My best friend wanted to adopt an injured kitten.

Seeing the cat’s unusual appearance, I suddenly recalled a state-protected animal called the manul. Its young resembled cats but were exceptionally ferocious.

So, I advised her against keeping it.

But my friend would not listen to me and brought it back to our rental apartment.

Unexpectedly, the manul seemed to understand human emotions and harbored a grudge against me.

Five years later, it suddenly burst into my home and killed my entire family.

I lunged to kill it, only to have my throat torn.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my best friend adopted the manul.

This time, I did not stop her from taking it in.

The bloodied manul lay sprawled in the flowerbed.

My best friend, Raines Grant, gently stroked its head.

“Molly, it’s hurt! Look how adorable it is! I’m taking it home to care for it.”

A crowd had gathered nearby, but no one dared approach.

Raines stared at me with a malicious look in her eyes.

She knew I was allergic to cat dander.

Seeing my lack of reaction, she pressed on. “It’s so pitiful! Molly, you wouldn’t just stand by and let it die, would you?”

I gave a cursory nod. “If you want to keep it, go ahead.”

Raines’ smile froze on her face.

Our neighbor, Jake, leaned in to advise me against keeping the manul. “This cat looks different from ordinary cats. It might not turn out well.”

I knew Jake meant well. He hoped I would refuse.

In my past life, I had done exactly that, only to end up with my family destroyed.

Thinking of all that happened before, my heart ached.

This time around, I absolutely would not meddle in someone else’s affairs.

If Raines wanted to keep it, then I would let her keep it.

Seeing my lack of reaction, Raines became bolder.

“You know I often have to work late, attend social events, and travel for business! I need your help to look after it. You’re such a kind person. You wouldn’t refuse, would you?”

Meeting her earnest gaze, I stepped forward and stroked the manul’s head.

“Of course not.”

My best friend’s expression changed. She was clearly taken aback by my response.

Before she could say anything more, I stood up and left.

“I still have some work. I’ll be going now.”

I hurried back to the office.

Sitting at my desk, I felt a rush of relief, like I had dodged a bullet.

I worked late into the night, then returned home to find my friend still out.

She had tossed the manul into a broken flowerpot she had picked up. There was no water, no food, and no bandages for it.

The pot was too small. It was curled up inside, with barely enough space to turn over.

Seeing me home alone, Jake pulled me aside and whispered, “That cat looks strange. It’s probably some kind of vicious beast! You should talk to Raines and get rid of it while you still can.”

I smiled and asked, “Why don’t you talk to her yourself?”

“If I say anything, she’ll just lash out. She’ll only listen to you.”

“So, you’re making me the bad guy because you’re afraid to provoke her?”

I noticed the manul’s pointed ears twitching. It was probably eavesdropping.

I chuckled and said, “Kitties are adorable! It might turn out lucky.”

Jake’s face paled as he waved his hands frantically. “You’re not listening to reason! You’re going to regret this!”

I shoved him out the door. “If you’re that worried, go convince Raines to turn away the kitten by yourself.”

Seeing that I would not budge, Jake’s face darkened.

Just then, Raines returned. Jake did not dare say another word and hurried away.

In the dead of night, I was jolted awake by Raines knocking on my door.

“Molly, the cat’s tearing everything apart! Did you forget to feed it?”

I mumbled sleepily, “I didn’t even eat dinner myself. How could I remember?”

The manul continued its rampage. It sent the pots and pans crashing to the floor.

Raines finally snapped. She wrapped it in an old shirt and tossed it aside dismissively. “Be quiet! I’ll feed you tomorrow.”

But it kept tearing things apart and growling.

Raines lost her patience. She grabbed it and hurled it to the floor.

It must have lost consciousness because it finally fell silent.

In our past life, Raines knew I was allergic to animal dander, yet she would cuddle the manul and wave it in front of me every day.

Not only did she feed it by hand, she even slept with it at night.

But this time, she was extremely impatient.

Did she think the manul was useless just because I showed no reaction?

I soon got my answer.

For the next few days, Raines left early every morning and returned late at night. She completely forgot about the manul.

On the rare occasion she remembered to check on it, she paid it little to no attention.

Within days, it began emitting a putrid stench. It was starving and was barely clinging to life.

I thought it would die.

But the next morning, I opened my eyes to find it crouched by the bed. It glared at me with a bloodthirsty glint in its eyes.

Manuls were inherently vicious. They were quick to understand human intent and hold grudges.

After a moment’s hesitation, I went out to buy some medicine to treat its wound and picked up some cheap lymph meat from the market.

After returning home, I washed its fur, cleaned its wounds, and applied the ointment.

At first, it tried to bite me from the pain, but I whispered softly, “I’m just helping you.”

It calmed down immediately and no longer bared its teeth.

After I finished, I tossed the lymph meat toward it.

It walked forward, sniffed it, and then devoured it. It was clearly starving.

From that day on, I regularly bought lymph meat at the market.

I also bought a used cat bed from a colleague for a reasonable price.

Seeing how devoted I was to the manul, Raines stopped caring about it entirely.

Since Raines had given up on it, I planned to take it to the rescue center.

But I did not expect her to make a move.

I was in a meeting that day when Raines called me back home. A large crowd had gathered outside my door.

Before I could ask what was happening, someone pointed at me accusingly and demanded, “Is that cat yours?”

I shook my head. “No, it belongs to my roommate, Raines.”

The moment I said that, Raines immediately jumped in protest.

“Molly, you’re the one who owns it! How could you pin this on me?”

Someone chimed in, “You keep such a vicious pet here! Aren’t you just asking for trouble?”

Seeing the situation escalate, the neighborhood committee stepped in to mediate. “This cat bit a child. You should give it away immediately!”

I found out that Raines, seeing how viral cat-walking videos were, decided to ride the trend and become a content creator.

So, she had taken the manul for a walk downstairs to film a video.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of their walk, it had suddenly lunged at a passing child and bitten off half their cheek.

Raines put on an act as she lectured me. “I warned you countless times! This cat bites people. I told you to get rid of it, but you wouldn’t listen!”

I was speechless for a moment and then said, “You’re the one who adopted it! Lots of people saw it that day. If you don’t believe me, ask anyone around.”

The neighbors did not dare to cross Raines and stammered incoherently.

Jake tried to shift the blame to me. “I often see Molly going to the market to buy meat to feed the cat.”

The parents could not stand it anymore and accused me angrily.

“If you adopted it, own up to it! How dare you frame someone else?”

“It bit my child! Here’s the medical bill. Pay up now!”

Raines shamelessly chimed in from the sidelines, “They’re not even demanding compensation for the child’s emotional distress, nutritional costs, or the parents’ lost wages! Just pay up and settle it!”

The neighborhood committee tried to mediate.

“Your roommate’s right. You’re lucky they’re being reasonable. Just pay up and clear this mess!”

“Just be more careful in the future.”

Seeing this, Raines could barely contain the smug grin spreading across her face.

“Don’t even think about shifting the blame to someone else right now. Just deal with it.”

I looked at Raines and said slowly, “I have proof that this cat is yours.”