Left Bank Garden
Steam rose in white tendrils, forming a barrier between the two individuals sitting opposite each other.
Shen Shuci scooped up Huo Chichi, who was sitting on her lap, and stroked its fur as it lay docilely; however, its beautiful cat eyes remained vigilantly fixed on the stranger across from them.
"The cat seems quite well-behaved," Elder Liang commented as he toyed with the paper cup filled with water in front of him, "We haven't seen each other for over a decade, have we?"
"Mm," Shen Shuci murmured noncommittally.
"Actually, after that, I'd inquired about you at the orphanage and heard you were adopted—though the specifics were tightly guarded and I could never find you... I never expected that they had taken you abroad."
"I remember the first time I saw you," he continued, gesturing slightly with his hand, "you were only about this big, weren't you?"
Shen Shuci continued to stroke the cat's fur. "You aren't here just to reminisce, are you?"
