Chapter 129
To summarize, Gu Ximian has turned into a cat.
In the early morning, Zhuang Chi knelt on the bed, staring at the white cat sitting primly on the pillow that belonged to her and Gu Ximian. After a long silence, she finally spoke with a trembling voice: “…Let me confirm one more time, you really are Gu Ximian, right…?”
The beautiful white cat with heterochromatic eyes had a very human-like series of expressions before finally lowering its head in defeat, its ears drooping sullenly along with it: “…Meow.”
…This is incredible. Zhuang Chi thought. Although what she heard in her ears was "meow," it was automatically translated in her mind. It was Gu Ximian speaking, saying, "It's me."
“This… What on earth…”
Even though she had already experienced some supernatural situations, this was the first time she had encountered a situation so fantastical that it twisted reality. Zhuang Chi was in chaos, not knowing why her partner, who had been sleeping in her arms just last night, had turned into a cat by morning—it sounded like some fairy tale where one turns back to their original form after midnight. She had never written such a setting before. She composed herself and first asked Gu Ximian: “How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere in your body?”
The cat—Gu Ximian—stood up and walked back and forth on the bed a few times, finally sitting back down on the pillow. The tip of her fluffy tail moved casually, and when she spoke, she sounded as if she had already resigned herself to reality, but her tone was still not happy: “Although I'm not uncomfortable anywhere, you've become so big, it looks a bit strange.”
It's because Gu Ximian has gotten smaller! Zhuang Chi didn't know whether to laugh or cry, while Gu Ximian seemed to be trying to get used to her new body, especially the tail that she didn't have as a human. Perhaps it was due to her personality of wanting to have a firm grasp on everything, Zhuang Chi noticed that she was currently consciously trying to control her tail to move around, which made one's heart itch a little.
But Zhuang Chi knew that even with a real cat, one shouldn't just grab its tail; it was a very rude behavior. So she tried hard to resist and instead discussed with Gu Ximian a question she would never have had the chance to understand on a normal day: “…What does it feel like to have a tail?”
“…” The cat's expression was a bit hard to discern, but Gu Ximian seemed to roll her eyes in exasperation and said through gritted teeth, “If you want to know, just turn into a dog yourself.”
She seems to be in a very bad mood. After turning into a cat, her temper seems to have gotten a bit worse. Zhuang Chi didn't dare to joke anymore and began to guess the reason for the strange situation before her: “This time it's not my plot, but for it to turn out like this, there must be some mysterious force… I guess the notebook might know, should I go ask it?”
Gu Ximian silently flicked her tail as a tacit agreement. Zhuang Chi hurriedly got out of bed and found the photo frame she had always used to contact the notebook, but this time, for some reason, no matter how many times she called, the notebook never responded.
Seeing no response, and with not much time left before their morning class, Zhuang Chi had no choice but to carefully return to the bedroom. She saw Gu Ximian staring at her own paws in deep thought—a thread was hanging from her claw, looking as if she had snagged and pulled a thread from the pillow or bedsheet.
…Although it might be a bit unfair to Gu Ximian to say this, but honestly, it's quite cute.
Zhuang Chi suppressed the smile that almost appeared, kept a straight face, and reported to Gu Ximian that she had failed to find the notebook. She then suggested, “Why don't we ask for a leave of absence first? And then we can discuss it.”
Gu Ximian agreed to her proposal and turned her head to jump to the side of the bed, pawing at her phone.
“…”
“…Can't unlock it.”
It also seemed difficult to enter a password with a cat's paw. Zhuang Chi quickly picked her up in her arms before Gu Ximian could get angry, and stroked her from head to back, giving her a good petting of her smooth fur.
“Zhuang Chi!” Gu Ximian immediately got angry as expected, meowing and scolding her, “Why are you touching me like that! You…”
“Alright, alright,” but an angry cat wasn't very scary. Zhuang Chi had finally gotten her hands on her, and seeing that Gu Ximian was just scolding her without any intention of struggling, she boldly kneaded the fluffy little thing in her arms again and again, coaxing her in a good-natured tone, “You rest for a while, I'll take care of asking for leave, don't be angry…”
After just a few pets, Gu Ximian cooled down and naturally curled up in her arms, becoming a warm and soft ball of cat. She looked comfortable from the petting, her eyes even half-closed, but she was still stubborn with her words: “…Then hurry up and ask for leave. After you're done, you're not allowed to pet me anymore.”
