"What happened to you?" Su Yunzhi entered the house, gently closed the door, and walked to her side before whispering, "Did you have a fight with Wuqiu?"
Gu Lingyu remained silent.
"It's common for young couples to argue and bicker. As the saying goes, 'A quarrel at the head of the bed is reconciled at the foot of the bed...'"
Gu Lingyu turned her face away, fiddling with the pattern on the pillow, "It wasn't really an argument..."
"What happened?"
Gu Lingyu was a little embarrassed. She bit her lip and hesitated for a while before stammering, "Well... I might not be very romantic..."
"Hmm?" Su Yunzhi raised an eyebrow. As someone with experience, she was quite perceptive and spoke frankly, "Your bedroom life isn't going well?"
Gu Lingyu buried her face in the pillow and said, "It's not that it's discordant..."
"How so? Let me tell you, these kinds of things require a lot of adjustment."
Gu Lingyu revealed her eyes, "How do we get along?"
To be honest, Su Yunzhi didn't really understand the two girls' situation, but she still tried her best to adopt the demeanor of an elder: "Just try more tricks, and learn to be more open-minded... By the way, you two made quite a commotion last night. Zhou Xingxing asked us early this morning if we heard any cats meowing last night... I heard them too last night."
Speaking of this, Gu Lingyu suddenly buried her face in the pillow again.
Seeing her like this, Su Yunzhi didn't say anything more. She patted her shoulder reassuringly, "Alright, it's okay. Get up and have breakfast. You can take the children downstairs. Er Mao has already learned to eat by himself."
Only half of her words reached Gu Lingyu's ears. After a long while, she looked up at her and asked, "Er Mao?"
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Zhou Xingxing now knows your identities, so there's no need to restrain Zai Zai and the others."
Gu Lingyu sat up abruptly. "How did she know?"
"Er Mao's red string on his wrist came undone today. Zhou Xingxing had just taken it off when Er Mao..."
Gu Lingyu: "What was Stephen Chow's reaction?"
"Go downstairs and see for yourself," Su Yunzhi said, picking up Da Mao and San Mao. "Come down quickly."
Gu Lingyu hummed in response, then sat on the bed for a few seconds in a daze before picking up Simao and getting off the bed.
Chapter 108
Once downstairs, Da Mao and San Mao started babbling and trying to get attention.
Shen Wuqiu looked at Sanmao, but her hand naturally took Damao from Su Yunzhi's hand. When no one was paying attention, she asked in a low voice, pretending to be casual, "Where is she? Isn't she eating?"
Knowing the awkwardness between the young couple, Su Yunzhi smiled and lowered her voice to reply, "I asked her to bring Simao down, and she agreed."
Shen Wuqiu nodded her chin coolly, "Eat it or don't, it's up to you."
Su Yunzhi smiled without saying a word. Seeing Zhou Xingxing waving at her, she carried Sanmao and walked towards her.
"Auntie, let me hug Sanmao."
“You’re not used to holding a baby, and it’s hard for you to eat while holding one. You should eat your food first.” Su Yunzhi carried Sanmao over to show her.
Zhou Xingxing held onto Sanmao's little hand tightly and said to Shen Wuqiu, "Anyway, I know everything now, so let Sanmao transform too."
Shen Wuqiu was tidying up Da Mao's clothes, smoothing out his outer coat and wrapping it tightly. After a light rain a few days ago, frost had started to form, and the temperature in the early morning was very low, only a few degrees.
Da Mao didn't look as robust as her younger sisters, so her mother doted on her, afraid she would catch a cold.
After wrapping Da Mao up tightly, she replied to Zhou Xingxing: "Are you in such a hurry?"
"It's not just impatient, it's absolutely agonizing." Zhou Xingxing pinched the red string on Sanmao's wrist. "Will Sanmao turn into a little kitten like Ermao did when I untied this red string?"
Shen Wuqiu didn't stop him: "Why don't you try and see?"
Zhou Xingxing wasn't sure if she was serious with her calm tone, so he hesitated for two seconds before asking, "So I really solved it?"
