She decided to give him another chance.
So she got out of bed again.
This time, instead of tiptoeing, she turned on the lights in a grand manner and then pretended to unlock the window again. In short, a series of clattering noises were enough to make the silly cat outside realize what she was doing.
Afraid that her little scheme would be seen through, Shen Wuqiu even opened the window a little and poked her head out, feeling particularly guilty.
The white cat, lying obediently in the corner of the small windowsill, watched her curiously: "Meow~"
Shen Wuqiu pretended to look up at the sky and casually remarked, "The moonlight is beautiful tonight."
Meow~~
The white cat tilted its head, looking at the night sky, which was not only devoid of moon and stars but also shrouded in gloom, filled with doubt.
Shen Wuqiu belatedly realized what was happening, a fleeting hint of embarrassment crossing her face before she snapped at the white cat, "What are you looking at? It's too stuffy, can't I open the window for some fresh air?"
The white cat immediately lowered its head timidly: "Meow~~"
Shen Wuqiu got angry when she saw her deadpan appearance, turned around and went back to bed.
A sheep.
Two sheep.
Three sheep.
...
It wasn't until the 181st sheep that Chen Wuqiu's drowsiness returned.
Before going to sleep, Shen Wuqiu glanced at the window again, thinking that she had already opened the window herself, and this time she had given Gu Lingyu a high enough way to get her way. Surely that stupid cat would take the offer now.
And what did she see? In the last second before she was overcome by sleepiness, she actually saw a furry little foot pull the window back shut for her...
The next morning, the first thing Shen Wuqiu did upon opening her eyes was to look out the window.
She clearly remembered opening the window herself, but now it was tightly shut.
Clearly, what she saw before going to bed last night was not an illusion.
She sat up and punched her chest twice.
This cat will drive her crazy one day.
After taking three deep breaths, Shen Wuqiu finally calmed herself down. The first thing she did after getting up was to lock the window again.
That jerk cat! Don't expect her to open the window again.
After coming downstairs, Su Yunzhi was busy in the kitchen. Hearing her come down, she poked her head out of the kitchen and asked, "Are you up? We're having millet porridge this morning. I'm going to make some cucumber salad. Do you want it more sour or spicier?"
Shen Wuqiu has never been a big fan of sour and spicy food, but lately she's become a bit picky. "Make it a little more sour and salty, and put less chili in."
"Okay." Su Yunzhi replied, then looked down at her belly. "As the saying goes, sour for a boy and spicy for a girl, I think you might be carrying four boys."
Four baby boys...
The scene was too beautiful for Shen Wuqiu to imagine, so she frowned and said, "Then Auntie, please add more spice."
"You silly child, do you really think that eating more spicy food will turn a boy into a girl?"
Shen Wuqiu pursed her lips and said defiantly, "No, I just... actually really want to eat spicy food."
Su Yunzhi clearly didn't believe her and stared at her belly again. "Quadruplets are different. It's not even been three months yet and you're already showing. When I was pregnant with Junjun, it wasn't until five months that I could tell I was pregnant."
"Is it that obvious?" Upon hearing this, Shen Wuqiu looked down at her belly. In order not to look like a pregnant woman, she dared not walk with her belly sticking out.
"Hmm." Su Yunzhi nodded. "Have you prepared all your clothes? You're carrying quadruplets, so you'll probably have the belly size of someone who's seven or eight months pregnant by the time you're four or five months along. You need to prepare your clothes well in advance."
Shen Wuqiu still couldn't see any change in her belly. She stared at her waist again before saying, "Aunt Dai had already prepared all of this."
Su Yunzhi wiped her hands on the apron in front of her, looking slightly disappointed. "It's alright with her help. By the way, did the couple tell you what they were going to do? They've been gone for two days."
“I didn’t ask specifically.” Shen Wuqiu shook her head.
Su Yunzhi didn't ask any more questions. She glanced back at the millet porridge on the stove, which wasn't boiling yet, and then leaned closer to talk to her:
"Lingyu has been gone for so long and hasn't come back yet. Now that the couple has left, did they calculate that we would definitely leave the child behind, so they just abandoned us?"
