Liu Huan froze, unable to understand why the Demon Lord, who had long since abstained from food and held no desire for it whatsoever, had suddenly decided to dine. His Excellency’s mind truly was impossible to fathom, certainly not something a mere servant like herself was meant to guess at. She quickly composed herself and withdrew to make the preparations.
Once Liu Huan had left, the kitten struggled to squirm free of Chong Yin’s arms, but Chong Yin held him tight, and unable to break free, the kitten finally let out a sigh and went limp in the Demon Lord’s embrace.
“You were hungry. Why didn’t you come find me?” A flicker of displeasure crossed Chong Yin’s eyes as he reached out and pinched the ear of the white kitten in his arms.
The kitten’s ears were an especially sensitive spot, and the moment they were pinched, he tried to dodge away, shaking his ears and scratching at them with his paw, then shooting Chong Yin one final glare.
Chong Yin found this display entertaining and kept up the teasing, seemingly never tiring of it.
“Meow!”
Finally driven to fury, the kitten clamped his teeth down on Chong Yin’s ceaselessly mischievous fingers.
The slender finger was caught between the kitten’s soft pink lips, the fingertip still able to feel the softness and moisture of the kitten’s mouth.
Chong Yin’s brow furrowed with discomfort, a flicker of irritation crossing his face, but this time he didn’t retaliate or punish the kitten. He simply accepted a handkerchief from a nearby attendant and wiped his hand clean at a leisurely pace.
“From now on, I’ll be dining together with you. There’s no need to go looking for anyone else,” Chong Yin said suddenly.
The kitten let out a discontented grunt.
Not looking for anyone else, did that mean he was supposed to just starve?
This Chong Yin always forgot he needed to eat. If Bai Xiaonian didn’t remind him, the man simply wouldn’t feed him at all.
Bai Xiaonian couldn’t even be bothered to argue the point, a man so young in years, yet with such a poor memory.
Still, Bai Xiaonian couldn’t quite figure out why Chong Yin had suddenly declared he’d start dining with him. He lifted his head, his round black eyes filled with confusion, tilting his head as he studied Chong Yin.
Bai Xiaonian considered himself fairly well acquainted with Chong Yin. This man had never had much interest in food to begin with, and after achieving the ability to abstain from eating, he’d all but stopped touching it entirely. This man never did anything without a purpose, if there was nothing in it for him, he simply wouldn’t bother.
The more Bai Xiaonian thought about it, the colder the chill running down his back became. Could it be that Chong Yin was actually harboring some sinister scheme against him, a mere cat? The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed!
Chong Yin studied the kitten’s increasingly serious little face, equally unable to make sense of what the cat meant by it.
Having him share a meal with this cat was an honor for the creature, why wasn’t it looking overjoyed instead of wearing such a strange expression?
Man and cat sat there, each lost in their own thoughts, and for a while the hall fell so silent one could have heard a pin drop.
It wasn’t until Liu Huan led a procession of servants bearing trays into the room that the two of them finally stirred back into motion.
The kitten couldn’t wait any longer and shot out of Chong Yin’s arms first, only to forget that one of his paws was injured. Landing like that, he had no way to keep his footing, and would not only end up sprawled flat on his face, but risk further aggravating his injury.
Chong Yin let out a soft sigh and, with lightning reflexes, caught the kitten securely with his long arm.
“Foolish cat.” Chong Yin looked down at the kitten in his hand, a flicker of exasperation crossing his eyes.
Unwilling to concede, the kitten spun around in his grip, presenting his rear end to Chong Yin, then plopped himself down, tail held high, the very picture of haughty pride.
“Meow~”
Bai Xiaonian called out to Liu Huan, who was busy directing the servants at the dining table.
Hearing the kitten’s voice, Liu Huan turned and gave him a gentle, lovely smile. The kitten watched, thoroughly dazed, practically swooning.
Watching this exchange between the two of them, Chong Yin’s expression darkened even further. He carried the kitten a few steps over to the table and, without a word, tossed the cat straight into Liu Huan’s arms.
Bai Xiaonian’s cat face was a picture of pure confusion, Chong Yin’s sudden toss had scared the wits half out of him, and it was only thanks to Liu Huan’s quick reflexes that she’d managed to catch him in time.
Liu Huan looked back at Chong Yin, equally baffled.
