After Becoming Pregnant With The Empress Cat's Cub - Chapter 3

What beautiful eyes…

Lan Ye’s mouth hung slightly open, and she subconsciously held her breath, forgetting to even chew the pineapple bun in her mouth. She stared blankly up at those amber pupils.

It was the first time she had ever seen such eyes, mysterious colors carrying an innate air of nobility, like rare gemstones shimmering with a warm yet aggressive luster.

Lan Ye blinked softly, looking at the edges of those eyes. The pitch-black, full-wrap eyeliner would usually seem like exaggerated makeup on anyone else, but on this person, it looked as natural as if she were born with it. Combined with the unique eye color, it added a sense of elegance, like a precious gem that required a black swan-like velvet box for its presentation.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Lan Ye subconsciously swallowed, gulping down the unchewed pineapple bun. Then, tragedy struck. The bread got stuck in her throat!

Lan Ye lowered her head, pounding her chest, struggling to force the bread down. Suddenly, a hand appeared in her field of vision, elegantly holding a disposable cup. Lan Ye didn’t have time to say thanks, she grabbed it and downed the water in one go. Once the bread passed smoothly, she finally looked up at the person who had helped her.

“Thank you.”

Seeing that she was alright, the other person straightened up. Strands of swaying hair danced before Lan Ye’s eyes. This hair color…

The pink strands looked as if they had been dusted with gold powder. It was such a familiar color. Lan Ye looked again: white shirt, sleeves rolled up, and a gemstone bracelet on the wrist.

It was cat’s eye stone. Lan Ye recognized the gem, and she recognized the person. It was the woman she had seen in the sports car this morning!

Back then, the woman was in the car wearing sunglasses, so Lan Ye couldn’t see her clearly. Now that she saw her fully, she realized that not only were her arm muscles attractive, but everything from her face to her figure, even her hair was perfect.

She was so beautiful she hardly seemed human.

Why was she here?

Lan Ye looked down at her stomach. She was in this room waiting for the child’s other mother… No way… Lan Ye looked up at the person who had remained silent since entering.

“You are?” Could this person really be the other mother of the child in her belly? As soon as the thought appeared, Lan Ye dismissed it. Impossible.

“Lin.”

“Lin?” (Zero?)

This similar exchange made them both simultaneously think back to that night when even the air felt pink.

Ju Lin looked down from her height at the person sitting in the chair. Since entering the room, she had been observing her, searching for points of similarity to her memory. That night, her eyes had been injured and she couldn’t see clearly, but she remembered vividly that when she wanted to bite the person’s nape, she had brushed aside the hair, the strands had felt soft and smooth against the back of her hand.

But the person in front of her… Ju Lin looked at the short, buzzed hair clinging to the scalp. It was the opposite of “soft and smooth” it looked like it would feel “prickly” to the touch.

Her gaze flickered almost imperceptibly as she looked into those eyes filled with confusion. She remembered that night, frequently wiping away tears from the corners of that person’s eyes, she had felt the contour of the eyes, they were large. The person before her did indeed have large eyes, but they were almost too large, making her look innocent and naive.

Ju Lin’s gaze dropped, sweeping over the lips tinged with food crumbs. Pink images flashed through her mind; she seemed to hear the disjointed melodies that had escaped those lips. She cleared her throat to interrupt the sounds echoing in her head and moved her gaze back to those round, staring eyes.

“Lin.”

Just like that night, Ju Lin corrected Lan Ye’s pronunciation and handed over a business card.

Lan Ye took it. On the black card, there were four words in flowing, pale-gold artistic script: Bounty Hunter.

What on earth was that?

Lan Ye blinked and flipped the card over.

[Lin S]

What did that mean? Lan Ye looked closely, but those were the only words. She looked at the woman.

“Lin?” Lan Ye guessed. “Is this your name?”

Ju Lin nodded slightly. This was the name she used while traveling abroad.

Lan Ye pointed to the letter ‘S’ on the card and asked, “And this? What does it mean?”

Ju Lin was somewhat surprised by the question. She thought back to Si Qing’s warning on the phone earlier, she said the woman Ju Lin was looking for either had a mental deficiency or was a very good actress. Ju Lin couldn’t judge which one she was yet.

“Mental power level.”

Although she wasn’t sure if the woman truly lacked this common knowledge, Ju Lin provided the answer anyway.

“Ah,” Lan Ye exclaimed. The educational video the police officer showed her earlier mentioned that Beastmen were categorized into levels based on the strength of their mental power. There were five levels: A, B, S, SS, and SSS. Among them, SSS also known as Super S, was extremely rare and the highest level.

