After Feeding the Cool Beauty Next Door

Lu Yin has had something bothering her lately: her hoarding habit seems to have gotten worse.

Despite her best efforts to restrain herself, both fridges and the freezer at home are packed full.

Just as she was about to buy another fridge, a virus outbreak led to her residential compound being locked down.

When she saw people in the residents' chat asking for supplies, Lu Yin's eyes lit up.

This was the perfect chance to clear out some of her stock.

She saw a message from the owner of Unit 902 in Building 12 asking for help and offering to buy a carton of eggs.

The buildings in their compound were all nine-story apartment blocks, with two units per floor and one elevator. Lu Yin had chosen Unit 901, the west-facing unit on the top floor.

Wasn't Building 12 her building? Unit 902 was her next-door neighbor!

They'd lived there for six months without ever running into each other. She'd thought no one lived across the hall.

Lu Yin glanced at the eggs filling her fridge and smiled. It was time to let her neighbor experience how a nearby neighbor could be better than a distant relative.

Ever since her girlfriend dumped her, Sheng Xiali had become a complete workaholic. She wanted to spend all twenty-four hours of every day making money, and stayed in hotels far more often than at home throughout the year.

The virus meant she had to work from home. Before she could buy any supplies, the compound was locked down.

She had no choice but to ask for help in the residents' chat.

Less than five minutes after she sent the message, just as she'd put on a face mask, the doorbell rang.

Sheng Xiali opened the door and found her neighbor standing there, wearing fluffy pink loungewear with rabbit ears on her head, smiling like a sunflower.

Sheng Xiali, who could always think on her feet and make witty conversation at the negotiating table, was instantly speechless. Her body stiffened like a wooden puppet.

The other woman glanced at her empty home, her eyes immediately reddening. She set down the eggs and ran back.

In less than five minutes, her little neighbor brought her:

A box of colorful sodas

Two cases of luosifen, twenty-four packs each

Three tubs of extra-large bear-shaped cookies in metal tins

Looking at the living room now crammed full, Sheng Xiali touched the face mask that had already dried on her face. Her eyes were moist and burning.

Before she could take off the mask, the doorbell rang again.

A white, 504-liter, side-by-side fridge appeared at the door.

A rabbit's head peeked out from behind it. Lu Yin smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

"You can give the fridge back once you've finished eating everything."

"No need to thank me."

"We're neighbors. We should look out for each other."

Sheng Xiali looked at the familiar white fridge before her, with the magnets she'd bought on business trips stuck to it. Her memories came rushing back as she stared at one chalkboard magnet that read, "On a business trip. Back in seven days. Love you."

"I still have the receipt for this fridge. Strictly speaking, it's mine."

As Lu Yin stared in shock, Sheng Xiali peeled off the long-dried face mask, her expression full of derision.

"Right, ex-girlfriend?"

Upcoming novel

After I Got the Cat Empress Pregnant

Lan Ye was told she was pregnant during a routine checkup.

She stared at the clear image of a little cat's head on the ultrasound and listened as the doctor said she'd been carrying the kitten for a month. Lan Ye immediately called the police!

Trying to scam people at a hospital? She might not be a genius, but she wasn't stupid enough to believe a human could give birth to a cat!

When she finally confirmed she really was carrying a kitten, Lan Ye was completely dumbfounded. What kind of world had she transmigrated into?!

People could actually give birth to cats!

The hospital used its gene database to find the woman she'd spent one wild night with a month earlier, who was likely the kitten's other mother.

The woman had sharp eyes framed by dramatic eyeliner. After looking at the ultrasound in Lan Ye's hand, two fluffy ears slowly sprang up from her head.

Her languid, imperious voice carried a hint of resignation.

"Since we're having a child, let's get married."

It took Lan Ye a month after transmigrating into this new world to learn that its inhabitants were divided into two kinds: beastfolk and humans.

She was human, and her spouse was a beastfolk. Her full name was Cat. Big Orange. The Eighth. White Sleeve. Mid-Saint Crest. Transcendent Beast Power Princess Meow. Lin.

Or, for short: Ju Lin.

They married by Meow's decree, and only afterward did Lan Ye discover that Ju Lin was a princess who had fled to avoid inheriting the throne of the new world.

And the child she was carrying wasn't an ordinary kitten, but the empire's eagerly awaited first-in-line heir:

Cat. Cheese. The Ninth. White Patches. Tiger Saint Crest. Transcendent Beast Power Princess Meow.

An extraordinarily S-rank beastfolk who had already developed a beast form at just one month old.

After their marriage, Ju Lin inherited the throne, and Lan Ye became the empire's new queen through her kitten. She was also the only human queen to date.

Married life, in one word:

Exhausting.

Every day, before dawn, a line of cats would form outside her bedroom, waiting for her to pet them.

It was said that a woman carrying an extraordinarily S-rank beastfolk could bring good luck and help beastfolk who couldn't transform succeed in taking human form.

Lan Ye worked overtime to help every little cat who wanted to transform into an adult.

Fortunately, on their first day of marriage, her wife in name only had agreed that they'd be empresses in name only. Lan Ye could get a good night's sleep.

At last, Cat. Cheese. The Ninth. White Patches. Tiger Saint Crest. Transcendent Beast Power Princess Meow. Hu Lie was born safely.

There was no longer a line of little cats waiting to be petted outside the bedroom.

Before Lan Ye could breathe a sigh of relief, a figure flashed through the bedroom that night, knocking her onto the soft bed.

A pair of fluffy ears were placed in her hands, while a warm tongue rough with barbs licked her waist, tickling her until she shivered.

"Ye, it's time to fulfill your duties as my wife."

Yeah, right.

You shameless cat!

Theme: Treasure the person by your side