Lin Xu woke up with an abnormally rapid heartbeat, her temples throbbing.
The curtains were half-open, and the room was shrouded in a silvery-blue mist, with the outlines of the furniture covered in a faint layer of shadows.
Ever since she had looked up that information on the web, she had unknowingly fallen asleep and had a terrible dream filled with bizarre scenes.
In the dream, she had tormented Shu Qingyou quite badly. Normally, she would have brushed it off as just a nightmare.
But if she connected the causes and effects even slightly, she had some idea in her heart.
Still, a dream was different from reality. If she were really that bad, that excessive.
With a sigh, the white light from her phone at four in the morning shone on her face.
She gazed out the window at the late autumn early winter sky, sharp and cold.
She had successfully developed insomnia.
With no ideas in mind, she went to the living room. The master bedroom door was tightly shut, which was good—it gave her room to show off her skills.
She had been watching cooking apps these past few days. Knowledge from books was ultimately shallow; she needed hands-on practice.
Considering Shu Qingyou’s slender frame like a paper person, she needed to eat more. Breakfast couldn’t be too greasy, so she would supplement protein and cut carbs.
Previous breakfasts had been nothing more than eggs, plain porridge with side dishes, coarse grains… She looked at the nutritional pairings on her phone: “White porridge has no nutrition and raises blood sugar. Sounds so lame.”
Using the ingredients available in the fridge, she prepared everything and got right to work.
Knife in hand, she first cut off the crusts from the toast. She thought that this world shouldn’t have such a thing as toast crusts, but it felt wasteful to throw them away.
Wasting food was shameful.
On the living room sofa, bathed in dim light, lay a flattened pancake with drooping ears. It had woken up alertly the moment Lin Xu quietly stepped out of her room.
It half-opened its eyes as Lin Xu approached the pancake pile, holding a plate with the remaining toast crusts.
Earlier, she had been immersed in the shocking scars on Shu Qingyou’s arm, hastily washed the Dragon Cat, and hadn’t examined it closely.
She bent down, and with one glance, she was puzzled. Was this a Dragon Cat?
The Dragon Cat’s round eyes stared blankly back at her.
Fine, she surprisingly saw contempt in its eyes.
Lin Xu was amazed. It was a pale pink Dragon Cat, with ears tending toward white—not as large as those on the internet. The closer to its soft belly, the pinker the fur.
She let out a soft “wow.” A new breed she’d never seen.
“Your fur color is so unique. Is it a hybrid?”
The humans of this world were ignorant and rude, seldom seen and clueless.
The Dragon Cat’s whiskers trembled slightly. It rolled over, facing the sofa, adopting a posture of “don’t disturb my sleep.”
“Don’t sleep. Get up and eat.”
Lin Xu poked it, but it didn’t budge, peacefully playing the part of a pancake.
Fine then. People had their pride as humans too.
Lin Xu placed a strip of toast on its forehead, and crumbs fell onto its whiskers.
She had successfully made the Dragon Cat messy again.
Unfortunately, at that moment, the Dragon Cat was still wallowing in the despair of being trapped in another world with no way out. It silently shook off the toast.
Lin Xu admired it: “Who would’ve thought such a small body could have such an arrogant personality.”
Unconcerned with the Dragon Cat’s opinion, Lin Xu set down the plate and left a low whisper like a thief: “Remember to eat.”
She turned and continued studying breakfast techniques in the kitchen.
Shu Qingyou rarely slept in. After giving birth, even her occasional lazy urge to stay in bed had vanished.
Her one habit resembling animal hibernation had turned into motivation for caring for her daughter due to life’s demands.
She got up promptly at six-thirty and first checked on Shu Rong—no fever.
She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Mommy will wake you later. Have breakfast in bed today.”
Shu Rong comfortably nestled in the warm blanket scented with her mother’s fragrance, silently agreeing with Mommy and continuing to be a hibernating caterpillar.
Before washing up, a rich cheesy milk aroma wafted from the kitchen. Shu Qingyou thought for a moment and went to brush her teeth first.
The Dragon Cat was trying hard to be a pink pancake, but it had already blindly eaten all the toast crusts with its eyes closed.
No matter how bitter or tiring, it couldn’t neglect its stomach.
Hearing the door open and close, Lin Xu’s ears perked up sensitively. She hurried to finish the last step, ladling the millet pumpkin porridge into bowls.
Steaming hot, with a golden surface, she covered her mouth and laughed. She had succeeded a bit too well.
She secretly rejoiced over the table’s results. When Shu Qingyou saw it, she would surely praise her to the skies.
While Lin Xu was smug, Shu Qingyou squatted down and gently pinched the Dragon Cat’s ear with her fingertip. It was clean and flawless—no wounds.
When touched, the Dragon Cat shifted its limbs slightly. Shu Qingyou released its ear and said, “Sorry.”
