Adopting Myself from the Young Heiress - Chapter 2

An Chixu saw that Pei Yuxi’s alt account had accepted her friend request and sent a video of Orange walking around.

She’s full of energy! Looks like we don’t need to worry. I put out some cat food, but he hasn’t touched it yet. Maybe he’s not hungry.

An Chixu dutifully reported on her work.

Orange was being fostered at her home, and she received five thousand yuan a month for the service.

This was also why she suspected Pei Yuxi’s family was quite wealthy.

An Chixu treated caring for Orange as a mutually beneficial side job, naturally eager to fulfill every request.

Just as she was sending the message, Orange finally approached her.

The little cat was remarkably affectionate. After circling her feet a few times, sniffing around, he let out a soft meow and flopped onto his back, belly exposed to An Chixu.

An Chixu froze, momentarily stunned.

This was her first time caring for a cat, and she had no prior experience with small animals.

Is this normal cat behavior?

Wouldn’t his back get cold lying on the floor like that?

With his belly exposed, could he be feeling unwell?

And most importantly…

Can I touch him?

An Chixu stood rooted to the spot, her mind blank for two seconds before she decided to record a video and send it to Pei Yuxi.

She didn’t dare touch Orange without permission, after all, he was someone else’s cat.

She also feared that during the three months of fostering, she might accidentally make Orange sick.

Yan Ciwei received two videos and several messages.

At that moment, she was in her car, studying the profile picture of her newly added friend.

The profile picture showed a vast ocean, suggesting the account user was older.

Yet the messages were filled with emojis and emoticons—something only young people would use.

Yan Ciwei hesitated to confirm her suspicions.

This set of ocean images was trending online; anyone could have used them as their profile picture.

How could she assume this person was An Chixu just because An Chixu had once followed the photographer of these images?

Before playing the videos, Yan Ciwei laughed at her own foolishness.

She had accepted the friend request based on such a common profile picture.

How much did she miss An Chixu?

Her heart and reason couldn’t explain it.

She would have to pay the price for this longing.

Yan Ciwei glanced at the video.

The so-called “Orange” turned out to be a golden, long-haired cat.

It seemed a cat owner had mistakenly added her, not someone looking for a blind date.

Tuantuan had never mentioned wanting a pet before. What a pity. This account probably wasn’t An Chixu’s.

But…

Yan Ciwei took another careful look at the orange.

The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed.

After getting out of the car, Yan Ciwei was still studying the video, walking clumsily. A two-minute walk took her ten minutes.

Just before opening her apartment door, Yan Ciwei suddenly looked up, realizing something.

She had seen this cat before.

In her cousin Pei Yuxi’s WeChat Moments.

Yan Ciwei opened Pei Yuxi’s Moments and, sure enough, found an identical cat.

Long golden fur, dark paws, a black stripe down its back, and a patch of missing fur on its tail.

Case solved.

Her cousin was about to start summer vacation and needed someone to foster the cat. Most likely, Pei Yuxi had separate accounts for school/social life and personal life, and accidentally pushed her personal account to the foster caregiver.

Thank goodness it wasn’t a mischievous friend trying to mock her breakup or set her up on a blind date.

Yan Ciwei paused for two seconds to consider.

Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance that the other person was An Chixu, she couldn’t let it go.

Yan Ciwei swiftly changed her profile picture and ID. She felt a pang of reluctance when she reached the numbers in her ID, but her resolve remained firm.

She created a new WeChat account, saved the foster parent’s profile picture and ID, opened Pei Yuxi’s secondary account, and sent her a friend request.

Two minutes later, the friend request was accepted.

Yan Ciwei forwarded the video and question.

In a university classroom, Pei Yuxi, currently locked in a heated debate with student council members, glanced at her phone and saw a message from the gentle, warm woman—Orange’s temporary mom.

[Video][Video] It’s showing its belly. Is it sick?

The message was as cold as rain that had fallen for three days and nights during the rainy season.

[ …… ] Pei Yuxi replied with a string of ellipses.

Why would a cat show its belly?

Because it trusts you, feels comfortable, and likes you!

How could it possibly be sick? What healthy cat shows its belly when it’s sick? This isn’t a goldfish!

Fake cat lover! Pei Yuxi fumed inwardly. She’d misjudged the foster parent, mistakenly believing that providing material comforts meant genuine affection for the cat.

She vowed to persuade her mother and mother-in-law to let her take Orange home as soon as possible.

After all, they had plenty of spare rooms. Moving Orange to an unoccupied one would eliminate any allergy concerns.

An Chixu couldn’t figure out why the kitten had flipped onto its back, and Pei Yuxi didn’t respond to her question.

Later, when Orange righted himself and happily ate his cat food, showing no signs of pain or illness, she dismissed the incident.