Zhuang Chi nodded with a bit of regret, took out her phone to ask their good friends for help with the leave request, but as soon as she opened the chat interface, she saw two new messages, both from Lou Che. The first one was sent half an hour ago: 【This is bad, something big has happened, friends, come to our office and gather, help.】
Zhuang Chi frowned and saw the second message sent five minutes ago: 【Why is no one answering me?? Don't tell me you've all turned into things that can't type now??】
“…”
Zhuang Chi was silent for a long moment, and exchanged a look with Gu Ximian, who had seen the phone message from her perch on Zhuang Chi's wrist. They tacitly felt that—
Zhuang Chi walked out of the door holding Gu Ximian (the cat).
Although putting Gu Ximian in a bag was an option—it was obvious that Gu Ximian was unwilling. Zhuang Chi was also not at ease letting Gu Ximian run around outside on her own, so she simply held her in her arms. Anyway, Gu Ximian was very light as a cat, and looked like she was still just a half-grown kitten. She could easily hold her with one hand.
Gu Ximian initially had quite a few complaints about this position, twisting and turning for a good while before finally settling down. Zhuang Chi, mindful that she probably shouldn't talk to a cat outside, used petting more to communicate instead of words. For this, she received several punches from Gu Ximian, but the paw pads were soft and fluffy, making it feel more like a reward than a beating. She was all smiles all the way until they reached the school gate.
“Zhuang Chi!”
She looked left and right, but saw no one. It was strange, the voice just now didn't seem to come from the left or right, but rather from above—
“—Zhuang Chi, where are you! I came to school today! Something big happened! Can you see what I look like now! I've turned into a cat, I—whoa!”
With the familiar, chattering voice, just as Zhuang Chi felt the voice approaching her shoulder, she saw the cat in her arms, Gu Ximian, twitch her ears, and then the whole cat suddenly leaped onto her shoulder, letting out a “Meow—” towards the direction of the voice.
Before Zhuang Chi could react, she heard the voice retreat in disarray, then quickly circle around to her front, protesting indignantly: “Where did you find such a fierce cat! Let go of her, don't hold her! She'll definitely scratch you if this goes on! Just drop her and make room to hold me! Flying all the time is quite tiring…”
One person and one cat looked at the eagle perched on a low tree nearby, which was speaking in Ling Jing's voice and tone—it looked quite a bit like Xiao Ying, but much slimmer—and fell into a collective silence.
Zhuang Chi, holding Gu Ximian (the cat), with Ling Jing (the eagle) perched on her shoulder, arrived in front of the Student Council Presidium office.
“Hurry up and open the door, open the door,” Ling Jing urged in her ear, “Gu Ximian has been glaring at me ever since I got on your shoulder, I'm a little scared.”
“What are you afraid of? Aren't you an eagle?” Gu Ximian replied coolly. “Loosen your claws a bit, don't ruin Zhuang Chi's school uniform.”
Ling Jing muttered, “It's hard to control, I'm already trying my best. At worst, I'll give Zhuang Chi my uniform, since I can't wear it now anyway.” Zhuang Chi's head was aching from listening to them. She quickly opened the door and went in, only to look up and come face to face with a monkey.
““…””
The two sides were at a standstill for a long moment before Gu Ximian spoke first: “…Lou Che?”
Lou Che (the monkey) had a sudden realization: “So you all really can't type now! No wonder no one replied to me!”
The humans and animals temporarily returned to their original positions, observing each other. The only human, Zhuang Chi, seemed a bit out of place here, feeling that the situation was spiraling out of control like a runaway horse. She could probably guess the fate of the two who hadn't arrived yet: “…An Chen and Olivia aren't here yet.”
“No.” Unexpectedly, she received a negative answer. Zhuang Chi saw Lou Che point to a corner of the room. “An Chen is already here.”
The few of them followed the direction he pointed to—it was a storage cabinet. They only saw a pile of miscellaneous things on it, with no living creature in sight at first glance. Zhuang Chi was a little bewildered, while Ling Jing over there had already made a rather worried guess: “Don't tell me An Chen turned into a cockroach…”
“You're the one who turned into a cockroach!!”
An earth-shattering roar came from the direction of the storage cabinet… well, it wasn't that loud, in fact, the voice was a bit small. Zhuang Chi caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of her eye, and only when she looked closely did she see a small furball peeking out from the storage room. Ling Jing let out a curious "eh" and fluttered over, saying in a tone as if she had discovered a new continent: “An Chen is a hamster!”
“So noisy! Why are you so loud! Stay away from me!”