She waited for the Dragon Cat’s breathing to steady, its body rising and falling rhythmically.
“Excuse me… may I check your belly?”
Unsure of the pet’s temperament, Shu Qingyou followed the principle of equality for all things and avoided rash disturbance.
This human was decent—measured, not rowdy. It gave Shu Qingyou a passing grade.
Seeing the Dragon Cat roll to its side, exposing its silky, beautiful fur, Shu Qingyou was genuinely stunned.
It was willing to let her check its belly. Shu Qingyou hesitated, her hand hovering in mid-air.
“What’s the hold-up? Pet it.”
Lin Xu couldn’t wait any longer—breakfast would get cold. Hands on hips, she leaned over, her tone impatient.
She grasped Shu Qingyou’s hand and pressed it onto the Dragon Cat’s exceptionally soft belly. Shu Qingyou startled and instinctively wanted to pull back, but Lin Xu domineeringly held her in place.
“Hurry up. It’s perfectly fine, right?”
Lin Xu’s lips brushed Shu Qingyou’s ear. She couldn’t help her physiological fondness. Not seeing Shu Qingyou all night had made her heart itch unbearably.
Shu Qingyou’s voice was soft and low, afraid to startle the little animal: “Mm… it’s fine now.”
The plate was licked clean of toast—quite an appetite, eaten with relish, so of course it was energetic.
Lin Xu didn’t point it out. She boasted that she had fed it that morning and eagerly pushed Shu Qingyou along, considerately pulling out a chair for her. “I worked on this for a long time.”
Shu Qingyou glanced over. The breakfast was varied and abundant. Closest to her was the millet pumpkin porridge, its fresh aroma wafting up.
Corn cut in half as usual, five eggs—Lin Xu ate one more than them, and now there was an extra Dragon Cat in the house.
Toast triangles, baked to golden crispness, filled with ham and cheese.
Even the milk was poured and warmed in the microwave. Lin Xu draped her hands over Shu Qingyou’s shoulders, a bit exaggeratedly, grinning proudly. “The milk’s warmed too.”
Lin Xu couldn’t resist introducing: “And these sweet-and-sour lotus root slices with a sprinkle of green onions—I plated them myself. Super confident.”
Not wanting to disappoint her, Shu Qingyou picked up a piece, chewing slowly. The texture was crisp, the seasoning well-balanced with a slight sweet tang.
Hard to imagine.
If she hadn’t lived with Lin Xu for a year, she might have mistaken this for the level of a regular home cook.
Lin Xu’s eyes sparkled. “Try all of these.”
Shu Qingyou agreed, giving her face by eating quite a bit.
It was a good thing at first, but Shu Qingyou clearly struggled a little. Lin Xu’s initial joy turned to heartache as she rubbed her lower abdomen.
A woman’s lower abdomen, if not deliberately exercised, was naturally soft with a slight swell. Her palm sensed it was a bit bloated.
“Mm… no… don’t touch.”
How could she just touch her belly like that? Shu Qingyou twisted her waist embarrassedly.
Lin Xu’s palm was hotter than her belly. Back when Lin Xu worked out at home every noon—treadmill, rowing machine, spin bike, all the equipment.
Years of repeated friction had thickened the skin near her palm’s base, forming calluses that brought an unusual… pleasure when stroking.
Her lower abdomen involuntarily shuddered a few times.
There were signs of pheromones leaking from her gland.
Lin Xu didn’t notice the anomaly. Why was Shu Qingyou dodging her? She asked dejectedly: “Is it not tasty? Does your stomach hurt? Sorry, I…”
Before she finished, Shu Qingyou interrupted, her thin face flushing hot: “No, mm… Lin Xu, stop touching…”
A faint sweet orange scent of pheromones floated in the air, entwining and overpowering the food smells.
It dazed Lin Xu with fragrance. Her mind hazy, her fingertips curled, her voice husky: “Qingyou, do you want it?”
Who declared lust in broad daylight?
Shu Qingyou said embarrassedly: “I need to feed Rongrong breakfast first.”
So cute.
Lin Xu chuckled lowly, pressing closer, rubbing her belly for her. Her phlox flower scent breath puffed onto Shu Qingyou’s gland.
“Then you ate too much. Don’t ruin your stomach. If you like it, I’ll make it for you every day.”
The stimulation made Shu Qingyou clutch Lin Xu’s mischievous hand.
Lin Xu smoothly encircled her lightly. “But I don’t want you to feed Rongrong first.”
Nuzzling near Shu Qingyou’s gland, she sighed softly: “Can you feed me first, please?”
Amid Shu Qingyou’s puzzled gaze, Lin Xu’s eyes trailed from her lower abdomen, lifting to trace her brows and eyes, her lips slowly approaching.
They landed on Shu Qingyou’s eyelashes. Shu Qingyou closed her eyes.
Just as Shu Qingyou came back to her senses, she understood what Lin Xu meant by “feed me full.”
