I Must Be Responsible for You
Let’s just try dating and see.
The warm yellow light shone on the wall, casting a field of swaying black shadows.
Lin Sifei’s tail, wrapped around Luo Ke’s arm, suddenly tensed, then immediately loosened.
She fell back into the soft pillow, watching Luo Ke with half-open eyes.
A bit of fine sweat beaded on the tip of Luo Ke’s nose. Her long, loose hair stuck to her neck and shoulders, carrying a kind of disheveled beauty.
“You… are you…” The moment Lin Sifei spoke, her voice was raspy.
Luo Ke lifted the blanket, sat up, and got out of bed to leave.
“Hey!” Lin Sifei reached out and grabbed her arm. “Where are you going?”
Luo Ke held one arm across her chest. “I’m going to pour you a glass of water.”
Lin Sifei said, “Oh,” and slowly let go.
She stared at Luo Ke’s smooth, bare back and lay back down, exhausted.
The same familiar cup, the same familiar person. Lin Sifei lifted her head to drink, but her eyes couldn’t help but steal glances at Luo Ke.
Noticing her gaze, Luo Ke sat down on the bed and covered herself with the blanket.
Lin Sifei was amused by her action. The moment her lips curled into a grin, water choked its way down her throat.
“Slow down.” Luo Ke sighed helplessly, pulling out a tissue to help her wipe her neck.
Lin Sifei couldn’t stop coughing, her face turning red from the effort. She turned her head back just in time to see Luo Ke look away.
She blinked, her fingers twitching uncontrollably. She scooted closer to Luo Ke. “Do you need my help?”
Luo Ke shot a quick glance at her, then averted her eyes again.
Lin Sifei smiled brilliantly, revealing her small, sharp teeth, and kacha, stamped a seal1 on her neck.
Luo Ke lifted her eyes and hugged her. Her gaze fell on the tail wagging back and forth behind her, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft hum.
Early the next morning, the blinding sunlight shone into the room, making it impossible for Lin Sifei to sleep soundly.
She grumbled twice, scratched her hair, and sat up in bed.
After spacing out for a moment, she turned her head to look at the other side of the bed. It was empty. “Did she go to work?”
She yawned, climbed out of bed to wash up, and swayed her way downstairs.
“You’re awake.”
Luo Ke appeared out of nowhere, giving Lin Sifei a huge fright.
“You didn’t go to work.”
Luo Ke’s hand, holding a teacup, paused. She closed the laptop in front of her. “I just checked. A cat’s heat cycle lasts three to seven days, which is to say…”
Lin Sifei’s eyes suddenly widened. She leaped down the last two steps of the staircase and raised a hand to cover Luo Ke’s mouth.
Luo Ke glanced at her and pushed her hand away.
Lin Sifei’s eyes were watery. “Yesterday… I… I couldn’t control myself.”
“Another accident?” Luo Ke raised an eyebrow, leaning back on the sofa and looking at her scrutinizingly.
“No, no.” Lin Sifei waved her hands repeatedly.
Luo Ke smiled. “Didn’t you say it was a friend’s act of rescue?”
“Ah!” Lin Sifei covered her face. “It was my heat cycle, but you’re not in heat, and for me to do that to you… ah!”
She grabbed a throw pillow, placed it on her lap, and started ramming her head into it like crazy. DuangDuangDuang.2
Luo Ke propped her chin on her hand, watching her until she was dizzy from the impacts, her head swaying back and forth.
Lin Sifei clutched her head and took a moment to recover. “Um, I will be responsible for you!”
Her ears twitched, and her entire face turned bright red.
Luo Ke looked away, sighing for some unknown reason. “There’s no need to be responsible. You’re my cat; it’s something I should do.”
She stood up, her eyes glancing toward her. “You don’t still have some idea about chastity, do you?”
“No, no.” Lin Sifei shook her head repeatedly. “I just feel that it’s not very good for you.”
“Then do you like me?”
“It seems… I don’t.”
“I don’t like you either. I only see you as a cat. You’ve only been human for two days. Do you really think I’m a beast?”
“Oh.” Lin Sifei puffed up her cheeks. “Then we can try dating!”
Luo Ke had been about to get up, but upon hearing this, she sat back down. “You still want to be responsible.”
Lin Sifei snatched up the throw pillow and hid her face, peeking out with just her eyes. “I-I’ve never been in a relationship before.” And then I died, it was so tragic.
“I think you’re pretty reliable, too.”
Luo Ke suddenly leaned in close. “Are you trying to find a long-term meal ticket3?”
