Mistaken ‘O’ is a Crazy Gorgeous Boss - Chapter 73

The murmuring spring water moistened the air and dampened the corners of both their eyes.

Upon hearing this, Qu Zhen was overwhelmed with sorrow, tears streaming down her face instantly.

She knew nothing of Shen Zhikou’s past; she had always been kept at a distance by her lies. Even so, just a few words from her friend Jiang Cheng and Shen Zhikou’s current murmurs were enough to shatter her heart.

So… it wasn’t a fear of the dark at all?

Had her eyes been injured before, sometimes rendering her unable to see in dim environments?

Qu Zhen suddenly remembered the two pairs of gold and silver-framed glasses Shen Zhikou always wore, only now understanding their true purpose. It felt as if she had returned to the moment of the cave-in, her heart gripped and twisted by sharp rocks.

She wanted to step closer, to hold Shen Zhikou tightly in her arms, but due to the chaotic timeline of her nesting period and the unusual behavior caused by pheromonal factors, she could only remain where she was, coaxing Shen Zhikou with gentle words.

“Zhenzhen hasn’t abandoned you.”

“She promised she would always stay with you. Don’t be afraid, little cat. I’ve already called her, and she’ll come find you soon.”

Tears welling in her eyes, Shen Zhikou looked up at her. “Really?”

“Of course, it’s true.”

Shen Zhikou, who had taken on the persona of a little cat, seemed less frightened and saddened upon hearing the firm answer. She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her bathrobe, hugged her knees again, and continued to watch her warily.

“How do you know Zhenzhen?”

“We’re good friends,” Qu Zhen fabricated an excuse. “We both love archaeology, so we met at school. Does the little cat’s eyes still hurt? Should I go find some medicine for you?”

The little cat, her tail perked up, listened attentively, her eyes glistening like pools of autumn water. Her attention was completely captured by the topic related to Qu Zhen, and she outright ignored the suggestion about finding medicine.

After listening, she suddenly said with a hint of envy, “I wish I could go to school with Zhenzhen too. I want to have met her earlier.”

“Even though… you’re Zhenzhen’s friend, you still can’t come near me.” Shen Zhikou frowned slightly. “And I don’t like you calling her Zhenzhen. Only the little cat can call her that. If you’re a good person, call her Miss Qu, okay?”

Compared to “Zhenzhen,” the address “Miss Qu” felt much more distant.

Yet Qu Zhen willingly relinquished the right. “Okay.”

Shen Zhikou continued with her demands, “And you need to tone down your pheromones. I don’t like anyone else’s pheromones.”

During the nesting period, an Omega would develop a strong dependence on their partner’s pheromones and intimacy. Qu Zhen slightly restrained hers and tentatively asked, “Miss Qu just told me over the phone that she left you a bottle of glandular fluid. Why aren’t you using it?”

Just as Qu Zhen found the wall switch in the corner and the dim light began to chase away the darkness, she heard Shen Zhirou say gloomily, “Because it’s Zhenzhen I like, not her pheromones.” She glanced at her. “No matter what Zhenzhen’s secondary gender is, I’ll always like her.”

Qu Zhen’s heart stirred. “But using the glandular fluid would make you feel better.”

“No.” The little cat was stubborn. “You don’t understand. Zhenzhen doesn’t understand either.”

The warm orange light fell upon the white kitten’s head and shoulders, making the still-wary kitten appear incredibly soft. Qu Zhen also crouched down, sitting on the floor to meet her at eye level, and asked with a puzzled heart.

“Why doesn’t Miss Qu understand? Can you tell me?” she said sincerely. “Please, I’ll keep the kitten’s secret.”

The kitten replied fiercely, “Only Zhenzhen can call me kitten.”

“Alright, then how should I address you?”

Perhaps it was because this two-legged creature, who had suddenly appeared and claimed to be Qu Zhen’s friend, was too gentle in her demeanor, the kitten retracted her scratching claws and pondered briefly.

“You can call me,” the kitten said very seriously, “…the Free Cat Queen.”

Her past environment had been full of constraints and confinement. Trapped in a tiny corner, she would gaze through the window at the flower beds outside, where other people’s kittens would run freely, a freedom she herself had never known.

So, freedom was the greatest wish of the stray kitten before she became the Cat Queen, before she met her Zhenzhen.

Her murmuring words seemed incredibly adorable in Qu Zhen’s eyes: “I’m much stronger now than before. At least… I’ll never go hungry or be locked in the basement again. I can go anywhere, but… I only want to stay by Zhenzhen’s side.”

