My Sweet Little Flower Turned Out to Be a Sinister Ghost - Chapter 13

“Yuehua, maybe we should go check…”

Song Yuehua half-supported, half-embolded Bai Qingyu as they walked toward the break room. Most of the girl’s weight leaned against her, the stray strands of her hair brushing against Song Yuehua’s neck, carrying a warm, slightly damp sensation.

Just as they reached the break room door, the curly-haired girl suddenly caught up, panting as she called out, “Miss!”

Song Yuehua turned to see her still clutching a pack of tissues, rushing over in a hurry. “Let me tell you, it definitely wasn’t Qingyu’s fault!” she said rapidly. “Qingyu is the most patient with cats, she never even raises her voice at them. Which cat in the shop doesn’t cling to her? There must be another reason why that customer got hurt. Please don’t blame her!”

“I know,” Song Yuehua replied, glancing at Bai Qingyu, who was still softly sobbing against her shoulder. Her tone softened. “Of course I believe her.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Xiao Tang breathed a sigh of relief and pressed the tissues into Song Yuehua’s hand. “You two have a good talk inside. I’ll keep an eye on things out here. Don’t let this little incident cause any misunderstandings between you.”

Song Yuehua nodded and entered the break room with Bai Qingyu.

The room was small, with a bunk bed placed by the window. The top bunk was piled with clean bedding, while the bottom bunk had a soft cushion. In the corner stood a set of wooden table and chairs.

“Yue… Yuehua…” Bai Qingyu’s voice was thick with tears. “Is President Song really angry? Did I ruin your chance to improve your relationship with her…?”

“No, no,” Song Yuehua quickly shook her head, raising her hand to gently wipe the tears from Bai Qingyu’s cheeks with her fingertips. “My sister might not even be angry at all.”

“But she left in such a hurry…” Bai Qingyu lifted her tear-filled eyes, her long lashes still dotted with teardrops like dew-laden butterfly wings. “She must be angry with me.”

Song Yuehua sighed, pulled out a tissue to dry her tears, and tried to sound as relaxed as possible. “She probably went to the hospital by herself, right? You know how my sister is, she’s always like that.”

She paused, gently patting the back of Bai Qingyu’s hand. “You couldn’t leave, and she didn’t want me to accompany her, so she just went on her own. She really isn’t angry with you.”

“Why didn’t she want you to go with her?” Bai Qingyu said. “It’s because I ruined your chance to get closer, wuwuwu…”

Song Yuehua replied, “If it weren’t for you, how would we have had the chance to go camping? You’re already busy with your part-time job, yet you made time to agree to my request. I’m nothing but grateful.”

She sighed, a hint of regret in her voice. “If anyone’s to blame, it should be me. I was the one who insisted on dragging my sister to help at the shop. She’s not cut out for this kind of work, I just made a mess of things, didn’t I?”

Song Yuehua leaned in slightly, her gaze earnest as she met Bai Qingyu’s eyes. “Don’t you think so?”

“You really don’t blame me?” Bai Qingyu looked up at her, her lashes still damp with tears, her eyes red like a wronged little rabbit.

“Of course not,” Song Yuehua said softly, patting the back of her hand again. “Now, can you tell me exactly what happened back then?”

Bai Qingyu lifted her eyes, still glistening from tears. “Mm. When she came in, I was just about to trim Tiaotiao’s nails.” She lowered her lashes. “Tiaotiao is usually the most energetic, but she always runs around when it’s time to trim her nails. President Song stood by and watched for a while, saying she ‘has a way with small animals,’ and offered to help hold Tiaotiao for me.”

“I was initially worried she wasn’t familiar with Tiaotiao’s temperament and wanted to refuse.” Bai Qingyu paused, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. “But she sounded so confident, and I thought if we could finish the medicine sooner, we could start preparing for the camping trip earlier, so I handed Tiaotiao to her.”

“As soon as I turned to get the tools, I heard Tiaotiao meowing loudly, struggling fiercely in her arms. When I looked back, Tiaotiao’s fur was all puffed up. I quickly asked President Song to put her down, saying I could handle the medicine myself. But before she could let go, Tiaotiao got so frantic she scratched her…”

“Oh.” Song Yuehua drew out the syllable, instantly understanding.

It was clear that Song Yuelan had wanted to show off in front of Bai Qingyu, proving her affinity with cats, but ended up encountering Tiaotiao, a skittish and rebellious cat and immediately failed.

“See, this really isn’t your fault,” Song Yuehua said. “She insisted on handling it herself and misjudged Tiaotiao’s temperament. It has nothing to do with you.”

Bai Qingyu wiped away the remaining tear stains with a tissue and murmured, “But I was careless too. I didn’t warn her beforehand that Tiaotiao is afraid of strangers… And Tiaotiao struggled so much just now, she must have been frightened.”

Seeing that Bai Qingyu was no longer solely blaming herself but was instead concerned about the kitten, Song Yuehua felt a wave of relief.

Bai Qingyu’s peripheral gaze caught the wall clock, and she abruptly stood up. “Oh no, we’ve wasted too much time.” Her brow furrowed slightly. “Guests will be arriving soon, and there are still several cats whose nails need trimming.”

“Don’t rush.” Song Yuehua quickly steadied her arm. “I’ve already cleaned up all the cat litter. Is there anything else I can help with?”

Bai Qingyu sighed, a trace of disappointment flashing in her eyes. “We were so close to finishing with the nail trimming. I thought if we finished early, we could smoothly head out for camping…” She looked down at the floor, her voice softening. “It’s all my fault for not paying closer attention.”

