Ugh, wasn't the Awakening System supposed to make me the main character?

187. Prequel (Part 1)

(This chapter is a prequel, meow~)

In the evening, Xiao Guiye, who had just been dismissed from kindergarten, was walking home. She watched as the other children smiled when their parents came to pick them up. Xiao Guiye, who was all alone, felt very envious, but could only sigh helplessly.

It's not that Xiao Guiye's parents are neglecting their children's education, but rather that the recent birth of Xiao Guiye's younger sister, Xiao Guiyue, has caused the whole family to revolve around their mother and the newborn sister.

And it is precisely because of this that our poor little Guiye is neglected, and sometimes no one comes to pick him up after school.

Fortunately, even so, Xiao Guiye won't always be alone, because there is another person like Xiao Guiye who doesn't have parents to pick him up, and right now Guiye is standing at the kindergarten gate waiting for that child.

Soon, a little girl waved her hand and ran excitedly toward Guiye.

"It's late, I'm out of school! Hehehe~~~~"

The wind from running ruffled the little girl's hair, but she didn't care much and continued running excitedly toward Guiyue.

The girl's name was Xu Liya, and she was one of Gui Ye's few friends.

The girl's parents were relatively wealthy businessmen, and because of this, they were always busy with work, leaving poor Xu Liya to live alone year after year.

Besides being businessmen, the girl's parents are also the landlords of the house that Guiye's family is currently renting.

Because Guiyue's parents are still young and have just started working hard, their impoverished family can only squeeze into a small rented room.

The two lived not far apart, so they went home together every day.

Despite the significant class difference between their families, the two little ones became good friends.

Seeing Xu Liya running towards her, Gui Ye waved her little hand excitedly, extremely happy.

"My parents aren't home today either, why don't we come to my house to see Xiaomi?"

Upon arriving at Xiao Guiye's side, Xiao Xu Yali extended a generous invitation.

Xiao Guiye knew that the Xiaomi that Xiao Xuliya had just mentioned was her cat.

Although it was her cat, it was actually found by Xiao Guiye and Xiao Xuliya while they were playing in the neighborhood. At that time, the kitten was on the verge of death, and it was only through their careful care that it was saved.

Because Gui Ye's rented room was too small, Xiao Mi was eventually adopted by Xu Liya's family. Every day after school, as long as Xu Liya's parents were not home, she would bring Gui Ye to her house, and the two of them would play with Xiao Mi.

This time, Gui Ye happily accepted Xu Liya's invitation, just like always.

"Okay, let's feed Xiaomi together then!"

"Okay!! Let's go back quickly!" Xu Liya nodded, and the two little cuties went home together.

On the way back, the two, who had a stressful day at kindergarten, opened up to each other and chatted freely about all sorts of things, from sharing the interesting things that happened at kindergarten to complaining about their parents.

Soon, the two arrived at Xu Liya's house.

As the young mistress of the house, Xu Liya opened the door first. After seeing that no one was inside, she beckoned to Gui Ye, who then came over.

"Guiye, no one's home. Come in quickly."

Upon hearing this, Gui Ye finally relaxed and moved closer to Xu Liya.

As for why this was the case, it was because Xu Liya's parents were very unreasonable people, and they did not allow Xu Liya to bring her friends in.

As the landlords, Xu Liya's parents knew about Gui Ye's family's poverty and looked down on them to some extent, so they were even more reluctant to let Gui Ye go to their house.

Therefore, Xiao Xu Liya could only bring Gui Ye over when her parents were not around. However, because Xu Liya's parents were very busy, Gui Ye could visit at least six days a week.

Pleasant times always pass too quickly, and this time spent playing together soon came to an end.

Even though Gui Ye wanted to stay a little longer, he had to go back because Xu Liya's parents would be home from get off work soon, and it would be troublesome if they found out that Gui Ye was at home.

Goodbye, let's play together again tomorrow!

"Okay, goodbye, be careful on your way back."

"Okay, see you tomorrow!"

"Bye~"

After saying goodbye to Guiye, Xu Liya took Xiaomi back to her room.

She sat at her desk looking at her children's drawing book, while Xiaomi dozed off to the side.

However, Xu Liya's parents returned soon after.

Hearing the noise outside the door, young Xu Liya quickly hid Xiaomi under the covers.

It's not that Xu Liya's parents didn't notice Xiaomi's existence after all this time, but rather that every time they saw Xiaomi, they would say how bad the cat was and that it should be thrown away.

