After Becoming Pregnant With The Empress Cat's Cub - Chapter 8

The streets were a cacophony of noise, the roar of the crowd, the distant wail of sirens, and the groans of the injured nearby.

The fallen muggers remained on the ground, unable to stand, blocking the flow of traffic as car horns blasted with increasing urgency. Passersby, finally realizing a robbery had occurred, began shouting and carrying on.

All these sounds blended into a chaotic mess that only served to heighten the irritability of Ju Rin, who was currently in the midst of her “Eruptive Period” (heat/estrus).

The hidden fire in her heart gathered as she questioned Lan Ye, waiting for an answer to serve as an outlet for her rage. No matter how expensive the item was, Ju Rin had a scathing lecture ready and waiting.

But when she heard the answer, the words died in her throat.

She gripped the strap of her bag, staring incredulously at the seemingly shaken human in front of her, wondering if the hormonal surge of her Eruptive Period was causing hallucinations. Her explosive anger felt like a volcano about to erupt that had suddenly been hit by an avalanche, not only unable to burst forth but on the verge of being frozen solid.

Ju Rin stood frozen, her mouth hanging open, speechless.

It was actually… her underwear.

The two had not been speaking quietly. The passengers who had gotten off the bus with Lan Ye and were standing nearby heard them clearly. Their shock was no less than Ju Rin’s, they had all seen how desperately Lan Ye clung to that bag, assuming it contained something priceless.

To think it was just underwear…

“This human… she’s so devoted. She treats a beastman’s underwear like a treasure,” someone whispered, a sentiment that quickly found agreement among the crowd.

“Didn’t you see how powerful that beastman is? Her mental strength must be at least S-rank. No wonder the human is so obsessed.”

Although Lan Ye didn’t know how they distinguished between humans and beastmen, she could guess that “the human” referred to her.

This was awkward. Her honest answer, combined with Rin’s interrogation, sounded very problematic. In reality, she had simply forgotten she was pregnant and shouldn’t have been running.

With so many people around, it wasn’t a good time to explain. Once Lan Ye snapped out of it, she noticed Ju Rin’s hand gripping the bag.

“Your hand is injured.”

Lan Ye reached out to take Rin’s hand, wanting to check the wound. Ju Rin jerked her hand away, dodging the movement.

Watching her hand miss its mark, Lan Ye realized the other woman was still angry. She felt a bit troubled, she knew how to coax a dog, but she wasn’t very good at soothing people.

As the sirens grew louder, Ju Rin glanced back. A police car had already pulled up beside the fallen muggers, barely a dozen meters away.

She took out her phone, sent a message to Si Qing, and then grabbed Lan Ye’s hand just as the latter was about to pull it back. “Follow me.”

“Huh?” Lan Ye gasped in surprise, but before she could say anything, she was being pulled along.

Blending into the crowd of onlookers, Ju Rin let go of Lan Ye’s hand. She swiftly slung Lan Ye’s backpack over her own shoulder, plucked the crooked hat off Lan Ye’s head, tied her long pink hair up, tucked it into the hat, and put it on. With her “disguise” complete, she grabbed Lan Ye again and shielded her as they pushed through the flow of people.

Lan Ye watched this simple transformation with confusion. They were the victims of a robbery, why did it feel like they were fleeing a crime scene?

Seeing Rin’s stern expression, Lan Ye remained silent and followed. She looked down at her wrist where Rin was holding her, the temperature of that skin felt staggeringly hot.

Ju Rin led her around a block and entered a restaurant called Xin Rong Ji from a side entrance. The restaurant required a reservation. Ju Rin scanned a code and led Lan Ye inside.

The interior was dimly lit. As they walked, there were no servers to be seen, only lights on the floor guiding their path. Soon, the guiding light stopped before a door carved with a feather pattern. Ju Rin entered a code, and the door slid open.

The private room contained a single circular table with booth seating. There were winding tracks alongside the seats, which Lan Ye guessed were for automated food delivery. This was likely an “unmanned restaurant,” designed for total privacy.

It was a perfect place for a conversation.

Inside the room, Ju Rin took off the hat and plopped it back onto Lan Ye’s head. The hat still held Ju Rin’s body heat, making Lan Ye’s head feel suddenly warm. She adjusted the brim that was blocking her vision and looked at the woman.

The woman’s long pink hair spilled out, shimmering with golden flecks under the warm orange lights. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Seeing Rin drop the backpack and slide into the booth, Lan Ye immediately followed, sitting right next to her. Under the other’s surprised gaze, she took Rin’s hand again.

“Are you running a fever? Your hand is burning.”

Lan Ye carefully held Rin’s hand, inspecting the wound on the back of it. “Is the wound infected?”

Ju Rin pulled her hand away, grabbing a wet wipe from the table to clean off the blood. “It’s nothing.”

It was just an injury from yesterday’s boxing match that had reopened under the strain of the fight.

“How can it be nothing?” Lan Ye insisted. “Your body temperature isn’t normal.”

Ju Rin finished wiping her hand and looked at the worried human. It was common knowledge that a beastman’s temperature rises during the Eruptive Period. What is this human pretending for? she wondered.

