Before becoming a hamster, Ruan Tao actually really liked eating nuts.
But even the things one loved most could become tiresome if eaten every day.
In this era, humans didn’t have particularly good meals, and hamsters were even less likely to get treats with different flavors. Every day, it was the same hamster food.
She only ate it reluctantly, just to fill her stomach.
Today, it was truly a rare chance to eat something as a human in the District.
Bo Yutong looked at Ruan Tao for two seconds, seemingly hesitating for a moment.
Ruan Tao noticed his fingers on the table, tapping the surface with a rhythm, and she nervously swallowed.
Finally, she heard his melodious voice—
“Come on,” he said.
It sounded like heaven itself.
Ruan Tao sat on the side of the long table, obediently leaving two empty seats beside her, a little far from the main seat. She seemed to have some self-awareness about her place.
Bo Yutong’s way of eating was exceptionally graceful, which made Ruan Tao cautious not to make any sudden movements. She ate in small bites, following his pace.
Some people might look small but could actually eat a lot.
Ruan Tao was exactly that kind of person.
Her appetite had been mocked by her own Big Brother since she was little, always saying she looked like a monster when she ate and could devour an entire cow when hungry.
The “cow-devouring monster” was genuinely hungry today.
She ate very restrainedly, carefully, and halfway through, she already began to regret not going back to nibble on nuts. At least when she was smaller, she ate less, and nuts were filling.
Moreover, Hamster Tao could do whatever she wanted, eat whatever she wanted. She didn’t have to be timid like “Xia Xiaoxi.”
Bo Yutong finished dinner at his pace and put down his chopsticks.
Ruan Tao instinctively looked up at him.
Just then, Bo Yutong was looking at her as well.
“What are you afraid of?” Bo Yutong said. “A9 isn’t going to be unable to support you.”
Ruan Tao: “……” What kind of divine-level comment was that?
For Ruan Tao, a line like that already counted as sweet talk. For a moment, she felt light-headed, like she was walking on clouds, completely disoriented.
But Bo Yutong didn’t say anything more. He simply stood up and walked out.
Ruan Tao watched Bo Yutong’s extremely cold, upright figure, and her overheated mind finally calmed down a bit.
She told herself that what Bo Yutong really meant was: A9 wasn’t going to be unable to support an errand worker like her.
She was just a working girl, Xia Xiaoxi; Bo Yutong had absolutely no reason to be nice to her.
Although Bo Yutong was indifferent toward her, she never thought of making herself someone unattainable for him. After all, she was just an errand worker. After finishing her meal, Ruan Tao conscientiously gathered her bowl and chopsticks.
Before she could even find the kitchen, someone suddenly snatched the bowl and chopsticks from her hands.
Ruan Tao froze and looked up, seeing a familiar-looking little girl in a sailor outfit, who lifted her chin toward Ruan Tao: “Sorry, I’m in charge of this.”
Ruan Tao: “……Oh, okay.”
Who would actually want to compete with someone for this kind of work?
Because the girl looked so familiar, Ruan Tao examined her carefully and finally remembered who she was.
When she first arrived here, she had been an ignorant little hamster, unable to understand anything, her whole body drooping.
Li Yudong had come over to feed her, only to be criticized by another little girl.
It was this very girl standing before her.
If she remembered correctly, her name was Chun Xiu.
Because her name paired well with Li Yudong’s pseudonym “Dong Ling,” they were often assigned to work together.
In fact, their relationship had been rather ordinary at first. Spending time together, having more opportunities to go to the restroom together, had only recently improved their rapport considerably.
Ruan Tao didn’t argue with her, silently touched her nose, intending to say nothing and just leave.
Chun Xiu, unhappy, called out from behind her: “You should go clean up!”
Ruan Tao turned her head and looked at her innocently. “It’s nap time now. I can still take a short sleep.”
Chun Xiu: “……”
Ruan Tao shrugged and quickly walked away.
Exiting this room, turning left led to Bo Yutong’s private area, usually only cleaned when he was absent. Cleaning times were fixed, and cleaners didn’t dare let their gaze wander.
To the right was the exit.
Ruan Tao still had more than half an hour of human time left. There wasn’t much she could do in such a short span, so she decided to save it.
She could turn into a human for three hours a day now, but at most could store five hours.
In other words, if she didn’t use those three hours, once she hit the full five hours, she might be forced to “learn to be human.”
Luckily, she had found a job; otherwise, she wouldn’t even know how to spend these three hours.
During the afternoon work period, Hamster Tao slept comfortably in her little nest.
When she woke, the room was dark, only the pale moonlight shining on her.
Curled into a ball, the hamster stretched her short limbs and yawned lazily.
Suddenly alert, she flipped upright and looked out at the moon.
A crescent moon hung in the sky, a beautiful little sliver of light.
Ruan Tao remembered. According to the book, the day of the beast tide should fall on a full moon.
From today onward, every full moon, she would make sure to carefully supervise Bo Yutong.
As she was thinking, someone suddenly pushed the door open and entered.
“Tao Tao is awake,” Bo Yutong said, looking at her. “Are you hungry?”
His voice was extremely gentle, and Ruan Tao couldn’t help recalling what had happened at lunch.
By comparison, he was indeed kinder to Tao Tao than to Xia Xiaoxi.
Ruan Tao reached out her little paws toward him, her soft voice appearing in Bo Yutong’s mind: “Sir, hug.”
Bo Yutong walked over and extended a single index finger toward her.
