Chapter 31 Part 2

“It’s called ‘Enter Dream’—a Tier 3 Magic Potion. Kangsi shouldn’t have been able to brew it, but maybe he got lucky. He said he experimented for ages and only succeeded once.” Ming Yi winked at Meng Yiran. “You’re even luckier. Now it’s yours.

“As the name suggests, drink it before bed, close your eyes, and silently recite someone’s name in your mind. You’ll slip into that person’s deepest dream of the night, completely immune to any attacks inside it.”

Ling Ge’s eyes sparkled as her gaze locked onto the blue-purple bottle.

Ming Yi teased her again. “See? If I hadn’t brought it myself, Little Ling Ge would’ve pocketed it, huh?”

“Pah!” Ling Ge spat in his direction, fuming. “Don’t you dare look down on me!!!”

Ming Yi roared with laughter.

Meng Yiran held Ling Ge back, politely said goodbye to Ming Yi, then shut the door and dragged Ling Ge back inside the dormitory.

Staring at the potions in the box, she suddenly felt sorry for Kangsi. “Sigh, he really has talent. What a shame he got saddled with such a scumbag.” She turned to Ling Ge with a smile. “Otherwise, he’d be a real headache of a rival for you.”

Ling Ge tsked and gave her a wistful look. “You’re not wrong, but I still have to set the record straight—that scumbag isn’t from the Qiuzhi organization.”

Meng Yiran blinked in confusion. “Isn’t he a commoner?”

“Yeah.” Ling Ge nodded. “But not every commoner wants to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Isn’t he just desperate to cozy up to the nobility for an easy ride?” She crossed her legs and explained in earnest. “Ambitious commoner mages choose to make their own way. One day, they might rack up military merits or have a magic breakthrough and get granted a title by the Royal Family. But some folks are stuck in the middle—neither rising high nor fitting low. They know they can’t hack it, so they sell themselves to the nobility as high-end servants.

“The Lishen Guild has a few commoner students like that. They’ve already signed servitude contracts and belong to some noble inside, so they’ve been pulled into the group. That Elfa was gunning for the same thing at first. He might’ve been greedier, though—wanting that kind of relationship with the nobility. But his schemes blew up in his face, and now he’s got nothing to show for it.”

Meng Yiran nodded in understanding. “I see…”

A sudden thought struck her. “Then, are there any ‘outsiders’ in Qiuzhi?”

“You mean the nobility?” Ling Ge immediately grasped her meaning and shook her head. “Of course not.”

She hugged her knees to her chest. “There are indeed nobles who haven’t joined Lishen for one reason or another, but they wouldn’t stoop so low as to mingle with us commoner students.”

Meng Yiran murmured in acknowledgment.

The two chatted a little longer before Meng Yiran prepared to leave, only for Ling Ge to stop her.

“Hey, didn’t you learn that spell from my brother just so you could ditch that awful owner anytime, anywhere?” The little girl planted her hands on her hips, blocking the dormitory door. “You’re not going back! Just sleep in the dorm tonight!”

“But…” Meng Yiran began.

“No buts!” Ling Ge pushed her back inside. “Look, I’ve gone to all this trouble preparing so much stuff for you. You can’t just leave this room as a showpiece forever, can you?

“Besides, you won’t be stuck with that nasty lady forever. Better get used to your new identity and new life sooner rather than later.”

Meng Yiran held back from commenting on that final remark, but Ling Ge’s earlier words did touch her. The girl’s efforts and goodwill were genuine—she could feel it.

With a compromising nod, she agreed. “All right. I’ll sleep here tonight.”

“There’s a bathroom in the room, and I’ve put new clothes in the closet for you. Take care of yourself.” Satisfied, Ling Ge stood in the doorway and waved. “Good night.”

“Mm. Get some early rest,” Meng Yiran replied softly before closing the door.

Now alone in the empty room, she felt a moment of disorientation, nearly forgetting the routine a human followed before bed. Fortunately, she snapped out of it quickly, rummaged through the somewhat unfamiliar surroundings for the essentials, freshened up in the bathroom, and slipped under the covers of the pristine new bedding.

