After Getting Married to My Obsessive Older Sister - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Tan Ze stood dumbfounded in her living room, looking from Chu Yiqiao’s round, almond eyes to the cat’s round, glassy eyes in her arms, falling into deep contemplation.

Right, how could she forget? Young people in their early twenties like Chu Yiqiao often follow trends, ignoring the objective existence of a reproductive barrier, and refer to their pets as “fur babies.”

Since Chu Yiqiao was holding the stray cat’s paw and calling her “Mommy,” it logically followed that Chu Yiqiao herself had to be “Mom.”

Tan Ze suddenly felt dizzy. She subtly reached out and sat down on the nearby dining table. She had to admit, being called a mom so suddenly after returning from a business trip was a surprise.

Tan Ze certainly wanted her marriage with Chu Yiqiao to be more solid and warm. She could feel that there were still small gaps between them that needed to be filled, but that didn’t mean those gaps should be filled by a cat’s head!

Moreover, Chu Yiqiao was already distracted enough. Tan Ze wasn’t so generous that she’d tolerate being ranked after Mom, Friend, and Painting, and now had to be ranked after a stray cat.

Tan Ze took a deep breath: “Chu Yiqiao, it’s a little late now. Can we talk about keeping the cat tomorrow? I’m going to take a shower, and then we should go to bed.”

Chu Yiqiao, of course, knew this was the silent treatment. If she didn’t insist tonight, this cow cat, which she had worked so hard to clean, would disappear from her world forever tomorrow morning, along with the cat food on the dining table.

“But Sister, Little Guai is very smart.” Chu Yiqiao hugged the cow cat and approached Tan Ze. She extended her hand, bringing the cow cat close to Tan Ze, hoping the little cat would be smart and cling to Tan Ze as it had clung to Chu Yiqiao, making her sister’s heart melt.

Unfortunately, the cow cat suddenly seemed to turn dull. It pulled its head back, pitifully rubbing against Chu Yiqiao’s arm. When Chu Yiqiao couldn’t resist wiping the kitten’s face with her finger, it even stuck out its tongue and gently licked Chu Yiqiao’s finger.

“Oh…” Chu Yiqiao’s expression instantly became even more pitiable than the cow cat about to be thrown out.

Tan Ze sat beside her, watching Chu Yiqiao’s heart visibly melt into a pool of water, radiating an unspeakable aura of pity and affection.

Green tea cat.

Tan Ze knew she had met her match.

“Don’t hold it. It’s too dirty. Stray cats likely have fleas.” Tan Ze reached out, pinched the back of the cow cat’s neck, and emotionlessly pulled it into her arms. Chu Yiqiao’s pajamas were getting wrinkled by the cat, which immediately irritated Tan Ze.

“Sister,” Chu Yiqiao leaned in, hugging Tan Ze’s waist, trying her best to salvage the situation: “I already washed it. It’s very clean.”

Tan Ze turned her head, avoiding Chu Yiqiao’s attempt at a kiss. She wasn’t so sure of her willpower anymore: “We don’t have time for a cat. I have to go to the company, and you need to paint. All the responses from the galleries have come in. The owner of the gallery you said you liked the most is very interested in your portfolio.”

After talking with Wan Xianyin that day, Chu Yiqiao posted her painting process on Weibo, changing her bio to “Jing University Oil Painting | National Top Score XX Year | DM for business inquiries.” She had also continuously received DMs from various curators, but that wasn’t the point right now—the cat was the point!

“I can do it,” Chu Yiqiao buried her head in Tan Ze’s neck, unaware that her current actions were pure pouting: “I will be responsible for Little Guai. I’ll take it to the pet hospital tomorrow.”

Tan Ze glanced at Chu Yiqiao. She wished Chu Yiqiao would first take responsibility for turning Tan Ze from a strong, heartless person into a weak person who would rush home overnight because she was afraid Chu Yiqiao wouldn’t sleep well alone.

Chu Yiqiao seized the second Tan Ze was distracted and successfully pecked her lips. Her mouth opened and closed: “Sister, I looked it up. Cats are quite independent and not clingy. I’ll work hard for the first month, and after Little Guai gets a little older, it can be home alone.”

Tan Ze let out a soft sneer.

That would be best, because Tan Ze was already taking care of someone very clingy who could not be left home alone.

Tan Ze: “If we keep a cat, all the windows in the house must be sealed, and you won’t be able to sketch on the balcony anymore.”

“It’s fine. I can paint in the studio later,” Chu Yiqiao sensed Tan Ze wavering. Since the cat wasn’t moving, Chu Yiqiao took the cat’s paw herself and rubbed its furry back against Tan Ze’s arm, hoping her sister could also feel the cat’s warmth: “Please, I think Little Guai really likes Sister.”

