Chapter 265

Page Eighty-One

Transformation

The dinner that was supposed to bring Tāo Jie and Yǐjī Jie together did not go as smoothly as hoped. Neither accepted the other’s terms, and they were both hesitant about Mother’s compromise.

— “It’s not so much hesitation as it is reluctance to speak out. Considering how you feel, could you call our mother ‘sister’?” —

Cherry Sauce’s words made sense, but Tāo Jie was more stubborn than I expected, making me worry about whether this month’s goal would be met.

—”Don’t worry, we still have AJ, right?”—

What? Are you considering AJ as part of the quota?!

—”I meant she will work on Tāo Jie’s thoughts tonight. Where did you get such an idea?”—

Cough…

Tāo Jie, Yǐjī Jie, and AJ went together to the hotel suite arranged by Lǐn Huā. I could only hope for progress tonight.

It was nearly nine o’clock, and the night was deep. We were sitting in a taxi on our way home. The river reflected on the car window was surprisingly calm.

Xiǎo Lěi, unable to bear it any longer, turned to Mother and pleaded.

“Qiànxià sister, can you let me play with Yòu Zi for a while?”

This idiot actually called Mother “Qiànxià sister”?

Mother didn’t mind and seemed rather pleased, perhaps thinking she was very young… she really looked very young.

“No problem, here you go!”

She tossed Yòu Zi to the back seat. Due to the driver, who was unaware of the situation, the little one couldn’t make a sound and became a stuffed toy in the hands of the fool, resembling a lump.

I also wanted to touch its mink fur, but Yòu Zi was considered a girl (after all, she referred to herself as “me”), so it wasn’t appropriate to just reach out.

Because there weren’t enough seats in the taxi, Cherry Sauce returned to the notebook.

And because the Jewel was seized, Mother had to come with us, though she didn’t want to see Old Mom. But after the experience in the dream, her attitude wasn’t too resistant.

“Just for tonight, tomorrow at least let me return to ‘there.'”

Mother referred to the Spatial Jewel, wanting to complete what she called a lifeline. As long as she stayed close to us, there wouldn’t be many restrictions on what she could do.

I replied, “No problem, Old Mom can help prepare meals, but the Jewel still needs to be kept by Cherry Sauce.”

The internal space of the notebook was our best safe. If it couldn’t be secured there, it wouldn’t be secure anywhere else.

The taxi stopped at the entrance of the village. Getting off, we could see the lights of our two-story house from afar.

I took Mother’s hand.

“Let’s go… let’s go home.”

The path from the village entrance to home wasn’t long, but today it felt particularly slow. The dim streetlights stretched our shadows, which gradually blended into the darkness. A beautiful white cat stood at the gate of the yard, barked at us, then retreated into the sheltered cat house.

When passing the cat house, Yòu Zi hid in the hood of Xiǎo Lěi’s down jacket.

Opening the door, I saw the living room lights on. I called out.

“Old Dad, we’re back.”

Today was Tuesday, so it should be Old Dad’s time.

At least that’s what I thought. But entering the house, I saw Xiǎo Qínglán lying on the sofa, head resting on Old Mom’s chest, watching TV lazily, eating Hami melon fed by Old Mom.

Lazily waving, she said, “Oh~ Xiao Kai is back?”

Seeing this scene full of “life,” Mother suddenly erupted. Her anger, like a tangible flame, transformed into golden energy, burning a hole in the ceiling of the foyer… destroying things upon returning home?

To prevent a fire, I quickly tried to calm her down. “Stay calm, they don’t seem to be a typical mother-daughter pair.”

But in extreme anger, one doesn’t listen to reason.

“Hey, you little fox spirit!!”

Furious Mother rushed into the living room, grabbing Xiao Qínglán by the collar.

“Wah! Xiaoling, no, you are Ning—”

Realizing she shouldn’t say that, she quickly covered her mouth and turned to look at Old Mom behind her.

“Welcome back.”

Though her voice was soft, Old Mom, recognizing Mother, was overwhelmed with joy. Even if they couldn’t directly acknowledge each other, just being able to meet in reality brought tears to her eyes.

Finding Mother was truly great. I must thank Sister Zǐ later.

“Mm, I’m back!”

Mother threw Xiao Qínglán onto the floor at the entrance of the living room, then lunged into Old Mom’s arms… Lǐn Huā tugged at my sleeve.

“Kǎi-Chan, let’s step aside.”

Picking up Xiao Qínglán, Xiǎo Lěi echoed, “They need some alone time now.”

Yòu Zi on her shoulder blinked and asked, “Hey, what exactly is their relationship?”

What’s going on? It has been around us for so long yet doesn’t understand our family dynamics?

—”After all, it’s something that can’t be directly said.”—

“Some things are hard to explain. Just consider her my younger sister.”

The small animal gave a human-like scornful expression and said, “But Xiao Kai, you look more like a younger sister than the owner does.”

“I understand your point… but if she’s not my sister, she might disappear anytime.”