Shen Wuqiu instinctively denied her idea, "No."
Su Yunzhi glanced at her face and said, "Don't think I'm being harsh, but this family is really strange. The main thing is that you're carrying four. One or two wouldn't be a problem, our family can afford to raise them, but four... Anyway, I advise you to be more careful."
Shen Wuqiu didn't show any displeasure at her "womanly view." Although her stepmother's words were harsh, she was genuinely trying to understand her perspective. It was just a wild guess based on a lack of understanding of the facts.
"Yes, I understand what you mean. I will be more careful."
Since Shen Wuqiu responded sincerely, Su Yunzhi didn't say anything more. "Then, while it's still not too hot, why don't you go out for a stroll?"
Shen Wuqiu felt as if he had been granted a pardon and went straight into the courtyard.
On the fence of the yard sits Mr. Chen's old-fashioned radio. The signal isn't very good; sometimes there's static, and sometimes you can hear a few news snippets.
Mr. Shen listened to these sounds while practicing Tai Chi.
The cement ground in the yard looked a bit damp, so Shen Wuqiu reminded him, "Dad, the ground is still wet, you have to be careful."
As she spoke, she caught a glimpse of a cat playing with a large green praying mantis by the bamboo fence in the corner of the yard, and unconsciously took a step over there.
Mr. Shen continued working with his hands, saying calmly, "It just rained a little last night. With this weather and high temperature, the cement ground may look damp, but it's not slippery at all."
"Did it rain last night?"
Shen Wuqiu stopped by the bamboo fence and casually picked a morning glory from it.
In the corner of the yard, there was a small plot of land about two square meters in size. There was no cement plaster; the dark soil was dotted with scattered flowers and a few cacti, all surrounded by a bamboo fence. This little plot of land had been there for a while, and the bamboo fence was covered with morning glory vines.
Perhaps due to the high temperatures this year, the morning glories, which usually bloom after mid-June, started to bloom at the end of May this year.
As soon as she finished speaking, the cat that was playing with the praying mantis looked up and meowed at her.
Shen Wuqiu glanced down at her from his high vantage point, then walked towards his father.
After completing the entire set of movements, Mr. Chen stopped. "I did it for a while, but not for long."
Shen Wuqiu tossed aside the morning glory in her hand and sat down on the rattan chair beside her. "When did this happen? I have absolutely no recollection of it."
"It was around 12 o'clock at that time, and I just got up to go to the toilet."
Shen Wuqiu thought for a moment—she got up around eleven o'clock to open the window for a certain clueless cat, and fell asleep around midnight.
So, the cat closed the window again—was it because it was raining outside?
For a moment, Shen Wuqiu's mood became somewhat complicated. She turned her head to look at the cat, who was picking at the morning glory she had thrown away again—she wondered if this silly thing knew to go back to its room to take shelter when it rained.
Meow~~
As soon as the cat meowed, Shen Wuqiu turned away expressionlessly, looked up and went to talk to her father. After thinking for a moment, she couldn't remember what her father had just asked her.
"...Huh? Dad, what did you just say?"
"What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night? Why are you so distracted?" Mr. Shen looked her over. "Did you look at the auspicious day given by the Queen Mother?"
"I checked, it starts at 8:08 the day after tomorrow."
"Well, it's better to do it sooner rather than later. I heard that this year is going to be a rainy season. If the weather is bad the day after tomorrow, you don't need to go, I'll go instead."
"It's okay, I checked the weather forecast, the weather will be nice that day."
"The weather is nice, but you still need to be careful."
"It's not that precious. Don't worry, I'll take care of myself."
As Shen Wuqiu spoke, she seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, Dad, how does Lady Wang know me?"
“It’s not surprising that she knows you.” Mr. Shen also moved a wicker chair over and sat down, popping a piece of cool candy into his mouth. After thinking for a while, he began to speak slowly:
“When you were three years old, you had a strange illness. At that time, the three of us were all sleeping on that mahogany bed. You were sleeping between me and your mother, but in the middle of the night you somehow rolled off the bed. We didn’t find you sleeping on the floor until the next morning.”