A three-month-old kitten’s paw was tiny. As Chu Yiqiao held the small paw, her fingers inevitably touched Tan Ze’s exposed skin.

Chu Yiqiao, fresh out of the shower, smelled like the scent of “home” in Tan Ze’s mind. The temperature of her fingers wasn’t high, but it still made Tan Ze feel warm.

Tan Ze looked at Chu Yiqiao’s beautiful amber eyes for a moment, then compromised: “Get up early tomorrow and take it to the pet hospital for a checkup. And, it’s not allowed to sleep on the bed.”

“Thank you, Sister!” Chu Yiqiao tightly hugged Tan Ze, practically jumping with joy. She and her sister had a cat!

Chu Yiqiao excitedly took the little cow cat from Tan Ze’s arms, held up Little Guai’s paw, and waved it at Tan Ze, speaking in a high-pitched voice: “Thank you, Mommy. Little Guai will be good. Mommy is the best.”

Tan Ze couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled the cat away from Chu Yiqiao, grabbed her arm, and dragged her back to the bathroom to wash up again and change clothes again.

That night, after Tan Ze showered, she reluctantly made a bed for Little Guai, poured out cat food, set up a makeshift litter box, and then went to sleep, holding the reluctant Chu Yiqiao.

Early the next morning, Tan Ze was woken up again by Chu Yiqiao’s soft hand. She had drunk a lot of wine last night. Her assistants and Zhao Jingxing were probably still sound asleep in the hotel. Only she was woken up by her wife at 8 AM and had to take her “daughter” to the hospital for a physical examination.

“Sister,” Chu Yiqiao noticed the slight frown when Tan Ze opened her eyes and said thoughtfully: “How about I take Little Guai to the hospital myself?”

“How will you go by yourself? And hold it again?”

Tan Ze felt Chu Yiqiao misunderstood her. Last night, she had said “we’ll go together.” Even if she hadn’t slept at all, the two of them were going out together today.

“Go wash up first. I’ll call the assistant to come over.”

Tan Ze dialed her assistant’s phone, her peripheral vision catching Chu Yiqiao tiptoeing toward the room door. She turned to warn her: “Don’t hug it. If you hug it again, this set of pajamas will have to be thrown away too.”

“Got it!” Chu Yiqiao mumbled as she entered the bathroom, completely fine with her old pajamas becoming Little Guai’s bedding.

A few minutes later, the assistant rang the doorbell.

Chu Yiqiao was squatting in front of the green-eyed kitten. Since Tan Ze was supervising, she refrained from hugging it, instead using her newly opened paintbrush to tease the kitten. Little Guai was also cooperative, running around “tap-tap-tap” following the movements of Chu Yiqiao’s hand.

Tan Ze opened the door for the assistant, brought her in, pointed to the kitten on the floor that wasn’t even as long as a child’s forearm, and said: “That’s the one. It has a bad temper.”

Chu Yiqiao felt wronged for Little Guai after hearing that evaluation.

Tan Ze had clearly given detailed instructions on WeChat beforehand. The assistant was prepared, skillfully picked up the kitten, and took pictures of the milk and cat food Chu Yiqiao had fed it last night with her phone.

Little Guai was held by the assistant the entire time. Chu Yiqiao followed closely, finding it curious that Little Guai fell asleep as soon as they left the house.

Chu Yiqiao extended her finger and poked the kitten’s face, marveling: “It really won’t wake up. It’s sleeping like the dead.”

Tan Ze glanced at her: “Mm.”

The pet hospital was empty on a weekday. Tan Ze purchased the most comprehensive examination and ultimately found that the cat was very healthy, without even the skin diseases common in stray cats. It was round and in excellent spirits.

The doctor speculated that it might have just recently left its mother and was only stray for a few days before Chu Yiqiao found it.

Chu Yiqiao’s face lit up with a smile. She clapped her hands, looked at Tan Ze, and emphasized: “Then we really are fated to be together!”

After saying that, Chu Yiqiao tried to hug it but was stopped by Tan Ze: “Listen first.”

The veterinarian looked at the seemingly ill-tempered Tan Ze and adjusted her glasses: “It was probably only stray for a short time. We haven’t found any parasites on it yet, but if you’re concerned, we can do a deworming.”

Tan Ze took Little Guai for deworming. While Tan Ze watched the doctor spray the medication on the little cow cat indoors, Chu Yiqiao was frantically buying pet supplies outside. The deduction notifications on Tan Ze’s phone didn’t stop.

An hour later, the group returned home with large bags. The trunk was filled with various pet supplies. Little Guai quietly lay on Chu Yiqiao’s lap, wearing an XXS-sized Elizabethan collar on its head.

Meanwhile, Tan Ze sat next to her, holding her new daughter’s cat bed.

