Strawberry pancakes, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate mousse...
How I long for something sweet and fragrant.
So hungry, so cold...
Someone was pushing hard on Yun Manman's head, trying to wake her from her slumber: "Manman, wake up..."
"Meow..." Yun Manman whimpered, opening her tired eyes.
She realized she had fallen asleep, and her head felt heavy and groggy.
After a night of fear and exhausting running, in this temporary safe house of a tree hollow and surrounded by silence, Yun Manman had succumbed to sleep.
"Alice, can we go out now..."
Yun Manman: ! She could speak now
"We can talk now!"
The cat excitedly tried to stand up from the ground, but forgot about her sprained front paw, causing her to fall back down in pain.
Alice anxiously flew to the cat's side, saying softly with concern: "Be careful, does it hurt a lot?"
The cat before her was wet and dirty all over, with grayish-brown mud sticking to her light orange fur, and dried blood on the wounds where tree branches had scratched her.
She looked utterly pitiful.
But Yun Manman felt it wasn't too bad, just her front paw hurting a bit: "It's okay, it's okay. How come we can suddenly talk now? Wasn't it supposed to be twenty-four hours?"
Or was that unreliable vampire lying to them?
That didn't matter now: "What's the situation outside?"
She wondered if the vampires outside had left.
Alice said quietly: "The vampires were searching back and forth in this area, but fortunately they didn't find us. Now I don't know where they've gone."
"In the middle of the night, there was an explosion sound from far away, but now it's quiet again."
She wondered if General Lu Qi and the others had gotten into a fight with the vampires.
Yun Manman sighed in relief, noticing a faint light outside: "It seems to be dawn soon. Let's wait until it's a bit brighter and then run out. Hiding here waiting for rescue isn't a solution."
"Alice, you haven't slept all night, do you want to rest a bit?"
Alice gently shook her head, using her small hands to carefully untangle the cat's matted fur.
Her feelings were extremely complicated now, a mix of bitterness and deep gratitude, not knowing how to thank Yun Manman.
Such a small cat in beast form, even in a moment of escape, didn't abandon her as a burden, but insisted on taking her along.
When they rolled down the hillside, she had constantly protected her from harm.
The little fairy sniffled, her eyes slightly red: "I'm sorry, Manman. I used to be prejudiced against Beastmen..."
She felt extremely guilty, thinking her former prejudiced self was simply too horrible.
Yun Manman was confused: "What are you sorry for? You haven't wronged me at all. If it weren't for your mental attack, we wouldn't have escaped..."
"The sun is coming out, let's hurry and leave now!"
Just as the two were supporting each other to walk out, the branches covering the tree hollow's entrance were suddenly pushed aside: "We've found them!"
Then a huge cat head with a single horn poked into the tree hollow, coming face to face with the small orange cat standing at the entrance.
"Meow!!!" Caught completely off guard, Yun Manman was so startled by the sudden close proximity of the huge mouth that her fur stood on end, and she tumbled backward to the deepest part of the hollow.
Alice quickly flew over: "Manman! Are you alright?" Then she complained to Yan Ye: "Lieutenant General Yan, can't you be a bit more composed? You scared Manman."
Yan Ye looked at the small cat sprawled on her back, wondering why this cat seemed so familiar.
Hearing Alice's complaint, his golden pupils suddenly widened.
Alice was actually angry at him!
She had always spoken to him so gently before!
At this moment, a familiar deep male voice came from outside the tree hollow. If one listened carefully, the anxiety in his voice was not hard to detect: "Your head is blocking the entrance."
Yan Ye was about to pull his head out when he realized he couldn't. No matter which angle he tried, the sharp horn on his forehead was stuck tight.
Yan Ye: ...
A cool voice from outside mocked: "Old Six Yan, is your head made of sponge?"
"Did it swell up in the rain?"
This nickname immediately set the big cat's whiskers on fire: "Seven Seven Lu! It's your head that's waterlogged!"
Yan Ye was so anxious he started stomping his feet, forcefully trying to back his head out.
The force was so great that Yun Manman felt the tree hollow shaking.
Surely he wasn't planning to uproot the entire tree?
Alice flew over and hugged the curved horn on Yan Ye's forehead: "You can't use such force to harm Grandpa Tree. Grandpa Tree just helped us!"
Last night, the big tree had responded to the fairy's plea, using its branches to help hide the hollow's entrance.
Fairies were the race most intolerant of nature being harmed.
The big cat, now being hugged, froze and became extremely careful: "Okay, okay, I'll be gentle, I'll be gentle..."
Under the guidance of Yun Manman and Alice inside the hollow, it took Yan Ye more than ten minutes to successfully retract his head.
Yan Ye sat crouched in place, licking his front paws and washing his face: "Phew, it feels so good to see daylight again..."
"Alice, I'm so glad you're not hurt."
Alice sat on the big cat's head, watching General Lu Qi bend down to enter the tree hollow, feeling relieved.
She looked up at the sunlight filtering through gaps in the dark clouds and asked: "Did you catch the vampires?"
Yan Ye swished his tail: "We caught them. Those foolish vampires actually dared to kidnap you two..."
The big cat suddenly remembered something, his golden eyes showing a hint of grievance: "Alice, you were harsh with me earlier."
Alice: ?
Her violet eyes were filled with confusion: "I wasn't harsh with you."
"You were! You said I scared Miss Yun!" the big cat accused. "You were actually harsh with me!"
The cat, over five meters long, lay on the ground with his front paws covering his eyes, his fluffy ears drooping down, looking utterly heartbroken.
The fairy flew in front of the big cat, tilting her head to try and see his eyes hidden behind his paws: "Are you crying?"
The big cat remained motionless, only his ears twitching slightly.
Alice began to feel a little regretful: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh earlier..."
While the little fairy was busy comforting the big cat, Lu Qi bent down to enter the tree hollow, intending to pick up the orange cat.
The hollow was so low that he could only walk in half-crouched, supporting himself against the wall.
Before entering, he had imagined countless scenarios of meeting Yun Manman.
For example, if Yun Manman asked "Are you Qiqi?", he would coldly reply no, telling her he had lost his memory before and didn't remember his past actions.
If Yun Manman pressed further, he would coolly transfer her a large sum of money, saying it was a thank-you fee.
He believed this feline Beastman wouldn't cling to him after that.
But when he saw the orange cat lying on the ground, covered in wounds and dirty fur, having passed out, Lu Qi's half-crouched knees hit the ground with a "thud".
He carefully cradled the soft orange cat in his arms, his hands trembling slightly as he felt her hot breath. Lu Qi's tightly pressed thin lips released an almost imperceptible sigh.
Yun Manman felt she had a fever.
Her body alternated between hot and cold, and her mind wasn't clear.
Well, with a sprained ankle, drenched in rain, wounded, and having rolled in the mud, it was only natural to have a fever.
Fortunately, rescue had arrived, and she just needed to get back for proper treatment.
As she lay on the ground waiting for rescue, her mind foggy, she vaguely sensed someone dropping to their knees in front of her with a thud.
Yun Manman: Ah??
Such a grand gesture wasn't necessary.
She was scooped into someone's arms, feeling a familiar scent. She instinctively adjusted her position in the man's embrace to make herself more comfortable, and asked in a weak voice: "Is it Qiqi?"
Lu Qi carefully protected her as he bent to walk out of the tree hollow. Hearing the cat's voice, he pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
After a few seconds, he replied: "Yes."