To help Ruan Tao carry out her tests, Li Yudong spent the next few days arranging a shift swap with her little sisters.
It happened that over the next four days, only the second day was assigned to someone who didn’t get along well with Ruan Tao, while the other three were relatively easygoing girls.
At first, they were also worried something might go wrong during feeding, but as soon as Li Yudong spoke, they readily agreed.
Ruan Tao discovered that the time she could transform back into a human seemed to have been extended—from ten in the morning until two in the afternoon, she could transform at any moment according to her needs.
The “continuous human time” still hadn’t changed, remaining at one hour per day.
Another difference was that her human time now seemed to be able to accumulate.
On the second day, the feeder was unfriendly. Ruan Tao tried to hold back and not transform—this feeling was somewhat like suppressing her appetite, which made her very unhappy.
But this kind of setup actually matched her character… or rather, her “hamster character.”
Stockpiling was her nature; she liked to hoard things. It was just part of being a hamster.
By the third day, she could clearly feel changes in her body.
It was as if a perfectly normal person suddenly grew a tail. Though she had never had one before, it was still part of her own body, and after a little practice she quickly got used to how to use it.
Tomorrow was the day she had agreed with Gao Yang to arrange the meeting with Lu Yingzhu.
Ruan Tao deliberately continued hoarding her human time, and by now she had accumulated over two hours and forty minutes of human time.
That afternoon, Bo Yutong had nothing to do and returned to the base early.
Ruan Tao was already very annoyed while hoarding her human time. By the time Bo Yutong arrived in the afternoon, it hadn’t even reached two o’clock yet, and she had already reached the limit of her irritation.
Bo Yutong came to see her, and Li Yudong quietly withdrew.
Ruan Tao held a ball of shredded paper and vented her anger.
She tore the already small scraps of paper into even finer pieces, scattering them all over the room.
“Tao Tao,” Bo Yutong’s voice came from above her head, tinged with a faint smile, “what are you angry about?”
Although Bo Yutong used his psychic ability to communicate with Ruan Tao, which meant he could “hear” her words directly in her mind, he preferred to speak directly when addressing her.
Ruan Tao sat in her little hamster sofa, clawing at an innocent piece of paper.
She couldn’t directly tell Bo Yutong that she was angry because she couldn’t become human.
So she made up an excuse: “All the hamster food I saved has been thrown away. I’m not happy.”
Bo Yutong replied casually, “Thrown away by whom?”
“They went bad.” Ruan Tao threw a tantrum. “Why can’t I have food that won’t spoil? I’m not happy!”
By the time she finished saying “I’m not happy,” two minutes had already passed.
Ruan Tao was only a tiny bit unhappy, and even that was quickly fading.
She began to worry—Li Yudong was the one who threw away the rotten food hidden in the corner. Bo Yutong probably wouldn’t go looking for Li Yudong over this, would he?
Bo Yutong clearly wasn’t as unreasonable as Ruan Tao had been just now.
He uttered a soft “hmm,” seemingly lost in thought.
Just as Ruan Tao’s anger completely faded and she returned to her usual cheerful mood, Bo Yutong gently rubbed her head and said softly, “Tao Tao, wait for me a moment.”
Ruan Tao hadn’t even had time to respond when Bo Yutong got up.
He had just returned and casually thrown his coat into his storage space.
Bo Yutong’s cuff itself served as a portable storage space, though the exact size was unknown.
He took out his coat, buttoned it neatly, and then retrieved a pair of gloves from his cuff.
After putting on the gloves, he took out a hat.
Ruan Tao leaned at the edge of her little nest, curiously watching Bo Yutong.
She no longer lived in her original luxury villa. Part of it had been extracted and placed directly in Bo Yutong’s study room.
The “roof” of the house had been removed, and the “furniture” arranged according to Ruan Tao’s preferences.
She could step on a chair, climb onto the table, then onto a shelf, and then lean over the “wall” to look outside.
Bo Yutong swept all stray hair back and then put on his hat.
Even such a simple action was done in an unusually captivating way.
Ruan Tao’s two chubby cheeks moved slightly.
She had intended to make a “tsk tsk” sound or shake her head in admiration at Bo Yutong’s action, showing her maturity.
Instead, it came across as pure cuteness.
Bo Yutong reacted immediately, taking off his right glove, pinching Ruan Tao’s cheek, and whispering, “I’m going out for a while.”
He paused, then the corner of his lips curled into a small smile. “About an hour.”
Perhaps it was a small animal’s intuition, but Ruan Tao felt this was a reminder… could it be that he already knew she sneaked out of her nest every noon to spend an hour in his bathroom?
That shouldn’t have been possible.
She had been so reckless because there was no surveillance in Bo Yutong’s room, and his bathroom was only cleaned at a fixed time in the morning—no one dared approach at noon.
And for the past two days, to hoard time, she hadn’t showered.
Today she had even sunk into the hamster sand bath and rolled around!
Bo Yutong didn’t say anything else. He put his glove back on and left.
Ruan Tao had nothing to do, so she hugged the shredded paper and took a nap.
After about an hour, Bo Yutong returned as expected.
His clothes were impeccably neat, usually only worn when negotiating with other Regional Chiefs.
But how could a negotiation take just an hour? Even in the recent Residential Area, it would barely be enough for a single round trip.