Shen Wuqiu said speechlessly, "Didn't you say you were itching to get out of control?"
To be honest, if it weren't for Stephen Chow being there, she wouldn't have wanted to put the red string on the children at all. Her concern that the children would feel stifled was secondary; her main concern was that the children's strength was too great, and that one of the cats would be overwhelmed by the children's power.
“I was just afraid you wouldn’t agree…” Zhou Xingxing said, took a deep breath, and then slowly pulled the red string on Sanmao’s wrist.
The red string is tied in a slipknot; pulling on one of the strands will slowly loosen the knot.
As soon as the knot loosened, Sanmao, who had been babbling and occasionally gesturing wildly, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly turned into a ball of fur.
Although she was prepared, Zhou Xingxing was still somewhat shocked by the sight. After standing there for two seconds, she exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap... this is so white! Si Mao is orange, Er Mao's long, frizzy brown fur makes him look like a lion, but San Mao is such a pure white. This gene pool is just too damn rich! So, Qiu Qiu, what kind of magical mixed-color cat is your wife?"
Without bias, the last sentence landed right in the ears of a cat coming downstairs.
The cat, whose nightlife hadn't been going well last night, was already fuming when Stephen Chow's words were like walking into a trap: "What do you mean by that?"
Although Stephen Chow didn't think he was talking badly about someone behind their back, he still felt a little guilty being overheard by the person involved. "Hahaha, you're awake... Well, I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought that normally, cats shouldn't have such drastic individual differences in their offspring..."
Gu Lingyu scoffed, "You think I'm just an ordinary cat?"
"..." Zhou Xingxing was speechless.
Gu Lingyu glanced at her, "I'm not some mixed-color cat."
Stephen Chow nodded repeatedly, hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "That guy, Ji Mao, looks most like you?"
Gu Lingyu ignored her and silently walked to the empty seat next to Shen Wuqiu. He secretly glanced at his wife and, seeing that she didn't care about him at all, he got angry again and vented his frustration on Er Mao, who was still eating with his head down: "You good-for-nothing..."
Shen Wuqiu then gave her a look.
Upon being looked at by its partner, the cat immediately became obedient, its tone softening considerably as it awkwardly explained, "I wasn't talking about you..."
Shen Wuqiu didn't want to talk to her, but for some reason she felt like laughing, so she couldn't bear to keep her cold. She pretended to be expressionless and said, "So you've finally decided to come downstairs?"
Gu Lingyu shifted uncomfortably, pursing her lips, "You didn't even call me..."
The two of them were flirting and teasing each other secretly. Sanmao, who had turned into a fluffy ball, started to get restless. After being confined by her mother for so many days, she wanted to let loose as soon as she turned back into her original form. After moving her little body around in Su Yunzhi's arms, she jumped down.
The little dumpling had no sense of hierarchy. He fell to the ground and tumbled over, refusing to be comforted. He got up and started running wildly all over the house.
"Is Sanmao doing some kind of parkour?"
"They must have been holding it in for ages..."
Although the hall was spacious, it was also filled with a lot of small pieces of furniture. When Sanmao, the little kitten, got up to run around, he was like a headless fly, bumping into things and tumbling over every now and then.
Everyone found it both funny and heartbreaking, especially Grandpa Shen, who was extremely worried about his precious grandson. He chased after the baby for several laps before finally managing to hold him in his arms.
"Your second sister is really enjoying her fish porridge, would you like some too?"
Dad held Sanmao and specially placed his bowl of porridge in front of Sanmao. At first, Sanmao just sniffed it with little interest, then bared its teeth and claws at Ermao, meowing.
After Er Mao ignored her, she lowered her head and licked the porridge bowl, then buried her whole head in it, just like Er Mao.
Mr. Shen was overjoyed: "Sanmao likes it too! Qiuqiu, do you think Damao and Simao will eat it?"
Gu Lingyu had long hoped that these little ones could be self-reliant and stop competing with her for a wife. Upon hearing this, she immediately patted Si Mao in her arms, "Fatty, time to eat, wake up..."
