"...Meow?"

Xuechun let out a puzzled little sound.

Then the room suddenly went quiet.

Gu Chuan rubbed his chin. Uh... was it really okay for him to have a little girl do housework like this?

Or had Xuechun simply not understood what he said at all?

The successful match sound cut off Gu Chuan's thoughts. He quickly clicked Accept.

Xuechun crawled over from the floor to Gu Chuan's side. She rubbed her face against his calf, then looked up at him, completely confused.

So yeah, she really hadn't understood him.

But looking like this, she was way too cute... how was he supposed to make her sweep the floor now?

Gu Chuan couldn't help reaching out to stroke Xuechun's hair. Her silver-white strands were still soft, almost no different from when she was a cat.

Whenever she was petted, Xuechun would narrow her eyes in comfort. Looking up at him from below, she seemed obedient and sweet beyond words.

Choose your champion.

Gu Chuan suddenly looked at the empty cup beside him.

Got it...

"Xuechun, can you pour me a glass of water?"

He pointed at the cup, then made a drinking gesture.

"Meowu!"

This time, Xuechun understood.

She finally stood up. Like that, she looked just like an ordinary little girl, which somehow made her even cuter and prettier.

So after becoming a catgirl, it wasn't that Xuechun couldn't stand. She just preferred kneeling and moving on all fours.

Still, for a girl, that was a little improper. And honestly, it made Gu Chuan blush too.

After all, raising a kitty...

and raising a catgirl...

were two completely different things.

When the former went "meow meow," all you wanted to do was pet her.

When the latter went "meow meow," what you wanted was...

Xuechun took the glass from Gu Chuan's hand and happily trotted off to the kitchen. Behind her, a long white cat tail swayed back and forth, sticking out from her loose clothes.

After locking in his champion, Gu Chuan had nothing else to worry about. He stood by the doorway, watching Xuechun pour water for him in the kitchen with concerned eyes, like an old father seeing his daughter do chores for the first time and worrying she'd mess up and burn herself.

But in the end, Xuechun handled everything skillfully. She came back holding a full glass of water, smiling brightly.

What exactly was up with this skill? It could make a once clueless little catgirl do this much, even cook breakfast for him in the morning.

He just didn't know how to level it up.

And who knew? Maybe there were other skills too, waiting to be unlocked in the future.

Gu Chuan quickly returned to his seat, but his thoughts wouldn't stop.

He still knew far, far too little about catgirls.

Though there wasn't really anyone he could ask.

That said, when he thought of that, one name suddenly flashed through Gu Chuan's mind—

Yan Ran.

The person who had sold him The Postpartum Care Manual for Catgirls online, with a profile picture of a goddess-tier white ragdoll cat.

Could she be...

Gu Chuan shook his head. It felt a little too absurd.

He went back to his seat and looked at the game's loading screen.

Soon, Xuechun carefully carried a cup of water back from the kitchen to the bedroom.

Her feet made almost no sound on the floor. That was probably a habit from when she used to be a cat.

Xuechun kept her eyes fixed on the clear water in the glass. Only when she reached her master's side did her face suddenly light up with joy.

"Meow meow! Meow meow meow!"

Master, drink up! Xuechun poured this for you!

She even licked her little tongue, as if she wanted a sip herself.

Gu Chuan took the glass from her hands and had a small sip. It felt instantly cool and refreshing.

He sighed from the heart.

"Xuechun, you're amazing."

It was practically like raising a little maid.

And only after Gu Chuan set the glass back on the table did Xuechun eagerly pick it up again and start drinking.

Her lovely cherry lips parted slightly, landing right on the spot where Gu Chuan had just drunk.

Whether that was a coincidence or...

All he could hear was the soft gulp gulp of the catgirl drinking beside him.

The game began.

This match was a tense one. His Zed had been banned, so he had no choice but to pick Orianna.

Bot lane was losing too hard, and their jungler kept giving up dragons. Before twenty-five minutes had passed, the enemy had already secured Dragon Soul.

When the surrender vote popped up on the right side of the screen,

Gu Chuan and HeyZed both hit No without a second thought.

The vote was three to two. Surrender failed. The game continued.

Xuechun seemed to rarely see her master this serious. She was staring so hard she looked dazed.

And a master like this... was so charming.

Her tail wasn't under her conscious control at all. It swayed lightly on its own, as if it had a will of its own.

Sometimes Xuechun didn't even seem to recognize her own tail, and would start playing and tussling with it, no different from a kitten.

In the final Baron teamfight, Gu Chuan's gaze was locked in. His hands moved so fast it looked like his fingers might tie themselves into knots.

Then came a near-growled command.

"Put the ball on me!"

There was clearly no voice chat between them.

And yet, in that exact instant, it felt as if their hearts had connected.

Orianna used her E!

She placed the metal ball, along with the shield, onto Gu Chuan's Sett!

The metal ball followed Sett as he flew in with his ultimate, The Show Stopper.

Sett grabbed the enemy top lane tank and slammed him straight into the crowd. In that same instant, Orianna unleashed her ultimate, pulling the enemies together.

Command: Shockwave.

The enemy support melted instantly. Even the ADC was sent back to fountain under Gu Chuan's Sett's fists.

A nearly dreamlike perfect teamfight.

Zero for five.

After that fight, Gu Chuan and HeyZed got Baron and took back the gold lead.

Of course, they also got countless question marks from their other three teammates.

But compared to the usual kind, these question marks were clearly shock and hype.

Then they took Elder Dragon too. Gu Chuan's side became unstoppable, pushing all the way through and flattening the enemy base in one wave for the win.

When the word Victory appeared in the center of the screen,

Gu Chuan couldn't help letting out a long breath. He reached for his cup and poured the rest of the water into his suddenly thirsty body.

HeyZed: "So? That ball from me! Hurry up and praise me, praise me!"

Gu Yuanjun: "Alright, alright. You were amazing."

HeyZed: "Hehe, not really... I just felt it then. Only you could pull that off. The moment you ulted in, my heart almost jumped out!"

"I trust you..."

In the darkness, the girl murmured softly to herself.

Then she froze slightly when she saw his second message.

Gu Yuanjun: "I trusted you'd put the ball on me."

Gu Yuanjun: "I'm getting off. I still have school."

HeyZed: "...Bye."

HeyZed: "I should sleep too."

Gu Yuanjun: "Good night. Sweet dreams."

As soon as he sent that, his profile picture dimmed in perfect sync.

Gu Chuan actually knew a little about HeyZed.

She was overseas right now. She had never said who she was, but Gu Chuan guessed she was an international student. Still, she seemed to have very few classes.

He could always see her active online.

When the sun rose on her side, evening would fall on Gu Chuan's.

Across their crossed timelines, two hearts had once beaten for each other at the same time.

...