Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Kitty Asks for Pets

After playing with Yuan Shimo’s shadow teleportation a few times, Jiang Qingli finally remembered she still had business to attend to.

She cleared her throat, pushed him down onto the bed, and entered Yuan Shimo’s Spiritual Domain.

Yuan Shimo’s Spiritual Domain was a vast, azure sea. In its center was an island, and on that island stood a symmetrical high tower.

The tower was stark and sharp, casting a long, lonely shadow under the sun, completely out of place with its surroundings.

Jiang Qingli recalled seeing Yuan Shimo just like this several times at the academy.

Most of the time, he would be alone, standing coldly in the sunlight, with only his own shadow for company.

A fence around the tower was entwined with withered thorns, blocking the path to it.

Jiang Qingli circled most of the way around the thorny perimeter, looking for a path, when she suddenly noticed a palm-sized black ball in a nearby thicket of thorns, following her.

But when she tried to get a better look, the little ball shrank back into the shadows of the leaves.

’That must be Yuan Shimo’s Spiritual Body,’ she thought.

’He seems so cold and distant. Why is his Spiritual Body so shy?’

Finding it adorable, Jiang Qingli beckoned to the little black ball with her finger. "Come here."

A light breeze rustled by. The shadows of the thorns swayed with the leaves, and the surroundings were so still it was as if nothing was there.

Hidden among the leaves, the little black ball couldn’t help but peek out, only to shrink back again, hesitating, too timid to move.

Jiang Qingli raised an eyebrow. "If you don’t come out, I’m leaving. I won’t play with you anymore."

As she spoke, she pretended to pull her hand back.

Just as her fingers were about to close, a shadow zipped between them, so fast she couldn’t see it clearly.

A slightly warm sensation nudged her palm.

Jiang Qingli looked down and met the black ball’s gaze.

From a distance, the thing looked like a little black sphere, but holding it in her hand, she found it was actually translucent and soft to the touch, a bit like whipped cream.

’I wonder if it would be sweet if I took a bite.’

The little guy had a pair of huge, cartoonish eyes that took up half its body, and it blinked shyly up at her.

"So cute," Jiang Qingli said, curling the fingers of her other hand to scratch the top of its head.

The little soot sprite squinted its eyes, and two small tentacles extended from its body to hug her finger tightly.

"You can change into this?" Jiang Qingli found it interesting. "That’s amazing."

Hearing her praise, the little soot sprite suddenly froze.

Jiang Qingli noticed the little soot sprite’s temperature was rising; it was getting a bit hot to the touch.

The next second, it leaped from her palm, landed on the ground, and transformed into the shape of a cat.

A fluffy white cat with upturned, turquoise eyes and a delicate pink nose tilted its head back primly and let out a soft meow at the girl.

"Meow~"

"So the little kitty has two different sides to him," Jiang Qingli said, squatting down in front of the kitten.

The little white cat took a few steps forward, nuzzled its head against Jiang Qingli’s hand, and burrowed into her embrace, its tail gently brushing against her cheek.

Jiang Qingli reached out to pet its head, but it tilted its head back primly, narrowing its turquoise eyes.

’This posture... it’s just like Yuan Shimo.’

Jiang Qingli sat on the ground, held it in her arms, and began to pet and purify it.

Soon, the prim and proud little cat was lying on her lap, exposing its belly for her to play with.

"Little White, you’re so well-behaved, much more so than your master," Jiang Qingli couldn’t help but praise the kitten, even giving it a nickname on the spot.

The white cat was not pleased with this perfunctory nickname and was about to protest, but when the girl’s soft fingers gently scratched its belly, it forgot its displeasure, twitched its ears, and let out a contented purr.

Seeing this, Jiang Qingli couldn’t help but laugh and reached out to scratch its chin.

Absorbed in petting the cat, she didn’t notice—

on the other side, the thorns entangling the tower were becoming tinged with green, slowly retreating to reveal a path to the tower.

...

Half an hour later, Yuan Shimo and Jiang Qingli opened their eyes at the same time.

Their eyes met for a moment before the young man lowered his lashes, hiding his gaze.

Jiang Qingli felt refreshed and invigorated after petting the kitten. She pulled the covers up, said a "good night," and drifted off to sleep, completely satisfied.

Yuan Shimo lay quietly beside her, staring intently at her back.

He lifted his fingers, only to retract them just before making contact.

