“Alright, those people have already been handed over to the police by security. It’s all over now.” Ning Dongya reached out and gently stroked my head, her fingertips’ warmth seeping through my hair with a strangely soothing power.
I instinctively turned my head, trying to dodge this sudden show of affection, but my body felt nailed in place, and I only managed a tiny whimper.
“Mm… meow…”
She seemed to sense my stiffness. Her hand paused, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she slid her hand down, gently pinching my chin and making me raise my face to look at her.
Her gaze was deep, as if she could see right into my heart. Traces of the cold intensity that had stunned the whole room just now still lingered, but at this moment, something… gentle seemed to mix in.
“Frightened?” Her voice was low, tinged with a barely noticeable concern.
My throat tightened. I wanted to nod, and also wanted to shake my head, but in the end my eyelashes just fluttered violently. My gaze drifted to the delicate silver lapel pin on her suit collar, not daring to meet those eyes that seemed able to pierce through everything.
“N-no…” I tried to argue, but my voice was as tiny as a mosquito’s hum, and I couldn’t stop the trembling at the end.
Ning Dongya’s lips seemed to curve upward slightly, a faint arc appearing. “Little liar.”
She murmured, her fingertip gently rubbing my chin, the motion part assessing, part comforting. “Your ears are still standing up straight, and your tail is still trembling.”
“Meow?!! Mm…”
Being so mercilessly exposed by Ning Dongya, I felt a rush of heat flood my cheeks.
“Mm…” I shut my eyes tightly, trying to shrink my neck and escape this embarrassing situation.
She seemed to sense my discomfort and finally let me go. Even her tone was gentler than before.
“Alright, it’s okay now.” She finally let go, her fingertip leaving my skin and carrying away a trace of cool air that, for some reason… left me a little disappointed?
She looked at my suddenly flushed cheeks and tightly closed eyes, and let out a soft laugh, filled with understanding and teasing. “Little one, being this thin-skinned won’t do. You’ll have to toughen up at the company in the future.”
I opened my eyes and met her gaze, her eyes now only filled with familiar, wicked amusement that both scared me and made me want to get closer! How could she switch faces so fast?
“I-I’m not timid, meow!” I lifted my head to protest, the end of my sentence unconsciously tagged with that embarrassing quirk. “It’s just that they suddenly… t-they were too scary!”
Recalling what had just happened, my body shuddered again, completely out of my control.
Ugh, those two people were really frightening… They must’ve done plenty of bad things before!
“Heh, is that so?”
Ning Dongya casually smoothed the fur on my cat ears that had fluffed up from fright, laughing as she spoke:
“I’ll keep an eye out after this. Until we get off work, I’ll be watching over you to make sure you’re safe. But I really didn’t expect that an accident would happen in just the short time I was away.”
Ning Dongya looked at me, her tone seeming both like an explanation and a promise.
But it wasn’t her fault at all just now, and there’s no need to make such promises to a lowly employee like me…
Ning Dongya withdrew her hand, and the lingering warmth on my ears made them burn.
She didn’t turn around, but her voice was clear and steady, leaving no room for argument.
“Come over here and sit. Everything’s been handled—it’s time to eat.”
I hesitated for a moment, the tip of my tail unconsciously curling around the hem of my skirt.
The cafeteria was still empty, the only sound coming from the distant kitchen—the faint clatter of dishes and bowls.
“…Meow.” I answered softly, dragging my still-wobbly legs as I slowly walked over. I sat on the edge of a chair a little ways away from her, my hands nervously pressed together on my knees.
The tray held a simple meal of two dishes and a soup, the white rice steaming. My portion was clearly much lighter: a plate of stir-fried greens, a bowl of steamed egg, and a simple seaweed egg drop soup. Ning Dongya, on the other hand, had an equally plain plate of shredded pork with green pepper and scrambled eggs with tomato.
The aroma of food finally overpowered the tension lingering in the air, seeping into my nose. I snuck a glance at Ning Dongya.
She was eating from her plate at a slow and unhurried pace, with no sign of dislike or discomfort on her face.
Who would’ve thought, as the president, Ning Dongya could actually eat such plain cafeteria food?
“Eat.” She looked up at me, her gaze landing on my almost untouched bowl and chopsticks. “Afraid I’ll poison you?”
“N-no, meow!” I shook my head frantically and picked up my chopsticks. “I’m just surprised, that’s all. I never thought the great president could actually eat cafeteria food.”
Hearing that, Ning Dongya seemed amused and smiled. “Why couldn’t I? Back in school, this was what I ate every day.”
Ning Dongya sighed, as if lost in thought.
“By the way, just now while I was getting your food in the kitchen, I remembered that distant relative of yours with the same name.”
“R-really?”
The ‘distant relative’ Ning Dongya mentioned must be me before I turned into a catgirl, her boyfriend. Hearing her bring it up made my nerves, which had just started to relax, tense right up again.
“Yeah. Remember back in school, every meal time, that guy was always drawing in the classroom, and I’d have to bring food for him. You two have the same name, and you’re distant relatives, so when I was getting your food, I suddenly thought of those days.”
Ning Dongya rested her chin on her hand, her sweet smile and slightly dazed eyes making it seem like she was reminiscing about something beautiful from long ago.
Hearing her say that, I could almost feel those long-buried memories resurfacing in my mind.
Yeah, back then, those days were really wonderful.
Every time class ended and it was time to eat, Ning Dongya was always willing to bring me food. If I ordered too little, she’d even use her own money to add an extra dish for me.
I tried to give her money, but she always refused.
Soon, a bunch of boys in our class found out and were super jealous.
Even though it was all so long ago, thinking about it now made me smile in satisfaction.
But soon enough…
“What are you thinking about? Smiling so happily~” Ning Dongya’s voice pulled me back to reality. “What, did you remember something beautiful, too?”
Ning Dongya was propping up her cheek, eyes half-closed and smiling, looking like she was either teasing me or testing me.
“N-no, it’s just…”
I tried to explain, but after swallowing my saliva, I still couldn’t think of what to say.
“Alright, if you’re not reminiscing, then just eat. After you finish, take a rest. We still have class to get back to.”
“O-okay!” Seeing Ning Dongya hand me a way out, I hurried to scoop a couple mouthfuls of rice without even thinking.
But who would have thought Ning Dongya wasn’t done.
“But it would be best~ if you really weren’t reminiscing~”
“Meow meow meow? Meow!!!”
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