“Look at your mother, such a clever and wonderful person. If you were adopted, she would have let you grow up freely as you were born, and she wouldn’t have been so demanding of you.”
"So, sister, you mean that Mother is strict with me because she cares about me?"
Shen Wuqiu nodded, a smile playing on her lips, her expression somewhat sly. "As the saying goes, dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and rats beget rats that dig holes. If you were just a rat you picked up, your mother, a phoenix, wouldn't force you to become a phoenix. It's precisely because you're her own child that she's so disappointed in you. Don't you think so?"
"..." Gu Lingyu understood. "Is Sister saying that I am not as good as Mother?"
Shen Wuqiu raised his hand and tapped her forehead, smiling, "Our little Lingyu... oh, little Mianmian is very clever."
It was clearly a joke.
Gu Lingyu pouted, but when she heard that the other woman had called her by her nickname, she decided not to be angry and simply said, "Oh."
Anyway, from childhood to adulthood, her mother often grabbed her by the neck and scolded her: "How could I have given birth to such a silly goose like you?"
Although she still doesn't know what "iron fool" means, her mother always looks like she's about to be driven to the heavens by her words, so it's probably not a nice thing to say.
Shen Wuqiu glanced at her secretly. The little girl pursed her lips, and it was impossible to tell what her expression was. She felt a little guilty. "I was just joking with you. Your eyes look a lot like your mother's, but your eyes are brighter than your mother's."
"So, does your sister prefer something bright or something dim?"
"Of course I like bright ones! Bright eyes are like they're shining, so beautiful!"
Gu Lingyu's tense face instantly broke into a smile, but quickly tightened again. She raised her chin slightly, looking somewhat awkwardly arrogant, "It seems that my sister has some good taste."
Shen Wuqiu was amused by her appearance, pursed her lips, and stopped teasing her. "I'm talking to you about something serious. I'm carrying your brother's babies in my belly now..."
Gu Lingyu objected, "This is my child, my child, he has nothing to do with my brother."
Shen Wuqiu nodded, not wanting to engage in such a pointless argument. "What I mean is, to give my father an explanation, I admitted that the child was your brother's, and your mother also covered for me... You said you don't just have one brother, you have three. Look, this pregnancy is so rare, this baby must have been hard-won, your mother will definitely let me give birth to the child..."
"Does my sister intend not to have the child?"
This little girl's focus is really something else.
Shen Wuqiu took a deep breath. "No, can you let me finish?"
"Then tell me, sister."
"If the child is born, half of it will belong to your family, right? Will your mother then suggest that your surviving brother marry me?"
"..." Gu Lingyu was stunned. "Sister, what are you thinking about?"
What's so strange about that? Isn't that how it's portrayed in TV shows and novels?
Shen Wuqiu felt a little embarrassed by her gaze, "I was just asking casually..."
“My three older brothers are all married.” Gu Lingyu’s face tightened again, her unhappiness evident. “You’re definitely going to marry me.”
"Huh?" Shen Wuqiu thought she had misheard. "Me? Marry you?"
"We already have a baby, are you really going to marry someone else while taking my baby with you?"
She was so self-righteous that Shen Wuqiu felt like a heartless woman who had cheated on her husband, and after trying to hold back for a long time, she couldn't utter a single word.
Gu Lingyu interpreted her silence as tacit agreement, and her face immediately fell. As members of the spirit cat clan, they were extremely loyal to their partners, and their hearts and bodies would forever submit to the partner they chose during their first heat.
The woman in front of her had clearly been there for her through her first heat, and now they even had a child. How could she possibly dream of marrying another man?
Gu Lingyu felt more and more wronged and angry as she thought about it. In her anger, she stretched out her hand and made a face at Shen Wuqiu, saying, "If you marry someone else, I'll scratch you to death with my claws."
This threat, which was even more of a paper tiger than a paper tiger itself, had absolutely no deterrent effect, and Shen Wuqiu couldn't help but want to laugh.
Looking at the innocent and somewhat naive little girl, Shen Wuqiu felt very complicated. She moved her lips, but when the words reached her lips, she lost the desire to speak. In her opinion, the little girl, who was from a different race, was not on the same wavelength as her at all, so speaking to her would be pointless.
So she simply stopped talking.
So, Gu Lingyu held up her hand and made faces for a long time until her hand was about to ache, before she heard the other person utter a single word—"Oh."
Very perfunctory.
"...I'm serious."
Shen Wuqiu yawned. What a chaotic morning! She was exhausted. "Hmm. I'm going to take a nap. You can play by yourself."
With that, Shen Wuqiu lay down on the bed.
Gu Lingyu stared for a long time, but in the end she could only give up, dejectedly and cautiously shrinking to the other side of the bed.
As soon as she lay down, Shen Wuqiu turned to face her and said, "You should go back to your own room to sleep."
It's not like it's the first time I've slept like this.
Despite her inner grumbling, she reluctantly returned to her room.
Sleeping in human form isn't as comfortable as sleeping in cat form, and she's actually quite worried that if she sleeps too comfortably, she might end up turning into a cat.
On the other side, Gu Junshan and Dai Ying, who came uninvited, showed no intention of leaving, just like their shameless daughter Gu Lingyu.
The saying goes, "A guest is a guest," and this is especially true for guests with whom there is a subtle blood connection; they should be treated with even greater courtesy.
After having lunch at the Shen family's house, they showed no intention of leaving. In response, Su Yunzhi politely said, "Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, if you two don't mind the simplicity of my humble abode, why don't you stay for another day before you go?"