Not intending to pursue the topic, she tried to steady her fluctuating mental strength and racing blood. She had a gut feeling that if she continued this conversation, she would only hear another response that would leave her speechless.

To prevent her mental instability from triggering a partial transformation into her beast form, Ju Rin took a deep breath before speaking.

“I’m fine. Do you feel unwell anywhere?” Her gaze swept over the human, finally lingering on her abdomen.

Following her gaze, Lan Ye instinctively touched her stomach. She wasn’t sure if it was a placebo effect, but ever since Rin had appeared to protect her, she felt a warmth in her belly.

“I’m fine. Thanks to you! You were amazing!” Lan Ye praised her sincerely. She had researched beastmen online yesterday and knew their physical capabilities far exceeded humans, but seeing it in person was a total shock. No wonder beastmen ruled this world.

“By the way, why did we leave? We were robbed. Shouldn’t we have reported it so the police could catch those two?”

Ju Rin looked at the wide-eyed, curious human. Now she thinks to ask?

“I’m a fugitive. Going to the police station is a hassle.”

Ju Rin leaned back against the cushion, watching for the human’s reaction.

Lan Ye’s eyes went wide. “What?”

Ju Rin didn’t know why she was being so childish as to play a prank like this, but seeing those round eyes made her irritability fade slightly.

“Scared?”

This human certainly had guts. Even if she wasn’t a criminal, she was a beastman in heat, yet the human had dared to ask for a meeting.

Lan Ye’s intuition told her Rin was joking. She hadn’t seen her hiding from the police yesterday, she couldn’t have become a wanted criminal overnight.

“What crime did you commit?”

Lan Ye suddenly remembered her internet searches from yesterday. She had forgotten to check if a relative’s criminal record would affect a child’s chances of becoming a civil servant. What if her little kitten wanted to work for the government one day?

She looked at Ju Rin seriously. “Do you have a criminal record? Will it affect the child’s chances of getting a government job?”

Ju Rin felt another surge of frustration. She really wanted to open this human’s head to see what was inside. If she actually believed she was a criminal, she should be running away, not worrying about the child’s career path.

But seeing the sincerity in those eyes and thinking of the kitten, Ju Rin exhaled. “It won’t affect it.”

“That’s good then.”

Lan Ye looked at Ju Rin’s face, a face so striking it would stand out in any crowd. She figured if she were a fugitive, she’d be caught in no time. Looking at her, Lan Ye suddenly remembered the photo she had seen at the mall.

She finally realized why the Queen looked so familiar. She looked quite a bit like Rin.

“Why did you want to see me?” Ju Rin’s voice broke Lan Ye’s train of thought.

“By the way, here is your underwear.”

Lan Ye snapped back to reality, grabbed the backpack Rin had retrieved for her, and pulled out a small bag.

Ju Rin stared at the bag being held out to her. She didn’t move, her eyes were a swirling vortex of complex emotions. The human in front of her had worn her underwear that night, was still wearing them when they met again… and now, she had risked her life just for a pair of underwear.

She thought back to the gossip she’d overheard earlier, that this human was desperately in love with her. Ju Rin stroked the cat’s eye stone bracelet on her wrist. She didn’t quite believe it, yet she couldn’t think of a more logical explanation.

Seeing that Rin wasn’t taking it, Lan Ye simply stuffed the bag into her arms.

“Besides your original pair, I bought two new ones as compensation for the ones I used. It’s not that I didn’t want to buy the exact same brand, but your underwear is just too expensive! I was so scared of losing them just now. I can’t afford to pay you back if they’re gone!”

Suddenly, Ju Rin felt like she had the answer. “So, it was because of the money?”

It wasn’t because the underwear belonged to her, it was because they were valuable.

Lan Ye nodded vigorously, happy to explain. “Exactly! I’m very poor. If such expensive underwear got lost, I’d never be able to repay you.”

Ju Rin: “…I told you that you didn’t need to return them.”

Lan Ye: “That won’t do. These are too expensive. Even if I’m poor, I still have some dignity.”

Ju Rin: “…”

She couldn’t fathom how “dignity” was connected to a pair of underwear. Ju Rin felt a weight in her chest. Not wanting to discuss this any further, she tossed the bag aside and looked at Lan Ye. “Is that all?”

Lan Ye shook her head and got straight to the point.

“Yesterday at the hospital, you mentioned getting married. I’ve thought about it, and I can accept that proposal.”

A flash of surprise crossed Ju Rin’s eyes. She scrutinized Lan Ye. The person who had so resolutely rejected her yesterday was now singing a completely different tune.

Meeting Ju Rin’s gaze, Lan Ye felt a bit awkward. “Don’t look at me like that. To be honest, I was in a car accident recently and my head isn’t quite right. I’ve forgotten a lot of things. I forgot that having a kitten was such a complicated matter.”

“Complicated?” Ju Rin was puzzled.

Lan Ye: “To have a child, you have to get married.”

“What’s so complicated about that?” Ju Rin remained confused. Wasn’t that just how things worked?

