My tail was so tense with anger that it was practically stretched taut, yet all I could do was wave my tiny fist at empty air. How infuriating!!!
“Yueran-jie!” Shiyu suddenly poked her head out from the back kitchen, her hair swaying lightly, voice urgent. “The dough for the Cat Bean Paste Cakes has finished rising! If we don’t get it in the steamer now, we’ll miss the twelve o’clock launch—there are only ten minutes left!”
Yueran smacked her forehead, apron strap still crooked on her shoulder as she hurried to the kitchen. “Oh no! I was so focused on driving Ning Dongya out…”
Feeling wronged, I shrank my neck back, nearly slipping under my feet.
Watching Yueran fumble with her apron strings, I could only follow her into the kitchen, wanting to help however I could. After all, even if she hadn’t said it, I knew all this chaos was probably my fault in the first place.
I quickly caught up to her and grabbed her apron strings. “Yueran-jie, let me help! I’m best at shaping the cat paws!”
Seeing me enter the back kitchen, Yueran’s anxious face instantly blossomed into a smile. She pressed her flour-dusted palm gently to my forehead: “Good girl, but the guests in the front still need you to look after them. I can handle things back here on my own.”
Shiyu’s voice came from the steamer’s direction, obviously even more anxious. “Yueran-jie! The guests have already started banging on the tables for their orders! It’s already twelve oh one!”
“Oh, oh! Got it!”
Yueran responded, and in her fluster knocked over the flour tin. White powder scattered in a “whoosh” all over the stove. After replying to Shiyu, she glanced back at me, flour still clinging to her hair: “Alright, alright, compared to here, Xiao Guiyun will be much more helpful steadying the customers out front.”
Watching her busy, frantic back, I couldn’t help feeling a bit uneasy.
Even if Yueran volunteered, I still didn’t like this feeling…
Just as I reached the dining room door, I heard the girls at the bar laughing and teasing: “Since we can’t get our food, why not have the server with the cat ears dance for us!”
That sentence was like a spark, instantly igniting the other customers—soon, plenty of people were joining in.
“Yeah, yeah, if you dance, we’ll sign up for annual memberships!”
“Big sis, do a dance~”
“Dance for us!”
“Want to enroll in Little Catgirl Advanced Studies!”…
???
Is there something weird mixed in here?!
Hearing the crowd outside egging me on, my face suddenly burned, the cat ears on my head standing up tall, the tail decoration stretched stiff behind me.
“Meow!!! The catgirl they’re talking about—don’t tell me it’s me!”
“Who else could it be? Besides you, is there any other catgirl here?” Ling Xiaoxiao suddenly poked her head out from behind the bar, her pink-and-white rabbit ears twitching smugly, her face practically spelling out ‘schadenfreude.’ “Someone’s the center of attention now~”
Shiyu walked out of the back kitchen carrying a fresh batch of bean paste cakes, her teal fox tail brushing my ankle: “These are all regulars, and this launch has been hyped for ages…” She lowered her voice. “If we don’t keep the guests satisfied, we might lose some of our loyal customers.”
Yueran wiped her hands as she came out of the kitchen, flour still dusting her hair tips. She saw my eyes reddening and suddenly stepped in front of me, blocking me from view. “Sorry, everyone. Our staff isn’t feeling well today, so as compensation, today’s new menu item will be free for everyone…”
“It’s alright…” I suddenly grabbed the corner of her shirt, my fingertips going white. “Yueran-jie’s been looking after me these past couple of days—let me help you this once…”
My voice was barely above a whisper, but trembled as I tried my hardest to sound reliable, even though I couldn’t stop shaking.
“Xiao Guiyun…”
Yueran looked at me, startled and moved.
Well, I’ll just count it as returning a favor, though it probably doesn’t even qualify.
“Alright then, Yueran-jie, you hurry and finish up. I probably can’t hold out for long either.”