She left the guest room door open, hoping the kitten would come find her to play that night.

Of course, An Chixu never got to see Orange patrol to her bedroom. Days of sleep deprivation had left her exhausted, and she collapsed into bed and fell asleep immediately.

Perhaps it was the presence of a new little life in the house, but even after unexpectedly running into her ex that evening, An Chixu slept soundly through the night.

In the middle of the night, Orange pushed open her bedroom door and clumsily wandered in, even meowing twice at the unfamiliar “human servant” on the bed—An Chixu herself, who remained completely unaware.

An Chixu nearly overslept. It took three alarms to finally jolt her awake. She rushed to change Orange’s food, scoop his litter box, and, despite his expectant gaze, didn’t have time to pet him.

Grabbing a piece of bread, she dashed out the door to make it to the morning meeting on time.

An Chixu expertly finished her breakfast while hurrying to the office building. She arrived just in time, still clutching her laptop, and headed straight upstairs to the meeting room.

When her team arrived, Yan Ciwei was already seated at the head of the long table.

An Chixu didn’t spare Yan Ciwei a second glance. She and her intern, Tian Ming, found seats near the back of the conference room and turned their attention to the projection screen.

“Sister An,” Tian Ming whispered, leaning close to An Chixu’s ear, “President Yan is actually here today.”

To ensure An Chixu could hear her, Tian Ming leaned in close.

The conference room was quiet, but the surrounding chatter muffled their conversation. No one else seemed to notice Tian Ming’s remark.

An Chixu maintained a neutral expression and gave the intern a pointed look.

“Don’t gossip about her,” An Chixu mouthed silently.

If it weren’t for their past relationship, An Chixu would have recognized her reaction as slightly excessive. But given her position as Yan Ciwei’s subordinate, such a reminder could be reasonably explained.

Tian Ming pondered for a moment, then sent An Chixu a text message:

Is President Yan really that fierce? You seem a little scared of her > <

An Chixu nearly burst out laughing when she saw the message.

Fierce?

In a momentary daze, An Chixu’s gaze inexplicably met Yan Ciwei’s, and she quickly looked away.

Yan Ciwei wasn’t fierce at all; on the contrary, she was remarkably gentle.

Despite the icy aura she exuded in the conference room—as if she were about to scold everyone present—Yan Ciwei was actually quite easygoing and approachable in private. She had a knack for quickly building rapport with others.

It was just that…

Quite domineering.

The meeting began.

An Chixu lowered her head to take notes, ignoring Tian Ming’s words and letting her misunderstand.

“Before we start the meeting, I want to address an issue,” Yan Ciwei said, crossing her legs and speaking before the team leader could even step up to report on the progress of the new program’s preparations.

She leaned slightly forward, her gaze sharp, lips pressed into a thin line, yet her eyes showed no tension, only casual authority.

With just that single gesture, she lowered the atmosphere in the conference room, making everyone below the dais hold their breath.

“Overtime. Tang Shu, your team was still working at 8 PM last night. Is the workload too heavy to complete during regular hours?” Yan Ciwei’s tone wasn’t aggressive.

Years of being in a position of power had imbued her with a natural leadership aura.

Those accustomed to wielding authority often don’t perceive it as anything special. They possess an innate gentleness, yet their words cannot be ignored.

Tang Shu lowered his head, clearly surprised that Yan Ciwei would bring this up the very next day.

With a new talent show launching soon, the previous group still filming variety shows, and various dramas in production, this was an exceptionally busy period. How could they possibly finish everything without working overtime?

An Chixu finished recording Yan Ciwei’s words, feeling slightly surprised.

It seemed that after she slipped away yesterday, Yan Ciwei had returned to her office.

How rare. Yan Ciwei almost never went to the 17th floor; it was an unspoken agreement between them. But last night, Yan Ciwei had broken that rule.

So, why did she want to talk to her?

This question seemed unimportant. An Chixu dismissed it after a moment’s thought, ignoring Yan Ciwei’s fleeting glances as she listened to Yan Ciwei criticize Tang Shu, the team leader.

The meeting lasted an hour and a half. Yan Ciwei was usually too busy to attend meetings personally, but her timely guidance significantly improved efficiency.

As the meeting adjourned, An Chixu gathered her things. She still had to train Tian Ming today, a demanding task that would likely require overtime.

“Tang Shu’s team’s meeting recorder… the assistant planner? Stay behind,” Yan Ciwei’s voice cut through An Chixu’s thoughts.

Countless eyes turned toward An Chixu, the weight of their gazes pressing down on her back. Only Yan Ciwei didn’t look up, as if she didn’t recognize the assistant planner she had asked to stay.

An Chixu finally focused her gaze on Yan Ciwei.