Chapter 43 – Protecting the Chrysanthemum!

Hearing this, everyone suddenly doubted if they had misheard.

[99, didn’t you say the villain would forcefully keep the female lead ?] Why did the villain not only keep the two leads but also take the cat with him?

System 99 was also at a loss, having a vague feeling, and tried to console itself: [Um, um, maybe the villain wants to indirectly attract the attention of the female lead. By keeping the female lead’s cat, creating opportunities to interact with her, and such.]

It kind of makes sense, right?

Truly deserving of being the villain, not only dressing provocatively but also behaving in an extraordinary manner.

Tang Qing couldn’t help but lift his head and glance at the villain.

The man looked down at the fluffy cat, the kitten tilted its head, its beautiful heterochromatic eyes watery and round, staring at himself wide-eyed like a naive little fairy.

He couldn’t help but chuckle softly, “You little thing, you’re not afraid of me, are you?”

Since his dark elemental ability had broken through to level four, it had been a long time since any creature had dared to scrutinize him so unblinkingly.

Shen Miao took a moment to react and realized that the lord was actually interested in her cat. “Being able to stay and accompany the lord is Jiao Jiao’s honor. Shen Miao thanks the lord for his love towards Jiao Jiao.”

She answered very quickly, afraid that if she was even a second late, the lord would regret it.

The man’s mouth twitched slightly upon hearing this and asked, “What is this cat’s name?”

Shen Miao replied promptly, “Jiao Jiao, the soft little fairy.”

Tang Qing: …

For a moment, he wanted to find a place to bury himself.

Is there anything more embarrassing than transmigrating as a cat?

If there is, it would be transmigrating as a cat named “Jiao Jiao, the soft little fairy.”

The lord cleared his throat but still didn’t call out the cat’s name. After a moment of silence, he gestured for two maids to come forward, take the cat, and said, “Take it to the cat house.”

Tang Qing was a bit puzzled. The villain had even prepared a cat house? Did he already know that the female lead had a cat and was preparing to get her attention?

Maid Zi Yi had long set her eyes on this beautiful cat and happily accepted the order. She took out a small blue jade basket, walked over to Shen Miao, took the cat and put it in the basket, but stumbled for a moment.

This beautiful cat was much heavier than she had imagined.

Shen Miao saw through the maid’s thoughts and whispered, “Ragdoll cats are medium to large-sized cats, a bit heavier than regular house cats. It’s perfectly normal. Jiao Jiao isn’t fat at all.”

Maid Zi Yi nodded but still couldn’t believe her eyes as she looked at the cat in the basket. A bit heavier, huh…

The lord nodded and arranged accommodations for the two.

As they left the hall, Qi Jingcheng and Shen Miao looked at each other in disbelief, finding it hard to believe that things had gone so smoothly. Qi Jingcheng even pinched his thigh hard to snap out of it, afraid he was hallucinating.

It was unexpectedly easy to get close to the lord, much easier than imagined. However, Shen Miao was a bit worried and asked, “Will the lord take good care of Jiao Jiao?”

Qi Jingcheng reassured her, “He will. Jiao Jiao is so beautiful, even if the lord lacks humanity, he won’t mistreat it.”

Shen Miao nodded. Though she was reluctant to part with Jiao Jiao, they were prepared for self-sacrifice for the military mission. Giving the cat to the lord and being able to stay in the Xuanming City was already the smallest price they could imagine.

The maid carried the basket and took the cat to the cat house.

Maid Zi Yi said happily, “This Ragdoll looks so soft and beautiful. I’ve always wanted to have one.”

The other maid, Lu Shang, sneered, “It’s just a cat, and it’s as heavy as can be. There are so many cats in the cat house.” She didn’t like cats, but as long as she could stay in the Xuanming City, by the lord’s side, she was willing to do anything.

Zi Yi said, “Although I don’t know why Master Xuan likes to collect cats so much, this is the first time he’s left a Ragdoll cat. Unfortunately, Master doesn’t allow us to touch his collected cats at will, otherwise, I would have to pet them.”

As they chatted, they pushed open the door to the cat house.

Inside, there was a very large French window, the sunlight making everything dry and warm. There were many shelves for the cats to play on, making it a very suitable place for the cats to live.

However, Tang Qing had not expected that there were already six or seven cats inside.

And they were all orange cats, the kind of common domestic orange cats, all with smooth fur and a bit chubby. They curiously inspected him, as if wondering why there was such a good-looking cat.

The cat room was regularly cleaned, and the air was not unpleasant.

Zi Yi put down the Ragdoll cat to let it adjust to the environment.

Tang Qing inspected the surroundings and found it very comfortable. Satisfied, he flicked his paws. In a polite manner befitting a newcomer, he raised his paw and softly meowed, “Meow~”

The orange cats were stunned.

Is this also the same species? It’s so beautiful, with a voice that is sweet and soft. Its fur is so white and long, looking very elegant. There is a circle of fawn-colored (light blue-gray) fur around its face, making its small face delicate and exquisite, unlike their round pancake faces. What’s most special is that this new cat actually has eyes of two different colors.

