The newcomer was a male beastman with a cheerful smile, named Jin Luo. He was a large black and white cat who worked as a police officer at the police station in Lili Town.
When Yun Manman recalled his beast form and occupation, her expression turned peculiar for a moment.
Jin Luo carefully observed her reaction, or rather, his attention had been focused on the girl behind the counter since he entered the dessert shop.
His sunny smile faltered as he said with a hint of exasperation, "Manman, what's with that look? Am I not allowed to come here?"
"Once we come in, we're customers. Don't you know that the customer is like a Divine Messenger?"
In this world, there was no concept of God, but rather a religious belief in the Beast God and the Divine Messengers under the Beast God's command.
Yun Manman thought to herself: It's nothing really, just reminded me of a black cat in a police uniform.
And why are you smiling so brightly? Don't think I don't know what kind of cat you really are under that skin!
The original owner of this body held grudges, and Yun Manman had found a fragmented diary while sorting through her belongings.
It was filled with "100 reasons" why the original owner disliked Jin Luo as a child.
Jin Luo, this dairy cow cat, had grown up alongside the original owner, barely qualifying as childhood sweethearts.
When they were young, Jin Luo had a mischievous personality and often bullied the original owner, pulling her pigtails, stealing her food, and tattling on her to her grandmother. These childish behaviors had left the original owner with a poor impression of him.
As he grew older, he became more restrained, presenting himself as a sunny, likable young man with a warm personality.
Initially, Yun Manman had only considered him an ordinary friend, as she wasn't as familiar with Jin Luo as the original owner had been.
However, after her grandmother passed away, Jin Luo frequently visited to bring her things, claiming he was "checking if she was feeling down" or "caring for a lonely beastperson."
As time went on, Yun Manman and Jin Luo gradually became more familiar with each other.
This also gave her a better understanding of the original owner's "childhood sweetheart" and his playful nature.
Indeed, the original owner's extremely low opinion of him wasn't without reason!
Yun Manman stepped forward to accept the flowers Jin Luo had brought, only then noticing another police officer behind him. The black tail swaying behind him had a tuft of white fur at the tip, making her wonder if he might be a Border Collie.
Well, well, it seemed her childhood sweetheart had brought a customer with him!
Yun Manman immediately brightened up, hurrying forward to greet them and show them to their seats: "Oh my, please sit down, Divine Messengers. What would you like to eat or drink?"
Jin Luo sat down with his companion, shaking his head helplessly: "Can't you be a little more enthusiastic towards me?"
Yun Manman pretended not to hear.
She pointed at the electronic menu and introduced it to the two police officers: "What would you like to drink? Today we have a buy-one-get-one-free offer on beverages."
She then directed their attention to the glass refrigerated display case: "Also, all desserts are 20% off today."
Jin Luo glanced at the menu and muttered, "You only have five items in your shop. That's a bit limited, isn't it?"
"And what are these strange-looking things? Desserts? Never heard of them..."
Yun Manman replied, "The shop just opened recently. We'll be adding more items gradually."
"As for the desserts, officer, you'll understand once you try them."
The Border Collie officer sitting across from Jin Luo looked thoughtfully at the desserts in the display case: "They do look quite exquisite, and the prices aren't too bad either."
Yun Manman smiled at the Border Collie officer and asked, "How should I address you, officer?"
The Border Collie officer smiled gently: "You can call me Bian Yu."
"I'll have two pork floss buns. Jin Luo, shall we each get a drink? I'd like to try this sparkling water."
Jin Luo was indifferent about the food: "Sure. I'll have a mango pancake."
Watching Yun Manman busying herself behind the counter, he couldn't help but say, "I never knew you could make these things before. When did you learn?"
Yun Manman's hand paused as she was pouring water: "I learned a lot in the capital. It's been a while since we've seen each other."
The original owner had studied in the capital and had only recently graduated and returned to Lili Town, so she hadn't seen Jin Luo in quite some time.
A hint of loneliness flashed in Jin Luo's light golden pupils: "If you ever have any difficulties, you can always talk to me."
"Have you been having fewer headaches lately?"