In the ensuing quiet, her thoughts drifted unbidden to Tong Yuwu. What was she doing right now? Had she gone to sleep? Had she noticed anything odd about Little White Cat?

Then, an idea flashed into Meng Yiran’s mind.

She and Tong Yuwu were both in Clarity Magic Academy’s Dormitory Area. The straight-line distance between them was only seven or eight hundred meters—not exactly close, but far from insurmountable.

Ling Ze had mentioned during the spell’s instruction that consciousness could freely shift between the original body and the avatar within a certain range, though he hadn’t specified how far that range extended. Was this distance sufficient for her to make the switch?

She wasted no time. Lying down, Meng Yiran found a comfortable position on the bed, closed her eyes, focused her entire mind, and willed herself desperately back into the cat’s body.

Her initial attempts failed one after another. Each time she opened her eyes, she was still in the unfamiliar room. But on the final try, she vividly pictured the path her consciousness needed to take—skirting obstacles, crossing bridges and treetops, slipping through the narrow crack in the window into Tong Yuwu Dormitory…

When she opened her eyes again, her vision had shifted dramatically. Tong Yuwu stood by the bed, gazing sideways at her.

Meng Yiran opened her mouth. “Meow.”

Tong Yuwu looked away without a word and leaned over to climb into bed.

A small kerosene lamp burned in the bedroom, its faint light bathing the room in a dim yellow hue—the ideal atmosphere for drifting off to sleep and dreams.

Little White Cat felt no trace of post-nap drowsiness. She arched her back and leaped, tracing a graceful arc through the air before landing softly on the bed.

Tong Yuwu lay motionless beneath the covers.

Puzzled, Meng Yiran padded forward on silent paws until she reached the woman’s shoulder.

In the dimness, two hands shot out from under the blankets, pinning her to the bed. Little White Cat jolted in surprise, her tail bristling straight up. But the familiar scent quickly soothed her. She stared into a pair of luminous purple eyes on the pillow and meowed softly.

“Meow~”

In the dark night, their two shallow breaths blended with the cat’s soothing purr, enough to melt away any tension.

Tong Yuwu kept one hand pressed to her back while the other toyed with her small ears—stroking the fur smooth one moment, then pinching the soft, springy tips the next. Little White Cat played along perfectly, even nuzzling into her palm whenever it slackened, her trust and affection plain to see.

After a good long while of this, Tong Yuwu drew her to the pillow, settled her in place, and closed her eyes first.

It was time to sleep.

Cats had excellent night vision. In the dim light, Meng Yiran gazed at that face which still captivated her so completely, yet she suddenly felt a surge of dissatisfaction.

She rose up and forcefully wedged herself into the narrow gap between Tong Yuwu’s shoulder and neck. Then, without any rhyme or reason, she began rubbing against her wildly.

Tong Yuwu’s eyes flew wide open in an instant, clearly caught off guard by Little White Cat’s abrupt behavior.

It took several long seconds before Meng Yiran heard her ask hesitantly, “What’s wrong?”

But Little White Cat wasn’t satisfied yet. She flicked her ears, pretending not to have heard, and kept rubbing vigorously against Tong Yuwu’s skin.

The Noble Miss finally couldn’t take it anymore. She sat up, slipped both hands under the little cat’s armpits, and lifted her to her chest. She examined her body intently. “Where does it itch?”

Of course, Meng Yiran didn’t answer. In the silence, a single cat hair drifted onto Little White Cat’s nose tip. Caught off guard, she let out a tiny sneeze. “Pfft!”

Tong Yuwu gently rubbed her nose.

Meng Yiran looked up. Thanks to her keen eyesight, she spotted white cat hairs clinging everywhere below—on the pillow, the bedsheets, and even Tong Yuwu’s plain nightgown. There were so many that a few still floated lazily in the air, circling around mistress and pet without settling.

She admired her “masterpiece” with satisfaction but didn’t dare show it on her face, lest Tong Yuwu notice something amiss. Instead, she just stared wide-eyed in feigned innocence and let out a couple of soft “meows.”

