Sister Shiyu’s blue-green fox tail immediately stopped swaying.
She set down her teacup and greeted us, her voice still lazy, “Yes, yes, of course,” she stepped aside to let us through, “Two little cuties came to apply for a server job today. Said a friend of yours recommended them.”
Yueran had just placed the bag of Cat Food on the ground.
Hearing this, she straightened up at once, her long brown hair swaying with the motion.
“I know about that. Are they already in the shop now?”
“Mhm, they’re right over there.”
Shiyu’s hand pointed toward me and Lv Xiaoxiao, and Yueran’s gaze followed.
When she saw us, her eyes lit up.
Her smile was even brighter than the warm lights in the shop. “Oh? Are you the new servers? I’m the Boss Lady here, Yueran. I was just out buying supplies for the cats today.” She waved naturally, her fingertips still dusted with bits of Cat Food, “So cute!”
Lv Xiaoxiao immediately bowed, her pink-and-white Rabbitgirl ears swaying gently, “Hello, Store Manager! My name’s Lv Xiaoxiao, and this is my friend. I just came along to help her look for a job.”
She secretly nudged the back of my hand with the tip of her tail, hinting for me to greet them.
I froze in place, my cat paws curling up nervously. This—this really is the same Yueran from my memories?
That violent woman who once threatened to fold me in half in ten seconds was now standing there with smiling crescent eyes, waiting for my reply, her voice soft and gentle. I mechanically raised my hand in response, my tail curling uncontrollably around my ankle, “I—I’m Guiyun…”
“Hmm?” Yueran raised her brows in confusion, “How come you have the same name as my friend? He’s the one who recommended you.”
My heart skipped a beat, my whole body frozen in place.
Meow!! How did I accidentally blurt out my real name! Doesn’t Yueran know me from when I was a guy?!
“Oh, oh, it’s like this: he and I are distant relatives. No one in my family knew our relatives already had a child named this, so we ended up with the same name.” As soon as I finished, my palms were already sweating.
Then I quickly winked at Lv Xiaoxiao, hinting for her to back me up.
She caught on right away, “That’s right! On the way here, she was complaining about that distant relative of hers: lazy, gluttonous, slow-witted, all limbs and no brains, no job, no ambition, no money.”
Tsk! Okay, okay, this is the moment you decide to roast me, huh!
Hearing this, Yueran covered her mouth, but still couldn’t help letting out a laugh, “That actually sounds pretty accurate, that guy really is like that.”
Meow!! What’s that supposed to mean!! I clearly…
Fine… I guess I really am like that QAQ… Cursed Lv Xiaoxiao!
Yueran suddenly clapped her hands, her brown hair bun swaying with the motion, “Oh, right! I was so busy chatting I forgot to ask—are you two hungry? Our shop provides three meals a day~”
Just then, my stomach growled twice. I exchanged a glance with Lv Xiaoxiao, her Rabbitgirl ears quietly leaning over to rub my Catgirl ears, “I think… we are a bit hungry.”
Yueran spun around and headed for the kitchen at once, “Hehe, just in time—the Omelette Rice I ordered should be here! I’ll go bring it over, make yourselves comfortable~”
I pulled Lv Xiaoxiao to sit by the window on the sofa, my cat paws nervously picking at the tassels on a throw pillow.
Having a meal with my arch-enemy at the same table…
Very soon, my tangled thoughts were interrupted by Yueran’s voice.
“Here it is, here it is~”
She came out carrying a tray, the golden Omelette Rice drizzled with orange-red ketchup, looking like a chubby little sun.
She pushed the plates toward us, “Quick, eat up! It won’t taste good if it gets cold.”
I had just forked up a piece of omelette when her face suddenly leaned in, making my hand tremble in fright.
Lv Xiaoxiao poked at her rice in tiny bites, the tip of her Rabbitgirl ear dabbing a bit of sauce, “Store Manager, this rice is so tasty!”
Yueran smiled and gave her a friendly pat on the back, “Just call me Yueran! Here, since you like it, eat some more~” As she spoke, she placed a big piece of Chicken Cutlet in her bowl, scaring Lv Xiaoxiao so much she almost swallowed her spoon.
I angrily stabbed at my Omelette Rice to vent, only to find that at some point Sister Shiyu had drifted over to the table, her blue-green tail tip sneakily hooking at my plate. “Hey! That’s mine!”
I slapped away her tail with my cat paw, but she only glared at me lazily, “Just give me a bite~ You won’t finish it anyway.”
Yueran laughed, covering her mouth, “Shiyu is always like this~” She suddenly picked up a piece of meat coated in sauce and placed it by my bowl, her eyes curving into crescent moons, “Guiyun, try this? It’s delicious~”
I was just about to take the meat Yueran offered, but who knew Sister Shiyu’s restless tail would act up again.
“Meow ah!!”
This troublemaker was up to no good! I quickly dodged, but accidentally flung my own tail, which knocked over the ketchup bottle with a loud smack, sending red sauce splattering all over Yueran’s apron. The air instantly froze. I stayed motionless, my cat paw frozen in midair, “S-sorry!”
Seeing how ridiculous I looked, Yueran suddenly burst out laughing, wiping her apron with a napkin, “It’s fine, it’s fine~”
She reached out to ruffle my head, her palm warm enough to make my cat ears tremble even more, “Catgirls really are cutest when they’re this lively~”
After that, Yueran fetched a cloth from the side and gently wiped away the spilled sauce from the table.
Looking at the mess I’d made, the tips of my ears quietly burned hot. I could only lower my head and pretend to be busy with my food.
But just then, I realized there was one less piece of Chicken Cutlet in my bowl, and even an egg was missing.
I looked around, only to see Lv Xiaoxiao and Shiyu exchanging guilty glances as they both tried to look elsewhere.
Darn it! You two little thieves, you actually took my food while I was distracted! Especially Shiyu—she even took the biggest piece of Chicken Cutlet, QAQ…
Yueran had just put down her cloth when she noticed my cheeks puffed up like a bun. She smiled and poked my pouting cheek, “What’s wrong? Who made our little Catgirl upset?”
Our little Catgirl…
What a pampering nickname, meow…
But this was a rare chance to tattle, I definitely couldn’t let it slip by. I tapped my plate, my cat ears drooping as I pointed at Lv Xiaoxiao and Shiyu, “They stole my Chicken Cutlet! And my egg!”
Lv Xiaoxiao’s Rabbitgirl ears instantly pinned down to her head, but she immediately retorted, “When did we? Show me the evidence.”
“Hmph! You already ate all the evidence!”
“No way!”
Cat and rabbit glared at each other, looking ready to fight at any second.
Yueran didn’t say anything. She just smiled and put the biggest piece of Chicken Cutlet from her own plate into mine, then scooped up half a Soft-Boiled Egg and placed it in my bowl, “Is that enough? If it’s not, I’ve got more~”
“Eh?! I…”
I stared at the suddenly increased food in my bowl, caught off guard by the kindness.
I glanced at Yueran, then at the extra food, starting to wonder: Is this really the same bully Yueran I knew? Could she have been possessed?
I picked up the piece of Chicken Cutlet, feeling all kinds of strange inside. This was food given by Yueran—the bad girl who always bullied me growing up, and now she was actually sharing?
But when I looked up and saw the smile in her eyes, the awkwardness in my heart suddenly melted away. I poked the soft Soft-Boiled Egg, watching the yolk ooze out and coat the rice.
This girl… maybe… isn’t so bad after all?
Just eat. She’s being so nice, there’s no reason to turn her down.