“Morning.” Lin Du waved, trying to keep his tone natural.
“Where have you been these past two days?”
Bai Li stopped, looked up, and glared at him angrily. “You don’t reply to messages, you don’t answer calls—did you vanish off the face of the earth?”
“Well…” Lin Du scratched his head, his gaze drifting upward. “I went back to my hometown over the weekend.”
“Hometown?”
“Yeah, it’s out in the countryside. The signal’s not great.” He gave a wry smile and rubbed his palm against his pants. “And then I accidentally broke my phone. You know how it is in rural areas—hardly any shops, and finding a phone repair place takes half a day.”
Stare—
Bai Li stared at him for a few seconds. Lin Du felt a twinge of guilt under her gaze and was about to add more excuses, but Bai Li just nodded. In this world, [cities] were practically independent nations, much larger than those in her previous life, so naturally they included agricultural rural areas.
“Fine, I forgive you.”
Lin Du let out a quiet sigh of relief and lifted the bag in his hand. “Here, the beef-stuffed buns you wanted.”
“Thanks~”
Bai Li took the bag, her eyes immediately lighting up. She brought the bag to her face and took a deep breath—the fragrance of steamed dough mixed with meat, warm and steaming, washed over her. “See? Beef filling really is better, especially with a bit of chili oil!”
She hugged the bag and took a big bite, cheeks puffing out.
“Slow down, no one’s going to take them from you.”
“Mmm mmm—” Bai Li mumbled something indistinct, probably “I do what I want.”
They walked side by side toward the school. The morning streets hadn’t fully woken up yet; the aroma of breakfast stalls drifted over from the roadside, mingling with the scent of fried dough sticks. A few students in uniforms ran past, their backpacks bouncing with each step.
Bai Li finished her first bun and pulled out a second from the bag.
“In a good mood today?” Lin Du glanced at her.
“Not bad,” Bai Li said while chewing, mumbling, “Mainly because someone’s treating.”
“And if someone treated every day?”
“Forget it. Next time I’ll treat—I don’t want to owe anyone.”
Bai Li swallowed the rest of the bun and slowed her pace. “Huh? What’s that?”
Up ahead at the street corner, a small crowd had gathered. In front of a newly opened shop stood flower baskets, and a red banner read “MeowTalk Coffee—Grand Opening Today.” A figure stood at the entrance, handing out flyers to passersby.
Bai Li squinted, studying the figure closely. Long black hair, a petite frame, wearing a maid-style apron. On her head were two fluffy cat ears, and behind her, a long tail swayed at the hem of her skirt. But what caught Bai Li’s attention most was the silver collar around the girl’s neck, glinting faintly in the morning light.
“Is that… a strange person?”
Lin Du followed her gaze, his expression unchanged. “Yeah, but she’s probably a registered legal strange person.” He pointed at the collar around the cat-eared girl’s neck. “See that? That’s an identification tag issued by the Anomaly Bureau. Any strange person who voluntarily submits to monitoring and registers gets one. With that, they can live legally in human cities.”
Bai Li stared at the collar for a few seconds, a strange feeling bubbling up inside her. Is that really a thing? She had thought all strange persons either hid in sewers or fought alongside organizations like the Starshard Society. But here was one, standing in the sunlight, handing out flyers?
“Some strange persons choose to stay out of conflict and live in seclusion in the mountains,” Lin Du continued, as if reading her confusion. “Others choose to join human society and become part of it. As long as they don’t cause trouble, the Anomaly Bureau won’t make things difficult for them.”
“Oh.” Bai Li responded, but her eyes stayed on the cat-eared girl. The cat girl was cheerfully handing a flyer to a passing office worker, her movements practiced, her smile sweet, her tail swaying behind her—she looked no different from any ordinary working girl.
“Business seems pretty good,” Lin Du remarked casually.
“Mm.” Bai Li bit into her bun, but a twinge of bitterness crept into her heart. Same species, but she can stand openly on the street handing out flyers, while I have to rely on this bracelet to disguise myself, living in constant fear of being discovered. The gap is way too big.
Just as she was thinking, the cat girl offered a flyer to another passing man.
“Excuse me, sir~ MeowTalk Coffee just opened—welcome to drop by…”
Slap.
The flyer was knocked out of her hand. Bai Li nearly dropped her bun.
The man looked about forty, wearing a wrinkled shirt, unshaven, with dark circles under his eyes. He slapped the flyer away and even shoved her.
“Get lost!” His voice was hoarse, barely contained anger spilling out. “It’s because of you freaks! If you hadn’t destroyed that office building, I wouldn’t have lost my job!”
The cat girl staggered backward and fell on her bottom. The flyers scattered everywhere. Her ears flattened, and she curled up into a small ball.
“S-Sorry…” Her voice was tiny, trembling.
“What good does sorry do?!” The man spat again, spittle flying. “You monsters shouldn’t exist in this city at all!”
He glared at the cat girl one last time, then turned and walked away, his leather shoes crushing the scattered flyers, leaving a trail of dirty footprints.
The pedestrians on the street gave the area a wide berth. Some glanced over, others quickened their pace, but no one stopped.
Bai Li stood there, not even noticing that her bun had gone cold. She watched the cat girl huddled on the ground, and thought of herself when she first arrived in this world. Yeah, humans and strange persons are enemies by nature. Even if you submit to humans, you only lose your freedom and face cold stares and discrimination. Those not of our kind are bound to be destroyed. When that man was shouting, she almost felt like he was yelling at her.
“Let’s go.” Lin Du’s voice came from beside her.
“Huh?” Before Bai Li could react, Lin Du had already walked over. He crouched down and started picking up the scattered flyers.
Bai Li was startled, then quickly shoved the bun into her mouth and crouched down to join him. The flyers had blown everywhere—some under the flower baskets, some stuck between the steps, others trampled by pedestrians, covered in dirty shoe prints.
The two of them crouched in front of the shop, picking up flyers one by one, neither speaking.
The cat girl sat on the ground in a duck-like pose, watching them with red-rimmed eyes. “Th-Thank you…”
Lin Du stacked the flyers he’d collected neatly and handed them to her. “No problem.”
Bai Li also handed over her stack, still holding the bun in her mouth, mumbling, “Here—”
The cat girl took the flyers, stood up, and brushed the dust off her skirt. She looked at Bai Li, then suddenly sniffed, like a real cat catching a scent.
Bai Li’s heart skipped a beat.
The cat girl sniffed again, tilted her head, and let her gaze roam over Bai Li’s face. Her ears perked up, her tail stopped swaying, and her pupils dilated, as if she had discovered something interesting.
“You… You are…?”
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