Casey was often the one to cook at home; he was always quick on his feet. Before Izabe could even tell him what to do, he already had everything washed and chopped; all Izabe had to do was toss them into the pot.


    Considering it was just the two of them, there was no need for anything fancy-a dish of meat, a dish of veggies, and a soup—that''s it.


    However, as it was gettingte, Izabe just casually cooked up a soup and a dish, and lunch was ready.


    "Could you set the table? I''ll be done in no time."


    The kitchen was small; if both of them moved around, it would be a bit crowded. Izabe turned on the range hood.


    "Where''s the cutlery?"


    "Here."


    Izabe pointed to a cab under the counter, which was filled with clean cutlery.


    Izabe''s cutlery cab was quite empty; she didn''t seem to n on having guests over for meals.


    Casey took out two spoons, two forks, and two bowls. He gave them a rinse in the sink, thenid them out on the table.


    He pulled out a small box from his pocket; inside was a custom-made cat cor with a tag.


    The cor had a tracking feature, just in case the cat got lost.


    Casey took out the cor and found Nikki, who was staring nkly at him.


    He slowly approached Nikki. Some cats didn''t like having things around their neck, and he wasn''t sure if Nikki would like the cor. He bought the cor because it was practical, he thought it looked nice, and the wording on the tag seemed perfect for the little guy.


    But if Nikki didn''t like it, he could change it.


    Casey sat down next to Nikki, meeting the feline''s gaze. He saw Nikki''s ears twitched, and he handed over the cor for Nikki to sniff.


    "This is for you; want to give it a try?"


    He wasn''t sure if cats could understand humans, but he felt Nikki could understand his intentions.


    Nikki looked at the cor in his hand and sniffed it curiously without showing any signs of dislike. Seeing this, Casey was relieved; he undid the cor and cooed, "Nikki, lean in; let me put this on for you." Nikki didn''t move.


    Casey didn''t want to force Nikki to wear the cor, so he continued coaxing, "If you wear this, I''ll give you a treat."


    Nikki still didn''t move.


    Scratching his head, Casey looked toward the kitchen. The kitchen door was made of ss, and he could vaguely see Izabe moving around inside.


    "This cor has a tracker on it; if you ever get lost, Be could find you with it. You''ll feel safe, and she''ll feel reassured. Plus, doesn''t this cor look great?"


    The cor was designed like a bow tie, and the tag was shaped like a fish. Apart from the engraved words, there was also contact information. Every time Izabe''s name was mentioned, Nikki''s eyes would involuntarily widen, her moist eyes looking like two blue ss balls.


    Casey gestured at the cat cor in his hand. This time, Nikki obediently leaned in.


    Carefully, Casey put on the cor, adjusted the size, and fastened it.


    He sure had a keen eye.Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    At this time, the meal was ready. Casey heard the kitchen door open; he saw Izabe carrying two dishes and said, "Come eat."


    Casey was on the couch ying with the cat when he heard Izabe. He carefully picked up Nikki and said, "Izabe, look!" He excitedly wanted to show Izabe the cat cor he bought.


    He looked like a grade-schooler who aced a test and was eager to show off his report card to his parents for praise.


    Izabe put down the dishes, looked at Casey, and then at Nikki, whom he was holding.


    "Did you buy this?" she asked.


    "Yep!" Casey nodded; his look seemed to be saying, "Aren''t you going to praise me?" Then he asked, "Pretty, isn''t it?"


    "It''s quite nice." The bow tie was a bit outdated, but Izabe didn''t want to burst his bubble when he was expecting praise. She looked at the tag on the cor. It must be pure gold. But that wasn''t the point, the point was the words engraved on it, which Izabe picked up the tag to read.


    Nikki had fish.


    Izabe''s eyes softened significantly; she remembered the words she told Nikki three years ago during the fire.


    If there was a next life, she would bring Nikki''s favorite little dried fish to find it.


    She did bring Nikki back, but Nikki''s injured throat could no longer enjoy its favorite dried fish.


    "It''s really pretty." Izabe''s voice was a little choked.


    She reached out to pet Nikki''s little head. Nikki seemed to sense her mood change; it meowed at her.


    "I installed a tracker on the cor, just in case Nikki gets lost." Casey exined.


    "Thank you; you''re really thoughtful;


    Nikki likes it. Izabe said. She didn''t worry about Nikki getting lost, as Nikki was always by her side, and Rachetwas there to take care of it.


    swne


    UMS


    Unless someone deliberately stole Nikki.


    The thought chilled Izabe to the bone. She was even more grateful for Casey''s gift; she hadn''t considered this before.


    After dinner, Casey and Izabe talked about work for a bit.


    Regarding the stock acquisition of X Entertainment, they now collectively owned 25% of the stocks, effectively making them the thirdrgest shareholder. These stocks hadn''t been consolidated yet, so no one noticed the intentional stock acquisition.


    "It''s not enough." Izabe looked down.


    "Of course it''s not enough; we need to wait for the right opportunity to make them go bankrupt, then buy them all at once." Casey replied.


    "Just be patient; we won''t have to wait long." She had a hunch that Kristin had a dirty secret; once this secret got out, X Entertainment would definitely be affected, and that would be their golden opportunity to


    Casey didn''t leave until after dinner. He considered staying the night, but given the uncertain rtionship between him and Izabe, he decided against it.


    buy.


    Izabe saw him go to the door, thene back and start scrolling through Twitter. Sure enough, when the night grewte, some people started stirring the pot. A gossip blogger had posted on Twitter.


    He wrote that on the set of a current historical drama, two big investors had been arguing over a supporting actress role, and even the Best Actor had gotten involved.


    Thement section started guessing who the supporting actress might be. Everyone spected about which recently aired historical drama it could be, going through all the possibilities. Until onement popped up.


    "Feels like it''s Blood Ties. If it''s about the supporting actress, why is Izabe the first one thates to mind?"


    Thisment was posted less than a minute ago, and the entire post got nuked.