“Meow, meow!”
Dalian was frantic, meowing incessantly.
He didn’t want to be neutered!
He still wanted to get frisky!
If he couldn’t get some action, he might as well die.
“Yes, yes, don’t worry. I’ll take you tomorrow.”
Su Ling nodded, completely ignoring Dalian’s protests.
She took Dalian into the bathroom and gave him a fragrant hot bath.
Once his fur was dry, Su Ling tucked the despairing Dalian into Bai Miao’s arms.
“Miao Miao, get along well, okay?”
“Mhm.”
Holding Dalian, a small smile involuntarily appeared on Bai Miao’s face.
She really loved gifts from her sister.
She didn’t care what her sister gave her; as long as it was from her, she loved it.
Seeing how obedient Bai Miao was, Su Ling felt quite relieved.
She gave Bai Miao a hug. While in Su Ling’s embrace, Bai Miao caught the scent belonging to Ji Lingyuan, and her smile instantly froze.
“Be a good girl, Miao Miao. I’m going to cook dinner.”
Su Yao was at work and hadn’t returned yet.
After thinking it over, Su Ling sent a message to Su Yao.
With a bug loose in the Lower City, she truly couldn’t rest easy while someone was out alone.
Fortunately, Su Yao replied quickly, allowing Su Ling to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Meow!”
Dalian’s fur suddenly bristled.
He had just felt that fleeting Zerg aura again.
“Sister…”
Bai Miao’s hollow red eyes stared fixedly at the kitchen.
Below the pupils on her face, two tiny cracks were slowly opening.
Zerg, the Zerg!
*Ahhhh, it’s the Zerg!*
Dalian was so scared he nearly wet himself.
There was no mistaking this aura; it was the Zerg!
Cold, mad, and oppressive—just catching a hint of the scent made Dalian feel as if he were deep within a swarm that blotted out the sky.
In a daze, he seemed to hear the rustling sound of Zerg wings vibrating.
“What’s that smell… ah, Hajimi, why are you peeing everywhere! Bad cat!”
In the kitchen, Su Ling caught a foul scent.
She poked her head out and, seeing Dalian’s pathetic state, immediately felt a bit frantic.
She quickly tossed Dalian aside and checked Bai Miao’s clothes.
*Ahhhh, they’re all dirty!*
Su Ling gave Dalian a resentful look.
At that moment, Dalian’s four legs were trembling, and his mind was a complete blank.
“Sister…”
“Honestly, Miao Miao, you have to be careful. Take off your clothes; I’ll give you a bath first.”
Su Ling’s tone was reproachful, but Bai Miao felt wonderful inside.
The two cracks beneath her pupils that were about to open vanished without a trace.
She got to bathe with her sister again.
She was so happy!
Bai Miao curled up in Su Ling’s arms, the corners of her mouth turning up uncontrollably.
It was just… this scent was truly nauseating.
The scent of Ji Lingyuan on Su Ling was like an owner declaring her property, provoking her at every moment.
“Sister, I want to be with you forever.”
In the bathroom, Su Ling squeezed out some body wash and began to carefully scrub Bai Miao.
Bai Miao’s delicate skin was white with a hint of pink, looking so tender it seemed like it could bruise at the slightest touch.
“Heehee, I want to be with you too.”
“I mean, Sister, can you be mine alone…”
Bai Miao lowered her head, burying her small face against Su Ling, greedily enjoying her sister’s soft touch.
“Of course I’m yours alone. I’m your sister, and you’re my only little sister. If I’m not yours, whose would I be?”
Su Ling simply thought Bai Miao was too lonely being home by herself and didn’t grasp the deeper meaning behind the words.
But Bai Miao’s heart began to race at that moment.
‘Sister said she’s mine alone.’
‘So happy! So happy!’
For a moment, Bai Miao felt as if she were in heaven.
However, that scent of Ji Lingyuan still provoked her faintly.
‘No, Sister can only be mine.’
A flash of madness crossed Bai Miao’s hollow pupils.
“Ling Ling, Miao Miao… where did this cat come from?”
At that moment, Su Yao returned home.