Zhuang Chi listened to An Chen (the hamster) shouting things like “eagles eat mice, right? Go away,” and felt a pang of pity. She walked over and cupped him in her palm, saving him from Ling Jing's harassment. But when she walked back to the table, Gu Ximian, who had been sitting quietly in the seat next to her, suddenly glanced over, unceremoniously jumped onto her lap and sat down, leaned over to look at the pale yellow hamster trembling in Zhuang Chi's palm, which scared An Chen into squeaking frantically: “A cat! I don't like cats either!”
“…It's me. I'm not going to eat you. Zhuang Chi cooked chicken breast for me at home.”
“Oh, oh, it's Ximian, then… then if you just want to look or sniff, it's not impossible… But please don't open your mouth…”
He seemed to have made a small concession, but still looked terrified. Zhuang Chi couldn't bear it, stroked the white cat's head, and then placed the hamster far away on the opposite side. An Chen, having caught his breath, finally stood up from his four-legs-in-the-air position, trying to straighten his chubby body a bit, and began to speak as he had always done when presiding over the Presidium meetings: “Given the situation, Olivia probably couldn't escape either—why isn't she here yet? Even I, a hamster, painstakingly ran so far to get here, and I was afraid of being stepped on when I took the elevator with others… though I don't know why other people didn't seem to see me as a hamster…”
He started to get sad halfway through his sentence. It seemed he had suffered a lot on his way here, leaving him with some psychological trauma. Just as Zhuang Chi was about to ask more about his last sentence, she heard a dull thud from the door. Judging from the sound, it seemed someone was banging their head against the door.
She exchanged a look with the animals in the room, took responsibility and stood up, cautiously opening the door a crack—
A small deer with teary, sapphire-blue eyes looked over, appearing wronged and pitiful. When it spoke, its voice was choked with sobs: “Going up the stairs on four legs… is so scary…”
…She was probably worried about crowding others if she took the elevator, what a good child.
Zhuang Chi led Olivia (the deer) into the office. Seeing a deer cry up close was quite impactful. She couldn't help but gently pat the small deer's neck in comfort, but the white cat over there nonchalantly jumped off its seat, stepped on her foot, and started a conversation with Olivia: “Did you see anyone else when you came? What was their reaction?”
“I did see them, but they didn't seem to react much…” Olivia stopped her tears and recalled, “It's like they still saw me as a person, and didn't notice I had turned into a deer. When I couldn't help but take a bite of the school's greenery, they just told me not to pick the flowers there…”
Zhuang Chi listened in a daze and subconsciously asked, “…Was it tasty?”
“It… it was not bad…”
The white cat stepping on Zhuang Chi's foot pressed down harder.
They went out for a walk together.
“It's true.” Ling Jing looked at the students coming and going with great novelty. Some even greeted them naturally. “Other people really can't tell we've turned into animals.”
“Yeah, I'm quite curious about what our positions look like in their eyes right now.”
An Chen, huddled on top of Zhuang Chi's head, said so, looking at Ling Jing perched on Zhuang Chi's shoulder, then at Gu Ximian lazily lying in Zhuang Chi's arms, and said silently: “Others won't think the three of us are all hanging on Zhuang Chi, right?”
“Probably not, otherwise someone would have posted it on the forum by now.” Lou Che, who was dawdling behind, said, then complained, “Can I really not hang on Zhuang Chi's other shoulder? If this goes on, I'm going to have to start climbing trees.”
“Don't be silly, you're so much heavier than me, how can you get on Zhuang Chi's shoulder.”
“Exactly, you can't climb trees either, that's against school rules. You should eat a banana to replenish your energy.”
Urged by these two, Zhuang Chi turned to the school's fruit shop and bought a bag of fruit, found a place to sit down and distributed it to the animals. Lou Che silently chewed on a banana and sighed wistfully: “I never used to like bananas at all. But now it seems I really do find them quite tasty.”
“Then you should eat more,” An Chen sat beside him, his cheeks puffed out as he nibbled on a small piece of apple, the whole rat looking sad and forlorn, “…because no one else can see that I've turned into a hamster, the breakfast my family prepared for me this morning was porridge, I couldn't eat it at all… Whoa!”
A gust of wind blew over, and his small body swayed and was blown over, rolling a few times. Fortunately, Olivia caught up with him in one step and stopped him, almost stepping on him.
“…T-too dangerous!” An Chen, having survived the ordeal, was still in shock, so scared that he even dropped his apple slice. “This can't go on! We have to find a way to change back quickly!”
