Lu Qi's fair face flushed red, his sharp phoenix eyes clouded with a hazy look. The small red mole under his right eye seemed almost coquettish now. His usual sharpness had diminished, and his thin lips, still moist with alcohol, looked enticingly red.
The phrase "a feast for the eyes" suddenly flashed through Yun Manman's mind.
As she was still in a daze, Lu Qi suddenly cupped her cat face with both hands. His exquisite phoenix eyes blinked several times, as if trying to focus on the cat before him.
His voice suddenly turned plaintive: "Are you Yun Manman?"
With her face squished together, Yun Manman replied dryly: "I'm not."
Lu Qi's voice rose: "You're not!? Then can you ask her if hairless snakes are okay?"
Yun Manman was confused: "Okay for what?"
Lu Qi didn't answer. He stood up dizzily and spun around in circles, then sat cross-legged on the ground. He hugged his tail, which had somehow emerged behind him, and started tying it into a bow.
As he tied, he mumbled: "Little cabbage, yellow in the field, three years old, lost her mother..."
Yun Manman: ...
She took out her communicator to message Lu Xi, asking if he could come pick up the general. Only after receiving his affirmative reply did she breathe a sigh of relief.
She, a small injured kitten, couldn't possibly move this big snake.
While waiting for Lu Xi to arrive, Yun Manman watched in astonishment as Lu Qi played with his tail, creating increasingly elaborate designs.
Bow ties were child's play now; he even managed to tie six-pointed stars and lucky knots!
Yun Manman watched in horror as the tail twisted and turned in his hands, fearing he might break his own tail bones.
"General Lu? Maybe you should stop playing..."
Lu Qi paid no attention.
Yun Manman: "Lu Qi? General Lu Qi?"
"Qiqi!"
Lu Qi's movements stopped, his red eyes shining like precious gems: "Yes!"
It was as if a chord had been struck in that instant.
Yun Manman was momentarily at a loss for words, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her.
So Lu Qi wasn't completely indifferent to the time they had spent together in the past. At least those memories held some weight in his heart.
It seemed he might even consider her a friend?
Lu Qi tilted his head, placing his tail next to Yun Manman's paw, inviting her to play with it.
He proudly declared: "Even though I don't have fur, my tail can tie knots!"
Yun Manman thought: Though I don't know why you, as a snake, care so much about having fur or not, I'll have to decline playing with your tail.
Just as Yun Manman was about to lose control of the drunken snake, Lu Xi finally arrived.
Lu Xi was shocked to see Lu Qi so intoxicated: "I've never seen the general this drunk before!"
He struggled to help the snake with his tail tied in knots to stand up: "Miss Yun, please wait a moment. I'll help the general downstairs first..."
Yun Manman: "Alright."
She watched Lu Xi support Lu Qi as they walked away, then sat comfortably in her chair and opened her communicator, gleefully flipping through the photos and videos she had just taken.
"Hahaha... Oh my, Lu Qi is so funny..."
His flushed face looked particularly adorable and innocent. If his soldiers were to see this, they'd likely laugh their heads off.
Yun Manman savored the moment repeatedly, her tail raised high in delight. Any remaining filter she had for Lu Qi shattered in that moment.
Then she deleted the video.
She didn't dare show this video to Lu Qi.
Moreover, if it were accidentally leaked, what would become of General Lu Qi's reputation?
Lu Qi seemed to care quite a bit about his image.
She decided to protect General Lu Qi's face and fragile ego.
Just as she was waiting for Lu Xi to return and take her away, there was a knock on the door of the private room.
Lu Xi hadn't closed the door when he left, so Yun Manman looked up to see Yuan Ci standing tall and elegant in the doorway.
Yuan Ci looked as if he had come to discuss business, dressed in a crisp, well-fitted suit. Even the fur on his brown ears and tail was impeccably groomed.
He looked politely at the little cat: "Is that Manman? May I come in?"
Yuan Ci had actually noticed them when they first entered
More accurately, he had only noticed General Lu Qi, not recognizing the cat in his arms as Yun Manman.
It wasn't until later, when the owner of the Ika Grand Restaurant excitedly called out "Yun Manman," that he connected this small, beastform cat with the sweet, lovely lady he knew.
To run into her in the capital while he was here on business - if that wasn't fate granted by the Beast God, what was?
So Yuan Ci took the opportunity to come say hello when Lu Qi left.
With Yun Manman's permission, Yuan Ci entered and sat down in the chair next to the cat, his lips curving into a perfect, handsome smile.
"Miss Manman, it seems we truly have some fate between us, to run into each other even here."
Yun Manman laughed awkwardly: "It is quite a coincidence. Are you here on business?"
Yuan Ci nodded: "Yes. I've just finished."
"Are you here to play in the capital? Where are you staying? Do you need me to take you home?"
