Chapter Thirty-Five: Stringing My Heart Together

Before I could say a word, Master reached out and wiped my lips. Well, if that part could still be called lips—only a few whiskers trembled. I felt rather beautiful; opening my eyes to see such a handsome man beside me was a scene my former self could never have dreamed of.

Wang Chuan seemed to notice what I was thinking and patted my backside. “Lazy cat, time to get up.” Embarrassed, I dodged his hand. Yes, the sun was already shining overhead—of course it was noon!

Wait, the sun?! Startled, I glanced outside and finally realized, “Master, since when has there been sunlight in the Rift?” Wang Chuan looked up at the radiant golden-orange sun, but didn’t answer me. Instead, he simply sat up in bed. The quilt slid down instantly, revealing his muscular chest and abs, his streamlined physique rivaling my statue-husband!

In that moment, I thought: among humans, my master is the handsomest; among beasts, my husband is the handsomest. I have it all, ha ha!

Wang Chuan gave me a glance as if I were a fool, then grabbed my collar and lifted me onto the table. Only then did I notice that, at some point, he had already dressed, and the table was filled with delicious food—clearly prepared long ago.

But there was only one portion. Standing off to the side, I didn’t know what to do. It was the first time I realized that Master, too, needed to eat. Also the first time I learned that, though I wouldn’t die from not eating, watching someone else eat still made me hungry.

Wang Chuan reached out and took a small dish. “Was it comfortable sleeping with Master?” “Thank you... huh?” I thought he was kindly sharing some food with me and was about to express my gratitude, only to realize the question and the action didn’t match at all!

Sleeping with Master? It was just sleeping! I glanced at Wang Chuan but, still, couldn’t help but answer, “Comfortable.”

“Good.” Wang Chuan didn’t say more, but he placed quite a bit of delicious food in the little dish. I pursed my lips, watching him until he finished and told me I could eat, at which point I dove in headfirst.

Wang Chuan probably still thought I was silly, but after so much time together, even showing my true nature in front of him didn’t make me feel embarrassed. So I ate with my mouth, and whiskers, covered in food.

But this time, Wang Chuan didn’t wipe me clean—because from nearby, a slender young girl was approaching!

A true beauty, dressed in a light green medieval maid’s outfit, very much in the forest-girl style. Her hair was done up like a bride, full of elegance. Especially those sculpted cheeks, fair skin, delicate arms—no different from the stars on TV!

I was momentarily dumbstruck, the food dropping from my mouth onto the plate, only to be rapped on the head by Wang Chuan’s chopsticks, prompting me to feign eating again.

“Master...” The soft voice, with a hint of childish innocence, made my bones feel weak. I glanced up and finally noticed her eyes—sea blue! Her eyelashes, so long!

My God, this must be Rebecca! Only then did I realize: such elegance, in Wang Chuan’s house, with sea-blue eyes—who else could it be?

And what shattered my fragile heart in an instant was: how could she be so beautiful! Like those collectible dolls sold online—utterly flawless. If someone claimed she was fake, people might actually believe it.

I was near tears, gnawing on little meat chunks in my dish. Master was still a good master, sharing a few morsels with me—meow! My mood improved a little.

Rebecca glanced at me, eating recklessly on the table, her eyes showing a hint of dissatisfaction. Wang Chuan noticed but didn’t intervene, only smirking.

Wang Chuan is a smiling tiger, I think, knowing about many things, perhaps even about Ning Ning bullying cats. Now that Ning Ning is dead, he never asked, “Did you kill her?” He only inquired about the details, then casually teased me.

Suddenly, I felt a bit of admiration for him—he truly keeps everything inside, perhaps knowing the affairs of thousands of cats, with nothing escaping him.

Rebecca watched me for a long time before finally speaking softly, “Master, I...” “If you have something to say, speak plainly,” Wang Chuan replied. Though his words were ordinary, I felt deeply moved!

It meant I didn’t have to hide anything from him! I wasn’t treated as an outsider!

Oh... I suddenly wanted to rub against him...

Yet Rebecca still seemed troubled, turning this way and that for ages, unable to say a word. At last, Wang Chuan, seeing she truly had something to say, waved his hand.

Since he was sitting, Rebecca almost instinctively knelt by his leg, lifting her head slightly to whisper something in his ear.

Her voice was so low I couldn’t hear, making me agitated enough to flick my tail, but afraid Master would notice my curiosity.