“Even if you say so…” Lou Che, having finished one banana, broke off another and mused, “With such an unreasonable situation suddenly appearing, there's no way to even start thinking of a solution… We can only look for reasons from Zhuang Chi. After all, she's the only one who hasn't changed. And she can still recognize us.”
The animals all looked at Zhuang Chi in unison. Zhuang Chi, who was feeding Gu Ximian an apple, was stunned and heard Ling Jing ask curiously: “Oh yeah, why haven't you changed? Logically speaking, shouldn't you have turned into a dog or something?”
“…” Not knowing where this "logically speaking" came from, Zhuang Chi was silent for a long moment. She felt that this problem was most likely due to the fact that she was not a native of this world, but it was just a guess, and she could only sigh at them, “…I don't know. I don't have any clues either.”
Everyone fell into deep thought again. In the end, it was Lou Che who summarized first: “Then let's take care of the present for now. Everyone, try to survive—especially An Chen, Zhuang Chi, buy him a bag of sunflower seeds—and then wait and see if there are any changes tomorrow, and we'll make a plan then.”
There was nothing else they could do. Zhuang Chi gladly accepted the task of buying sunflower seeds. An Chen, who had climbed back onto her head, seemed to still have some lingering fear of the hot porridge from the morning, and muttered in her ear, discussing with her: “Zhuang Chi, can you raise me for a while—I mean, can I stay at your place for a while?”
“No.”
Before Zhuang Chi could answer, Gu Ximian, who had been lying obediently in her arms as if asleep, suddenly perked up her ears, then opened her eyes and looked up. After a lazy stretch, she continued slowly: “Zhuang Chi is my owner. She can't keep any more.”
After finishing class, the two returned home.
“It's like seeing the real-life Bremen Town Musicians…”
Zhuang Chi, who had been working with animals all day, felt a dreamlike sense of unreality. She sat on the sofa in a daze as her white cat nimbly jumped onto her lap and sat up straight. "Hungry."
Zhuang Chi's heart welled up with affection and her motivation surged. She asked, “Is more chicken breast okay?” Seeing Gu Ximian nod, she still felt it wasn't enough and couldn't help but take out her phone to open a shopping app. She was pushed down by Gu Ximian's paw, her eyes wide in warning: “What are you trying to buy?”
“Canned food and stuff…” Zhuang Chi answered honestly, looking at the white cat's face and saying cautiously, “…You don't want it?”
“I don't want it!” Gu Ximian looked furious, her whiskers trembling. She raised her paw and patted Zhuang Chi's face—without extending her claws. Her beautiful eyes were so bright with anger they seemed to glow. “Why do you look like you're planning to raise me for a long time!”
I just want Gu Ximian to eat better… Zhuang Chi thought, and then deliberately teased her, smiling: “Didn't you say before that I'm your owner? Then of course I have to raise you well. Otherwise, if you don't eat well, I heard that a cat's fur quality will deteriorate, what a pity that would be…”
She then picked up the white cat and gave it a good petting, making Gu Ximian unable to suppress the purr in her throat, and then comforted her in a gentle voice: “It's okay, I'll try to ask the notebook again later. You'll definitely change back soon, don't worry.”
The soft fur on the white cat's belly was messed up from her kneading, and now she was carefully combing it back with her fingertips. She couldn't help but let out a light hum and rub against Zhuang Chi's palm.
The rest of the day was just for the two of them. Zhuang Chi noticed that although Gu Ximian didn't say it, she liked to follow her very much. She followed when she was cooking, and wanted to follow when she was taking a bath, but after taking a few steps, she realized something was wrong. One front paw was suspended in mid-air, hesitating for a long time, neither putting it down nor retracting it.
“…What's wrong?” Zhuang Chi's heart softened at the sight, and she squatted down with a smile. “Do you want to take a bath too?”
Gu Ximian was obviously struggling. She used to be a very clean person, bathing every day, but now that she had turned into a cat, there seemed to be some instinctive resistance. Zhuang Chi waited patiently for her to finish thinking, and in the end, her human habits prevailed. She came up to Zhuang Chi and declared: “Yes. I want to take a bath too.”
Zhuang Chi smiled, and with a sweep of her hand, she scooped up the clueless white cat and lowered her head to nuzzle her nose against the fine, soft fur on her forehead: “Do you want to take one together?”
The whole cat, Gu Ximian, flinched, her fur puffing up in a circle. She flailed about for a long time, and finally, with a dip of her body, she slipped out of Zhuang Chi's arms.
