Chapter 90 Part 4

Right on cue, the cat’s tail coiled affectionately around her arm twice.

Hesitant at first, Tang Lian shifted her hand and gave a light pat. Then another.

Niannian arched higher with every smack, meowing gleefully and wriggling with even greater abandon.

Tang Lian whipped her head around in alarm. “Big Sister, this really doesn’t seem right.”

“It looks kind of like… ? But our Niannian’s still just a kitten.”

Nan Qi had already filmed a few seconds of video and sent it to the vet. A reply pinged in now. She glanced at the screen and finished Tang Lian’s thought.

“In heat.”

“The doctor says Niannian’s clearly in heat.”

Tang Lian froze at the diagnosis. She stared in disbelief at the tiny kitten, torn between laughter and astonishment. “Our Niannian’s already hitting puberty?”

“Aren’t kittens supposed to go into heat around seven or eight months old?” She recalled the vet estimating Niannian at five months when they’d first brought her in for emergency care—a true baby.

Nan Qi replied offhandedly, “Probably takes after her owner.”

High-school romance for the owner, early heat for the pet—it seemed fitting enough.

Tang Lian caught the implication instantly. She shot Nan Qi a look and playfully punched her arm.

Nan Qi just grinned, making no move to dodge as she took the loving swat from her girlfriend.

“Ask the doctor what we should do next.” Once the horseplay died down, Tang Lian got serious.

Neither of them had any prior experience raising pets. They wanted to be prepared.

“Mm.” Nan Qi nodded and fired off a detailed list of questions, then relayed the answers to Tang Lian. “Niannian’s still recovering from her fracture, and her vaccines aren’t complete yet. No spaying surgery for now. Wait until her leg’s fully healed and all shots are done, then take her in. Lock all the doors and windows in the meantime to keep her from bolting outside in her condition…”

Tang Lian committed it all to memory, steeling herself for action.

She stroked Niannian’s head and cooed, “Poor little thing, going through so much at such a young age.” She looked every inch the devoted mother, full of tender concern.

Moments later, out of Niannian’s sight, she updated her romance comic online: [Little cat at home’s gone into heat. So pitiful—]

[But… kittens can’t date, so she can watch Mommy do it instead! Up-close every day—best therapy ever.]

In the days that followed, they fed Niannian three full meals of nutrient-rich supplements a day to support her healing, and devoted even more time than usual to playing with her.

Under their devoted care, her leg mended beautifully. Her checkup results were perfect, the bandages came off, and she was leaping about freely once more. She even got her second vaccine on schedule. One more shot, and it would be time for spaying.

The one hitch: Niannian’s appetite had been off lately. Her weight gain was sluggish, leaving her shy of surgery standards.

Each day, it took both mommies cradling and coaxing her to get her to eat even a little extra.

Winter had fully settled in. With the heat cranked up, the house was a cocoon of warmth, like the first blush of spring—a stark contrast to the world outside.

Niannian sprawled on the floor, flattening herself into a furry rug.

Nan Qi couldn’t resist the adorableness. She scooped up the black-furred blanket one-handed, slipped a dainty floral skirt over her, and cradled her close, popping freeze-dried treats into her mouth one at a time.

Warm arms and yummy snacks? Niannian didn’t put up a fight. She nestled obediently in Nan Qi’s lap like the perfect plush toy.

Tang Lian sat beside Nan Qi as the TV played Xing Ye’s King of Comedy. The progress bar hovered at one-third, the voice-over crisp in the air.

She turned to catch sight of Nan Qi in her fluffy white loungewear, feeding the kitten amid the ideal ambiance. Her heart swelled with cozy contentment. Inspiration flooded her; the urge to create was irresistible.

She hopped off the sofa in a flash, grabbed her drawing board and colored pencils, set up at the perfect angle, and began sketching Nan Qi. The outlines took shape stroke by stroke beneath her pen.

This was one of the many promises she’d made to Nan Qi: to paint her portrait.

Nan Qi spotted her intent right away, her posture stiffening slightly. Unfamiliar with an artist’s process, she asked softly, “Lianlian, how can I help?”

“Just be natural—no need to pose. I want to capture your everyday at home, the you I see.”

Tang Lian paused her pencil to gaze intently at Nan Qi’s face, her words earnest.

Seizing the unguarded moment, she darted in for a quick smooch.

“Got it.” Nan Qi’s lips curved in a smile. She exhaled the tension and settled back into herself comfortably.

Nan Qi amused herself with the kitten while Tang Lian sketched in silence.

Every so often, Nan Qi’s eyes would flick up to Tang Lian, perched cross-legged like a bunny. Their gazes would collide by chance, affection and warmth mingling into ripples of delight.

The movie’s plot went ignored.

The TV looped back to the start on its own as the sky outside faded from light to dark. Tang Lian rose to flick on the house lights.

Nan Qi had slipped into the kitchen a quarter of an hour earlier to fix their dinner.

At last, Tang Lian added the finishing touches, set aside her brush, and admired the portrait with Nan Qi at its heart. She was thoroughly pleased.

