Chapter 251: The Festival (2)

The words leapt out of my mouth without any thought.

The moment I said them, I already felt regret.

At a time like this, I shouldn’t have argued back.

Silently listening to the other party’s suggestions was the most appropriate choice, not meaninglessly talking back here.

Big Sis let out a light sigh, causing my fingers to tighten involuntarily.

“How could that be? Such a cute little catgirl, and with such a gentle and well-behaved personality. To use internet slang to describe it, Zhi Nian, you’re actually a sweet, soft, and glutinous little cake. You should clearly be more confident.”

“…Does Big Sis really think that?”

Meeting up with a friend I hadn’t contacted in a long time, chatting shouldn’t involve such heavy topics.

But I still couldn’t help wanting to know, in other people’s eyes, what kind of catgirl was I exactly?

Gu Fan had also said similar things to me, more than once, but every time I felt he was just comforting me.

To put it harshly, it was pure coaxing.

Finding me chattering like a little bird and annoying as hell, he made up these almost placebo-like good words and stuffed them into my brain.

So that my leaping thoughts could quiet down for a moment.

“That question should be asked of yourself.”

Big Sis held the plastic cup covered in water droplets, sipping the milk tea in small mouthfuls, her gaze no longer on me.

“If you think you’re not pretty, not cute.”

Big Sis used a bamboo skewer to pierce the last little sausage on the table plate, put it in her mouth, and said while chewing indistinctly.

After swallowing the food, Big Sis supplemented like this, then clapped her hands and stood up.

“Oh, no, it should be playing the lute to a cat.”

“Alright, the snacks are all finished. Let’s take the milk tea and drink while walking. After being blown by the AC for so long, I don’t really feel like moving. Going to stroll the festival now, there shouldn’t be too many people yet.”

“…Mm.”

I savored in my heart the words Big Sis had just said.

I picked up the red bean milk tea I had only drunk a few sips of and followed Big Sis who was walking toward the stairs.

By the time I came back to my senses, I was already standing at the main entrance of the plaza.

The bustling flow of people occupied every street in my field of vision.

The crowding had reached the point of rubbing shoulders, and taking a step was a bit difficult.

In the past, even on holidays, the plaza’s foot traffic was very sparse.

This remote small town hadn’t been this lively for a long time.

After chatting idly with classmates in the café for a while and finishing the coffee and desserts we bought, we headed together toward the plaza.

But because there were too many people coming to participate in the celebration, plus the entrances and exits were designed a bit narrow, the group that had originally gathered to chat slowly dispersed into several small groups.

By the time I came back to my senses, Fang Chen had run off somewhere unknown.

Replacing him by my side was the smiling Shiratori.

Walking into the plaza, waves of complex food aromas drifted over with the heat haze.

Perhaps it was for the consideration of boosting consumption, or maybe simply to increase foot traffic.

This small county town’s centennial celebration had set the dining area not far from the main gate.

The smells lingering at the tip of my nose were extremely complex, with the intensity of barbecue and also the light sweetness of lemon drinks.

The only thing worth being thankful for was that the organizers of the celebration had covered the entire upper part of the activity area with a thick layer of sunshade cloth.

They had also added large ventilation equipment similar to blowers in the edge areas, so that the smells wouldn’t get to the point of making people cover their noses.

Of course, more importantly, my senses weren’t that sharp to begin with.

If it were Zhi Nian here, she might be smoked by the messy smells until her eyes turned into mosquito coils.

I imagined a black-haired catgirl with airplane ears, restrainedly scanning the dense flow of people and shops around.

Suddenly, a hurried flow of people passed through, bumping the petite catgirl into my arms…

I subconsciously protected the girl in my arms.

I looked at her, but couldn’t overlap her with that lovable little catgirl in my memory.

Only then did I realize this girl wasn’t Zhi Nian.

“Ah, sorry, sorry, there are too many people, I got squeezed over by accident.”

Shiratori’s apologetic voice rang out.

“It’s fine as long as you’re okay.”

I said lightly.

The hand that had originally been holding Shiratori’s shoulder moved away without a trace.

After those children laughing and playing as they drilled through the crowd left, I took the opportunity of continuing forward to put some distance between myself and Shiratori.

Shiratori saw this obvious action of mine and should have guessed that I wanted to maintain a sense of boundaries.

