Rich Cat A Would Never Fall in Love with a Fake Heiress - Chapter 31

The crisp, rapid clatter of keyboard strokes filled the air. The camera angle shifted from low to high, revealing Mo Wang in her dimly lit room, her face pale under the glow of the computer screen, her jawline sharp and gaunt, like a vampire who only emerged after dark.

She adjusted her thin gold-rimmed glasses, her gaze fixed intently on the screen as she typed. Hearing the sound of a call connecting, she shifted her attention, only to pause in surprise.

“You’re taking a shower?”

Sensing her subtle gaze, Mo Li realized she hadn’t even wrapped herself in a towel. Dripping wet, she stood half-naked before the camera.

Fortunately, her soaked black hair fell in damp strands, curving around her snow-white neck and resting on her well-defined collarbones, obscuring her private areas.

Uncharacteristically embarrassed, she grabbed a towel and hastily wrapped it around herself.

Though the two had already been intimate, it had always been in the dark, a fumbling, ambiguous affair with the lights off. This level of “naked honesty” was a first.

Back then, it was Mo Wang who would shy away in the moment, insisting on complete darkness before allowing any intimacy. Now, the tables had turned.

A faint smile touched Mo Wang’s lips, her eyebrows lifting slightly. The stern expression she’d worn while working vanished, replaced by a polite shift in focus as her fingers resumed their swift dance across the keyboard.

“Go ahead and finish your shower. Don’t catch a cold. I’ll call again in half an hour.”

Warm water cascaded down once more. This time, Mo Li rushed through her shower, then sat by the bed, drying her hair while waiting for the call.

By the time her hair was half-dry, her phone finally rang again.

This time, Mo Wang was seated in her bright, tidy living room, curled up on one end of the sofa in soft, loose pajamas. She held a cup of coffee, steam rising and fogging her glasses, giving her a gentle, docile appearance.

Yet, the faint shadows under her eyes stood out even more under the warm lighting.

Mo Li couldn’t help the words that escaped her, though she tried to ignore the discomfort stirring in her chest. Turning away as if to dry her hair, she feigned indifference and said, “Drinking coffee in the middle of the night? Be careful you don’t die of insomnia.”

Mo Wang picked up the thread with amusement, as if humoring a petulant child. “How tragic that would be. I’m all alone, no parents, no wife, no children. There wouldn’t even be anyone to collect my body. I’d just rot away at home.”

With that, she tilted her head back and drained the cup.

Mo Li listened to her pitiful words, her heart wavering, though her expression remained unreadable.

“Good advice is wasted on those destined to die. When that day comes, let Zuo An cremate you and bury you in a public cemetery.”

Mo Wang chuckled lightly, unbothered, but her expression gradually turned serious.

Staring into the empty coffee cup, she tentatively broached the subject they both knew was coming. “Is it our parents? Are they pushing you to marry into the Lin family?”

Mo Li nodded faintly, then shook her head.

“It’s their idea, but I have no reason to refuse. Lin Qianying needs this marriage, and the Mo family stands to gain real benefits from it.”

She lifted her gaze.

Two thin screens separated them across an unknown distance. So, it was with her and Mo Wang, they understood each other without words, their connection instantaneous. Yet, the words that needed to be spoken lingered, held back by the fear of disrupting that tacit understanding.

Mo Li remained silent.

“Whose idea it is, doesn’t matter. This marriage won’t succeed,” Mo Wang continued, her eyes still fixed on the cup, her tone resolute.

“I won’t let it succeed.”

Mo Li clenched her fingers. “And what position are you speaking from? You’re not part of the Mo family anymore, so this marriage alliance won’t affect your interests.”

Hearing this, Mo Wang wearily pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Mo Li, what do you want to hear from me? That because we’re lovers, because I love you, I won’t let you enter this arranged marriage?”

Her tone was helpless, pressing heavily on Mo Li’s heart.

“But if we were really lovers, could we take things further? Could we openly date, kiss, get engaged, or marry? If I promised you right now that my feelings for you aren’t mixed with personal interests, after everything that’s happened, would you even believe me?”

Mo Li’s voice was dejected. “So, because nothing we do matters, we shouldn’t do anything at all?”

Seeing the conversation heading toward an awkward stalemate, Mo Wang forced a smile and changed the subject, trying to lighten the mood.

“We’ll find a way. So, Mom must be pretty happy today, right?”

Mo Li also collected her thoughts and picked up the thread. “She is happy. I haven’t seen Mom this excited in a long time, but Mrs. Lin didn’t seem too pleased.”

“That’s because she saw our temporary mark in the hallway seven years ago.”

Mo Wang got up to fetch some hot water, the sound of running water mixing with her gentle voice. “She also knows I’m an Omega, she found the suppressants when she snooped through my bedroom.”

Mo Li was speechless. She had thought that since they were once foster sisters, Mo’s mother wouldn’t suspect anything romantic between them, at most, she might hold a grudge against Mo Wang and try to keep them apart.

Looking back now, they must have given themselves away when they returned to the old house together for Mo’s mother’s birthday recently.

Mo Wang sat back in front of the camera and yawned.

“You need to give a statement at the police station tomorrow morning. I’ll go with you.”

Mo Li remembered something important. “By the way, Lin Qianying is very unhappy about Luo Liming unilaterally calling off their engagement.”

Mo Wang wasn’t particularly worried. “Lin Qianying might seem reckless, but she knows her limits. Don’t worry, no matter how that scum Luo Licheng tries to weasel out of it, he won’t escape death.”

Mo Li gripped her phone tightly. “Sometimes I think if I’d gone through what Luo Licheng did, I might have become even more extreme than him.”

