Chapter 241: Bonds Over Fruit and Felines

After Lin Ying Jun and Lin Xiao Li stepped out, Lin Zheng Ran sat in the bedroom, picked a slice of apple from the fruit plate Mom had sent, popped it into his mouth, and asked her, “What would you like to eat?”

Jiang Jingshi almost said no out of habit; she never liked eating at someone else’s place. But then she remembered she was in his home.

So, she glanced at a piece of apple and said, “Apple sounds good.”

Lin Zheng Ran speared a slice with a toothpick and handed it to her.

She took it with a quiet “thank you,” eating it in small, elegant bites, like a guest visiting a friend.

Lin Zheng Ran watched her eat with such quiet grace, her posture perfectly poised, always so refined.

Yet, that innate refinement created a subtle distance between Jiang Jingshi and Lin Zheng Ran.

Even though their relationship had changed, he could see her moving with careful precision, always striving for perfection.

Lin Zheng Ran said, “The gifts in the living room…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Jingshi’s phone rang. Out of respect for Lin Zheng Ran, she glanced at the caller and hung up. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

Lin Zheng Ran shrugged it off. “Go ahead and take the call.”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing. You’re more important than some random call…” She trailed off, feeling his eyes on her, and added shyly, “You go first.”

Lin Zheng Ran didn’t repeat himself and just glanced at her phone.

Jiang Jingshi got the hint and smiled awkwardly. “Alright, I’ll take this call quickly.”

As soon as she answered, her voice turned surprised and urgent: “A broken leg? Have you called a doctor? Okay, I’m on my way.”

After she hung up, Lin Zheng Ran asked what was going on.

Jiang Jingshi replied, “Yuan Yuan seems to have fractured her leg.”

“Yuan Yuan? Who’s that?”

“That cat from the cat cafe who’s always so attached to you. Remember? You said you’d met her before.”

Lin Zheng Ran recalled it was the cat from when he first met Han Wenwen, the one Jiang Jingshi had adopted at the cat cafe later on.

“Oh, right, I remember now.”

“She was climbing a structure and fell, getting her leg caught. She’s getting older, so her body isn’t as tough as a younger cat’s.”

Lin Zheng Ran stood up. “I don’t have anything else today. Let’s go check on her. Since they called you specifically, she must mean a lot to you, and I haven’t seen her in ages.”

Jiang Jingshi nodded and got to her feet.

The reason she mattered so much was partly because Lin Zheng Ran had said he knew the cat, so Jiang Jingshi had spoiled her extra over the past two years.

It was a way to hold onto memories.

She asked hastily, “This won’t mess up your plans, will it?”

“No worries, I’m not that busy.”

Lin Zheng Ran and Jiang Jingshi left the room.

He asked casually, “So that little cat’s name is Yuan Yuan?”

Jiang Jingshi said, “It wasn’t before. After you visited the cat cafe, I thought she had a connection with you, so I named her Yuan Yuan.”

“That explains why it didn’t ring a bell.”

As they passed the gifts on the living room wall, Jiang Jingshi reminded him, “I don’t need to take those back, right? They were meant for your uncle and aunt anyway, and there aren’t many. What do you think?”

Lin Zheng Ran thought for a moment. “Leave them. I’ll mention it to my parents tonight.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay.”

Downstairs, Secretary Pan Lin, waiting by the car, saw them coming and hurried over. “Boss Jiang, Mr. Lin!”

Jiang Jingshi said they were heading to the cat cafe, so Pan Lin signaled the driver to go.

After a ten-minute drive, they arrived at the cat cafe. Three staff members stood there guiltily, and the manager apologized profusely:

“We’re so sorry, Boss Jiang. This is all my fault—I didn’t keep an eye on Yuan Yuan!”

Normally, Jiang Jingshi might have been angry that three people couldn’t watch one cat, but with Lin Zheng Ran there, she just asked, “Never mind that. How is she now?”

The manager replied, “The doctor said it’s a right leg fracture. They’ve treated it, but since Yuan Yuan is older, recovery might take longer. We’re truly sorry, Boss Jiang!”

Jiang Jingshi frowned at him, making his face go pale.

