Yun Manman felt that her snake had been acting strangely these past couple of days.
Just recently, the little snake had been incredibly clingy, seemingly wanting to be wrapped around her every minute of every day. Now, however, it had become cold and aloof.
It didn't stray too far from her, always staying within sight. But now it was reluctant to slither onto her body. When Yun Manman reached out to touch it, it would quickly slip away. If it wasn't quick enough to escape and got caught, its body would stiffen as if unable to bear being touched.
It made Yun Manman feel like she was forcing herself on some innocent young man.
Yun Manman had even asked Doctor Alpaca why her pet's personality seemed to have suddenly changed.
Doctor Alpaca said, "It's possible that it was clingy before because it was injured and feeling vulnerable. Now that it's healed, it might not enjoy being around people as much."
While Yun Manman understood this explanation, she found it difficult to accept. After all, she had even given him a name.
Just like now.
"Qiqi, could you please pass me that spoon?" Yun Manman called out to the little white snake coiled on the counter as she brewed jasmine tea.
The small white snake's body tensed. It raised its head, looked around, then slithered over and used its tail to pick up the spoon and hand it to Yun Manman.
Yun Manman accepted the spoon with a smile, casually stroking the snake's smooth body as she did so. "Thank you, Qiqi!"
Caught off guard by the touch, the snake's red pupils constricted sharply. It panicked and quickly slipped away from the girl's hand.
Lu Qi agitatedly flicked his tail back and forth.
Heaven knows how much he disliked feline beastfolk!
Feline beastfolk were always fluffy and shedding fur everywhere. Plus, they were so curious, always reaching out to touch everything they saw.
The moment Yun Manman reached out to touch him, if he had been in human form, he would have broken out in goosebumps.
He instantly had flashbacks to being toyed with by that cat when he was younger, anger and humiliation surging through him.
Moreover, this female was so impolite, giving him a name that sounded similar to his original one.
What's with this "Qiqi"?! Wasn't he, a dignified general, worthy of respect?!
Not only did she name him, but she had also touched him all over!
It was practically molestation! Harassment!
Indeed, feline beastfolk were no good. He and feline beastfolk were simply incompatible.
The little white snake tied its tail in knots out of embarrassment and indignation, a faint red flush visible beneath its white scales.
In his anger, Lu Qi had completely forgotten that he was staying with Yun Manman in the capacity of a "pet snake."
If he wasn't currently unable to return to his original form, and if he hadn't planned to stay near this feline beastfolk to observe and regulate his spiritual energy, he would have run away long ago.
Maybe he should just leave now, thought Lu Qi dejectedly after being "molested" once again. It's not like he absolutely had to regulate his spiritual energy.
It's not as if it mattered whether he lived or died anyway.
Lu Qi thought glumly.
Yun Manman watched the little white snake slip away from her hand, her emerald cat eyes filled with disappointment. The fluffy light orange ears on top of her head drooped listlessly.
"Qiqi" was the name of a cat she had kept for a while in her previous life.
In her past life, she had been too busy with work to even take care of herself properly, let alone keep the cats and dogs she loved.
That tabby cat had appeared on the windowsill of Yun Manman's kitchen one rainy day.
The tabby was soaking wet, meowing loudly, and looked very hungry.
So Yun Manman, overcome with sympathy, let the little cat in and bought it cat food and treats.
She even thought about adopting it if worst came to worst, and that's when she named it "Qiqi."
However, after keeping it for a while, the tabby's owner showed up at her door, full of apologies. He explained that his cat often snuck out at night and mooched off many households in the neighborhood.
Yun Manman accepted the owner's gift of apology and sadly bid farewell to the cunning little cat that had deceived her.
Now that she had a pet snake, she bestowed this name upon it, hoping it would become her pet and family.
But now it seemed Qiqi didn't want to be her pet and family anymore.
Yun Manman felt a bit heartbroken. Looking at the wary little snake, she said, "Qiqi, don't you like me anymore?"
Lu Qi flicked his tongue and responded without hesitation: "No, I don't."
Obviously, cats couldn't understand snake language. Yun Manman only heard a hissing sound.
But her disappointment lasted only a moment before she perked up again.
It's okay, Doctor Alpaca had said that they just needed to spend more time together. With more interaction and handling, the snake would get used to her.
Yun Manman consoled herself internally.
Lu Qi, coiled on the table, stared at the girl's tail hanging motionless behind her in dejection. The heartless snake belatedly realized that he might have hurt this feline girl's feelings.
Oh dear.
He'd make it up to her later by giving her some money as a way of repaying her kindness.
He would also help out a bit during this time, as long as she stopped touching him all over.
Lu Qi swayed the tip of his tail back and forth, pondering leisurely.
He still didn't feel particularly guilty, merely acknowledging that he had made his lifesaver sad.
Having collected herself, Yun Manman resumed working on the cake she was making.
She was currently experimenting with how to make a jasmine tea jelly cake.
Food solidifying powder was a colorless, odorless, edible powder used in this world to solidify various dairy products for easy storage. It could be used as a substitute for agar to make tea jelly.
The tricky part was finding the right ratio through repeated trials. Only a tiny amount of food solidifying powder was needed to turn a large cup of water into a gel-like substance. Too much would turn it into a flaky mess.
Yun Manman had adjusted it many times before finding the perfect ratio.
She mixed the brewed jasmine tea with food solidifying powder and sugar, stirring constantly, then poured it into a container and put it in the refrigerator to cool.
When needed, she could simply take it out and cut it into cubes.
Yun Manman sliced the pre-made cake base into layers. She placed the jasmine tea jelly on a cake layer as a filling, piped on whipped cream, added another cake layer, spread a generous amount of sweet honeydew melon, then placed the final cake layer on top. She covered the entire cake with cream and decorated it with honeydew melon balls.
The resulting honeydew melon and jasmine tea jelly cake was filled with the fresh aroma of jasmine and the sweetness of honeydew. Each bite was full of filling, and the cream was sweet without being cloying - perfect for summer.
Besides using it in cakes, the jasmine tea jelly could also be added to milk tea as a topping, creating a completely different texture.
As Yun Manman was putting the freshly made cake in the refrigerator to chill, a customer walked in.
It was a tall, perfectly proportioned female beastfolk with short hair.
Her proportions were so perfect that Yun Manman felt like drooling at the sight of those long legs filling the screen.
At first, she couldn't tell it was a female. The newcomer's style was androgynous, with sun-kissed skin and refined yet fierce features that blurred gender lines. Several earrings adorned her brown, fuzzy ears.
Who could resist? A cool and gorgeous cat girl!
As soon as this female beastkin entered, she glanced around, her eyes noticeably lighting up when she spotted the puddings in the display case.
Then she turned her gaze to Yun Manman behind the counter, giving her a once-over that made her golden-brown spotted tail perk up.
Yun Manman, excited yet slightly puzzled, greeted her: "Hello, can I help you?"
The tall female beastkin leaned on the counter with both hands, her upturned cat eyes fixed intently on Yun Manman.
She asked, "Excuse me, but were you at Star Park the night before last?"