Ruan Tao hugged his finger, rubbing her chubby little face against it. “Tao Tao isn’t hungry.”
Still as pleasantly scented as ever, and without any traces of other women.
Lemon Peach felt relieved, though still a bit jealous.
“Sir,” Ruan Tao shook his finger, “Tao Tao wants to work with you.”
Bo Yutong didn’t hesitate. “Okay, Tao Tao, wait here a bit.”
Ruan Tao nodded obediently.
She watched Bo Yutong head to the bathroom, inevitably remembering the towel she had left there.
…Yes, the hair-drying towel she still hadn’t retrieved.
Now that there was staff dormitory, Ruan Tao usually showered there and had forgotten about it for the time being.
Since Bo Yutong hadn’t mentioned it before, he probably wouldn’t notice afterward either.
Ruan Tao waited contentedly.
Bo Yutong emerged from the bathroom, wearing a loose bathrobe.
The bathrobe had a pocket on the chest, and he casually placed Ruan Tao inside, rubbing her head with his finger in a thoroughly indulgent and doting manner. “Tao Tao, do you want anything?”
Ruan Tao shook her head while nestled in his pocket.
“Is that so?” Bo Yutong opened a file. “Winter is coming soon. Are you afraid of the cold, Tao Tao?”
Ruan Tao froze, then suddenly widened her eyes. “Ah!”
How could she have forgotten this?!
Surely her mind had too much common sense stored in it, unconsciously assuming the current situation—but how could one judge the post-apocalyptic world by ordinary logic?
A few days ago, Ruan Tao had experienced forty-degree killer heat outside. She never imagined winter was approaching.
Seasons in the apocalypse were unreasonable.
Only those with multiple abilities could sense seasonal changes in advance.
The Regional Chiefs of each Main District obviously fit this criterion. People in Upper-Class Resident areas had connections and intelligence networks, allowing them to predict upcoming conditions.
Middle and lower-class residents, however, faced many problems during seasonal transitions.
In this era, changing seasons could itself be considered a major natural disaster.
Ruan Tao had read in the books that this winter would arrive suddenly, with temperatures dropping sharply to a frightening level.
Even physically strong ability-users would feel the long-missed cold.
This winter would kill many, many people.
Ruan Tao couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity for humanity.
Bo Yutong didn’t care; others’ lives were never his concern.
He had anticipated the cold and taken precautions when handling matters—recently recruited equipment was likely meant to raise the temperature within the Administrative District as winter approached.
Even if he couldn’t save everyone, saving just one more life was still worthwhile, wasn’t it?
Ruan Tao remembered that in Qiyuan Forest, a certain magical beast produced fire-type crystals in winter, useful for heating.
She looked up at Bo Yutong. “Tao Tao is afraid of the cold. Sir, aren’t you?”
Bo Yutong narrowed his eyes and said slowly, “No.”
He patted her head reassuringly. “Tao Tao, don’t run around. Stay by me, and you won’t be cold.”
Ruan Tao rested her face on his finger, thinking to herself that he was really possessive.
…
Two more peaceful days passed.
During these two days, Ruan Tao came at noon to cook for Bo Yutong. But he didn’t need to eat every day; often, he just ate a few symbolic bites.
Ruan Tao paid close attention to which foods he ate only a bite of and which he ate more of, quietly recording his preferences.
Her human time had been extended to the entire daytime. As long as the sun was up, she could turn human anytime, though the daily limit remained five hours.
It was already convenient enough for her movements.
One midday, Ruan Tao hid in her room, secretly writing something. Qian Bian peeked out, immediately showing disgust. “Sister Tao! I thought you were writing some action plan! What is this—”
He dramatically slapped the papers on the table. “You like that guy this much?”
Brother Qianbian hated men and seemed to consider all male humans his enemies.
Among them, Bo Yutong, Lu Yingzhu, and Fang Shan Huai were his most disliked.
Ruan Tao touched her chin, looking at the paper recording Bo Yutong’s preferences, feeling guilty. “I’m just catering to his tastes. It’s called knowing your opponent, for victory every time.”
“Have you really ‘fought’ him?” Qian Bian asked suspiciously. “Isn’t it just that every time you meet, you pretend to oppose each other but are actually flirting?”
Ruan Tao: “No, really. He hasn’t even said much to me…”
This made things tricky.
Bo Yutong treated “Xia Xiaoxi” slightly better, and Ruan Tao couldn’t help being jealous of herself.
These two days, Bo Yutong hadn’t said a word, and Ruan Tao began doubting herself again.
It was really complicated.
Ruan Tao carefully folded the paper she had almost finished, storing it safely, and then headed toward Bo Yutong.
She had planned these past two days to find a chance to be at Bo Yutong’s base, pretending to be lost.
She would “accidentally” meet Bo Yutong in his private area and see his reaction.
She never expected…
At lunch today, Bo Yutong had brought someone else… home to eat.
Ruan Tao didn’t feel the joy of “our shy child finally made a friend,” but instead a grief of “the carefully nurtured cabbage just got trampled by a pig.”
She looked at the two men at the table with a complicated expression.
Bo Yutong, who usually relaxed and loosened his buttons at mealtime, now sat fully armored and upright, serious as if attending a formal match-making.
Opposite him sat Fang Shan Huai, the one who had recently caught Ruan Tao’s hamster tail.
Ruan Tao’s gaze flicked once, and she sensibly withdrew.
Fang Shan Huai smiled like that—fake, disgusting, utterly annoying.
In that instant, Ruan Tao finally understood why so many mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships went sour.