When Rebecca finished, Wang Chuan’s expression didn’t change, but he quietly dismissed her.

Before leaving, Rebecca glanced at me—I stiffened my nose, disliking her gaze.

Wang Chuan reached out, “Are you staying here tonight?”

I shook my head. “I... I have to go back!”

“Are you being dishonest?” Again, that seductive tone!

Damn it! Even the scent from his mouth was full of masculine vigor!

I couldn’t stand it!

After struggling for a while, I finally solemnly, forcefully, and fiercely shook my head!

But my heart was bleeding—I actually wanted to be held while sleeping...

Wang Chuan flicked my forehead again. “Dishonest, you must be punished!”

I covered my head with my paw. If not for the beautiful food underfoot, I’d be jumping up in protest!

“From today on, go and collect fifty fetal souls. Otherwise, you’re not allowed to return to the Rift. Understood?”

For the first time, I stared at Wang Chuan in shock.

What was this? Fifty fetal souls? Just because I... was dishonest?

Uh... Did I somehow offend Master?

But it didn’t seem so—he didn’t set a time limit, nor was he very angry, so why punish me?

I was frustrated for quite a while before I reached out to touch him. “Can I ask Fishball, Luo Ning, and Xiao Mi to help?”

After all, those new guardian cats do nothing all day, their houses full of treats from Master, just eating all day.

Wang Chuan thought for a moment and answered, “You can, but you can’t ask that thieving wolf.”

“Huh?” I tilted my head. “Thieving wolf?”

“The one who’s given you fetal souls countless times and kissed your nose.” He prompted me.

But mentioning this seemed to annoy Wang Chuan, who flicked my nose again!

“Oof.” My nose ran a bit.

But compared to last night, the force was much less, and after a moment, I could breathe normally.

After that, I dared not speak again, only wondering in my heart why Master was doing this, yet never finding the answer.

It looked like I’d be wandering in the human world for a while, and since I wasn’t allowed to seek out Han Mingxuan, it meant I couldn’t go home.

Depressed, I crouched on Wang Chuan’s table, and even when he grabbed my neck to send me out, I was still dazed.

Master turned and left without so much as a glance at me.

Fifty fetal souls—even if I neither ate nor drank, I’d still need ten or twenty days to gather them. I wanted to ask Xiao Mi and the others for help, but couldn’t quite open my mouth.

Crouching not far from Wang Chuan’s sleeping palace, my ears drooped, my mood utterly wilted.

“Kitten!” A loud shout, then with a bang, a green beam of light crashed down before me.

I barely even tried to dodge, watching as Pei Mu exploded like a flower before me, then shook off the dirt, face displeased.

“Can you please not drop down every time...” I weakly scolded him.

“Hm???” Pei Mu looked at me, noticing something off, circling around me. “Little white cat isn’t happy—what happened?”

I sighed deeply. “Nothing.”

Pei Mu’s eyes lit up, as though he’d thought of something. “I know, you must be on your period!”

“Pfft—” Even in this situation, I nearly spat blood!

Pei Mu crouched down to rub my ears. “Don’t worry, little kitten, I saw on TV that you just need to relieve stress...”

“You...” I reached out a paw, actually wanting to push his hand away, but didn’t manage it.

Pei Mu proudly produced a small square box, and then played some strange music!

“Come on! I’ll sing you a song! Just learned it, super funny! You folks call it Little Tigers!”

With Pei Mu’s words, I heard the music box playing the Little Tigers’ once-popular song “Love.”

Then he cleared his throat and, waving hands and feet, imitated the Little Tigers’ performance.

“Take your heart and mine, break them into petals, chop them into pieces, string them together, then sprinkle on some pepper, and grill them into lamb skewers...”

I looked up in surprise—wasn’t it supposed to be stringing a clover, making a circle of hearts? Why did it suddenly become lamb skewers?!

Oh my God! I nearly leapt out of my seat! How could such a bizarre person exist in this world!

Yet, I smiled.

Pei Mu saw me grinning and clapped his hands. “See, I told you it’d be funny!”

But even amused, I was still furious—Wang Chuan had punished me so harshly for no reason!

So, before Pei Mu could say more, I darted out of his sight, diving into the grass.

From behind came Pei Mu’s shout.

“Hey! Little kitten, don’t run! If that wasn’t funny, we’ll sing another one!”