Chapter 2

Even though she had awakened to the realization that she was a time traveler, it didn't really change anything about her life.

When Monday came around, she still had to go to work as usual. Mondays were always the most hectic day of the week, sometimes even requiring overtime.

After Jiang Cheng finished her overtime and returned to her residential complex, the sky had already grown dim.

The lights in the community garden weren't as bright as the streetlights outside, nor were they as densely placed. They were sparse, and the winding pathways created a quiet, secluded atmosphere.

Property management was getting more and more negligent. One of the lamp posts had even been broken for days without the bulb being replaced.

Jiang Cheng had to go to the garden to collect the two stainless steel bowls she had left for the black kitten the day before. Seeing that the path ahead was pitch black because of the broken light, she thought to herself that she would definitely file a complaint with the property management later and urge them to fix the lamp quickly. Suddenly, she noticed a figure standing in the darkness.

It was too dark. She could only see clearly when she got closer.

This was a gated residential community with condo-style apartment buildings; incidents like robberies were unlikely. Jiang Cheng didn't pay much attention and continued walking, intending to pass by the person.

It was only when she got much closer that she saw the person's hands were positioned in a strange way around their waist.

By the time Jiang Cheng realized something was wrong, it was already too late. The person had been holding onto the waistband of their pants, and the moment Jiang Cheng looked at them, they gave a creepy grin, yanked their pants down, and exposed themselves.

An exhibitionist.

A total pervert!

Jiang Cheng stepped forward, swung her shoulder bag in a half-circle, and lashed out!

The bag smacked the sicko's right cheek!

The pervert yelped in pain, stumbled, tripped over his own half-pulled-down pants, and fell out of the pathway onto the grass.

Jiang Cheng's parents had died in an accident before she even graduated from college. Her relatives had been greedy for her inheritance, so she had sold the house in her hometown and moved far away to the big city. Since then, she had always lived alone.

When you only have yourself, even if you're frail and slender, you have to stand your ground and protect yourself.

Jiang Cheng always carried a small, light dumbbell in her bag. It wasn't heavy, but in a situation like this, it could turn a girl's bag into a flail, letting her surprise an attacker with a sudden blow.

Perverts usually targeted young girls, and most young girls who encountered such a shock would panic and run away screaming. Someone like Jiang Cheng, who would silently attack without a word, was rare.

The pervert knew he had picked on the wrong person this time. He rolled on the ground, hastily pulled up his pants, and tried to run.

Jiang Cheng wouldn't let him get away. Shouting "Stop!", she tried to grab his arm and collar. The pervert twisted around and shoved her hard. He was strong, and Jiang Cheng was knocked to the ground.

The pervert took the chance and bolted!

But from the bushes, a black shadow suddenly shot out!

It tore across the pervert's face, appearing like lightning and then vanishing into the night in an instant. It happened so fast that Jiang Cheng, just getting up from the ground, only saw a blur.

Jiang Cheng couldn't even be sure if she had seen anything.

But the pervert's screams as he clutched his face proved that something had indeed happened.

The pervert stumbled forward, clutching his face. The black shadow darted through the darkness again to attack his face. This time, its claws slashed his arm, which was still covering his face. The pervert shrieked and thrashed his now bloody arm to drive the shadow away.

The black shadow nimbly turned in midair and landed steadily, right in a patch of light.

Jet black all over, with piercing green eyes and long, powerful legs.

A black cat.

Was it the same one from yesterday? It seemed so.

The black cat was attacking the pervert so ferociously that Jiang Cheng didn't dare approach immediately.

When she first started interacting with stray cats, she had been scratched several times. Later, an older woman she fed cats with advised her not to forget that cats, no matter how cute, were still animals. All animals have wild instincts.

As feline creatures, cats were at the upper size limit of animals that could be kept as pets. Among animals of similar size, cats were near the top in fighting prowess.

"Shit! Shit!" The pervert finally saw that his attacker was just a cat. He flew into a rage and looked around the ground and the grass, clearly searching for something to use as a weapon.

The black cat hissed at the man.

Hissing was a cat's declaration of war.

But instead of attacking again, it looked at Jiang Cheng.

There was no hostility in the glance the black cat gave her right after hissing.

It was like a tiny, faint electric current passing through her heart. It didn't hurt, it wasn't even a shock. It was more like someone gently poked you with a finger.

Like a reminder.

Jiang Cheng felt as if she had been snapped out of a daze. She yelled at the top of her lungs, "Stop him, a pervert! Stop him!"

It was dinnertime, but that didn't mean the community garden was deserted.

The pervert forgot about taking revenge on the cat. He scrambled on all fours to get up and flee. But Jiang Cheng wouldn't let him. Still shouting "Someone help! Stop that pervert!", she kicked him in the back, sending him tumbling to the ground, and then lunged onto him to pin him down.

