My slender feet wrapped in black stockings were placed neatly on the floor.
I straightened my back and obediently rested my hands on my thighs, taking the opportunity to pull up the slightly loosened stockings to make sure the space between my over-the-knee socks and pleated skirt perfectly evoked that beautiful area of imagination.
In my whole life, I can hardly recall moments as quiet and focused as this one.
Even in class at school, I’d be half-slouched or sprawled on the desk daydreaming, listlessly enduring the teacher’s monotonous lectures.
Back in elementary and high school, at least I could spend break times meeting Gu Fan, chatting with him to kill time.
As for middle school, I don’t even know how I got through it.
Those muddled three years passed in a blink, and now when I try to recall anything worth cherishing, I can’t even find half a meaningful memory.
As expected, without Gu Fan’s company, I’m just like a duckweed drifting aimlessly across the lake, rootless and relying only on the rise and fall of the water’s waves.
To live here without any dreams or obsessions—even those highly intelligent robots in TV dramas are born with an absolute, unshakable mission from their creator.
Compared to me, this emotionless, desireless monster catgirl, they’re clearly far better off.
Frustration kept running rampant in my chest, so I tugged at the bowtie hanging at my collarbone, loosening it a bit so it wouldn’t strangle the little cotton ball and make it hard to breathe.
The hour and minute hands on the wall clock were gradually converging.
Soon they’d meet right under the number “12.”
Time is fair—it won’t speed up just because I’m impatient.
Even if I took it down and wound the gears at the back to fast-forward the time, reality wouldn’t change in the slightest.
“Mmm….”
It’s so hot…
Ever since mid-March, the weather’s become unbearable.
I still remember going with Gu Fan for a walk at the abandoned church in the suburbs on Valentine’s Day—back then, it was still pretty chilly.
We were both wrapped in thick down jackets.
Although we had some slightly ambiguous little hand-holding and hugging, the coats were so bulky that I couldn’t find a chance to take things further.
I had already changed into my thin summer school uniform, planning to buy a few cups of milk tea and some little cakes to bring to Gu Fan and his good friends at school.
But suddenly Gu Fan sent a message: ‘After school, I’ll ride my motorcycle over to your place. I’ll take care of lunch and pack it from a downtown restaurant. You just stay home and rest, okay?’
I figured Gu Fan must still be worried about me not feeling well.
That’s probably why he suddenly changed his usual habit of having lunch near school and decided to come over and check if I needed looking after.
Of course…
Maybe I’m just overthinking things and imagining things that aren’t there—that’s possible too.
After all, Gu Fan isn’t like me, constantly running wild with overactive thoughts until my little brain is practically smoking and steaming like a pot.
Luckily, a catgirl’s physical boosts are strong enough—whenever I exhaust all my energy and stamina from overthinking, I can just crawl under the covers for a nap, or head to the kitchen for some bread or instant food to fill my belly, digest it well, and it’s as if I’ve drunk a life-restoring potion—before long, I’m back to being full of energy.
If I hadn’t met Gu Fan, maybe I’d be the perfect workaholic—the boss’s favorite.
With this superhuman constitution, I’d be put to work non-stop without a single moment’s rest.
I guess now I can sort of understand why my mother is always so busy, always away on business trips every couple of days, almost never taking a break.
Although she’s never really shown me how much she earns, ever since she brought me to escape to this small town, I’ve never actually worried about money.
Maybe my physical talent is inherited from my mother?
I’ve never seen catgirls sharing their daily lives online who recover as quickly as we do—after a good sleep, we’re right as rain.
At most, their spirits just get a bit droopy.
Absentmindedly picking at my unpolished nails, I mulled over these pointless little things, and then my thoughts naturally wandered off to a few overly suggestive scenes…
Would Gu Fan keep picking on me because of this trait?
Part of me looks forward to it, but even more I’m a bit nervous—I doubt I could last long.
Just fantasizing for a bit in my mind, I felt so embarrassed my heart started pounding “thump thump” without stopping.
The posture I’d been using to show off my figure unconsciously slumped, and even though I was alone at home, I still felt horribly self-conscious.
“Honestly, why am I sweating…?”
Noticing the stray hair on my forehead and the thin sheen of sweat on my cotton ball and back, I grumbled in annoyance.
I’d dressed up in this trendy academy-style uniform with a pleated skirt just to welcome Gu Fan, but before my childhood friend even showed up, the outfit was already half-soaked in sweat.
Cheap clothes really don’t last, even though I picked the latest model.
Silently complaining to myself, I ran to the storage room and dragged out the fan I hadn’t used in ages, brought it to the living room, plugged it in, and let the cool wind “whoosh whoosh” over me, making my cat ears atop my head twitch with comfort.
Thankfully, I’d covered it with a dust shield at the end of winter—otherwise I’d look like a dusty, grimy catgirl right now, and Gu Fan would definitely dislike that, and I’d have to spend ages cleaning up.
I yanked the bowtie completely off and tossed it onto the sofa, so the fan’s breeze could slip into my clothes and dry the sweat faster.
I still wanted Gu Fan to see a fresh and tidy childhood friend catgirl, not a messy little cat who looked like she’d just been splashing around in water—how unladylike.
Crouching in front of the small fan, I had no idea if my slippers were left in the storage room or in front of the sofa, and for now, I didn’t care.
Eyes half-closed, I scrolled lazily through my phone—Gu Fan’s last message was from seventeen minutes ago.
I wondered where he was now.
Originally, I thought I might use this time to quickly put on some makeup or try the new nail polish I bought but hadn’t tried yet.
But then I remembered the last time I tried makeup, I turned myself into a ridiculous patchwork cat, which made me lose my nerve and give up on the idea.
Experienced girls can make themselves look gorgeous in just ten minutes, but although I’m an undeniable girl from head to toe, I’m missing a lot of basic feminine life experience.
Thinking this, I puffed up my cheeks in frustration and let out a small sigh of “Ah~” at the spinning fan blades.
The fan returned my sigh in a swirl of disturbed air, and at the same time, a clear chime sounded at the front door.
Did I mishear it?
Stunned for a moment, I quickly jumped up from the floor and hurried toward the door.
But since I wasn’t wearing slippers and instead had on delicate over-the-knee black stockings, I nearly slipped and fell.
Fortunately, as a catgirl, my sense of balance is excellent.
I managed to steady myself by grabbing the shoe cabinet beside me, took a deep breath to calm my racing heart, then finally opened the door—
To greet the boy I cared about most.