When the mind drifts into daydreams, the sense of time dulls considerably. Unconsciously, the clock hands moved to eight o’clock.
Having stayed in one position for so long, my legs felt stiff. Without the constraint of tights, my toes curled and stretched slightly to ease the discomfort.
More than the physical sensation, what occupied my attention was Gu Fan’s little head inching closer.
“Umm…”
He had been asleep for nearly an hour—shouldn’t he be waking up by now?
The thought popped into my mind but was promptly pushed aside. How could I rush my beloved to wake up early?
My real worry was that if Gu Fan kept turning over like this, he might get stuck… I wasn’t really bothered, but I did worry he might find it unpleasant or smelly. Even with the skirt as a barrier, it felt a bit too much.
Shy as I was, if Gu Fan truly didn’t mind me, then he could bury himself in any way he wanted. Making Gu Fan happy was my top priority.
Still, these intimate little interactions were better saved for after we were married. Only then could we naturally take the next step. Hmph.
Though Gu Fan might not yet see me as a suitable marriage partner, just like the fortune-teller catgirl I met at the mall said, I had to put myself in the right position first and take useful action.
If I were to describe it with an idiom, it would be “strict with oneself, lenient with others.”
Gently stroking Gu Fan’s hair, my index finger had already curled around the strands near his ear, looping several times. If I kept playing like this, I figured by the time he woke up, Gu Fan would look like a fluffball lion with messy fur.
Imagining him scratching the back of his head in the bathroom, staring at his exploded hairstyle in the mirror with a clueless face, I couldn’t help but smile.
I hoped he wouldn’t ask me why I did such a naughty thing. But Gu Fan didn’t seem like the type to nitpick. At most, he’d come over to tease me a little, making my heart pound loudly and my cheeks flush bright red as if painted.
Ugh, this catgirl trait I inherited from my mother was so inconvenient sometimes.
Other catgirls could maintain a cool expression from start to finish; even when happy or angry, their cheeks wouldn’t flush, always showing that cold white skin tone.
My mother’s constitution was a bit different. I still remembered when we lived in the big city long ago, she had taken me to confront my scumbag father. I barely recalled what they argued about—something about custody rights, maybe.
The fragments stuck in my mind were mainly of my mother’s face flushed bright red with anger. She gripped my hand tightly—a hand not much bigger than mine—looking like she wanted to rush forward and punch the expressionless father.
That father, much taller than either of us, just glanced at us coldly, pulled out a wad of bills redder than my mother’s face from his briefcase, handed it to me, and said something I remembered to this day.
“When Zhinian turns eighteen, I’ll come find you all. Even if we’re divorced, you’re still my wife, and Zhinian will always be my child. If you need money, come to me.”
After those words, my mother immediately fell silent.
She glanced at the money in my hand, swept it all to the floor, then took me away from that huge mansion.
As we exited, we happened to bump into a fashionable young woman. She wore a light brown trench coat and carried a diamond-studded handbag.
I remembered my mother’s cat tail angrily flicking up, accidentally slapping me standing behind her. My right eye ached and barely opened for a moment.
Fortunately, the young woman, knowing she had won, didn’t pour fuel on the fire and simply went back into the mansion.
The memories played out before my eyes like iron hooks reaching under a dusty bed infested with insect eggs, pulling out all the dirty things I’d rather not see.
I felt waves of nausea, pressing my lips tight to endure it before slowly pushing the sick feeling down.
My finger resting near Gu Fan’s ear unconsciously tightened and tugged his hair, causing Gu Fan to frown and slowly open his tightly shut eyes.
“Ah…”
Realizing my mistake, I immediately stiffened, parting my lips to apologize.
But considering Gu Fan had just woken up and was probably still groggy, I thought I shouldn’t make any noise to disturb him, so I closed my mouth quickly and nervously stared at the boy in my arms as his amber eyes opened.
Gu Fan seemed not yet fully back from dreamland, his eyes hazy as he looked upward.
Because the cotton ball obscured his vision, I couldn’t tell exactly what expression he wore—only catching a slight twitch at the corner of his eye.
Then, I saw Gu Fan make a nasal grunt and raise his hand to push away the obstruction in front of his face.
“Wah, hey!”
Startled by his movement and nearly jumping out of my skin, I let out a shriek.
Thankfully, my cat tail reacted faster. Just as Gu Fan’s hand was about to touch the source of the shadow blocking his sight, my tail swatted his hand away, snapping him fully awake.
“Zhinian… what time is it now?”
Gu Fan quietly withdrew his hand, seemingly aware that he had almost done something inappropriate. He quickly changed the subject and arched his back, trying to get off my legs.
I didn’t rush to answer. Instead, I held the cotton ball up with one hand and placed the other on the nape of Gu Fan’s neck to help the just-awakened boy sit up.
Then, leaning forward, I hurriedly poured him a glass of cold water. Having slept so long without drinking, his voice sounded hoarse.
“Here, drink some water first.”
Secretly scolding myself for being an unqualified wife-in-training who hadn’t prepared any services for Gu Fan’s waking moment—lost in wild fantasies of past and future instead.
The water was almost freezing, yet I didn’t think to warm it up. I even accidentally pulled his hair and woke him from a deep sleep. Truly, I was a wicked woman.
Luckily, Gu Fan didn’t mind. As always, he smiled gently at me, took the cup, tilted his head back, and drank.
Then, he looked up at the clock hanging on the wall in front of us.
“Already past eight? Didn’t expect to sleep so long. Zhinian, when do you plan to go home?”
“Whenever. I don’t have classes tomorrow anyway. I’ll leave whenever you go to bed.”
Honestly confessing my thoughts, I lowered my head shyly.
I felt like saying that made it sound like I was hinting for Gu Fan to stay overnight—such a clumsy fool, completely lacking the subtlety and grace a lady should have.