Chapter 188: Special Cat-Catching Mission

Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Special Cat-Catching Mission

At the Faulkner Villa.

Once Vivian Lowell and Eleanor Rhodes arrived, they unloaded all their tools and set them out on the lawn.

Eleanor brought over a key and handed it to Vivian. "This is the homeowner’s key. He said he’s been quite busy since returning to the country, so he only comes home at night.

"He told us that if we catch the cat during the day, we can just hand it over to the housekeeper in his yard. The housekeeper will take good care of the kitty."

Vivian took the key and went to open the gate.

Upon opening it, Vivian was slightly taken aback.

The layout here was completely different from Julian Faulkner’s home next door. Surprisingly, the large garden outside this villa featured a massive grape trellis. It was heavy with fruit, boasting large clusters of purple grapes. Beside the trellis, in a shaded spot shielded from the sun, sat a swing. The swing wasn’t very large and didn’t look particularly sturdy. Vivian suspected that if a well-built adult man were to sit on it, it might just give way. Therefore, she wondered if the homeowner’s family was entirely made up of slender people.

Vivian looked left and right, noticing that on the other side of the garden—where the Faulkner family had built their swimming pool—this homeowner had planted several trees. They looked like fruit trees. Some were in bloom, while two others were already bearing fruit that resembled apples.

Vivian shot a bewildered look at Eleanor and asked, "The homeowner just returned from abroad, right? Why is he... farming in his own yard?"

Eleanor was equally puzzled. She stared at the yard full of grapevines and fruit trees, thinking deeply before arriving at a conclusion. "Perhaps this is a gene engraved in our Veridian bones?

"A natural inclination for farming? Even after living abroad for so many years, he still couldn’t break the habit!"

Vivian remained noncommittal, but she felt this homeowner had to be an interesting person. It was a pity he was so busy, or else she would have definitely paid him a formal visit.

"Well, let’s put that aside for now and see where that little kitty is. If it’s on the roof, we’ll have to climb up with a ladder and set the cage there."

Vivian glanced at the three-story villa and gulped. It was way too high.

She wondered if there was a way to access the roof directly from the third floor. If there was, things wouldn’t be this troublesome. But on second thought, Vivian realized that was highly unlikely. If the roof was easily accessible, the homeowner could have caught the kitty himself instead of going out of his way to seek help from Eleanor and Vivian.

She decided to ask the housekeeper about the situation first and went over to ring the doorbell.

Half a minute later, a middle-aged woman’s voice came from inside. It was very gentle, sounding quite similar to Ms. Shaw’s. "Excuse me, are you Miss Rhodes and Miss Lowell, here to catch the cat?"

"That’s us," Vivian replied. "We didn’t see the kitty outside, so we wanted to ask about the situation first. If we need to get onto the roof, we might have to set up a ladder."

Upon hearing this, the housekeeper let out a gasp of surprise. As she unlocked the door, she said, "That’s a bit dangerous. You two young ladies... how about..."

The housekeeper pulled the door open. Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly froze. She stared blankly at Vivian, her eyes reddening as if struck by a sudden memory.

Vivian found this very strange.

Lately, she had been eating and sleeping well, which gave her a rosy complexion and made her look even prettier than before. Furthermore, since becoming her own boss, she worked far less overtime and was in excellent spirits. Why was it that everyone she met recently—first Felix Faulkner, then Sylvia and Finn Drake—looked so astonished the moment they laid eyes on her? It was truly bizarre.

Vivian cast a puzzled glance at Eleanor, silently asking if she had something on her face. Eleanor understood perfectly and shook her head. The two of them then turned to the housekeeper together, asking, "Um... excuse me, is there a problem?"

The housekeeper instantly snapped out of her daze. Likely realizing she had lost her composure, she hastily wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and forced a smile. "It’s nothing. It’s just..."

She looked at Vivian and explained, "You look very much like my former young lady. I watched her grow up, but I never expected her to meet with an accident later on.

"So, the moment I saw you, I was reminded of my young lady. I apologize. May I ask what your name is?"

Understanding the woman’s lapse in composure, Vivian replied, "My name is Vivian Lowell. Coincidentally, I actually live right next door.

