After Becoming Pregnant With The Empress Cat's Cub - Chapter 18

“Lan Ye fell in love with me at first sight.”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough…”

Lan Ye was just about to speak when she suddenly broke into a fit of violent coughing.

She pounded her chest hard, trying to dislodge the piece of cake that had accidentally gotten stuck in her throat. This was a nightmare, it was wedged tight! No matter how hard she tried to swallow, the cake wouldn’t budge, and her face turned a deep shade of crimson from the blockage.

Lan Ye’s sudden accident startled everyone present, including Xiaoxiao, who had been busy licking cream.

Ju Rin, who was sitting the furthest away, had the fastest reaction. She stood up and reached Lan Ye in a single stride to check her condition.

Lan Shan was a step behind: “Xiao Ye, what’s wrong? Did you choke on your food?”

“Quick, get some water!” Yao Li said anxiously, looking toward the coffee table. She picked up the fullest teacup and moved to hand it over.

Suddenly, a hand with long, slender fingers intercepted the tea mid-air. The tea splashed onto that thin hand and even a bit onto Yao Li’s own hand.

“No, no, this tea is scalding!”

Yao Li realized the temperature from the splashes on the back of her hand, she had just refilled Lin’s cup with boiling water! Thank goodness Xiao Ye hadn’t drunk it directly!

Full of guilt and lingering fear, Yao Li ran toward the kitchen: “I’ll get some water!”

There was only hot tea on the coffee table, the kitchen had cold water. By the time she “teleported” back with a glass of water, Lan Ye had already coughed up the stuck piece of cake. From start to finish, the ordeal had lasted less than ten seconds.

Lan Shan was quite shaken: “Xiao Ye, are you alright now? Is there anything else stuck?”

Lan Ye shook her head while wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. She truly hadn’t expected that a single bite of cake would nearly end her “magnificent” life before it had even begun.

Yao Li held the water glass, looking worried: “Do you want some water?”

As she handed it over, the glass was once again intercepted mid-way by Rin.

Ju Rin held the glass, and after confirming the temperature was safe, she handed it to Lan Ye: “Drink some water.”

If one listened closely, there was a hint of relief in her voice after the tension. This human… she manages to be ridiculous in a new way every single day… to think someone could actually choke on a bite of cake. She had finally witnessed firsthand just how fragile humans could be.

While Lan Ye drank the water, Ju Rin used her mental power to sense Lan Ye’s belly, which she was protecting. There were no abnormalities… Only then did she completely let out the breath she was holding.

After Ju Rin spoke, Lan Shan snapped out of it and looked at her with gratitude: “Good child, thank goodness for you.” It was Rin who had just slapped the cake out of her with a strike to the back.

Yao Li was equally grateful, she knew a bit more than Lan Shan did: “Thank you, child, for using your mental power to protect Xiao Ye just now.”

She had sensed a ripple of mental energy earlier, which must have come from Rin, likely to protect the kitten in Xiao Ye’s belly. Things had happened so fast that Yao Li hadn’t even thought that far ahead.

Upon hearing about the “mental power,” Lan Shan became even more grateful. Her gaze toward Rin was now one of complete approval.

After finishing the water, Lan Ye naturally handed the empty glass back to Rin.

Ju Rin paused for a moment as she looked at the gesture. She wasn’t exactly her servant… but while she hesitated, another hand reached out. Seeing that Lan Ye was done, Lan Shan took the glass and handed it back to Yao Li.

Lan Ye wiped the water from her lips and looked at Yao Li, curious about her previous words: “Mental power… protecting me?”

Yao Li took the glass and replied, “Yes, didn’t you feel a warm current in your belly?”

Lan Ye nodded. She did and she had felt it before. Yesterday, during the robbery at the bus station, her belly had felt warm after Rin appeared.

“That was Rin’s mental power.”

Lan Ye looked at Rin in surprise. So that’s mental power? How magical. Also, it turned out she had been silently protecting her all along. She looked at Rin, gave her a playful wink, and whispered, “I’ll repay you later.”

