Chapter 19: You Have Such a Weird Eating Habit!

This scene felt very familiar. 

It was just like not long ago, when she herself had been scared by those very same “ghost fires” and fled all the way back home in panic.

But this time, she didn’t back away. 

After all, she already knew the truth behind the so-called “monster.” 

It was nothing more than a stray golden retriever that had wandered into the small alley.

Luo Yunzhi took a deep breath.

She turned on her flashlight.

In the darkness untouched by streetlights, the sudden beam of light shattered the stillness, finally revealing the mystery hidden within the alley.

“Roar~”

Shined upon by the light, the golden retriever squinted its eyes. 

It seemed unaccustomed to the sudden stimulation. 

Only after a moment did it look through the beam at the person standing before it.

It was a young girl wearing a school uniform. She stood there holding a plastic bag, which the dog sniffed. 

It was filled with plenty of food.

The golden retriever seemed somewhat disinterested. 

Lately, quite a few people like this had shown up. 

Toward humans, it no longer held much trust in its heart.

Even though it used to like humans very much.

Now, it felt only aversion.

“Roar!”

It opened its mouth and let out a threatening growl, wanting to drive the girl away. 

After the growl, it lay back down on the ground and stared up blankly.

The golden retriever was looking toward the top of the wall. 

It was waiting, waiting for that black cat to appear. 

But it would ultimately be disappointed. 

The other party had not shown up again.

It whimpered twice.

Not very happy.

“So it really is just a dog.” 

Seeing the true appearance of the “monster” she had once feared, Luo Yunzhi finally felt completely at ease.

Compared to the miserable description Sister Li had given, the golden retriever wasn’t quite as skin-and-bones anymore. 

There were even a few empty food wrappers scattered beside it.

It looked like someone had been feeding the dog.

She thought silently.

“Here, I’ll leave these for you too.” 

Mumbling to herself, Luo Yunzhi placed all the food from the plastic bag on the ground in front of her.

At the moment, the girl was standing at the entrance of the alley, still a short distance away from the golden retriever. 

She thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered what Sister Li had said earlier.

“It won’t let people get close?”

Luo Yunzhi felt puzzled.

This golden retriever looks quite well-behaved though… But you really can’t judge by appearances. 

She shook her head. 

In the end, she still decided to take the risk out of kindness.

The girl squatted down and began speaking to the dog as if teaching a child, saying quite a lot. 

Although she figured the golden retriever probably couldn’t understand human language.

“These on the left, you can have as a midnight snack. Then the bread in the middle can be your breakfast, and the ham sausages on the right can be for lunch.”

Luo Yunzhi explained how to eat the food.

Even though it looked rather strange.

Even the golden retriever in the alley watched the girl talking to herself with a face full of confusion. 

But it couldn’t understand what she was saying.

It could only understand by instinct.

Left side… eat.

Middle… eat.

Right side… eat.

Unfortunately, the golden retriever wasn’t hungry right now. 

Moreover, it was genuinely annoyed by the girl’s endless chatter. 

It stood up, shook out its entire coat of fur, and took two steps forward.

It wanted to let out an even more unpleasant growl to chase her away. 

But its nose twitched subconsciously.

The golden retriever’s body suddenly stiffened. 

It seemed to have caught a familiar scent on the girl—the scent of that black cat from before.

It looked even more confused.

She knows the black cat?

Luo Yunzhi, however, didn’t notice anything unusual and continued chattering on and on, as if she had an endless amount of things to say.

But the nagging didn’t last too long. After a while, the girl finally stopped explaining. 

She took out her phone to check the time and hurriedly stood up.

“Ah, it’s already so late.”

She looked a little distressed.

“I’ll come see you again tomorrow.” 

Luo Yunzhi smiled apologetically at the golden retriever. 

“I need to head home now. Xiao Bai is waiting for me at home.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she hurriedly passed through the alley and ran toward home. 

Before long, her figure had completely disappeared into the night.

Only then did the golden retriever snap out of its confusion. 

It stood in place, staring into the darkness outside and letting out a low whimper.

“Roar.”

It felt rather annoyed.

It sighed.

In its heart, the black cat had given it food, so the black cat was its savior… cat. But now its savior cat refused to appear.

However, that girl from earlier carried the black cat’s scent on her. 

Only someone who interacted with it frequently would have that scent. 

So if it followed the girl, it could find the black cat.

And since the black cat equaled a good cat.

Therefore, the black cat’s friend equaled a good person.

It shouldn’t have been so cold to her.

The golden retriever retreated back into the alley. Luo Yunzhi had run off too fast for it to catch up. It could only wait until tomorrow. 

It lay back down on the ground, staring blankly at the food.

As for the favor it owed its savior cat.

How should it repay it?

***

“Xiao Bai, I’m back!”

“Meow.”

Welcome back.

The lights inside the room were turned on. The black cat, curled up on the pillow, yawned. 

She looked toward the door as Luo Yunzhi took off her outer clothes.

The girl no longer showed the panic and fear she used to have when returning home at night. 

It was as if all that previous fear had been nothing but an illusion.

Although Luo Yunzhi had come home a bit late today, Bai Ziyu wasn’t worried. 

She had already seen the girl’s interaction with the golden retriever from the shadows.

Her camouflage had been perfect.

“Meow meow.”

By the way, that silly dog is still there.

“Meow.”

Why won’t it leave?

The black cat thought about it for a moment before losing interest. 

It was just an ordinary golden retriever after all. She couldn’t muster much curiosity about it.

Right now, Bai Ziyu’s mind was occupied with whether there were any other yokai in this world. If she really was the only one, it would be far too lonely.

The black cat tucked her paws under her body and turned her gaze toward the girl busy in the kitchen. 

She had to admit that the girl’s cooking skills had improved a little lately.

At the very least, the appearance of the dishes no longer looked like ‘Cthulhu.’

Dinner was prepared quickly. Once the food was placed on the table, Bai Ziyu skillfully jumped onto the tabletop, her eyes fixed on tonight’s dinner.

Rarely, Luo Yunzhi had made soup. 

Although the black cat felt that the murky-looking thing, which could barely be called soup, looked more like ‘dishwater.’

Tomato and egg soup.

She raised an eyebrow.

Besides that, there was cabbage boiled in plain water with a bit of salt, along with a few soft, fluffy steamed buns bought from outside that looked quite good.

“Xiao Bai, eat up.” 

Luo Yunzhi smiled and didn’t forget to reach out and stroke the cat’s head. 

“Try it and see how much my cooking has improved.”

She seemed quite proud of herself.

Beaming with joy.

“Meow.”

I’m not holding my breath.

The black cat snorted lightly as she watched the girl serve the food into her own special bowl. 

She lowered her little head and first took a sip of the slightly cooled soup.

Then Bai Ziyu froze.

She twitched the corners of her mouth. 

It was as if she had encountered something completely unacceptable. 

She involuntarily looked up at the girl.

“Huh? Does it not taste good?”

Luo Yunzhi looked confused.

“Meow meow?”

Who taught you to put yogurt in the soup?

“Meow!”

You have such a weird eating habit!