Chapter 72: Is an Idiot

An Yu nibbled on the hand-grabbed pancake bite by bite as she walked the familiar road to school.

She had only walked half the distance when she was stopped.

“Hm?”

An Yu tilted her head, her amber eyes blankly staring at the… three cats that had suddenly blocked her path.

She vaguely remembered the orange one; yesterday it had rubbed against her nonstop on this very road.

Was it here to play with her again today?

“Meow~”

Just as she thought, the orange cat from yesterday trotted forward and rubbed against her shoes the same way it had yesterday, as if saying hello.

“Mm, good morning… meow.”

An Yu crouched down, greeted it softly, then reached out to pet it.

“Meow~”

The orange cat didn’t resist at all. 

Instead, it let out a comfortable purr, clearly enjoying An Yu’s touch.

During this entire process, the other two cats simply watched from the side, neither leaving nor coming closer.

“Mm, good.”

There was no fluctuation in An Yu’s voice, yet somehow she seemed quite happy; probably because it felt nice to pet.

After petting to her heart’s content, An Yu stood up.

“See you next time. I have to go, meow.”

She still had school. 

She couldn’t play with stray kitties forever.

Speaking of which, there were two cats at school that also loved being petted by her. 

Very cute.

“Meow, meow~”

Seeing that An Yu was about to leave, the orange cat anxiously meowed twice and rubbed against her shoes again.

“Hm? What’s wrong… meow?”  

An Yu’s voice was cool and distant. Following the sacred rule that one must speak “meow” when communicating with cats, she added “meow” at the end.

She looked at the orange cat in puzzlement, not understanding what it wanted. 

Yesterday it had been very obedient when she left.

Was something wrong today?

The orange cat seemed to understand her confusion. 

It quickly ran to the other two cats and started meowing at them.

“Meow meow, meow!”

Watching the anxious orange cat, An Yu unconsciously raised a finger to her chin, falling into thought.

The atmosphere turned strangely silent. 

The orange cat looked up at An Yu, and An Yu looked down at it.

“Mm, you… want me… to pet them… meow?”

An Yu had even started abbreviating her meow language. 

The less she had to speak, the better.

Only the System was utterly confused.

Anyone who didn’t know better would really think An Yu could talk to cats. She was actually thinking about it…

But no matter how hard the System tried, it never would have guessed that the orange cat actually nodded: “Meow meow!”

【……?】

“Mm, meow.”

An Yu nodded expressionlessly. She didn’t know why, but she agreed to the orange cat’s request.

She walked over to the other two cats, crouched down, and gently began petting them.

…

“Meow meow!”

An Yu had two hands, so she could pet both cats at once.

The two cats obediently rubbed against her palms, enjoying her touch.

Mm, both cats were warm and felt very nice to pet.

After a while, An Yu nodded with an expressionless face, but it was easy to tell she was satisfied.

The pain of being ambushed by An Qing first thing in the morning had been completely healed by the cats.

Of course, if the System knew what An Yu was thinking right now, it would definitely roast her mercilessly:

Where exactly is this supposed pain?!

The System was already too shocked to even roast properly. 

If it had a physical form, it would probably be a little loli with her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

This was ridiculous. 

The skill it gave was Nature Affinity, right?

That skill only made natural creatures feel close to her!

Why could she actually communicate with cats?!

Could it be that its host really had some hidden secret even the System didn’t know about?

Or… was it really just because of that one “meow”?

While the System frantically screamed internally, An Yu finished petting and stood up.

“I’m leaving, meow.”

“Meow, meow meow meow!”

The orange cat ran in front of the two smaller cats and meowed several times at An Yu.

“Mm, see you next time, meow.”

An Yu nodded seriously and softly said goodbye.

Shockingly, after hearing her words, the three cats stopped blocking her and quickly ran off, as if they were fully satisfied.

Now the System’s curiosity was maxed out. 

No matter how you looked at it, its host had just communicated with cats.

And succeeded. 

The cats really listened to her.

The System couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard it tried. 

How?! 

Nature Affinity isn’t Language Mastery!

【Host, can you really understand what cats are saying?】

At those words, An Yu’s steps paused.

A hint of confusion flashed through her amber eyes.

“System, is an idiot?”

【Huh?】

The System let out a bewildered “huh,” but An Yu offered no explanation, as if saying that any System asking such a question was clearly an idiot.

【Host? Host??】

After that, the rest of the journey was uneventful, and An Yu successfully arrived at school.

Today’s duty student…

…was An Yu herself.

She had checked before leaving school yesterday; it was definitely her turn.

Though even if it wasn’t her turn, she would still come early anyway.

An Yu stopped expressionlessly at the classroom door, slowly pulled the sliding door open with both hands, and stepped inside.

The moment she entered, she immediately spotted a figure inside the classroom; strange, because there shouldn’t be any other duty students today.

“Hm?”

“Ah, good morning, An Yu~”

The figure turned around, greeting An Yu with a gentle smile.

“Mm, good morning, Ning Wanciu.”

It was none other than Ning Wanciu.

For some reason, even though she wasn’t on duty, she had come to school early.

Still, seeing Ning Wanciu first thing in the morning made An Yu quite happy.

An Yu nodded at Ning Wanciu, then prepared to start her cleaning duties. 

It was her responsibility, and even though it was troublesome, it was best to finish it.

First, let’s clean the blackboard.

With a cool expression, An Yu walked to the blackboard, picked up the eraser, and prepared to begin the first step of her duty.

But as she wiped… she realized she was stuck on that very first step.

There was no problem wiping the blackboard itself, but… she couldn’t reach the very top.

Her height… wasn’t quite enough.

An Yu didn’t want to jump; that would be inefficient.

“An Yu, let me do it.”

Ning Wanciu walked up behind her, reaching to take the eraser from An Yu’s hand so she could wipe the board instead.

Actually, she had come specifically to help An Yu.

Because of Ning Dongli’s strange behavior last night, Ning Wanciu had become even more concerned about An Yu.

She woke up early and came to school early precisely because she remembered An Yu was on duty today and wanted to help.

She reached for the eraser in An Yu’s hand, but An Yu didn’t let go; instead, she turned her head and stared at Ning Wanciu.

“W-What is it?”  

That stare made Ning Wanciu nervous.

“Hold me.”