Lan Ye looked at the lonely ‘S’ on the card. While she didn’t know how the level difference manifested in terms of ability, based on the ranking, an ‘S’ was just the middle of the pack.

So, the Beastman in front of her had an “average” level of ability in this world?

Key Observations in the Room

Aside from Si Qing, everyone else in the room was shocked that the Beastman in front of them was “only” an S-rank. As soon as she had entered, their mental powers had fluctuated involuntarily.

The young nurse was only an A-rank Beastman. From the moment the woman entered, she had clutched her chest, unable to speak from the pressure, only now was she feeling slightly better. Generally, an S-rank wouldn’t affect her to this extent. If it wasn’t a ranking error, it meant the Beastman’s current emotions were extremely volatile.

Si Qing was the only one who knew Ju Lin was actually a Super S-rank. Ju Lin’s fluctuating mental power was so strong that even Si Qing had been completely silenced by the pressure.

The room was filled with “passive silence” everyone was being suppressed.

Si Qing looked at Lan Ye, the only one who could speak normally. As an ordinary human, she seemed completely unaffected. There was only one possibility: Ju Lin’s mental power was protecting her.

Lan Ye was entirely unaware of this. She looked at the card, wondering what a “Bounty Hunter” was. Being someone who asked whatever was on her mind, she spoke up.

“Is ‘Bounty Hunter’ your profession?”

Everyone else in the silent room had the same thought: How could someone not know such basic common knowledge? Lan Ye didn’t realize that her question was the equivalent of asking, “Is a doctor a profession?”

Si Qing watched the innocent-looking woman, feeling she must be acting. Someone who could single-handedly bypass Ju Lin’s residence security system couldn’t possibly have a mental deficiency. She had to be a meticulous, highly capable human.

Si Qing felt she had the whole thing figured out.

Si Qing’s Theory: This human took advantage of Ju Lin’s “Lust Period” and injury to break into her room. After sleeping with her, she vanished so Ju Lin couldn’t find her. She waited until she was sure she was pregnant, went to the hospital for confirmation, and then called the police. By pretending not to know who the other Beastman was, she induced the police to use DNA testing to find the person for her.

It was a calculated, sophisticated plan.

Si Qing watched her, wondering what the human’s next move would be. If she insisted on filing a police report, the Royal Family would find out, and the Court of Justice would surely make a huge scene. Ju Lin’s position as the first-in-line heir would be lost.

While Her Highness didn’t want the throne anyway, being stripped of the succession in such a way would be a disgrace. Worse, if they couldn’t prove Ju Lin hadn’t forced the human, it would mean the death penalty.

Luckily, Si Qing was the one who took the call today, otherwise, this would already be on the news.

Feeling the pressure from Ju Lin’s mental power ease, Si Qing was about to ask Lan Ye what her demands were when Ju Lin spoke to her.

“I want to talk to her alone.”

The “her” was obvious. Si Qing immediately nodded, thinking it was a good idea. The woman must have a goal, it might not be to ruin Ju Lin’s reputation. They should talk and see what she wanted.

She led the doctor and nurse away. The young nurse was worried, she was still furious over what Lan Ye had “suffered” and wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. The doctor pulled her out, and as soon as they left the reception room and could speak, the doctor said, “Don’t worry, the police are right there.”

The doctor noted that while that Beastman was S-rank, they were only A-rank, essentially just humans with better physical fitness. They couldn’t lift a finger against her. Furthermore, the Beastman didn’t seem like the type to violate a human’s will. And that human… her eyes were practically glued to the Beastman, she didn’t look like she’d been forced at all.

As the door closed, Ju Lin looked at the person closing it: “You leave, too.”

Si Qing blinked. She had to go too? She didn’t really want to, but seeing Ju Lin’s expression, she knew it wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order.

“Yes.”

Helplessly, Si Qing opened the door again and walked out to wait.

In the reception room, only Ju Lin and Lan Ye remained. Ju Lin pulled a chair from behind the desk and moved it directly opposite Lan Ye.

As Ju Lin sat, they were face to face, their knees only a fist’s width apart. Their toes almost touched.

Lan Ye’s reaction was a beat slow. Once the other sat down, she scooted her chair back a bit to create space, placing her disposable cup on the desk. Unlike Ju Lin’s composure, Lan Ye was suddenly nervous.

The tension came from being in such an intimate space, it was hard not to think back to that scorching night. Lan Ye looked at the half-eaten pineapple bun in her hand and instinctively stuffed it into her mouth. She always wanted to eat when she was nervous.

Seeing the person opposite watching her, Lan Ye chewed while leaning over to pull another flattened pineapple bun from her backpack. She handed it to Ju Lin.

With her mouth full, Lan Ye’s voice was muffled.

“Have you had breakfast? Want one?”

