After Becoming Pregnant With The Empress Cat's Cub - Chapter 37

The words had hardly left Lan Ye’s lips when she felt a gust of wind brush against her face.

Shadows flickered before her eyes, and the figure that had been standing by the doorway appeared in front of her like a flash of lightning.

Lan Ye’s breath hitched, her eyes widening in shock!

The reaction speed was too fast, she hadn’t even finished speaking!

Stunned, Lan Ye forgot to continue her acting and simply stared in astonishment at the person who had reached her.

The sense of “fragility” surrounding Rin, which had made Lan Ye feel like she had a lump in her throat, had not yet dissipated, but a layer of panic had now surfaced in those amber eyes.

She seemed somewhat at a loss, she reached out as if to support her but didn’t know if she was allowed to touch, so her hands hovered hollowly around Lan Ye’s wrists…

“What happened? Why does your stomach hurt… Is it very painful?”

The King’s reaction was also swift this time. Seeing Lan Ye clutching her stomach, she immediately turned to Minnie: “Call the doctor.”

Although she didn’t understand how this human could be speaking perfectly fine one second and having a stomachache the next, given what she knew that humans are fragile creatures, she didn’t suspect anything at first. She simply assumed the human was truly unwell.

Looking at the human who seemed “dazed by pain,” she even forgot what she had just been saying to her, her only hope was that nothing would happen to this human.

Seeing Rin look over with a gaze full of questioning, the King’s nerves twitched!

What did Rin mean? Did she think the King had done something?

The King rarely felt aggrieved, but she truly hadn’t done anything… in fact, not long ago, she had been so angered by this human that she needed medication.

Minnie finished the call and reported to the King: “The doctor has been notified.”

She looked at Lan Ye with worry in her eyes. Although she disliked this human, the human was pregnant. If something happened to the child here… as someone present, she might be in trouble… she’d likely have to defend herself in the High Court.

She prayed this human would be okay!

Minnie’s words snapped the dazed Lan Ye back to her senses. The doctor? Oh right, I forgot, royalty definitely has doctors on standby.

Once the doctor arrived, they would know she was faking it.

Lan Ye blinked and quickly came up with a plan, letting her body go limp and falling against Rin.

“I… want to go back… back to your bedroom…”

Lan Ye lowered her head, faking two sobs in Rin’s arms, sounding extremely weak and pitiful.

It was as if the pain was severe, or perhaps she was afraid of something, her body trembled slightly.

Rin picked her up immediately without a single question and started walking out.

Lan Ye instinctively wrapped her arms around Rin’s neck as she was lifted into the air. She was a bit surprised that Rin didn’t have any doubts and simply picked her up, seemingly ready to leave this place.

Lan Ye quickly buried her head in Rin’s chest, not letting anyone see her expression.

Rin was fast. Before the King could even react, they were already at the door.

She paused slightly at the entrance, turning back to look at the King, who was being supported by Minnie. Her gaze was sharp, carrying a silent warning.

It seemed to say. If I find out you did something, I won’t let this go.

The King frowned. She truly hadn’t done anything and felt no guilt, allowing that sharp gaze to linger on her.

“Send the doctor to my bedroom.”

In the shortest time possible, Rin analyzed the emotions in the expressions of the King and Minnie. Seeing no signs of the guilt she feared, she immediately retracted her gaze and continued walking out after leaving that instruction.

Her pace was fast but very steady.

Lan Ye felt as if she were running while lying down…

It was a magical sensation…

She heard a nearby guard seemingly offering to take over for Rin, but they were all rejected.

Soon, Lan Ye was carried out of the Queen’s palace.

“Slow down a bit.”

As soon as they reached the garden where they had met earlier, Lan Ye hurriedly spoke up to remind Rin.

She was fine, there was no need for such haste. She was worried about Rin getting exhausted.

Hearing the voice in her arms, Rin thought she was scared and slowed down slightly, but even so, Lan Ye felt it was still a bit too fast.

Especially now that they were out of the room and in the outdoors.

There was already a night breeze outside, and at Rin’s speed, Lan Ye felt as if she were sprinting through the wind.

“A bit slower.” As Lan Ye spoke, she reached out and patted Rin’s shoulder.

Tachibana Rin slowed down: “What’s wrong?”

“It’s too fast, slow down a bit.”

Lan Ye felt that at this speed, talking made her choke on the wind: “Too fast, I feel uncomfortable.”

Hearing this, Rin immediately reduced her speed until it was only slightly faster than a normal walking pace.

“Okay, I’ll go slower.”

Hearing this reply, Lan Ye suddenly felt like their conversation was a bit strange…

In the middle of the night, she was telling someone to go slower and slower, saying the other person was too fast and that it was uncomfortable…

That kind of dialogue, in the night, usually felt like it should happen in a different setting, specifically, in bed.