The pervert wasn't prepared for her. She twisted one of his arms behind his back, pressed a knee into his lower back, and used her body weight to hold him against the ground.

"What's going on?" Some neighbors who were residents of the complex came running over. "What happened?"

He was strong, and Jiang Cheng was struggling to hold him. She explained quickly, "He pulled down his pants and was exposing himself! Help me out! Hurry, he's—"

The pervert tried to twist free and run again. But he hadn't even fastened his pants properly. The struggle caused them to slip down, revealing half his bare backside. He wasn't wearing underwear. It confirmed what the young woman had said.

Some of the male neighbors stepped in to help pin him down. "Stay still!"

"Thank you, thank you!" Jiang Cheng panted as she stood up. She picked her bag off the ground and pulled out her phone. "I'll call the police now."

With the phone to her ear, waiting for the call to connect, she scanned her surroundings.

The black cat was gone.

It was the real hero of the day.

Police from the local precinct arrived quickly.

This area comprised several large housing developments and was quite densely populated. The commercial streets were busy enough, and the area even had its own police booth for faster response times.

The situation was simple. Jiang Cheng explained the entire story to the officer in three minutes.

The officer ordered the pervert to pull up his pants, handcuffed him, and put him in the patrol car. As the person who reported the incident and the victim, Jiang Cheng got into the car and went to the local police station with them.

Once at the station, she gave a brief written account, signed her name, and was told she could leave.

By then, it was completely dark. Strangely, there were even more people in the community garden than before. Many neighbors had finished their dinner and were out for a walk.

Jiang Cheng went back to the bench hopefully. To her delight, the black cat was right there, sitting on the bench. It was looking at the pathway under the streetlamp, like a contemplative person.

"Mimi," Jiang Cheng said, her eyes curving into a smile, slowing her steps as she approached.

She had come back just to see if she could find this black cat. If it hadn't been for him today, that pervert would have used the chance to escape after shoving her. That stretch of road was pitch black; she hadn't gotten a good look at his face at all. If he had gotten away, it would have been impossible to catch him.

Today, she really had this little black cat to thank.

The black cat glanced at her. It showed no strange reaction to her approach; its demeanor was perfectly calm.

Relieved, Jiang Cheng sat down on the bench too.

"Thank you so much for today," she said. "Thanks to you, we caught that creep."

But the little black cat simply stood there, calmly gazing at the corridor bathed in the warm orange light and the greenery.

Well, of course—how could a little animal truly understand human speech? The way the black cat had looked at her amidst the chaos earlier had seemed so uncannily intelligent that she'd gotten the impression it might understand her.

But in reality, it didn't.

In the garden, under the night sky, on the bench along the lamp-lit path, there was only one person and one cat.

"Anyway, you're the real hero," Jiang Cheng said.

She tentatively reached out her hand. Maybe because she had petted it the day before, or perhaps thanks to the bond formed during their shared battle earlier today, the little black cat didn't flinch and let her stroke its head.

It even enjoyed it so much that it couldn't help lifting its chin. Jiang Cheng readily scratched under its jaw. She was gradually getting better at interacting with cats.

After the petting session, Jiang Cheng pulled a cat treat stick from her bag and wagged it. "This is my thank-you gift."

The black cat stared at the treat stick.

Jiang Cheng tore it open, and an enticing aroma wafted through the air.

Perhaps lured by the scent of food, or maybe feeling it had earned a reward for its merits, the black cat moved—for the first time, approaching Jiang Cheng on its own and began munching noisily from her hand.

As she finished feeding it the treat stick, Jiang Cheng noticed several feline shadows darting across the path and vanishing into the bushes in the distance.

She couldn't help asking, "Why are you always alone? Do you not get along with the other Mimis?"

The black cat seemed disinclined to hear this. It turned away to lick its paw and clean its face.

Its black silhouette, outlined by the lamplight, looked a little lonely.

Just like Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng was lonely too.

In truth, she had never established a real life for herself in this city. Work was merely a means of survival; colleagues were just people she had to cooperate with on the job. Her current state could barely be called living.

After all, a big city meant being alone. All her social interactions stayed on the surface because her roots weren't here.

When both parents were gone, a person didn't even know where their roots were anymore.

Suddenly, Jiang Cheng froze.

Were these feelings and memories truly Jiang Cheng's, or 'Jiang Cheng's'?

She couldn't tell.

Her gaze drifted back to the black cat.

She had never been able to make up her mind about getting a companion animal, but at that moment, looking at the black cat's lonely silhouette, a longing suddenly arose.

"How about," she said, "you come home with me?"

The black cat, absorbed in its meticulous washing, paused and turned to look at her.

How strange—did it understand human language or not? Sometimes it seemed oblivious, and other times eerily perceptive.

Jiang Cheng stared at the black cat, anticipation flooding her heart.

The black cat held her gaze for a moment, then leaped silently to the ground and vanished into the bushes.

Ah, so it didn't want to?

I'd take care of you.