The chef who had just finished making everyone’s breakfast: Hehe, you think I’m stupid? Whenever something unique and special appears in the kitchen, it’s always brought by someone from somewhere outside.
But he knew very well to keep his mouth shut even if he saw through the truth. Regardless of how their captain managed to get this unique fish to appear out of thin air and where it came from, it belongs to their team.
The chef began to think hard about how to cook the fish. On the other side, Wen Liansheng went to check on the Leigong Trees and Pepper Flowers planted in the field next to the pharmaceutical factory and happened to meet Lu Ye who was also stopping by.
Wen Liansheng: “What a coincidence.”
Lu Ye looked at the large blue field of waist-high Leigong Trees: “I heard your trees are not growing well.”
“It’s just not as good as the ones you are growing. How about you drop a few electric strikes and give them some extra nutrients?”
The hundreds of Leigong trees in the planting area of the Zhongyang Team are indeed growing better than the ones here. Firstly, they were planted a few days earlier and had more time to grow. Secondly, Lu Ye visits them from time to time, checks on them, and feeds them generously.
Lu Ye’s abilities as an electric esper were unparalleled, so the Leigong God Tree he hammered and forged naturally grew very well.
When Lu Ye heard what Wei Liansheng said, he didn’t say anything. He raised his hand and released a large blue-purple thunder net, covering the almost endless Leigong Tree forest. For a moment, the momentum was so fierce that any existence in the distance would try to avoid it at all costs, except for the Leigong trees. Their leaves shook happily, seeming to enjoy the ‘watering’ of the thunder and lightning, and they visibly grew taller.
Wen Liansheng looked a little thoughtful: “Your esper ability has improved again.”
This seemingly simple move was unparalleled by anyone in the entire base. Although Lu Ye was a master electric esper in the past, his electricity did not have such a mighty momentum.
Lu Ye curled his lips slightly, those fruits were not for nothing: “You have also made a lot of progress, haven’t you?”
There was a hint of joy in Wen Liansheng’s eyes. He looked at his legs, which no longer felt as much discomfort, and sighed: “That’s why I have to work hard, otherwise, I would be taking advantage of her kindness. By the way, is Dapan following Xiaohu?”
Dapan (1) is the name of the big fat cat. He was named this because of his big face.
Lu Ye paused slightly: “Really?”
“You didn’t know? Xiaohu said that she is taking care of a cat, and it’s a big white cat. The only one that meets this condition and can be around her is yours, right? But she doesn’t seem to know that it’s your cat.”
Lu Ye: “I’m not sure where it went wild recently, but it came back these two nights and is well-fed with a fishy smell all over it…”
At this point, he suddenly stopped. For the past two nights, Bai Xiaohu had fish for supper.
It was also the first night after making fish supper that the cat, which had been missing for several days, came back. With its fish-hungry nature, how could it not get involved when it smelled fish?
Maybe behind his back, that fat boy found a way to trick the little girl into giving it fish.
He had a headache: “I’ll ask later.”
When he thought about the fact he had to meet her in person, Lu Ye felt a little uncomfortable.
The little girl was too courageous, too enthusiastic, and unrestrained. He didn’t know how to respond to her. He was reluctant to refuse and worried that he wouldn’t be able to respond to her feelings equally if he accepted her feelings. However, pretending not to notice and as if nothing happened is too irresponsible.
What worries him the most is that she might not actually mean it that way, and he just misunderstood. She is just lively and naive in her nature.
Lu Ye was lost in thought. When he came back to his senses, Wen Liansheng had already left. Most of his esper ability had been used up, and the Leigong Tree forest had grown more than ten centimeters taller.
He stopped releasing the energy and headed to the furniture store after hesitating.
He made it just in time right as the fish feast was served. Several people locked the door and hid in the room, looking left and right at the fish on the table, choosing which one to eat first.
The guards wouldn’t stop Lu Ye if he came over, so when he walked to the front of the building, he smelled fish.
Some are braised, some are stewed, and some are fried. The seasoning is too heavy, which destroys the freshness of the fish itself. It was such a waste. However, this fish is still very delicious even if it is masked under the seasoning. Its taste is still intriguing. That smell brings out the strongest craving within everyone’s heart.
Lu Ye suddenly felt hungry.
Before he knocked on the door, Bai Xiaohu, who noticed his aura, had already run over to open the door. She poked her head out the door and found that it was him. She showed a big smile: “You came just in time, come and try which fish is better!”
She pulled Lu Ye over quickly. Could there be anything better than having the target come over to taste and evaluate the dish himself?
Lu Ye willingly let himself be dragged by her. Pan Gu and Shi Jian, who were about to extend their chopsticks, had already put their chopsticks down and stood up. Bai Xiaohu sat Lu Ye down and gave him a pair of unused chopsticks: “Have a try.”
Lu Ye looked at the several fish dishes on the table. The flat one was braised, the one that was long like a snake was cut into several sections and stewed, and the other one was cut up and fried beyond recognition.
He looked at Bai Xiaohu and saw her expectant look, so he stretched out his chopsticks.
As soon as he started eating, he couldn’t stop.
Pan Gu and Shi Jian looked numbly at the person who didn’t leave any minced meat for them to try. The owner who provided the fish and invited them to eat as much as they liked not long ago also seemed to have forgotten their existence. Bai Xiaohu supported her cheeks with her palm and looked satisfied as Lu Ye ate. She even asked if everything tasted good, if this was enough, and if he wanted more.