Thinking of that other applicable scenario, Lan Ye pursed her lips and thought that wasn’t right either. She couldn’t possibly look like such a loser and tell someone to slow down… she would definitely be cheering them on to go faster, faster, and faster.

Uh, what am I thinking… Lan Ye suspected that probably because she was in Rin’s arms, her thoughts were starting to get wild.

She quickly stopped these messy thoughts. Looking at the now distant Queen’s palace, she lightly patted Rin’s shoulder again.

“I’m fine now, put me down.”

Hearing this, Rin looked down at the person in her arms without stopping her pace: “Hmm?”

The person in her arms had bright, sparkling eyes without a trace of pain, there was even a faint, ill-concealed hint of a smile.

“I’m fine now, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Put me down, I’ll walk myself.”

Tachibana Rin’s expression was hesitant and puzzled, as if she didn’t understand how Lan Ye could suddenly be fine.

Lan Ye lied without blinking, her expression perfectly natural: “Maybe the baby just kicked me.”

Her words successfully made Rin stop in her tracks.

“Kicked you?”

Rin looked confused, thinking about the current size of the kitten inside Lan Ye’s belly, was it even as big as a finger?

A kitten the size of a finger, how tiny would its feet be? Kick? Kick where?

Rin did not put the human down; she resumed walking: “Let the doctor check.”

If Rin were in a calm state, she would know Lan Ye was making things up, but currently her mind was a mess and her spiritual power was somewhat agitated. She assumed Lan Ye was just ignorant and worried there might be other issues she wasn’t aware of.

After all, humans were fragile, and pregnant humans were even more so.

The materials she had researched said that stomach pain during pregnancy required extra caution.

Earlier in the lounge, Lan Ye had heard Minnie calling for a doctor. She realized then that her tactic wasn’t great.

She had forgotten that “CEO” families have doctors on call, let alone a Princess.

Lan Ye looked at the person holding her, this was a real Princess.

Thinking of this, Lan Ye looked at their current posture, her eyes lighting up, she was being princess carried by a Princess!

This was an experience most people definitely wouldn’t have!

Looking at the Princess’s tense profile and the seemingly indelible shadows beneath her long lashes, Lan Ye reached out a finger and lightly poked her cheek.

Rin turned her head: “Hmm?”

Lan Ye met those eyes and felt that the amber pupils seemed to have many tiny cracks, a sort of emotion that had already shattered but was pretending not to scatter, lingering in the crevices.

Lan Ye sighed.

“Did you hear our conversation just now?”

The “our” went without saying, it referred to her and the King.

Seeing that Lan Ye was asking this, Rin retracted her gaze and continued looking ahead.

Under the moonlight, the lamps along the road seemed to have turned cold.

“Yes.”

She heard it… she heard it all…

Lan Ye thought as expected, but she hadn’t anticipated that Rin’s reaction would be so significant.

Seeing her look so sad at the door just now made Lan Ye feel like she had committed a crime…

Rin recalled the words she had heard, and the warmth in her body seemed to drain away into the night.

That sentence. “If I lose my freedom, then forget it” was like a sentence passed down. In a choice, the human had chosen the freedom that was important to her… she was not the one chosen.

Rin didn’t know why, but when she heard those words, her heart felt as though it were being filled with salty, damp seawater. Not only was it hard to breathe, but she felt as if she were destined to drown…

She should have been used to it…

All along, whenever she was part of a choice, she would always be the party that was abandoned.

Rin remembered the words she had heard in the Queen’s bedroom before hearing the human’s decision.

The Queen hadn’t sought her out because she had forgiven her, nor was she concerned about whether she had been living well outside the palace.

She had sought her out because she hoped she would accept the marriage to Mi Can.

Recalling the Queen’s final plea, Rin felt that every word was like a nail driven into her heart…

The Queen hoped she would marry Mi Can, not for her happiness, but in the hope that she and Mi Can could produce a “Super-S” kitten after marriage.

Only then would there be hope for her sister, whose lifespan was nearing its end, to transform.

It was just a probability…

But under such a mere probability, the Queen chose to sacrifice Rin’s happiness.

Between her and her sister Bu Ning, their common mother did not choose her.

In the Queen’s heart, the sister was more important than her.

Rin then thought of what the King had said to her in the study that morning.

It seemed the King cared about her safety and was focused on training her, even wanting to hand the throne to her…

But in the King’s heart, Rin’s most important identity was that of the successor to her throne.

What she wanted was the continuation of this power. To the King, the throne was more important than Rin…

Everyone seemed to have something they deemed very important.

This human did too.

Tachibana Rin let out a self-deprecating laugh, as if the mask of pride she had built with cold detachment was cracking.

Thinking of the human saying, “If I lose my freedom, then forget it.”

