When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 8

The sun rose slowly until it was noon. The housekeeper looked at the still motionless bedroom door and knocked again.

Normally, even Li Xingcan would be up by this time. Jiang Qingyue might have gone to bed late last night because she was upset, but she should still be awake by now.

After knocking several times with no response, the housekeeper pushed the door open—only to find the bed empty. There was no sign of Jiang Qingyue.

She was immediately startled. She had been in the living room and kitchen since morning and hadn’t seen Jiang Qingyue leave. Where could she have gone?

“Miss Jiang? Miss Jiang?!”

She hurriedly searched every room. Jiang Qingyue’s backpack and suitcase were still there, but the girl herself was nowhere to be found.

After turning the place upside down multiple times with no luck, the housekeeper panicked and quickly called Li Xingcan.

By mid-morning, Li Xingcan’s competition had already ended. Tao Ye and the others had arrived, and they were discussing with her teammates where to celebrate and what to do next.

Just as she stepped out of the venue, her phone rang. Seeing it was the housekeeper calling, a bad feeling settled in her stomach.

“Young Miss, Miss Jiang is missing!”

The words made Li Xingcan’s vision darken. “How could a grown person just disappear? I’m coming back right now.”

Hanging up, she immediately called her driver.

“Xingcan, what’s wrong?” Zhao Fan asked, noticing Li Xingcan’s grim expression.

“Something’s come up. You guys go ahead. I need to head back.”

Li Xingcan waved them off and walked straight to the roadside.

After she left, Zhao Fan and the others exchanged glances. “Who’s missing?”

“Definitely not one of us,” Tao Ye shrugged. The three of them understood—it must be that person Lin Xie had seen at Li Xingcan’s place, the one whose name they still hadn’t managed to pry out of her.

“They argued yesterday, and now she’s gone today. No wonder she’s in such a hurry,” Zhao Fan realized. The others nodded in agreement.

Unaware of the assumptions being made about her, Li Xingcan got into the car as soon as it pulled up and rushed home.

Jiang Qingyue had mentioned leaving to the housekeeper yesterday, but how could she just go without taking her luggage or backpack? Besides, she had promised to wait until Li Xingcan returned. She wasn’t even back yet!

Frustrated and anxious, Li Xingcan gritted her teeth as she stared out the car window. “Jiang Qingyue, you’d better be waiting at home by the time I get there.”

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

When Li Xingcan arrived home, she pushed open Jiang Qingyue’s door and scanned the room. Aside from slight wrinkles on the bedsheets, everything else was neatly arranged.

Her gaze landed on the watch left on the bed. Jiang Qingyue didn’t have a phone, only a smartwatch—yet she hadn’t even taken that with her.

“She couldn’t have gone far. Did you check around the house?”

Li Xingcan picked up the watch. Even if Jiang Qingyue wanted to leave, she’d need her things. Maybe she had just stepped out nearby, and the housekeeper hadn’t noticed.

“I didn’t check yet. I panicked.”

“Stay here. I’ll go look for her. Call me if she comes back.”

Setting the watch down, Li Xingcan turned and left.

It was exactly two in the afternoon, the hottest time of day. The scorching sun outside made one’s skin burn. Li Xingcan casually grabbed a hat by the door and went out, heading toward the central park in the villa area. If Jiang Qingyue wanted to relax, she would definitely seek out a quiet place.

“Jiang Qingyue!”

Li Xingcan’s voice startled a small cat curled up in the corner. Jiang Qingyue immediately looked up, just in time to see Li Xingcan’s figure running past outside the garden.

Too weak from hunger to move much, Jiang Qingyue stood up and glanced in Li Xingcan’s direction. Why had she returned so soon?

Jiang Qingyue had originally thought that even if the housekeeper noticed her absence at noon, since all her belongings were still there, the housekeeper would simply inform Li Xingcan without being overly concerned. Given Li Xingcan’s usual attitude toward her, she probably wouldn’t rush back immediately. By the time Li Xingcan finished her celebration banquet and gatherings, it would be evening, and she would have almost transformed back by then—no major issues.