“What you’ve been through was already much worse than his experiences.” Mo Wang’s eyes held an undeniable tenderness.

“While personal experiences can’t really be compared, when you were being beaten and starving in the slums, at least Luo Licheng had a mother who loved him by his side.”

“And you certainly don’t need to empathize with a murderer. After Luo Licheng’s mother passed away, Mrs. Li actually felt tremendous guilt, believing she was responsible for what happened. Every new industry Luo Licheng invested in after that had her financial and networking support behind it.”

“But she still died filled with self-blame and remorse. The moment she heard about the shareholders’ mysterious deaths, she boarded a plane back home and recognized Luo Licheng immediately. But she couldn’t face him then, she had personally helped the eaglet grow strong wings, only to become an accomplice to a killer.”

Mo Wang closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, recalling the unpleasant memories.

“He always had more choices than you did. Even if he had stopped after taking revenge on the shareholders, it would have been understandable. But he descended into endless hatred. Mrs. Li and her son were completely innocent, yet they still died tragically at his hands.”

Mo Li relaxed slightly, instead feeling more sympathy for Mrs. Li.

She turned her head to see the night outside the window growing deeper and more intense. The servants’ movements were no longer audible, and the brightly lit lamps of the old mansion had also been extinguished.

In the silent room, only Mo Wang’s magnetic voice echoed by her ear.

Mo Li lifted the blanket, propped herself against the headboard, and chatted idly with Mo Wang. After saying goodnight, neither of them made any move to hang up the phone.

Later, Mo Wang even brought out her laptop again. Amid the crisp sound of typing, Mo Li gradually drifted into sleep.

…

Mo Li was startled awake by the sound of talking beside her. Her eyes snapped open to find a glowing phone screen right in front of her, set to camera mode, reflecting her disheveled hair and a smiling face next to her shoulder.

It was Lin Qianying, holding the phone and pressing the shutter with satisfaction.

“You only dare to take photos sneakily.”

Mo Wang’s voice suddenly sounded by her ear. Mo Li turned her head and realized the call from last night was still connected. Mo Wang had already changed into a light-colored chiffon dress, her laptop resting on her knees, looking as though she hadn’t slept all night.

Lin Qianying, ignoring them, opened a beauty app and began editing her own photos. “Why can’t I take pictures of my fiancée? Meanwhile, your dark circles are so heavy I’m afraid of dirtying my photo gallery even with a screenshot.”

“I don’t know how my fiancée can stand sleeping on call with you,” Lin Qianying muttered discontentedly, turning to Mo Li with a pitying expression. “It wasn’t her forcing you, was it?”

Caught in this inexplicable argument first thing in the morning, Mo Li rubbed her temples, threw off the blanket, grabbed the phone connected to Mo Wang, and got out of bed.

“How did you get in? I locked the door.”

Lin Qianying triumphantly dangled a set of keys. “Your mother gave them to me. She said I could go anywhere I wanted.”

Mo Li snatched the keys with one hand and, with the other, smoothly ushered her out of the room.

Then, she found the key to her own room among the bunch, removed it, opened the door, and tossed the remaining keys outside.

The room fell quiet once more.

Mo Li raised her hand and glanced at the phone screen. Mo Wang’s expression had softened considerably. She greeted Mo Li with a glance before her fingers began flying across the keyboard again.

Mo Li felt an inexplicable sense of embarrassment, as if caught in a compromising situation, but she didn’t know how to explain it.

Fortunately, Mo Wang only offered a reminder.

“Take your time heading out for the statement today. Leave at ten. I’ll pick you up and bring your car over.”

Mo Li nodded. Seeing Mo Wang’s pale complexion, she couldn’t help but advise, “Won’t you rest for a bit? I can go alone.”

Mo Wang smiled. “Don’t worry. Once this is over, I’ll have plenty of time to sleep.”

“You were dragged into this mess because of me. I can’t let you face a troublesome situation alone again.”

Warmth spread in Mo Li’s heart, but Mo Wang simply smiled one last time and ended the call.

Since there was no rush, Mo Li took her time washing up and even took a shower before heading downstairs for breakfast.

By the time she reached the dining table, Mo’s parents had almost finished their meal. Hearing her footsteps, they shot her a displeased glare.

They were probably upset that Mo Li had gotten up too late and neglected Lin Qianying.

Lin Qianying, however, didn’t seem to mind. She also set down her knife and fork, walked lightly to Mo Li’s side, and playfully rested her chin on Mo Li’s shoulder, feigning intimacy.

“My dear, I’ll take my leave now.”

Mo Li kept her gaze fixed on the toast on the dining table, nodding hastily. Only then did Lin Qianying and Mo Li’s parents relent.

Once Lin Qianying stepped out of the front hall, Mo Li’s mother finally dared to speak.

“She’s a lovely girl, just a bit too arrogant.” After saying this, she glanced subtly at Mo Li’s father, as if seeking his support for the cold neglect she had endured these past two days.

But Mo Li’s father remained oblivious. “A little pride is good. It’ll help her take charge in business matters later.”

Mo Li’s mother’s expression darkened further.

Not wanting to get involved in the elderly couple’s bickering, Mo Li simply took a large bite of her toast, drained her cup of hot orange juice, and stood up to leave.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the front hall. The security guard of the old residence rushed in, his face pale and flustered, stammering.

“Miss Lin, she… she suddenly…”

Mo Li’s father grew impatient, his voice low and simmering with anger. “What is it? Speak clearly.”

The guard’s face twisted with conflict, fright, and something indescribable.

“She suddenly emitted an extremely foul odor, mixed with a strong scent of pheromones. Many reporters who were there to take photos couldn’t stand the smell and collapsed. They’re being taken to the hospital for examination.”