Chapter 36: To Save This Cat

Uncle Zhang was full of ambition! But Qin Hongfei was no fool!

“It’s not quite like that…”

“Your shop is filled with all sorts of odds and ends, broken bits of metal and whatnot, some good, some bad. Besides you, who could possibly know what’s missing and what isn’t? If he comes down and you insist something’s been stolen, we have no idea what’s in your shop—whatever you say goes, Uncle Zhang.”

“More importantly, I simply trust my friend! It has nothing to do with guarantees or assurances.”

“Whether something was stolen or not isn’t for you to declare, nor for me to deny. I’m only expressing my trust in him. As for the rest, let’s wait until he’s down to discuss it…” Qin Hongfei’s voice was calm and unhurried. “But I will promise you this: if he really did take anything, I’ll compensate you at ten times its value. For now, let’s all calm down, find a ladder, and get him down first, shall we?”

The roof was high, and rain was falling.

Everyone below only thought about catching the culprit, not about fetching a ladder to rescue the person stranded above.

Uncle Zhang and the others didn’t move…

It was still Qin Yun who dashed off, soon returning with a wooden ladder in tow. “Hongfei, here’s the ladder—I’ve got it…”

The crowd craned their necks, shining their flashlights upwards, but no figure was visible.

The uncle in the raincoat spoke up, “I’ll go up and have a look…”

Just as he said this, a voice rang out, “No need!”

A figure appeared.

Even in the rainy darkness, one could make out the tall, slender silhouette atop the simple tiled eaves. He climbed over from the opposite side, paused in a sitting position, one hand braced on the rooftop. The flashlight beams caught him, and he merely lifted his head slightly, his expression calm and indifferent, ignoring the surrounding clamor. His gaze locked immediately onto Qin Hongfei, standing in the rain at the front of the crowd.

“He’s come out…”

“Let’s get him down first…”

The crowd began murmuring amongst themselves.

Uncle Zhang snorted, “Let’s see what he has to say when he comes down—the evidence is plain.”

Qin Hongfei paid him no mind. She only thought quietly to herself, hoping these two would not betray her trust—otherwise, it would be quite the embarrassment.

Tang Jinnan glanced thoughtfully at the ladder Qin Yun had brought, and at the crowd helping to steady it. After a moment’s consideration, he descended the ladder. As he neared the final few steps, he swung his long legs down and landed lightly on the ground.

Shou strode toward him, a hint of coldness in his voice as he said, “I knew it!”

Tang Jinnan smiled faintly. Though he’d been on the rooftop, he’d heard the commotion below—Uncle Zhang’s accusations, as well as the conversation between the Qin sisters.

“Hey, kid, what were you doing up on the roof?”

“Was he really trying to steal something?”

“It’s the middle of the night—what else would he be doing up there, especially in the rain? Stargazing?” This remark drew a round of laughter from the crowd.

Suddenly, a soft “meow” sounded.

It was faint, almost unnoticed at first.

But Qin Hongfei’s sharp hearing caught it. She quickly pinpointed the source—the right hand Tang Jinnan had never let go of. Sensing her gaze, Tang Jinnan’s handsome eyes glimmered with a gentle smile. Carefully, he revealed the small creature he’d been protecting: nestled in his palm was a milk-white kitten, licking his hand and mewing weakly. He looked down at the little thing in his palm, his eyes tender. “I saw this little thing had climbed up on the roof and couldn’t get down…”

Qin Hongfei looked at the kitten, then at him, and understood completely. “So you went up there to rescue this cat?”