Yòu Zi clearly didn’t understand, tilting her tiny head in confusion.

Still, I couldn’t explain anything to it.

Using tentacles to plug the hole in the foyer ceiling with white tape, Cherry Sauce continued,

—”I found traces of a transformation technique within Yòu Zi. Injecting magical energy or divine power can turn her human.”—

Why not try it tonight?

Using divine power for the transformation… I should be able to manage that.

—”Not enough, you overestimate yourself.”—

“Capacity” has another meaning. Please replace it with “capacity.”

—”In short, I’ll handle the transformation, you just maintain the power supply afterward.”—

My capacity is low, but recovery is fast.

Cherry Sauce has high capacity, but recovery speed seems… average.

So she already treats me like a human battery, my divine power rarely fully charged.

—”Overflow is wasteful. Better to utilize resources.”—

But I’ll get hungry easily.

Returning upstairs to the bedroom, Xiǎo Lěi carried Yòu Zi and threw her onto the bed. Yòu Zi, afraid of being crushed, curled up in the fool’s arms, looking pitiful.

“Really, why do I have to avoid too? I want to go down and talk to them!”

Xiao Qínglán, dragged upstairs, expressed dissatisfaction. Lǐn Huā blocked the door like a guardian.

“No! I know you have your own plans, but not today! Don’t think of disturbing them. After your bath, sleep on the floor.”

Huh?

Wait!

If she sleeps on the floor, where do I sleep?

“But I also like Xiǎo Wēi!”

Xiao Qínglán continued to pout. Cherry Sauce suddenly extended a ghostly hand from behind me, gripping her head.

“Qínglán Jie, everything has its order. No matter how much you like her, you are a latecomer. Since she’s back today, why wouldn’t you step aside?”

As she spoke, Cherry Sauce fully emerged from behind me, still holding Xiao Qínglán’s head, who kicked in protest, “I don’t plan to cause trouble, I want to build trust like Lǐn Huā and Xiǎo Lěi do!”

She’s dreaming of a harmonious harem.

“Don’t talk nonsense, go take a bath!”

Cherry Sauce forcefully dragged Xiao Qínglán away, seemingly preparing to throw her into the bathroom.

—I’m going to wash this brat myself.—

You’re joining in too?

I turned to Lǐn Huā and the sprawled-out Xiǎo Lěi on the bed, “Then you two should go bathe?”

“Ah—again wanting us to bathe together?”

Xiǎo Lěi complained in a drawn-out tone.

“To save time, since you don’t mind.”

Lǐn Huā retrieved their change of clothes from the closet, “I don’t mind, do you dislike bathing with me, Cherry Sauce? We can scrub each other’s backs.”

Xiǎo Lěi retorted, “Your recent tendencies are getting worse! Every time I bathe with you, I feel cheated!”

Indeed.

I’ve seen Lǐn Huā taking liberties with Xiǎo Lěi several times.

Reluctantly, after some wriggling on the bed, the fool followed Lǐn Huā into the bathroom, soon followed by laughter and water sounds.

Now, I was alone in the bedroom…

No, there was still a pet mink on the bed.

I stared at Yòu Zi’s beady eyes. She squirmed and asked, “Xiao Kai, do you want to touch my body too?”

Her mink fur was indeed tempting.

“Is it okay?” I asked tentatively.

“If you want me to answer truthfully, of course not!”

That’s true.

I scratched my head and asked, “Yòu Zi, do you want to transform into a human form now? Even if Qiànxià doesn’t help, I might be able to assist.”

Yòu Zi jumped up, somersaulted in mid-air, and clung to my clothes, then climbed to my shoulder using the chest prosthetic.

“Yes! Can Xiao Kai help too?”

Due to her animal voice, Yòu Zi’s voice was always sharp and piercing, especially when near my ear.

I said, “Let me try. What do you usually do?”

“The owner rubs my head to inject magical energy.”

Is rubbing the head necessary?

—”Try it. You’ll meet the real Qiànxià later. Use my divine power this time.”—

I placed my finger on Yòu Zi’s delicate head. Cherry Sauce guided the divine power to my fingertip, channeling it into the transformation technique within Yòu Zi.

“I feel it! It’s working!”

Yòu Zi shouted and jumped from my shoulder, completing the instant transformation in the air. Her transformation was incredibly quick, taking only about 0.5 seconds.

—Transformation time decreases with more transformations… but I didn’t expect it to be this fast, even including the clothes.—

Yòu Zi’s transformation was indeed incredible. She transformed into the appearance of the delivery person, with gray and white speckled hair, slightly shorter than me, dressed in ordinary winter clothing.

By the way, her triangular ears and slender mink tail remained.

“Oh! The owner was right. You really can help me transform!”

Yòu Zi excitedly bounced on the bed, but quickly calmed down after getting used to the transformation.

“In the future, just say what you need. My transformation technique can decide appearance and attire to some extent, but I don’t want to become a man…”

She paused and looked toward the balcony.

“What’s wrong?”

Following her gaze, I saw a white cat crouching on the balcony.