Julian was holding Clementine at the meeting spot when he saw Vivienne approaching from a distance, accompanied by a handsome young man. The man was affectionately holding Vivienne’s arm, and they were chatting and laughing.

Julian’s heart sank, and Clementine seemed to sense something, squirming restlessly in his arms...

Julian froze on the spot, clutching Clementine as he watched the man beside Vivienne put an arm around her shoulder.

Clementine scratched restlessly at his sweatshirt, her claws snagging the yarn of his sleeve.

Forcing a smile, he tucked the cat into Vivienne’s arms and went back to his room without looking back.

He didn't understand why his heart had become such a mess.

He even felt a sense of dissatisfaction.

Vivienne called him, but after a moment's thought, he didn't pick up.

The next morning, a thin mist had settled outside.

Julian went downstairs to take out the trash as usual.

He saw Vivienne standing at the bottom of the steps.

She immediately walked over when she saw him, her palm clutching a velvet gift box. "I had to go to three stores to find the right one."

Julian stared at the slight redness of her nose, and his heart felt a bit better.

Inside the box was an exquisite silver ginkgo leaf, with silver threads winding through the veins to outline a cat's paw.

"I didn't have a chance to explain yesterday,"

The tips of Vivienne’s ears turned red. "The person at the airport was my cousin. He works at a jewelry store and was helping me pick out a style."

Julian didn't speak, but he noticed a photograph pressed under the lining of the gift box: Clementine wearing a pearl collar, with a matching necklace placed by her paw.

"I didn't mind."

He finally spoke slowly after a pause.

Although his tone was calm, the smile at the corner of his mouth could not be hidden.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of high heels clicking against the ground behind him. A familiar scent of rose perfume drifted over with the cold air: "Julian, I finally found you."

The blood in his body froze instantly. Scarlett was standing under the sycamore tree, her expression exactly the same as when she used to scold him in his memory.

Seeing the expressions of the two men, Vivienne wordlessly stepped in front of Julian to shield him.

"And who is this?"

He really hadn't expected her to find him so quickly, and even less expected to run into her here.

But since she had asked, he couldn't leave it unanswered.

"My legal foster mother."

"I am not your foster mother!"

The two spoke at the same time.

Scarlett’s expression became extremely grim, especially when she remembered the document she had seen.

Julian had changed his surname.

And he had done it entirely without her knowledge.

Vivienne chose to believe Julian. She stepped back a few paces, leaving a safe distance between them.

Scarlett gave her a deep look, her tone full of impatience.

"And who is she?"

"My friend."

It was a succinct description of their relationship, but Scarlett didn't believe it for a second.

Her gaze swept over the ID badge on her chest. "A veterinarian? Julian, this is your friend?"

Before she could finish, Clementine suddenly lunged from Vivienne’s arms, aiming precisely for Scarlett’s high heels.

"Clementine!"

Julian scrambled to catch the cat, but Vivienne was faster, scooping up the bristling orange cat and smoothing down its fur. "Stress response. My apologies."

Although the words were an apology, when she lowered her eyes, her gaze was as cold as an ice pick.

Ignoring everything else, Scarlett reached out to grab Julian’s wrist. "Come back with me."

Vivienne suddenly took hold of Julian’s cold fingertips.

"I don't know who you are to Julian, but you have no right to force him to do anything."

The sunlight filtered through her suddenly constricted pupils, reflecting Vivienne’s straight silhouette standing firmly in front of her.

The orange cat bristled in Julian’s arms, its amber eyes glaring at the woman in front of them as it let out a low growl.

"What does this have to do with you? Get out of the way!"

"Julian, I was wrong. Let’s go back home, alright?" Scarlett’s voice carried her usual air of brook-no-argument.

She reached out, wanting to touch Julian’s stray locks of hair, but he pulled away.

The movement caused a violent tremor in her heart.

"I’m not going back, and don't come here again," Julian said instinctively.

