Yun Manman felt her eyes grow warm as she broke into a big smile. "Yes! Manman will accept them! Thank you, big brothers and sisters!"
Then, feeling a bit embarrassed, she wiggled her ears and said, "But I didn't bring any gifts, only these little snacks I just brought over..."
She instructed her little robot to bring over the lunchbox Shou Ren had given her. "I don't know if you'll like them."
Yan Jiao took the lunchbox and opened the lid. As she smelled the aroma inside, her azure eyes lit up incredibly bright.
"Fried mint! It's fried mint!"
This exclamation instantly caused the big cats around to explode with excitement. "Give me some! Is it Uncle Shou Ren's fried mint?"
"His fried mint is super delicious!"
"Waaah, thanks to Manman we finally get to eat it! We haven't been able to have any since that stingy Lu Qiqi banned us from going to the Singing Snake Mansion..."
Seeing how much the big cats liked it, Yun Manman let out a small sigh of relief. "I'm glad you like it."
Yan Jiao's eyes welled up with tears, looking as if she was about to cry. "I absolutely love it! I love you, Manman!"
A few minutes later, Yun Manman looked at the big cats sprawled all over the floor in various contorted positions, completely lacking in dignity, and suddenly realized.
Now she understood why they loved fried mint so much.
It was just like they had overdosed on catnip! They were high!
This large room in the Yunzheng Mansion was a dedicated entertainment and fitness room, equipped with both fun toys like electric cat teasers and large cat trees, as well as exercise equipment like treadmills and chest press machines that Yun Manman didn't quite recognize.
The indoor space was spacious, and even with several big cats sprawled on the floor like puddles of water, it didn't feel crowded.
Yun Manman took a feather wand and waved it in front of Yan Jiao's eyes, tentatively asking, "Sister Jiao? Are you okay?"
Yan Jiao was lying on her back with her belly exposed and all four paws in the air. Her gaze was unfocused as she followed the moving feather, her front paws reaching out trying to catch it.
She looked a bit silly.
Unable to catch the feather dancing before her eyes, she became a bit frustrated. Suddenly, she jumped up from the ground and started chasing it with an unsteady gait. "I'm fine! Wait a sec, Manman! Let me catch this damn feather first!"
Yun Manman, riding her little robot, called out, "Little one, run quick! Don't let Sister Jiao catch us!"
The robot's electronic screen displayed star-shaped eyes. "Okay! I love playing chase the most!"
Xiao Xiao, still somewhat lucid, followed behind Yan Jiao with an equally wobbly gait. "Sister Jiao! Stop chasing! Manman's foot is still injured!"
"Impossible! That's just a flying feather! It can't possibly be Manman!" Her voice was firm and decisive.
In an instant, a parkour race began in the spacious room.
Yan Xi sat in a chair by the wall, her gaze constantly following the little orange cat, also making sure she didn't get hurt.
Seeing her children playing so well together, she felt quite content. "Linqing, look how adorable and lively our little ones are..."
That afternoon, at the Singing Snake Mansion.
Lu Qi returned to the mansion after a busy day, intending to find his cat for dinner, only to discover the cat was missing.
He asked Shou Ren, who was busy tidying up the room, "Where's Yun Manman?"
Shou Ren paused his work and replied with a smile, "Miss Yun was picked up by Major General Yan Ye early this morning and taken to the Yunzheng Mansion. She probably won't be back for dinner."
Lu Qi: ...
What does Yan Ye, that old sixth, want with my cat??
Lu Qi sped all the way to the Yunzheng Mansion in his hover car.
The Yunzheng Mansion was much larger than the Singing Snake Mansion, and its architectural style was more luxurious.
Thinking about how a bunch of scatterbrained Yunzheng Beasts lived in such a grand house, Lu Qi curled his lip in disdain.
At least the cat he liked wasn't a Yunzheng Beast.
Lu Qi had sent a message to Yan Ye when he arrived. After parking his car, he strode directly into the mansion with his long legs.
Yan Ye received the message and came out to greet Lu Qi. "Well, what a rare guest."
"What brings our Singing Snake General to our Fluffy Paradise?"
Lu Qi stopped in his tracks and asked coldly, "Where's Yun Manman?"
Yan Ye led him to sit in a pavilion in the garden. "She's having dinner with Alice and my family. Do you want to join them?"
Lu Qi thought for a moment and sat down with Yan Ye in the pavilion.
Never mind, he wouldn't go over.
He'd wait for her to finish dinner and then leave.
To avoid Uncle Yun Rong and Aunt Yan Shuang trying to give him a bunch of stuff again.
The pavilion was built over a small lake where many colorful fish were kept.
As leaves fell onto the water surface with the wind, creating ripples, the fish in the lake quickly hid away as if startled.
The speed at which they fled showed that they had been repeatedly tormented by these Yunzheng Beasts.
Lu Qi wondered if he should catch one to grill, as the fish in the Yunzheng Mansion's lake were quite fresh. Maybe Yun Manman would like to eat it.
At this moment, he heard Yan Ye ask beside him, "I heard from my father that you cancelled the engagement?"
Lu Qi sprawled on the table without any dignity, his short, messy hair covering his forehead, making his facial features look even more sculpted and fair.
He spoke lazily, "Yes. Is there a problem?"
"You're not planning to complain to His Majesty and continue this meaningless marriage alliance, are you?"
Seeing the Singing Snake's nonchalant attitude, Yan Ye spoke slowly, "We won't do that."
"I just hope you won't regret it later."
Lu Qi rolled his eyes. "Me? Regret? Don't be ridiculous."
Yan Ye wanted to laugh but forcefully flattened his lips, putting on a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong with us Yunzheng Beasts? Sister Yan Jiao might be a bit simple, but she's one of the great beauties of our clan. Then there's Xiao Xiao, gentle and refined in nature. We also just welcomed back a sister, who's incredibly cute..."
Lu Qi raised his head in confusion. "The daughter Aunt Yan Xi lost has come back?"
He knew that the Yunzheng Clan had lost a cub many years ago, but he had no impression of that cub.
He didn't expect that after so long, they would actually find her.
But this had nothing to do with him.
The Singing Snake waved his tail and yawned. "Then I'll send gifts over another day. I didn't bring anything today."
Yan Ye persisted, "Do you want to meet her? You might hit it off."
Lu Qi's voice was firm and decisive. "I, Lu Qi, will never mate with any of you Yunzheng Beasts."
Hadn't he been tormented enough by Yunzheng Beasts when he was young? He was almost getting PTSD.
Yan Ye stood up, his golden cat eyes filled with six parts playfulness and four parts seriousness. "Lu Qi, remember what you said."
"Now that you've cancelled the engagement, if you still want to mate with a female from our clan, you'll have to get past me first."
Lu Qi rested his chin on his hand and looked at Yan Ye. "You're acting strange today."
Yan Ye walked forward, his tail held high behind him. "It's nothing. The sister who came back is too cute, I'm not ready to let her mate with other males yet."
"Let's go. They should be done with dinner by now."