When Qin Si heard Bai Shengyi's footsteps, he immediately closed his eyes and feigned unconsciousness. However, he waited and waited, but Bai Shengyi never entered the room.
Qin Si couldn't keep up the pretense any longer.
With a grim expression, he got up and went outside, only to find the woman engrossed in petting a cat and roasting fish.
"My dear, wait a moment longer, okay?"
"Meow~"
"Good Yueya, am I petting you comfortably?"
"Meow~"
"My darling, come, it's ready. Eat from the belly first, it's the most fragrant."
Bai Shengyi felt that having a fire spirit root was truly convenient, allowing her to have a barbecue anytime, anywhere. She tore off a piece of fish belly, picked out the bones, and fed it to the cat. However, the previously docile kitten suddenly bristled, let out a "meow," its fur standing on end, and leaped far away.
"My darling, what's wrong? Did the fire burn you? Come here quickly..."
"Darling?" a certain person's gloomy voice grumbled with extreme displeasure.
Bai Shengyi, however, did not realize this. She glanced up at Qin Si and said with a smile, "Qin Si, you're finally awake!"
Qin Si's heart felt a little better. He was just about to speak with a slight curl of his lips when he saw Bai Shengyi looking down to coax the cat again.
"My little darling, good Yueya, what's wrong with you?" Bai Shengyi coaxed softly, reaching out to embrace the cat and examine it closely.
"Meow! Can't you see the man behind you wants to kill me!"
The Yueya cat leaped into the air, dodged Bai Shengyi's hand from a distance, and nestled itself into the gap beside the Jiangyue grass water vat.
The cat felt wronged.
Bai Shengyi's words to the Yueya cat echoed in Qin Si's ears, making his stomach churn with sourness. This woman was truly fickle, having called him "darling" not long ago.
The more he thought about it, the stronger the sourness became, even spreading to his tongue.
Qin Si said coldly, "Ayi, this cat has a name."
"Ah, what is it called?" Bai Shengyi fed the cat through the gap, but it wouldn't eat. She didn't notice Qin Si's petty thoughts.
Qin Si twitched the corner of his mouth, indifferently glanced at the cat that seemed to be acting sensibly, and grudgingly said, "It's called Ergou."
"Pfft!"
"Meow! No!"
"Cough cough!" Bai Shengyi couldn't control her expression and looked at Qin Si with an unutterable expression, "Are you sure? How come I haven't heard of it before?"
"You didn't ask either." Qin Si gestured, "Look..."
He called out, "Ergou, come here."
The Yueya cat's pupils shrank sharply, but it didn't move.
Qin Si's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, "Hmm?"
"Meow! You demon!"
The cat closed its eyes, extended its little paws forward, and walked over reluctantly, resigned to its fate.
"It doesn't seem happy?" Bai Shengyi looked at Qin Si suspiciously. She finally sensed something was amiss.
No way, was Qin Si this guy trying to compete for attention?
"Hmm... impossible!" Bai Shengyi was stunned by her own guess.
"You're mistaken. The Yueya cat always makes that expression. Think about it, wasn't it like this when it was acting cute before? It's just happy that we finally know its name."
Bai Shengyi recalled and it seemed to be true. "Then I'll call it by its name from now on? Er... Ergou?"
The Yueya cat never expected that the "perfunctory" way it acted cute before had now become a pit it dug for itself!
It was about to cry from injustice! It wasn't happy at all!
Just then, Qin Si directly took the roasted fish from Bai Shengyi's hand, stuck it vertically in front of the Yueya cat, and said coldly, "Eat!"
Instantly, it went from being served to having to fend for itself.
The iron stick used to skewer the fish was specially prepared by Bai Shengyi, about a meter long. The fish was at the top, and for the Yueya cat to eat it, it had to jump.
And so, this peculiar scene unfolded in the courtyard.
The Yueya cat jumped up, took a mouthful of fish, and then jumped up to take another bite.
"Ergou is so amazing, you really don't need me to hold the stand?" Bai Shengyi said with a touch of heartache.
Qin Si ate the takeout food Bai Shengyi had brought back, and his mouth was finally no longer sour. He said, "Ayi, don't spoil it. The Yueya cat is not just any pet beast."
"Eat quickly, aren't you going to refine medicine on the mountaintop?"
"How do you know?" Bai Shengyi asked. The cafeteria's dishes today actually had shredded carrots, which she didn't like much, so she picked them all out.
Qin Si looked at Bai Shengyi's small movements, his phoenix eyes filled with smiles. He didn't answer but said, "Remember to bring an extra portion of food from now on."
Bai Shengyi: "What do you mean?"
"I'll be quite busy recently. I'll leave Ergou in your courtyard to raise for a while. It'll be good to have someone look after the house when there's nothing else to do," Qin Si added.
"Meow! Meow is not a dog!"
"See, Ergou is also very willing."
As Qin Si spoke, a furious voice suddenly came from his Sea of Consciousness from the Xuanjing Tiger: "Damn it! Master, spatial rifts have appeared again in the depths of the Boundless Cloud Sea! Are these people outside crazy?! Hurry over—"
The Xuanjing Tiger's voice abruptly disappeared.
Qin Si's expression changed. He grabbed the remaining food, tore open space, and left in a hurry. He only managed to leave Bai Shengyi with a parting sentence, "I have something to attend to, so I'm leaving. Ayi, if you have any problems, you can find Qianying or Mu Xing."
As the Vice Dean, Qin Si was bound to be busy. Bai Shengyi was not surprised by his sudden departure, just as she wouldn't pry into his wounds.
However, Bai Shengyi did not expect that Qin Si would be gone for more than half a month without a trace.
On the third to last day of her studies on the main peak, Bai Shengyi, as usual, bid farewell to her friends and packed two portions of food to eat back home.
There were several paths from the main peak to Qianxiao Peak. She had walked them all when she first arrived. The path she usually took recently passed through a large area of lush, blooming chrysanthemums, vibrant in various colors, which she greatly admired.
"Slight rustling..." A faint sound came from the flower bushes.
Bai Shengyi suddenly stopped. Could it be that Luocheng Li couldn't wait any longer? Or had Bai Murong finally made a move?
She had always been wary of these two, so she instinctively drew her sword, preparing to strike.
"Stop! Ayi, it's this king!"
Qin Zhao slowly walked out from among the flowers.
He had planned ahead, specifically wearing a silver python robe today, and adorned with a high-quality dragon-patterned jade hairpin and jade pendant. Against the backdrop of the blooming chrysanthemums, he was sure to appear elegant and as gentle as jade.
"Qin Zhao, are you crazy?" Bai Shengyi did not retract her sword but looked coldly at the approaching person and said with annoyance.
Without waiting for Qin Zhao to reply, Bai Shengyi continued straight on her way back. This man was always opportunistic, so he must have some ulterior motive.
She thought that she should ask Bai Yuyue about the current situation of the royal family, and also, why was驸马 Sun so useless? If he couldn't deal with Bai Murong, he couldn't even handle Qin Zhao?
"Ayi, wait a moment!" Qin Zhao ran to block Bai Shengyi's path and said with a face full of deep affection, "Ayi, I know you still have me in your heart, and I also..."
"Wait a moment, what nonsense are you talking about?" Bai Shengyi rudely interrupted him, glaring fiercely at him.