Why bother with dating when you already have a cat?

"That's right, but I'm still in high school. I've always been in the top ten in my class, and I don't know if I'll be able to get into a school like yours."

"You're in the top ten of the honors class, how can that be the same?" the aunt next to me chuckled.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Little Fish exclaimed in praise.

……

After a while, Ai Qing suddenly realized that she had unknowingly become a marginal figure in the chat atmosphere, only acting as a small fish juror who supplemented information when necessary.

On the contrary, Xiaoyu was able to chat enthusiastically with the two aunties. Even though she might not understand many of the topics, she seemed to be able to keep up with everything.

The boatman set off from the dock, rowing along the Bai Causeway and Su Causeway, and even took them to see the Lake Pavilion.

Xiaoyu got busy admiring the scenery and stopped chatting with the aunties.

The two aunties happily returned to their own conversation.

"Why are you chatting with them so happily?" Ai Qing couldn't help but ask in a low voice while the aunt wasn't paying attention.

"I learned it from watching videos." Xiaoyu blinked and said honestly, "Whether I understand it or not, as long as I pretend to be happy, amazing, and admiring, I can make others happy."

Hearing this, Ai Qing fell silent for a moment, then looked at Xiao Yu with some suspicion. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "When you talk to me, you seem very happy, think I'm amazing, and admire me. Is that all to make me happy?"

"How could that be?" Little Fish wrinkled her nose unhappily. "I would never pretend in front of my brother. In my eyes, my brother is really amazing. Having my brother by my side is the happiest thing. Why would I need to pretend?"

Ok.

Seeing the innocent-looking Xiaoyu speaking so earnestly and so directly, Ai Qing couldn't take it anymore and fell silent for a moment.

"What's wrong with my brother?"

"It's nothing, let's enjoy the scenery."

The scenery of West Lake is beautiful.

I haven't watched Ai Qing for many years, and rewatching it now brings me a unique feeling.

Perhaps it was because the people around me had changed when I came to West Lake, and my own state of mind and feelings were also completely different.

Time seemed to stand still, and sitting on the boat, it felt as if we were traveling upstream in the river of time, carried by the waves.

By the time they came to their senses, the boatman had already moored the boat at the shore.

The two aunties said goodbye to Ai Qing and Xiao Yu with smiles on their faces.

Little Fish also said goodbye to them in a cheerful and polite manner.

On the contrary, Ai Qing, who was socially awkward, moved her lips and whispered something, and it was unclear whether the two aunties heard her.

It was only then that Ai Qing realized that in some aspects, Xiao Yu was already better than him.

He's actually starting to fall behind Xiaoyu in terms of social skills.

What impressed him most was the first time he took the little fish in human form and went out of his house and onto the street late at night.

Little Fish nervously clutched his sleeve, looking terrified even though there were hardly any people on the street.

I still remember the first time Ai Qing took her to Yintai City, after transferring money to her via WeChat, he let her go buy coffee by herself.

Xiaoyu was tense and stiff all over. It took her a lot of courage to finally buy the coffee at the front desk.

Now, Xiaoyu is a cheerful girl who can play with the aunties without any fear on the small boat.

On the contrary, Ai Qing is actually socially awkward, and she can only show her adult advantages when she takes Xiao Yu out.

As the little fish grows up, he will naturally fall short of the little fish in some ways.

This was something that could have been foreseen long ago, but when Ai Qing actually realized it, she still felt a little disappointed for some reason.

Actually, Xiaoyu had already shown excellent skills when he played PUBG before.

However, at that time, Ai Qing could still convince herself that it was the cat's racial talent and the blessing of the warm current in the little fish's body.

The ability to communicate so freely with strangers might seem normal to some, but for Ai Qing, it's a skill he envies.

In any case, when he first meets a stranger, he would never be as outgoing as Xiaoyu and be able to strike up a lively conversation immediately.

This is also why he has relatively few friends.

Aside from my college roommates, I only have a few close childhood friends like Kong Fugui.

"Why does my brother look so strange?" Xiaoyu asked softly on the way home. "Is something wrong today?"

"No..." Ai Qing came back to her senses, looked at Xiao Yu, and patted her head, "I just suddenly felt that Xiao Yu seems to have grown up."

"So when I grow up, can I date my brother?"

"Okay... I take back what I said earlier." Ai Qing withdrew her hand with a dark expression.

As a result, Xiaoyu quickly grabbed Ai Qing's big hand and pressed it back onto her head, revealing a silly and cute smile on her face.

"Oh, right." Ai Qing patted her head helplessly, then remembered something and said to her, "I've prepared a surprise for you these past few days. I originally wanted to tell you after it was all done, but since today is Children's Day, I'll show it to you in advance."

"Huh? What surprise?" Little Fish's eyes widened, unable to contain her anticipation, and she quickly asked.

"Telling you now wouldn't be a surprise; let's talk about it when we get home."

