The sun dipped toward the horizon, its slanting rays casting shadows over half of the crooked tree.
Lin Du required a half-hour nap after meals. As soon as Bai Yu stepped outside, she circled around to the crooked tree beneath his window.
How could she get Lin Du to come outside?
The girl measured the distance from the windowsill to the crooked tree with her hands.
After a long while.
[Animal Chat Group]
Bai Yu: Daju, this tree really isn't that high. You climbed much higher than this when you were a kitten. How did you become such a coward as you got older?
Orange Cat: Human, I broke my claws falling from a tree before. I'm afraid of heights.
Dobin the Kibble-Devourer: Delicious, so delicious! Every piece of kibble is still warm; the kitchen must have stir-fried them. It’s so fragrant.
Bai Yu: The only way to make the culprit impatient is to let them see that Lin Du’s condition is improving.
Orange Cat: I don't want to.
The girl stood akimbo beneath the crooked tree, looking up at the orange cat, who was tucked into a loaf position on the windowsill with a melancholy expression.
In the front hall.
Bai Yujiao had arrived at the Lin Residence to deliver a newly prescribed medicinal formula.
Today was different; instead of her usual white lab coat, she was dressed in the latest custom pink dress from A-brand, which showcased her enviable figure to the fullest.
Her overly exquisite makeup, however, felt out of place.
She clasped Madam Fang’s hands, her expression filled with worry. "I’ve been so worried about Young Master Lin’s condition that I came over as soon as I finished compounding the medicine."
"I know you’re the most thoughtful one; you run to the Lin Residence all day long without even finding time to dress yourself up," Madam Fang said, looking her over carefully. "You look like a different person today. Are you going on a date?"
"Madam Fang, you tease. I came today because of something else."
"I saw a girl in Young Master Lin’s bedroom yesterday. She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her at the time. It wasn't until I got home that I remembered—she’s a distant relative of our Bai Family."
Madam Fang lifted her eyes, recalling Xiao Du going out for a meal yesterday, and felt a sense of relief. "You mean Bai Yu? I didn’t realize you were relatives."
"It’s just that Bai Yu’s conduct back home has always been rather poor."
Bai Yujiao stopped mid-sentence, picked up her teacup, and took a sip. She knew better than anyone that Madam Fang was traditional to the core and could not tolerate the slightest breach of conduct.
"In what way is it poor?" Madam Fang’s expression darkened.
"Fighting and brawling, petty theft, and she even set a mountain on fire."
As soon as the words left Bai Yujiao’s lips, Madam Fang’s face turned completely black.
She placed immense importance on moral character; how could she allow someone so morally bankrupt to tarnish her son?
"To think there are such things." Madam Fang slammed her teacup down.
"Madam Fang, if you send someone to investigate, you will see if what I say is true. After all, I have been managing Young Master Lin’s care for these past few years. If someone with such poor character appears by his side, he might easily be led astray, and in the future..."
Bai Yujiao didn’t need to finish; Madam Fang had already reached her own conclusion.
Lin Du was the only child of the Lin Family; there could not be a single mistake.
"Absolutely not. Such a person cannot be allowed to stay."
Madam Fang stood up and strode toward the backyard.
Bai Yujiao followed, a look of contemptuous triumph in her eyes, her heels clicking against the floor. She wanted to see for herself the pathetic state of that country bumpkin when she was thrown out of the Lin Residence.
Who did she think she was, daring to crawl into Lin Du’s bed!
Twilight was approaching. The dim yellow lights under the covered walkway cast a flickering glow over half of the crooked tree.
Bai Yu was stomping her feet in anxiety under the tree, her gaze constantly darting toward Lin Du’s window. "Daju, why are you being so naughty? Climbing up into the tree like that!"
"You forgot that you broke your bones falling from a tree when you were a kitten, didn't you?"
The Dobin, tied to a red pillar, had finished eating his fill and let out a loud burp: *Give it up. My father won’t come outside for a stupid cat like you.*
The orange cat was shivering as it hugged the fragile, swaying branch, letting out miserable "meows" from time to time.
