Qu Yanning broke out in goosebumps all over. He rubbed his arm and said, “What if Flower Luo is really trapped inside the game?”
Chu Zhou glanced at Zhang Ren, who was momentarily at a loss and helplessly shook his head.
Just as they were talking, Flower Luo came rushing up from behind, her face deathly pale, clearly shaken.
“Damn, you scared me to death just now,” Flower Luo patted her chest to calm herself.
Qu Yanning noticed the faint shadow flickering inside her body, trembling like it had been electrocuted.
He was a little scared but couldn’t help smirking.
Flower Luo kept mumbling complaints about how terrifying the Ghost House was and vowed never to come back.
Zhang Ren seized the opportunity to say, “Let’s get out of here first.”
Flower Luo, still visibly frightened, agreed repeatedly and followed closely beside Qu Yanning.
They were the last group to leave; the others were already waiting at the exit.
Once everyone was together, Zhang Ren checked the time and said, “Let’s head back first. After dinner, it should be about time to rest at the hotel.”
So the group took a taxi back to the city.
During dinner, Qu Yanning took the cat out of his bag. Maybe from the earlier excitement, the cat had curled up into a tight ball and was fast asleep. Even with all the commotion, the cat didn’t wake.
Qu Yanning stroked the cat’s head and placed it on his lap so he could keep an eye on its condition.
After dinner, the group returned to the hotel. Once everyone was settled and the itinerary for the next day was arranged, the three of them headed home.
Back home, the cat was still asleep. Qu Yanning shook its paw but saw no movement. He could only tuck it into the blanket and go take a shower himself.
After finishing his shower, Qu Yanning climbed onto the bed. The cat had stretched out from a little furball into a full cat pancake. Qu Yanning poked it, and the cat purred.
He nudged the cat to the side and lay down next to it. The cat moved, rolled over beside him, stretched out again, and pressed its warm furry belly against his cool skin.
The warmth from the cat’s belly made Qu Yanning frown. He checked the cat’s body temperature — it was a bit higher than usual.
When Xie Qi was picked up, he lost that slight chill. He purred twice, twisted his body in dissatisfaction, then simply transformed into his large cat form and pressed heavily onto Qu Yanning.
The warm furry belly was pressed tightly against Qu Yanning’s cool skin. Xie Qi let out a satisfied hum, nuzzled twice, buried his head into Qu Yanning’s neck, and promptly fell back asleep.
Qu Yanning: …
Suddenly having such a big weight on top of him, he was pressed hard. The furry big cat’s head was right against his cheek, so close that the thick fur almost went up his nose.
He pushed the big cat, tilted his head back, and took a deep breath with difficulty.
Xie Qi was displeased by the push, clutched him tightly with his front paws, and rubbed insistently, his whines tinged with grievance.
Qu Yanning gave up struggling for the moment, took several deep breaths to regain his strength, and then pressed against the cat’s paws to push him aside.
Xie Qi didn’t cooperate well. After much effort, Qu Yanning finally managed to move the big cat a little to the side and sat up, gasping heavily.
After all the fuss, the dozing big cat half-opened his eyes, let out a low meow, and sluggishly rubbed against him again, his front paws tightly hugging Qu Yanning’s waist.
Qu Yanning gave him a light pat and mock-sternly said, “Sleep properly.”
The big cat’s golden eyes slowly moved. He let out a coquettish meow, pressed his head against Qu Yanning’s lower back, and kept his front paws firmly in place.
Qu Yanning: …
There was no way to deal with the cat, so Qu Yanning resigned himself to lying down. As soon as he lay down, the cat snuggled closer.
When Xie Qi was small, he could curl up softly by Qu Yanning’s neck, but now as a big cat, his instinct was still to nuzzle Qu Yanning’s neck.
However, being so large, after nuzzling for a while, he could only bury his face and reluctantly settle down.
The cat beside him finally calmed down, and Qu Yanning breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out and patted him, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
……
Qu Yanning was woken up by heat.
Beside him was like a heated electric blanket. The scorching breath on his neck and face, the warm furry body pressed tightly against him, made him sweat profusely.