Ju Lin glanced down at the hand holding the bread, which was tinged with a bit of oil, and didn’t take it. “Thank you, no.”

Since she didn’t want it, Lan Ye didn’t insist. After swallowing, she unwrapped the second bun and continued eating.

It wasn’t that she was truly famished, it was mostly nerves. In a situation like this, Lan Ye didn’t know what to say, and eating helped soothe both her anxiety and the awkwardness.

By now, no matter how slow she was, Lan Ye realized the woman in front of her was the one the police had found, the other mother of the kitten in her belly.

The woman’s voice was quite different from the one in her dreams, so Lan Ye didn’t dare be completely certain the police had found the right person.

Ju Lin had originally intended to wait for the woman to finish eating before speaking, but after finishing one bun, the woman reached for another…

the air was thick with the scent of pineapple buns.

Ju Lin did not care for such overly sweet aromas. She frowned slightly, hesitated for two seconds, and finally violated the Royal etiquette rule of not questioning someone while they were eating.

“That night… the person who broke into my room… was it you?”

Seeing the other party break the silence, Lan Ye let out a breath, but thinking back to that night, that breath seemed to get stuck again.

“I’m actually not sure. I clearly went back to my own room. I was drunk that night and didn’t see anyone clearly…” Lan Ye threw the question back. “Um, are you sure? I mean… are you sure the person you slept with was me?”

Lan Ye still didn’t quite understand the specifics of how this had happened.

Hearing Lan Ye’s question, Ju Lin’s brow furrowed. The woman’s blunt words bordered on offensive. Looking at Lan Ye’s confused expression, Ju Lin felt a surge of distaste for this “playing dumb” act.

How could this human not be certain?

Wasn’t this all part of her plan?

If Lan Ye knew what Ju Lin was thinking, she would have cried out in injustice. She really had gone back to her own hotel. Thinking of this, Lan Ye felt she had to be rigorous and figure out exactly who she had slept with.

Lan Ye looked down at her stomach, which was still flat even while sitting. Even though the police said the DNA matched the kitten’s other mother, what if there was a problem with the gene bank?

At that thought, Lan Ye suddenly remembered something, something that could confirm if this woman was the one from that night.

Lan Ye quickly scanned the room. No one. Everyone had left and the door was closed.

She stuffed the rest of the pineapple bun into her mouth, shoved the business card into her backpack, and brushed the crumbs off her hands. She pressed her skirt down between her legs with one hand and hiked up the side of her skirt with the other.

Ju Lin had noticed her strange behavior when she was looking around. Suspecting the human was up to something, she waited quietly. She didn’t expect the human to lift her skirt directly in front of her, revealing a pale, slender leg.

“What are you doing?”

As Ju Lin spoke, she moved herself and her chair back a step, but this only gave her a more complete view of the leg.

The skirt was quickly pulled up to the root of the thigh. Seeing the woman tugging at the edge of her underwear, Ju Lin averted her gaze, her brow tightly knit.

This human… her behavior was so reckless, even bordering on wanton.

Lan Ye tugged at the edge of the fabric, trying to show as much of the material as possible. She turned slightly toward Ju Lin and spoke: “Look, are these panties yours?”

She had just remembered, she had the one thing that could prove who she slept with that night!

“Take a quick look. I was in such a hurry that morning I put on the wrong underwear. Look, is this pair yours?”

Ju Lin was about to tell her to put her skirt down, but the question gave her pause. she looked over. She tried her best to ignore the leg and focused only on the bit of fabric being held out.

Black, mesh… it looked familiar, but it wasn’t a particularly unique style. Ju Lin thought of the pair left in the car; that pair had been very unique.

“You said you put on the wrong ones, then the original.”

Before Ju Lin could finish, Lan Ye cut in: “Mine were boxer style, pure cotton, with a Hello Kitty right here.”

Ju Lin’s eyes flickered. It matched. She finally remembered that the big faced cat with the bow was called that in the Museum of Human History.

Lan Ye saw a ripple in those amber eyes, as if she had remembered something. She pressed: “Are these the ones I’m wearing yours?”

Ju Lin nodded, no longer looking at the corner of the underwear Lan Ye was tugging.

She was actually still wearing her underwear…

Seeing the nod, Lan Ye’s eyes lit up. “It really was you!”

Now that she’d found the owner, logically she should return them, but the current situation made that difficult.

Lan Ye apologized: “Uh, sorry about that. I should give them back to you, but I don’t have a replacement right now. Wait until I can change, I’ll wash them and return them to you.”

Ju Lin: “…”

For the first time in her life, Ju Lin met someone so absurd that she was momentarily speechless. After taking a deep, frustrated breath, Ju Lin spoke in a low voice: “No need to return them.”

