Chapter 33: Do Not Touch

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Even if Marshmallow could not transform into a great white tiger, Nian Tu still wanted to keep him.

To win over a kitten, one began with its appetite.

She scratched beneath the kitten’s chin, took the prepared cat food from Lu Zhan, and coaxed the kitten over to eat.

Marshmallow leaned toward the little dish of meat puree and sniffed it. To her surprise, he turned his tiny face away with an air of haughty disdain and refused to eat.

“What?” Nian Tu found this strange.

In the past, whenever she had made cat food for Fugui, the orange cat belonging to her company’s boss, Fugui had devoured it with relish. Whenever she fed other kittens outside, she had always succeeded. Never before had she been rejected.

She stroked the kitten’s fluffy belly. It was not particularly round; surely he ought to be hungry by now.

“…You don’t like it?” She frowned and picked up a small spoon, attempting one last effort.

If he still refused when she fed him herself, then she would give up and think of something else.

She scooped up a spoonful of meat puree and brought it to Marshmallow’s mouth, watching him expectantly.

Marshmallow blinked, then stuck out his tiny tongue and quickly licked her hand twice.

Nian Tu burst out laughing, making no attempt to pull away.

Some kittens simply loved licking people. Once, she had even met a kitten that had wanted to lick her hair and groom it for her. It had been just as adorable.

Thinking back on all the little creatures she had encountered before transmigrating, a trace of nostalgia appeared in Nian Tu’s eyes.

The white kitten tilted his head and sniffed the meat puree on the spoon again.

He did not dislike the flavor of the puree. What he disliked was the person who had made it, and he felt intensely hostile toward him.

In ancient times, large carnivorous male beastmen would even claim territories of their own, just like true beasts. Modern beastmen had learned to suppress their wild instincts and no longer needed territories, but powerful male beastmen still found themselves unable to coexist peacefully.

If Nian Tu herself had prepared this cat food, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince would certainly have buried his head in it and eaten until not even the broth remained. But since the food had been made by Lu Zhan, His Imperial Highness found it thoroughly distasteful.

Now, however, Nian Tu was feeding him by hand, bringing each spoonful directly to his mouth, and he no longer wished to refuse. His fondness for Nian Tu had overcome his loathing for Lu Zhan.

Nian Tu watched in delight as the fluffy little mouth began to smack and chew. At last, the kitten had started eating.

Patiently, she fed him one spoonful after another, gently wiping the meat broth from the fur around his face.

Standing behind her, Lu Zhan could not help saying, “Let me feed him. You should go eat breakfast first.”

It was only a cat. How could it compare with Nian Tu’s health? He could not let it delay her breakfast.

As he spoke, Lu Zhan took several steps closer.

The kitten immediately stopped licking. He hissed viciously at Lu Zhan, and sharp claws sprang from his paws.

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Nian Tu jumped in fright. She hurriedly smoothed the kitten’s raised fur and shook her head, rejecting Lu Zhan’s suggestion.

Lu Zhan fell silent.

His eyes darkened slightly. He stood there quietly for a moment, then soundlessly transformed into his beast form.

Nian Tu fed the kitten the last spoonful of meat puree and was wiping his mouth when she suddenly felt the sleeve at her elbow being tugged gently from behind.

She turned and saw the snow wolf. Her eyes brightened, but then she remembered that Marshmallow might be frightened and looked anxiously toward the kitten.

The kitten, who was usually clingy and spoiled in front of her, now revealed his fierce side. Faced with the enormous snow wolf, he showed no fear whatsoever. His eyes were cold and savage as he stepped forward to confront the wolf, trying to hide Nian Tu behind him.

The snow wolf remained calm and did not take this blustering little creature seriously. But in front of Nian Tu, he deliberately let out a soft whine, as though he felt wronged.

Nian Tu’s heart ached for him at once.

She stroked the snow wolf’s great head and comforted him in a soft voice. “Don’t be angry with Marshmallow. He’s only a foolish little kitten.”

The kitten watched in disbelief as Nian Tu’s hand touched the snow wolf’s head. Shock and outrage exploded in his round eyes. He let out a string of furious meows, flattening his ears until they became angry airplane ears.

