Part 2
Ning Yunyi plated the dishes aside from the three dishes and one soup streamed earlier. Finding the big cat motionless and huddled on his shoulder, the smile in his eyes grew rich. If he’s not envious, why doesn’t he just jump down? I didn’t glue him to my shoulder, did I?
While Zong Hao was in a daze, Ning Yunyi finished plating the food. Hearing the commotion of the little kitten running back with sparks and lightning, Zong Hao snapped out of it and leaped onto the nearby shelf with a whoosh, pretending the scene just now had never happened.
When Ning Xiaomiao arrived, he proactively helped get the bowls and carry the basins in his mouth.
Big Brother Ning arrived a step earlier and also began to help. They had been in the front yard monitoring the livestream, too nervous and worried to come over. No one mentioned the online matters now, but their expressions were clearly much more relaxed, even filled with pride.
Soon, everyone was attracted by the table full of delicacies. Although Mother Ning had tasted the soup Ning Yunyi made, this was her first time seeing so many dishes she had never encountered before. She was curious and reluctant to look away.
Sitting next to her was Ning Xiaomiao. He had heard everything during the broadcast and obediently introduced the names to his grandmother. “This is called Sunflower Meatballs. Grandmother, taste it quickly, it smells so good! Father said the flavor is very light and it melts in your mouth, very suitable for Grandmother since you just recovered from a serious illness. It’s so fresh.”
As he spoke, he couldn’t help but slurp and swallow his own saliva, making the whole table look at him and laugh.
The little cub’s face turned red, and he pressed close to his grandmother. “Grandfather and Uncle are bad, laughing at the cub.” This provoked another round of laughter.
Mother Ning’s eyes grew moist. It had been a long time since the house was this lively.
Ning Yunyi inadvertently glanced at the big cat squatting to the side. He was looking up, staring blankly at the family’s happy laughter, a flash of envy and melancholy passing through the depths of his eyes. Ning Yunyi’s heart moved, and he suddenly reached out, bringing the big cat’s large bowl up to the table.
Zong Hao looked over blankly. “??”
Ning Yunyi acted as if he hadn’t seen the envy just now and said casually, “Before, I thought you were an exotic beast, so I let you eat like that. Since you’re the same as the cub, there’s no need to continue like before. Make do with this today, and later you’ll eat with us at the table.”
Over the past few days, due to Mother Ning’s situation, he hadn’t had time to address the fact that the big cat was a shifter. It wasn’t right for them to eat while the big cat watched, and most importantly…
If they ever laid everything out in the open later, he wouldn’t be able to look straight at a personâa specific humanâstanding before him while remembering the image of him silently licking a bowl in the corner.
Although the big cat had done this countless times, still…
Ning Yunyi silently looked at the ceiling. So, this secret must be kept. I have to pretend I don’t know, otherwise, how will we face each other later?
Ning Yunyi guessed correctly. The afternoon remained calm, but by evening, a sudden wind began to blow, steering the rhythm to mention that [Sect’s First Blade] had hidden his identity to gain fans and suddenly exposed his shifter identity nowâwas it a premeditated plot?
Some people avoided mentioning the two shifter cats due to their young age, but pointed out that the streamer was obviously an adult, so why had he never appeared?
There were even posts specifically questioning what exactly the so-called Ancient Blue Star delicacies inherited by Sect’s First Blade were. Was it just a gimmick? Was it actually a conspiracy by the shifter collective?
However, this last comment was slapped down by Director Gu personally replying: [Heh, why don’t you come and be the Director of this Research Institute? You haven’t listened to a single word I’ve said before, just spouting nonsense here! How many times has this old man said it? They are Extinct Ancient Blue Star Species! If you can’t understand the word ‘Extinct,’ go back to the womb and be reborn!]
The melon-eating netizens watching the drama immediately clicked like. [Director Gu is rising up this time. He wasn’t brought to tears by craving the food, but by anger.]
[Exactly. When it comes to expertise, who can be more professional than Director Gu regarding Ancient Blue Star cuisine?]
[Right? Why are so many people suddenly blackening the streamer? Putting everything else aside, in the field of Ancient Blue Star cuisine, Sect’s First Blade is absolutely the number one person!]
[I just like watching the streamer cook. What difference does it make if the streamer is high-class or low-class? Besides, the streamer only said his two cubs are shifters, he didn’t say he was one, right?]
A storm of blood and rain raged online all night, but Ning Yunyi slept very well. When he got up early in the morning and walked out the door, he saw the big cat lying at the doorway, unsure of how long he had been there.
Seeing him open the door, the cat shook his fur, which had been flattened by sleep, straightened up, and looked up at Ning Yunyi as if asking if he had slept well.
Ning Yunyi’s mood was complex. So, he, the person involved, wasn’t that worried, but the cat was worrying on his behalf.
Ning Yunyi simply crouched down, wanting to reach out and pinch the big cat’s ears, but in the end, he silently retracted his hand. Things were different now than before. If he got touchy-feely and caused a misunderstanding, it wouldn’t just be embarrassing; it would be mortifying.
He brought his hand back to scratch his own chin. “Rare to be up this early. How about I install a cat climbing frame for you and the cub?”
When he was hoarding supplies thinking the apocalypse was coming, he thought he might get lonely and raise a cat or dog, so he had stockpiled not just pet food, but also these small items.
He hadn’t installed it during his short stay on the Garbage Star, nor at the F-District castle. But this was the Ning family home. This small building was their territory now. Even if they moved elsewhere later, they would often come back.
Ning Yunyi was a man of action. After washing up, he took the big cat downstairs to cook a large pot of seafood porridge. While it simmered, he used the excuse of going upstairs to retrieve a large box from the storage room. Inside were various bits and pieces of wood.
Zong Hao looked at these things strangely. He wanted to help but was afraid of being a hindrance, so he just squatted not far away and watched quietly.
Then he saw that the many complex little parts seemed so easy and simple in Ning Yunyi’s eyes. Click, click, click, a burst of assembly, and in less than ten minutes, a multi-level cat climbing frame occupied a wall in the corner of the living room.
Zong Hao looked up, completely shocked. The little kitten, waking up in a daze and seeing this scene, flew down from upstairs. First, he dove into his father’s arms and rolled around, rubbing his fur into a mess until he looked like a black sesame ball that had exploded.
Ning Yunyi couldn’t help but laugh as the tail brushed his neck. He simply used his hand to tickle the little guy, filling the living room with the cub’s cheerful meows.
When Professor Ning and the other two came over, they saw this scene and couldn’t help laughing too. Then they noticed the cat climbing frame and were curious. “This is interesting. Is it for the cub and the others to play on?”
Ning Yunyi replied, “Yes. Usually, if Mother can’t stay still in the front yard, she can come here to play with the cub. I also got some soil. The day before yesterday, I asked Father to set up a separate greenhouse flower room in the back so Mother can plant some flowers to pass the time.”
Mother Ning’s eyes lit up with interest. “Soil? A flower room? Can we really grow flowers? Like the roses and monthly roses in the illustrations of ancient books?”
Mother Ning hadn’t been favored in the palace and her treatment wasn’t great, which had made her nature somewhat quiet. She liked solitude and usually only enjoyed studying ancient books, so she was very interested in these things.
But those were extinct species of the Ancient Blue Star. Although she studied them, she never had the chance to practice.
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thanks for the chapter!
I hope such “ancient blue star” seeds spread eventually so everyone can enjoy them. Maybe by working with the scientists.
thanks for the hard work!