He was worried she might encounter problems living alone.
The original owner's body didn't seem to be in the best health, often suffering from headaches and dizziness.
Since Yun Manman had taken over, these symptoms had become much less frequent.
She turned back with a radiant smile: "It's much better now. I rarely feel unwell anymore."
"If I ever have any troubles, I'll definitely come to you, Officer Jin."
Jin Luo looked at the brightly smiling young woman before him and rubbed his head: "You've changed so much over these past few years."
She had become more cheerful and her way of speaking had softened.
Warning bells went off in Yun Manman's mind, but she maintained a casual expression and said, "Is that so? People change, you know."
The original owner's personality was actually quite similar to Yun Manman's, just a bit more aloof and cunning in comparison.
Bian Yu, sitting to the side, alternated between looking at Yun Manman and Jin Luo, smiling as if he had figured something out.
He nudged Jin Luo, who was lost in thought, gesturing for him to check his communication device.
The communication devices here had evolved to be about the size of a pen, with a light screen that could be pulled out from the side for clicking and browsing, making them very portable.
Jin Luo took out his device in confusion and opened the light screen to look at the message Bian Yu had sent him. His light golden cat eyes immediately widened, and the fur on his tail nearly bristled.
Bian Yu had asked via the communication device: "Is this shop owner the one you have feelings for?"
He sent another message: "Don't deny it. You've been staring at her the whole time."
Bian Yu had graduated from the same police academy as Jin Luo and now worked at the same police station as his colleague.
He knew all too well how many female suitors his partner had turned down.
So this soft and sweet-looking shop owner was the "female he liked" that Jin Luo had mentioned so many times.
He never would have guessed that this was Jin Luo's type.
He had thought Jin Luo would prefer the sexy bombshell type.
A blush crept across Jin Luo's handsome face as he and Bian Yu stared at each other for a moment. He then stole a quick glance at the busy Yun Manman before giving Bian Yu an almost imperceptible nod.
Indeed, nothing could be hidden from the clever Border Collie. He had figured it out after just a short visit!
If only he had brought that silly Golden Retriever, Zhiqiang, instead!
Back at the police station, Jin Zhiqiang was organizing files with a silly grin on his face: "Hehe, Brother Jin will bring back some good stuff for me soon..."
Meeting Bian Yu's knowing dark eyes, Jin Luo deflated and sent him a message: "Don't tell her. She doesn't know yet."
"When are you going to confess?"
"...I haven't decided yet."
He didn't even know when he had started to develop feelings for her.
The downside of being childhood friends is that it's difficult to change the other person's attitude from brotherly to romantic.
Bian Yu replied, "You won't catch up to her like this."
Jin Luo: ? You talk as if you're so experienced, yet you're still just a single dog.
As he was typing intently, a girl's voice suddenly sounded above his head: "What are you doing? Your tail's all puffed up from nervousness."
Jin Luo was so startled he nearly jumped out of his chair.
He quickly stuffed the communicator into his pocket and cleared his throat: "Nothing. Where's my drink? Why hasn't it been served yet?"
Yun Manman looked at his jumpy behavior suspiciously, inwardly marveling at how true to his cat nature he was.
She placed the drinks and desserts in front of them: "Please enjoy."
The pork floss bun was soft, sweet, and salty, with the aroma of the pork floss blending well with the cake.
The sparkling water was especially refreshing and stimulating, creating a tingling sensation from the tips of their ears to the tips of their tails.
Bian Yu looked at Yun Manman with newfound respect. He had thought it was just an ordinary little shop, but these strange sweets were surprisingly delicious.
Jin Luo's eyes sparkled as he quickly finished his mango crepe, and remarked: "I didn't expect you to have this skill."
Yun Manman proudly hummed: "I know how to do many things."
The two didn't stay long in the shop as they had to return to the police station.
When they left, they took several bottles of sparkling water and a large box of pork floss buns with them.
They cleared out nearly half of her stock in one go.
Yun Manman smiled from ear to ear.
She decided! She should be nicer to Jin "Mr. Moneybags" Luo in the future.