The portrait captured about seventy or eighty percent of Nan Qi’s charm. As Tang Lian stared at it, she felt as if Nan Qi stood vividly before her, close enough to touch.

She carefully smoothed out the painting paper, afraid a single wrinkle might ruin the artistic mood or the beauty of the figure within.

A needle-like pain prickled through her arm with the motion, while her neck grew stiff from holding the same position for so long. As she hissed through her teeth, a pair of warm, slender hands suddenly settled over her shoulders and neck. They pinpointed her sore spots and began kneading with rhythmic precision. The pressure was perfect, easing the blocked blood flow, and the sharp pain tugging at her nerves soon melted away under Nan Qi’s skilled touch. The agonized expression that had been etched on Tang Lian’s face vanished long ago.

“Painted beautifully,” came a proud murmur against the nape of her neck, slipping right into her ear.

Her heart felt like it had been steeped in thick, sticky honey water. How was Nan Qi just so wonderful~

She was always so attentive, sensing Tang Lian’s discomfort the instant it arose and chasing it away, caring for her so thoughtfully.

“Dinner’s ready. I baked chocolate tarts in the new oven—want to try them?” Lately, Nan Qi had developed a hobby for poring over recipes, experimenting with new dishes every few days and always inviting Tang Lian to be the first to taste them.

Their daily life was full of these small, mundane moments laced with endless little surprises.

Most of the time, Tang Lian felt wrapped in a tide of overwhelming happiness.

Like right now, in this very minute.

She pressed her lips together, trying to tamp down the joy bubbling up inside her, but she couldn’t hold back. She spun around and buried her face in the curve of Nan Qi’s neck, letting out a soft whimper.

Like a chick freshly hatched from its shell, shamelessly coquettish with the first person it laid eyes on.

Her arms stayed looped around Nan Qi’s waist the whole time as she shuffled them both toward the kitchen, never changing position.

As if she’d sprouted right onto Nan Qi’s body.

Nan Qi relished the weight of Tang Lian clinging to her, though she pretended to grumble, “You’re like a koala, even clingier than Niannian.”

Tang Lian only hugged her tighter.

Tang Lian had marked Nan Qi’s birthday on the calendar with a big circle ages ago, making a point to glance at it every time she passed by.

Nan Qi had only mentioned the date once, but Tang Lian had taken it straight to heart.

She seemed even more excited about it than Nan Qi herself.

She was so grateful for this day—how heaven had safely brought Nan Qi into the world, allowing the grown woman to cross paths with her own grown self.

On the eve of the birthday, Linxi welcomed the year’s first snowfall.

The flakes were tiny specks of white, laced with rain. They melted the moment they hit the ground, blending into the downpour and vanishing in an instant.

Nan Qi leaned against the windowsill and sighed without much hope. “If only the snow could pick up.”

Of course, Tang Lian was right there to cheer her on. She always had unshakable faith in Nan Qi.

“If Big Sister wants it that badly, it’ll definitely turn into a big snowfall!”

Nan Qi couldn’t help but laugh at her childlike declaration, reaching out to ruffle the fluffy tips of her hair. Her voice was gentle. “Don’t jinx it. It’s not like I can control the weather.”

The night passed, and Tang Lian woke first.

She drew back the curtains and blinked at the dazzling silver-white world outside, rubbing her eyes in disbelief.

When she opened them again, everything was still blanketed in pristine white.

The neighborhood’s shrubs and carports lay under thick quilts of snow. Children in gloves packed dense snowballs beside the flower beds, erecting snowmen of all sizes and bizarre shapes. They weren’t exactly pretty, but they brimmed with pure joy.

Tang Lian was over the moon, her eyebrows arching high with pride. She knew it—Nan Qi’s luck was second to none!!

She shook her still-sleeping girlfriend awake at once.

“Wake up!” Her voice thrummed with uncontainable excitement.

“What’s going on…” Nan Qi had no trace of morning grumpiness and roused quickly to Tang Lian’s commotion.

Tang Lian cupped her chin and turned her face toward the window. “Big Sister, look—it’s snowing!” She put heavy emphasis on the words. “Big, fluffy snow, like goose feathers!”

“This means every wish Big Sister makes this year will come true!” Tang Lian declared with utter conviction, banking on Nan Qi’s flawless fortune.

The girl’s soft palm warmed her cheek, heating her entire face, while those innocent words reverberated through her chest like a drumbeat on endless loop.

Like a seed burrowing into the soil of her heart, greedily drinking in nourishment as it took root and sprouted.

She nuzzled into the girl’s palm, her own voice gone utterly soft and gooey. “Then I’ll take that as Lianlian’s good omen.”

“Though… could you maybe grant me one little wish first?”

“You say.”

Nan Qi spread her arms invitingly, drawling lazily, “Help me get dressed.”

Tang Lian’s eyes curved into sly crescents. “Wouldn’t dream of anything else.”

Her gaze flicked to the wardrobe in the bedroom, her mind already whirring through outfit after outfit, complete from head to toe.

She loved dressing up her miracle of a Nan Qi more than anything.

Bo Ranying, too, had been keeping close tabs on Nan Qi’s birthday for quite some time.