“Ahhh! How can you question me like that!” Lin Sifei slapped her hand over Luo Ke’s face.
With no hands to hold it, the throw pillow fell with a pat onto her lap, then rolled to the floor.
Lin Sifei blinked, slowly rubbing and kneading Luo Ke’s face. “It’s, it’s a habit.”
Luo Ke grabbed her hand and, slap slap slap, used Lin Sifei’s right hand to hit her left.
“Ow ow ow! That hurts!” Lin Sifei’s tail flicked back and forth as her hands were slapped red.
She pouted, blowing on her own paws. “Childish ghost4!”
Luo Ke flicked her on the forehead. “Bad kitty. I’m going to the study to handle some work. If you need anything, come find me upstairs.”
Lin Sifei watched her go upstairs, her face wrinkling. She stepped on the throw pillow. “Being a person is worse than being a cat.”
She jumped up from the sofa in a huff and bounced over to the full-length mirror by the entryway. The girl in the mirror had fair skin and was wearing a white dress. She had slender eyebrows, grape-like black eyes, thin lips, and a pair of cat ears that twitched and twitched.
Lin Sifei cupped her face narcissistically. How could Luo Ke not be the least bit gentle with someone so pretty and cute?
“Could it be that she’s traumatized from when I scratched her?” Lin Sifei curled her fingers. Her nails were a bit long. “Should I be gentler, then?”
She tilted her head and picked up her phone to search for a bit. The results were all travel guides for going out, which weren’t suitable for her… cat ears and tail.
“Cooking?” Lin Sifei tilted her head. She didn’t know how to cook, but she could make drinks. She looked at the sun outside, snapped her fingers, and decided to make sour plum juice5. A summer essential for beating the heat.
Full of confidence, she opened the refrigerator, but after searching for a long time, she couldn’t find any smoked plums or slices of dried hawthorn fruit. She pouted and ran upstairs with a da da da.
“Luo Ke, I’m coming in.” She pushed the study door open a tiny crack.
“Come in.”
Lin Sifei grinned and zipped inside. “Luo Ke, can you tell Auntie later to buy some smoked plums, slices of dried hawthorn fruit, and licorice root6? I want to brew some sour plum juice.”
“I’ll tell her to have it delivered in a bit.”
“Oh, okay. Are you busy?”
“Mhm, I have a meeting.”
“Alright, I’ll go down first then.” Lin Sifei turned on the spot, shuffled out slowly, and even helped her close the door properly.
In the study, Luo Ke slumped onto the desk in frustration. With a lift of her eyes, she could see the family portrait sitting on the desk. A man with a slicked-back hairstyle had his arm around his wife. The wife, her hair in a low ponytail, was smiling as she leaned against a railing, holding a little girl in her arms who was making a scissor-hands7 gesture.
Luo Ke’s hand brushed across the faces in the photo. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sat up straight again.
【Secretary Zhao: President Luo, the department meeting will begin in five minutes.】
【Luo Ke: Okay.】
Pulling herself together, Luo Ke took a mirror out of a drawer and straightened her clothes. Her fingers touched her collar, pulling it down just a little, revealing a clear teeth mark.
She sighed and pressed on the mark. “Dad, Mom, I’m really the worst. To actually judge by looks, it’s so superficial.”
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She decided not to look anymore, readjusted her collar, and covered the mark.
She clicked to open the video conference. It hadn’t started yet. Looking at her own face on the screen, she couldn’t help but press her lips together.
What exactly are my feelings for Lin Sifei? She was certain she didn’t like a cat, but she couldn’t help but want to be close. Perhaps she was just intoxicated by the feeling of Lin Sifei depending on her.
Images of Lin Sifei’s tender pink face and trembling cat ears flashed through Luo Ke’s mind, and her face flushed red.
This world really is all about looks. It’s too much.
The video feed lit up, revealing a certain department head’s Mediterranean Sea8 and greasy face. She couldn’t stop herself from looking away.
She glanced at the family portrait beside her and was consumed by shame. She had fallen.
When the ingredients were delivered, Lin Sifei gave an extra high-temperature fee9. “I’m making a big batch. I’ll put the rest in the fridge. When you come to cook dinner tonight, you can take a bottle home with you.”
“Alrighty, thank you.”
Lin Sifei washed everything clean, put them in the pot one by one, and turned on the stove to simmer them slowly.
Brewing this stuff just took time. She set an alarm and lay on the sofa playing on a tablet.
After playing for a while, she looked up. “I need to buy a phone.”