After Jin Luo and his companion left, more and more beast people came in.
As soon as they entered, they curiously asked: "What's sparkling water? Are all drinks buy one get one free?"
"Are the drinks cold?"
"What are desserts? Sweet food?"
Clearly, they were attracted by the heat and the promotional sign at the door.
Yun Manman patiently answered all their questions.
The beast people's tails and ears perked up high one by one, curiously looking at the desserts in the display case: "They look so delicate! And not expensive either, let's try..."
"Boss lady, I want this one!"
"Then I'll have this pudding thing! And add a pearl milk tea!"
Yun Manman happily agreed: "Alright, place your orders one by one! No rush!"
She felt a sense of happiness, like being surrounded by a group of fluffy creatures waiting to be fed!
Every beast person who placed an order received their food and was pleasantly surprised after tasting it.
"This drink is so good! It's ice-cold with lots of bubbles!"
"The mango crepe is delicious too!"
"Is this meat? Can meat be prepared like this?"
After one batch of beast people left, another batch came in.
Yun Manman got busy.
Fortunately, most of the beast people gave positive reviews for the desserts they bought, though a few mentioned that "the portions are too small", "it's too sweet", or "there's not enough variety".
These comments were within Yun Manman's expectations.
After all, you have to allow for people who don't like sweets!
As for the portion size, eating too much would be cloying, so this size was just right.
If they really felt it wasn't enough, they could always buy another portion!
Regarding the lack of variety, Yun Manman believed that good things take time, and they had to go slowly.
By the time it got dark, most of the desserts in the shop had been sold.
The best-selling item was the pork floss bun.
This wasn't surprising, as most beast people love meat.
Yun Manman was very satisfied with the results of the first day of business.
She had thought she wouldn't be able to sell everything and would have to send the leftovers to the love station.
The love station was a small hut set up by Kashida specifically for distributing food.
Nearby merchants could send unsold fresh fruits and vegetables, or food nearing its expiration date, to the love station for those in need to take freely.
Yun Manman stretched lazily and cleaned the counter, thinking that she could make more desserts tomorrow, as the sales seemed quite good.
But not too many, or she'd get tired.
Take it easy! Her goal was just to earn back the rent for the shop, no need to exhaust herself.
She was hungry. She had eaten all the leftovers at noon and had been busy all afternoon, so she was starving now.
Yun Manman took the last caramel pudding, locked up the shop, and turned to go home.
The summer sky was always particularly clean and vast. The city lights made the deep blue of the sky pale, and not a trace of starry clouds could be seen.
The loud chirping of cicadas, known here as Zhizhi Bugs, came from the trees.
There were scattered beast people walking on the street, most holding portable cooling devices.
Some cubs had transformed into their beast forms, seemingly unbothered by the heat, chasing each other and frolicking in the park, only to collapse on the ground panting after a while.
Yun Manman's eyes were full of longing.
Aww, so cute, she wanted to pet them.
That one looked like a little axolotl! And that one like a little fox!
She wondered if she could pretend to be a cub and join in, since her beast form was about the same size.
As she was walking forward, looking back every two steps, she almost fell flat on her face.
Looking down, she realized she had kicked someone's outstretched foot.
The person was under a tree, in a spot the streetlight didn't reach, curled up and shivering. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't notice someone was there at all.
Yun Manman: "=="
She quickly bent down to check: "Sir? Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't see you there..."
The person in the shadows seemed not to hear, remaining motionless, enveloped in an aura of sadness, anger, and despair.
What to do when someone doesn't respond.
Yun Manman scratched her head in frustration, tilted her head to look at him for a few seconds, then gently placed the pudding she was holding beside his foot.
Her emerald cat eyes, like sparkling gemstones, held a soft warmth: "I'll leave this pudding as an apology. Sir, eating something sweet can improve your mood, you know."
With that, she stood up and left, humming a cheerful tune as she walked in the bright light.
In the dimness, the beast person sitting under the tree opened his dull, lifeless eyes, glanced at Yun Manman's retreating figure, and reached out with trembling, pale blue hands towards the small box containing the pudding.