Whenever she mentioned her Zhenzhen, her eyes would always brighten, and her tone would carry a sense of joy.

“The Free Cat Queen has done many things for Zhenzhen, you know? The library in the villa, I built that for Zhenzhen. It’s filled with so many books she loves.” She lowered her gaze. “But… Zhenzhen never knew. It seems like she doesn’t like me anymore.”

Many truths were slowly pieced together from the clues.

“She hasn’t stopped liking you.” Before she could wipe away her tears, fresh ones streamed down. Qu Zhen’s heart ached as she asked, “May I ask why you built a library for Miss Qu?”

The kitten, her guard slightly lowered, hugged another black jacket to her chest, her delicate brows relaxing a little.

“Then you must keep it a secret.”

“Of course. I will.”

The kitten seemed a bit shy, her long, tear-dampened eyelashes fluttering. After hesitating for a moment, she mumbled, “Because I like Zhenzhen, so the Cat Queen wants to give her the very best of the Cat Planet. She once said that when she grew up, she wanted a big study, and if she could, she’d even build a small library. She’s still a puppy growing up, but I’m already the Free Cat Queen. Of course, the Cat Queen has to help the puppy fulfill her wishes.”

Following Shen Zhikou’s words, Qu Zhen swiftly stirred up a storm of memories, eventually unearthing that fragment from a corner nearly forgotten.

It was something she had said in front of He Yu, six long years ago.

It felt as if the blood in her veins had slowed to a halt. In Qu Zhen’s ears, it seemed as if the ancient bell of Meixiang Village was ringing. The floodgates of memory opened, and fragments of countless days and nights spent together came rushing back. After six long years, she stood deep within her memories, gazing intently at the person before her, crystal tears streaming endlessly from the corners of her eyes.

So that was it.

The identity Shen Zhikou had hidden the deepest was actually He Yu, whom she had once saved.

But she wished she wasn’t He Yu, because back then, He Yu had been severely injured, and even when alive, she was as still and silent as a stagnant pond. She wanted her little kitten to grow up healthy and happy, even if they met a bit later, it was fine; she would always find her eventually.

The hot tears welling up in her eyes were scalding, burning so fiercely that she could no longer see the person in front of her clearly.

The Cat Queen noticed this keenly: “Why are you crying?”

She pulled out her sharp little cat claws, retrieved a tissue from a hidden compartment nearby, and deftly tossed it over: “Wipe your tears. Even though you chirp noisily like a little bird, you’re Zhenzhen’s friend, so the Cat King doesn’t dislike you.”

The kitten, whose heart and eyes were filled only with Zhenzhen, promptly added: “But I don’t like you either, I’ve said it before, I only like Zhenzhen.”

Qu Zhen’s tears simply wouldn’t stop. She couldn’t help but want to know more: “My eyes are just a bit sore, thank you for the tissue. Free Cat Queen, could you tell me the story of you and Miss Qu?”

She repeated her old trick: “I won’t reveal any secrets.”

When it came to her most important secret, the kitten who had become the Cat Queen reluctantly turned her head away: “Don’t push your luck. You’re not a bird, you’re a fox. Your fox tail is already showing.”

“Then how about I remind Miss Qu every day, telling her how much you miss her, so she can come home early to be with you?”

The kitten was a little tempted and wagged her fluffy white tail.

“And when she’s working, I’ll remind her to call you during breaks, and help her solve work problems so she can finish early and come home.”

The kitten was even more tempted and perked up her cat ears.

“Besides all that, whatever you want me to do, I’ll agree to it.”

In the kitten’s heart, the temptation of “Zhenzhen” far surpassed that of catnip.

The kitten immediately said: “Okay!”

First, she hugged the clothes in her arms, rubbed them against her cheek, and after hesitating for a long time, the kitten finally began to pour out her heart: “I met Zhenzhen when I was twenty-two. She was so kind and adorable, she saved me in the heavy rain, took me home, and took care of me meticulously. A month later, I had to leave without saying goodbye. She must have… been a little angry, but I really didn’t mean to. I had no other choice.”

“You know what? It was the first time I had ever lived in such a nice room. I thought this young girl must be very happy, even her room was so warmly decorated by her family, like a flower growing in a glass greenhouse. At first, I was very curious about her because she and I were from completely different worlds. And she was so innocent, she never doubted a word I said, completely unlike anyone I had ever met before.”