She opened a certain Bao10, looked at phones, and placed an order for one. Then she couldn’t help but look at other things, buying a huge pile of snacks with a whoosh. In her past life as a celebrity, there were so many things she had to avoid eating. Now, she could finally start eating properly!
Lin Sifei bought a whole mess of miscellaneous things before the alarm on her phone rang.
She poured out the sour plum juice, set it aside to cool, and then put it in the refrigerator to chill.
Then she poured it into a glass tumbler, making it look as good as it tasted.
She laughed out loud, carrying the glass upstairs. She pushed open the study door, waved at Luo Ke, and mouthed: Can I come in?
“Let’s end it here. Meeting adjourned.” Luo Ke turned off her camera and stood up with a smile.
Lin Sifei walked over happily and handed her a glass. “Try it.”
Luo Ke took a sip. “It’s delicious.”
Pleased, Lin Sifei also took a sip and sat down on the nearby sofa. “Is your work busy?”
“It’s alright. The collaboration with the Bai’erluo Company is going very smoothly. The Luo Corporation will soon rise to the next level.”
Lin Sifei’s eyes darted. “Then you need to be careful. There are all kinds of people in a company. You can’t stop those who feign compliance while acting in opposition11, commercial spies, and so on.”
Luo Ke glanced at her. “Who are you trying to talk about?”
“Lo-ts!” Lin Sifei pursed her lips. “I used to wander all over the company. Some people, you can tell just by looking that their heart-art is not right12, and they even bully the newcomers.”
“These things can never be completely eliminated. Besides, when water is too clear, there are no fish13. I will be careful. Thanks for the reminder.” Luo Ke raised her glass. Lin Sifei clinked her glass against it, and they drank their sour plum juice.
Dinner that evening was as sumptuous as ever. Lin Sifei deliberately put on a hat and tucked her tail away, walking over to Wu-ma’s14 side. “Auntie, do I look good in this outfit?”
“You look good.” Wu-ma smiled as she watched her sneak a bite of food. “Are you President Luo’s friend?”
“Yes.” Lin Sifei fidgeted with her fingers. “We haven’t known each other long, but we have a very good relationship.”
“That’s good. President Luo has few friends, and she is very devoted to each of them.”
Lin Sifei glanced at Luo Ke, who was busy in the living room, and nodded with a smile. “Right, she’s especially gentle. She looks fierce, but she’s actually very easy to talk to.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Wu-ma agreed with a smile.
After dinner, Lin Sifei tugged on Luo Ke’s arm. “Let’s go for a walk outside. I’ve been stuck at home for days, I’m about to grow mushrooms15.”
Luo Ke scanned her from head to toe. “You won’t be found out?”
“I showed Wu-ma, and she didn’t notice.” Lin Sifei pressed down on her hat happily. “We’ll just walk around the neighborhood.”
Luo Ke thought for a moment, then extended her hand. Lin Sifei grabbed it, pulled her up forcefully, and skipped out the door.
The facilities in the high-end residential community were quite comprehensive, and there was plenty of greenery.
Lin Sifei circled the neighborhood once and spotted a play area. “There are swings!”
“You want to go on the swings?”
“Yes!” Lin Sifei dashed over and waved at her. “Hurry, hurry, come sit next to me.”
Lin Sifei swung for a while, then stood up, reached a hand to her waistband, and pulled her tail out.
“This is so much more comfortable. My tail was getting painfully squished.”
Luo Ke looked around nervously. “Be careful you don’t get seen.”
“What’s the big deal? It’s late and no one can see clearly. I’ll just say it’s a cosplay prop and bluff my way through.”
Lin Sifei swung happily, her tail curled up behind her. Watching it, Luo Ke couldn’t resist reaching out to grab it.
The soft, smooth fur of the tail slid through her palm, making her heart itch.
Lin Sifei suddenly dragged her feet on the ground, forcing the swing to a stop. Luo Ke looked over, confused.
Lin Sifei glared at her. “What-what are you doing, touching my tail!”
Luo Ke froze. The white light of the lamppost shone down from above, elongating the shadow of her hat’s brim. Lin Sifei tilted her head up slightly, revealing her eyes. A red ring had formed around them, as if she were about to cry. Her body trembled slightly, and the fur on her exposed tail gradually puffed up, becoming fluffier.
A strange feeling surged in Luo Ke’s heart. Her fingers couldn’t help but tighten on the swing’s chains, and her throat moved. “Heat cycle?”
“It’s all your fault!” Lin Sifei couldn’t hold it in anymore, and tears fell, pat pat. “What do I do now!”
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