Ju Rin rejected the offer without hesitation: “No need.”

Even without knowing what “repayment” the human meant, based on her current understanding of her… Ju Rin had a feeling it wasn’t something she would be able to accept. In fact, she had a bit of an ominous premonition.

Lan Ye assumed Rin was just playing her usual game of “wanting it in her heart but saying no with her mouth.” Wanting to make her hint even more obvious, she caught sight of Yao Li about to clean up the mess she had coughed up. She quickly grabbed some tissues to beat her to it. She was too embarrassed to let someone else clean up her vomit.

Seeing a whole, quail egg sized… thing… in the cake crumbs, Lan Ye realized what had choked her.

Yao Li saw it too and smacked her forehead. “Look at how careless I am… it’s all my fault. I only thought about buying the ‘Queen’s favorite’ cake, but I forgot the Queen is a Beastman. Beastman cakes often have these ‘Ququ Fruits’ added. It’s not easy for a human like Xiao Ye to bite through those.”

She assumed Lan Ye choked because she couldn’t crush the fruit. In reality, Lan Ye had been so startled by Lan Shan’s question earlier and so worried that Ju Rin would say the wrong thing, that she had swallowed the bite before she could even chew.

Beside her, Rin’s brow twitched when she heard Yao Li’s explanation. While Ququ Fruits were hard, a typical adult human should be able to bite them… This human seems even more useless than I thought.

Lan Shan pulled up Lan Ye, who was still trying to clean the floor: “Xiao Ye, you sit down. Careful of your belly.”

The episode ended without further danger. Lan Ye sat back down on the sofa, right next to Rin.

Earlier, she had been nursing a bit of a mood because Rin had spent 500,000 on gifts. It wasn’t that she was stingy, she just felt it was unnecessary since Rin’s purchases might not even be what Lan Shan and the others needed. It would have been better to just give cash. She would definitely need to have a talk with Rin about her spending habits later.

But now, there was something more important.

While Lan Shan and Yao Li were busy tidying up, Lan Ye leaned in close to Rin and whispered, “My aunt asked how we met and got together. Whatever you do, don’t be a dummy and say ‘one night stand’.”

“One night stand?” Ju Rin repeated in confusion.

She spoke at a normal volume, loud enough for everyone to hear. Seeing Yao Li and Lan Shan stop their cleaning to look over, Lan Ye frantically waved her hands.

“What ‘one night’? What ‘stand’? Don’t you see the elders are right here!”

Lan Ye slapped Rin’s leg, signaling her to shut up.

Yao Li and Lan Shan froze for a moment before the realization hit them both.

Lan Shan made a decision quickly: “Xiao Ye, I’m going to take out the trash.”

Yao Li chimed in with perfect chemistry. “I’ll accompany your aunt to take out the trash.”

The two rose quickly, and Lan Shan conveniently scooped up Xiaoxiao. As they reached the door, Yao Li looked at Rin: “About three minutes, that’s how long it takes to walk to the trash station and back.”

The implication was clear: they had three minutes to “kiss.”

Ju Rin was a beat slow in understanding what Lan Ye had meant… Seeing the two women about to leave, she opened her mouth to call them back and explain. She never said she wanted to kiss, this human was slandering her!

Thud. The door closed.

After Yao Li led Lan Shan and Xiaoxiao over ten meters away, the two women and the cat turned back simultaneously to look at their closed front door.

“Is three minutes enough?”

“Even if it isn’t, it’ll have to be. If it weren’t for the fact that she just saved Xiao Ye, I wouldn’t have even given them three minutes.”

“Meow~”

The two looked at each other and scratched Xiaoxiao’s chin together, their eyes filled with the pride of being “open-minded guardians.”

Inside the house, Ju Rin turned her body fully to face the human who had “framed” her.

“Why did you say that just now?”

Lan Ye scratched her head. It wasn’t her fault, when she was in a rush to make something up, it all depended on what “inspiration” hit her. However, the effect was excellent, now she could properly instruct Rin.