Tang Qing unconsciously flicked his tail. Ragdoll cats have particularly large, fluffy tails, resembling a big broom compared to the sleek tails of orange cats.

After the two left, the lord sat in front of the sofa, unconsciously gazing at the shadows.

He wasn’t actually a compassionate person and didn’t like small animals at all. But for some reason, he always felt like he should have raised a cat, an orange cat, a very fat one. Perhaps it was from spending too much time in the laboratory in his youth, his memories were blurry.

Under the bright lights of the laboratory, he had spent many years, more accurately, being observed for many years. So after leaving the research base, he was accustomed to staying in the shadows, finding bright light very tiresome. Yet he purposely built a sunny room, specifically for these orange cats.

However, as he looked at these orange cats, he didn’t feel the urge to go play with them. It was just a subconscious decision that if he saw orange cats, he would bring them back to keep. It seemed that just watching them play and run around so lively could briefly make him feel the breath of life.

This was the first time he had left a cat of a different breed other than an orange cat.

Although he knew those two individuals were approaching him with a purpose, he inexplicably decided to keep them around.

That girl named Shen Miao was quite special, and he couldn’t help but develop a liking for her. He resisted this kind of emotion, as if it was a forced feeling.

But that Ragdoll cat, named… Jiao Jiao the soft little fairy, was indeed exceptionally beautiful, especially with those unique eyes, almost enchantingly beautiful, captivating.

For the first time, he felt that there was nothing wrong with having feelings for a cat.

“Lord Xuan, Lord Xuan.”

Maid Zi Yi hurried over, reporting, “Lord Xuan, after the new cat arrived at the cat house, it caused a commotion… We don’t know how to handle it.”

Caused a commotion?

Lord Xuan quickly walked to the cat room and saw the beautiful Ragdoll, crouching on a high shelf, fur standing on end, tail raised high in a defensive stance.

Underneath the shelf, there were still two or three orange cats attempting to jump up but failing. On the ground, two orange cats were inexplicably wrestling, exchanging playful cat punches on each other’s faces.

Orange cat fur was floating everywhere.

Lord Xuan frowned, “What’s going on here?”

Maid Zi Yi lowered her head and replied, “Lord Xuan, after the Ragdoll cat arrived, several orange cats wanted to play with it. Some even got into a fight over it. The Ragdoll cat was scared and hid on the shelf. And then… that’s how it went.”

Because Lord Xuan had ordered not to let them touch these cats freely, the maids couldn’t separate these cats.

Tang Qing was still crouching on the shelf, claws firmly gripping, looking tense.

“99, what’s going on? Could these orange cats be mutants?”

[Host, these orange cats were raised in the cat room from birth. They have only seen other orange cats and a few humans, and they only know about eating and sleeping every day. It’s probably their first time seeing a different species, so they might be curious.]

“If this is what ‘curious’ means, then those little orange cats,” Tang Qing felt a bit embarrassed, hesitated for a moment, then said, “they, they want to lick my butt!”

Tang Qing usually found orange cats adorable and would pounce on them, grabbing their limbs and giving them a good suck.

Now, the tables had turned, the cat wanted to suck on him!

[Host, this is how cats interact with each other. They often lick each other for no reason.] System 99 comforted him, [99 has looked up information, and there are two theories. First, because cats have a strong sense of hierarchy, licking each other’s butts is to leave their scent on other cats, marking them as their possessions.]

Tang Qing asked, “What’s the second theory?”

The system paused and said, [The second theory suggests that they might be a bit bored and licking each other’s butts has become a pastime for them.]

Tang Qing was speechless. Whether it was marking possessions or licking for fun, it all sounded quite shameless!

He couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with the cats, so he could only hide. It was difficult, not wanting to join in yet unable to resist.

The system couldn’t believe it either. On the first day of crossing over, the host’s little flower almost couldn’t be protected. The battle for the flower had begun so soon.

These orange cats, usually lazy and laid-back, their most intense activity was lying in the sun. Lord Xuan also saw the orange cats so energetic for the first time and couldn’t help but chuckle.

He leaped up and instantly moved to the shelf, picking up the Ragdoll cat.

Tang Qing lay in the arms of this legendary big demon, feeling a sense of peace in his heart. He extended his claws, firmly gripping the man.

It had been a long time since the man had last held a cat. He had held an orange cat once a few years ago, got his whole body covered in fur, and never did it again.

Ragdoll cats were different from other breeds. Although they were large in size, they were soft and boneless all over, like a rag doll, hence the name Ragdoll.

Lord Xuan held the cat, feeling the cat completely relaxed in his arms, feeling the warmth. He reached out and stroked the Ragdoll cat’s head, the fur long and soft. The cat’s watery eyes looked at him, and he absentmindedly rubbed the cat’s eye corner, his gaze freezing.

Amongst the long fawn-colored fur of the cat, there was a bright red mole.