Early that morning, Liao Luo was woken by the sound of a phone call.

The catgirl was being very careful to keep her voice down, but he could still hear her perfectly clearly.

“...Yeah, it’s me, Aileen.”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect it either... Ahem... Anyway, I’m sick, meow. I think I caught a chill.”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course I really want to go to class, but there’s nothing I can do if I’m sick, meow.”

“No problem, meow. I’ll take a couple of pills and boil some cat grass to drink. I’ll definitely make it to class on time tomorrow!”

At last, she hung up.

Liao Luo had learned the catgirl’s name. So it was Aileen.

When she met Liao Luo’s slightly bewildered gaze, Aileen casually sat down beside him and adjusted his blanket for him.

“How are you feeling? You were so good last night. You didn’t act up like those internet posts said cats do, so you must be a good boy. But it must be uncomfortable sleeping here, right? If you want to sleep in a bed, we just need to get you dewormed.” As she spoke, she pulled out her phone and kept searching.

Liao Luo leaned over to take a look.

At first glance, he spotted last night’s search history.

“Is the human I brought home going to get neutered?”

“What happens if humans aren’t neutered?”

“Will unneutered humans poop and pee everywhere?”

“Column: ‘An appeal to all human-lovers: Stop getting your humans neutered! Ten dangers of neutering, explained!’”

That put Liao Luo a little at ease.

It seemed she was leaning toward not getting him neutered.

Otherwise, he really wouldn’t know how to escape a creature with more than ten times his strength and agility.

Aileen was now busy searching for other articles and tutorials.

“Can humans eat cat food?”

“Do humans need to eat bland food?”

...

As it turned out, she was seriously following a tutorial to make him a meal.

Wrapped in a blanket, Liao Luo peered into the kitchen. The petite catgirl was watching a video on her phone while following its instructions to fry eggs.

“Fried eggs—the easiest homemade meal for humans! Simple to learn, and everyone loves them! Stop feeding your human instant noodles, that industrial garbage! Learn to fry eggs in two and a half steps. Even the neighbor’s kitten will be drooling!”

Before long, a plate of fried eggs was on the table.

They were a little burnt, but mostly fine. For a beginner in the kitchen, they were already quite impressive.

—Though, to be fair, fried eggs aren’t exactly difficult. Anyone who manages to mess them up probably has no talent for cooking.

“All right, this will do for now. The internet says humans need instant noodles to stay healthy, and the manufacturers make all sorts of flavors with different nutrients, but I don’t have any at home. So I followed the tutorial and made the simplest thing: fried eggs and rice. They look a little burnt, but you’re not allowed to refuse to eat them, meow. Or I’ll be upset!”

How could Liao Luo refuse to eat?

He was starving!

Liao Luo handled the chopsticks like a pro, but before he could start eating, that delighted voice sounded beside him again.

“You’re so cute! You can even use chopsticks!”

Click! She snapped a photo.

Liao Luo turned to look at Aileen, his gaze a little resentful.

What’s so amazing about a human knowing how to use chopsticks? Isn’t that only natural?

If anything, people who can’t use chopsticks are the rare ones!

But she was already happily sharing the photo online.

As she typed, she read the words aloud to herself.

“My fellow cat owners, the human I brought home can use chopsticks all by himself! He looks way too cute when he eats, meow!”

Once she’d posted it, she looked satisfied. Then she plucked two sprigs of cat grass from a flowerpot and ate them with her rice.

Actually, this kitchen was no different from any kitchen Liao Luo had seen. If there was one difference, it was the flowerpots, packed with cat grass.

Aileen ate two bowls of rice with cat grass and managed to fill her stomach.

“It’s about time. We should go to the hospital.”

She scooped Liao Luo up in one swift motion.

By now, Liao Luo was used to this sort of thing. He simply gave up resisting and let her carry him downstairs.

Well, the catgirl had ten times the stamina of a Human. She wouldn’t get tired anyway.

She patted Liao Luo on the back. Maybe she was worried he’d get bored, because she kept babbling as they walked.

“Listen, you know you’re supposed to get your human neutered before keeping him, but it just feels like it’d be so painful. And some people online say humans should be left as they are. Humans are so rare now, after all. Every cat gets their human neutered, so humans can’t reproduce, and there are fewer and fewer of them!”

“Anyway, if the doctor says you’re fine, then you’re fine. It’s just deworming. It won’t hurt at all.”

After a bumpy journey, they finally arrived at the hospital.

Taking the chance, Liao Luo looked around. Just as he’d expected, he couldn’t see a single human. Everywhere he looked, there were beastfolk with all kinds of animal ears and tails. Cats were the most common, followed by dogs, and then some rarer types, like lions, tigers, and even lizards.

It was like a whole crowd of energetic dragonkin.

As for humans, he hadn’t seen a single one the whole way there.

Thinking about what Aileen had said earlier, Liao Luo started to understand.

This world was different from his own. Beast-eared girls were the equivalent of humans in his world, while humans were treated like pets.

But since everyone got their pets neutered before keeping them, humans couldn’t reproduce.

So...

There were very, very few humans left in this world. Every time someone got one, that was one less to go around.

As a result, hospitals had more staff than patients, and all kinds of beastfolk were calling out: cherish life, protect humans.

And their balls.

After checking in, Liao Luo finally got to meet the doctor who’d examine him.

Sitting in front of the consultation desk, Liao Luo nervously watched the kindly old catgirl.

This would decide the fate of the rest of his life.

The old catgirl adjusted her glasses and examined Liao Luo carefully. She even pinched his fingers and pulled down his eyelids to check his pupils.

“How rare. He’s a completely pure-blooded Human.” The old catgirl sighed. “You’re asking if he should be neutered? My advice is definitely not! That would be a huge loss. As for deworming, there’s no need at all. He’s perfectly healthy, with no parasites or contagious diseases. He might’ve been frightened, and he has a few scrapes, so I’ll just prescribe some anti-inflammatory medicine for him to take at home.”

Then she added, “What a well-behaved little fellow. He doesn’t act up at all. Take good care of him. You don’t see such a handsome human every day. But humans are very jealous creatures, so to be safe, you shouldn’t keep any other humans. And don’t interact with other humans when you go out, either. If he finds out, he might get upset.”

Aileen nodded vigorously, her ears and tail fully perked as she listened with complete attention.

“Don’t worry! I won’t! I’ll take good care of him!”

Liao Luo’s eyes filled with tears, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness!

His balls were safe!