A Young Woman's Heart

Meow meow meow...

Oh well, it seems like I won't care anymore once it gets dirty.

Of course, you should still be careful not to get your body dirty. If your paws get dirty, you can just wipe them clean, right?

With that thought in mind, I ran quickly toward my destination.

As they got closer to there, the call in their hearts became clearer and clearer.

I quickly climbed several floors, opened the half-closed window, and jumped inside.

“Mr. Crispy Candy, is that you?” Nancy’s soft voice came from the elegant leather suitcase.

I couldn't help but wipe the drool from the corner of my mouth, jumped down from the window, and carefully wiped my paws with a dry rag on the ground. Only after making sure they were clean did I jump onto the table.

"Miss Nancy, are you able to get out, meow?"

"I'm locked inside and can't get out by myself."

"Um... how do I open this box?"

"Just open the clasp, and I can push the lid up from the inside."

"Okay, leave it to me!" I jumped confidently onto the shelf and studied the box for a long time.

"Can you open it?" Nancy's voice was a little urgent. "Mr. Sugar, I only have half an hour left."

"Oh! Wait, I think I understand!" I finally found the mechanism, and with my claws, I pried it open and unlocked the box.

Then Miss Nancy struggled to push the box open and climbed out.

She looked at me with a smile in her ruby-like eyes: "Thank you, Mr. Sugar."

"Only half an hour left? Let's walk around the neighborhood for a bit!" I excitedly lay down. "Come on up~ The rain just stopped outside, the air is a bit humid, but it smells really nice!"

Why does it smell good?

"Uh... maybe it's because of the fragrance of soil and flowers?"

"Mr. Sugar, do you know why flowers have a fragrance?" Nancy nestled against my neck, her long hair gently brushing against my cheek, making my nose feel a little itchy.

"Huh? I don't know, after all, I'm just a cat."

As I spoke, I led Nancy to the window. The wind had parted the clouds a bit more, and we could see the starry sky and the bright moon.

"Mr. Crispy Candy, the starry sky is so beautiful."

"Now they belong to us."

"No, such a beautiful starry sky should belong to everything." Nancy tugged at my cat's fur. "Don't be so selfish, Mr. Sugar~"

"Oh, I just wanted to say something romantic, meow! I learned it from a TV drama."

"TV drama?"

"Yes, it's something that plays in a square box called a television set. Because the plot is continuous and very long, it's called a TV series—that's the name humans gave them."

"Mr. Crispy Sugar understands human language, how clever!"

"Ahem, of course!" I proudly raised my head. "I'm a cat genius! Back in the village, I was the most handsome cat for miles around! Everyone praised me for being smart!"

"Pfft, hee hee." Miss Nancy was amused. She gently rubbed my head with her little hands and then buried her whole face in my fur. "Mr. Sugar's fur is as soft as a sofa."

"It's so much more comfortable to hug than on the sofa, meow!" I'm quite confident in my fur.

Today I'm driving Nancy to a party.

Along the way, all the underlings I had subdued in this territory followed me closely, step by step.

The group gradually grew, until there were about thirty cats walking on the wall, which was quite impressive.

"Wow, Mr. Crispy Candy...you have so many cat minions?"

"Of course! I'm the boss of this area! Any cat around here with even a little bit of inside information has to call me 'Brother Crispy Candy' when they see me!"

As I spoke, I jumped into the bamboo grove in the park and leaped onto the marble table.

Before long, the other two cats who had made the appointment arrived.

One of them was sitting on the back of a big black dog, which was ten times my size, or even bigger...

When it stands up, it's about as tall as Haruka's owner, right?

No, I can't show weakness in front of my little brother!

I took a step forward and said condescendingly, "Miss Milk Candy, you've finally arrived, meow."

"Woof!" The big black dog stood up straight, and the yellow and white cat climbed onto its head, reaching level with me standing on the table.

As expected of the princess among cats, even with only one bodyguard, she exudes an aura of power...

It probably views us cats the same way we view mice, right?

The other cat, this one is pure black.

He went to the meeting alone.

—Not counting that rat that had no fighting ability at all.

But don't underestimate it. It's the most skilled cat in the area when it comes to fighting. Even I can't say I could beat it in a one-on-one fight!

Its name is Cookie, and the purplish-gray mouse next to it is Coffee.

They were inseparable, as if they had developed a love that transcended species.

However, as far as I know, they both seem to be male, right?

Cookie leaped onto the table and claimed a spot for herself.

My underlings stayed obediently below, and now the three forces are basically evenly matched.

"You must be Cookie, the chivalrous knight who single-handedly stormed into the Yellow Cat Society's territory and escaped unscathed!" I asked, twitching my beard.

"It is indeed I," Cookie replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

That feat was known to all the local cats.

