Chapter 2: Is the climax of my life finally about to arrive?

Very soon, she walked in with a bulging plastic bag in her hand.

Rabbit Girl wrinkled her nose and circled the room, her long ears twitching in confusion.

“Gui Yun? Where are you?”

Hiding in the darkness under the bed, I clamped my mouth shut, not daring to make a sound. My cat claws dug deep into the gaps in the floorboards.

At the same time, though, I was puzzled—how did she know my name was Gui Yun? And why did she have the key to my house?

The only ones with a key to my place are me and that idiot.

In my panic, I’d squeezed into this dusty corner. Now, even my breathing carried the choking taste of dust. Rabbit Girl’s footsteps moved back and forth across the room, each one landing on my heart, stirring up tiny clouds of gray.

You have to understand, this girl is someone who wants me dead. If she finds out I’ve turned into this, things will be even worse than before. That monstrous strength of hers was already something I couldn’t handle as a guy. Now that I’m like this, it’s even trickier.

But what really confused me was—why didn’t she finish me off after I lost consciousness?

Before I could figure it out, the noise outside drew my attention again.

“Strange, I could’ve sworn I heard something…”

She suddenly stopped by the bed. I could see her small feet in sandals moving around nearby.

In the shadows, my pupils shrank to slits. Cold sweat trickled down my back. The space under the bed was narrow and tight; any movement would bump against the bed frame and make a noise. All I could do was watch her rabbit ears swivel alertly just a few centimeters above me. Even swallowing made me afraid of being discovered.

But I didn’t notice my brand-new little cat tail had mischievously poked its head out from under the bed—until I suddenly felt a strange sensation behind me.

“Hmm? What’s this?” Rabbit Girl’s voice suddenly lowered, and she gently pinched my furry tail~

“Meow meow!!”

A jolt shot through my tail. An adorable meow burst out of my mouth before I could stop it.

Ashamed, I slapped my hand over my mouth, but then felt a chill run down my back. Meow!! I forgot I have a tail now!!

“Oh? So you were hiding here all along?”

Rabbit Girl’s low voice came from above. I saw her hand grab the mattress, and a dreadful premonition filled my heart.

She effortlessly lifted the heavy mattress over her head with one hand, like hoisting an egg, the sheets dangling gently from the edge. With her other hand, she casually waved under the bed. “Good morning, Gui Yun~ Hiding here for a game of hide-and-seek?”

As soon as she finished, she propped the mattress upright against the bed frame as if it weighed nothing, causing a violent shake.

My mouth fell open at her easy movements. My cat ears perked up into sharp points—I was way past the point of being shocked…

This is practically a monster!

If I go out there, I’ll—meow!!!

I couldn’t even imagine it!!!

Before I could recover from my shock, Rabbit Girl seemed to see right through my thoughts and flashed a mischievous smile at me.

“It’s me, Gui Yun.”

“Huh?”

I tilted my head, and the pair of cat ears on top swayed up and down in confusion.

If I paid attention, she really did have a familiar vibe. Plus, she kept calling me Gui Yun, and she’d come in with a key.

I wasn’t sure, but I still blurted out her name.

“Ling Xiaoxiao??”

“Mhm~” Ling Xiaoxiao, now turned Rabbit Girl, put her hands on her hips and nodded in satisfaction.

I stared at the rabbit ears and tail in her Rabbit Girl form, then looked down at my own furry cat paws. Anger suddenly flared up inside me—I’d been played!

“Good job, Ling Xiaoxiao!” I shot out from under the bed, cat ears bristling into triangles, tail lashing furiously behind me. “You planned for this to happen from the start, didn’t you!!”

“That’s right, that’s right! After getting rid of you, I made you reincarnate as an adorable Catgirl. You have no idea how hard you are to kill—I’ve been lurking for so long and never found a chance!”

Ling Xiaoxiao, still in Rabbit Girl form, stood with her hands on her hips, looking smug as ever, completely ignoring my mood.