Seeing the woman’s leg still exposed, Ju Lin reached out and gently pulled the skirt Lan Ye had bunched up, letting the earthy-yellow fabric cover the underwear and the pale leg once more.

Once they were covered, her fluctuating mental power calmed slightly. Ju Lin now somewhat regretted refusing the medicine the doctor had offered.

Looking at her smoothed out skirt, Lan Ye felt a belated sense of embarrassment. But she hadn’t really exposed anything; she was just trying to prove who she’d slept with it was justifiable.

Regarding the “no need to return them” comment, Lan Ye felt she should still pay her back somehow. But not these, she’d already worn them, and she sensed the woman wouldn’t want them back. She’d just buy an identical pair for her later.

“Um, do you have my pair?” She still hoped the other woman would return them.

Ju Lin understood what Lan Ye meant, but she had no desire to continue a conversation about underwear. “Sorry, I threw them away.”

“Ah!” Lan Ye felt a pang of heartache. She really liked those.

Seeing the look of genuine distress on Lan Ye’s face, Ju Lin’s eyelid twitched. “I’ll compensate you.”

Despite her sadness, Lan Ye waved it off. “No need for that. I was the one who put the wrong ones on first. You don’t need to apologize.”

Ju Lin: “…” Her “sorry” had just been a polite formality.

Not wanting to continue the topic, and having confirmed that the human before her was indeed the one from that night, Ju Lin asked what she most wanted to know.

“That night, how did you get into my room?”

Her residence had sufficient security measures. As Si Qing had said, it was impossible for an ordinary human to enter her room without triggering any alarms.

Hearing the question, Lan Ye gave a bitter smile. “You probably won’t believe me if I tell you. I was drunk and going back to my own room. I don’t know how it ended up being your room. At first, I thought you were the one who broke into my room.”

And the next morning, when she opened the door to leave, she was still in the hotel.

Thinking of this, Lan Ye realized something was wrong. When she stepped out onto the street, she was sure there were no cars, yet as soon as she reached the middle of the road, a car appeared out of nowhere and sent her flying.

Was it a spatial overlap?

Ju Lin certainly didn’t believe what Lan Ye was saying. She looked at Lan Ye with a scrutinizing gaze.

From this brief interaction, she had formed a preliminary judgment of this human. Her appearance was ordinary, her behavior frivolous, and her intelligence was unknown, though she didn’t seem very bright. As for her character… being able to lie so naturally meant her character was also questionable.

Ju Lin sighed inwardly.

This person was worlds away from her hazy memories. Ju Lin was even starting to suspect that her memories of that night were flawed, beautified by her imagination. How could she have… felt so much passion for someone like this…

Yet the facts were right in front of her. Ju Lin looked at Lan Ye’s belly, which showed no signs of pregnancy yet. She couldn’t understand why she had lost control so completely.

What had this woman done that night? Was it drugs? But for Ju Lin, simple drugs couldn’t override her mental power.

The situation was exceeding all of Ju Lin’s plans. The person was found, but she couldn’t be locked up, and no interrogation methods could be used.

Ju Lin sighed softly and reached out her hand toward the human.

“Hmm?” Lan Ye looked at the hand extended toward her and instinctively went to place her hand in it.

Ju Lin shifted her hand, avoiding the contact. “The ultrasound report.”

“Oh, right.” Lan Ye realized. She wanted the report, not to hold hands.

She didn’t know how she could have misunderstood that, or why she had reached out so naturally to hold hands in the first place…

It was probably because the person in front of her was just too good-looking.

Lan Ye pulled the ultrasound report, which she had rolled into a tube, out of her backpack and handed it to Ju Lin.

Ju Lin looked at the hand, which still had traces of oil on it, and frowned once more. She took a breath; the scent of pineapple bun was everywhere, making her brow furrow even tighter.

Lan Ye watched her frown as she took the report, thinking the woman was probably very annoyed by the whole “creating a kitten” situation.

She couldn’t remember how that night happened or who initiated it, but based on the current situation and what she knew of herself, Lan Ye felt it was highly likely she had been the one who was “seduced by beauty”…

She should just take responsibility for the consequences herself.

Just as she was about to speak her decision, her eyes suddenly widened with intense shock.

Mother of pearl!

In Lan Ye’s vision, two golden, fluffy ears slowly emerged from the woman’s thick pink hair!

!!!

Ears that could move!

Ju Lin was looking at the color ultrasound report and didn’t notice the human’s wide, shocked eyes. She stared at the clear little kitten head on the report, let out a long breath, and spoke.

Her voice, lazy and majestic yet tinged with a hint of helplessness, said:

“Since we’re having it, let’s get married.”