“Forget it”… a layer of mist seemed to appear in her amber eyes.

Once again, in a choice, she had become the side that was abandoned…

After Lan Ye had prepared what to say, she looked up at Rin and was surprised to find that the other’s expression was even more off.

Rin’s profile was tense, her eyelashes seemed to hold a layer of mist, and the shadows cast by her lashes seemed to have dyed themselves in the night, adding a sense of desolation. Originally she just looked a bit fragile, but now she looked as if she were about to shatter, needing only one final nudge.

How can she be this sad…

Lan Ye’s heart skipped two beats. Rin’s current state made her feel as though she were a puppy who had learned it was about to be abandoned but was suppressing its emotions while being taken to the drop-off point…

She was so aggrieved and pitiful that Lan Ye wanted to shout that she herself was not a decent person!

She quickly let go of Rin’s shoulder and freed one hand to pull the corners of Rin’s downward curving lips upward.

“Back in the lounge, the King asked me if I could sacrifice my freedom for you… I hadn’t answered her yet before you appeared.”

Rin tilted her head slightly, wanting to dodge Lan Ye’s hand.

But Lan Ye’s finger pressed firmly against the corner of her lip, wherever she moved, the finger followed.

So, Rin gave up.

Lan Ye continued: “I’ve thought about it now.”

She paused as if reconsidering the question.

Rin’s brow furrowed. Didn’t this person already have the answer? She instinctively looked at the human, only to unexpectedly meet those eyes that seemed to be waiting for her to look.

Seeing her, the human’s eyes curved into a smile.

“I’ve thought about it, and you are more important.”

Rin’s footsteps faltered. The look she gave the human was full of shock and suspicion, as if she were surprised by the sudden change in tune and doubted how much sincerity there was in this temporary reversal.

Lan Ye smiled and continued: “But precisely because of that, for your sake, it’s even more important that I don’t give up my freedom.”

Rin frowned. What did that mean… was it a yes or a no?

She felt like she couldn’t understand human speech anymore…

Lan Ye: “How about you put me down first? Isn’t it tiring to talk while holding me like this?”

Rin didn’t respond or let go. She just looked down at her with a gaze that told her to keep talking.

Lan Ye pursed her lips. True love, clearly, she doesn’t even want to put me down. Fine, I’ll say it like this.

“I think you must be quite fascinated by me.”

Rin’s eyebrows arched slightly. She didn’t understand why the human was suddenly saying this, nor how she had reached this conclusion…

When had she been fascinated by her?

Lan Ye smiled slightly and continued: “You like me, and you must like the whole of me. What fascinates you must not just be my body, but also my soul.”

Rin’s heart jumped. What body… when was I fascinated by the human’s body? She suddenly remembered the part of the body she had seen at noon… Does this human know she saw it?

But she had only seen it accidentally, a brief glance. What “fascinated”…

Lan Ye noticed that after she spoke, the deathly silence that had been sinking into Rin seemed to vanish by half, she seemed to have regained some life.

As expected, I hit the mark!

Lan Ye continued: “What is a soul? A soul is a person’s thoughts, their inner being, their substance. It manifests in how I conduct myself, in my principles, my bottom line, it’s the brilliant smile I still have after facing the world’s blows!”

Rin: “…”

She felt she really couldn’t understand human speech anymore…

Lan Ye: “In short, what you love is the complete me, the me as I am right now. If I change, wouldn’t I no longer be the person you fell for?”

Rin’s brow furrowed tightly. Don’t understand…

Lan Ye let go of Rin’s lip and moved her finger to the space between Rin’s brows, pressing down so she wouldn’t frown.

“I am an innocent, romantic person who doesn’t follow the rules and was born to love freedom. You love my free soul. If I don’t even have my freedom, am I still me?”

Lan Ye answered herself: “Of course not. I would be a walking corpse. Would you like a walking corpse?”

Rin: “…”

Lan Ye snatched the answer: “Definitely not.”

She smoothed out Rin’s furrowed brow: “You know it too. I am destined to have a magnificent life.”

Lan Ye emphasized: “Magnificent, not a pool of stagnant water!”

So, Lan Ye looked at Rin and smiled radiantly.

“I am destined to set sail~”

Rin was surprised: “You’re going to sea?”

Her gaze became solemn. Didn’t this human know how dangerous the sea was?

Hadn’t she gone missing at sea before? And yet she still wanted to go out.

Lan Ye: “…”

It was rare for her to be speechless.

Intelligence must be contagious.

“It was just a metaphor!”

Lan Ye looked at Rin and gave her final summary: “I think you definitely don’t want to cage me. After all, love is an uplift, not a shackle.”

Finally, with eyes shining, she asked: “Am I right?”

Rin: “…”

She felt something was wrong but couldn’t put it into words.

In fact, Rin didn’t quite understand…