Reincarnated as a Tabby Cat: Daily Life with the School Beauty Empress

Chapter 38 Candlelight Dinner

On the night the freshman arena competition ended, Su Qianxue, for the first time ever, did not cultivate.

She stood in the apartment's dining room, taking the lunchboxes out of the warmer and placing them on the table. The table wasn't big, and it quickly became too full, so she moved a small stool over to extend the tabletop and continued placing the food.

The deep-sea Xuanjia King Crab had legs thicker than Yichen's body. Its shell, steamed with spiritual fire, had a ruby-like texture, and golden crab roe, rich in water elemental energy, constantly seeped from the crevices of its shell.

The Nine-Turned Sea Lobster, its back split open, was topped with a layer of vermicelli made from snow spirit powder imbued with spiritual energy. Boiling hot herbal oil was poured over it, eliciting bursts of sizzling sounds like the roar of a dragon.

Earth core truffle paired with spirit-patterned rhinoceros meat, medium-rare, the cut surface is as beautiful as pink glow, and the fat marbling between the meat is like a naturally formed array of runes.

Void caviar served with spirit wheat pancakes. The jet-black caviar is round and plump, with a star-like luster, and is neatly stacked in a mithril dish.

The charcoal-grilled Flamewing Tiger Spine Meat is thickly sliced, its surface charred and crispy by the earth fire, while the inside retains the freshest, most succulent blood essence, exuding the wild aura of a beast king.

The Golden-Eyed Shrimp, with its body curved into a full moon shape, is almost the same size as Yichen's head. The flavors of garlic and Ganoderma lucidum cream blend perfectly.

Five-color peacock liver with vermilion sauce, pan-fried until golden brown and crispy on both sides, revealing its distinct layers of meat texture like clouds when sliced open.

Steamed silver-scaled grouper, the whole fish exudes a faint starlight, the eyes are as clear as pearls, and the thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum soy sauce is drizzled on just the right amount.

The Earth Spirit Truffle Stewed with Green Corn is made with each grain of corn soaked in the marrow broth of a high-level exotic beast. The truffle slices are as thin as cicada wings, exuding the rich aroma of the earth.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 202ᴋᴋs.ᴄᴏᴍ]

The final dish is the Dragon Empire's signature Sun-Burning Fire Phoenix Chicken, with a golden-red, crispy skin and a hint of the sacred, caramelized aroma unique to chicken roasted by the Samadhi True Fire.

Next to the table stood a three-tiered cream cake, topped with a cat-shaped frosting ornament.

Two boxes of handmade chocolates and a bottle of champagne.

Yichen squatted on the corner of the table, his mouth agape, drool dripping onto the floor tiles.

[What's going on? Su Qianxue is bleeding heavily? Isn't she always so frugal? Last time I ate an extra dried fish, she nagged about it for ages.]

"Don't make that face." Su Qianxue took out two glasses and poured champagne into them, the fine bubbles rising to the surface. "It's all free from the academy, a perk for the freshman champions."

Oh, it's free.

Yichen understood instantly. No wonder he was so generous; he hadn't spent a single penny.

"Here." Su Qianxue picked up her glass and pushed a small saucer containing a small amount of champagne in front of Yichen with her other hand. "Cheers."

Yi Chen pressed his paw against the edge of the plate and leaned over to touch the rim of Su Qianxue's cup. A crisp clinking sound rang out.

Su Qianxue took a sip, and her brows relaxed.

Yichen lowered his head and licked the wine in the dish, the bubbles bursting on his tongue.

Uh, it's a bit strong, but it's okay.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have gained 800 Warmth Points by having dinner with your master!]

【Eight hundred? Not bad.】 Yi Chen's ears perked up, and his mind started racing.

Eight hundred is already quite a lot. But it's not enough. He expended too much energy in the last arena battle, and the next evolution requires fifty thousand warmth points. His current reserves—he glanced at the system panel and saw a pitiful few thousand points.

We need to figure out a way to squeeze every last drop of value out of this meal.

He jumped off the table and ran towards the living room cabinet. He remembered that when Su Qianxue tidied up the room on the first day she moved in, there was a box of candles on the second shelf of the cabinet, an emergency supply provided by the academy.

found it.

The box contains six long white candles, along with a copper candlestick.

The problem is that I don't have hands.

Yichen picked up the candlestick, barely holding the candle with his two front paws, and staggered back to the restaurant.

The candle fell halfway through the run, so it went back to pick it up and ran again.

That's the downside of being a cat—you don't have hands. You have to eat everything with your mouth.

He placed the candles and candlesticks on the table in front of Su Qianxue, then sat up straight, raised his paw, pointed at the candles, and then at the dishes on the table.

Su Qianxue was chewing on a shrimp leg when she looked down at him, not quite understanding what was happening.

Yichen pointed it out again.

"You want to eat a candle?"

Yichen almost fell over.

Eating candles?? Do I look like such a tasteless cat??