But she just waved it off. “Go handle other things and learn from this.”

The staff apologized and scattered to their tasks.

Jiang Jingshi and Lin Zheng Ran went over to the cat. Yuan Yuan seemed to recognize Lin Zheng Ran and meowed softly.

She nuzzled their legs with her head as best she could.

With his All-Encompassing Mastery, Lin Zheng Ran could sense the cat’s overall condition and marveled at how pets’ lives were so much shorter than humans’.

He first met her in middle school when she was playful up in a tree. Now, six years later, that youthful energy had faded.

Yuan Yuan looked at Lin Zheng Ran, then at Jiang Jingshi, as if realizing something. Her face showed a mix of joy and confusion as she meowed again.

Lin Zheng Ran could vaguely understand her through his skill—it even worked for grasping pet emotions.

She seemed to be asking, Are you two together now? What about that big fox sister who saved me? Did you leave her?

Lin Zheng Ran smiled helplessly.

He patted her head and signaled with his eyes: We’re all together.

Yuan Yuan relaxed and settled down, content.

Jiang Jingshi, though she couldn’t follow, asked, “What just happened?”

Lin Zheng Ran laughed. “Nothing much. She’s not as young anymore, but you’ve taken great care of her. She’s comfortable here, aside from the fracture—everything else is fine.”

Jiang Jingshi found it odd. “You can diagnose cats too?”

Lin Zheng Ran looked at her. “I know a bit.”

“A bit? That’s an understatement—you know way too much.”

Yuan Yuan dozed off on her mat, so Lin Zheng Ran and Jiang Jingshi got up to check the other cats.

Lin Zheng Ran glanced around the decor. “Have you redone the renovations here, Jiang Jie?”

Jiang Jingshi nodded. “I tweaked a few spots that didn’t feel right.” Then she remembered a moment at his house and her voice softened. “You know, after all this time, that’s the first time you’ve called me Jingshi.”

Lin Zheng Ran looked at her curiously.

Jiang Jingshi explained, “Back at your place, your aunt only remembered my last name, and then you said I was Jingshi. It’s my nickname—only my parents call me that.”

From her expression, Lin Zheng Ran could tell she liked it. “Do you want me to keep calling you that?”

Jiang Jingshi said shyly:

“It doesn’t matter what you call me. Jiang Jie works too, but it might sound a bit formal to others, like there’s a big age gap, even though we’re not that far apart.”

Lin Zheng Ran smiled. “I called you that because you always referred to me as Zheng Ran the younger. Every time we met, it was ‘Zheng Ran this’ or ‘Zheng Ran that,’ so I had to call you sis to be polite.”

Jiang Jingshi didn’t know what to say; she realized she’d set herself up.

Back at the supermarket, she never imagined their relationship would grow like this.

She muttered to herself, “I shouldn’t have started calling you that way.”

Lin Zheng Ran said, “If you like it, I’ll just call you Jingshi from now on.” He paused and tried it: “Jingshi.”

Jiang Jingshi stared at him, her cheeks flushing. The simple name made her heart flutter. “Alright, and I won’t call you ‘younger brother’ anymore.” She thought for a moment. “How about Zheng Ran or just Zheng? What do you think?”

Lin Zheng Ran nodded. “Sure.”

Jiang Jingshi smiled warmly. “Feels a lot closer already.”

As her smile faded and she caught him still watching, her heart raced. She finally asked what she’d been wondering: “Zheng, does that mean I’m your girlfriend now? Are we together? Do you like me?”

Lin Zheng Ran reached out and gently pulled her into his arms.

She looked up at him.

“What else could it be? If I didn’t like you, why would I do all this? From that day in the car when we held each other, you’ve been my girlfriend, Jingshi.”

Jiang Jingshi’s eyes sparkled with joy, her lips curving into a smile as she bit her lower lip.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to say that. Of course, I’m your girlfriend—I liked you ages ago.”

Slowly, she rose on her high heels, her red lips drawing near.

Lin Zheng Ran wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her.

And this time, it was more than just a touch.

He felt her take the lead, her kiss full of genuine tenderness.

Tears of happiness glistened in the corners of her eyes; her long-held dream had finally come true.