After he had reached out for the umpteenth time, Jiang Qingli suddenly turned over, wrapped her arms around his waist, and nuzzled her head against him to find a comfortable position.

A jolt, like an electric current, shot through Yuan Shimo, making his back tingle.

He suddenly realized that Jiang Qingli brought him so many new experiences.

Unlike a problem that could be analyzed and solved, she was an uncontrollable unknown.

That was why, in their previous encounters, he had wanted to distance himself from Jiang Qingli time and time again.

But...

Yuan Shimo lowered his gaze, looking at her profile in the faint light of the dark room. In the chest she was using as a pillow, his heart began to beat faster and faster.

He was starting to become infatuated with this heart-pounding unknown.

For the first time, the long-abandoned tower shed its thorns for someone.

...

The blinding morning sun streamed into the room.

Jiang Qingli struggled to open her eyes.

The space beside her was empty, and she could faintly hear the sound of running water.

’Showering this early...’

Jiang Qingli, still drowsy, found it strange. Seeing that it was still early, she pulled the blanket over her head to laze around a little longer.

She hadn’t been back to sleep for long when she vaguely felt the mattress beside her dip.

Jiang Qingli looked up and saw a sliver of pale collarbone.

Her gaze traveled up past the damp ends of Yuan Shimo’s hair to his beautiful face.

Probably because he had just showered, a faint mist still clung to the young man. He had taken off his glasses, and his features were sharper than usual, radiating a keen, youthful energy.

It was rare to see him like this. Jiang Qingli blinked.

Yuan Shimo seemed unable to bear her stare and turned his face to the side, calling out to her in a low voice, "...Female master." He pursed his lips, uttering the next words with great difficulty, "Good morning."

"Mm, morning." Jiang Qingli was truly awake now.

She stretched her neck and shoulders, then got up to leave. "I’m heading out."

Yuan Shimo watched her leave, letting out a soft "Mm."

The door closed. His fingers gently caressed the mattress where her body heat still lingered.

An image of what she had done to his Spiritual Body in the Spiritual Domain last night flashed through his mind, and Yuan Shimo closed his eyes.

Unbeknownst to him, a fluffy white cat tail had appeared behind him, wagging with a hint of dissatisfaction, as if begging its master for a pat.

-

In early summer, the rain always arrived without a sound.

When Jiang Qingli finished her spiritual power class and walked out of the Spiritual Power Research Center with her friends, the world outside was already damp.

The group had originally planned to go for a walk in the park, but the heavy rain dampened their spirits, so they rescheduled for the weekend.

Lin Xiyue called her Beast Husband to pick her up. "Want to come over to my place...?" Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly looked behind Jiang Qingli with a teasing smile. "Ah, never mind. Someone’s here to pick you up."

Jiang Qingli followed her gaze and saw Gu Nian, dressed in a white shirt, walking slowly toward them.

It had been a week since Gu Nian had entered the academy as a special admission student.

At first, his good looks caused quite a stir, attracting the favor of several females.

Gu Nian rejected them all, stating that he was already married.

He didn’t say who his female master was, which surprised Jiang Qingli. The nobles at the academy were extremely hostile and contemptuous toward special admission students; if he had revealed his connection to her, it would have at least quieted some of the criticism.

When she brought it up, Gu Nian hugged her arm, hesitated for a long time, and said softly, "...I don’t want you to be criticized because of me."

Jiang Qingli didn’t particularly care about being criticized, but she worried that the nobles who had a grudge against her might target Gu Nian. So, she didn’t insist, merely asking Yi Nuo in private to find a few of Gu Nian’s classmates to look out for him.

However, Jiang Qingli didn’t go out of her way to hide it either, and her trusted friends all knew.

The young man approached through the curtain of rain, staring intently at the girl’s face, his eyes sparkling as if she were the only person in the world.

Standing before her, he straightened his tie, his smile a mixture of nervousness and joy. "Qingli, I’m here to pick you up!"

Jiang Qingli walked toward Gu Nian and took the hand he held out to her.

Gu Nian’s palm was a little damp, and the hand holding her fingertips was trembling slightly, as if he were nervous.

But when he turned his head, his smile was sweet, showing no sign of his nerves.

’It must be because the rain is so heavy,’ Jiang Qingli thought.

As she was thinking this, her terminal vibrated a few times.

A text message arrived from an unknown number:

[Come find me.]