He reached out and turned on the light. The big cat was still sleeping soundly, occasionally letting out soft purrs. Qu Yanning touched his body, shocked by how hot it was.
“Good boy, good boy?” Qu Yanning worriedly pushed him gently. “Wake up.”
Xie Qi half-opened his eyes, looking at him drowsily, meowed in confusion, then reached out a paw and hugged him tightly.
“You alright?” Qu Yanning held his paw anxiously.
Xie Qi’s gaze was still a little hazy. His golden eyes looked a bit dazed. He meowed slowly, then rested his head back, acting spoiled, wanting to be held.
“Go back to sleep first, I’ll get some water.”
It was unbearably hot; Qu Yanning was a bit parched. He drank water, turned on the air conditioner, and lowered the temperature. Only then did it feel a little better.
Without someone in his arms, the big cat half-opened his eyes, looking at Qu Yanning with an inexplicably aggrieved expression.
Qu Yanning glanced at the clock—it was just past three in the morning. He sighed quietly.
As soon as he got into bed, the big cat curled up tightly again and pressed against him closely.
Luckily, the room had air conditioning. Qu Yanning petted him and went back to sleep.
When he woke in the morning, the big cat had changed back to his usual form, curled into a small fluffy ball near the nape of his neck.
Qu Yanning checked his body temperature, which was normal, finally feeling at ease.
The room temperature was comfortable. Qu Yanning looked at the remote— the air conditioning was turned off.
He yawned and got up, pulling back the curtains to let the morning sunlight pour in. Xie Qi, curled into a ball on the bed, opened his eyes wide. His golden pupils reflected Qu Yanning’s back.
Qu Yanning breathed in the fresh morning air and let out a contented sigh before turning to wash up.
When Qu Yanning looked back, Xie Qi quickly closed his eyes, ears twitching nervously backward.
Qu Yanning left the room without noticing the cat’s unusual behavior.
Xie Qi opened his eyes again after the door closed and sighed quietly in relief.
He moved, got up, and lightly padded to the dressing mirror.
The cat in the mirror looked serious. His white fur was the base, with black ring-shaped markings resembling ink blots.
Xie Qi stood on his hind legs, front paws folded at his chest, carefully observing himself in the mirror before concluding that he had indeed grown a bit.
He squatted in front of the mirror, lost in thought.
When Qu Yanning returned, he saw his cat sitting solemnly before the mirror. He scooped him up from behind and kissed his furry belly, “Getting up to look at yourself, you narcissist.”
Xie Qi curled his four paws as Qu Yanning held him. That kiss felt like fire, the fur he was kissed on turning warm.
Today, the cat was unusually quiet. Qu Yanning ruffled his arm, “Why so well-behaved today?”
Xie Qi flattened his ears, and his body seemed to burn with fever. He hid his face in Qu Yanning’s embrace.
Just thinking about yesterday’s foolishness made him feel like he couldn’t face the little dummy again.
Qu Yanning had no idea about his shy thoughts and happily carried the cat out.
No breakfast today. Yesterday, they agreed to meet the guild members for morning tea.
The morning tea was at a Yue-style restaurant, serving typical Guang Province dim sum. The food was delicious, and everyone was very satisfied.
After breakfast, they planned the day’s activities. Zhang Ren and the others, as hosts, took the group wandering through the streets, searching for good food and fun.
By three or four in the afternoon, they sent everyone off at the high-speed railway station.
People left one after another, leaving just four locals: Qu Yanning, Chu Zhou, Zhang Ren, and one Flower Luo.
Flower Luo had been having a great time these past two days. She wore headphones and hummed softly to herself.
Qu Yanning was a little wary of her but couldn’t show it too obviously. He forced a smile and chatted with her.
Flower Luo seemed unusually interested in him, popping out with all kinds of strange questions. Qu Yanning could only answer with a grimace.
Only after sending Flower Luo off did Qu Yanning finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Zhang Ren came back with them. He had bought the house next door to Qu Yanning’s, but since it was still under renovation, he had to make do in their living room.