “Brother, do you really want to go to class? Your sick leave shouldn’t have ended yet.”

“Oh, in that case, never mind. Let’s keep playing.”

‘So he was still on holiday.’ Well, then, he’d play for now. As for working hard… *cough cough*, he’d put that aside for a bit.

“Speaking of which, is Sister Meiyou the only one in her volunteer club? How come I didn’t see anyone else in the room?” Xiao Xi asked. Generally, a club couldn’t possibly have just one person, could it?

“Ahem, Brother, didn’t I tell you before? Sister Meiyou’s volunteer club was created by her alone. The school never approved it, so she wasn’t even allowed to promote it. Plus, no one else is idle enough to go around helping others like Sister Meiyou, so…”

“So, Sister Meiyou is essentially a one-woman army?”

“Mm-hmm!” Shi Meng nodded.

With only one person, it was no wonder she couldn’t adjust her schedule. Xiao Xi nodded, and a flicker of admiration for Sister Meiyou involuntarily rose in his heart.

‘How amazing that person was, helping others… Xiao Xi admitted he didn’t have the patience to do something for so long that yielded almost no personal benefit. Perhaps Sister Meiyou truly found joy in it?’

“So… Shi Meng, are you very familiar with Sister Meiyou?” Xiao Xi found it quite strange that Shi Meng could say so much about Sister Meiyou. Sister Meiyou was a year above them, so how did they get to know each other?

“It’s because I asked Sister Meiyou to rescue that cat. We spent many days working together, which is why we seem quite familiar. Actually, I heard many things about her from other people.”

Shi Meng hastily waved her hands, explaining. Xiao Xi nodded. Come to think of it, there was something about a cat?

Xiao Xi was quite interested in seeing the cat. “Where’s the cat? Can you take me to see it?”

“Mm-hmm, it’s a good time for me to bring it some food too!”

Shi Meng led Xiao Xi up to the third floor. Standing in the corridor, she clutched the railing and pointed to the roof of a small two-story building below.

“Do you see it? There’s a tiny kitten lying there!”

“There really is one.” Xiao Xi nodded. The small kitten on the roof stood bewildered at the edge of the platform, looking down. It seemed too young and dared not jump.

‘How did it get up there?’

Xiao Xi was a little curious, but it certainly looked like the kitten was trapped and couldn’t get down.

“Sister Meiyou and I have been using a basket tied with a rope from here to send food and water down to the kitten. It’s been trapped for several days, the poor thing…” Shi Meng trailed off, sighing, appearing quite sad.

“Couldn’t you just use the basket to lift the kitten up? Put some food in it, and then hoist it up when it climbs in.”

Xiao Xi suggested. Shi Meng shook her head. “Brother, we already tried that. The result was… when I lifted the basket, I was too nervous, and the basket swayed too much. The kitten got scared and jumped out, and it hasn’t dared to get back in since.”

Shi Meng lowered her head, looking very self-reproachful. ‘Ah… well, his sister certainly was a bit careless.’ Xiao Xi furrowed his brow, unable to think of a good solution either.

They spent the entire day feeding the cat and repeatedly discussing how to rescue it. However, they ultimately couldn’t devise a reasonable plan, and both returned home dejectedly.

‘Sigh, they’d have to try again tomorrow…’

****

“I’m home…” Xiao Xi habitually pushed open the door and called out. He looked up to see a girl in a black lace nightgown inside, staring at him and Shi Meng with a cold smirk.

“Welcome home… my dear little brother and sister~”

Hiss—

‘He’d forgotten he’d snuck out today!’