Cat kneading is a normal behavior, and it is generally limited to when they are young.
As far as Qingmo knew, adult cats who still engaged in this behavior most likely lacked a complete childhood and had left their mothers far too early.
Suyu had mentioned that he was bought back by Liu Ze, which only further confirmed this phenomenon.
At this thought, a wave of sympathy naturally arose within him. Since Rice Cake was already so pitiful, he could knead all he wanted.
However, overwhelmed by the embarrassment of having all his little quirks exposed, Suyu silently retracted his paws and hopped onto the bed, looking round and fluffy like a ball of cotton.
Putting everything else aside, why did this cat look so terribly familiar?
Qingmo narrowed his eyes. “This is your first time showing your true form in front of me, right? Why does it feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before?”
Of course he had seen him. In his dreams.
A wave of guilty panic washed over Suyu. Curling his tail around himself, he rolled into a tight ball, resting like a cotton puff atop the blanket, looking utterly helpless, vulnerable, and pitiful. “All cats look the same.”
“Not this one.” Qingmo stated with absolute conviction, “A top-tier specimen like you is rare!”
The imagery in his dreams had already grown hazy. When he tried to grasp even the tiniest trace of a clue, it felt as though it were blocked by a layer of hazy mist. In the end, that stroke of white entirely transformed into an oversized little hairball.
“I remember!” He slapped a fist into his palm, startling Suyu. Just as the latter was preparing to make a full confession, Qingmo continued with smug self-satisfaction, “You look remarkably like the little hairball from my dreams! I’ve been dreaming about it for days. This little fellow must really miss me at home!”
Suyu gave his lips a lick. Fine. Whatever makes you happy.
“So, what are you going to do now?” Qingmo flopped down right beside him. The mattress sank slightly under his weight, tilting the cat’s body to the side. “Yue Zhiqiang doesn’t have the antidote. I can’t just drag you back like this.”
Hesitating for a moment, Suyu realized there truly was no other option. “Go back. Find my elder brother.”
Heavenly Dao certainly had a way to help him, though a thorough scolding was bound to be part of the package. Moreover, they hadn’t managed to catch that man in black either. Yue Zhiqiang was merely a controlled puppet who didn’t know many inside secrets, making this trip a total loss.
Sigh. Life is hard, and cats must sigh.
His tail swished back and forth, expressing his restless, irritated mood. Suddenly, the tail stopped moving, seized by a slender, fair hand.
Suyu turned his head to find Qingmo staring at him with burning, intense eyes.
Meow. This is bad.
Qingmo pressed his lips together, wrestling with how to politely make an impolite request. “Suyu, can I pet you?”
That request was indeed quite impolite.
“Your beloved shouldn’t mind, right?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Qingmo wanted to slap himself. “Asking something like that sounds so manipulative. Who would ever want to share their lover with someone else?”
He might be a bit mischievous and playful, but he still had principles and morals. Yet seeing such an adorable ball of fluff dangling right before his eyes was simply too much to bear. Deciding to put it out of sight and out of mind, he decisively buried his head straight under the blankets.
Meanwhile, Suyu sat huddled with his paws tucked in, questioning his feline existence.
If you asked whether Qingmo could pet him, the answer was a definitive yes. But if you asked whether his beloved would mind, Qingmo knew for a fact that his beloved would certainly mind someone else petting his cat, especially since he himself harbored an inexplicable possessiveness over the little hairball, let alone a lover.
However, watching Qingmo suffer as he restlessly kicked his legs in agony, Suyu felt a sharp pang of sympathy.
That made his tail thump even harder against the mattress.
Qingmo’s face turned beet-red from holding his breath. Only when he was truly suffocating did he pop his head back out, keeping his gaze strictly forward and refusing to spare Rice Cake even a single glance, terrified that a single moment of weakness would lead him to ruin the cat.
In the end, Suyu made a concession, muttering reluctantly, “Cough, cats are meant to be petted.”
The string of reason snapped completely. Qingmo lunged forward with glowing eyes. “Rice Cake, you are practically begging for it!”