Listening to the voice coming from afar, saying “I'll wash after you're done,” and looking at Gu Ximian, who had jumped onto the top of the refrigerator in three or two moves to hide, Zhuang Chi had no choice but to give up on the idea of tricking the cat into bathing together. She went to take a bath herself first, and then came to the bathroom holding Gu Ximian, found a small basin for her, put some water in it, tested the temperature, and then turned to look at Gu Ximian, who was sitting in the corner: “Can you wash yourself?”
Gu Ximian was startled and quickly replied: “I can!”
It sounded like she was terrified that she would help her wash. Zhuang Chi suppressed her laughter and made way, watching Gu Ximian slowly pace to the side of the basin, extend her front paw to carefully touch the surface of the water, and then immediately retract it the moment it touched, shaking it instinctively.
Zhuang Chi watched with great interest from the side, but the next second she was glared at by Gu Ximian, who had turned her head back: “Why are you still here?”
“Hmm? I wasn't planning on leaving in the first place.” Zhuang Chi said righteously, blinking at her, “You're so small now, what if something happens while you're bathing? Of course I have to watch from the side to be at ease.”
Gu Ximian was immediately unhappy, and came over to protest with meows and whimpers, her body slightly arched, her tail flicking back and forth in small movements. Zhuang Chi turned a deaf ear, scooped up the cat and reasoned with her in a soft voice. It took a lot of effort to get Gu Ximian to reluctantly accept. Zhuang Chi then leisurely moved a small stool in and sat on the side, openly watching Gu Ximian bathe.
Although a cat's expression is hard to read, as Zhuang Chi looked at her white cat, she always felt that her back looked like she was swallowing her anger.
After several attempts, Gu Ximian finally managed to get into the basin on her own. Zhuang Chi applauded encouragingly, but was stopped by Gu Ximian splashing water at her. She muttered things like “when I change back, I'll definitely…” which sounded very threatening, and began to wash herself angrily.
…But how should I put it, as a cat, Gu Ximian's self-cleaning skills were obviously terrible.
Zhuang Chi watched her awkwardness, not knowing where to start, and finally couldn't help but roll up her sleeves and walk to the basin to help. But she was first met with a face full of water from the very unwilling-to-cooperate Gu Ximian. Zhuang Chi wiped her face and negotiated with her in a good-natured tone: “It'll be quick, just a moment, I won't touch randomly, it'll be done in a jiffy, okay?”
Gu Ximian had ten thousand reasons to be unwilling, but she still lost to Zhuang Chi's expectant, sparkling eyes, and resigned herself to letting Zhuang Chi's hands carefully stroke her damp fur.
Gu Ximian was a long-haired cat, so bathing was more troublesome. Zhuang Chi thought that she was actually very clean already, supporting Gu Ximian's head with one hand, and gently rubbing out foam with the other, stroking her from head to tail a few times, and then rinsing off the sulking white cat bit by bit. She was thinking about whether to wash her belly too, and tentatively reached out her hand, but felt a coolness on her hand. It was the long cat tail that had been rubbing against her hand from the beginning, now softly resting on her wrist.
“…That's enough,” Gu Ximian's voice was small, her wet tail tip curling around Zhuang Chi's wrist, “…It's almost clean.”
Sensing a slightly unusual atmosphere, Zhuang Chi didn't dare to continue. She took a large towel and carefully dried Gu Ximian, then went out to get a hairdryer and helped Gu Ximian blow-dry her fur bit by bit—this task took even longer than the bath.
Gu Ximian sat quietly throughout the process, letting Zhuang Chi do as she pleased. Only when Zhuang Chi finally felt that she was almost dry and turned off the hairdryer did she twitch her ears, then suddenly burst out, slapping her arm with surprising speed an unknown number of times, and then bolted out the door, her movements very agile.
…I got hit. Zhuang Chi looked at her arm, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It didn't hurt much, but she regretted not being able to record that scene. She cleaned up, tried to contact the notebook again to no avail, and had to quietly return to their bedroom. She looked at the small ball of cat curled up by the pillow, and was just thinking about whether sleeping with a cat at night would crush it, when she heard Gu Ximian say sullenly: “What are you doing? Hurry up and come to bed.”
Alright, her cat apparently didn't have this concern, nor did she have any intention of sleeping separately from her. Zhuang Chi went along with it, turned off the lights and got into bed. Worried that the quilt would suffocate Gu Ximian, she specially pulled a blanket for her, but not long after, she felt a rustling beside her. It was Gu Ximian pushing through the quilt, and unceremoniously sitting on her chest.