"..." Shen Wuqiu was speechless. "Why don't you try giving the children some more weird nicknames?"
Gu Lingyu didn't dare to talk back, "Si Mao, wake up, it's time to eat something delicious..."
Ganfanmiao Simao slowly opened her eyes, glanced at her mother, and was about to go back to sleep when Gu Lingyu quickly and roughly untied the red string on her wrist.
Clearly, these little ones were really bored. Even the lazy Si Mao became lively after taking the red rope, turning into a fluffy ball and wandering around the room twice.
All three younger sisters have turned into cats, so Stephen Chow urges Shen Wuqiu to quickly reveal the cat form of the last cub to her.
Shen Wuqiu had no choice but to comply with her wishes.
After collecting all four kittens in their cat forms, Stephen Chow's heart melted completely. He wished he could watch over them 24/7, repeatedly exclaiming, "These kittens are truly treasures of the world, so heartwarming... Waaaaah, Da Mao is so adorable, Er Mao is so cool, San Mao is so cute, Si Mao is so well-behaved... Ahhhhhh, Qiu Qiu, can I be their cat owner...?"
Gu Lingyu: "I don't need you to scoop the poop."
Stephen Chow: "Don't you guys poop?"
Gu Lingyu: "Fairies definitely don't poop."
"..." This is too much! Chen Wuqiu was speechless. "Do you still want to eat breakfast?"
Zhou Xingxing, still excited from his meal, almost forgot the occasion and apologized, "I almost forgot we're still eating." He paused, then couldn't help but look at Shen Wuqiu, "Qiuqiu, do they really not poop?"
"..."
Chapter 109
After learning the secret that the Gu family was not human, Zhou Xingxing was initially a little uneasy. It wasn't that she couldn't accept it, but she felt that this matter was a bit too much, which made her somewhat restrained. She felt that she could no longer interact with people so normally.
However, this discomfort was cured in less than half a day by several kittens circling around her.
Once the red string on her little wrist was untied, all the little ones were fed. Except for Da Mao, who only tentatively licked a mouthful of fish porridge, her three younger sisters each ate half a bowl.
After finishing the meal, the kids let loose and ran around the house playing and frolicking.
Stephen Chow truly loves cats, and having raised cats for several years, she is naturally more experienced than the cat-owning novices in her household, making the kittens flutter around her endlessly.
She found that these kittens, apart from turning into humans and being a little smarter and cuter, didn't seem to be much different from other cats, so there was nothing to be reserved about.
The kids must have really been cooped up in human form, because they were all incredibly energetic. Even Si Mao didn't bother to find a place to hide and sleep; he was constantly rolling around with his older sisters.
This commotion lasted all day.
The baby in the house has turned into a bunch of toddlers jumping and running around everywhere, which hasn't lessened the caregiving duties for the older family members; in fact, it's made more difficult.
You have to watch your step when you walk, because these playful kittens might suddenly jump out; when you sit, you have to be careful that there aren't any cats growing on the chairs or sofas...
In short, we must keep a close eye on the movements of these cubs.
The children were so engrossed in playing like kittens that they forgot to ask their mother for milk, which made things difficult for Chen Wuqiu, their mother.
Gu Lingyu, who had been secretly watching her partner, immediately followed him upstairs as soon as she saw him hurry up. "Is your milk coming in again?"
Shen Wuqiu ignored her but didn't stop her from going into the room, and went to find the breast pump on her own.
Gu Lingyu closed the door, found the breast pump faster than her, and skillfully washed it clean. "Let me help you."
Shen Wuqiu took off her coat, revealing two embarrassing wet patches on the front of her loose pink cotton undershirt. When she lifted her shirt up, she accidentally touched them and couldn't help but gasp.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Gu Lingyu felt extremely distressed and quickly took off the towel, soaked it in hot water, and said, "Sit on the bed, I'll give you a hot compress first."
Her thoughtfulness made Shen Wuqiu feel inexplicably wronged, and she pretended not to appreciate it, saying, "It's none of your business."