"We don't mind, we're just afraid you'll find us troublesome." Gu Junshan paused, then continued, "To be honest, we didn't plan to leave before Wuqiu gave birth."
"..." The politeness extended to the horse's legs, and Su Yunzhi tried hard not to let her smile fade. Although they were a well-off family, with no shortage of food or clothing, they still felt a little uncomfortable with guests who refused to leave. "I see..."
Daiying smiled and said, "Won't this disturb you?"
Su Yunzhi glanced at her, then looked at Shen's father.
Mr. Shen, that typical straight man, said, "Why are you looking at me like that? There's another bedroom upstairs next to Lingyu, why don't you tidy it up?"
Su Yunzhi forced a smile, "It's perfect that your family lives next to each other."
Daiying seemed oblivious to her reluctance, and gracefully nodded her chin, "Then I'll have to trouble Madam Shen."
"...No trouble at all."
Of course, the person who had the biggest objection to Gu Junshan and Daiying staying was not Su Yunzhi, but Gu Lingyu.
"What? My parents aren't leaving?" When Gu Lingyu heard that her parents weren't planning to leave and were going to stay next door, she was so scared that her tail almost popped out, but luckily she managed to cover it in time.
She said her mother was holding back a big surprise!
Just as expected!
Shen Wuqiu nodded. Seeing her jump up and cover her bottom as if she had been electrocuted, he couldn't help but lean over to look at her from behind. "What happened to your bottom?"
"Nothing, nothing..." As soon as she leaned closer, Gu Lingyu moved to the other side, trying not to let her see her butt. Although she covered it up, she felt guilty.
Shen Wuqiu glanced at it briefly, but didn't see anything strange, so she didn't bother to look any further. Seeing her timid expression, she couldn't help but tease her in the same tone she had used before: "Don't worry, little Mianmian, don't be afraid of your father and mother. Your sister will definitely protect you."
That's all well and good, but she doesn't believe her sister can protect her.
That evening, Shen Wuqiu saw her white cat return to the room looking miserable, with several bald patches on its body and two whiskers broken.
How can one word describe how tragic it was?
A note from the author:
Happy holidays everyone! I only updated 3,000 words today, I'll make up for it tomorrow.
It's a holiday... so we went a bit overboard.
Love you all, muah!
Chapter 28 Losing Face
Shen Wuqiu stared at the white cat, which looked disheveled, for a long time before she recovered from her astonishment. Fortunately, the cat's distinctive blue eyes were still intact; otherwise, she wouldn't have wanted to admit that it was her cat.
It's too much to look at.
The white cat clearly realized that it didn't look presentable in its cat form. After returning to its room, it wasn't as energetic as usual. It slumped down on its special blanket and then moved to the foot of the bed.
As soon as she was about to jump up, Shen Wuqiu coldly stopped her: "You're not allowed in bed today."
The white cat's little mouth moved slightly, and its blue eyes looked at her—aren't cats supposed to be expressionless? Why did she feel like her cat was about to cry?
It's an illusion, it must be an illusion.
Shen Wuqiu cleared her throat and scolded her, "Look at the way you are! You're always out fooling around with people, and now you're being bullied by the other cats, aren't you?"
The white cat turned its head away, meowing.
The expression on the wronged cat's face is priceless.
Shen Wuqiu softened a little. She lowered her head and touched her stomach, weighed the situation in her mind, then got up from the bed, washed a hot towel in the bathroom, and came out. "Come here."
The white cat hesitated for a few seconds, its head still slightly turned to the side, but its little cat steps were quite brisk.
Shen Wuqiu didn't hold her in his arms as usual, but instead had her squat on the desk and wiped her body with a hot towel.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the little darling was indeed bald in patches, not just due to matted hair as she had assumed. One bald spot was so prominent that no matter how much she tried to cover it up, she couldn't hide it.
Shen Wuqiu grew angrier the more she wiped the towel. She threw it down, stood up, put her hands on her hips, and glared at the white cat that was pretending to be dead with its head down. She tried to hold back, but she couldn't swallow her anger any longer. "I've been serving you good food and drink, just so you can go out and be abused by those stray cats?"
The white cat tried its best to argue its point: "Meow~"
"Shut up."
What a good-for-nothing.
Shen Wuqiu's feelings at this moment were like those of an old mother who saw her child beaten black and blue, feeling both heartache and disappointment.
The white cat glanced at her furtively, but when their eyes met, it quickly lowered its head and deliberately tucked its little paws, which were curled up outside its belly, back inside.
It's a dynamic "weak, pitiful, and helpless" emoji.
Shen Wuqiu looked up and blew a breath, then picked up the hot towel and continued to wipe her.
But when she saw the little hole where her fur had fallen out, she couldn't help but get angry. "You're supposed to be quite plump and strong, so how come your fighting ability is so weak? I've never seen you this pathetic when so many cats bullied you."
The white cat turned its head away, pretending to be dead.
After wiping the cat's back, Shen Wuqiu, still angry, roughly rolled her over. While wiping her belly, she glanced at her tiny breasts. Seeing how small they were, like grains of rice, and thinking about how this little rascal was constantly out early and back late, she felt a pang of melancholy.
"Spring is over, but your heat cycle isn't over yet. Do you think there's an uneven distribution of genders in your cat clan? You can't compete with the other female cats at all. You've been fooling around outside for so long, and you still haven't found a boyfriend?"
The old mother's feelings were so contradictory: when pigs rooted up the cabbages she raised, she complained that the pigs were no good; but when pigs didn't root up the cabbages, she worried that her cabbages wouldn't even attract pigs...
Of course, to the white cat, these words sounded like a bit too disparaging of its life.
The white cat objected, meowing.