Chapter 285

Page Ninety-Five

Bad News

— “Wow~ Although a bit sudden, it’s quite a bold invitation.” —

I mustered up the courage to speak, but Sister Zǐ’s reaction wasn’t as intense as I had imagined. She merely shook her head and said, “No, I have to study ‘miniaturization of array structures’ tonight. Since I missed classes during the day, I need to make up for them.”

— “Hehe, you were rejected! Her feelings for you aren’t as strong as her desire to learn!” —

Why did Cherry Sauce’s tone sound so gleeful?

Sister Zǐ continued, “Your willingness to invite me caught me off guard… But this must be Little Qínglán’s doing, right?”

— “Oh, was I seen through?” —

Leveraging her height advantage, Sister Zǐ looked down at me and said, “Let’s put this off for now. I’ll find a chance to repay you later.”

“Can things be put off like that?”

Mother was delighted by this scene, hiding behind Old Lady and giggling uncontrollably, her laughter echoing through the office.

When Mother laughed, Old Lady got excited too.

She suggested with her hands on her hips, “Since Little Xue can’t fulfill her duties as an assistant teacher yet, feel free to ask me any questions you have! Until Miss Kē Màn finishes dealing with that person, I can give you special tutoring!”

That person referred to Yǐn Tiānjié. As soon as she mentioned it, Miss Kē Màn stood up holding that watch.

“I’ll go to the ward then.”

I asked, “Won’t you come with me?”

“No… In the afternoon, I wasn’t prepared.”

As Miss Kē Màn spoke, she subconsciously touched her stomach, where she had been hit by Yǐn Tiānjié earlier.

“So I and Mother will just wander around the Research Institute…”

“Would you like to go up for some midnight snacks?”

Miss Kē Màn suddenly turned back when we reached the office door and proposed, “The cafeteria… I mean, there’s a barbecue stall next to the large food stand. Though the place isn’t big, the taste is pretty good. The owner has a secret family recipe.”

“Thank you for the recommendation, but we’re already full from dinner.”

Although Mother politely declined, my stomach didn’t cooperate, rumbling loudly.

Old Lady laughed carelessly, “Haha, Xiao Kai, weren’t you full from dinner?”

“It’s all your fault!”

To recover from the severe depletion of divine power, what I ate earlier digested quickly. That sumptuous dinner felt like it never happened, and my stomach signaled hunger again.

I scratched my head awkwardly.

“I’m a bit hungry. Should I call down Bā Hé and eat another meal?”

—————

On the way to the skewer shop

—————

Bā Hé Mèi, wearing only pajamas and accompanied by Xiaoxué, who had just moved in (staying temporarily in room 203), sat with us in the skewer shop.

Without worrying about others’ impressions, she wore pajamas that unexpectedly showed her childlike side. She wore pink polka-dot pajamas herself and lent clean white onesie pajamas to Xiaoxué, who wore a pajama hat to cover her conspicuous cat ears.

Bā Hé Mèi complained, “It’s so cold! Winter really isn’t suitable for eating barbecue. Plus, I’ve already taken a bath. Getting exposed to smoke isn’t good for the skin, right?”

She touched her own cheek, and Xiaoxué mimicked her, touching Bā Hé Mèi’s cheek.

“Xiaoxué’s skin is very good. I’ve been working overtime a lot lately, feeling my skin looks dull…”

The skin of a newly transformed body is as smooth as a baby’s, which is a common trait among transformees. However, subsequent maintenance depends on oneself. For example, Xiǎo Lěi, being somewhat of a fool, got tanned in summer.

“What’s with that urban professional statement?”

I couldn’t help but comment, “And didn’t Senior Sister give you leave to visit your parents?”

“… It’s punitive!”

The server brought a full plate of various skewers, mostly meat, along with four bottles of glass-bottled cola. This was quite a feast, but it seemed excessive for a midnight snack.

We could take the leftovers to the Research Institute.

Deciding to grab a chicken leg skewer, I said, “Compared to the trouble caused by your actions today, this punishment is quite light.”

Bā Hé Mèi protested angrily, “How is it light? If you don’t let me continue my research, I’ll fall behind everyone when I return!”

“Black, so you’re the one who wanted to work overtime to do research, right?”

Because of the “miniaturization of array structures” technology brought by Old Lady, the Research Institute solved the problem of “high power consumption and large size.” This technology’s importance was akin to the impact of transistors on computer development. In the coming period, the institute’s magical skills would see a qualitative leap, except for Bā Hé Mèi, who would stagnate.

For someone as obsessed with magical research as Bā Hé Mèi, this was indeed a severe punishment.