Her job paid daily, and she had earned quite a bit today.
She had bought many delicious treats on her way back.
However, when she opened the door and found a black cat slumped there with its four legs trembling, her eyes filled with confusion.
“His name is Hajimi. I just picked him up, thinking he could be a companion for Miao Miao.”
Su Ling and Miao Miao walked out of the bathroom wrapped in towels.
Dalian also gradually came to his senses.
*No, this won’t do. Run!*
*Stupid legs, run!*
Dalian no longer had the energy to wonder why there were Zerg here; his survival instinct made him desperate to escape.
“He’s actually quite cute — “
Su Yao picked up Dalian.
“Meow!”
Dalian struggled with all his might.
Fortunately, he didn’t smell any hint of the Zerg on Su Yao; there was only a scent similar to cherry blossoms.
“If you two want to keep him, take good care of the little fellow.”
“Psh, I don’t even want to keep him anymore. This Hajimi was just peeing everywhere. It took me so much effort to clean it up.”
Su Ling curled her lip.
“Haha, cats are just like that. By the way, Ling Ling, Miao Miao, look what I bought.”
Su Yao pulled out a box of exquisite Peach Blossom Cakes.
Seeing this, Su Ling gave her a somewhat surprised look.
*Heh, she’s grown up.*
“Oh, then just put them on the table. I don’t really like sweets. Give them to Miao Miao.”
Su Ling turned her head and walked into the kitchen.
“Ling Ling…”
Su Yao looked bitter.
She knew that Su Ling still hadn’t completely forgiven her.
Dinner was soon ready, and for the first time in a long while, the family sat at the dining table.
Su Ling watched Bai Miao nibbling on the Peach Blossom Cakes with eyes full of doting affection.
Su Yao, meanwhile, was looking at Su Ling.
“Ling Ling, now that I’m working, that kind of thing… can you stop?”
Hearing this, Bai Miao’s movements suddenly stiffened.
“If I don’t go, how will the debt be repaid?”
Su Ling didn’t look at her, speaking calmly.
Upon hearing this, both Bai Miao and Su Yao were filled with mixed emotions.
Su Ling also knew that she could no longer hide what she was doing.
It just hadn’t been openly stated yet.
“But, this isn’t something you should have to carry.”
“Then where is the culprit who caused all of this now?”
Su Ling finally looked at Su Yao, her eyes full of resentment.
“That wife of yours threw us all here, took out a loan of 5,000,000, and just walked away. Did that woman ever think about us?”
Su Yao opened her mouth but found herself speechless.
“Also, someone told me today that the woman is actually a Deserter.”
Su Ling observed Su Yao’s expression.
Seeing Su Yao’s bewildered face, she had her answer.
“A Deserter? What Deserter?”
“You didn’t know?”
It seemed that woman was truly a scumbag.
Su Ling’s hatred for her mother, Bai Wei, deepened by another degree.
“I—I didn’t know…”
Su Yao grabbed Su Ling’s wrist, a flash of panic appearing in the depths of her eyes.
“Ling Ling, what exactly happened?”
Su Ling remained silent for a moment, then turned her head away.
“Forget it. I don’t want to talk about her.”
It seemed Su Yao was just a naive person who had been tricked by Bai Wei; she was a victim too, in the end.
Su Yao pursed her lips, her eyes full of sorrow.
Suddenly, she felt the urge to drink again, but looking at Su Ling, she restrained the thought.
“I don’t understand why you would fall for a scumbag like her.”
Su Ling rested her chin on her hand, seemingly asking Su Yao, but also seemingly muttering to herself.
“Ling Ling, you might have some misunderstandings about little Wei. She wasn’t like this before.”
But any explanation felt hollow and weak now.
“Sigh, forget it. It’s better that the woman is gone. It’s best if she never comes back for the rest of her life.”
Su Ling stood up and started clearing the dishes.
She was a transmigrator anyway, so she didn’t have much affection for that woman.
She wasn’t the type to wallow in bitterness; she just wanted to live a good life in the future.
The Boss of Shao Nian You was dead, but Shao Nian You still existed, and her debt remained.