He leaped up and tried to bite the hand that was touching Nian Tu, as if ordering her not to touch the snow wolf.

Cats were intensely jealous creatures. Many cat owners only had to pet another cat outside before returning home to be scolded by their own feline master, or even struck.

His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, of course, could not bear to be fierce with the little female he adored.

The kitten raged helplessly, trembling from head to toe like a puffed-up white ball of fur.

When he saw that Nian Tu’s hand remained on that detestable creature, his deep-blue eyes trembled. Suddenly, two tears rolled down his cheeks.

A male beastman who had lost control possessed no rational thought. His behavior was often governed purely by instinct.

The Crown Prince of the Empire was steady by nature, concealing both joy and anger behind an impassive expression. Once out of control, he should have become a majestic white tiger, not something like this…

Born into the imperial family, the Crown Prince had learned from a very young age how to disguise himself and wear a perfect mask. His true emotions were a secret that none of the imperial family—not even his father and mother—had ever been able to glimpse.

Now, having lost control and transformed into his beast form, the flawless Crown Prince had revealed his true nature to Nian Tu for the first time.

Nian Tu was too stunned to speak.

She had often used crying-cat-head stickers before, but this was the first time in real life that she had seen a kitten cry.

She had heard that cats were unlike humans and did not cry to express sorrow; their tears were merely physiological. Yet the kitten’s trembling, sobbing appearance was plainly one of utter grievance, and Nian Tu felt as though her heart were breaking.

“What’s wrong? Don’t cry, don’t cry… Are you afraid of the wolf?”

Nian Tu nudged Lu Zhan and urged him, “Turn back quickly.”

Although she loved the snow wolf too, comforting the kitten was clearly more important at that moment. After all, the kitten could not even speak. When upset, all he could do was stare at her with tear-filled eyes.

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The instant Lu Zhan returned to human form, the kitten swiftly swiped at him once, then darted away like a streak of white and vanished.

It had all happened too suddenly, in the blink of an eye. Nian Tu had not even understood what was happening.

She stared at Lu Zhan in bewilderment. When her gaze fell upon the bloody marks on the back of his hand, she drew in a sharp breath.

Several raised scratches marred his skin. They looked painful.

Nian Tu felt guilty. “I’m sorry…”

Lu Zhan’s expression remained unchanged. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Such a minor injury meant nothing to a thick-skinned male beastman. Besides, this was the cat’s fault, not Nian Tu’s.

Lu Zhan lowered his lashes slightly. “I suppose I frightened away the kitten you like. You may punish me.”

He was secretly delighted that the detestable little cat had run away, of course, but he knew Nian Tu would not be happy about it. He only hoped that once she had vented her anger, she would forgive him.

Nian Tu shook her head, making it clear that she did not blame him, then dragged him off to treat the wound.

As she tended to his injury, she sighed softly and advised him, “Next time, don’t transform in front of the kitten.”

The kitten had always been so well-behaved. He must have been terribly frightened to lash out and strike someone. The snow wolf was so enormous that it was only natural for the kitten to be afraid. Things had ended with both sides suffering losses.

Although she could not help worrying about Marshmallow after he ran away, Nian Tu was not as miserable as she had been the previous night. Deep down, she had a faint premonition: Marshmallow would come looking for her again.

Her premonition came true very soon.

At dusk, a fluffy figure appeared outside the window of Nian Tu’s bedroom.

Nian Tu had just finished dinner. She leisurely completed a set of exercises, took a walk, returned to her bedroom to play on her optical computer for quite some time, and then got up to wash. Throughout it all, she never noticed the fluffy creature outside the window.

The kitten grew anxious. He began pawing at the glass, making noise in an attempt to attract her attention.

But the window’s soundproofing was superb, dutifully shutting out every sound from outside.

When Nian Tu emerged from the washroom, the bedroom had already shifted into sleep mode. The lights gradually dimmed, and the window turned opaque.

The kitten saw only that Nian Tu had lain down on the bed, apparently preparing to sleep. The next moment, the color-changing glass blocked his view.

The Crown Prince began meowing frantically.

He wanted to get inside!

He wanted to sleep with her!

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