Shen Wuqiu blinked: "I rolled off the bed while sleeping in the middle? Then who's sleeping on the outside, you or my mom?"
“It was me. But I have no idea how you rolled out of bed. From that day on, you started having a fever, and unlike before, you didn't cry and fuss when you were sick. You quietly got injections and took medicine.”
Back then, the village hadn't had any roads built yet, so it was inconvenient to go to the county town. In addition, the doctor initially said that you just had a common fever and cold, and that you would be fine after two days of injections and some medicine. However, after four or five days of injections, you still didn't get better. Your mother and I went to two more clinics, and after more than ten days of trying, it still didn't help at all.
The doctor couldn't give a clear answer either. Your mother and I were extremely anxious and were just about to take you to the city hospital when Lady Wang sent someone to bring you a bowl of water, telling you to drink it.
Your mother and I have never believed in these things, and we've never been to her place before. We didn't believe that a bowl of water could do anything, and I wouldn't even let your mother feed it to you. But that night you got so feverish and started talking nonsense, and your mother was so worried that she had no choice but to feed you the water.
Shen Wuqiu asked as if she were listening to some magical story, "Does that mean I'll be cured immediately if I drink it?"
Mr. Shen looked at her and then gave her an affirmative nod.
"...What kind of miraculous elixir is this? If Lady Wang has this skill, wouldn't she earn more money as a doctor?"
Mr. Shen looked at her with a complicated expression. “Although I have never believed in these supernatural things, it was indeed Wang Niangniang’s bowl of water that saved your life back then. After you recovered, your mother even took you to Wang Niangniang to thank her.”
"No wonder Lady Wang knows me."
Mr. Shen nodded. “Speaking of which, I don’t know what kind of fate you two have. She seems to have always liked you. Back then, your mother brought rice and eggs to thank her, but Lady Wang returned the gifts, saying that you are a person with extraordinary destiny and good fortune. This time, when we invited her to visit, I thought we wouldn’t be able to persuade her, but she said it was because of you.”
"..." Shen Wuqiu became serious without realizing it. Could it be that this Lady Wang had foreseen that she was a woman with extraordinary talent who could give birth to four kittens for a cat at once and whose life would be extraordinary when she was three years old?
Holy crap! It's just that absurd and amazing.
If she had known that Lady Wang was so divine, she should have had her fortune told earlier. That way, on the night of March 3rd when she returned home, she would have been oblivious to everything else and focused solely on getting home.
Seeing her ever-changing expression, Mr. Shen asked again, "What's wrong? You don't like Lady Wang?"
Shen Wuqiu snapped out of her daze and shook her head.
Mr. Shen glanced at the cat who was still playing with the trumpet flower and said, "I think this Empress Wang is really capable. I saw her petting our cat's head yesterday, and the cat was very well-behaved."
"Meow Meow has such a temper! Every time Uncle Zheng comes over, she's always so fierce. Even Junjun can't be touched easily. Of the whole family, you're the only one who can be hugged and petted freely. It's only the first time Wang Niangniang came, and she let people touch her like that."
They're bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong.
Shen Wuqiu cursed inwardly, but replied perfunctorily, "Probably."
"By the way, you really don't plan to give Meow Meow a name? Are we just going to keep calling her Meow Meow? Speaking of which, what's the deal with our Meow Meow and that girl Lingyu?"
Shen Wuqiu tensed up again: "Huh? What's going on?"
"Before Lingyu came, Miaomiao always followed you. After Lingyu started following you all day long, Miaomiao disappeared from sight, leaving early and returning late. Now that Lingyu is gone, Miaomiao is sticking to you again."
The old man's keen insight not only frightened Shen Wuqiu, but also made a certain cat playing with the morning glory a little nervous.
"Well... when Lingyu came, Miaomiao was in heat and spent all her time going out to fool around. Now her heat is probably over..."