With that, I gripped the hem of my maid skirt and dashed to the center of the dining room, fingers clutching the lacy edge of the skirt so tightly they ached, my cat ears quivering like leaves in the wind, the tip of my tail flicking anxiously.
Why did it have to be me making a fool of myself in public!
Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of Ling Xiaoxiao behind the bar, sneakily recording with her phone, pink-and-white bunny ears shaking like little flags. An “evil” idea shot through my mind. I mumbled into the bar’s microphone, “Since everyone wants to see the catgirl dance… shouldn’t the bunnygirl show off her moves too?”
My whisper, amplified by the speakers, exploded across the room.
“Yeah! Bunnygirl, dance too!”
“Two beast-ear girls, double the cuteness!”
Ling Xiaoxiao’s smile froze, her pink-and-white ears snapping flat against her head, her phone slipping from her hand and clattering to the floor.
“But I…”
Seeing Ling Xiaoxiao about to argue, I cut her off, not giving her the chance.
“Come on, don’t be shy.”
“Yeah, don’t be shy!”
“No need to be embarrassed.”
Ling Xiaoxiao’s eyes went wide, and before she could react, some guests joined me in cheering, while others simply pushed her toward me.
She was shoved next to me before she even knew what was happening, the roots of her rabbit ears tinged a suspicious pink, bunny paws gripping my wrist so hard they left crescent marks. She hissed, grinding her teeth in a low voice, “Guiyun, you jerk! Just wait till I get you back! I hate you, QAQ…”
Her tail stuck out behind her like a rod, the fur fluffed up like a freshly blown dandelion, bunny paws flailing wildly. “I can’t dance!”
“No worries, we’ll just do something simple—let’s do the routine from the last event.”
With that, I cut off her last escape, so all Ling Xiaoxiao could do was lower her head and look at me, letting out a helpless whine.
I grabbed her wrist, my tail curling mischievously around her ankle. “This is called sharing the joy~”
“You!!”
Ling Xiaoxiao ground her teeth, but couldn’t manage a comeback for ages.
As for me, with Ling Xiaoxiao by my side, it wasn’t nearly as embarrassing anymore.
How should I describe this feeling?
It’s like getting caught by the teacher for doing makeup homework at school—standing outside in punishment, it’s awful.
But if, just as you’re caught, the teacher starts checking other students too, and before long, your best buddy is sent out to stand with you—well, that’s a whole different feeling.
Clearly, Ling Xiaoxiao held a grudge about being dragged down with me. When she spun on tiptoe, she suddenly hooked my ankle with her rabbit tail, but I was quick and nimbly dodged by stepping on the edge of her skirt. Instead, that dummy nearly lost her balance, almost falling before she managed to steady herself against the bar.
She turned around in a huff, pink-and-white ears flushed with embarrassment, and thwacked the back of my head with her bunny ear. “You did that on purpose!” Her tail spun behind her like a high-speed propeller.
I pretended to slip and toppled into her, and when she tried to catch me, I quickly tugged at her fluffy bunny ear. “Don’t touch my ears!” she yelped, instantly bristling, her voice breaking as bunny paws clutched her skirt so tightly it crumpled. When the music hit its peak, she messed up the steps, moving arms and legs on the same side. Her cheeks turned as red as ripe apples, tears gathering in her eyes, but she stubbornly tilted her chin to keep them from falling.
“Wow, the bunnygirl looks so cute when she’s shy!”
Right then, compliments erupted from the crowd.
But those compliments only made Ling Xiaoxiao’s embarrassment even worse—her ears shot straight up, and her body shook more than ever.
Thankfully, it didn’t last long—the dance ended soon after.
As we bowed, she pinched my waist behind my back, leaning in to threaten me in a whisper. “Stupid Guiyun, I’m not done with you!”
But I didn’t care—I just stuck out my tongue at her.
The cheers from the crowd surged even louder than before, all full of praise.
Spotting Shiyu-jie already bringing out the first batch of cakes, I secretly let out a sigh of relief—looks like things will be fine now.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.