“…I have to change back quickly.”
She said this with extra seriousness, as if she had suffered a great deal during her bath earlier. Zhuang Chi silently reflected for a moment, and then thought about how she still couldn't get in touch with the notebook today, feeling a little worried. But she didn't want to add any more pressure to Gu Ximian, so she just raised her hand and gently stroked her back with controlled strength. The fur after the bath was soft and smooth, a pleasant texture to the touch.
“You will,” Zhuang Chi said warmly, pulling the small cat, who was flicking its tail uneasily, into her arms and gently kissing her forehead, “Sleep, don't worry, I'm here.”
When she woke up the next day, her cat seemed to have grown a size bigger.
Zhuang Chi was woken up by suffocation. When she opened her eyes, she realized that Gu Ximian was covering her face with her belly, no wonder she couldn't breathe properly. And the culprit cat was not yet awake, it seemed that her sleeping posture had just gotten worse after turning into a cat. Zhuang Chi gently moved away a little, and then discovered the problem: Gu Ximian had definitely gotten bigger. From a half-grown kitten yesterday to the size of an adult cat.
She was a little dazed, and to confirm, she unconsciously reached out to touch her, which made Gu Ximian's ears twitch impatiently. She half-opened her eyes, and with sleepy eyes, she leaned against Zhuang Chi's hand, letting out a light, coquettish hum belonging to a cat, which made Zhuang Chi's heart melt. She didn't dare to move anymore, letting Gu Ximian pillow her head on her hand and sleep until she woke up naturally—the grown cat was a bit heavier, what a sweet burden.
After a long wait for the sleepy cat to wake up, Zhuang Chi and Gu Ximian studied her together, but couldn't find a reason why Gu Ximian would grow up so quickly. But Gu Ximian felt that this might be a good thing: “It's better than actually growing up slowly like a real cat. At least it shows some change. Maybe I'll be able to change back tomorrow.”
She was happy because of this, and her tail was held high all morning in a good mood. She was then carried to school by Zhuang Chi to share this happy news with her other animal friends in the presidium. Everyone gathered together again, the monkey, hamster, eagle, and deer all surrounded the table to watch the white cat sitting primly in the center of the table with its head held high, and exclaimed in amazement: “You really got bigger!”
“What did you eat yesterday?” Ling Jing moved closer, looking around curiously, “Can you give me some too?”
“It shouldn't have anything to do with eating, right? What could she eat to grow so fast overnight?” The monkey's intelligence was obviously a bit higher. Lou Che said, “I think we should ask what she did—did you do anything special with Zhuang Chi at home yesterday?”
Gu Ximian stiffened and turned to look at Zhuang Chi. Zhuang Chi knew at a glance that she was thinking about the bath, but she avoided the topic and just stammered, “N-no… we didn't do anything special, just normal life…”
“I'm living a normal life too! How come I haven't gotten bigger!” An Chen, huddled at the edge of the table, complained, “I even ate a lot of sunflower seeds! And now I always want to gnaw on this wooden table!”
“Speaking of which, I actually think An Chen seems a bit bigger than yesterday too…” Olivia looked at him and curiously moved closer to touch him with her nose, which startled the hamster. “…But with a hamster, it's a bit hard to tell if it's really gotten bigger. It could also be that he just ate too many sunflower seeds.”
The group discussed it heatedly for a while, but came to no conclusion. The more action-oriented Ling Jing fluttered in front of Zhuang Chi and tilted her head up: “Anyway, it must have something to do with Zhuang Chi! It must be because Zhuang Chi petted Gu Ximian! Then you should pet me too, my feathers are also very smooth!”
She looked very pleased with her feathers, and even spread her wings to show Zhuang Chi. Zhuang Chi thought that if just a little petting could help them, it was no big deal, so she reached out to pet the bird's head. As she was about to pet its wings, she caught a glimpse of the white cat that had crouched behind Ling Jing at some point out of the corner of her eye, and her hand suddenly paused.
…Her tail was patting the table, it seems she's not very happy.
But Gu Ximian didn't say anything, clearly also thinking that if this could be useful, it couldn't be helped. So Zhuang Chi, under her silent gaze, carefully stroked the eagle. Ling Jing nodded with satisfaction, walked a few steps on the table, and asked everyone with great hope: “How is it! Have I gotten bigger!”
“Unfortunately. Not at all.”
