Aya was crouching down while hugging her pet cat.

The heavy rain made it hard to see beyond a few meters, and the cold wind felt very uncomfortable against the skin.

Her clothes were completely drenched, and her hands were trembling slightly. Aya didn’t have more option but hug Lily tightly to share the little bit of heat between them.

“It’s your fault, Lily.” Aya mumbled softly with her face on Lily’s fur. “I told you that it was going to rain, but you insisted on searching for more food…”

The silver cat moved its ears slightly to catch its owner’s voice among the pitter-patter noises, and meowed listlessly in answer.

“… Yeah, I’m also hungry.”

For a moment, Aya wondered if the world hated her. She was abandoned by her parents, the caretakers in the orphanage did beat her, and the people in the streets always treated her like a plague, or tried to take advantage of her.

Of course, she would find a kind soul from time in time, but it wasn’t as if she could depend on them. They at most made her life a bit easier for a while.

And now, she was cold, drenched and hungry.

She even had to fight to suppress her tears.

“At least you are with me…”

"Meow..." Lily meowed softly in answer.

At that moment, Aya heard the door of the house, where she was hiding from the rain, opening.

Her first thought was that someone came to kick her out. It was not the first time that something like that happened after all.

However, a calm and firm male voice spoke instead. “Hey girl, do you want to come inside?”

Aya put a surprised expression. Nobody in this time and age invites a stranger to his house under normal circumstances; so Aya first thought was that the youth had wicked intentions with his proposal.

“Hurry up.” He sighed again. “It’s cold here.”

Strangely, though, she noticed that, though the youth wasn’t shouting, she could hear his voice clearly, and she found that his voice was a little familiar. She briefly wondered if it was a result of her imagination.

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However, she didn’t dwell on it for long; instead, she considered if it was better to go to another place.

Though Aya grew in the streets, she knew that she was beautiful. Though she wasn’t stunning and her body was a bit undeveloped, her silver hair and blue eyes easily attracted the attention of the opposite sex.

It had caused a fair share of troubles in her life, so she didn’t think that it was a good idea to enter inside a stranger’s house. Who could know what was the youth’s intentions inviting her in?

He, however, seemed to notice her hesitation, because when he spoke again, he sounded a bit irritated.

“Are you coming or not? I don’t plan to catch a cold while waiting for– ”

“Brother!” A sweet, and a little angry, voice came from inside the house. “That is not the correct way to invite a guest!”

Aya’s expression turned to one of surprise when she heard the girl’s voice.

“Hey!!!” Shouted the girl so Aya could hear. “Do you remember me!? I’m the girl of the crepe!”

“Meow?” Lily ears immediately perked up when she heard that.

Aya recognized her, she was the kind girl who gave her a crepe a day ago. She remembered that they were chased by a crazed man and then rescued by her brother who appeared suddenly.

Claire immediately waved her hand once she felt that the girl recognized her. “Hurry up! You will catch a cold like that!”

Aya hesitated slightly about entering, but when she saw the girl’s encouraging expression and the youth’s helpless face, she finally conceded.

Hugging Lily tightly, she ran towards the door and entered inside.

Aleen immediately closed the door behind her. Seeing the girl completely drenched, he sighed softly.

“What a mess… Claire, get some clean clothes for our guest, it would be bad if she falls sick due to the cold. I will show her the bathroom.”

“Okay!” Claire went up to her room quickly with a small smile. Aleen shook his head helplessly and spoke to the silver-haired girl.

“Come with me, it’s better if you take a bath.”

Aya hesitated with a nervous expression and hugged the cat tighter. Aleen noticed it, though; so he smiled and distanced himself a bit to relieve her. “Don’t worry, we are not going to kill you or something like that. Consider it as our thanks for saving Claire’s life yesterday.”

“… I understand.” Aya nodded and replied softly.

Aleen only smiled and walked towards the bath, with the girl walking behind him. Once there, Aleen extended his hand and gestured for her to enter.

“You can use the warm water, and leave the cat behind if you want, I will get him something to eat."

Aya brought the silver cat closer to her and shook her head repeatedly, so Aleen could only raise his hands and give up.

He explained some things to Aya about the bath and indicated her to enter; Aya nodded without answering and made sure that the door was completely closed.

When she was sure that he wasn’t going to try to enter the bath, she leaned her back against the wall and gave a big sigh.

Looking at all the things inside the bath, she put a confused expression and spoke Lily.

“… Am I supposed to use the bathtub? How do we use it… Lily, have you taken a bath in a bathtub?”

“Meow?” The cat tilted its head confused.

“Is it so…?”

With another sigh, she struggled to fill the bathtub with warm water and used the soap. She then entered while hugging Lily. Lily struggled a little at the beginning, but because Aya bathed it each time she could, Lily calmed down quickly.

Once inside, she put her chin over Lily’s head and thought about the siblings outside.

“… They don’t seem bad people, huh…”