But now, the biggest variable had appeared: Li Xingcan had returned early.

If she couldn’t find Jiang Qingyue, she would surely fly into a rage, possibly making a huge scene. Even if she did find her, she would scold her harshly for causing trouble again.

What a headache.

Glancing up at the sun that was about to shine directly on her, Jiang Qingyue slowly moved to another shady spot. She took a few extra steps forward and stood by the railing, watching Li Xingcan’s figure running off into the distance under the blazing sun.

Didn’t she find her annoying? Why was she in such a hurry to find her? Lying down in the flowerbed by the railing, Jiang Qingyue flicked her tail. Sometimes, she really couldn’t understand what went on in Li Xingcan’s mind.

Li Xingcan searched the entire central park, including the surrounding paths, but found nothing. She looked up at the surveillance cameras installed along the villa roads and turned toward the property management office.

She had all the footage from the nearby roads pulled up and sped through it in reverse from noon that day. Li Xingcan and several property staff watched intently, afraid of missing even the slightest clue.

Due to privacy concerns, all cameras avoided the interior areas of the houses, capturing only small portions of the gardens and pathways. The villa area was sparsely populated to begin with, and from noon until late last night, there had been hardly anyone around.

After reviewing everything, there was still no sign of Jiang Qingyue. According to the footage, Jiang Qingyue had never left the house.

But that was impossible. The house had been thoroughly searched, and she was nowhere to be found. How could a living person just vanish into thin air?

Frowning deeply, Li Xingcan took control of the computer and ran through the footage again, even checking back to yesterday afternoon when she had left. Still nothing.

“Maybe you should go back and look again? She might still be at home. There’s really nothing here. If it were farther away, the cameras might have missed something, but these angles are comprehensive—no blind spots. All the paths overlap, and everything is clearly visible. No one left.”

The property staff were at a loss. After an hour of searching, the footage showed no anomalies, leaving only one possibility.

“Can I report this to the police?” Li Xingcan asked gravely.

“Missing persons cases aren’t accepted until after twenty-four hours. You haven’t reached that timeframe yet. Besides, as you said, she’s already seventeen and never left the villa. How would you even file a report?”

The property management staff reminded them that in their view, this was just kids fooling around—nothing serious enough to warrant calling the police.

Li Xingcan glanced at them and turned to head home.

Jiang Qingyue’s cat ears twitched as she heard approaching footsteps. Peering through the flowers, she saw Li Xingcan return with an expressionless face. Just before reaching home, Li Xingcan removed her hat, revealing hair damp with sweat. Thanks to her feline vision, Jiang Qingyue could clearly see every bead of sweat on Li Xingcan’s face.

Had she really been searching for her this long? Jiang Qingyue felt an indescribable emotion stir inside her.

Watching Li Xingcan walk back into the house, Jiang Qingyue took a couple of steps toward the building—only to hear Li Xingcan’s voice boom from inside.

“Jiang Qingyue! You’d better get out here right now!”

Jiang Qingyue: “…”

She turned around and flopped back down, continuing to lie low.

The housekeeper jumped at Li Xingcan’s outburst. “Miss, you still haven’t found her?”

“I checked with the property—she never left the villa. She must still be here somewhere.”

Starting from the first floor, Li Xingcan flung open every door, searching every room, all the way up to the attic and even the basement. She rifled through every possible hiding spot—closets, cabinets—but still, nothing.

As the sun began to set, Li Xingcan grew increasingly frantic. She instructed the housekeeper to stay home while she called the drivers and bodyguers from the estate, summoning them all to help search.

Once everyone arrived, Li Xingcan assigned tasks: one to check the villa’s park, four to comb the surrounding roads and question anyone nearby, others to sweep through nearby parks and supermarkets, two to search the hotel Jiang Qingyue and her mother had stayed at, and finally, she would personally lead someone to check the school.