Seeing Rin’s expression, Lan Ye realized their worldviews were miles apart. In her mind, having a child and getting married were independent events that shouldn’t be forced together. In her original world, the two were no longer strictly linked.

These “kitties” had evolved into ruling beastmen, yet they had somehow regressed to the old fashioned ways of humans.

Setting aside the history of this world for a moment, Lan Ye looked at Ju Rin. “Does your proposal still stand? I mean, the marriage.”

Ju Rin looked at her, thinking of the ultrasound photo she had carefully put away. After a two second silence, she gave a slight nod.

Lan Ye smiled, a small dimple appearing at the corner of her mouth. She grabbed her backpack, took out a piece of paper folded into a neat square, and unfolded it in front of Rin.

“Then let’s talk details. If we’re getting married, I have a few conditions.”

The handwriting was a bit messy. Worried that Rin might not be able to read it, Lan Ye simply read it aloud.

“First, this is a marriage of convenience with a six month term. After six months, if either party wishes to end the marriage, it can be terminated.”

Lan Ye had researched the marriage laws of this world yesterday. You had to wait six months before filing for divorce, so she set that as the limit. Six months was enough time to get to know each other, if it didn’t work out, they could divorce early.

Ju Rin looked at Lan Ye in astonishment. She had assumed the “conditions” would involve the human wanting something from her. She was surprised that the very first rule was an exit clause. She didn’t interrupt, signaling for her to continue. She wanted to hear what else was on the list.

“Second, you provide the residence after marriage, and you will cover all my expenses during the pregnancy.”

At this, Ju Rin shot her a look. This human had just talked about having “dignity” even while poor, insisting on returning a pair of underwear, yet here she was shamelessly asking for money.

Lan Ye understood the look in Rin’s eyes, but she had no shame about this: “I’m the one carrying and birthing the child alone. You can’t share that burden, so shouldn’t you be responsible for financial support?”

“I should.”

Ju Rin had no objection to this. She also didn’t mention the matter of “mental soothing.” She thought it was good for Lan Ye to have these thoughts… otherwise, she’d have to worry that the girl’s “dignity” would leave her and the child starving.

Ju Rin gestured for her to continue.

“Third, regardless of whether the kitten tests positive for mental strength or what its rank is, you cannot despise it, and you certainly cannot abandon it.”

There was a flicker in Ju Rin’s eyes. This aligned perfectly with her own values, she had always despised those who treated children differently based on their rank.

“Fourth, during the marriage, there can be no violence, no interference with each other’s freedom, and no cheating. If there is a disagreement on a major issue, we listen to me.”

Ju Rin: “What constitutes a ‘major issue’?”

Lan Ye: “Whatever I decide is a major issue.”

Ju Rin: “…”

Lan Ye moved on to the final, very important point.

“Fifth, after marriage, both parties must fulfill their spousal duties to ensure the frequency and quality of our sexual life.”

Ju Rin’s gaze became… difficult to describe.

“Alright, that’s all.” Lan Ye handed the agreement to Ju Rin. “Take a look. See if you have any objections or anything to add.”

Ju Rin took the paper, her eyes lingering on the final clause for a long time. Pre-nuptial agreements were common, almost everyone in the Royal Family had one but she had never seen one that included that…

After a long silence, Ju Rin looked back at the first rule. A six-month term.

Ju Rin’s eyes shifted. She knew that a kitten’s gestation period was exactly six months. Was she planning to divorce as soon as the baby was born? Combined with the second rule, did this human just want someone to support her until the birth?

This contract was entirely lopsided. It offered Ju Rin no benefits and was full of traps.

Ju Rin looked at Lan Ye. “What if I don’t agree to this?” She couldn’t think of a single reason why she should sign it.

Just as Lan Ye was about to ask which part was unacceptable, her watch chimed.

“Sorry, it’s a call from home.” Seeing it was Yao Li, Lan Ye answered, worried it might be an emergency.

As soon as the call connected, Yao Li’s excited voice erupted from the watch.

“Xiao Ye! Great news! Hakimi has agreed to marry you! She’s willing to be the mother of the kitten in your belly! When are you coming back? We need to discuss the wedding details!”

Lan Ye was stunned. “Hakimi? Marriage?”

“Yes, Hajime! The beastman we had dinner with last night. She came to the house to propose!”

Hearing this, Lan Ye recalled Yao Li’s attitude yesterday and the questions she’d asked this morning. It finally clicked, last night was a blind date.

Simultaneously, she felt a gaze on her. It was intense, almost burning.

“Aunt Li, let’s talk later. I’m busy right now.”

Lan Ye hung up and looked up at Ju Rin, meeting those sharp, amber eyes. Remembering Ju Rin’s question right before the phone rang… Lan Ye suddenly smiled.

A moment ago, she was going to say that if Rin didn’t agree, they could negotiate. Now? Lan Ye wanted to toss her hair. Her “deadly charm” was just too much, even Hajime had fallen for her.

Too bad she didn’t have much hair to toss.

Lan Ye shook her watch at Ju Rin, smiling brilliantly with an air of playful arrogance.

“If you don’t agree… I have a backup.”

Hajime. She had decided…Hakimi it is!