Orange Cat: *Human, if I can't make it back to Xiangyun Village, you must tell my wives that I was brave and mighty, and that I didn't die a pathetic death.*
Bai Yu rubbed her forehead, speechless.
Lin Du’s window creaked as the man pushed it open just a crack. He saw the chubby orange cat clinging to a slender branch, swaying precariously.
The orange cat’s claws were tightly wrapped around the branch, meowing incessantly, tears welling up in its round eyes.
"Daju, hurry and come down! Be a good boy, won't you?" Seeing Lin Du open the window from the corner of her eye, Bai Yu applied some peppermint oil under her eyes. As the wind blew, tears streamed down her face.
She opened her arms and paced back and forth under the tree, her worry looking entirely genuine.
Lin Du watched from above.
Meanwhile, Bai Yujiao had followed Madam Fang to the backyard. Through the wooden corridor and the dense foliage, she saw Bai Yu poking her head around beneath Lin Du’s window.
"Madam Fang, look—she’s skulking about under Young Master Lin’s window."
"Young Master Lin cannot speak yet; we can't let someone with ulterior motives like Bai Yu get close to him. He is the family's only heir, after all."
Only heir.
These two words stung Madam Fang deeply.
If it weren't for someone with ulterior motives back then, her eldest son would not have died.
Now, Xiao Du was indeed the only heir of the Lin Family.
Madam Fang balled her hands into fists and shouted coldly, "Bai Yu, what are you doing here?"
"Madam Fang, I..."
Bai Yu was about to explain, but Bai Yujiao cut her off: "Only one night has passed, and your face is already like this. Did you do something dirty at the Lin Residence last night?"
"Bai Yujiao, you don't know the truth. Don't go around slandering people."
"Slandering you?" Bai Yujiao leaned in, her heels clicking, looking down at her as if she were an ant. "A little investigation is all it takes to know that you used to steal, fight, and brawl in the village, and you even set a mountain on fire."
"What are you trying to do, skulking under Young Master Lin’s window?"
"I suspect the injury on your face came from one of your street fights."
"Madam Fang, I’m worried that someone with such corrupt morals might set the entire Lin Residence on fire tomorrow."
Bai Yujiao acted as if she were a guardian of the estate, as if it were her own home.
The dim yellow lights hung along the backyard corridor, casting light near the girl's feet.
Her upper body was hidden in the shadows, but she slowly lifted her eyes to look at Bai Yujiao.
Was it not enough to drive her out of the Bai Family? She wanted to drive her out of the Lin Residence, too!
A cuckoo usurping the nest, and she was shameless about it! In all the world, she had never seen such a person!
Even Madam Fang’s cold face showed a flicker of anger. "Bai Yu, I didn’t investigate properly before. If what you say is true, you simply cannot stay in our Lin Residence."
"Madam Fang, it is true that I fought and brawled. It is true that I stole, and it is also true that I set fire to the mountain."
Bai Yu admitted it openly, but there was no regret on her face; instead, she stood tall and straight.
Madam Fang looked disappointed. "At least you are sincere enough to admit it. Since you were the one who found my son, take your reward and leave the Lin Residence."
Bai Yujiao held back a mocking sneer, her eyes squinting at her.
"However, Madam Fang, if you knew the reason, you wouldn't think I am that kind of person."
The girl stepped out of the shadows, her apricot-shaped eyes red-rimmed but filled with a resolute light.
Seeing that Bai Yu was about to explain, Bai Yujiao immediately stepped forward.
"What you did, you did! Why bother explaining? Get out of the Lin Residence quickly, and take that germ-ridden stray cat with you!"
Bai Yu met Bai Yujiao’s gaze without fear.
"I fought and brawled because the village hoodlums were bullying my grandmother."
"I stole because those hoodlums were sent to the police station by me, and in their resentment, they stole the chickens and dogs my family raised. I was merely giving them a taste of their own medicine."
"As for setting the mountain on fire..." Bai Yu choked back a sob for two seconds, took a long breath, and looked straight at Bai Yujiao. "Those hoodlums were desperate and furious; they wanted to drag me up the mountain to rape and kill me. If I hadn't set the mountain on fire, I would be dead right now."