"We’re neighbors now, so we might be seeing each other quite often."

The housekeeper paused, looking somewhat surprised. After a moment of thought, she asked, "Then are you the wife of President Faulkner from the Faulkner Group? Mrs. Faulkner, I didn’t expect you to look so young and beautiful.

"In fact, you look much prettier than in the photos online!"

As she said this, the housekeeper seemed to recall something else. She looked as though she wanted to say more, but ultimately swallowed her words, leaving them unspoken.

Was she thinking of something else? Was it about her former young lady’s past? Vivian suspected as much, so she felt it was inappropriate to pry. After all, it was a painful memory for the woman. Losing someone she had watched grow up had to be deeply heartbreaking.

"Yes, I’m Julian Faulkner’s wife," Vivian admitted openly. "I usually work in design, but catching stray cats has been a shared hobby with my friend here since our university days.

"We run our own pet hospital and have a facility for housing stray kitties. We typically adopt out the little cats we rescue." Vivian gave a brief introduction of herself.

The housekeeper nodded. "I see. No wonder the old gentleman... Oh, right. When our old gentleman was living abroad, he was also a member of the Animal Protection Society.

"He would rescue cats and dogs, helping to reduce the number of strays in the city and whatnot. It seems your interests align perfectly."

Vivian was very surprised. She knew there were many charitable organizations abroad, but she hadn’t expected there to be specialized groups like the Animal Protection Society. And her next-door neighbor happened to be a member of it! It truly felt like destiny.

If he hadn’t just recently returned to the country, Vivian felt she could have at least become friends with the "old gentleman" next door. Pushing aside these irrelevant thoughts, she decided to bring the conversation back to the cat.

Hearing her inquiry, the housekeeper replied, "Last night, when I was cleaning upstairs, I still heard the kitty meowing on the roof, so it should still be there.

"However, it’s quiet now, so I’m not sure if it’s resting. Oh, by the way, the old gentleman has a drone. If you know how to operate one, you could use it to take a look.

"If the cat is there, you can go up. If not... who knows where it might have run off to. The old gentleman previously used the drone to deliver food and water to the kitty.

"So, the little thing should be in decent health."

Vivian felt a bit relieved. This old gentleman was quite impressive.

A few minutes later, the housekeeper brought out the drone. Eleanor, who knew how to operate it, immediately flew the device upward to check the situation on the roof.

As she controlled the drone, Eleanor turned to Vivian with a smile and teased, "Was it a drone that Julian used to shower you with rose petals that night?

"It was so beautiful! Ugh, it’s such a shame I wasn’t there in person. I only got to watch the videos online!"

Vivian was momentarily speechless. She hadn’t expected Eleanor to suddenly bring this up. Thinking of the ambiguous relationship she currently shared with Julian, Vivian replied, "Yeah, it was a drone.

"That night... to be honest, I never expected him to prepare all of that. It was a huge surprise, but also very romantic. Alright, stop envying me.

"Isn’t Caleb Quinn constantly pursuing you? Every time he visits you at the shop, he must bring you things, right?"

At the mention of Caleb, the smile on Eleanor’s face faded slightly. She answered, "Yes, he does bring me things.

"It’s just... Vivian, I don’t like Caleb. I’ve already told him he doesn’t need to be so nice to me anymore. We can be friends, but we can’t be a couple.

"If he wants to work part-time at the pet hospital, I’d welcome him with open arms. But as for anything else... Vivian, I just don’t want to think about those things right now."

Eleanor looked somewhat melancholy.

Vivian was a bit surprised. Caleb had chosen to confess his feelings to Eleanor just a few days ago. Before doing so, he had specifically asked Vivian what Eleanor liked. Vivian had told him everything in detail, and given Caleb’s grounded and reliable nature, he would have definitely prepared everything meticulously.

Caleb didn’t come from a wealthy background and usually had to rely on part-time jobs to earn his tuition fees, but he was incredibly sincere when it came to Eleanor.

In Vivian’s view, there was a stark difference between a man with a hundred dollars who was willing to spend ten on you, and a man with only ten dollars who was willing to give you his all.