This was the speed only Bo Yutong could achieve. Ordinary people would need a full day to travel to another Residential Area, even with transportation.
Bo Yutong sat down, lifted her little house, and placed it on the desk in front of him, spreading his palm toward her.
Ruan Tao’s overly simple hamster brain first thought: “My sir looks so good even wearing white gloves.”
Only afterward did her attention extend to the pink ribbon in Bo Yutong’s palm.
…A water-pink ribbon.
The ribbon looked high-quality, clearly luxurious.
Bo Yutong casually placed it on the desk, removed his gloves, took off his coat, and then gestured for Ruan Tao to come closer.
Ruan Tao climbed out of her little house, moving toward him, eyes fixed on him as he unbuttoned his shirt.
Ruan Tao: ………
She looked in horror at the pink ribbon on the desk, thinking, This big guy isn’t going to play some bondage game with me, is he?
She was still a tiny, fragile hamster!!
If he insisted, couldn’t it wait until tomorrow at noon when she became human?
Bo Yutong stopped unbuttoning.
Ruan Tao stood in front of him.
…Obviously, Bo Yutong had no intention of playing any such game with a hamster. He had merely relaxed and naturally unbuttoned two buttons at his collar.
Ruan Tao exhaled in relief, but also felt a bit of unspeakable regret.
She stood upright and watched Bo Yutong take the pink ribbon, wrap it around her neck, and finally tie a beautiful bow at the back.
She had no idea what he was doing behind her head.
Bo Yutong’s hands smelled of something she especially liked. Because he had to tie the bow, his hands were pressed against her body.
Ruan Tao was enveloped in a fresh, pleasant scent and almost floated off, overwhelmed with joy.
After tying the bow, Bo Yutong retrieved a small gemstone from his cuff.
Because a hamster couldn’t locate her neck precisely, he estimated the position and fastened the gem onto the ribbon.
Ruan Tao stared at Bo Yutong, confused.
“This is also a portable storage space,” Bo Yutong said, pointing at the delicate red gemstone. “You can store things in it, and they won’t spoil.”
Ruan Tao: Eh? So he went out to get this for me just now?
She tugged at the ribbon on her neck and looked up at Bo Yutong happily, her pink nose twitching. “Thank you, sir. Tao Tao likes you the most.”
Bo Yutong: “What else do you want?”
Ruan Tao: “………?”
Bo Yutong: “Tao Tao only talks sweetly when she wants something.”
Ruan Tao quickly protested: “No!”
Bo Yutong said nothing, just looked at her.
Ruan Tao curled into a small ball, whispering in protest, “At least this time it’s not like that… Tao Tao really likes you, sir.”
Bo Yutong: “Is that so?”
Ruan Tao: “……” Somehow that sounded loaded.
He picked her up, placing her in his palm, and looked at her seriously. “More important than Tao Tao’s liking is your loyalty.”
Ruan Tao blinked, pretending not to understand.
But inside, she screamed: Ahhh, why!! I’m your little treasure, not your subordinate or summon!!
“Does Tao Tao know what loyalty is?” Bo Yutong laughed, running a finger along her back.
Ruan Tao tilted her head, deliberately twisting his meaning: “Yes! It means only liking sir.”
She had thought this would shut down Bo Yutong’s comment.
Unexpectedly, Bo Yutong just lightly nodded and said, “Tao Tao may understand it that way too.”
Ruan Tao: “……”
She didn’t know whether she was being treated as a little brat or as a little pet.
Something about this scenario felt slightly off, but overall, it didn’t exceed Ruan Tao’s expectations.
She thought that once Bo Yutong became more attached to her hamster form, he wouldn’t dare harm her. Then she could transform into a human in front of him and gradually increase her favorability.
As long as she stayed alive, the favorability could slowly build.
The next morning.
Bo Yutong left even earlier than usual, giving Ruan Tao much more time than planned.
Li Yudong told Ruan Tao that Bo Yutong had gone to C76 District that day.
Most Residential Areas were named with letters plus numbers—the bigger the area, the earlier the letter.
Bo Yutong’s area was A9, while Lu Yingzhu’s base was A3.
These were among the largest Residential Areas.
Below them were A32, A47, and so on—these were B-Level or even C-Level districts trying to claim part of the A District name.
C76 was obviously a small, marginal Residential Area, reliant on the Main District for life. Its living environment and technology level were backward, and people lived in hardship.
But after all, this was the apocalypse. Having a place to hide from beasts was already fortunate. Even people in D or E Districts were trying their best to survive.
Still, why was Bo Yutong going to C76 District?
He definitely wasn’t going there to help the locals improve their living standards. He barely asked about his own Residential Area.
Ruan Tao couldn’t figure out why he would go to such a place.
In any case, C76 was far from A9. Even if Bo Yutong used a spatial transfer device, he wouldn’t return quickly.
Li Yudong was very excited when telling Ruan Tao about this.
She said, “Tao Tao, don’t forget what you promised me. Don’t mess it up like last time, failing at everything and almost getting yourself into trouble…”
“I didn’t fail at everything!” Ruan Tao protested. “There were still some gains.”
Some… perhaps?
Li Yudong: “Anyway, I hope your sibling meeting plan goes smoothly!”
Ruan Tao: “…Okay.”
A sibling meeting… or maybe sibling noodles?
She wasn’t sure how to describe it but somehow it sounded quite delicious…