Everyone let out a sigh of disappointment, while Gu Ximian gracefully leaped into Zhuang Chi's arms, the atmosphere softening. She spoke in a comforting tone: “I only got bigger after sleeping. You should wait until tomorrow and see.”
“Okay then.” Ling Jing lowered her head in disappointment, but quickly cheered up, preening her feathers, “That's fine too. I just made friends with Xiao Ying yesterday. I'd be a little sad to change back so soon.”
“Huh?” An Chen, who was staring blankly at the corner of the table, looked up in surprise and said, “Xiao Ying? You… you can communicate with it now?”
“Yes. It seems I can understand my own kind now, isn't it amazing?” Ling Jing looked at him and suggested, “It's a pity you don't have a hamster. But if you want to communicate with a hamster, I can carry you to a pet store.”
“I don't want to.”
An Chen refused flatly, but couldn't help but ask curiously: “Does Xiao Ying see you as Ling Jing or as an eagle?”
“Oh, it probably sees me as an unfamiliar eagle.” Ling Jing said with regret, “The first thing it said to me was ‘hey, newcomer, don't steal my food’.”
This presidium meeting didn't make any serious progress. The biggest gain was learning from Ling Jing that they could now communicate with their own kind. Zhuang Chi thought that although it would be difficult to find the same kind of animals for the other few in the city, but…
Walking out of the office, she looked at Gu Ximian, who was resting with her eyes closed in her arms, and blinked thoughtfully.
…But there are quite a few cats in the city. There are some at school.
Every university has a few stray cats that linger, and St. Blaisedon was no exception. Zhuang Chi often encountered them when she was still living at school. One of them, a calico cat, was particularly friendly and would always come up to her, meowing, to be petted for a good while before it would leave. It was just that after she moved out to live with Gu Ximian, there were fewer opportunities to meet—this time, the encounter was particularly enthusiastic.
Looking at the calico cat lying on her shoes, meowing coquettishly, Zhuang Chi thought of its agile figure when it suddenly popped out of the bushes just now, and thought that stray cats really seemed to be much more skilled than domestic cats. She kind of wanted to pet the calico cat to catch up, but the white cat in her arms had long since perked up its ears and opened its eyes, looking very alertly at the calico cat and then at her. Although it didn't say anything, from its expression, it was as if a thousand words had already been said.
The calico cat seemed to be getting a little anxious from not being petted for a long time, and circled around Zhuang Chi's feet, meowing again and again. Zhuang Chi felt that although she didn't understand cat language, she could probably understand the gist of it, but the opportunity was rare, so she still lowered her head to ask Gu Ximian: “…Do you understand what it's saying?”
Gu Ximian's ears twitched, she turned her back, and replied in a faint tone: “It's telling you to stay away from it.”
“Meow?!”
As soon as these words came out, before Zhuang Chi could react, the calico cat was the first to stop in great shock, and then meowed at Gu Ximian for a long time with great indignation. Gu Ximian lay motionless in Zhuang Chi's arms, looking calm and composed, without saying a word, not knowing if she had heard it or not. Zhuang Chi patiently waited for the calico cat to finish, and then asked Gu Ximian again: “What did it say this time?”
“…” Gu Ximian was silent for a long moment, this time she didn't even bother to pretend, and answered with extra perfunctoriness, “It seems to be saying it's going home.”
“Meow—!”
…She had completely angered the calico cat.
Zhuang Chi looked at the calico cat, whose tail fur had puffed up with anger, and was quite worried that it would jump up and scratch Gu Ximian. She had no choice but to quickly pick up Gu Ximian and run away. The calico cat didn't follow, but just kept cursing behind them, and could be heard even after they had run a long way. Gu Ximian settled back comfortably, let out a light hum, and whispered, “Ignorant cat. I was here long before you.”
Bringing Gu Ximian back home, Zhuang Chi gave up on her curiosity of letting Gu Ximian communicate with other cats and decided to stay at home peacefully. The white cat lightly jumped to the floor, walked around the living room silently as if on patrol, and then returned to Zhuang Chi, saying very seriously: “I was originally considering whether we should get a pet together.”
“…” Sensing that there was more to come, Zhuang Chi squatted down and asked cooperatively, “And then?”
“…And now I think, maybe we should just forget it.” Gu Ximian said with a straight face, her tail flicking on the floor. “They are not as easy to raise as I am.”
That was true. Zhuang Chi laughed, stroked Gu Ximian's fur, and made a friendly request to her: “Then can I pet your belly? There won't be a chance after you change back.”