However, society was also very realistic. There was a highly thought-provoking line from a TV show Vivian had watched in the past: *"If you have no money, what’s the use of being handsome, charming, and multitalented? If you have no money, how can you enjoy romance? If you have no money, your greatest love is money—it takes first place, so how could your love ever reach me?"*

Of course, Vivian knew that Eleanor didn’t care about such things. And Caleb, as a student at Aethelburg University with a strong possibility of being recommended for graduate school, wouldn’t have a bad future. With enough effort, someone like him could certainly provide Eleanor with a good life.

It was just that Eleanor didn’t like him. There was no helping it.

Vivian had always known that Eleanor preferred men who appeared aloof and had slightly dominant personalities, yet didn’t lack gentleness. Ideally, they would be a bit older than her, mature, and dependable.

Henry Sterling was exactly this kind of man. Not only did he flawlessly meet every single criterion, but he was also handsome, and his family background was comparable to Eleanor’s. They were virtually a perfect match in social standing.

It was just that right now, Henry...

Vivian hadn’t kept up with news about Henry recently, so she had no idea if there had been any progress in his past situation with that woman, Anna Adler.

Both Vivian and Eleanor were lost in their own extensive thoughts, zoning out for a moment.

It was the housekeeper beside them, who had been staring intently at the display screen for quite a while, who finally broke the silence. "Why does it seem like it’s no longer on the roof?" she asked in confusion.

Prompted by the housekeeper’s words, Vivian also began to seriously inspect the electronic screen. Eleanor had flown the drone in a full circle above the roof, meticulously checking even the obstructed little corners, but there truly was no sign of the kitty.

Vivian couldn’t help but frown. She pointed out several possible hiding spots for the cat, but it still yielded no results.

"Did the kitty run down on its own?"

Vivian looked up at the three-story height, a little worried. Although it was said that "a cat has nine lives" and cats were skilled at jumping, this was extremely high. If it had jumped down, it was highly likely to have gotten hurt. However, as Vivian scanned their surroundings, she didn’t spot any injured kitty. She had no idea where the little thing could have run off to.

"What do we do now?" Eleanor felt a bit disheartened. Was their cat-catching mission today destined to fail?

Vivian didn’t have any better ideas, so she suggested, "You keep operating the drone to scout around here, and I’ll take a walk through the garden.

"Let’s see if it jumped down and ran off to hide in some other corner."

"Okay." Eleanor nodded and continued to monitor the drone’s feed.

Vivian turned around, preparing to thoroughly search the garden for the kitty’s whereabouts.

Right at that moment, a cat’s meow sounded from the grape trellis beside her.

"MEOW."

It was a soft, milky little cry.

The instant Vivian heard it, she felt her heart melt and skip a beat. Eleanor reacted quickly as well, bringing over a ladder for Vivian to climb up and investigate.

The grape trellis was about two meters tall. Vivian’s ladder was quite tall and could extend to a height of five or six meters. She adjusted it, leaned it securely against the side of the trellis, and instructed, "Eleanor, keep an eye on the surroundings.

"If the kitty is up there, it might jump down later. Block off any spots where it could potentially escape. We need to play it safe!"

"Got it!" Eleanor immediately agreed. The housekeeper stood nearby with her fists clenched, watching closely and ready to assist at a moment’s notice.

Vivian climbed the trellis with extreme caution, terrified of startling the little cat perched atop the frame.

But to her surprise, when the kitty noticed the movement nearby, it didn’t seem frightened in the slightest. It merely turned its head and looked over.

The kitty was actually eating the grapes on the trellis!

*It can’t eat those!* Vivian’s heart raced wildly. Cats could not eat grapes; they were toxic to them and would place a massive burden on their liver. For a very young kitten, eating just a few grapes could even prove fatal!

This one...

Seeing the little cat’s pinkish-purple mouth, Vivian knew it had definitely eaten some.

"Be a good baby, stop eating that. Let’s go down, and I’ll give you some freeze-dried chicken, okay? Or beef, if you prefer, maybe with a side of egg?"

Vivian began to coax the little kitty with sweet promises.

The kitten stopped eating the grapes and looked at her with curiosity.