Currently, she only hoped to get more money out of Ji Lingyuan.
If she had time, she wanted to study hard and try to get into a junior college to escape this place.
“You stupid cat, why can’t you even stand up?”
Su Ling took the leftovers and walked over to Dalian, who was shivering in the corner, her eyes full of confusion.
However, assuming Dalian was just starving, she didn’t pay it much mind.
She placed the leftovers in front of Dalian and left.
“By the way, the Lower City hasn’t been very safe lately. In the future… be careful.”
Su Ling paused beside Su Yao, finally giving a reminder.
“Ling Ling.”
Su Yao suddenly pulled Su Ling into a hug.
“I’m sorry…”
—
Night fell.
Su Yao no longer slept on the sofa and returned to her own room.
Ever since Bai Wei had disappeared without reason one year ago, Su Yao had never stepped into their room again, fearing that the sight of it would trigger painful memories.
Su Ling, as usual, slept with Bai Miao.
“Meow~”
Dalian had now completely recovered his senses.
He finished the leftovers Su Ling had given him and took a deep look at the door to Su Ling’s room.
He was certain now that Bai Miao was a member of the Zerg.
And as Bai Miao’s family, perhaps Su Ling and Su Yao were Zerg as well.
Even though he hadn’t smelled even a hint of a Zerg aura from them.
It was as if they were true Witches.
Such perfect Mimicry…
A terrifying thought popped into his mind.
‘Royalty!’
‘No, escape! I must escape!’
Dalian was currently drenched in cold sweat.
He was truly unlucky.
How had he unknowingly fallen into a Zerg nest?
He slowly stood up.
Although his four legs were still trembling, he could at least walk.
He quietly made his way toward the kitchen, where the window was open.
“Meow!”
‘I made it!’
Thanks to the body of a Source-Devouring Beast, he escaped quite easily.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse.
The night was like a water-soaked shroud, feeling a bit suffocating.
However, Dalian was extremely excited.
‘Quick, I have to tell the Superintendent Department about this!’
Dalian knew very well that matters concerning the Zerg, especially Royalty, were no longer something he could handle.
He had to find a way to extract himself from this.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, a dark-robed figure slowly appeared behind him.
By the time Dalian noticed, it was already far too late.
“Meow!”
—
*Knock, knock, knock.*
The next day.
Su Ling, who was fast asleep, heard someone knocking on the door and was instantly jolted awake.
‘No way, right? Today isn’t the day to pay back the debt.’
Besides, hadn’t Ji Lingyuan already paid back 500,000?
Logically, they should be able to keep quiet for at least one month.
Su Ling’s first reaction was that the debt collectors had arrived.
She looked at the bleary-eyed Miao Miao in her arms, a flash of panic appearing in her eyes.
She bit her lip and made up her mind.
To her surprise, upon opening the door, she found a strange young girl.
The girl was tall but possessed a fragile thinness, as if she could be blown away by a gust of wind.
Her face was an inescapable shade of pale and weak, even her lip color was nearly transparent.
Most striking were those emerald-green eyes.
They were startlingly bright, yet possessed a cold luster similar to an insect’s compound eyes, appearing even more peculiar against the backdrop of her dark green hair.
Two long strands of hair at the front of her head quirked up stubbornly, their soft curves giving an unnatural impression.
The scent of cheap, pungent perfume drifted from her body, a cloying sweetness that was somewhat choking, as if it were trying to cover something up.
“Hello, is this your cat?”
The girl’s mouth pulled into an unnatural curve, as if she were wearing a mask.
For some reason, Su Ling actually sensed a hint of fervor and fawning in the eyes of the girl before her?
The cat in the girl’s arms was indeed Dalian.
It was unclear what Dalian had experienced last night, but the entire cat was listless, looking like it had been broken.
“Ah, he’s mine. Sorry, and thank you so much.”
Su Ling took Dalian.
This stupid cat seemed even stupider now.
“Sister?”
At that moment, Bai Miao walked out of the room.
When the girl saw Bai Miao behind her, her body trembled and her throat twitched.
“High—Highness…”