Cat 321: Telling the Real Twin from the Fake

Chapter 321 Telling the Real Twin from the Fake

Qi Feng and his black cat were instantly recognizable. The twins immediately recognized the customers from the barbecue stall that night.

The police had gotten nothing out of them, so they left the brothers alone for a while, figuring it was best to let them recover from the trauma before interrogating them again.

They needed to clarify whether it was deliberate murder, manslaughter, or self-defense.

Zhao Xin and Zhao Miao still had six months to go before legal adulthood, and their guardian— their mother—wouldn’t arrive at the station for at least another half hour.

“You just wanted to get rid of your drunkard father,” Qi Feng said bluntly, getting right to the point. “Isn’t that so?”

The twins were clever; they didn’t nod straight away, likely having already discussed how to deal with police questioning.

Zhao Xin looked at Qi Feng warily, unsure of his purpose. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Qi Feng sat on the chair beside Zhao Xin. “It’s obvious who did it, who led whom.”

Zhao Miao hastily stepped in front of Zhao Xin protectively. “Don’t say weird things to my brother.”

Qi Feng chuckled, then said, “Your brother’s smart, quick-witted. Didn’t he ever tell you, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if Dad just died’?”

Zhao Miao stubbornly kept up his taciturn act, glaring at Qi Feng and saying nothing.

Zhao Xin pulled Zhao Miao back to his seat. “Why are you letting a stranger ramble at you? Don’t talk to strangers; he’s up to no good.”

Qi Feng said, “Zhao Xin, you used your brother’s kindness to get rid of a father who would drag you down in the future. Don’t you feel guilty?”

Zhao Xin tried to suppress his emotions, but Yan Jiyun could hear his breathing quicken—Qi Feng had struck a nerve.

After a long exhale, Zhao Xin regained his composure. “Are you a cop?”

Qi Feng smiled, pointing upward. “No, not a cop. But I am a mysterious envoy sent to save the two of you.”

Zhao Miao seemed intrigued by this, because Qi Feng hadn’t come in through the door but appeared as if out of nowhere.

He whispered to Zhao Xin, “Bro, do you remember how he came in?”

Zhao Xin was thrown by the question. “Maybe he was hiding here the whole time, or maybe he was brought in early after the trouble.”

Qi Feng said, “We were over at the barbecue stall when you two finished for the night.”

Zhao Xin scoffed, “Pulling out all the supernatural tricks, huh? What age do you think this is? If you’re really heaven-sent to save us, where were you these last ten years when my dad was drinking himself stupid?”

Qi Feng pounced on his slip. “You hate your drunken father—he’s dead and you didn’t even cry, just felt relief.”

Zhao Xin retorted, “He beat us whenever he drank. Our mom ran away because of it. We grew up scared of him; not crying for him is totally normal, isn’t it?”

Zhao Miao nodded, agreeing strongly with his brother. “Mm.”

To further substantiate their words, Zhao Xin tugged up Zhao Miao’s sleeve, revealing deep bruises. “He did this. We both have them—old and new wounds.”

Qi Feng fell silent. Zhao Xin seemed to think he’d won this round, until Qi Feng quietly said, “Even so, killing someone is still wrong.”

Once you harbour murderous intent—once you kill—you drag yourself into hell. Climbing out again is nearly impossible.

Heaven and hell, separated by a single thought.

Zhao Miao, even more agitated than Zhao Xin, insisted, “I killed my dad—it has nothing to do with my brother.”

Qi Feng stroked Yan Jiyun’s back, glossy fur smoothing beneath his hand. Yan Jiyun enjoyed it, but was also considering their next move. Merely talking with the twins was pointless; the younger brother was clearly covering for the elder. The two had almost certainly discussed this beforehand.

If Zhao Miao took the blame, Zhao Xin could work hard, make a living, and by the time Zhao Miao was released, life might be stable—at least for Zhao Xin. Zhao Miao would carry the crime of patricide, though in fact he was shouldering it for his brother.

Yan Jiyun closely observed Zhao Xin and Zhao Miao; both still smelled faintly of barbecue.

They looked almost identical—the same faces, same hairstyles, even their fingernails cut to the same length.

Yan Jiyun patted Qi Feng’s hand, signaling him to leave; someone was coming.

But that wasn’t the main point. Something bigger was bothering him.

If they’d targeted the wrong person, it might alert the system.

This was a top-tier instance; the level of challenge rose exponentially. How could it be identified so easily? He and Qi Feng had made an initial misstep.

They’d fallen into a trap of visual and habitual thinking.

Qi Feng activated his invisibility and vanished from sight right before the twins.

Zhao Xin and Zhao Miao were both visibly startled; they’d truly not expected such a thing to happen.

Zhao Xin: “He really disappeared.”

Zhao Miao: “…”

Once outside, Yan Jiyun finally spoke. “We made the wrong assumption from the start.”