“You’re the one who said ‘one night stand’ first.”

Ju Rin reminded her: “You brought it up first.”

“I was telling you not to mention it! But you, you went and highlighted it!”

Ju Rin: “What is a ‘one night stand’?”

Lan Ye: “Don’t say it again! Aunt asked how we met earlier. When they come back, don’t you dare say anything about a one night stand. You have to… beautify it.”

Ju Rin: “One night stand?” She frowned at the human. She finally realized, this human classified their first night together as a “one night stand”? Between them… where was the “stand,” let alone the “love” (qing)?

“Just say we fell in love at first sight. As for where we met, let me think…” Lan Ye pondered. “A library! It sounds like a spiritual resonance that completely transcends low-level physical desires.”

She did have a bit of a sense of shame, even if it was only a small amount reserved for her elders.

Ju Rin listened to the explanation with a frown. She hadn’t planned on describing the circumstances of their meeting anyway, that was something that couldn’t be told to outsiders. If her eyes hadn’t been injured and she hadn’t been desperate to find the person, she wouldn’t have even told Si Qing.

Seeing Ju Rin nod, Lan Ye took advantage of the remaining time to fully flesh out their “love story.”

On a chance sunny day, they fell in love at first sight in a library. Rin launched a fierce pursuit. After careful consideration, Lan Ye agreed, and their passionate love naturally led to the kitten.

As for why Rin was missing while Lan Ye was unconscious, Lan Ye smoothed that over too, claiming Rin had also been in an accident. The “star crossed lovers” thus spent nearly a month in their respective beds after getting out of the same one. Fortunately, the heavens couldn’t bear to separate them, on the day Lan Ye went for her check-up, fate arranged for Rin to enter the same hospital. The two were reunited. Sparks flew, and after one meal, they got married.

“How is it? Is it touching?” Lan Ye was very satisfied with her own story.

Ju Rin: “…” It was beyond words.

After a long silence: “Is there another version?”

Lan Ye: “No.” She looked at Ju Rin. “Is there something you’re not satisfied with?”

Nothing was satisfactory. Ju Rin looked at Lan Ye’s head, which seemed somehow different from others. She now truly believed that this human had injured her brain and had some issues. Does she look like someone I could fall in love with at first sight, let alone pursue relentlessly?

Just as she was about to suggest changes to this “script,” Ju Rin heard a knock at the door.

After waiting a few seconds, Lan Shan and Yao Li pushed the door open and peeked inside cautiously. The two on the sofa were sitting quietly, looking as though they were “finished.”

A Beastman who knows the rules, Lan Shan and Yao Li thought, giving Rin another point in their mental tally.

The two walked back in smiling. Lan Shan went to brew a fresh pot of tea, and Yao Li went to get a new dessert. She had hidden the leftover cake, not daring to let Lan Ye eat it again.

Once they were settled, Lan Ye opened her mouth with a bright, happy smile: “Aunt, please continue.”

Lan Shan was confused: “Hmm? Continue what?”

“Continue the question from before. Ask Rin how we met and how we fell for each other.”

If Lan Ye hadn’t brought it up, Lan Shan would have almost forgotten their original topic. Seeing Xiao Ye’s proactive reminder, Lan Shan guessed she was trying to deflect from the “three minutes” incident out of shyness. They hadn’t planned on asking anyway, young people were passionate, but easily embarrassed.

So, Lan Shan followed Lan Ye’s lead, picking up the thread as if the interruptions hadn’t happened. All eyes fell on Rin.

Ju Rin glanced sideways at Lan Ye. Under the other’s encouraging gaze, she began to tell the story of their relationship.

“By a stroke of luck, we met unexpectedly in a bakery.”

Hearing this opening, Lan Ye raised an eyebrow. Wait, she changed the script?

Ju Rin saw her surprise and pursed her lips, a trace of a smile flashing through her eyes.

“Lan Ye fell in love with me at first sight.”

“She said I was the best person in the world.”

“Under her persistent pursuit, I finally agreed to be with her.”