Chapter 170: Cecilia

When Andrew brought the warmed chicken soup back to the bedroom, the bedroom light was already blazing brightly, and Scarlett was sitting up in bed, wrapped in the quilt with a tense expression.

"Um... Teacher, what are you doing?"

Andrew looked at Scarlett’s state and couldn’t help but ask.

"I’m scared... scared there are cockroaches here too."

"There aren’t any, Teacher, don’t worry. Upstairs, Grandmother cleans almost every day. If there are any downstairs, there’s no other way around it. You can’t keep the first floor of a country house completely clean."

Even though Andrew had comforted her like this, Scarlett was still a little uneasy and scared.

Whenever there was even the slightest noise, she would whip her head around like a startled little rabbit.

It made Andrew feel both amused and somewhat speechless.

He really hadn’t expected that Scarlett, who feared nothing in the world, was actually afraid of small things like cockroaches.

It seemed that normal girls were all afraid of bugs like cockroaches and mice.

Andrew’s Older Sister, Catherine, didn’t count as a normal woman.

Or perhaps she wasn’t even human.

Andrew sat down by the bed and handed the warmed chicken soup to Scarlett.

"Teacher, eat your late-night snack first."

"Oh... oh."

Upon smelling the fragrant chicken soup, Scarlett’s tense and fearful mood eased considerably. She picked up a chicken leg and took a bite.

Andrew reached for the bedside cabinet drawer to pull out a tissue to wipe his hands.

However, the rustling sound of him pulling out the tissue startled Scarlett so badly that she jumped.

"What was that sound?!"

Scarlett held her bowl and continued chewing, but her eyes nervously scanned the surroundings.

She looked just like a hamster secretly eating something while constantly worrying about being discovered—scared, yet unwilling to stop eating.

"There’s no sound?"

Andrew looked around, completely bewildered, holding the tissue in his hand.

He hadn’t heard any sound nearby.

But Scarlett insisted that she had definitely heard something.

"Yes! There was a very faint rustling sound just now, just like a mouse hiding in a dark corner and gnawing on something."

"???"

Andrew was left with a head full of question marks.

"Where would there be mice? There aren’t even any gaps in my room."

Andrew searched everywhere but couldn’t find anywhere a mouse could hide.

"But I definitely heard a rustling sound."

Andrew thought for a long while before finally realizing what she meant. He pulled out another tissue.

"Could it be this sound?"

Scarlett stared blankly for a moment, then nodded.

"It seems like it."

"Hey, Teacher, just eat without worrying. There are no mice or cockroaches upstairs. Grandmother’s Cecilia is very fierce."

"Cecilia?"

Scarlett blinked her big eyes and looked at Andrew doubtfully.

"It’s a striped cat. It’s called Cecilia because it fights every day."

"You have a cat at home? Why haven’t I seen it?"

Scarlett hadn’t seen the cat all day, which didn’t surprise Andrew at all.

"It must have gone to bully the fat orange cat next door again."

"..."

With Andrew’s company and conversation, Scarlett was no longer so frightened. After finishing her late-night snack, the two turned off the lights and got back into bed.

In the pitch-black room, the two snuggled tightly together again.

"Can you sleep on your stomach?"

"Why do you want me to sleep on my stomach?" Andrew looked at Scarlett doubtfully beneath the covers.

"I just want to lie on top of you while I sleep."

"Alright, then."

Andrew didn’t know why Scarlett had such a strange request.

And this way, he couldn’t hug Scarlett.

But since Scarlett wanted it, he agreed. The two chatted a little longer before falling asleep.

...

The next day, when they woke up, it was already lunchtime.

Scarlett sat next to Andrew, but her appetite was clearly not as good as it had been the day before.

The cockroach from the previous night kept flashing through Scarlett’s mind, making her feel a little jumpy as soon as she reached the first floor.

If there weren’t so many people around, she would have wanted to sit on Andrew’s lap while eating.

"Little Scar, what’s wrong? Does lunch not suit your taste?"

Andrew’s mother, Alexa, looked at Scarlett’s expression and couldn’t help but ask.

She knew Scarlett didn’t have many preferences and was mainly interested in delicious food. In this state, either the food wasn’t to her liking, or something was bothering her.

"No... no, everything tastes quite good," Scarlett quickly replied. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Hearing this, Alexa nodded and didn’t ask any further. Instead, she glared at her son, Andrew, silently asking with her eyes whether he had upset Scarlett.

Andrew immediately shook his head repeatedly, denying that he had done anything.

After lunch, Alexa quietly pulled Andrew aside and asked him, "What’s wrong with Little Scar? Did she encounter something unpleasant again? Why isn’t she eating properly?"

Alexa believed that Andrew definitely wouldn’t upset Scarlett, but Scarlett had clearly had something on her mind during lunch.

"Mom! Nothing is wrong. It’s just that Scarlett is afraid of cockroaches and mice, and last night..."

Andrew recounted the events of the previous night to his mother. Alexa nodded after listening.

"I see. No wonder. But country cockroaches are hard to get rid of completely. However, there definitely aren’t any mice. They were probably all eaten by that striped cat."

"I told Scarlett that too, but she’s just a little scared," Andrew said helplessly.

"Then you should comfort her more. Take her to do something else and distract her. Wouldn’t that work?"

"I was just about to do that when you pulled me over."

"Hey! Are you blaming me now?"

Andrew immediately denied it.

"How would I dare blame my wise, mighty, peerless, all-capable Mother who can manage both the living room and the kitchen?"

Just as he finished speaking, a commotion suddenly arose from the main entrance, drawing the attention of Scarlett, who was sitting on a stool.

A robust striped cat darted into the house like lightning, swiftly passing under Andrew’s grandmother’s feet and even knocking over the food bowl of the yellow dog that was eating, making a loud clattering sound.

The yellow dog seemed completely used to it. After its bowl was knocked over, it simply continued eating.

"Oh dear! This darn cat, always making a racket. It can’t even settle down for the New Year."

Andrew’s grandmother cursed helplessly, then walked over to the yellow dog and began picking up the leftover food scattered on the ground.

The next moment, the striped cat that had just dashed out of the backyard suddenly bolted back inside, rushing around the first floor. No one knew what it was trying to do.

Andrew’s grandmother couldn’t even catch it.

"Darn cat! Get over here!"

Just as the striped cat was about to dash around again, it was suddenly grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air by a hand.

"Meow!!!"

The striped cat let out a loud cry and struggled furiously.

However, it was then held by Scarlett and brought in front of her.

Looking at the beautiful yet cold face radiating intense killing intent, the striped cat instantly quieted down.

"So you’re the one called Cecilia?"

"Meow~~~"