3: The man who makes a cat freeze in its tracks
[Reward: Parenting Points +1.]
Ye Susu grinned broadly.
The little boy looked up and saw a smile on her face unlike any he’d seen before.
It was beautiful, like Snow White from the fairy tale books he’d seen at his kindergarten friend’s house.
He knew his mommy was pretty, but it seemed like the first time he realized that when she smiled, her eyelashes curved like little butterflies, gentle and sweet.
He glanced up, then looked down quickly, only to glance up again and steal another peek.
“Go put on your jacket. We’re heading out.”
Ye Susu patted his head.
The child was startled for a moment, still clutching his backpack. After the earlier fright, he didn’t mention the snacks again. He simply nodded and hurried back to his room.
Ye Susu watched him go with a relieved expression.
She couldn’t wait to check the reward!
What were “Parenting Points”?
[Each Parenting Point can be exchanged for one page from any book related to child-rearing. After reading, you will master that knowledge proficiently, to be used in parenting.]
Ye Susu’s face was a blank canvas of confusion.
Did this mean parenting skills could be gained… by reading?
She looked up, glancing around.
The cramped, shabby kitchen was filled with pots, pans, and utensils.
But just as she was about to look away, she spotted a book on the nearby movable dining table: 《100 Days of Delicious Breakfasts》.
The original host had bought this when she first started streaming.
Back then, she wanted to be a food content creator and bought several cookbooks. But she soon found cooking tedious and her streaming results mediocre, so she gave up.
In the end, she kept only two cookbooks that couldn’t even sell second-hand, repurposing them as colorful picture books for her son’s early education.
Ye Xun couldn’t read, but he could understand pictures.
He learned to cook congee, rice, and noodles by looking at this book and listening to Ye Susu’s instructions, figuring things out slowly through trial and error.
Ye Susu rubbed her temples.
The original host was truly a ‘celestial’ mother…
Sighing inwardly, she picked up the book and flipped through it casually.
“Susu, what’s gotten into you today?!”
Tap, tap, tap. The crisp sound of high heels echoed on the tiles.
Ye Wan hadn’t even changed her shoes before following her into the kitchen.
Ye Susu looked down at the footprints on the floor.
“Come on, you’re too lazy to sweep even once a week! Don’t I know you?”
Ye Wan waved impatiently.
“If you don’t want to hear about Ye Xun, I won’t bring it up! Now go change and come with me!”
But Ye Susu had no time for her. She simply considered the fact that she was still living in Ye Wan’s apartment and hadn’t yet thought of an alternative.
She could only clutch her stomach with an exaggerated “Ow!”
“Cousin, my stomach hurts… hss… suddenly… I probably can’t go out today.”
“I guess I’m just unlucky, without the fortune to climb the social ladder. Oh well.”
With that, she picked up the book, hunched her back, and with a pained expression, slipped into the bathroom.
Ye Wan stamped her foot. “What’s wrong with you? Take some medicine and tough it out! I already arranged this with Manager Li!”
Arranged for her to throw herself at him?
Ye Susu raised an eyebrow. “What if, in front of Manager Li, I can’t hold back…”
Ye Wan’s perfectly made-up face twitched violently.
“It won’t come to that. If you feel something’s off, just excuse yourself to the restroom quickly.”
Ye Susu curved her lips slightly.
She’d accidentally peed on her human’s bed before, after all.
“When emotions run deep, one loses control. Cousin, have you been single so long you’ve forgotten? If I go, I might leave Manager Li with a profound psychological scar. Imagine having a beauty in your arms, only for her to…”
The mental image was too vivid. Ye Wan thought about it for just a second before taking a sharp breath, her face turning pale.
If Manager Li was dissatisfied, she’d be the one left holding the bag as the matchmaker.
Ye Wan gritted her teeth.
Not waiting for a response, Ye Susu slipped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut—nearly catching Ye Wan’s nose.
Ye Wan jumped back. Hearing faint rustling sounds inside, she frowned, covering her nose and mouth.
“Take some medicine and make it to the evening gathering. I can only extend your rent deadline by three more days.”
She said stiffly before stomping away in frustration.
Ye Susu mumbled an absent-minded “Mm.”
To pay the rent, she needed to figure out how to earn money. Attending the banquet wouldn’t help. For now, she should see if the Parenting Points were useful!
With that thought, she randomly flipped open the book to a page about making “Plain Congee.”
The simplest, most common breakfast.
[Exchange this page for reading?]
Ye Susu tilted her head.
Out of all 99 lives, only one kind, kitchen-savvy human had ever personally cooked cat food for her.
It was soft, tender, fragrant, and savory.
So delicious…
She instinctively reached up to touch the corner of her mouth.
Right before dying of illness in that life, her final wish was to always eat delicious homemade cat food in future lives.
And hadn’t Ye Xun gone a long time without a proper meal?
Yes!
In this human life, she would dive deep into culinary arts!
Children should eat softer foods, right?
She remembered her human’s children always ate congee.
If she learned to make congee, maybe she could sell it?
After all, she had no savings. Even if she knew how to make lobster, she couldn’t afford the ingredients. Plain congee would be the cheapest option.
“Alright, exchange.”
After some thought, Ye Susu finally confirmed.
[Exchange successful.]
[Please read the entire page aloud and view all images.]
She was a cultured cat, but…
Ye Susu perked up her ears.