"Ma'am, harassment in a public place is a legal offense."

Vivienne’s words successfully incensed Scarlett. "What happens between him and me is none of an outsider’s business. Taking care of him is my responsibility."

"Responsibility?"

Julian suddenly let out a light laugh, his tone indifferent.

He held the bristling Clementine tighter and spoke slowly, "Scarlett, I am twenty-four years old. I can support myself, and more importantly, I can disappear completely when you feel like being 'responsible.'"

"So please, stop interfering with my life."

Scarlett reached out to grab his arm. "Don't be willful! You are all alone abroad—"

"I said, don't touch him."

Vivienne suddenly shielded Julian behind her, her tone laced with a hint of anger. She pulled her phone from her pocket, the screen unlocked and staying on the emergency call page. "If there is a next time, I won't mind letting the police teach you what 'boundaries' mean."

"Who do you think you are to him?"

The veins on Scarlett’s forehead bulged. She was so enraged she wanted to strike her, but Vivienne caught her wrist instead.

Vivienne looked down and straightened her wrinkled sleeve. "You don't need to know."

Watching the two of them turn to leave, Scarlett’s long-suppressed fury was completely ignited.

She rushed forward like a madwoman, clutching Julian’s shoulder in an attempt to make him stay.

Vivienne, standing by, gave her no chance. She reached out and grabbed Julian's arm.

Raising her other hand, she pushed the charging Scarlett directly to the ground.

Falling to the floor and seeing the two of them acting so intimately, Scarlett was livid.

Ignoring the scrapes on her knees, she stood up, wanting to start a fight.

Before she could strike, the apartment security guards, who had been observing for a while and saw things were going wrong, stepped forward and restrained her.

As Julian turned away, he heard suppressed cursing coming from behind him.

Vivienne followed him step by step. It wasn't until they turned into a convenience store that he noticed her palm bore scratches from Scarlett’s struggle.

"Does it hurt?"

He lifted her hand to look closely, but she clasped his fingertips in return.

"It doesn't hurt," Vivienne said, her voice thick.

"The way you were scolding her just now was even fiercer than when you trim Clementine’s nails."

She shook a newly opened cat treat, and the orange cat immediately leaned in, purring.

Julian looked at her eyes, crinkled with a smile, and felt his chest swell with a dull ache. He realized that the feeling of being firmly protected was this reassuring.

Under the orange glow of the streetlights, Vivienne stared at the scratches on her palm. "Is she the one who adopted you?"

Julian’s fingers tightened around the cat food can, and he eventually nodded.

The wind blew through the gaps of the automatic doors, carrying the scent of the corner coffee shop. A sudden silence fell between the two of them.

"I used to like her very much, but I don't anymore."

He spoke suddenly, his voice as light as a feather.

"The cat I had before was also a gift from her, but I’ve let go of it all now. She has someone she loves."

Vivienne leaned over to pick up the orange cat. She noticed his eyes were rimmed with red, yet he kept his head tilted up stubbornly.

She didn't ask anything else; after all, everyone has a past.

When she walked him to the apartment building, Vivienne suddenly tucked Clementine into his arms.

The kitten curled obediently in the crook of his arm, the ginkgo leaf bell at its neck jingling softly. "Keep her for now. She can't bear to be away from you."

Before Julian could answer, she turned and walked into the night.

Julian watched her figure disappear, lost in thought.

Over the next few days, Julian grew accustomed to being woken up by the orange cat stepping on him. While brushing her, he would always find strands of her fur in the blankets.

It wasn't until the evening of the fifth day, while he was carrying the cat to buy food, that he ran into Scarlett at the entrance of the complex.

The woman’s dress was wrinkled, and her eyes were bloodshot. "Julian, I’ve thought it through."

She reached out to grab his wrist, and Clementine immediately arched her back and hissed.

"I only just realized... the person I’ve always cared about is you."

Julian took a half-step back, the cat in his arms bristling warily.