“Yijiu, you’re solving problems a little slowly today!” Zhou Wenyao whispered as she watched Feng Yijiu still doing homework at eleven-thirty.

Feng Yijiu’s face flushed slightly. She’d kept feeling like Li Hao was watching her today, afraid he might notice something suspicious. As a result, most of her attention hadn’t gone into her homework.

“It’ll be done soon. Five minutes.”

She gathered her thoughts and scribbled away, finishing the last of her Chinese homework in a few quick strokes.

“Come on. Let’s go eat.”

The three of them packed up. Even on the way out, Feng Yijiu couldn’t stop herself from sending Li Hao a message.

Feng: We’re leaving.

Muzi: Got it. I’ll keep writing this afternoon.

Looking at the message from that blockhead, Feng Yijiu quietly let out a breath of relief.

“Yijiu, don’t look at your phone while walking. You’ll ruin your eyes and need glasses someday.”

“Oh, right. Okay.”

Feng Yijiu put her phone away. Since that blockhead hadn’t followed them, she could finally relax a little.

The cat-themed café they planned to visit was called Meow Home. Simply put, it was a cozy little place combining coffee, leisure, and cats.

“Wow! There are so many Ragdolls!” Qingqing’s eyes lit up.

Feng Yijiu actually liked cats that looked so soft and cuddly. But taking care of one herself was another matter. Long-haired cats’ little butts…

Well, people should be judged from the front. Cats were the same.

“Welcome!”

“Hi, this is the set we bought.”

Qingqing went over and began talking with a cat-maid in a maid outfit and a cat-ear headband. Meanwhile, Feng Yijiu and Zhou Wenyao had already been surrounded by cats.

“Aw, they’re so well-behaved!”

Zhou Wenyao picked up a cat and looked toward Feng Yijiu.

Feng Yijiu scooped one up as well. The long-haired cat was unbelievably soft. Just as she was losing herself in the fluffy little creature, Qingqing tiptoed up from behind and slipped a black cat-ear headband onto her head.

“Hm?”

Feng Yijiu felt a slight, strange sensation on her head. She took the weird thing off.

“Don’t take it off. It looks great.”

Qingqing put the cat ears back on her. This time, she also handed another pair to Zhou Wenyao.

“Come on, the three of us need a group photo.”

Before Feng Yijiu could refuse, Qingqing had already pulled the two of them together. A cat-maid snapped a picture for them.

Looking at herself in the photo, wearing those adorable cat ears, Feng Yijiu’s face flushed faintly.

“Aw, what a shame. Yijiu’s wearing her school uniform.”

Qingqing sighed over Feng Yijiu’s outfit.

“Seriously, Yijiu, you’ve got such a good foundation. Why don’t you wear nicer clothes?”

Feng Yijiu gave an awkward smile.

“You can rent clothes here,” the cat-maid beside them reminded them softly.

Two pairs of shining eyes turned toward her.

And one pair of eyes looked at them like they were terrorists.

“No, that’s not a good idea. You two can go ahead.”

Feng Yijiu trembled.

But Qingqing took action without hesitation.

Feng Yijiu instinctively tried to struggle. However, when her hands touched a certain place, her face flushed. She stopped moving, suddenly awkward.

“Haha! I didn’t know you were this conservative, Yijiu!”

Qingqing didn’t seem bothered at all by her little act of taking advantage. Instead, she hugged Feng Yijiu with a grin.

“Little Yijiu, you’re not getting away.”

“L-let go.”

Feng Yijiu’s cheeks were bright red.

“Running away won’t help you!”

Qingqing looked incredibly pleased with herself.

An hour later, Feng Yijiu stripped off the skirt with the speed of lightning.

She stared at the cat-eared beauty in their little group chat and felt as if she were no longer pure.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to bury her face in the coffee cup before her.

“Yijiu, don’t tell me this is your first time wearing clothes like that?”

Looking at the girl, who was now utterly embarrassed, Zhou Wenyao made a guess.

“Th-the second time,” Feng Yijiu muttered.

The first time, at least, she’d willingly chosen to wear it. She’d also been wearing a mask.

But this time…

Two girls had forced that embarrassing maid outfit onto her. Her school uniform had still been underneath it, but seeing herself in the photo, dressed in something so ridiculously girly, felt awful.

And maybe it was the outfit, but Feng Yijiu felt like the lines of her face had become even softer.

If she hadn’t known that poor victim in the photo was herself…

This cute girl would’ve been exactly her type.

Feng Yijiu shook her head, driving that terrifying thought from her mind.

She’d only taken one hit. Nothing else had changed!

Just look at Uncle Miyamoto in the Rift. He’d practically been flayed alive, and he was still doing fine!

“Hey, Yaoyao, don’t you think Yijiu is actually a little kitten?”

Qingqing patted Feng Yijiu on the shoulder and grinned at Zhou Wenyao.

“Definitely. And Yijiu should be a Siamese cat.”

Zhou Wenyao smiled as she added the finishing blow.

“The kind that looks cold and aloof, but is actually soft and cuddly.”

Feng Yijiu couldn’t let that stand.

Damn it, where was she soft? She was a tough guy! A tough guy!

“How am I soft?!”

Feng Yijiu huffed and put down her coffee cup. She couldn’t keep pretending to be an ostrich anymore.

Besides, how could a real man let two girls say he was useless?

“Haha, Yijiu’s fur is standing on end!”

Qingqing teased her.

“Ah, my beloved cat concubine~”

Feng Yijiu flew into a rage and started chasing Qingqing around the entire room.

Only Zhou Wenyao remained seated, cradling a cat while drinking her coffee.

Peace and tranquility reigned.

……

Elsewhere, Li Hao put down an exercise book and silently looked at the big tree outside the window.

For some reason, he thought of Zhou Wenyao again.

And… that monster.

If that monster were a girl…

Li Hao fell into deep thought. If Feng Yijiu were really a girl, her looks would probably be on the same level as Zhou Wenyao’s.

Personality-wise, though, one would be a mischievous cat, while the other would be a cold, elegant white goose.

If he had even half that guy’s looks, maybe pursuing Zhou Wenyao would be easier.

And why did that bastard have such incredible luck with girls?

The thought left Li Hao feeling sour. His feelings toward Feng Yijiu were complicated.

On one hand, Feng Yijiu was interesting and a good friend.

On the other hand, he was absolutely a terrible friend. Whenever nothing was happening, he was the most dangerous person around.

Deep down, Li Hao also felt a little jealous of Feng Yijiu.

Or rather, “jealous” wasn’t quite enough to describe it.

“Bitter” was probably more accurate.

“It’s such a waste that guy isn’t a girl.”

Li Hao finally muttered the thought sourly to himself, then threw himself back into his complicated studies.