“This curiosity lasted for two years. I observed her for a long time, I knew that whenever she had time after school, she would go to the north gate of the campus to feed the stray cats. I knew that when she stayed off-campus, she would go to that Chen’s Breakfast Shop every morning. And I also knew that when she walked home after evening self-study, she was a little afraid of passing through that unlit alley.”

The kitten’s eyes sparkled: “So I asked my friend to install streetlights in that alley. That way, Zhenzhen would never be scared again when walking home.”

Qu Zhen gradually clenched her hands, her tears a mix of complex emotions. The person before her seemed to have reverted to how she was at twenty-two.

“I remember it was two weeks before Zhenzhen’s college entrance exams. When she smiled for the camera during her graduation photo, a strange emotion stirred in my heart, I wished I could see her smile forever.” The kitten pursed her lips, her fingers clutching Qu Zhen’s sweater. “I didn’t know what it was at the time. After that feeling lingered for a while, I even thought I was sick, so I went to ask a doctor.”

“But the doctor told me it wasn’t an illness, it was attraction and affection.” She spoke with reverence. “I liked that girl, a liking that had nothing to do with anything else.”

It was the first time she had spoken so much, her expression vividly animated. “Actually, I’ve always wanted to see Zhenzhen again because I promised her we would meet again, and I really wanted to trouble her to make me another rabbit lantern and build a sandcastle. Over those two years, I looked for opportunities, but my situation wasn’t good. Every move I made was watched, and meeting rashly could have put her and her family in danger.”

The kitten’s ears drooped. “It was also because I wanted to see Zhenzhen that I went to treat the scars on my face. Zhenzhen probably wouldn’t like a little stray cat. I didn’t want to scare her; I wanted to appear before her as the Cat Queen.”

Her voice softened, her gaze dimming slightly. “But before the Cat Queen could appear, she was struck down by illness.”

Qu Zhen’s voice was hoarse, as if her throat had been scorched by flames, her words heavy and strained.

“Then you-”

Before she could finish, the kitten interrupted her. “The Cat Queen wouldn’t seek out another alpha, so she would surely die quietly. The Cat Queen accepted her death but underestimated her longing and affection. I really wanted… to talk to Zhenzhen, to become friends with her like in the books, and then take things further. Even though I’m already the Cat Queen, there are still things I don’t understand. After realizing I liked Zhenzhen, I bought many, many books to read because I wanted to have a never-ending romance with her.”

Tears glistened in the Cat Queen’s eyes. “But… I will die sooner or later. My illness strikes suddenly, without any pattern, and it’s excruciatingly painful. I didn’t want to appear before Zhenzhen like someone who might die at any moment. I like her so much. If she could always be happy, then it wouldn’t matter if she never knew me, as long as I could like her, that would be enough. But I was greedy and used many methods to squeeze into her life, even… making a decision to take advantage of her after her secondary differentiation.”

“I’m not good. I’m a bad little kitten.” She looked fragile, her body as thin as paper. “Zhenzhen doesn’t like bad little kittens. She left our home; she doesn’t want me anymore.”

After saying this, she asked softly, voice filled with sorrow, “Why hasn’t Zhenzhen come yet? Didn’t you say she was on her way?”

Afraid of hurting Shen Zhikou, Qu Zhen suppressed the urge to hold her in her arms, her voice low and raspy. “She… will be here soon. She doesn’t dislike the kitten. She asked me to tell you that she likes the kitten too, even if it’s a bad little kitten.”

“She likes every side of the kitten.”

Change often happens in an instant. As the floral sculpture hanging from the side ceiling swayed and fell, Qu Zhen, catching the movement, swiftly pulled the slender kitten into her embrace.

Being hit on the shoulder by the flower-carved pot was actually painful, but she silently concealed the pain, focusing only on comforting the crying kitten.

“It’s okay, it was just a small flower-carved pot, it doesn’t hurt.” She patted her slender back soothingly. “Don’t worry, as long as you’re fine.”

But the next moment, the person in her arms lifted her head, and those once-dazed beautiful eyes returned to their usual clarity. Shen Zhikou stared at her intently, as if gazing upon a long-lost treasure, her eyes shimmering with tears, brimming with boundless tenderness and affection.

“Zhenzhen.”

In the northern realm of the Cat Planet, shooting stars always streak across the sky. The Cat Queen, who is fixated on making wishes upon these stars, has prayed year after year for her little dog to be safe, happy, and to have all her wishes come true, even if her own wishes never came true, it didn’t matter.

Until this very moment, the ever-longing Cat Queen saw a shooting star once more and finally recognized her little dog.

She spoke, word by word: “I love you, Zhenzhen.”