"Hmm, just go to sleep."

"Qin Yi, did you take leave yourself?"

"I did. Now sleep."

"Qin Yi, why’d you buy fish?"

"Can you just sleep?" Qin Yi set down his pen, a headache creeping in.

"Haha-hic~" Lin Jin giggled like a child, pure and bright: "This feeling… it’s so nice… Like we’re back when we were kids. You’d sleep over at my place, and I’d be this noisy, bugging you nonstop."

Her mood dimmed as the Kitten Girl spoke: "Too bad… we can’t go back. If only… people didn’t have to grow up."

Qin Yi stayed silent.

He didn’t know what to say—he thought things were fine now.

But he wasn’t sure if Lin Jin felt the same.

"Qin Yi, what if I wake up and still can’t change back?" Lin Jin’s voice wavered with a hint of fear.

"Don’t overthink it. Sleep."

"Hehe, Qin Yi~" Lin Jin teased, her tone carrying a trace of hope: "Could you… take care of me then?"

Her mom only had her. Now like this, even caring for herself was shaky—let alone looking after her mother.

At seventeen, Lin Jin’s mind was still young. This sudden shock drowned her in uncertainty. She clung to Qin Yi like a lifeline, not caring if it was self-destructive.

"Don’t overthink it. Sleep."

*Taking care of you’s fine,* Qin Yi thought, *but nothing’s free—not even for a childhood friend.*

"So… can you really take care of me…" Lin Jin dragged out the words, her voice meltingly sweet.

The Kitten Girl’s charm meter maxed out instantly.

"I’ll take care of you," Qin Yi said firmly, unmoved, "but I’m no ATM or errand boy." His words held deeper meaning.

"I know! I eat little—I won’t drain your rice stash." Her buddy’s reliability made Lin Jin glow with quiet joy.

Qin Yi knew she missed his point. He didn’t bother correcting her.

He didn’t care about her past self—but she might. Better hide his true intentions until he’d fully won her over.

"Neh neh, I still can’t sleep. Tell me a bedtime story?" The Kitten Girl’s eyes sparkled, full of little stars.

Qin Yi shot her a look, sighed, and began: "Once, there was a mountain. On it stood a temple. Inside lived an old monk and a young monk. One day, the old monk told the young one: ‘Once, there was a mountain. On it stood a temple…’"

"Stop! Stop! Cut!" Lin Jin pouted. "I’m not a kid. Pick another one."