“You dare say that!” My tail fluffed up in anger, each hair standing on end. I dug my toes in and pounced at her.

“Damn you, Ling Xiaoxiao, I’ll fight you to the end!!”

“Hey, hey, don’t be mad~ Hehe, I just wanted to scare you a little. Didn’t I buy groceries as an apology?”

Though she said she was apologizing, Ling Xiaoxiao’s shameless grin didn’t show a trace of remorse.

I glanced at the food in her hands, then at Ling Xiaoxiao’s Rabbit Girl form, and could only sigh in resignation.

“Fine, whatever. But first, you better tell me what’s going on.”

“Ha? You’re saying you went so far as to sneak around my house for days just to make me like this?”

After hearing Ling Xiaoxiao explain everything, I gave her a ‘nuclear’ smile. The cat ears on my head shot up, and my tail puffed out like a feather duster.

“Y-yeah.” Ling Xiaoxiao pulled at her mouth awkwardly. “You, uh, you don’t mind such a little thing, right?”

“Good for you, Ling Xiaoxiao! No wonder my milk kept running low, or half my delivery food would vanish, or flower pots would almost fall on me when I went downstairs for a drink and scare me half to death—it was all your handiwork!”

The more I spoke, the lower my voice dropped as I stalked toward Ling Xiaoxiao.

She must’ve realized something was wrong, because she started waving her hands frantically in explanation.

“Gui—Gui Yun, listen, I—I couldn’t help it! I had to eat something while hiding out!”

Seeing I wasn’t listening at all, Ling Xiaoxiao turned and bolted, and I chased after her at once.

“Stop right there, you scoundrel! Give back my food!!”

And so, the two of us—well, now it’s one rabbit and one cat—chased each other around the tiny rental room.

Soon, the little farce ended—mostly because I ran out of stamina.

Exhausted, I collapsed on the floor, my chest heaving as I gasped for air. I could only watch Ling Xiaoxiao stand nearby with her hands on her hips, laughing, my heart filled with frustration.

Damn! If I hadn’t become a Catgirl and lost all my stamina, I would’ve caught her for sure!!

“Now, can I finish what I was saying?”

Seeing I was out of breath, Ling Xiaoxiao finally came back over, though she still kept her distance.

Damn it! Why does this girl have such good stamina, running as fast as a rabbit?

Uh… come to think of it, she is a rabbit now?

Realizing the difference between us, and still unable to catch my breath, I could only nod and signal for her to continue.

“The reason for all this is actually because you can awaken the System and gain a Superpower.”

When I heard this, I blurted out without thinking:

“What a clichéd setup!!”

“It is a bit clichéd, but it’s real. For example, my ability is a huge boost in strength and stamina. I don’t think I need to show you that again, right?”

Hearing Ling Xiaoxiao say this, I shook my head at once. Thinking back to her lifting the mattress with one hand, I believed her completely.

Damn it! In anime, other people’s best friends turn into girls and become all soft, sweet, and easy to push over. Why did my best friend turn into a girl and become a monster who can lift a mattress with one hand!

Now I was curious. “Then what about my ability and System?”

“No idea,” she tilted her head and twirled her drooping rabbit ear with her fingertip. “Maybe the System needs a while to go online. As for your ability, I’m guessing it has to do with Drawing?” She nudged me with her elbow. “After all, you love Drawing so much, you’ve spent days holed up at home just Drawing.”

I heard the teasing in Ling Xiaoxiao’s tone, and sat at the head of the bed, hugging my knees with a helpless sigh. “Well, it can’t be helped. There’s nothing else to do anyway.”

I looked down at my current body. My sky-blue cat ears drooped with my mood, and my tail tip idly swept over the bedsheet.

What can I even do like this? I can’t sit for long and Draw like before, and I’m out of breath after just a few steps. If my ability really is related to Drawing…

Could it be like that legendary brush, where whatever I draw becomes real? The thought made hope rise, warm and gentle, in my chest.

Could it be that after drifting aimlessly for so long, Gui Yun is finally about to reach the climax of life!