The mention of that name made Wei feel as if lightning struck him. Shock couldn't even describe what he felt at this moment. His feelings were all a mess and mixture of shock, fear, panic and disbelief. His heart jumped in his chest, hearing that question. His expression from happiness and bliss turned into something lifeless and bleak.

"...What?" He swallowed his saliva.

"Lihua. Who is this person?" She questioningly touched her chin.

A thousand questions ran in his mind like a bullet train.

How does she know about Lihua?

Where did she hear it?

Was she beginning to recover her memories?

Was he in trouble?

Was he exposed?

Was this the end?

He could hear his heart loudly drumming in his chest. He panicked hard and didn't know what to say.

"Lihua... where did you hear about it?" Wei slowly asked, trying hard to calm down. First, he wanted to know the source. Then he would make sure that that source would never open his mouth again.

Better that I cut his tongue off.

"Oh! You were mumbling her name in your sleep last night."

"..."

He froze and his eyes widened.

I did?

He felt speechless to realize that he was the cause of his own doom. While asleep and drunk, people usually spilled out the truth.

He cursed himself.

It is my fault.

Now what? Was he supposed to cut off his own tongue?

He pursed his lips.

Lihua said, "So, so! Who is this Lihua? You were mumbling her name so sweetly."

He felt tongue-tied.

What should I say?

Lihua decided to tease him a bit. She wore a heartbroken expression on her face and sniffled. "Wei...is it possible that you are cheating on me?"

His mouth opened in a big O in disbelief.

She wiped the corner of her eye. "I am your wife, yet I hear some other woman's name from your lips. What will I do now? I cannot live with a cheater...will I have to leave you?"

"No, no!" He anxiously pulled her into his arms. His face had turned pale, seeing her hurt. "I am not cheating on you. I will never betray you. In my heart, there is only you."

"But not on your lips…" she dramatically wiped her eyes again.

He gulped.

From her perspective, she was right to question him. But how was he supposed to defend himself?

Lihua was herself, but he couldn't reveal that to her. Whether Lihua or Lixue, it was only her in his dream and on his lips.

"Lihua...she…"

Her ears perked up to hear his answer.

"She is…"

"Yes…? Who is Lihua? If she is some other woman then how can I…" she covered her mouth in 'sadness' that would have definitely given her an award for her acting skills.

"Cat."

"Huh?" She looked at him dumbfounded.

"Huh?" Wei looked at her in return, apparently dumbfounded as well.

"Cat?" She blinked her eyes.

Wei snapped out of his stupor. As he was thinking of a way to explain himself to her, his sight fell onto his laptop on which he was working while Lihua was taking a shower.

The locked screen wallpaper was a picture of an adorable cat family. And that's when it came out of his mouth.

Wei looked at her and dazedly nodded. "Cat."

"Lihua…is a cat?"

The pain that he felt for turning his lovely, breathing and human wife into an animal was immeasurable. At that moment, he truly wished to shoot himself in the head for this blasphemy.

"Y-Yes... Lihua is my cat's name," Wei blankly said. The expression on his face was totally opposite to the storm that plagued his heart.

She stared at him. "You have a cat?"

He cleared his throat. "Yes. I-I was missing Lihua - my cat. That's why I might have uttered her name in my sleep."

There was a short pause after which the dumbstruck look on her face changed. She beamed.

"You have a cat!" She got up in excitement like a little child taking his favorite ride in the park.

Wei was taken aback.

Why is she looking so happy?

"Aww, you have a pet?" Her eyes sparkled and glittered like a star. "That's so cute!" She exclaimed in pure bliss.

He cautiously observed her and realized that she didn't doubt him. He lied point-blank, but it seemed that she believed it.

She shook his arm eagerly. "Where is the cat? I want to see her! Aww, it's so cute to have a furry friend in the family. Where is she? I didn't see her in this house anywhere all this time."

Wei stiffened.

That was a good question.

He successfully saved himself but landed into another trouble.

From where was he supposed to bring a cat? What new excuse was he supposed to give about that cat's absence until now?

"She…" he stuttered.

"Yes, yes? Tell me. You have a cat, but why didn't I see her before?"

"...is sick."

"Sick?"

Wei quickly thought about it.

Cat, cat, cat, cat... Mingshen…

His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered it.

Mingshen! He has a cat!

"Yes, Lihua is sick and with Mingshen."

The human Lihua felt heartbroken. "What? Our furry friend is sick?" Her shoulders drooped in sadness. Then she frowned. "But wait. With Mingshen? Isn't he a human doctor? When did he become a veterinarian?"

His mouth twitched.

He was falling deeper and deeper into trouble.

"Um...he is actually a good veterinarian too. He is multi-talented."

He had never imagined that the morning after his sweet night with Lihua would turn out to be so dark and full of lies.

"Oh…" she nodded. Then she quickly asked, "What happened to Lihua? Is she okay now?" She was concerned.

"I guess?"

"Huh? You guess? You don't know?" She furrowed her brows.

"I mean yes," he quickly said. "She is fine now."

She clapped her hands once and brightly smiled. "That's great! Then after shopping, why don't we meet Lihua at Mingshen's home? We will pick her up and bring her back to the Jiang villa here haha!"

****

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