Yun Manman shook her head in refusal: "No need, my friend will be here soon to pick me up."
Yuan Ci's smile deepened: "Don't be so polite. Look, your paw is injured. Let me take you home..."
At that moment, Lu Xi's voice rang out: "Miss Yun, we can leave now."
Lu Xi eyed Yuan Ci warily.
He recognized this male beast. Silver Qian had reported on him before!
Always hanging around Miss Yun!
No, I must protect the general's happiness!
Lu Xi gave Yuan Ci a distant nod, then said to Yun Manman: "Miss Yun, the general is waiting for you downstairs."
Yuan Ci's smile froze.
Why did it sound like General Lu Qi and Yun Manman had quite a close relationship? He thought they were just friends?
Yun Manman inwardly scoffed, waiting for what? That snake had probably passed out drunk long ago.
But she didn't let it show on her face, obediently moving into the small cart Lu Xi had prepared.
Yun Manman waved a paw at Yuan Ci: "Mr. Yuan, I'll be going now..."
Before she could finish speaking, there was a loud bang at the door of the private room.
Everyone turned back in shock to find that the thick wooden door of the room had been smashed to pieces, even breaking a large hole in the adjacent wall.
Amidst the dust, a huge white snake figure appeared.
The Singing Snake's white scales had taken on a faint pink hue due to intoxication. His head swayed from side to side, unable to focus his crimson vertical pupils - clearly very drunk.
He hiccupped, spreading his fiery red wings: "Where's my cat?! Where's the cat?! Here kitty kitty kitty..."
Yun Manman thought: Cat is fine, but what's with the 'kitty kitty'?
The Singing Snake's gaze swept the room, settling on Yuan Ci. His massive head suddenly drew close, flicking out his forked tongue.
His voice turned fierce: "Did you steal my cat?!"
The giant snake's vertical pupils flashed with a ruthless, bloodthirsty light. His sharp venomous fangs had already extended, glinting with a chilling radiance that made one tremble.
Yuan Ci had never seen such a sight before. Terrified by the Singing Snake, his ears flattened against his head, his tail tucked between his legs, and his face turned pale.
His lips quivered as he spoke: "No, I didn't..."
Lu Xi was also startled by Lu Qi's appearance. When he had left, the general was sleeping in the car. When had he followed them up?
He tried to calm the situation: "General, General, please calm down..."
The Singing Snake immediately turned his fangs towards Lu Xi: "Did you steal my cat?"
Lu Xi quickly waved his hands: "No..."
Yun Manman couldn't bear to watch anymore. To prevent the drunken Lu Qi from questioning every guest in the restaurant, she sat in her chair and let out a loud meow at the big snake:
"Meow~! Stop looking, I'm right here!"
The giant snake's head immediately drew close to the small orange cat on the seat, examining her from left to right for a good while before happily licking the kitten with his forked tongue.
Then he gently picked up the cat with his tail and placed her on his back, darting out through the ruined door and flying straight up into the sky from the terrace!
It all happened so quickly that even Lu Xi couldn't react in time.
Lu Xi exchanged a stunned look with the dazed Yuan Ci before rushing to the terrace: "General! Flying is prohibited in the capital!!!"
His heart-wrenching cry echoed through the sky, but the Singing Snake had long since disappeared with the cat.
The commotion from the smashed door was so great that the restaurant's other patrons stood dumbfounded, holding up their communicators and watching the videos they had captured.
"That was General Lu Qi, right?"
"The general got drunk for love?? And his lover is a cat??"
As chaotic as it was inside the Ika Grand Restaurant, Yun Manman, clinging to the Singing Snake's back, was equally bewildered.
At first, she clung tightly to the Singing Snake's feathers, terrified of falling off, but after realizing that he wasn't flying too fast and was quite stable, she dared to open her eyes and survey the imperial capital shrinking beneath her feet.
It was so thrilling and high! But also exhilarating!
The wind whooshed past her ears, her hair floating freely in the breeze, her feet touching nothing, with the beautiful night sky before her eyes.
Though unexpected, it was an extraordinary delight.
It would have been even better if the snake beneath her wasn't talking.
Since leaving the restaurant, the Singing Snake had been muttering and rambling non-stop:
"Can't fly too fast, can't twist and turn in the sky, can't do acrobatics, the kitty might fall..."
"Why isn't it raining now, why did it rain for so long during the day..."
"I have fur too! I have wings, I can fly! But why does my tail hurt a bit..."
Yun Manman glanced back and was horrified to see that the snake's tail was still tied in a knot.
How could it not hurt?!
"Are there no birds on duty today? Why is the sky so empty, I should report their air traffic control team for slacking off during the rainy season..."
Suddenly, an angry shout rang out from behind: "Stop right there! Don't you know flying is prohibited in the imperial capital?!"
Yun Manman: !
Lu Qi, you verbose jinx!