Qi Feng: “What do you mean? Wasn’t it Zhao Miao?”

Yan Jiyun said, “No, Zhao Miao did kill his father, but the Zhao Miao we met is not Zhao Miao. Didn’t you notice their responses were off? Remember how they behaved at the barbecue stall?”

Qi Feng said, “I remember. Zhao Xin was friendly to customers, polite, steady; Zhao Miao just buried himself in grilling, quiet, not much patience.”

Yan Jiyun continued, “And didn’t you notice just now—Zhao Xin talked more, while Zhao Miao lost patience faster?”

Qi Feng instantly understood. “You’re saying they swapped identities? Knowing suspicion would fall on Zhao Miao, they refused to admit it.”

Yan Jiyun nodded. “If we hadn’t called the police, they would have disposed of the body, then made up a story—say he got drunk and died in the street, or disappeared. Their household was always fighting, so the neighbors wouldn’t have thought much. But our call tipped the story off course; they didn’t have time to cover it up. Though they’re identical twins, their fingerprints are different. The police’s arrival upset their plan. They couldn’t handle the evidence in time, so Zhao Miao came up with a cover—one way or another, Zhao Xin would end up locked away, but under Zhao Miao’s name.”

Qi Feng kissed Yan Jiyun’s forehead. “You’re incredible.”

Yan Jiyun patted his brow with his paw. “Of course. But there’s still one issue: we know Zhao Miao did it, and now the one inside is also Zhao Miao. The fingerprint on the bottle isn’t Zhao Xin’s, so the ‘Zhao Xin’ who replaced ‘Zhao Miao’ in custody is Zhao Xin.”

“That’s easy,” Qi Feng said. “Zhao Xin is outside; as long as we prove Zhao Miao’s guilt, we’ll break their ruse. They didn’t expect we’d spot the swap, even with changed clothes and identities.”

Their minds grew clearer; if not for their insight, they would’ve mistaken Zhao Miao for Zhao Xin and vice versa.

Not long after, the police detained the younger brother, Zhao Miao, and released the elder, Zhao Xin.

Only Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng knew that the released “Zhao Xin” was actually Zhao Miao, and the detained “Zhao Miao” was really Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin was escorted by police to a hostel near the station instead of being sent home.

Once outside, Yan Jiyun turned from cat back into human form—not as a twenty-something, but as an eighteen-year-old high schooler.

His transformation sent the live chat into a frenzy.

[Want To Be Human] Live Room:

“Ahhhh, is Cat Cub showering us with benefits today? First he greeted us after entering the game, now he’s turned into a cute schoolboy! Adorable!!”

“Cat Cub, what else can you turn into? Show us everything! [nosebleed.jpg]”

“His master is so blessed—what kind of karma does it take to earn such a lovable Cat Cub?”

“Their brains really work well together. Why didn’t I get it? Totally confused.”

“It’s simple. Twin brothers; one plays the other. The older brother killed their dad, but didn’t want to go to jail or lose everything, so he set the younger brother up. But since he used a wine bottle to hit their dad, his fingerprints remained. Going in under his brother’s name, once evidence comes out, he’ll be exposed as the ‘younger’ brother—but really, he’s the older one. If Cat Cub hadn’t spotted the switch, the actual younger brother would’ve done the time for the older brother.”

“Thank you for explaining! Cat Cub and Qi Feng think in leaps—no way I can keep up!”

In the guise of a high schooler, Yan Jiyun knocked on the door of the hostel room where Zhao Xin was staying. Since Zhao Xin had met Qi Feng earlier, the latter concealed himself for now.

Zhao Xin was anxious; hearing the knock, he thought it was the police. Opening the door, he saw a familiar face—a friend of his brother.

Yan Jiyun had borrowed the face of one of Zhao Miao’s classmates, a fairly close one.

Zhao Miao, remembering to keep up the act as his brother, was already uneasy after all the lying at the station. “What are you doing here?”

Yan Jiyun improvised, “I got up early to buy breakfast and saw you come here. Why’d you come to this hostel? Aren’t you going to school tomorrow?”

Zhao Miao didn’t realize that this classmate’s own house was near campus.

Suddenly recalling something, Zhao Miao took a nervous step back. “Don’t come so close.”

Yan Jiyun replied, “I’m not a monster.”

“But you confessed to me before—I’d rather you kept your distance. I already turned you down.”

Yan Jiyun was mildly amused by his own rejection. On purpose, he moved slightly closer and said in feigned annoyance, “Zhao Xin, what’s going on? Weren’t we keeping our relationship secret all along?”

Zhao Miao’s face went blank: “…”

Yan Jiyun pressed on, “You said you loved me—how can you be so heartless all of a sudden?”

Zhao Miao: “……”

Qi Feng, hiding nearby: “…” The one who loves you is me.

[Have You Seen My Cat] Live Room:

“Hahahahahaha, I see a whole prairie growing atop Feng-ge’s head~”