So she naturally shifted the topic.

“The celebration is really lively. Gu Fan, can your stomach still hold more food? How about we go stroll the dining area? Anyway, there’s still some time until the celebration performance.”

“It’s fine. What do you want to eat? There are quite a few people today, so queuing will take a while.”

I gently shook my head, reining in the flying thoughts in my mind, returning to the most habitual behavioral pattern of the past, and skillfully dealing with Shiratori.

When did I also become like this?

After getting along with Zhi Nian for a long time, I always feel that I’ve also started to let my mind wander while walking.

Unconsciously, while chatting intermittently with Shiratori, tiny but dense doubts like bubbles surfaced in my mind.

In the past, as long as I stepped out of the house, I would naturally enter social mode, focusing on chatting and joking with friends.

Like a chess player controlling the board, paying attention to the subtle atmosphere among the crowd and those flowing chains of emotions.

And in my own way, gently sorting them out to ensure no unexpected situations occurred.

The flow of people in the dining area was clearly much better than at the main gate.

Most people were lining up to order and then standing aside to wait.

Shiratori walked ahead leading me to a stall selling takoyaki.

Behind the stall were a few fabric folding small chairs, a bit like those camping picnic chairs I had scrolled past online.

Perhaps because we arrived early enough, there happened to be two folding chairs vacant.

“Ya! Gu Fan, I’ll go grab the seats first. Remember to order me a portion of non-spicy takoyaki, okay.”

The sleeve at my shoulder was tugged.

Shiratori said with a light laugh, gently pushed my back, then bounced and hopped over there.

This energetic appearance was quite fitting for a girl of this age group.

Habitually profiling the social target in my heart, but inadvertently associating with that childhood sweetheart of the same age group.

If it were her here, what kind of reaction would it be?

Active thinking quickly wove a picture—the hem of the shirt lightly hooked by fair fingers, the little catgirl hiding by the side timidly opening her mouth to request…

“Heh.”

I suddenly laughed once.

This was my mockery of myself standing still immersed in my inner world in a place with seas of people.

“Boss, two boxes of classic flavor takoyaki, no spicy.”

Wanting to see a certain someone, the peaceful state of mind like a deep mountain lake was as if a stone had been thrown in, rippling with layers of waves.

Had I, who had been disciplined since childhood to maintain vigilance and rationality, actually also have such impatient times?

Such a thought surfaced without warning.

And was silently pressed back by me, not letting any clue appear on my facial expression.

Since things have come to this, better to first deal with this social interaction.

Wait until tomorrow… I can meet Zhi Nian.

By then, I should also give an account of this complex emotion.

Looking around.

Perhaps because this small pavilion was located in a secluded corner of the plaza, the coming and going flow of people wasn’t many.

Only a dozen or so people in groups passed through.

Chatting and laughing as they walked toward the commercial area and central stage of the celebration, basically no gazes would fall on our small pavilion.

After leaving the milk tea shop, I held the red bean milk tea and dazedly followed behind the vigorous Big Sis.

Most of them held a cup of cold drink or some snacks in their hands.

The milk tea shop I chose wasn’t far from the plaza holding the celebration.

To be precise, it should be very close to the back gate of the plaza.

Only residents who had lived locally for a long time knew about this back gate.

Occasionally when I couldn’t sleep at night, I would also sneak into the plaza and space out in the silent late night.

In the past I didn’t like this; even when letting my mind wander, I would shut myself in the room.

But ever since becoming a catgirl, I increasingly liked the silent, uninhabited natural environment.

If not for fear of being laughed at, I would even want to nestle in the flower bushes and curl up, turning into a cat statue.

Benefiting from the special constitution of a catgirl, the mosquitoes I hated most would actually actively walk around me.

Traces of being bitten by mosquitoes rarely appeared on my body.

This also made me a bit unscrupulous, daring to go out in summer without even spraying much mosquito repellent.

On the other side of the stone chair, Big Sis tightly leaned against the chair back, half-squinting her eyes.

In her hand she gently waved a classical-style bamboo fan bought from the commercial area.

“Ai, I hate summer the most. There are really enough mosquitoes. Thankfully little Zhi Nian is here; those mosquitoes all walk around us.”