He was so anxious that he kept stamping his paws, gesturing with his two front paws, first pointing to the candle, then making a lighting motion, and finally making a circle with his two paws, pointing to the whole table.

Su Qianxue froze for two seconds, her chopsticks hanging in mid-air.

"You mean—a candlelight dinner?"

"Meow!" Yichen nodded frantically, his tail swishing like a propeller.

Su Qianxue's lips twitched as she watched him jump around in a panic.

"Your cat is practically a spirit."

She put down her chopsticks, got up, and turned off the dining room lights. Then she found a lighter in the kitchen, stuck the candle in the candlestick, and lit it.

The candlelight flickered twice before settling down. The warm yellow light spread out, illuminating the dishes on the table and the faces of a person and a cat.

Outside the window is the night view of the capital city, with the lights of the high-rise buildings densely packed together, like stars brought to the ground. The candle flame flickers slightly in the airflow, casting a swaying shadow on the ceiling.

Su Qianxue sat down again, propping her elbows on the edge of the table and resting her chin on her hand as she looked at the small flame. The candlelight reflected in her pupils, making her usually cool eyes appear exceptionally gentle.

pretty good.

She hadn't relaxed like this in a long time. The memories of her past life were too heavy; after being reborn, every day was filled with calculation, chasing, and vigilance.

Tonight, let's just be an ordinary, happy 18-year-old girl who just won a game.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have unlocked a new scene with your master: Candlelight Dinner! You have gained 8000 Warmth Points!]

Yi Chen's pupils suddenly dilated.

[Eight, eight thousand??]

His whole cat was numb.

[My god, eight thousand! I only got eight hundred for dinner, and adding a candle multiplied it tenfold? This system is really something else, is it calculated based on a romance index?]

[If I scattered rose petals all over the ground, would it reach 80,000? No, no, that's too much, Su Qianxue would beat me with a broom.]

[Eight thousand! Adding to the previous eight hundred, tonight's meal netted me eight thousand eight! The next evolution requires fifty thousand warmth points, and this is only—well—still forty thousand short. The revolution is not yet complete, but we can already see the dawn!]

Yichen was in a great mood and pounced on the king crab legs on the table, starting to eat them like crazy.

The crab meat was sweet and melted in his mouth. The Australian lobster was springy and the garlic sauce was so delicious it made him want to roll around. As for the Wagyu beef, it was so tender it melted on his tongue without needing to be chewed.

Caviar is a delicacy; each roe bursts in your mouth, filling your entire oral cavity with a salty and savory flavor. He buried his head in the dish, licking it clean.

The silver-scaled grouper's flesh was excessively tender; he ate large chunks in one bite, his face covered in soy sauce.

"Slow down." Su Qianxue used a napkin to wipe the sauce off his face. "Nobody's going to take it from you."

Yichen gave a muffled meow and continued to eat with his head down.

He practically shoved his face into the plate of the braised corn with truffles, shoveling it into his mouth with his tongue. He didn't miss the chocolate either, picking up one piece and then another, his eyes practically squinting from the sweetness.

Half an hour later, the table was a complete mess.

Yichen lay on the carpet with his four paws in the air, his round belly facing up, his paws outstretched, completely still.

Su Qianxue leaned against the sofa, rubbing her stomach; she had also eaten too much today.

"That's strange." She looked down at Yichen's bulging belly. "You're only the size of a palm, yet you eat more than me. Is there some kind of alternate dimension inside your belly?"

"Meow." Yichen rolled over, unable to say anything.

All he knew was that his appetite had increased significantly after evolving, but his body hadn't gained much weight. Where did the food go? It was probably secretly digested into energy by the system.

Who cares, being able to eat is a blessing.

After finishing the feast, Su Qianxue tidied the table and cleared away the leftovers. Then she opened the French doors to the balcony.

A night breeze swept in, carrying the crispness unique to the capital city in autumn.

There are two reclining chairs on the balcony, which are actually old-fashioned rocking chairs provided by the college. They are made of wood and have soft cushions.

Su Qianxue sat down in a chair, leaned back, and stretched her legs out over the balcony railing.

Yi Chen jumped onto Su Qianxue's black-stockinged thighs.

The starry sky overhead was bright. Although the capital was a large city, the academy area had a high concentration of spiritual energy, clear air, the Milky Way stretching across the sky, and countless tiny starlight scattered across the heavens.

In the distance, the lights of countless homes in the capital city blend seamlessly with the starry sky, making it impossible to distinguish which are stars and which are windows.

The rocking chair creaked and groaned, its rhythm very slow.

Su Qianxue didn't say anything, she just looked at the sky.

Yichen didn't say anything either; he couldn't say anything.

But this quietness is very comfortable.

After a long silence, Su Qianxue spoke softly, "We won today."

"Meow."

"But this is just the beginning."

"Meow."

"The road ahead is still long."

"Meow."

Su Qianxue looked at the tabby cat, its emerald green eyes half-closed, sparkling in the starlight, its tail swaying idly.

He seems to not care about anything.