The Noble Miss’s brows furrowed lightly.

She fixed her gaze on the obedient-looking Little White Cat. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Meng Yiran deliberately dodged the question. She lowered her head and nuzzled her cheek against Tong Yuwu’s hand, even darting out her pink little tongue for a quick lick.

Tong Yuwu raised one hand and swatted away two stray hairs drifting about.

Little White Cat seized the moment to leap from her arms.

She perched on the quilt, lifted a hind paw, and scratched at her body with gusto. It didn’t look like grooming at all—it was as if she were dead set on scraping off a layer of skin. When Tong Yuwu glanced her way again, she dropped her leg, deliberately planted her front paws on three cat hairs, and looked up with a loud “meow meow,” making sure her mistress noticed.

The Noble Miss’s expression darkened a shade.

She slid out of bed, gathered up the bedding, and—with practiced ease—replaced it with a fresh set.

Clarity Magic Academy didn’t allow students to bring servants, nor did it expect these young nobles to wash their own clothes or cook their own meals. The cafeteria handled dining, and dedicated school staff came by daily for laundry services—for a small fee, of course.

Picky nobles could have their soiled garments sent out to be washed by their family servants before being returned. Some went further and simply tossed out anything dirty; after all, they had an endless supply of new clothes and linens.

That was how Tong Yuwu operated. Someone took her things to Rose Street, where Jenny and Meili handled the cleaning before sending them back at the right time. Unlike other noble children, the fastidious Noble Miss rarely had truly soiled clothes or bedding—Little White Cat took full responsibility for any mess.

The poor Noble Miss had no idea that tonight’s Little White Cat had returned deliberately to settle a score. When she came back hugging a fresh quilt, the little cat—who had rolled all over the old one until she was panting and exhausted—snapped to attention with a “thump,” sitting perfectly straight, the picture of innocence without a trace of guilt.

Tong Yuwu peered closely. Sure enough, the pristine new quilt was already blanketed in white cat hairs.

Meng Yiran pinned one down with her paw and batted it back and forth playfully. She even looked up with a “meow meow,” inviting her mistress to come admire it together.

The Noble Miss stood at the bedside for a long moment.

At last, she tossed the quilt onto the bed and brushed off the not-insubstantial number of hairs.

Little White Cat looked up in protest, but Tong Yuwu scooped her up with one arm, trapping her firmly against her chest.

Breathing grew a bit difficult for Meng Yiran, but she strained her little chin upward and let out a plaintive “meowr, meowr,” protesting the rough treatment. Tong Yuwu ignored it all. She pulled the quilt over herself, lay down, and promptly shut her eyes.

She adjusted the strength of her arm so Little White Cat could breathe easily again—but she kept the cat pinned securely to her chest, not letting her budge an inch.

Meng Yiran struggled at first. Then all four paws landed on something soft and yielding. Her entire body went rigid. She let out a couple of loud, hissing breaths—“hiss, hiss”—and fell still, not daring to move.

Yet whether by accident or design, one front paw remained right where it was. The slightest pressure let her feel the soft, springy skin beneath.

In the darkness, the Noble Miss’s hand found the cat’s tail. She pinched the tip in gentle punishment, but for the tough Little White Cat, it was utterly painless.

Meng Yiran: “Meow.”

Without modern, efficient hair removal tools, Tong Yuwu’s earlier brushing had only been a cursory effort. Stray cat hairs still dotted the bedding. And with Meng Yiran nestled against her chest, their skin pressed together, one white cat hair had landed precisely in the hollow of her collarbone.

The Little White Cat gently nudged it with her paw pad. Tong Yuwu lowered her head, her gaze sweeping over it before withdrawing indifferently. It was unclear if she had even noticed.

She closed her eyes and murmured softly, “Time to sleep.” Then she added, “If you don’t, I’ll toss you onto the floor.”

The Little White Cat settled down obediently, relaxing her body. But her eyes stayed wide open, tilting her head in the darkness to trace the contours of the other’s sleeping face.