Only after hearing the sound of Ye Wan’s high heels fading away and the apartment door closing did Ye Susu sit on the toilet lid and, somewhat sheepishly, read aloud word by word.
“First, rinse the rice thoroughly, then soak in an appropriate amount of water…”
Though reciting aloud was a bit embarrassing, it worked.
As she recited the text, vivid images of congee-making flooded her mind.
It felt like all the methods for cooking plain congee across the world, the secret recipes from restaurants accumulated over the years, all rushed in at once, overwhelming her instantly.
When she uttered the last word, a faint hum sounded in her ears. Opening her eyes again, she felt as though she had cooked ten thousand pots of congee, now thoroughly mastering the heat control and rice-to-water ratios.
[Plain Congee: Proficient.]
[Remaining Parenting Points: 0.]
Ye Susu narrowed her eyes.
She placed the book on the toilet lid, stood up, and opened the bathroom door.
After washing her hands, she walked to the kitchen.
Looking at the pots, pans, and utensils now, she felt an unexpected sense of familiarity especially with the clay pot and rice cooker for making congee.
“Xunbao, how about congee for lunch?”
Ye Susu curved her lips into a smile.
She was eager to roll up her sleeves and get to work.
However, when little Ye Xun, now wearing his cotton jacket and carrying his backpack, walked out of his room, he first nodded, indicating he wanted to eat.
But then, remembering something, he walked to the cabinet. Silently, he bent down and opened the door next to the stove, pulling out a plastic bucket with some effort.
Opening the lid, they saw only a thin layer of rice at the bottom, probably not even enough for half a small bowl.
Ye Susu pressed a hand to her forehead.
Had she transmigrated into a post-apocalyptic novel? The starting supplies were too pitiful.
“Well… let’s eat out!”
Indeed, the final life wasn’t meant to be cleared so easily.
With little money, she couldn’t afford to waste it. She ate most of the instant noodles the little one had cooked.
As for the greens and egg she had picked out earlier, she left them for him.
“I don’t like vegetables.”
“Eggs… something about cholesterol? I’m older, can’t eat that.”
Ye Susu racked her brains before coming up with such an absurd excuse.
The child’s face was full of doubt.
“I just feel like eating something light.”
Ye Susu shrugged.
She couldn’t compete with a cub for good food. Little ones needed to eat well to grow, and only then could she complete her parenting mission sooner.
Hearing this, Ye Xun finally nodded, seeming to understand.
He was very obedient, not asking further, and quietly ate all the greens and broth from his bowl with his small spoon.
Only after Ye Susu turned to go change did he secretly reveal a deeply worried expression.
His kindergarten teacher had taught that everyone should eat vegetables every day.
Couldn’t pay rent, and because of him, Mommy couldn’t go make money… Was she so upset it affected her appetite?
His little face was full of sorrow.
When Ye Susu came out after changing, she saw the bowl on the rack was already washed clean.
She flushed with embarrassment again.
So careless.
This cub worked too fast.
“Xunbao, from now on, leave the dishes for me to wash, okay?”
As she said this, Ye Susu took the child and headed out.
Earlier, while they ate the instant noodles, [Task 1: Have the cub eat a satisfying meal] never showed as completed.
Fortunately, she had only let the child eat the vegetables, not the noodles.
“What would you like to eat?”
Once outside, Ye Susu relied on the original host’s memories to roughly recall the nearby restaurants.
Little Ye Xun clearly had very little experience eating out. He remained silent, only nodding to indicate he’d eat anything.
Ye Susu had to decide herself.
After weighing her options, she chose the closest place right around the corner—Yonghe King.
She planned to order congee to taste the flavors of the human world.
Later, when buying rice and cooking at home, she could compare her newly acquired skills.
The child could eat something easy to digest, like noodles or small wontons, and she’d order a few side dishes with meat and vegetables.
While considering the budget and menu, Ye Susu walked into the restaurant.
It was lunchtime, and the place was quite busy, with only one empty table left in a corner.
Ye Susu quickly led the child by the hand and, relying on memory, went to the counter to order.
Looking up at the digital menu screen, she was immediately overwhelmed by prices like 29.9, 19.8… full of decimal points. She felt like even if she used all ten fingers, she wouldn’t be able to calculate the total.
Just as she was starting to despair, a low, magnetic voice suddenly spoke behind her, brushing past her ear and nearly making her feline heart tremble. It felt like a warm cat bed in winter, comforting her entire body.
“Miss.”
Ye Susu held little Ye Xun’s overly long coat sleeve with her left hand, pressed her right hand to her chest, and reluctantly turned around.
She saw a rectangular gold-trimmed silver card held between slender fingers even the nail beds were immaculately clean, extended toward her by a thumb.
She looked up and narrowed her eyes.
The dazzling sunlight outside streamed through the restaurant’s glass windows, like scorching fireworks exploding before her eyes.
The bright light made it hard to see the man’s face clearly. She could only make out his sharply defined jawline and slightly thin lips, which gave him a cold, detached, almost indifferent appearance.
She took a light breath, her small nostrils twitching slightly.
This human smelled… so good.
Like the scent of a premium catnip described by the clan elder—the kind that made a cat unable to move, fresh as dewdrops, with a faint herbal fragrance only the best humans possessed.
“Did you drop this card?”
The man’s voice was similarly detached.
Meow?
Ye Susu tilted her head.
**
Child’s father: Take the card. Dare to attend drinking parties and I’ll break those cat legs!