Chapter 8
Fu Xin had no time to think. On the screen, she was about to open the refrigerator and gorge herself in the very next second.
She extended a paw and kicked Yu Chen’s phone out of her hand.
The phone crashed to the floor, leaving several cracks across its screen and forcibly pausing the video.
Seeing that she had successfully prevented the reenactment of her crime, Fu Xin seized the opportunity to jump out of the human’s arms. She ran over to the little spherical machine and began viciously pummeling the pet-tracking camera with her paws.
Yu Chen did not understand why her cat had suddenly gone mad, but she clearly understood the kitten’s pure hatred for the camera.
She did not dare stop her. She only dared to pick up her phone and secretly post a question online.
[Why is my well-behaved cat beating up the camera?]
1F: Just how powerful is your rose-colored filter? Your kitten is furiously punching the camera, yet she’s still a “well-behaved cat” in your eyes?
2F: My cat doesn’t just attack the camera. Even the robot vacuum gets slapped whenever it passes by.
3F: Whenever I point my phone at my cat to take a video, it attacks my phone too.
Yu Chen silently agreed. Her kitten had also attacked her phone. Fortunately, only the screen had cracked, and it still worked.
She exited the forum and opened the video again. After lowering the volume to its minimum setting, she glanced at the kitten busily kicking the camera and tapped the play button.
On the screen, the kitten poked her head out of the bedroom before making her way toward the refrigerator…
“Bang—”
The phone crashed to the floor again. This time, it was not so fortunate. The already shattered and precariously intact screen instantly went black.
Yu Chen could not believe what she had just seen. How could a kitten transform into a human with a tail and wings?
It had to be a hallucination!
The sound also caught Fu Xin’s attention. She turned toward Yu Chen and found an unmistakably alarmed expression on her face.
Yu Chen did not notice the kitten watching her.
She hurried back to her bedroom and logged into her account on the computer. Fu Xin followed her inside.
When Fu Xin saw the familiar image of the living room appear once more on the screen in front of the human, her vision went dark with despair. Why was it happening again?
Had all her efforts just now been for nothing?
Fu Xin had no choice but to draw upon the precious magic inside her body. A wisp of pale violet energy drifted from her and flew into Yu Chen’s eyes.
Aside from the charm magic she had never learned, Fu Xin was highly proficient in both illusions and ocular arts. The former could create false realities, while the latter could control another person.
Yu Chen stared solemnly at the computer screen. To determine whether she had hallucinated, she opened the same video again.
The recordings stored by the pet-tracking camera were dated. This particular one came from the second day after she brought the kitten home. She clearly remembered experiencing another hallucination that day when the kitten wrapped its tail around her arm.
The fluffy tail had transformed into a long, slender tail with a heart-shaped tip, exactly like the one she had just seen in the recording!
Alarmed, Yu Chen continued watching.
She remained completely unaware that a faint violet haze now covered her pupils.
The video played normally, but the images reflected in Yu Chen’s eyes had changed.
On the screen,
Fu Xin had already returned to her original form and was standing in front of the refrigerator, selecting food to eat.
But what Yu Chen saw was the kitten wandering boredly around the living room before returning to the bedroom to sleep.
Once the video ended, Yu Chen breathed a sigh of relief.
She thought to herself: So it really was only a hallucination.
As expected, a kitten was simply a kitten. It could not transform into a human.
The following day,
Yu Chen made an appointment with the psychiatry department at the hospital.
She spoke honestly to the doctor. “I’ve been having hallucinations.”
The doctor appeared unsurprised and nodded for her to continue.
The astonishing glimpse from yesterday’s hallucination flashed through Yu Chen’s mind. Even now, remembering it still made her heart flutter.
“I saw my kitten transform into a beautiful human with wings and a tail.”
The doctor asked with rigorous seriousness, “Can something with wings and a tail still be called human?”
Yu Chen looked at the doctor who had interrupted her.
“Sorry. Please continue,” the doctor said.
“Later, I opened the recording and watched it again. Everything was normal that time.” Yu Chen poured out every strange occurrence she had experienced over the past few days. “The doors and windows at home were clearly shut, but the cat still managed to sneak outside.”
“Go to the neurology department and have a CT scan of your brain first. I can’t prescribe medication until we’ve reviewed the diagnosis.”
In the end, Yu Chen returned home from the hospital empty-handed.
Fu Xin was watching television at home.
When she heard movement at the entrance, she merely cast a lazy glance in that direction before quickly returning her attention to the screen.
Yu Chen entered from the foyer and joined the kitten on the sofa to watch a televised gala. The cat she had rescued was extremely intelligent. It had learned how to switch on the television and change channels after only one evening.
The kitten stared unblinkingly at the humans singing and dancing on the screen. The audience below grew increasingly excited, calling out their affection for the performers onstage.
Fu Xin studied every frame.
Was this how they earned everyone’s affection?
Yu Chen could not understand why a kitten would enjoy watching human programs, much less watch them with such fascination that she did not even react when Yu Chen stroked her head.
Yu Chen reclined in the corner of the sofa. The human voices from the program slowly receded like a retreating tide as wave after wave of drowsiness swept over her. She had been preoccupied with too many things the previous night and naturally had not rested well.
Her eyelids gradually closed. Before even one song had finished, she fell asleep. The lively applause from the television died away as the next segment began.
The sofa dipped beneath her in one corner. Gentle sunlight spilled across her legs, bringing considerable warmth.
In the living room,
aside from the flowing piano music from the program, only Yu Chen’s quiet breathing remained.
Fu Xin wondered why the human had suddenly fallen silent. When she turned around, she found herself facing Yu Chen’s peaceful sleeping face.
