Chapter 7: Forced to Wander — “He’s a fool, stay away from his kind…”
“What the hell are you!?” Lu Xunye threw off the blanket, nearly tripping over.
Xiao Ai arched its back from the discarded blanket, leaped up, and landed deftly on the floor, proudly showing off: “New form. Good looking, right?~”
Hearing that its voice had also changed to that of a mischievous young boy, Lu Xunye twitched his facial muscles and gave an expressionless smile: “Heh.”
Xiao Ai jumped to his side, but Lu Xunye deftly dodged as the fluffy ball approached.
He stepped back one by one, swallowing nervously: “I’m telling you, don’t come over!”
“Meow—” Xiao Ai got a mischievous idea, ran a few steps to build momentum, and pounced on him.
Lu Xunye instinctively blocked with his hand, grabbing a handful of soft cat fur.
The next second, he couldn’t help but let out a thunderous sneeze right in the cat’s face.
Xiao Ai, now covered in saliva, struggled to jump out of his hand.
Lu Xunye sneezed over a dozen times in a row: “I told you… Achoo—don’t get so close to me, Achoo—”
He only managed to stop when his eyes were swollen and itchy.
Xiao Ai was confused: “I’m an electronic kitty!”
Lu Xunye didn’t hold back either: “I’m simply allergic to you. Stay away from me.”
“Hmph!” Xiao Ai flicked its tail and walked away.
“Get back here!” Lu Xunye recalled its nonsensical words just now and asked, “What happened last night?”
After a long while, Lu Xunye cursed: “F*ck! Did he not leave when I told him to?”
“It’s over.”
If he put himself in the other’s shoes, meeting someone moody who frequently acted crazy, he would stay away too. That person is either sick or a fool!
Lu Xunye asked weakly: “Was he very angry when he finally left?”
“Angry!” Xiao Ai nodded. “But I don’t know what happened after that, because when the Host fell unconscious, my connection was forcibly cut off too.”
Lu Xunye glanced at the time and opened the closed bedroom door. Before his hand even let go of the handle, he came face-to-face with the young man opening the door opposite.
He greeted him: “Good mor…”
Shen Yunqian only swept a glance at him, then closed his door and left, showing no intention of acknowledging him.
“Okay.” Lu Xunye slowly lowered his hand. “…”
Watching from afar as the person entered the elevator and the indicator light went down, Lu Xunye clicked his tongue: “Tsk, what kind of person is that?”
Xiao Ai poked its cat head out from the crack in the door: “Didn’t you curse at him first?”
“Damn, are you sick!”
Lu Xunye immediately let go of the door handle, jumped out from the crack, leaned against the corridor wall, and looked down at the Munchkin cat on the floor: “Sneaking around, are you trying to get me killed?!”
Xiao Ai looked at him with watery, big eyes and meowed.
Lu Xunye huffed, looking at the long-closed elevator doors. Thinking of something, he looked down at the kitty and curled his lips slightly, revealing a malicious look.
Xiao Ai shivered: “Host, what, what do you want to do?” The next second, it was covered by a jacket and abducted.
Evening, downstairs flowerbed.
Wearing a mask and disposable gloves, Lu Xunye squatted by the bricks of the flowerbed, scooped up some dirt, and threw it over the snow-white cat’s head.
Xiao Ai was about to shake its head when he stopped it: “Don’t move!”
Afterward, Lu Xunye clapped his hands, looking with satisfaction at the dusty gray cat: “From today on, you are a stray cat.”
“!!!” Xiao Ai let out a heart-wrenching meow: “Host, do you not want me anymore? I can change back!”
“Don’t change back!” Lu Xunye, afraid it would change back, grabbed the scruff of its neck. “I want you to do something for me.”
“From now on, you are Shen Yunqian’s cat. Find a way to make him take you home. Got it?”
Xiao Ai: “That’s not good, is it?”
“Don’t speak human language in front of him.” Lu Xunye looked around. “Shh.”
“Host, rest assured, only you can understand what I say. To others, it’s just…”
Just then, a mother and son walked by behind them. The child pointed at Lu Xunye, his admiration overflowing: “Mom, look! This older brother is talking to the kitty! So cool!”
The woman patted the child’s back, urging him to walk faster: “That’s a fool, his brain isn’t right. If you see this kind of person in the future, stay away from him, understand?”
“Understood, Mom.”
