Upon hearing this, Xu Yinsheng nodded slightly.
Indeed, if anyone knows the nature of the Huayuan Federation, it’s her. Those overseas supporters might not understand, but she certainly does.
Even if a unique specimen wouldn’t be dissected, necessary blood tests would be unavoidable, and as for personal freedom in the future—well, that would be thoroughly “arranged.”
“How do you plan to live from now on?” Xu Yinsheng found the question amusing even as she asked it. Asking a cat about its future from a human’s perspective was a little ridiculous.
Was there really a need to ask? Obviously, he’d be freeloading for food and drink. What, was she supposed to make the Cat-eared Boy go out and work to support himself?
As a child, Xu Yinsheng relied on her parents; as an adult, she relied on her inheritance; and now, she relied on Zhao Yicheng. In short, working was never an option! Never in this lifetime! Freeloading was the best!
If she really had to go out and work, she’d rather count on Baibian to magically give her a pair of golden hands—turning stones into gold and striking it rich!
“I want to live with Teacher.”
As expected. But the next sentence made Xu Yinsheng feel a little offended.
“And then learn lots and lots of things, do lots and lots of stuff. I want to be a useful cat—the kind that can support itself.”
The tiny Cat-eared Boy wore an artist’s cap that pressed down his lively cat ears, revealing a pair of clear, sparkling eyes and a rosy, adorable face. He sat up straight, striking a little grown-up pose.
“Uh… good for you.” Xu Yinsheng rubbed her nose.
“Don’t tell anyone about me.”
“I won’t. That big sister who had the same aura as you came to see Yan Qing. Yan Qing knows what to say.”
◎
A big sister with the same aura as me?
The me from the future?
Great, she had time to tease the little boy, but not to find a way to solve the shrinking potion, leaving Xu Yinsheng to get dragged through a month of trouble.
The human and half-cat chatted for a while longer, eventually steering the conversation from Xu Yinsheng’s future to food—their mutual passion. Spicy crayfish, explosive mushrooms, sour and spicy fish, hot and spicy noodles… all kinds of dishes made both little gluttons’ stomachs rumble with hunger.
When the man in white came out of the consultation room with Zhao Yicheng, they saw a big and a small pair of gluttons sitting on the sofa, drooling over the mouth-watering food pictures on the tablet.
The next day.
Deep in the night, the croaking of frogs and chirping of insects echoed in the air.
In a certain bedroom of the villa, the tidy room was softly illuminated by a white porcelain lamp.
A man in blue loungewear sat at his computer desk. The pale glow shone on his face, giving him a sickly look. The click-clack of the keyboard resounded, occasionally interspersed with the tapping of his fingers.
“On the Comprehensive Real Estate Plan Report”
Zhao Yicheng picked up the instant coffee beside his desk, took a sip to refresh himself, and pushed through, hoping to finish the proposal tonight.
He’d missed a month of work due to the shrinking potion, and even though Li Yuan had helped, a lot of tasks had piled up. Now, it was time to catch up.
Suddenly, the computer screen flickered. A dark shadow flashed across. He instinctively rubbed his eyes, and when he looked back at the screen, everything was back to normal.
Was he seeing things? Or was there a minor computer issue?
Szzzt!
The white porcelain lamp flickered twice, then instantly dimmed. The whole room plunged into pitch darkness.
In the darkness, a shadow seemed to flicker.
“Power’s out?” Zhao Yicheng muttered, turning on his phone’s flashlight and looking around, frowning.
The phone’s beam swept across the computer screen. Strangely, the screen he’d just powered off suddenly flared to life, rapidly flickering through black and white images before turning blood-red… In the next instant, a pale hand suddenly stabbed out from the black-and-red screen!
In the dim corridor, a woman in a white dress crawled along the floor with her hair covering her face. The long hair hid her features, only faintly revealing deathly pale skin beneath.
She clawed and scrambled as if about to crawl out of the TV—no, she really was crawling out of the computer!
A chill rose from Zhao Yicheng’s feet and swept through his body.
He abruptly kicked the computer desk, launching his chair backward, and in the same motion drew the gun from his waist, aiming the dark barrel right at the white-dressed ghost woman halfway out of the computer.
The ghost twisted her body in a strange arc, black hair hiding her face so thoroughly that her features were impossible to see. But her chilling, eerie presence could be felt clearly.
Click!
A soft sound. Maybe Zhao Yicheng’s kick had been too strong, or maybe the desk had reached the end of its life. Just as the ghostly woman was about to crawl out, the desk leg suddenly split with a snap.
“Ah…ah…”
The ghost woman panicked, trying to withdraw back into the computer, but she was too late. The now three-legged computer desk wobbled and toppled.
Crack! With a sharp sound, all the parts scattered across the floor.
Ghost and computer fell together, landing face-first.
The cold black muzzle was aimed at the pale figure sprawled on the floor. Zhao Yicheng’s finger was on the trigger, eyes as icy as frost.
◎
“Um… I’m stuck. Can you give me a hand?”
At that moment, a familiar female voice came from the front, making Zhao Yicheng lower his gun slightly.
“Xu Yinsheng?”
“Ahem, it’s me.”
The ghost woman coughed lightly, using her hand to sweep the hair from her face, revealing a face Zhao Yicheng knew all too well.
“I got stuck. Give me a hand, will you?” Xu Yinsheng’s big, watery eyes looked at him, pleading.
Zhao Yicheng holstered his gun, walked forward, took Xu Yinsheng’s soft hand, and pulled her out of the computer, then pressed her shoulders to make her stand up straight.
He flicked the switch on the white porcelain lamp. The light came on, and the room finally returned to normal.
Bathed in the glow, Zhao Yicheng examined the woman in white before him—or rather, Xu Yinsheng, who was clearly just playing around, dressed up as a ghost.
[IP] Chapter 202: The Ghost Crawled Out of the Computer [Stop Raising Her]
She was slender, with a cold, refined air. A beauty mark dotted the skin under her eye. Her dress was as white as snow, ethereal as a spirit, her jet-black hair falling smoothly over her shoulders. Carelessly draped behind her, it revealed delicate, charming collarbones and long, shapely legs that would tempt anyone’s imagination.
The strangest part was the chilling aura that surrounded her. Zhao Yicheng pinched her cheek—it was icy cold, but soft and elastic, just like jelly.
“Is this a new form?”
“Yeah.” Xu Yinsheng pointed at the clock hanging above the bed. It was already past midnight. “I was playing a game, and then suddenly I transformed again.”
She rubbed her little hands together and looked up at the stern-faced man, grinning mischievously. “I just came over to see if you were asleep. How was I supposed to know you’d react so intensely?”
“You just wanted to tease me.” The gunstock knocked firmly against Xu Yinsheng’s forehead, making her grimace in pain.
“So what’s this form supposed to be? An ordinary ghost? Or Sadako?”