“It’s not your fault,” Song Yuehua leaned closer, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. “I’ll message my sister later to check on her. If she’s cooled off and still wants to go, I’ll let you know right away.” She blinked. “Who knows, maybe she’s regretting snapping at you earlier.”

Bai Qingyu couldn’t help but smile faintly and nodded. “Mm, let’s go out. We shouldn’t make them worry.”

As soon as the two stepped out of the break room, the curly-haired girl approached, holding two cups of warm water, her eyes full of concern. “How did it go? No hard feelings, right?”

“Of course not.” Song Yuehua took one of the cups and handed it to Bai Qingyu, waving her hand with a smile. “I explained everything to my senior. It’s really no big deal.”

The curly-haired girl sighed in relief. “That’s good. I was worried you two might be upset.” She then turned to Bai Qingyu, her tone earnest. “Sister Qingyu, are you sure you don’t want to switch shifts? I don’t have anything else to do today. You should rest, I can handle things here.”

Bai Qingyu shook her head while holding a cup of warm water, gratitude shining in her eyes. “No need, thank you. If I leave today and something urgent comes up later, I’d have to trouble you to swap shifts again. I’m fine now, I can handle it.”

“Alright then, just call me if you need anything,” the curly-haired girl said before turning to organize the menus at the front desk.

Bai Qingyu went to the restroom to wash her face and then returned to work.

Song Yuehua picked up the trash bag she hadn’t had time to throw away earlier and took it to the cat room to dispose of it. When she returned, she saw Bai Qingyu crouched in the corner of the room, softly calling, “Tiaotiao? Good girl, come here.”

In the corner, a black-and-white kitten sat with its back to them, tail curled around its paws, head tucked into its belly as it groomed itself, completely ignoring the calls.

Bai Qingyu moved a couple of steps closer, but as soon as she got within half a meter, Tiaotiao spun around abruptly, tail shooting straight up, and dashed across the carpet to the top of the cat tree, staring down at them from above.

Bai Qingyu turned back to Song Yuehua with a helpless, slightly pained expression. “She used to be lively, a few coaxing words and some freeze-dried treats were enough to lure her over. But she was really frightened today and is definitely holding a grudge.”

Song Yuehua, inexperienced in such matters, could only feel anxious seeing Bai Qingyu at a loss.

Unexpectedly, Tiaotiao, who had been so wary just moments before, leaped down from the cat tree and walked straight toward Song Yuehua.

“Huh?” Song Yuehua’s eyes lit up in surprise as she glanced at Bai Qingyu. “She’s coming over!”

Tiaotiao rubbed against her calves, her fluffy body pressing against Song Yuehua’s pants, a soft purr rumbling in her throat. Overjoyed and cautious, Song Yuehua slowly crouched down, her fingers hovering in the air, not daring to move.

“That’s great,” Bai Qingyu sighed in relief beside her. “She’s not afraid of you. Just pet her gently and help her calm down.”

“Okay.” Holding her breath, Song Yuehua watched as Tiaotiao’s pink-and-white nose sniffed her fingertips. Seeing that the kitten didn’t pull away, she finally dared to place her hand gently on Tiaotiao’s head, stroking in the direction of her fur.

Having spent so much time with Song Xiaomi, she had long since learned the pressure cats preferred. Her fingers massaged Tiaotiao’s ears with just the right touch, and sure enough, she felt the little one in her arms gradually relax, her tail slowly drooping from its tense state.

Bai Qingyu said, “Stay with her for a while. I’ll go get a cat treat stick.”

Song Yuehua cradled Tiaotiao in her arms, gently nuzzling her chin against the kitten’s soft back fur, murmuring softly, “Were you scared earlier, little one? Don’t be afraid, we mean you no harm.”

Bai Qingyu soon returned with the cat treat stick and handed it to Song Yuehua. “Yuehua, you feed her. She’s closest to you right now.”

Song Yuehua took the treat, tore open the packaging, squeezed out a bit of the paste, and offered it to Tiaotiao. The kitten immediately leaned in, her little tongue lapping up the treat with relish.

Halfway through eating, Tiaotiao suddenly wriggled out of Song Yuehua’s arms, jumped onto a nearby table, and propped her front paws on the edge, continuing to eat in a more comfortable position, her tail wagging triumphantly.

Seizing the opportunity, Song Yuehua handed the cat treat stick to Bai Qingyu.

Bai Qingyu took it over and continued feeding Tiaotiao. The kitten focused on eating a few bites, then looked up and noticed the person had changed. After a moment’s pause, it rubbed its head against Bai Qingyu’s wrist and let out a soft “Meow~” as if completely forgetting its earlier fright, now showering her with affection.

“Great!” Bai Qingyu beamed, gently scratching Tiaotiao’s chin with her fingertips. “Thank you, Yuehua. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how long I would’ve been stuck with this little one.”

“No problem at all,” Song Yuehua replied, feeling warmth in her heart as she watched the intimate interaction between the woman and the cat.

After Tiaotiao finished the cat treat and returned to its usual lively self, hopping around on the table and even actively wrapping its tail around Bai Qingyu’s hand, Bai finally took out the nail clippers. Smiling, she said to Song Yuehua, “Come here, I’ll show you how to trim a cat’s nails…”

Song Yuehua leaned in attentively, occasionally lending a hand to assist Bai Qingyu.

Once they had finished trimming the last cat’s nails, Bai Qingyu glanced at the time. “Alright, all the kittens are neat and tidy now.” She took off her apron and asked, “Yuehua, how about we go check on President Song?”