The two of them looked at each other, feeling like they were stuffed with ‘dog food’ (2), and all they wanted to do was shout, “Fuck!”
Lu Ye put down his chopsticks, coughed, looked into Bai Xiaohu’s eyes, and commented: “This stew one is the best, but the addition of ginger, cooking wine, and other seasonings is still superfluous and not authentic enough.”
Bai Xiaohu thought for a while: “If you want the original taste, how about drying the fish?”
Her eyes brightened up and looked at Lu Ye ‘full of love’ (?), and Lu Ye’s face grew hot when he saw her.
It must be the energy escaping from the fish he just ate.
He said: “Sure.”
After he said that, Bai Xiaohu took out seven or eight more long translucent fish with a red line in the center. Lu Ye was responsible for electrocuting the fish, and then tied a string to the trees and hung the fish up to bask in the sun.
Under the sun, he couldn’t help but look at her.
Probably because she braided too many braids yesterday, her hair was a little curly today. She simply had it tied up into a high ponytail with a light blue hairband. Nothing else was done, and the ponytail was hanging down behind her. It looked very fluffy and soft. Paired with a light blue shirt and skirt, it gave her a particularly fresh and tranquil temperament.
It seems that every time he sees her, she has a different side, and each side of her has a different beauty.
Maybe people are visual creatures, and he found it increasingly difficult to take his eyes away from her.
Lu Ye sighed softly. He could no longer deceive himself. He was really attracted to a little girl whom he had only known for no more than a dozen days and didn’t even know much of.
……
In the evening, the big white cat came by again, and Bai Xiaohu had been waiting for it for a long time. The sun was very good during the day, and the poor Red-Line fish (as she had just named it) was successfully tanned into flat pieces of dry fish. So when the big white cat came, she took it out like a treasure.
“Here, look. The fish has been dried in the sun. Try this to see if it tastes better.” Bai Xiaohu said while feeding ‘him’: “You only turn into a cat at night, are you worried about others finding out? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. We are supposed to be the only two spiritual creatures in this world, so we can’t let anyone know about it. But when will you be able to transform back into nine tails?”
She realized that she should have a good talk with Lu Ye. Since he no longer resisted her now, allowing her to pet his butt and tail, and loved eating the fish she gave him so much, she probably would not be rejected if she asked for a tail from him, right?
She thought about it and picked up the cat: “You won’t refuse, right?”
“Meow.”
“Then I’ll take it as your promise!”
Bai Xiaohu happily kissed it on the forehead and started stroking its tail as usual and enjoying the fluffy texture like an addict.
After the cat was full, it climbed the wall again and went back to its owner’s room. Lu Ye happened to be back from exercising when he saw the cat coming back through the window. He then remembered that he enjoyed eating fish during the day so much that he forgot to ask Bai Xiaohu about the cat.
He frowned and picked up the cat, which seemed to be becoming more and more heavy: “Where have you been staying these past few days? Did you go to Bai Xiaohu?”
As he spoke, he smelled the faint smell of fish on it. This fish smell was familiar to him. It was the same smell of the fish he had just eaten during the day, killed and dried one by one with his own hands.
Now there is no need to doubt anymore, the case has been solved.
And Lu ye had a bad feeling about it, it better not be stealing food, is it? He touched the cat’s belly. It was bulging. No idea how much it had eaten.
“Meow!” The cat felt wronged. When it was being held by the little girl, the little girl adored it! Her movements were light and gentle, she had a nice fragrance and her hug was so soft. She even gives it such delicious fish. So of course, it was willing to let her pet it and stroke it. However, this owner here is so rude.
The cat felt uncomfortable, so it jumped down from the man’s hand. Anyway, since it had already rubbed his smell onto its body, there was no need to stay longer. So, it nimbly got out of the window and ran away.
Lu Ye walked by the window and watched the white figure sliding down the wall. The cat was getting fatter, but also becoming more flexible. It was obviously the result of eating the energy-rich fish.
He just doesn’t know if it was stealing the fish or fed by Bai Xiaohu.
So Lu Ye went next door early the next morning, wanting to talk to Bai Xiaohu about the cat and apologize. However, when he entered the yard, he found that the smell of fish was so light that he could not detect it. In this yard, there were no more fish!
He came to the tree where he had dried the fish yesterday and saw an empty nylon rope swaying gently in the wind under the morning light.
Where is his dried fish?
He was still a little unwilling to give up, and he happened to meet Pan Gu, so he asked, “Has the dried fish been put away?”
Pan Gu said, “Ah, didn’t it all get eaten up? I saw the fish heads.” He pointed to a dustpan in the corner. Lu Ye looked over and saw small fish heads that were staring deadly into the air. They were clearly bitten by some sharp teeth. The bit marks along with some yellow leaves on top of it, made it seem extremely miserable and pathetic.
Lu Ye took a deep breath.
That evil deadbeat cat who steals fish!
Translator’s Note:
- Dapan: Means big plate literally, probably referring to how much the cat likes to eat
- Dog Food: when a couple is showing affection for each other, people who are single and often referred to as 单身狗(Single Dog), in Chinese make comments as such to show jealousy