I comforted her, “It’s just temporary, you’ll catch up eventually. And visiting your parents is necessary. They don’t know what you look like now, right?”

“Of course not.”

Bā Hé Mèi held a stainless steel skewer in her mouth, pouting helplessly.

“I don’t know how to face them. What if they don’t believe I’m their son?”

When the conversation reached something Mother understood, she asked, “Is there anything that can prove your identity?”

“There is, Professor Shí will accompany me… But it’s hard to convince them without revealing the existence of magic.”

Mother, who loved children and enjoyed taking care of them, encouraged her.

“Don’t worry, Bā Hé. Your parents will surely believe you! No matter what a child becomes, parents can always recognize them. That’s the bloodline between parent and child!”

Her tone was reminiscent of my kindergarten teacher, but surprisingly effective for Bā Hé Mèi, who essentially wanted to become a mature older sister at heart.

She said, “Oh! Though this doesn’t make much sense, it’s convincing coming from Sister Wēi! So I’ll go back tomorrow and explain everything in person!”

“Mm, you should try!”

Mother truly had a soothing presence.

“Xiaoxué, can you speak properly now?”

I looked at the silent white cat girl, who hadn’t moved much since sitting down. When the skewers were served, she just stared at them, unsure if she wanted to eat.

Cats and dogs differ in one obvious way: dogs actively beg for food while eating, but cats don’t. Cats are more wary of humans… past Ouzi was an exception as a house pig.

“She can’t talk fluently yet, but she understands what we say.”

Bā Hé Mèi explained, and Xiaoxué nodded.

Only then did Mother realize, exclaiming, “Could this be the white cat from your room last night?”

“Yes, Mom, you recognized her?”

“The calm demeanor is similar. No wonder I didn’t see it when I came home. You really turned it into a human, huh?”

“Hello.”

To greet Mother, Xiaoxué actually spoke and walked to the table, squatting and resting her head on Mother’s lap.

Though it was just an expression of submission and closeness, it made Mother uncomfortable, who quickly stopped her, “Hey, stop that. It’s strange to do such things after turning into a human! Everyone’s watching!”

“Because I like you. You often take care of stray cats, right?”

I handed Xiaoxué a crispy yellow fish skewer. Skewers don’t require chopsticks, perfect for helping Xiaoxué adapt to human eating habits.

“Eat slowly. Humans don’t snatch food from each other.”

With a wooden expression, she returned to her seat, spat out the grilled fish onto her plate, and looked up at me, saying, “T-thank you.”

What’s with that? This is much more polite than Ouzi was!

Ouzi was directly infused with human knowledge by Tian Dao, not learning through Old Lady’s soul fragment like Xiaoxué, so there was no adaptation period. Plus, she didn’t wear clothes after transforming, causing her to act out of shame and knock me unconscious…

Unnoticed, half a year had passed. Time sure flies.

Bā Hé Mèi said, “Today, I’m treating. Just grab whatever you want! You’ll be the assistant teacher here, besides providing mana batteries, Boss will definitely pay you a salary.”

Xiaoxué tilted her head.

“Fish, dried?”

“Not fish jerky, money!”

Her mind still needed adjusting. I wondered if Yòu Zi was similarly unresponsive when first transformed.

“She’ll definitely be a quiet child.”

Mother grew increasingly fond of Xiaoxué.

— “Xiao Kai, you have a call.” —

Cherry Sauce sent a message.

— “Due to signal issues, the phone call might drop. Just use ‘I’ to answer.” —

Before I could understand her meaning, my vision changed, and I found myself back in the living room at home. Yòu Zi, in human form, sat on the single sofa diagonally across from me, hugging Little Qínglán and retaliating.

They had finished bathing and were sitting together watching TV.

— “I reversed engineered the spell in that bracelet, so I can also allow you to use a clone… Don’t touch strange places!” —

Not a chance!

Even though I was in Sakura’s body, I had used it for over half a month. Besides having two extra lumps on my chest and lacking a piece between my legs, the female clone wasn’t much different…

Though I thought so, my face felt warm, my mindset different from before.

— “Of course, previously, you were affected by the female body, but this time it’s remote control. You enter the female body with the mindset of a pubescent male high school student. If left unchecked, it could lead to an R18 scenario.” —

So I wouldn’t do that!

I picked up the phone on the coffee table—it was Lǐn Huā calling.

“Kǎi-Chan! Where are you?”

The voice on the other end was urgent and flustered, making it hard to imagine what could cause such negative emotions in that cunning young lady.

“I’m at home… Oh, wait, I’m at the廉租公寓eating barbecue.”

“Wherever you are, Grandma’s condition isn’t good. Come to the hospital immediately!”