But as Xiaomi's owner, wouldn't Xu Liya know whether it's good or bad?

However, under Xu Liya's insistence, Xiaomi stayed, but she also knew that she should try to avoid her parents seeing Xiaomi in the future.

Xu Liya had only hidden Xiaomi under the covers for a short while when the door was opened after someone knocked. It was Xu Liya's parents who opened the door.

Xu Liya used to be frightened by this sudden situation, but even after talking to her parents, it didn't help, and she eventually got used to it.

"Liya, how did you behave at kindergarten today? Were you naughty?"

When asked by Xu Liya's mother, Xu Liya said she was already used to it. They only cared about how well they performed in kindergarten, never about whether Xu Liya was happy or how she felt.

"I wasn't criticized, nor did I receive a big red flower."

Xu Liya answered calmly, her tone completely different from when she was sharing with Guiyue.

Upon hearing this, the father replied without much thought.

"Didn't get the big red flower? That won't do."

Xu Liya was a little angry that her father dismissed her without understanding the reason, but she didn't show it. Instead, she explained to them.

"Because all the big red flower stickers have been given out, and I don't have any left, even though I did have some."

Also, you've all worked so long and must be tired, why don't you get some rest?

Hearing Xu Liya's explanation, Xu Liya's father was very pleased and went to Xu Liya's side.

"Come here, my daughter is so wonderful and so sensible. Let Daddy give her a hug."

Xu Liya understood that her father said that only because she had said she originally had a big red flower. Therefore, little Xu Liya was very resistant to her father's approach and subconsciously pushed him away.

This caused Xu Liya's father to involuntarily step back, and eventually, subconsciously, sit on Xu Liya's bed.

The kitten, hiding under the covers, had its tail pinned down and let out a loud meow, "Meow!!!"

It’s over, it’s over…

Young Xu Liya clenched her little hands tightly, not knowing what to do for a moment...

188. Prequel (Part 2)

Noticing the movement under the covers, Xu Liya's father immediately lifted the covers and saw Xiaomi lying helplessly on the bed, looking extremely weak as if she were sick.

The parents didn't support Xu Liya raising Xiaomi in the first place, and they were still a bit angry after being pushed by Xu Liya. Now, seeing Xiaomi looking so sickly, the father immediately pointed at Xiaomi and said...

"Xu Yali, didn't I tell you long ago? You can't keep a cat that you picked up from the wild. Now it's so sick, you should throw it away right away!"

Xu Liya's mind went blank upon seeing this scene; the young girl didn't know how to deal with the situation.

Although Xiaomi was rescued, her health has never been very good, and she often ends up like this. This time, Xu Liya's parents happened to see her.

Xiaomi was rescued by her and Guiye together. If she were to be abandoned now, how would she explain it to Guiye the next day?

"Well, Xiaomi's just a little sick, I'll take care of her, it's okay!"

Hearing her father say this, Xu Liya, who had just come to her senses, hurriedly tried to snatch Xiaomi from her father's hands. However, under the pressure of the height and strength difference, how could the young Xu Liya possibly be a match for her father?

Dad grabbed Xiaomi and took her out the door. The sickly Xiaomi tried her best to break free from Dad's grasp, but in the end, she failed.

Not only that, Xiaomi's struggles also aroused her father's irritation, and without saying a word, he slapped Xiaomi hard across the face.

"How dare a dead cat move?"

"Woo!"

This scene was heartbreaking for Xu Liya, who had been taking such good care of Xiaomi for so long. She wanted to stop her father, but was stopped by her mother.

"Liya, be good."

"But it's Xiao Mi!"

"Well, it's not good for the cat to stay sick at home. Let's take it to the vet. It's better than letting it linger here, right?"

"I want to go too!!"

"No, you need to get ready for bed!"

Her mother's voice was much sterner than before. Xu Liya knew that if she went on this trip, she would definitely come back very late, so she had no choice but to compromise.

"All right……"

Xu Liya sat back on the bed, her eyes filled with confusion.

She didn't know if her parents would actually take her kitten to the vet, but she could only pin her hopes on that possibility.

After all, even if they tried to snatch it, they couldn't get Xiaomi back from her parents now.

Xu Liya waited anxiously, and after about ten minutes, the door opened again; her father had returned.

The father returned just over ten minutes later, and he wasn't holding Xiaomi in his arms.