Chapter 56: …Meow

As the four of them walked toward the school gate, two cats suddenly darted out from nowhere, one black and one white.

The two cats bounded over and rubbed against An Yu’s legs, acting all spoiled.

“Meow~”

“Huh? Little Black and Little White?” 

Ning Wanciu looked at the cats in surprise.

She hadn’t seen An Yu this morning, so she was genuinely shocked right now.

She had never seen these two cats be affectionate with anyone outside of feeding time.

An Yu naturally crouched down. 

A rare softness appeared on her cute little face.

She reached out and petted the two kittens for a while before standing back up.

Petting complete. 

Felt good. 

Time to go.

“Goodbye… meow.” 

An Yu paused mid-sentence, almost forgetting to add the “meow” when talking to cats.

“Meow, meow!”

Seeing that An Yu was leaving, the two cats reluctantly rubbed against her pants a couple more times before obediently trotting away.

Watching this incredibly natural scene, Ning Wanciu was instantly filled with questions.

How… how did she do that?

It couldn’t be that An Yu could just magically command cats like some kind of cat herself, right?

“An Yu, how did you do that?” 

Ning Wanciu asked, puzzled.

“Mm?” 

An Yu tilted her head, seemingly not understanding the question.

In her mind, being able to communicate with cats was perfectly normal. Nothing special.

“Why do Little Black and Little White listen to you so well?”

“Oh.” An Yu nodded expressionlessly. 

“Because they’re very obedient to begin with.”

Ning Wanciu didn’t get clarity from that answer; she only grew more confused.

What did she mean they were obedient? Could it be that An Yu…

“An Yu… can you talk to cats?”

An Yu nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and admitted outright, “Mm.”

She had specifically studied meow language, so of course she could communicate. 

Totally normal.

“Eh?” 

Ning Wanciu let out a small cry of shock when An Yu confirmed it. 

“H-How?”

An Yu looked at her in confusion. Do all delinquent girls want to learn this?

Huai Xiang had asked the exact same thing this morning, and right now she was over there chatting with Cheng Shimumeng, clearly having failed to learn An Yu’s cat language.

“Hehe, morning An Yu was super cute, you have no idea~”

“Hm?”

Oh, they were just talking about this morning. Poor dumb Huai Xiang couldn’t learn it.

People without language talent are like that. Understandable.

An Yu turned back to Ning Wanciu, wondering if Ning Wanciu’s learning ability was any better.

But no matter what, she couldn’t let Ning Wanciu feel discouraged. This was her precious big pillow.

So she had to teach seriously!

An Yu lightly tugged on Ning Wanciu’s hand, signaling her to come closer.

“Mm?” 

A hint of confusion flashed in Ning Wanciu’s eyes, but she still bent down slightly toward An Yu.

Seeing this, An Yu leaned forward, moved close to Ning Wanciu’s ear, cupped her hand beside her mouth, and softly parted her cherry lips. “Like… this…”

An Yu paused for a moment, as if gathering something. 

A warm breath brushed against Ning Wanciu’s ear, making it instantly turn red.

“Meow~”

A soft, slightly cold yet adorably sweet voice rang right beside Ning Wanciu’s ear. 

The girl wasn’t doing it on purpose; she was purely teaching with the utmost sincerity.

But that was exactly why it was so devastating.

“?!”

Ning Wanciu’s face flushed crimson as she reflexively took half a step back. 

She never expected An Yu to launch this kind of surprise attack.

Seemingly oblivious to Ning Wanciu’s abnormality, An Yu looked at her calmly. 

“Did you get it?”

Get what? Get what exactly?!

Ning Wanciu was completely frozen, face burning as she stared at An Yu, unable to speak for a long time.

Huai Xiang noticed the odd atmosphere and was about to come over to ask what was wrong, but Cheng Shimumeng stopped her.

“Hey, hey? What’s going on?”

“Mm… what did you just say? Can you say it again?”

“Huh? You weren’t listening?”

“Sorry, sorry~” 

Cheng Shimumeng smiled apologetically, but of course she had heard everything. 

She was just making up an excuse to keep Huai Xiang from interrupting the show.

The last time Ning Wanciu’s face turned this red was when An Yu was straddling her at lunch.

“Wow, playing so dirty and you still ignore me!”

“Hehe~” 

Cheng Shimumeng chuckled unconsciously, but her eyes never left Ning Wanciu and An Yu.

Right now, Ning Wanciu was completely flustered by An Yu and had no idea what to do.

“Mm? You didn’t get it either, Ning Wanciu?” 

An Yu tilted her head. 

“Should I teach you again?”

It was fine to teach Ning Wanciu a few more times. She would be very patient.

With that, An Yu started stepping closer again, ready to lean in and teach her one more time by the ear.

The closer, the clearer you hear, the faster you learn!

Teacher An Yu was serious and logical!

Seeing this, Ning Wanciu frantically waved her hands. One more time and her heart would leap out of her chest!

“N-No need!”

“Oh?” An Yu looked at her doubtfully. 

“So you got it, Ning Wanciu?”

“Y-Yes…” 

Ning Wanciu nodded awkwardly. 

She had no idea what she was supposed to have learned, but nodding seemed safest.

“Oh.” 

An Yu nodded and fell silent, but her eyes remained fixed on Ning Wanciu, as if confirming something.

Ning Wanciu: …

What now… An Yu didn’t look like she was going to let this go.

Even though An Yu hadn’t said a word, Ning Wanciu could somehow read her meaning.

That unwavering stare clearly said: If you didn’t get it, it’s fine. I’ll teach you again.

No way. Ning Wanciu wouldn’t survive that.

“Phew…” Deep breath. Calm down. Here goes nothing!

Ning Wanciu lowered her head. 

After hesitating for a long time, she looked up at An Yu with a flushed face, parted her cherry lips, and imitated her. 

“…Meow.”

In that instant, the whole world went silent.

Ning Wanciu’s face burned even hotter. 

Right now she wanted to find a hole to crawl into and die.

“Mm! Ning Wanciu is smart!” 

An Yu nodded in satisfaction. 

The corners of her mouth lifted unconsciously into an extremely beautiful smile.

As expected of the big pillow she had chosen—way smarter than dumb Huai Xiang. One lesson and she got it!

An Yu felt an immense sense of accomplishment right now. 

She even wanted to put her hands on her hips in pride.

But whatever, too lazy to move.

“Let’s go, Ning Wanciu.” 

An Yu reached out to her, her expression returning to calm.

No more wasting time. Time to play!

“Ah… y-yeah.”

For some reason, An Yu felt like Ning Wanciu seemed a little dazed. 

Did she just remember clothes still in the washing machine?

Seeing Ning Wanciu still frozen, An Yu stepped forward again and took the initiative to hold her hand.

Feeling the soft warmth in her palm, Ning Wanciu finally snapped out of it.

Her heartbeat still hadn’t calmed down.

Because, under the setting sun just now, An Yu’s smile had been truly breathtaking.