The Yellow Cat Gang controlled a street and had more than twenty cats under its command, yet none of them could defeat it. Moreover, it was said that the reason they stormed into the Yellow Cat Gang was because they stole the mouse from Cookie's back.

"So what's the matter with this gathering?" Miss Milk Candy yawned lazily, her alluring figure making me swallow hard. No, Nancy's here, I can't look at other female cats. "Does Brother Crispy Candy have something he can't handle? Or is he trying to expand his territory again? Since you drove away the Yellow Cat Gang last month, you've already taken over three streets. You haven't brought all your underlings this time, have you?"

"Hmm..." My gaze couldn't help but fall on Miss Milk Candy's belly. A young female cat, who had never been pregnant before...

I suddenly felt Miss Nancy pinch my ear, and I immediately perked up, adopting the air of a boss: "You two are a famous swordsman and the daughter of a local tycoon, while I am a king full of charisma. I wonder if you two are interested in building a cat empire with me? Just imagine how wonderful it would feel to have the whole city under our control?"

“I’m not interested in that kind of thing,” Cookie immediately refused.

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Milk Candy stretched out its arms, making me want to lick its ears.

"Of course we're related. We'll work together to achieve this goal, build a great empire, and then you'll be the heroes, enjoying the privilege of being second only to one cat and above all others. If anything happens, you'll have many conveniences. And... we can control the most suitable place to live as a base. Cookie, you no longer need to worry about cats targeting your sweetheart, and Miss Milk Candy won't have to worry about being harassed by gangster cats when she goes out."

"Sounds...not bad?"

"That's an interesting thing~ Well then, if you need it, I'll lend you the Black Emperor, that should be enough, right?"

Hearing what Naitang said, I perked up: "Of course!"

……

Chapter 147 The New Library

On March 13th, the sun appeared and disappeared in the sky, and soft white clouds covered most of the sky, like a whole ball of cotton candy that had expanded.

Mo Xueyao rested her chin on her hand and looked out the window—she was currently sitting in An Ruosu's seat, with Li Wanyan next to her, who was holding a book and reviewing.

But there's no need to worry about An Ruosu not having a seat, because he's currently running nimbly on the playground.

His stamina seemed inexhaustible. As long as the weather was right, he could be seen on the playground every morning. Running ten laps of the 400-meter track seemed like just a warm-up exercise to him.

Even though it's just a slow jog, Mo Xueyao would probably feel a bit tired even if she walked four kilometers.

With such great stamina, she might even be able to participate in a marathon...

As she muttered to herself, she saw Li Hongran carrying a basketball and walking to the edge of the playground.

He casually tossed his backpack onto a bench outside the basketball court's wire fence and waved to An Ruosu, who was jogging, calling out, "Susu, wanna play basketball?"

Hearing this somewhat feminine nickname, Mo Xueyao couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud.

This wasn't actually a nickname given to him by the boys; it was first given to him by the girls.

It seemed to be a lingering effect of the last New Year's Day cultural performance, plus the fact that his name contained a somewhat feminine character, so everything just happened naturally.

If I remember correctly, the first person to persecute him was Hua Yinyin.

I remember it was when we were collecting homework that I shouted loudly, "Susu, hand in your Chinese homework!" The whole class heard it, and then the girls started calling him that in a joking way. The boys started to follow the girls' lead and call him that too. Over time, it became his exclusive nickname, and even I, who was initially a little resistant, got used to it.

An Ruosu, who was jogging, slowly stopped and walked to Li Hongran's side: "Hmm, just the two of us?"

"No one else has arrived yet, it's okay, let's keep playing. Other classes might arrive later." Li Hongran tossed the basketball to An Ruosu. "Come on, let's go to that small court!"

A small basketball court is the kind of court with only one basketball hoop, which is enough if only two or three people are playing.

An Ruosu is more than ten centimeters shorter than Li Hongran, and looks noticeably shorter, but in reality he is not short at all. When he stands next to Mo Xueyao, he is more than half a head taller.

Mo Xueyao stood up and leaned against the window, watching the two play basketball.

Li Hongran clearly preferred direct jumping dunks, always throwing herself onto the basketball hoop, making the entire hoop shake loudly.

"Drink!" At this moment, he jumped up again, and then suddenly leaped up, slamming the basketball into the hoop.

"Bang!" The basketball was slammed into the hoop with great force, then fell back down.

Li Hongran landed on the ground with great style, striking a cool pose: "Hehe, I won again. How about that, not bad, right?"

"Yes, that's impressive." An Ruosu smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Your ball-stealing technique is lacking." Li Hongran demonstrated a ball-stealing motion. "You need to be quicker!"

An Ruosu nodded, then suddenly intercepted the basketball that Li Hongran had just picked up, and while dribbling it, ran towards the three-point line.

"Wow, you're putting what you've learned to use right away! That's great!" Li Hongran laughed and ran over as well.