Her adorable face stared blankly at me, the swirling thoughts in her eyes seeming to transform into visible colors flickering within them.
Loose strands of hair falling naturally, her slightly plump lips, the soft cat ears atop her head, and the playful cat tail wrapped around my wrist—all of it teased my heart.
No matter how many times I looked, it was hard to say Zhi Nian wasn’t beautiful.
After finishing a day’s diary entry, I pushed the table aside so the sliding chair could move back, then stood up and walked over to the window.
The boundless night sky floated with dark blue clouds, street lamps twinkled faintly, and few people passed by.
The space was so quiet it felt like time itself had stopped flowing.
I rested my cheek on my hand, zoning out for a moment, then took out my camera and looked over the photos again.
Thinking about it, today’s Zhi Nian surprised me quite a bit.
Not that her emotional outbursts were frightening, but I realized once she started venting, it was hard to break through the tough shell she built with words alone.
That phrase she muttered while dropping the coffee cup—’What a hassle’—was something I accidentally said while reflecting on these thoughts.
Though it hit Zhi Nian’s heart harder, I learned from that careless remark that actions speak louder than words.
So, I hugged her, trapping her with my arms to keep her from escaping, forcing her to accept my ‘comfort.’
Hmm… it was a bit forceful, and not really my usual style.
If it were any other girl, I wouldn’t have taken such an extreme approach.
But with Zhi Nian… maybe she likes it when I’m a little rougher with her?
She’s a bit hard to figure out.
Ah, having such a sensitive and fragile catgirl cling to me—should I call it luck or misfortune?
After sorting through a day’s worth of thoughts, I finished washing up and changed into my pajamas.
Just as I was about to get into bed, I suddenly received a text message from my mother.
“It’s almost been a month. Remember to find some time to go to the hospital for a check-up. That way, you’ll feel more at ease.”
Already?
Has it really been a whole month?
I stared intently at the message, my thoughts drifting back to that bus ride a month ago.
That was when Zhi Nian bravely approached me, and shortly after, luck arrived at the hospital.
Before confirming that my body had fully healed, the remaining time felt like a blood-red countdown.
Every time I went to the hospital, the doctor reminded me how much ‘normal’ time I still had left.
Even if I tried hard to ignore it, the faint ache in my heart kept urging me to cherish every moment.
“Got it.”
Feeling relieved, I typed a reply to my mother’s message and exhaled deeply, lying back on the bed.
At some point, I no longer felt anything unusual in my heart.
My exercise intensity had been increasing slowly, without pushing too hard all at once.
Before sleep, while letting my thoughts wander, I suddenly thought it would be nice to celebrate with someone after the hospital check-up.
The person I immediately thought of to invite was none other than the expectant Zhi Nian.
If she knew I was going to take the initiative to ask her out… she’d probably be happy all day, right?
* * * * *
Should I prepare a birthday gift for Gu Fan?
On a weekday night with few customers, I curled up by the heater, twirling the pure white hem of my maid dress with my fingers.
Fame, as always, pawed at my stockings, climbing upward.
I glanced at it. Its claws had become much better behaved now—at least I didn’t have to worry about it tearing my stockings anymore.
I scooped up Flame, holding it in my arms and gently rubbing its head. I sighed softly, thinking about how to face Gu Fan this coming Saturday.
Although I hadn’t deliberately gathered information, my sharp hearing always seemed to catch things about Gu Fan.
From the gossip among classmates, I learned that Gu Fan’s friends were planning to throw him a birthday party at a drink bar.
To be honest… if I could, I really wouldn’t want to have any contact with Gu Fan’s friends. I just hoped he would stay alone by my side, with no one else to bother us.
Braving the party, I might end up making a fool of myself again, but pretending not to know also didn’t feel right.
During work hours, I secretly imagined Gu Fan being approached by other girls and bared my teeth in irritation.
Flame in my arms was startled by my malicious thoughts, pawing at my chest, its big watery eyes looking at me timidly.
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. I’m not mad at you.”
Fearing that Flame might reflexively scratch my delicate lace shirt with its claws, I hurriedly rubbed its cat head and softly comforted it.
Thankfully, my natural cat-scaring aura didn’t affect Flame.
It grunted, flipped over, tucked its paws, and closed its eyes, purring contentedly.
Phew — that was close.
I glanced up to check the shop’s situation — no new customers for now.
The ones already here were happily interacting with the cats, so no one had noticed my little embarrassment.
Speaking of which, I had spent almost the whole night thinking and still hadn’t decided whether to go to Gu Fan’s birthday party to celebrate with him.
Such indecisiveness…
I felt my cat ears droop sadly and my tail lazily flick against the wall behind me.
“Xiao Shen~”
Just as a cheesy call sounded in my ear, my shoulder was suddenly wrapped in an affectionate embrace.
I’m so used to being startled that my reaction wasn’t too strong—I knew the person trying to scare me was the manager.
Turning my head, I saw the manager standing beside me, smiling brightly in her light blue cheongsam. I was right.
“Hehe, how was chatting with your little boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend, just a good friend.” I said calmly, no longer blushing from the manager’s teasing after so many times.
“Mhm, I got it, I got it. So did that good friend do anything to make you happy?”
Recalling yesterday and the past few days, I stiffly nodded.
“I guess so.”
My emotions lately had been like a roller coaster, suddenly rising and falling without warning.
But analyzing the times I felt down, it was mostly caused by my own overthinking.
Gu Fan always managed to bring me happiness and joy, pulling me out of the swamp of negative emotions.
Thinking clearly about how Gu Fan helped me, I let out a relieved breath, stroking the soft belly of Flame curled in my arms while explaining what I meant.
“He takes good care of me. Every time I feel down, he notices and patiently helps me come out of it.”
“Oh~ in that case, I don’t have to worry about anything,” the manager said with a strange smile.
I wasn’t sure what weird thoughts crossed her mind, but after giving me a meaningful glance, she hugged the yawning Xiao Lan in her arms and slipped back to the front desk.
I wanted to call the manager back to ask how to face Shiratori, but she walked away so fast I didn’t even have time to open my mouth.
It seemed like a hint to just keep going as I was.
Forget it…
Shiratori isn’t that close to Gu Fan anyway, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Comforting myself with that thought, I scratched Flame’s chin and wagged my tail along with Flame’s, conveying how happy I felt.