She watched and waited through one breath after another. Once she was certain the woman had truly fallen asleep, she instantly returned to her succubus form.
The piano solo on television had already been replaced by another performance. A young celebrity sang and danced for the camera. When it turned toward the audience, the performer received a flood of cheers and applause.
In her succubus form, Fu Xin studied the screen intently and could not help dancing along with the music.
She thought: If I learn this, can I earn the affection of as many people as she does?
One grand performance like this might allow her to accumulate enough magic to return home.
The dance was simple. After watching it once, she could already perform most of it. Her movements grew increasingly practiced until she was almost perfectly synchronized with the performer on the screen.
The sunlight gradually climbed from Yu Chen’s legs to her eyes. Perhaps the glare disturbed her, because her long eyelashes trembled and her eyes slowly opened.
Was this a dream or another hallucination?
She saw that familiar figure again.
Yu Chen pinched the back of her hand hard, and pain instantly spread through it. She was not dreaming. This was real!
Then it had to be a hallucination.
She really should have argued her case and insisted that the doctor prescribe her medication. She had only just returned from the hospital, yet another hallucination had already appeared before her.
Although she knew it was a hallucination, Yu Chen could not bear to close her eyes. She stared at the figure’s back in a trance, utterly captivated. The tail and wings were so familiar.
Tired from dancing, Fu Xin turned around and met Yu Chen’s slightly opened eyes.
When had she awakened? Why hadn’t she made any sound?
Fu Xin stood frozen in place, uncertain whether she should transform back into a kitten.
Yu Chen could no longer distinguish reality from illusion.
Only when the figure turned around did she notice the pair of pointed little horns that had just begun sprouting from the woman’s forehead. The small black horns were covered in rings of natural markings.
Yu Chen suddenly wanted to touch them and discover what they felt like.
Before her body could act, the other woman approached her of her own accord.
Her features were ravishing, far surpassing those of an ordinary mortal. Every part of her was perfectly formed, neither too much nor too little.
Once their gazes met, it became nearly impossible to look away. Every movement, every frown, and every smile drew Yu Chen’s complete attention, and from that moment onward, her entire heart beat solely for her.
Fu Xin effortlessly stole her heart.
“You…”
Fu Xin repeated with a smile, “What about me?”
As she spoke, she moved even closer. Her hair brushed across the tip of Yu Chen’s nose, carrying a fragrant breeze with it.
Yu Chen inhaled carefully and thought she detected the scent of the little black cat’s bathing products.
Before she could savor it, the woman opposite her placed one knee on the sofa and leaned closer.
Yu Chen’s mind instantly stopped working.
The next moment,
she lost consciousness entirely and collapsed limply against the sofa.
The violet light in Fu Xin’s eyes receded. She rested her head on Yu Chen’s legs and sighed heavily.
Before she could even find a way to perform in front of everyone and earn their affection points, her master had seen her first. Now she had to expend more of her already scarce magic to erase Yu Chen’s memories.
The setting sun melted into gold, and the evening clouds became brilliant brocade.
Yu Chen remembered only that she had experienced a beautiful dream. As for what she had dreamed about, she could no longer recall.
Just as she was about to sit up, the fluffy ball curled against her legs also stirred, spreading its paws and stretching lazily.
Yu Chen stared at the kitten, feeling as though she had forgotten something.
“Meow~”
Yu Chen’s stare made Fu Xin’s fur stand on end. Surely she had not lacked enough magic to erase the memory completely! There was barely any magic left in her body.
Fortunately, Yu Chen soon looked away.
She had slept for too long that afternoon, leaving her head foggy when she woke. She went into the bathroom and used the hot steam to awaken her dazed mind.
After showering, she felt considerably more alert.
The television in the living room was still on, chattering noisily without end. The kitten remained curled up on the sofa, watching with such intense fascination that she did not even notice Yu Chen emerging.
Yu Chen could not understand it. Could the kitten genuinely comprehend what she was watching?
She could not help walking over. The ends of her hair were still dripping, and she had only wiped them carelessly with a towel.
Fu Xin was planning her next escape. This time, she would transform into a human and run to the center of the busiest public square.
Over the course of the afternoon, she had learned several dances from the humans on the screen, deliberately selecting the performances that received the most applause.
She was brimming with confidence. This time, she would definitely earn a massive wave of affection points.
Before she could begin imagining the flowers and adoration she would receive, she suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air.
“You’ve watched television all day. Get up and exercise.” Yu Chen raised the remote control and switched off the television. “What if watching too much television makes you a nearsighted kitten?”
She carried the kitten into the courtyard.
The remaining glow of sunset spilled across the ivy leaves in one corner of the courtyard, outlining their veins in gold. When the evening breeze passed, the “gold foil” across the leaves rustled softly.
Yu Chen put the kitten down and waved a feather wand in front of her.
As she moved it, she asked in confusion, “Why aren’t you pouncing on it?”
Fu Xin had exercised throughout the afternoon and genuinely lacked the energy to play games with this human. She simply found a spot touched by the setting sun and lay down.
Ignoring the feather wand that continued twitching above her head, she closed her eyes and prepared to sleep.
A golden halo settled over her black fur. It was quite warm.
Yu Chen immediately threw down the feather wand. “You can’t sleep out here!”
She carried the kitten back inside in precisely the same way she had brought her out.
Along the way, Fu Xin opened her eyes into narrow slits. A droplet of water happened to fall from the tips of Yu Chen’s hair and landed directly in her eye.
The violet in its depths, so faint it had been nearly imperceptible, instantly darkened.
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