After Cat A Saved the Wrong Female Lead - Chapter 49

Chapter 49:  What Doesn’t Leave

The weather turned colder.

Mornings came slower.

Tang Li started rising early again, standing by the window before the city fully woke. She didn’t open it, just pressed a hand to the glass, feeling the faint cold.

Behind her, the apartment stayed still.

Muted sounds. The tick of the wall clock. The echo of something that wasn’t quite silence.

A presence that lingered even when no one spoke.

….

Qin Shiyang noticed something one morning.

Tang Li’s toothbrush was next to hers.

Not in the cup where she usually tucked it away.

Just… there.

Side by side.

Unhidden.

She stared at it for a second longer than necessary.

Didn’t touch it.

Didn’t move it.

Just let it be.

….

Later that day, Tang Li came home early.

She stood at the doorway for a while.

Listening.

The apartment was empty, but still full.

Qin Shiyang’s coat was on the back of the chair.

Her mug was still warm on the table.

Small things.

Things that meant: someone lives here.

Tang Li set her keys down gently.

….

When Qin Shiyang returned, she paused in the doorway.

Tang Li was curled up on the couch, eyes closed, breathing steady.

Not asleep.

Just resting.

Qin Shiyang walked quietly past her.

Then stopped.

Turned.

And without asking, sat down beside her.

Close enough for their arms to touch.

Not quite leaning.

Just there.

A weight shared.

….

Tang Li opened her eyes slowly.

Looked at her.

Didn’t speak.

Didn’t shift.

Just let the contact stay.

After a long pause, she said:

“You always leave first.”

Qin Shiyang didn’t look away.

“I don’t mean to.”

A breath.

“It’s just… habit.”

Tang Li nodded.

Then asked, gently:

“Do you want to unlearn it?”

….

That was the whole conversation.

But when Qin Shiyang got up later, she didn’t go far.

She returned with a blanket.

Wrapped it around both of them.

And stayed.

Not touching.

Not holding.

Just… not leaving.

Which, in this house, was beginning to mean everything.