Regardless, Tan Ze and Chu Yiqiao had a cat now.

Tan Ze walked through every room in the house and finally placed the cat bed in Chu Yiqiao’s old room. The overly compassionate Chu Yiqiao had no objection to this arrangement and, over the next week, showed a surprising sense of responsibility for nurturing the new life.

Chu Yiqiao was genuinely dedicated to raising Little Guai, just as she had promised.

At work, Tan Ze would occasionally check on the little cow pig at home. When she turned on the surveillance, she often saw the other pig in the living room.

In the monitor, Chu Yiqiao was teasing Little Guai with a cat teaser, giggling as she watched the kitten run around. When the family of three watched movies at night, it was often Tan Ze holding Chu Yiqiao, and Chu Yiqiao holding Little Guai.

Tan Ze ultimately failed to break Chu Yiqiao’s bad habit of calling herself the cow cat’s mom. Sometimes Chu Yiqiao would hold Little Guai and call Tan Ze “Mommy.” Other times, when Little Guai was shut out of the room, many tearful “Mommy”s could be heard coming from under the door crack.

“Meow~”

The increasingly round little cow cat jumped off the stool and darted through the pet hole in the door that Tan Ze had specially installed.

Another Saturday passed. With Chu Yiqiao’s diligent practice, she passed Subject 2 on the first try and began preparing for Subject 3.

At the same time, the revision for the electronic component production standard officially landed. The document, totaling 24 pages, was a massive blow to the industry, likened to an asteroid hitting Earth. Besides raising testing standards, the document clearly regulated the discharge standards for water pollutants from electronic components. Previously, few factories outside of major companies cared about environmental issues. Overnight, swathes of factories temporarily halted production to undergo rectification.

Chu Lingtong, aside from issuing a public statement on her official website like other companies, made no other significant moves, seemingly intending to quietly swallow her loss.

Tan Ze took the opportunity to acquire several small companies and sent people to continue monitoring Chu Lingtong. She herself had a little more free time and would use her lunch break to catch Chu Yiqiao practicing driving near the Mingsheng building.

Driving on a real road was different from driving at the school, and the nervousness Chu Yiqiao had barely suppressed surged back.

Tan Ze sat in the passenger seat, directing Chu Yiqiao to change lanes and pass other cars. Chu Yiqiao preferred to crawl like a snail, carefully following the car in front, which ironically made the front car feel awkward and change lanes to let her pass.

Chu Yiqiao turned her head, smiling ingratiatingly at Tan Ze: “Hehe, she’s a nice person.”

Tan Ze: …

After a few days of practicing around the Mingsheng building, Chu Yiqiao didn’t learn much else, but her skills in speed control and turning improved sharply. Tan Ze was completely worn out and painstakingly taught her step by step.

In this process, Tan Ze finally realized that her previous worries were absurd. With Chu Yiqiao’s personality, even if she got her license, she probably wouldn’t drive much.

Tan Ze would drive her to work, or if necessary, she’d hire a chauffeur. Driving around the world was even more far-fetched; why would she drive when Chu Yiqiao even preferred to lie down on an airplane? It made Tan Ze feel at ease. Moreover, they now had a cat, and Chu Yiqiao couldn’t bear to leave her daughter.

Thinking this way, Tan Ze felt much happier in life and finally recognized the positive effect of owning a cat, allowing Chu Yiqiao to secretly take photos of her clipping Little Guai’s nails and post them on her Moments.

The next day, the look in Zhao Jingxing’s eyes was one of jealousy.

Another day, after a lunch break driving lesson, a physically exhausted Chu Yiqiao was helped back to the office by Tan Ze.

Tan Ze had a meeting with a collaborator in the afternoon. She settled Chu Yiqiao and then left with Zhao Jingxing, asking Chu Yiqiao what she wanted to eat later, offering to bring it back.

After Tan Ze left, Chu Yiqiao slumped dejectedly in the boss’s chair, watching the surveillance. After getting Little Guai, Chu Yiqiao had pestered Tan Ze into installing the living room surveillance app on her phone.

On the screen, Little Cow Cat, now larger, was curled up asleep on the sofa. The curtains were open, and the afternoon sun fell on the cat’s black and white stripes. It was sleeping comfortably.

Chu Yiqiao felt a soft ache, eager to rush home and pet her cat. Just then, the door opened from the outside. Chu Yiqiao had initially forgotten that Zhao Jingxing had left with Tan Ze. Without looking up, she greeted the person: “Jingxing Jie! Come look at Little Guai. Cow cats aren’t crazy, I think everyone else was wrong.”

“Chu Yiqiao.”

Chu Yiqiao looked up. The person was Fang Yizhen, still as simple as Chu Yiqiao remembered: white T-shirt, jeans, and a ponytail—very fresh and capable.