Suyu simply gave up resisting and sprawled out all four limbs, or rather, he hadn’t put up any resistance to begin with. “Anyway, he won’t find out.”
And even if he did find out, the one who would regret it later would be none other than himself.
With trembling hands, Qingmo scooped up the soft little cat. The human and the cat stared at each other for a long time, unable to bring themselves to go through with it. “Is this considered taking advantage of someone’s vulnerable state?”
“It doesn’t count.” Suyu looked away. While he clearly looked like he was being bullied, his heart was secretly rejoicing. “You said it yourself. You’ll definitely help us make up.”
“That’s right.” Qingmo nodded like a pecking chick. “That way, I won’t be taking advantage of you for free.”
With his guilt slightly alleviated, the irresistible appeal of the fluff triumphed over moral principles. He buried his face right into the fur for a deep, hearty huff.
Pui! It tasted entirely like medicine!
Fifteen minutes later, Suyu came to a profound realization as to why Qingmo was still utterly unsatisfied despite there being so many stray cats outside the Smoke and Cloud Pavilion.
Which normal person pets a cat with that much raw physical strength?! He was practically going to groom the fur right off him. No wonder the little hairball had almost coughed up its soul the last time Qingmo had handled it.
Qingmo was no different from a brazen, unruly scoundrel. He leaned sideways against the edge of the bed, rhythmically stroking Rice Cake’s soft belly with a look of utter, blissful satisfaction.
“Your belly is softer than the little hairball’s.”
“I refuse to be compared.”
Suyu was genuinely too exhausted to move. Without a human form, he was no different from an ordinary cat, completely shedding his usual dignity and sprawling out lazily.
Before Qingmo had his fill of petting, he leaned in for more. Just as Suyu shot him a look of sheer terror, a knock sounded at the door, sounding like salvation itself.
“Tch!” Irritated, Qingmo climbed up, assuming Bai Yingfei had finally sorted out his romantic troubles. But the moment he opened the door, his face instantly darkened.
Standing outside was Jiang Hong, wearing an ingratiating smile.
“My Lord, this subordinate just wanted to ask when the Lord Demon Lord will be returning. Over at the Illusion Spirit Department…”
“Handle it yourself.”
With that, he slammed the door shut in his face.
Hearing the commotion from the bed, Suyu rolled over. “There’s no way I can show myself in this state, and we’ll have to leave sooner or later. For now, all affairs in Chizhou will have to be left to Jiang Hong.”
“Even a matter the size of a sesame seed requires them to come knocking. You just spoil them too much.” Qingmo shot him a sidelong glance, though he didn’t press the matter of why Suyu had made Jiang Hong disguise himself as a sugar-painting vendor to trick him earlier.
The blood skull was a matter Heavenly Dao had explicitly ordered to be strictly investigated, and since Yue Zhiqiang was implicated, Qingmo couldn’t let him off the hook even if he wanted to for Bai Yingfei’s sake. Therefore, after wrapping up the relevant affairs, Jiang Hong led the Illusion Spirit Department to temporarily assist Bai Yingfei in overseeing Chizhou, while Yue Zhiqiang was escorted back to the Lingyao Palace to face punishment.
Before parting ways, Bai Yingfei clung to Qingmo’s shoulder just like he used to in childhood, crying and wailing. “Now you really won’t get to see what my grand wedding looks like, wuwu…”
For once, Qingmo refrained from making any sarcastic remarks. He gave Bai Yingfei’s head a vigorous ruffle and consoled him, “I’ll put in a good word with the Sovereign later. In His eyes, the Witch clan still holds some standing, so we’ll definitely make sure Yue Zhiqiang is returned to you safe and sound.”
Bai Yingfei wiped all his tears straight onto Qingmo’s robes, sniffling as he replied, “Mmh…”
In the span of those few short hours, countless thoughts had flashed through his mind; he had even entertained the notion of calling off the marriage entirely. Yet the reality laid out before him felt like a sharp thorn embedded in his heart. Yue Zhiqiang had done it for his safety. He had clearly done everything wrong, yet at the same time, it felt as though he hadn’t done anything wrong at all.