"Ah~ it'll take so long~"

Chapter 133 The More They Learn, the More Wrong It Gets

On her way home in the evening, Xiaoyu experienced what Hangzhou's subway was like for the first time.

The previous subway line was in the Qiantang District. Although there were many people at the passenger transport center, it couldn't compare to the later section that runs through the city center.

However, Xiaoyu doesn't mind being surrounded by people.

Because this way, she could snuggle into Ai Qing's arms without any qualms or reservations.

Ai Qing would also convince herself that she was holding Xiaoyu to prevent her from falling in the carriage.

As the subway moves forward, the number of people in the carriages reaches a peak, and then begins to decrease with each station.

When the two transferred to Line 9, the carriage was not as crowded as before.

If you're lucky, you might even be able to snag a seat.

Around 6:00 PM, the two finally got off the subway and returned to their neighborhood.

Thinking about today's pleasant journey and the surprise Ai Qing had prepared for her, Xiaoyu hopped around excitedly, eager to get home.

Ai Qing, however, remained unhurried, following behind Xiao Yu towards the entrance of the residential area.

The little fish was quite familiar with the terrain and routes in this area, and it led the way.

She has walked this route from the subway station to her apartment building countless times. Now, even with her eyes closed, she can smell the familiar scents and find her way home.

The two took the elevator upstairs. Xiaoyu unlocked the door with her fingerprint and went into the house first. As she took off her shoes and put on slippers, she handed Aiqing's slippers to him.

"So what exactly is the surprise that brother was talking about?" Little Fish couldn't help but ask.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ai Qing said while changing her shoes. "It's only a half-finished product right now. I was planning to tell you after it was completely finished."

"But considering that you'll be using this yourself in the future, it's best to ask for your opinion."

"If there's anything you feel needs improvement, you can bring it up early on, so you don't have to ask them to make changes later if you're not satisfied."

Xiaoyu was completely confused by Ai Qing's words and still didn't understand what this surprise was all about.

"What is that?" Little Fish racked her brains but still couldn't guess.

"Think about it again?" Ai Qing wasn't in a hurry to reveal the answer. She said with a smile and walked towards Xiao Yu's room, turning on her computer.

It then added, "It's related to your future career."

"Huh?" Little Fish was even more surprised when he reminded her like that.

What is my future career?

That's just trying to post some videos on Bilibili and do a live stream.

It seems that the computers we have now are sufficient. Is there anything else we need?

Little Fish was also anxious. When you're anxious, it's easy to not think things through completely, and then your computer crashes.

Finally, she was too lazy to think for herself, so she resorted to her ultimate trick of acting cute, shaking Ai Qing's arm and saying in a sweet voice, "Brother~ Brother~ Tell me, don't make me guess."

"Don't rush." ​​Ai Qing turned on her computer, logged into Mi Huashi's website, and found her orders and chat history with the artist. "Here, take a look for yourself."

"Hmm?" Xiaoyu moved closer to Ai Qing and leaned over to look at the screen on her computer.

She had never commissioned artwork from any so-called artists online before, so she didn't quite understand what this meant.

However, Xiaoyu could still understand the screenshots in the chat history.

These are several draft images sent by the other party.

Starting from May 27th until today, I've been posting one picture almost every night, and the characters in them are becoming more and more specific and clear.

The image above shows a cat-eared girl with only her upper body visible, white cat ears, and a white cat tail peeking out from behind.

The overall image is clearly based on Xiaoyu, and the clothes are relatively conservative, with the collar reaching all the way to the neck. Although the chest looks full, it is not exaggerated, and it is all covered by the clothes, with nothing showing.

The clothes are quite casual, a light blue shirt without much embellishment.

Ai Qing heard that virtual costume characters can change clothes. If Xiao Yu can really make a name for herself in this industry, then it would be good to consider designing more outfits in the future.

The live streaming business hasn't even started yet, so let's not think about that too much.

"So is this a picture of a little fish?" the little fish asked curiously.

“Hmm.” Ai Qing nodded. “Or rather, it’s a virtual character, Little Fish.”

"Virtual avatar..." Upon hearing this term, Xiaoyu pondered for a moment before finally realizing what it meant. "Brother, did you buy me one of those live-streaming suits?"

"...You're only realizing it now?"

"You didn't explain it clearly, how could I not know?" Little Fish pouted, resolutely refusing to admit that it was because she wasn't very smart.

If only I had used the warm current to boost my brain earlier, I definitely would have been able to figure it out.

“She’s the illustrator and the modeler, so we’ve arranged for her to handle both of our projects,” Ai Qing said. “It just takes a bit longer, at least until the middle of the month, and sometimes until the end of the month.”

"It's okay, Xiaoyu isn't in a hurry." Xiaoyu shook her head, looking very happy. "Besides, didn't my brother say that we can upload some videos first? Anyway, we won't start a live stream right away."

“Yes, there’s no rush,” Ai Qing nodded and said. “Whether it’s making videos or doing live streams, it’s all about taking your time.”