Bankrupt Old Lady

After several days, when Xia Yu returned to the body of the white cat, he still felt a bit unaccustomed.

He crawled out of the soft cat bed and ran two laps around the bedroom to get used to the cat's body.

Hearing the movements in the room, a group of maids came in. Some of them washed Xia Yu's face, some smoothed his fur, and some placed a litter box for him.

Kicking the litter box away, Xia Yu was not prepared to do this kind of thing in front of everyone.

Yawning, he let the maids clean him up. After eating cat food and drinking cat milk, he left the room and began wandering around the villa.

He was not idling but looking for Elma and Tina.

On the third floor, Xia Yu found both Elma and Tina in the study.

They were talking, and when Elma heard the door open, she looked over and relaxed after seeing Xia Yu.

"Meow," Xia Yu acted cute, closed the door, jumped onto the desk, and openly listened to their conversation.

"Tina, I hid something underground at our old home. When you grow up and can go out by yourself, you can go and fetch it," Elma said with a smile on her face but without happiness in her words.

"Grandma?" Tina became worried as she sensed something was wrong with Elma's emotions.

"It's all right, don't panic if you encounter any problems." Picking up Xia Yu, Elma put him in Tina's arms, "Just remember that there is a gift for you under our old home. Wait until you grow up to get it."

Erma patted Tina's head and gently pushed her "Alright, go play with the kitten."

Lying in Tina's arms, Xia Yu watched Elma carefully. The old lady didn't even call for the cat, indicating that there was a significant problem. Probably in a few days, something would happen.

Once Xia Yu confirmed that something would happen, the anxiety in his heart disappeared. The psychic hint would stop once he was aware of it.

Elma had brought this upon herself while Tina suffered.

Licking the girl's face, Xia Yu comforted her.

"Giggle," Tina happily lifted Xia Yu up high.

The two of them played on the grass behind the villa.

Sooner than Xia Yu had predicted, by noon, a police car entered the villa.

Three officers got out of the car and headed upstairs.

Tina nervously held Xia Yu as he broke free from the girl's arm, following the officers.

With no alert given to a cat, Xia Yu easily followed them to the scene.

"Madam, you're really amazing," the white officer in charge said to Elma, who was sitting on the sofa.

Elma's face was pale: "I can tell you where I hid Elma, but I have a condition."

Elma said she hid Elma? A knot appeared in Xia Yu's mind.

A second later, the knot unraveled, and Xia Yu understood the situation. The old lady was not actually Elma; she had been impersonating her.

"No need, we've already saved the real Mrs. Elma," the officer handcuffed the old lady, "Now just wait to spend the rest of your life in prison!"

"What will happen to my granddaughter?" Elma asked.

"We will contact your relatives. If someone is willing to adopt you, you will be sent there. If no one is willing to adopt you, we will send you to the welfare home." The speaker was another black police officer.

Compared to the white police officer who took the lead, the black police officer appeared to be much friendlier because he admired the old lady.

He said, "You are a very bold gambler. No one knows Alama in the second district, and you look similar to her. After you presented the proof, no one doubted you!"

"However, the computer will tell us when we've made a mistake." The white police officer said.

"It's a pity it's not the right time. If it were the last century, this would have been a perfect crime!" The black police officer marveled.

Thanks to the lenient rules of the second district police officers, Xia Yu was able to piece together what had happened from their conversation.

The old lady, who met a person who resembled her and had complete proof, came to the second district to inherit property as Alama. She took the opportunity to pose as Alama by stealthily switching places.

Just as the black police officer said, if it were the last century, the old lady might have never been discovered.

But reality has no "ifs."

The two white police officers took Alama away, while the black police officer stayed behind because he had other business to attend to.

Another twenty minutes passed, and a bus arrived at the villa. A group of professionals got off and began inspecting the things inside the villa.

They needed to find out how much money the old lady had lost.

Not interested in following them, Xia Yu went to Tina's side to comfort the girl.

Tina understood what had happened but didn't cry or make a fuss; she just stood on the lawn and watched the staff inspect the villa.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, another car stopped in front of the villa.

Two young people got off, greeted the black police officer, and approached Tina.

They were planning to take Tina to the welfare home first.

"Hello, are you Tina?" The young woman tried to communicate with Tina, but Tina didn't say a word.

She just hugged Xia Yu in her arms.

After a few more attempts without success, the two young people gave up on communication and forced Tina into the car.

"Wait a minute!" An old man came out from the house, "Leave the cat behind. This cat is Mrs. Alama's property."

The old man approached Tina and stretched out his hand to her.

As soon as he began talking, Xia Yu was prepared to run away—after all, how could a person possibly catch a cat?

However, Tina held him too tightly, and he couldn't break free.

The old man pried Tina's hand open and grabbed Xia Yu.

The moment he was touched, Xia Yu felt a sense of danger in his heart.

He couldn't stay here; it would be dangerous!

He tried to break free, but the old man grabbed the scruff of his neck, so Xia Yu could only attack the man's arm.

With sleeves and gloves in the way, the attack was ineffective.

Another person came out of the house, carrying a cage in his hands.

Once inside the cage, it would be difficult to escape.

Feeling an even greater sense of danger, Xia Yu continued to struggle while calmly considering what to do.

From the danger he sensed, he was afraid that the real Alama might not be a person who was tolerant towards pets.

There was no other option for now, so he must enter the cage first, right?

Xia Yu looked at the cage again. It was a cage with a lock, and although he could open the latch, he couldn't open the lock.

At this moment, seeing Xia Yu struggling, Tina grabbed the old man's hand.

"Let go!" The old man shook his arm and pushed Tina to the side.

The girl fell to the ground.

"My god, what are you doing!" A black police officer ran over. "You bastard, give her the cat! It's just a cat!"

The old man glanced at the black police officer, put Xia Yu on the ground, and left with his subordinates.

Shaking off his fur, Xia Yu glanced at the black police officer.

Although this black man probably helped because of his hatred for the rich, the outcome was indeed helpful. Who knows what kind of results would be suggested by that sense of crisis.

He would repay him if there was a chance in the future.

Following the two young people, Xia Yu and Tina arrived at the welfare institution on the edge of the city.

"The two ladies in the welfare institution are very nice, but be careful with those little rascals. Don't play in places where there aren't any ladies around," the young woman reminded Tina.

P.S.: The old lady's incident was adapted from the short story "The Big Bet" in Hitchcock's suspense story collection.