As the two walked away, Lu Xunye looked back at Xiao Ai: “Great, you don’t need to continue. I’ve become a fool. ‘To others, it’s just’ looking at a fool, is that it?”
Xiao Ai: “…”
Lu Xunye lifted it out of the flowerbed and placed it on the road, his tone dangerous.
“Later, when he comes back, jump out. I don’t care what method you use, cling to him and go home with him.”
Xiao Ai was sad: “Wuwuwu~”
Lu Xunye ruthlessly pointed at its nose to interrupt its casting: “Hold it in.”
“…” Xiao Ai looked up and turned away. “Hmph.”
Lu Xunye took off the disposable rubber gloves and threw them into the nearby trash can. rubbing his chin while looking at the kitten, feeling something was off.
Then he realized: “Tsk, too fat. Doesn’t look like a stray at all.”
…
The sky darkened. Having gone through the rush of getting off work and school, the people entertaining their children around the recreational facilities had slowly dispersed, and those walking their dogs on the surrounding roads had also gone upstairs.
The bright white and orange-yellow lights in the surrounding buildings went out window by window, tree shadows swaying.
A thunderclap tore through the sky, the dark canopy momentarily brightening.
Even from inside the room, one could hear the howling of the wind.
Looks like it’s going to rain.
Lu Xunye used his index finger to hook open a crack in the curtain. Looking down from the third floor, only the streetlights were still working diligently.
There wasn’t a soul downstairs. The Munchkin cat was curled up under the streetlight, its long fur messed up by the wind.
The dim, short-circuiting light flickered on its body, looking truly miserable.
Just then, another bolt of lightning arrived.
Lu Xunye was at a loss for words: “Idiot, not afraid of being struck to death?”
Whose cat runs under a streetlight to lie down when it’s about to rain? Could you be any more obvious?
Sighing, he grabbed the last umbrella in the house and went downstairs. Just as he stepped out from the eaves, the rain came pouring down, smashing onto the dry concrete ground like firecrackers.
Lu Xunye opened the umbrella, walked quickly to the streetlight, and silently moved the umbrella forward: “I know you have nine lives, but can you use your brain a little?”
After pausing for two seconds with no movement, Lu Xunye found it a bit strange and nudged it with his foot: “Hey, leaking electricity?”
Still no movement. Lu Xunye was alarmed. Could it really be leaking electricity? What to do then?
He squatted down, looking at the cat with wet fur, lowered his voice, and probed eerily: “Love-Brain System, due to performance errors, performance record cleared to zero.”
“Holy sh*t!” The long-haired cat instantly revived, jumped up fiercely, hugged Lu Xunye’s leg with its eyes closed, and wailed, “No, Boss! This System has always been diligent and conscientious, never slacking off in the slightest.”
“It’s all this Host’s problem! You don’t know, he’s not only sharp-tongued but also bad! He even made me go…”
It rattled on endlessly with its complaints, all speaking ill of Lu Xunye.
One second he was surprised—a blind cat meets a dead mouse, this trick really worked!
But the next second, the person involved, Lu Xunye, had a face dark enough to drip ink.
He smiled without smiling, pretending to comfort: “It’s okay, won’t deduct. It’s definitely not your fault. Since the Host isn’t good, how about we change him for you?”
As soon as the words fell, the long-haired cat froze. “Eh?!!”
Then it hugged tighter, sobbing dramatically twice. “You are so good.”
It slowly retracted its front claws, taking the opportunity to shake its body to fling off the water droplets.
Opening its eyes, it saw the ground wet from the rain. The cold air above its head was so dense it could almost materialize. Instantly, all its fur stood on end.
“Achoo—”
Hearing the noise above, Xiao Ai stiffly raised its head.
Lu Xunye, with water droplets hanging all over his face, was staring straight at it. No need to guess, he knew who flung them on him.
Xiao Ai: “…”
Lu Xunye’s eyes curved slightly, the emotions in his eyes complex, but the killing intent was very obvious.
Xiao Ai only felt cold all over, a bad premonition welling up in its heart.
Sure enough, Lu Xunye repeated its words very softly: “I’m sharp-tongued… and also bad.”
After speaking, he even put on a reflective look: “Hiss, I didn’t know I was so bad. You’ve really suffered.”
“How could that be! Not suffered! Not suffered!”
Xiao Ai flattered, “You are the best Host in the world. You are suave, dashing, intelligent, and your character is top-notch.”
“Meeting you is the luckiest thing since I gained consciousness.”