Perhaps because his anger had yet to dissipate, Bai Yingfei didn’t utter another single word to Yue Zhiqiang before leaving.
Enduring the bumpy journey back to the imperial capital, Qingmo didn’t head straight to the Lingyao Palace. Instead, he dove straight into the Smoke and Cloud Pavilion.
For one, he didn’t want to go face Heavenly Dao’s scolding; for another, he didn’t want to give Little Rice Cake back just yet.
The first person to dash over inside the Smoke and Cloud Pavilion was Chi Ying. “Lord Pavilion Master, whose cat is this? It’s gorgeous!”
Their Pavilion Master’s whereabouts were always as elusive as a dragon’s, and he often brought back all sorts of strange things from his trips, so everyone was long used to it.
Qingmo chuckled warmly, showing off with clear pride. “Isn’t it gorgeous? Little Rice Cake is the cutest ball of fluff in the entire world!”
As fate would have it, this exact declaration happened to be overheard by the little hairball coming down the stairs.
Its fur instantly stood on end. What ball of fluff could possibly be cuter than its little hairball self?!
Assuming the posture of the official head wife, the little hairball bounced down the stairs in three bounds, marched straight up to Qingmo with an aggressive aura, and gave the floor a hard stomp with its tiny paw.
“Ying!”
Where did this concubine come from?!
“Oh, if it isn’t the little hairball?” Qingmo cheerfully ignored its anger, saying with a grin, “Come on, meet Rice Cake. He looks just like you.”
With that, he set Suyu down on the floor.
Suyu’s vision went black. A cat and a fox didn’t even belong to the same species, how on earth did they look alike?
“These two little things do look quite alike, actually,” Chi Ying chimed in from the side.
He wasn’t just spouting nonsense; with the little hairball standing right beside Rice Cake with its tail all puffed up into a fluffy little cluster, it literally looked as though it had been pieced together from the loose fur shed by Rice Cake.
“Aao!” Refusing to accept this, the little hairball felt its status as the supreme darling was being threatened. Sporting what it thought was a terrifying expression, it bared its tiny milk teeth at Suyu.
The other party remained completely motionless, looking as though he wanted to cover his face with his paws. He stared at Qingmo with large, watery eyes filled with accusation.
Realizing that its threats had zero effect and that Rice Cake wasn’t paying it the slightest bit of attention, the little hairball grew so frustrated it actually started biting its own tail. But its tail was too fluffy, making it impossible to catch, which ultimately devolved into the comical spectacle of a nine-tailed mini-fox spinning in circles chasing its own tail.
That level of intelligence was truly something else. It couldn’t even manage being angry properly.
Qingmo shook his head regretfully, lamenting the fact that he had raised such a silly fox.
Suyu scrambled up Qingmo’s pant leg and climbed onto his body, pressing his pink paw pads against Qingmo’s shoulder a few times.
Taking advantage of the fact that he couldn’t speak, Qingmo grinned mischievously. “Is Rice Cake sleepy? Come on, let’s go back to our room to sleep!”
Suyu: I want to go home!
Rice Cake lay by the windowsill, his silhouette radiating a profound sense of utter desolation. The most distant distance in the world was not life and death, but rather being only a single street away from home yet completely unable to return.
Meow-wuwu…
Unaware of what was going through Suyu’s mind, Qingmo suddenly felt a twinge of guilt upon seeing that lonely silhouette.
Was he perhaps bullying Suyu a bit too much?
With that thought, he reached out to poke the cat’s bottom. “Suyu, are you thinking about him?”
Suyu paused for a long moment before processing who the “he” Qingmo was referring to actually was.
In truth, he wasn’t. He was simply wondering when on earth he would be able to transform back.
The cat hesitated and shook his head. “He wouldn’t want to see me.”
So he was thinking about him, yet stubbornly refusing to admit it. Wisely choosing not to dwell on the topic, Qingmo picked the cat up instead and chuckled, “You usually look so slender, how do you get so chubby when you turn into a cat?”
For the very first time, Suyu unsheathed his claws and flashed them right before Qingmo’s eyes. “It’s all fur! I am not fat!”