Chong Yin said nothing, not even sparing them a glance, and simply sat down to enjoy his midday meal on his own.
Liu Huan cast a careful glance at Chong Yin, cradling the kitten and not sure of what to do, without an explicit order from the Demon Lord, she didn’t dare take it upon herself to set the kitten on the table to dine alongside him.
Just as Liu Huan was caught in her dilemma, the kitten in her arms had already leapt down onto the table on his own, walking step by step until he stood directly in front of Chong Yin, blocking the hand reaching for his food.
The little tyrant plopped himself down right in front of Chong Yin, glaring at him with obvious displeasure.
Chong Yin glanced at him and waved a hand, shoving the kitten aside.
The kitten rolled a couple of times before scrambling back up, thoroughly furious.
“Meow, meow, meow, meow…”
The kitten straightened up, standing like a person, his round belly sticking out, waving one little paw as he pointed accusingly at Chong Yin, his teeth bared in an expression that made it obvious, without needing to guess, that he was cursing Chong Yin out at length.
The onlookers in the hall stared in shock at the kitten’s uncannily humanlike gestures, but Chong Yin’s expression remained utterly unbothered, not even sparing the kitten a single glance.
It felt to Bai Xiaonian like a punch landing on cotton, Chong Yin’s complete indifference toward him was maddening.
“Meow~”
The kitten stepped forward and pressed his little paw down on the back of Chong Yin’s hand, the soft, pink paw pad resting against his skin with an unexpectedly pleasant sensation.
Chong Yin’s throat shifted slightly. He lowered his eyes to study the soft little paw pad on the back of his hand for a moment, then lifted his gaze back to the kitten, letting out a cold snort. “Foolish cat, are you trying to butter me up?”
Nonsense, who was trying to win him over!
The little tyrant turned his head away, refusing to admit it, and ignored Chong Yin once more.
Chong Yin arched an eyebrow, and seeing that the kitten refused to respond, said nothing further either.
The cat instead made his way toward the array of exquisite dishes laid out before him, practically drooling with hunger. Bai Xiaonian swallowed eagerly and reached out a paw, meaning to drag some food toward himself, but before he could even touch it, a pair of chopsticks swept in and knocked his paw away.
“Meow…” The silver chopsticks had struck his paw hard enough to sting. The kitten withdrew his paw, wounded, licking it, then turned to shoot Chong Yin a resentful glare.
Chong Yin raised an eyebrow and said flatly, “Who gave you permission to touch my food with that filthy paw of yours?”
Hearing this, the kitten was furious.
It had been Chong Yin himself who said they’d dine together, and now he wouldn’t even let him eat.
This Chong Yin truly seemed born just to spite him, Bai Xiaonian.
The little tyrant had no intention of listening to Chong Yin, whatever the man forbade, Bai Xiaonian was determined to do all the more.
And so the kitten extended his little paw once again.
But the next instant, his paw was knocked away again, this time hard enough to genuinely hurt. The kitten licked his wounded paw with a wronged expression, his anger only deepening.
Watching the kitten’s messy, thoroughly defeated state, Chong Yin’s mood improved considerably, the corner of his mouth curving into a pleased little arc. Having had his fun, he decided to stop teasing the kitten for now.
But just as Chong Yin settled in to properly enjoy his meal, the little tyrant refused to let him eat in peace. Just as the food held between his silver chopsticks was about to reach his bowl, a flash of white darted past, and when he looked again, the food on his chopsticks had vanished without a trace.
Chong Yin froze, staring at the chopsticks now damp with a certain cat’s saliva, his expression shifting subtly.
He turned his head and found the kitten hunched over, sneaking bites in a most furtive manner, cheeks bulging as he chewed away with great enthusiasm.
Chong Yin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to have Liu Huan bring him a fresh pair of chopsticks.
A moment later, Chong Yin picked up another bite of food, and sure enough, before it could even reach his bowl, the kitten snatched it away once more.
Little did the kitten realize, this particular bite happened to be a piece of cabbage. The kitten disliked vegetables, and after chewing it in his mouth for a good while, he finally realized something was wrong and spat it back out, sticking out his tongue in disgust, as though he wished he could spit the tongue itself out along with the taste of cabbage still lingering on it.
The corner of Chong Yin’s mouth twitched. He settled back, watching the kitten with leisurely interest, a hint of gloating amusement flickering in his eyes.