It wanted to pounce and act cute to beg for forgiveness. Its claws were already halfway in the air, but after meeting Lu Xunye’s eyes, it resentfully put them down.
Undeniably, it did go back to the System Bureau to file a complaint against Lu Xunye, just to change hosts.
But it was ruthlessly rejected, told not to even think about it, or else face scrap processing.
However, it was given a physical host body after all, although it didn’t look majestic at all, simply damaging its wise and mighty image.
Fine, fine, having something is better than nothing. Only a fool wouldn’t take advantage of a freebie!
Xiao Ai whimpered: “Host~”
The affected voice made Lu Xunye extremely uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and interrupted impatiently: “I’m asking you, where is Shen Yunqian right now?”
Xiao Ai was so guilty it didn’t dare look at him: “Currently, permissions are only open to query location information within a five-kilometer radius.”
Lu Xunye’s face darkened: “I’m only asking you if he is in danger? What about the random mission? Why hasn’t it been released yet?”
With a flash of inspiration, Xiao Ai suddenly looked up: “Points can be exchanged for scenario items or clues. Simple clues only cost two thousand points. Does the Host want to exchange?”
Lu Xunye fell silent.
Should he exchange?
What if Shen Yunqian isn’t in danger, and he’s just overthinking…
Is wasting points worth it?
After all, points are tied to his life, and missions aren’t available just anywhere or anytime.
But if it’s like last time… to exchange or not to exchange…
Xiao Ai comforted him: “As long as points reach twenty thousand, this System can upgrade. After opening partial permissions, I can help the Host.”
It started to feel sentimental: “Xiao Ai suddenly feels so useless, can’t help at all, unlike other systems that can provide golden fingers to their hosts.”
Lu Xunye looked at it without a word, his expression seeming to say: You just realized that?
Thoughts aside, he didn’t ruin the mood by retorting, only asking one question: “Does opening permissions deduct points?”
Xiao Ai’s sentimentality came to an abrupt halt. It hesitated: “What if it does?”
Lu Xunye gave a fake smile, saying in the gentlest voice possible: “Go die.”
The long-haired cat shivered instantly: “Won’t deduct, won’t deduct, definitely won’t deduct!”
Sigh, the thought of embezzling points died prematurely. Xiao Ai scratched its ears and cheeks, unable to figure it out.
Why are other systems and hosts loving and affectionate, while its host is so ferocious?
Raindrops kept smashing into its fur from above. Xiao Ai looked up to see no one in front of it. He must have gone to look for the person, but without clues, how could he find him?
It hid under the eaves, and a black shadow moved beside it.
“Meow—”.
A wary, attack-mode cat cry drilled into its ears. Xiao Ai turned its head to see a tabby cat raising sharp claws to swipe at it.
It dodged, adjusted its species language, and chuckled: “Brother, let’s talk this out.”
The tabby cat fiercely pounced on this uninvited cat that had intruded into its territory, biting hard and letting out a sharp screech: “Meow—”
…
Lu Xunye, who according to the system should have gone out to look for the person, was sitting steadily at home.
His fingers kept refreshing the Alipay friends page. Clicking it open showed an avatar of a chibi bear holding a bouquet of plantain lilies.
Repeatedly clicking open and returning, indicating the unrest in his heart.
The raging raindrops beat against the window.
In this quiet environment with only the sounds of nature, the click of the wall clock’s hour hand pointing to 11 sounded particularly clear.
Lu Xunye couldn’t sit still anymore. He grabbed the umbrella, walked to the door, then turned back to grab a jacket and put it in a waterproof shoulder bag before going out.
He should have asked where Shen Yunqian was now, but what blurted out was: “Exchange it for me. I want to know the places Shen Yunqian frequently goes.”
Not only is it useful this time, but it might also be useful in the future. Consider it a worthy “death” for the points.
In a small corner, Xiao Ai, battered and crackling with electric currents, looked up and saw Lu Xunye, instantly losing its composure.
“Wuwuwu ahhhh wuwuwu… I don’t want to pretend to be a cat anymore, so fierce.”
…
Inside the taxi, the driver uncle looked at Lu Xunye through the rearview mirror and confirmed again.
“Young man, are you really going to the Shen family old mansion on Qianfu Road? That place…”
At this moment, lightning flashed across the sky, the rumbling noise drowning out the man’s words, briefly illuminating the middle-aged man’s cloudy eyes and his haggard face filled with timidity and regret.
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