Gu Ximian looked at her for a long time, her expression looking as if she were torn between turning around and leaving and slapping her, but in the end, she sighed, turned around and lay down, revealing her snow-white belly.
“…Only for a little while.”
She was warned like this, but it didn't matter. Zhuang Chi piously petted her. The grown-up white cat seemed to be in the middle of a shedding phase, her fur thick and soft, making anyone who touched it feel dizzy. Zhuang Chi was engrossed in petting her, and began to have the desire to bury her face in it like in the morning, but before she could voice this wish, she saw Gu Ximian's paw, which had been curled in mid-air, suddenly move, and then grab her hand.
It seemed she was not allowed to move anymore. Zhuang Chi was a little disappointed, and then saw the white cat purr from its throat, its beautiful eyes glaring at her a few times without any intimidation. It tilted its head as if to bite her hand, but in the end, it didn't bite, but turned into a sullen lick.
“I have to change back quickly.” The same words as last night, but this time Gu Ximian added very solemnly, “I think my susceptible period is coming soon.”
Zhuang Chi was stunned, a little slow to react: “…Susceptible period? Do cats have susceptible periods too?”
Gu Ximian didn't say anything, just silently bit her with controlled strength.
“Anyway, I have to change back quickly!” She suddenly started to get angry. Gu Ximian suddenly propped herself up, her two front paws on Zhuang Chi's shoulders, and rubbed against her shoulder a few times, getting a lot of cat hair on Zhuang Chi's school uniform, and said viciously, “Hurry up and hug me more!”
The next morning, before the sky was fully light, Zhuang Chi felt that something was wrong.
The warm body lying next to her was even bigger than yesterday, already exceeding the size of a cat. Her heart skipped a beat, and as all her sleepiness vanished, she recklessly reached out to touch it, and sure enough, she touched the smooth skin of a human.
A great weight was lifted from Zhuang Chi's heart. Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, her hand touched a fluffy tail again. She was startled and subconsciously touched it a few more times to confirm, which made the person on the bed let out a light hum, and the tail curved to wrap around her wrist.
"...What are you doing?" Gu Ximian opened her eyes, and the cat ears on her head, which had been drooping placidly, twitched. Her voice was thick with sleep, soft and breathy. "Touching me all over this early in the morning..."
She blinked her eyes, and met Zhuang Chi's astonished gaze for a long time before she reacted to the current situation. Zhuang Chi noticed that her heterochromatic eyes hadn't disappeared either, making her familiar face look a bit unusual. Looking at her like this, she really looked like her white cat had turned into a beautiful and noble person. In any case, seeing her lover's face again was something that made one feel very happy, which made Zhuang Chi unable to help but lean over and gently kiss Gu Ximian's forehead. Gu Ximian subconsciously narrowed her eyes and let out a soft, delicate whimper, like the cry of a kitten.
It seems that besides the ears and tail, some of her habits are also retained. Gu Ximian also realized this and frowned a little in frustration, saying to Zhuang Chi: “I saw the notebook in my dream last night. It said that this world, for some reason, got mixed up with some other novel, which caused a little chaos in the plot. It's been busy trying to fix it recently, but because it's borrowing your power, I need to have more contact with you…”
“…Eh…” To be honest, it didn't sound very logical, but it was a fact that Gu Ximian, who had a lot of contact with her, had already changed back for the most part. Zhuang Chi thought that Ling Jing should probably turn into a big eagle today, and she would have to go pet the others later. She sighed with emotion, “That's good, it looks like you should be able to fully recover tomorrow… As long as I keep petting you today, it should be fine, right?”
Gu Ximian was quiet for a long moment, then suddenly rolled over and sat on top of Zhuang Chi, her heterochromatic eyes glowing slightly in the still dark room: “Is it just petting?”
She was no longer in the shape of a cat, and sitting on her like this made Zhuang Chi's breath catch, and she said softly, at a loss for what to do: “…We still have to go to school later.”
Gu Ximian didn't say anything, nor did she move, just looked at her like that. Zhuang Chi silently swallowed, and after a long while, she still said in a small voice: “But… but it seems to be quite early now.”
She saw a triumphant smile spread across Gu Ximian's lips, and then she leaned over and threw herself into her arms. Zhuang Chi held her in a full embrace, and while curiously raising her hand to touch Gu Ximian's cat ears, she spared a bit of her attention to think amidst her coquettish hums: Gu Ximian's proactive behavior now is probably also influenced by her cat habits. When she recovers tomorrow, she will probably feel shy.
…Well, but that's tomorrow's business. Right now, she has to coax her cat first.
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