Jiang Qingyue was new to Jiangcheng—she had no acquaintances or friends here. There were only so many places she could go. Li Xingcan refused to believe she couldn’t be found.

Everyone mobilized immediately, leaving only the housekeeper behind to wait in case Jiang Qingyue returned—so she could notify Li Xingcan right away.

“Miss, you’ve been searching all day. Why don’t you stay home while I go? You should eat something—you haven’t had a bite all day,” the housekeeper urged, concerned.

“No appetite,” Li Xingcan muttered. She was about to leave when she suddenly turned back. “Bring me Jiang Qingyue’s smartwatch. I’ll hack into it and see if there are any clues.”

As the housekeeper went to retrieve the watch, Jiang Qingyue—who had been crouching in the flowerbed, observing everything—couldn’t stay still any longer. If Li Xingcan saw the contents of that watch, it would be disastrous.

Her mother had said Uncle Li and Aunt Xun were trustworthy—but that didn’t include Li Xingcan. If she discovered Jiang Qingyue’s secret…

She didn’t dare imagine the consequences. Without another thought, she seized the moment while the housekeeper had just stepped inside and dashed toward her bedroom window, intending to leap in and retrieve the watch.

Jumping into a room from outside was far harder than jumping out—especially since Jiang Qingyue hadn’t had a drop of water all day and was nearly collapsing from exhaustion. But she couldn’t give up. Summoning every ounce of strength, she vaulted upward—only to slam her head hard against the outward-opening window frame, nearly blacking out from the pain.

Ignoring the injury, she scrambled inside. The watch lay carelessly placed on the desk. She quickly leaped onto the surface, snatched it in her teeth, and bolted back toward the window.

The sound of Auntie’s footsteps grew closer. Jiang Qingyue felt her heart pounding like thunder, with no choice but to take a desperate leap. Just as the door opened, she jumped out the window.

With a thud, she landed in a flowerbed. Li Xingcan seemed to have heard something and glanced in her direction. Not daring to move, Jiang Qingyue crouched low, clutching the watch in an attempt to hide. But to her dismay, Li Xingcan started walking straight toward her.

If she came any closer, the watch would surely be discovered, and all her efforts would be in vain.

In a panic, she hastily covered the watch with some dry leaves and had no choice but to step out herself to divert Li Xingcan’s attention.

Li Xingcan was certain she hadn’t misheard—there had definitely been movement here. But the flowerbed was so low, there was no way Jiang Qingyue could be hiding in it.

Just as she was about to take a closer look, a limping kitten poked its head out from the bushes, cautiously lifting its gaze to meet hers.

So it was just a stray cat.

The kitten’s fur was disheveled, its round eyes warily watching her. It limped slightly, as if injured, its fluffy tail giving a gentle wag before it slowly sat down facing her, seemingly unafraid of humans.

Li Xingcan crouched down and reached out to touch the kitten’s chin. “Do you want to come with me?”

Jiang Qingyue watched as Li Xingcan lifted her chin, the flirtatious gesture nearly making her fur bristle in indignation. She raised a paw to retaliate, but reason stopped her—the power imbalance between human and cat was too great to act rashly. Instead, her raised paw merely landed softly on Li Xingcan’s hand in an attempt to push it away. But to her shock, Li Xingcan grasped her paw and even squeezed the soft pad!

“You’re quite clever, aren’t you? I suppose that’s a yes. Fine, I’ll reluctantly agree.”

Li Xingcan looked at the pitiful kitten before her. Though she had no experience keeping pets, this cat seemed to have some connection with her. It wouldn’t hurt to take it in.

The next moment, Li Xingcan scooped the cat into her arms. She still had to deal with the bigger problem—finding Jiang Qingyue—so the cat would have to be left with Auntie for now.

Forced to nestle in Li Xingcan’s embrace, Jiang Qingyue was infinitely grateful for the thick fur that hid her entire face, which was practically steaming with embarrassment.