Fang Yizhen wasn’t carrying anything. Most people in the company had seen the old news reports, and her face was recognizable. Tan Ze wasn’t there, and Chu Yiqiao’s assistant had let her in after she said she knew Chu Yiqiao.

“Yizhen Jie?” Chu Yiqiao quickly stood up, turning her phone face down: “Are you looking for Sister? She went out for a meeting this afternoon.”

In Chu Yiqiao’s mind, Fang Yizhen was almost a good friend.

In mid-May, when Chu Yiqiao routinely visited Chu Lingfeng’s grave, she was surprised to find a bouquet of deep purple irises next to the tulips she had placed in April. Her mother’s grave had also been recently tidied up.

Tan Ze asked the groundskeeper, who said someone had been bringing flowers every week recently. Chu Yiqiao thought long and hard and concluded that it could only be Fang Yizhen.

Because of this, Chu Yiqiao’s impression of Fang Yizhen greatly improved. Tan Ze didn’t comment on Chu Yiqiao’s guess, only urging her to quickly drink her cold medicine.

Fang Yizhen shook her head, a smile appearing on her face: “I came to see you. Do you have time for afternoon tea downstairs? My treat.”

“Okay!” Chu Yiqiao put on her jacket, grabbed her phone, and followed Fang Yizhen downstairs.

Chu Yiqiao had a high-level access card. She used the private elevator to descend with Fang Yizhen.

In the small elevator car, only Chu Yiqiao and Fang Yizhen were present. Chu Yiqiao smiled and enthusiastically showed Fang Yizhen the sleeping little cow cat on her phone screen.

“Isn’t she super cute?” Chu Yiqiao chatted with Fang Yizhen, her happiness practically overflowing: “Her name is Little Guai, and she is really well-behaved!”

Fang Yizhen nodded. She clearly had something to say, her lips nervously twitching.

Chu Yiqiao admired her screen for a few more seconds, put away her phone, and only then noticed that Fang Yizhen wasn’t wearing a work badge, a look of confusion on her face.

Mingsheng was lenient on dress code but strict on badge management. The badge was not only proof of identity, but everyone working in the group needed it to swipe open meeting rooms and use other equipment.

“Yizhen Jie, where’s your badge?” Chu Yiqiao asked casually.

“Oh, that,” Fang Yizhen turned to meet Chu Yiqiao’s amber eyes. She quickly looked away as if scalded, saying: “I resigned this morning.”

“Resigned!” Chu Yiqiao’s eyes widened: “Why? Isn’t Mingsheng a good fit for you?”

Chu Yiqiao and Fang Yihe were biological sisters. Their facial features and eye colors were similar. When Chu Yiqiao stood still and silent, Fang Yizhen often had a flash of the twenty-something Fang Yihe, making her feel unbearable.

But Chu Yiqiao was raised by Tan Ze. They lived together day and night, and perhaps Tan Ze herself hadn’t realized that Chu Yiqiao had adopted many of her small actions and habits.

Especially the gestures when thinking. Tan Ze liked to cross her arms and touch her temples, while Chu Yiqiao liked to cross her arms and stroke her face. But similar actions looked unfathomable on Tan Ze and merely like “thinking hard” on Chu Yiqiao.

When Chu Yiqiao moved, she didn’t resemble Fang Yihe at all, and Fang Yizhen felt no constraint.

Chu Yiqiao pondered, seriously analyzing what might be wrong with her company: “Why? Is the salary not enough? Or is the afternoon tea bad? Jingxing Jie complained about it too…”

Fang Yizhen listened, interrupting Chu Yiqiao’s rambling: “Neither. I’m going abroad for further studies.”

She had received the offer in early April.

“I see!” Chu Yiqiao breathed a sigh of relief, as she couldn’t think of any more faults with Mingsheng: “Congratulations, Yizhen Jie.”

Fang Yizhen completely turned her back, only her voice coming through: “I have you to thank.”

A “ding” sound, and the elevator doors opened.

The coffee shop was on the east side of Mingsheng’s first-floor lobby. Chu Yiqiao walked in front, secretly looking at her phone. Little Guai was awake, crawling around on the sofa. Chu Yiqiao’s heart softened at the sight. She was looking down as she walked. The coffee shop’s automatic door opened with a “ding,” and Chu Yiqiao continued forward, bumping into a soft wall.

“I’m so sorry!”

Chu Yiqiao apologized profusely, looked up, and froze.

It was Chu Lingtong.

“Aunt?”

Fang Yizhen also caught up at this moment, turning her head to avoid Chu Yiqiao’s gaze.

“Yiqiao, long time no see,” Chu Lingtong looked down at the person in front of her, momentarily seeing the other woman who used to hug her: “Let me treat you to a slice of cake.”

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