Big Sis said leisurely, her gaze gradually shifting over toward me.

I who had been patiently listening to Big Sis speak suddenly gave a start.

Looking back.

I met a subtle expression carrying a smile.

“Can I rub your head? This isn’t a full milk tea shop anymore, okay. There aren’t many people coming and going around here. Can I get close to Zhi Nian after a long time?”

What I heard was this content.

But looking in the other party’s eyes, it was like firmly saying “Cute little catgirl, don’t resist, obediently let Big Sister rub!”

…Alright…

To be honest, I’m not good at refusing.

The closer the relationship, the less I dared to let the other party’s goodwill or request fall empty to the ground.

I always felt that doing so was inappropriate.

The reason daily social interactions could avoid many troubles was mostly because before they even asked, I put on a ‘high and mighty’ cold posture.

Using obvious distance, I shut out all people who wanted to talk to me.

But Sister Lin Yun was different.

Strictly speaking, she was the first friend I made.

It was also she who led me around to play in my childhood, so that my personality didn’t completely become a high wall of self-isolation.

If it weren’t for Big Sis Lin Yun taking me to play with the peers in the village and teaching me some basic social means…

Perhaps the catgirl Gu Fan picked up back then would have been a wild cat that only knew how to hiss and scratch.

Thinking this way, I puffed out my cheeks and timidly moved toward Big Sis’s direction.

The skirt hem gently swayed on the smooth stone chair surface.

My gaze quickly scanned the situation around the pavilion.

Mm, no one is looking at us, should be fine.

Confirming the privacy of the environment was up to standard, I silently lowered my head and offered up that pair of soft cat ears.

“Hehe, so good so good, rubbing the cat head and all worries disappear.”

A strange giggle sounded, then a comfortable rubbing sensation came from the top of my head.

Gu Fan’s strokes carried a slight roughness from thin calluses, the touch prickly and ticklish.

Like the animation played when charging a phone, regularly delivering a current named ‘happiness’.

While Big Sis’s was like a warm down quilt on a winter night.

Warmly covering me, continuously transmitting a signal that I could relax.

Purr purr~

A low sound issued from my throat.

This isn’t something I actively wanted to do, okay? It’s just the instinct of being a catgirl meow…

Comforting myself like this, I rightfully squinted my eyes and enjoyed it.

“How does it feel? Comfortable?”

“Mm-um, Big Sis’s technique is very in place.”

“Is that so? I haven’t rubbed Zhi Nian’s cat ears for a long time. Only when we were little did I often get my hands on them. Time has passed so long, and my technique hasn’t declined? Then it seems the stray cats I’ve teased by the roadside weren’t rubbed in vain.”

Big Sis said cheerfully, after pinching the tips of the cat ears once, she stopped the action of her hands.

Then.

Under my puzzled gaze, she picked up the red bean milk tea that still had some residual warmth on the table and held it in front of me.

“Here, if Zhi Nian doesn’t mind, can you let me continue to satisfy the experiences I’ve been missing over these years? I’ve only ever rubbed you, this catgirl of Zhi Nian’s, okay. Absolutely no intention of being fickle.”

“Eh? Still… still more? Then alright…”

It had been a long time since someone treated me in such an inch-by-inch advancing way; for a moment I was a bit at a loss.

It’s not that I disliked it.

The emotion intensely echoing in my heart at this moment should be called shyness, right?

As if falling into a boundless deep sea, all the surrounding conversation sounds, as well as the hua la sound of the clear wind brushing the treetops, all turned into gu du gu du bubbles.

They, along with the layered squeezing of the seawater, flowed into my two pairs of overly sensitive hearing organs.

Stirring my brain into a mess.

My lips unconsciously pressed tightly.

By the time I came back to my senses, Big Sis had already finished feeding the remaining red bean milk tea.

The top of that paper straw had been bitten into a deep mark by me.

If I used a bit more force, the straw might break open a sharp hole, right?

“Hehe, so fun. Turns out feeding stray cats and feeding a catgirl are completely different feelings.”

Big Sis’s lips carried a smile, casually tossing the finished milk tea plastic cup toward the trash can outside the pavilion.

Although there was a rain cover on top of that sanitation trash can.

But Big Sis still relied on exquisite basketball shooting technique, insisting on tossing the light plastic cup in from the side opening.